Chapter 47
Achilles frowned at Isobella and Eloise.
“I don’t understand, I know her parents, they are both Vampires.”
“Her mother may be a vampire but, I can assure you, her biological father is not.” Eloise fumbled with her hands.
“But she has a familiar, I’ve seen her marking,” Achilles shook his head.
“That could be genuine or, it could be another glamour but, she is a Dhampir, a powerful and dark Dhampir.” Isobella shivered.
A heavy silence hung in the air. Leonardo had fallen asleep at Seraphina’s breast.
As she shifted his weight in her arms, he pursed his lips and stretched his arms up, his little fists clenched. Seraphina lowered her head to nuzzle his cheek with her own.
“Can you place a protection spell on Leonardo please? I can’t bear the thought of her bringing harm to him.”
Isobella nodded and Eloise left to retrieve the potion Oisin had left in Seraphina’s office.
“Isobella, could she be responsible for the spell on me?” Seraphina’s eyes bore into her.
Isobella shifted her weight, “Possibly, every spell leaves a kind of fingerprint. We can look but, it’s just a case of whether or not we can find it. The blocking spell that has been used on you is very sophisticated, it has likely been hidden very well.”
Aurelia appeared in the doorway, “Is…Is that…He’s here.” A grin broke out on her face.
She rushed over and sat next to Seraphina.
“His name is Leonardo.” Achilles smiled at her.
Aurelia paled, “Le-Leonardo? Why did you pick that name?”
Seraphina glanced towards Aurelia, it was strange to see her so flustered.
Achilles shrugged, “Leonardo is one of our best warriors Aurelia, he saved my life, many, many times. If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have lived long enough to see fatherhood.”
Aurelia gulped before turning her attention back to the baby.
She trailed a shaky hand over his arms, “He looks like you Achilles…poor thing.”
Achilles scowled at her but, she just giggled in response.
“Oh lighten up, he is beautiful, may I hold him?”
Seraphina nodded and gently transferred the baby into Aurelia’s arms, she guided her hand to support his head.
Aurelia chucked as tears escaped her eyes.
“Hello little one,” Aurelia whispered as Leonardo’s eyes started to flutter open.
“Is motherhood calling you Aurelia?” Achilles teased.
“No,” Aurelia voice was soft yet, her tone was firm. “I adore children but, I have no desire to become a mother… Speaking of mothers, have you told ours that she is officially a Nona?” She turned her attention to Achilles.
Achilles froze, “I – I – I… Can you tell her please?”
Aurelia snorted at him. “Not a chance in hell Achilles, she will shoot the messenger.”
Achilles groaned, “Fine, I will go then.” He turned to face Isobella, “Do you happen to have any of the protection potion to spare?”
Isobella chuckled, “I remember your mother well and I know that, not even a protection spell will help you. I wouldn’t waste time if I were you.”
Achilles gulped, he bent down to place a kiss on Seraphina’s head before giving Leonardo a gentle stroke.
“I’ll be back soon…hopefully,” Achilles gave her an awkward smile before leaving.
Eloise returned with the potion and handed it to Isobella.
“Would you rather we wait?” Isobella shook the bottle of potion in her hand.
Seraphina shook her head, “No, I want to know he’s protected as soon as possible.”
Isobella nodded and instructed Seraphina to unravel the blanket.
“Aw, he’s a little wolfie like his Auntie,” Aurelia cooed when she saw the little silver wolf marking on his flank.
“I was worried you were going to be a snake,” she whispered.
Aurelia’s head snapped up and she scanned the room with her eyes.
A frown crept across her face. “I can’t believe I’m only just noticing but, where is Lady Briseis?”
Seraphina grimaced before she relayed the events that had occurred.
Aurelia’s eyes darkened, “If she ever harms even just a hair on my nephew’s head, hell would be a sweeter fate than what I will subject her to.”
Seraphina knew too well that Aurelia was sincere, she had a flare for gore on a good day yet, when someone she cares about is wronged, her wrath knew no bounds.
Isobella and Eloise started painting symbols on Leonardo’s body with the potion, Helga hovered over them, watching intently.
As Isobella and Eloise began to sing their incantation, the symbols on Leonardo began to glow a bright white. The illumination lit up the entire office, Seraphina had to shield her eyes away from Leonardo.
When the mages finished their song, the glowing symbols faded until they had disappeared completely.
“How do you know it’s worked?” Seraphina asked.
Isobella plucked a pin from her hair, “Do you trust me?” She looked Seraphina in the eye.
Seraphina gulped and nodded slowly.
Isobella brought the pin to Leonardo’s finger and placed it against the skin. The symbols that had been painted on his body began to glow faintly again and the pin disintegrated in Isobella’s hand.
She looked up at Seraphina and smiled, “His body and mind are protected. The only spells that can be performed on him are healing spells, anything else will not take effect, it may even cause damage to the person who is casting the spell. Please do remember that.”
A worried look painted Helga’s face, “So we won’t ever be able to shield him?”
Eloise shook her head, “You won’t need to, even a simple locator spell wont work on him, if he ever needed to be hidden, you can do so without the use of magic.”
Seraphina smiled as she looked down at Leonardo as he lay in Aurelia’s arms.
“It’s remarkable how you can feel such a strong connection to a child that isn’t your own.”
Her smile dropped as the looming threat over her own children resurfaced in her mind.
“Isobella, what are we going to do about the twins?” Seraphina’s voice broke.
Isobella sat down next to Seraphina and took her hands in between her own.
“Seraphina, you are our blood, those babies are our blood. We will do everything in our power to protect you and the twins. We have had little time to discuss but, our initial plan, if you will accept, is to have us all present at the birth…”
Seraphina recoiled as she heard this.
“I know it may seem intrusive but, if we are all present, we can channel one another and place a protection spell over the babies as soon as they are born and we can also syphon the spell away from you…”
Seraphina remained silent as she absorbed the information. Yes, the thought of giving birth in front of at least 20 people caused a fresh wave of anxiety to wash over her however, the thought of someone taking her babies scared her far more.
Seraphina nodded, “That’s fine, you have my explicit permission to do whatever it takes to protect my children.”
Seraphina looked down at her bump and traced small circles across it, the babies responded by kicking her everywhere her fingers trailed.
Realising this would likely be the only opportunity to discuss matters further without Achilles around, Seraphina’s head snapped back up.
“Isobella, I need you to promise me something.”
Isobella looked at Seraphina with concern.
“I need you to promise me that, no matter what happens. If it comes to it, you save the babies. I don’t care what Achilles says, the babies come first.”
Isobella gulped and nodded, “I understand, hopefully it won’t come to that but, you have my word.”
Seraphina half expected Aurelia to argue however, she stayed silent and only gave Seraphina’s hand a gentle squeeze.
Leonardo started fussing in Aurelia’s arms.
“I think he might be hungry again, here I’ll feed him.”
Aurelia placed Leonardo back into Seraphina’s arms, “I’ll get Nina to bring you something to eat. Helga? Can you get some warm water and fresh towels? We can get the baby cleaned up and I’ll fetch him some clothes and a fresh blanket.”
Seraphina looked up at Aurelia and smiled, “You don’t have to do that Aurelia.”
Aurelia returned her smile, “He is my nephew, I want to help. Plus, mother will have me skinned if she arrives and her grandson is still naked and in a blood soaked blanket.”