In the Dark

Chapter 9

It was an especially frigid night. She had on a thick dress and had wrapped herself in furs, but she could still feel the cold biting at her skin. It was the wind, of course. The cold was tolerable, but once the wind picked up, there was little that could be done to protect oneself from it. She clung tighter as another particularly strong gust buffeted the side of the palace and swept through the balcony she looked out from. She turned her face from taking a full blast of it but then looked back out again at the thick forest that surrounded her home. The moon was out, casting everything in its opalescent glow, as the purples of the night sky reflected onto the snow, the trees, and everything below it. It was all too still, though. Other than the bats that took turns flying their patrols overhead, everything was quiet in the forest and it put a tight anxiety in her chest.

They should have been home by now, she thought, worriedly.

Alayne had welcomed the army back when they arrived, playing her part as their queen to ensure they were taken care of and felt the gratitude they deserved on their arrival home. Even when she'd been met with the news her eldest son had been lost in the blizzard that had swept through the countryside and her husband was still out looking for him, she'd put on her strong face to see to it that the men were well cared for.

It had been longer than a night since the soldiers had come back, though, and Alayne could do little but watch the forest trail that led to the grounds of their palace for the safe return of her husband and son. She was certain that Demetri would do everything he could to find their eldest. He was a hard man, ruthless by every definition of the word, but he'd go to great lengths for their family. Even when he was tough on their boys, she knew the world they lived in was tougher, and he was only preparing them to be leaders in it.

Erik hadn't yet begun to receive the full brunt of training Riccardo had, though. He was still just a child, head barely reaching Alayne's elbow when he was by her side, where he spent less and less time as his independence grew. Demetri was proud of the spirit Erik showed; Erik reminded him of himself at that age. Full of adventure, willful, and strong: he had the traits a young military commander should. It frightened and thrilled her to think of what her youngest son would become, how important he'd be in their world. She could see him riding off with his father, a force to be reckoned with as they conquered the surrounding lands, and the ever-growing threat the werewolves posed to them.

Riccardo had been nothing like that at that age. Alayne couldn't help but wonder what blame she had for it all. It had taken her so long to carry a child to full term. During that first century of her and Demetri's marriage, Alayne had lost many of the children that had taken root in her belly. It wasn't uncommon for their kind to have some trouble conceiving. Their birth rates were not so prolific as humans - who seemed to breed like rabbits. However, most vampires who felt in the family way could produce at least two children in a century. When she'd finally given birth to Riccardo, he'd also come to them ill and weak. He'd spent so much of his childhood bedridden with her and the doctor tending to him to see him through every illness. He'd started training to be a soldier and a leader later in life than her husband had wanted.

And now her firstborn, that sickly boy she'd coddled through every illness as a child had been lost in a storm. She could only hope that gryphon he was so fond of remained loyally at his side wherever he was.

"Mother!"

The shrill voice with the wooden doors opening to her balcony made her turn in time to see her youngest stepping out to greet her. Erik was still, in every way, a child. He was still years away from reaching adolescence and his voice was still high and baby in its delivery. His cheeks still had adorable chub to them. But despite these babyish features about him, Erik had the sharp, dark eyes of her husband that Riccardo had inherited as well rather than the rich red of her own. Erik's black hair was deep, raven black just as Demetri's and Riccardo's as well. Her husband's genes were strong and it was never more apparent than when she gazed at her sons and the features they shared with their father.