Even the wet sand that held her feet couldn't keep her from leaping toward him, and Solenne threw her arms around his neck, her joy purer than she'd ever known. "Where? How? I've missed you so much."
Declan's arms enveloped her, pressing her body to his, and she heard his heart race next to her ear. "I'm sorry I couldn't come to you before. But I'm here now."
Solenne tried to hold back the tears that burned behind her eyelids, but it was no use. Months of loneliness, of being the only one to believe he would ever return to her, finally took their toll and whatever strength she'd had dissolved into nothingness, replaced by the tears running down her cheeks.
In his arms, she sobbed as he softly stroked her hair and back. "I never stopped believing you'd come back to me. Never. Fate couldn't do that to us. Every night I waited, Declan. Every night."
Squeezing her tightly, he kissed the top of her head. "I would never give up, Solenne. No matter what, I had to come back. I walked around for almost a century with an emptiness from not having you near me. I wasn't going to let that happen again."
Lifting her head from his chest, she looked up into those dark eyes she loved and saw something different. "Declan, what is it?"
"Solenne, for so long I hated who I was—hated being vampire. I took it out on everyone around me, alienating those who I should have cared for. I couldn't see the gift Kir had given me that night. I couldn't see that you could never do what I'd believed you'd done. I couldn't see that being a sire meant more than turning one into a vampire. I deserved to be alone."
"No, that's not true. It wasn't all you."
He kissed her softly and continued. "But then I was given a second chance with you that I thought was going to be yanked away that night at Verrater's. And something incredible happened. Just as one of his guards was about to stake me, one of my vampires showed up. That's where I've been all this time. I visited as many as would see me. Not all can forgive me, but some can."
"So that's where you've been?"
Declan cradled her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "Forgive me, but I couldn't come back to you the way I was. I knew you'd be safe with Terek and his vampires."
Solenne grasped his wrists and shook her head. "I don't care about being safe. I care about you the way you were, the way you are now, any way."
"Well, now you have me always. But until this war with the Archons is won, our lives won't be our own."
"Just promise me that when we're alone each day as we lay in each other's arms that the life we've waited so long to have will be ours and ours alone. Promise me that and I can withstand anything."
Declan kissed her just as he did that first night in the garden at her house and all the things that had kept them apart and all the troubles that lay ahead seemed to fade away.
"I promise."
***
Solenne's hands caressing his tired body made Declan feel like he was finally home. Terek's house may have been full of strangers and the towns and countryside around the grounds were entirely foreign to him, but it didn't matter. As long as Solenne was there, he was home.
The months away from her had been torture, knowing she very well believed him dead at the hands of Verrater. Each night he told himself this was what he had to do, but it didn't make her absence from his side any easier. Now he intended to make sure she'd be in his life forever.
"Feel better yet? I can massage the front, if you'd like," she teased as she nuzzled his neck.
Rolling over, he pulled her on top of him, loving the feel of her body next to his. But as much as he yearned to make love to her, he had something else on his mind. "I don't ever want to be without you again. Too much of our lives have been spent apart."
Solenne smiled and kissed him sweetly. "Declan, I don't plan to let anything separate us again. Heaven help anyone who tries."
"That's not enough."
Solenne propped herself up on her elbow next to him and gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"I want us to be formally joined. Marry me."
"Marry you?"
"Yes. And I know it's not popular with female vampires these days, but agree to wear my mark."
"You know you're asking a modern female to do something perfectly medieval."
"I know. Call me traditional. I hope this modern female will do it anyway."
"I had no idea the man I adore was so old-fashioned."
Declan's heart pounded wildly as he waited for her answer. He knew it was uncommon for female vampires to want to go through the process required to wear the mark of the one they loved. Like a tattoo, his blood would be driven beneath her skin and she would forever show the world that she was joined to him.
Solenne cradled his face in her hands and looked deep into his eyes. Declan held his breath in anticipation of her words, unable to decipher whether her expression was one of love or indecision about how to tell him no, or worse, that she didn't want to marry someone who'd led the life he had.
"Declan, you know I'd endure anything for you. If my getting the mark will make you happy, I'll willingly wear it to show all who see that I love only you. That my heart is yours and yours alone. Do you plan to get my mark also?"
"So now the modern woman wants me to do the medieval thing?" he said with a grin.
"It only seems fair. Are you worried that the other Sons will think less of you?"
Saint imagined the only one of them who'd have the nerve to say anything would be Dante, and having such a perfect justification to bring the cocky bastard down a peg seemed worth a little ribbing from his fellow vampires. "I don't care what they think. If the woman I love wants me to wear her mark, I do it proudly."
"Good. So about this marriage thing..."
Before he could argue his case, she kissed away any words he could say.
***
Declan stood behind Solenne, his fingers caressing the raised mark on the back of her neck that signified she was his vampire, if not by blood then by choice. An elaborate triskelion, the mark had been chosen by Solenne because of its meaning to symbolize the end of their time apart and the beginning of their future together. He bore an identical mark on the same spot on the back of his neck, and just as he'd guessed, Dante had been the only one of them who dared say anything. Declan had enjoyed delivering a little humility to the young vampire. Not much, but enough to let him know his place.
"It was a beautiful ceremony, Solenne," Sasa said as she approached them in the great hall of Terek's house where they waited for the rest of the Sons and Terek's vampires to join them.
"Thank you, Sasa. It was a long time coming."
"I'm afraid Vasilije is going to want to talk about the Archons today, Declan. He was right behind me when he stopped to talk to Terek and Dante, and I think I heard him mention that they've made some real progress with the prophecy back at the monastery."
Declan looked across the hall to see the three men approaching them with intent expressions on their faces. Leaning down, he kissed the side of Solenne's cheek. "No rest for the wicked, it seems. I promise this won't take long, and then we can get back to celebrating."
Solenne turned to look up at him. "I knew what kind of vampire I was marrying when I said yes. This is who we are now. I hope you're okay with me joining you. I want to be a part of your taking down the Archons."
Pride at his wife's strength filled him and he smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Sorry to crash the party with business, but Thane and Ramiel have something they need to tell us," Vasilije said as he stopped in front of them. "Terek's library will do. We can talk to them from there."
Vasilije stretched out his arm to take Sasa's hand and together they walked into the expansive room that Terek called a library. Declan was sure he'd never seen so many books in one place, and from the sound of Dante's whistling behind him, it appeared he wasn't the only one impressed with Terek's collection of books.
As Terek and Vasilije got the rest of the Sons on the phon
e for a conference call, Declan stood silently beside Solenne as she expressed her amazement with the room. "I thought the library I'd inherited from Lucrecia was extraordinary. This makes the one at my house look like a closet."
Solenne's mention of her house in France reminded Declan of the enemies they'd have to defeat before their life together would be as they'd always dreamed. Hopefully, what Thane and Ramiel had discovered about the prophecy would hasten that day when he and Solenne could just live quietly in the French countryside as two souls in love, the way he'd always wished they could.
"Okay, I've got Thane and Ramiel on and Nico, you there?" Vasilije said from next to the large table they all sat around.
"I'm here, Vasilije. And congratulations, Saint and Solenne. I wish I could've been there to celebrate your big day."
"Thane, let's get started," Vasilije said. "Tell us what you found out."
Declan heard the hope in Vasilije's voice and silently seconded it. The quicker they figured out the Prophecy of Idolas, the quicker they could all get back to their lives. Now that Vasilije had Sasa, he more than ever before seemed to be a man in search of the quiet life.
"Well, first of all, I want everyone to know that without the Order sending Kali to help translate, Ramiel and I might still be sitting in the monastery cellar stuck on the first few words of the prophecy. Please tell the members of the Order thank you from all of us, Nico."
"Will do, Thane. They'll be happy to hear she's already helping. She's one of the best they have."
"We had the first few lines translated before Vasilije left, so let me begin with them. 'In the end of ages at the twilight of years, they rose to heights as great.' We figured this referred to the Archons' rise to power, so we went on from there. The next line is, 'Who is born not made will hold the key.' This refers to someone we think is a born vampire. So far we don't know who this could be, but at least we know we'll be searching for a key of some sort."
"Do you have any idea where this key could be?" Terek asked.
"Not yet, but Kali knows a great deal more about Greek history than Ramiel or I do, so we hope we can figure this out soon. She and Sion are working on it."
"You said you made a breakthrough. Thane. Tell us about that," Vasilije said.
"Okay. As vampires, we all know about the eight sons of Macaria and Navarus. It's where the need for eight vampires to be Sons of Navarus at all times comes from. Deimos, Erasmos, Haemon, Ianos, Monimos, Origenes, Nikator, and Idolas, the eight sons, are important and we believe, part of the prophecy. Idolas was the one who made the prophecy, remember."
"Okay, so what's the deal with these eight sons of the first vampire?" Dante asked impatiently.
Thane paused a moment and then answered, "It was Kali who remembered hearing this years ago. Idolas was the one child of Macaria and Navarus who wasn't a vampire."
The room fell silent, and Terek nodded. "I remember hearing that centuries ago. That's not a myth, Thane?"
"We don't think so. In fact, from what we can figure out, Idolas was born a seer, not a vampire, like his parents. Different than all his brothers, he was fair haired too. And here's the breakthrough. All of us seem to be descendants of Idolas."
Declan looked around at the rest in the room to see if they were as shocked at what Thane had just said as he was. From the looks on their faces, he wasn't alone in his surprise.
"Are you saying we're all related somehow, Thane?" Dante asked.
"In some strange twist of fate, yes."
"Not strange at all, I think," Nico said from the other line. "It makes perfect sense. The Order chooses the men to serve as Sons of Navarus, and it doesn't seem logical they'd choose just anyone."
Dante looked over at Declan and smiled. "I guess this explains why despite all your problems you're a Son."
For a long time, Declan had wondered why the Order of Macaria had chosen him. He'd always assumed it had something to do with his ability to walk among humans so easily, but this made a hell of a lot more sense.
"There's even more. Since Kali arrived, we've been able to decipher another stanza of the prophecy that we believe relates to the second son, Erasmos. Remember his story? He was the son who was the outsider of the family. He saved the only mortal daughter of Hermes, Desdemona, from a rapist and after that, Hermes loved him like he was his own son."
"I remember that," Solenne said looking back at Declan. "I always liked that story."
"Well, listen to this. 'The son of two fathers, ferried from exile through love.' We think this refers to Erasmos being accepted by his parents after saving Desdemona."
"That's all well and good, but how does this help in understanding how to defeat the Archons? And I'm confused. If Saint is a Son because he's the descendant of Idolas, why wasn't Teagan made a Son?"
"Not all descendants of Idolas can be offered the chance to be a Son, Vasilije," Terek said.
"Actually, I think I can help here," Declan said. "Teagan and I have the same mother, but two different fathers. Our mother was left alone by my natural father before I was born, and she met Teagan's father right after. He brought me up as his own, but he wasn't my father, technically. Teagan never knew, but we weren't full brothers."
"Saint, are you saying you had two fathers?" Thane asked.
"I guess. I never met my real father, but I guess you can say I have two fathers."
"Thane, I think you need to take another look at what you've deciphered so far. What you just read to us sounds like it can apply to Saint as well as Erasmos. Ferried from exile through love? Sound familiar?" Terek asked.
The room fell silent as Terek's words sunk in. If the prophecy told something of each of the current Sons, it may be easier to figure out how to stop the Archons. At least now, it seemed, they weren't dealing with an archaic past but things dealing with the present.
"Terek, you should see Ramiel's face right now. I think this could be the second smile I've ever seen on his face the whole time I've known him."
"Before anyone begins to celebrate not only this breakthrough but Saint and Solenne's wedding, there's something you all need to know," Nico said in a tone that erased the happiness of Thane's. "The Order has heard rumors that the Archons weren't satisfied with just killing one of us at a time. We hear that now they'll be going for a Son and all their vampires from this point on."
Solenne gripped Declan's hand tightly as a somber mood came over the group. From now on, not only was each Son marked for death but every vampire they'd ever sired was too. For someone like Terek, who had thousands of vampires, this meant unless he was able to find a way to protect them all, he was going to see some die because of who he was.
"If there's any bright side I can report, it's this. They're claiming they've already gotten Saint. Your French Archon says he dusted Saint that night in his office. Any idea why he thinks this, Saint?"
"Because he doesn't want anyone to know I nearly drained him dead. His ego is pretty big."
"Well, he's become quite a splash in the Archon community, from what we hear down here. I don't think that's the last we'll hear from him, but at least this means you can rest a little easier."
"Nico, do they know who all of the current Sons are?" Sasa asked.
"I wish I knew the answer to that, Sasa. The Order hasn't been able to confirm that the Archons know who we all are. All we know is that they believe they got one of the Sons already. Unfortunately, Vasilije, your spy Arnie let them know you're still alive. But thankfully, we're all still alive, so let the Archons say anything they want."
Declan looked over at Vasilije and saw Nico's words had shaken him, but quickly he seemed to shake off any concern.
"Take care of yourselves, and if we find out anything here in Greece, I'll let you all know. Until then, congratulations on the wedding and enjoy the honeymoon," Nico said with a chuckle.
"We'll continue working on our end here at the monastery, and hopefully, we'll have more soon. Now that we have a different angle to tackle and Kali
's help, things might come easier," Thane said in his usual hopeful voice before hanging up.
"I think it's time we let the newlyweds begin their honeymoon. We can handle the rest of the meeting without you two, I think," Terek said with a sly smile.
Solenne rose to give him a hug. "Thank you so much for everything, Terek. You and your vampires have been so wonderful to me all those months I was here waiting for Declan, and now you're letting us stay here at your beautiful home even longer. We appreciate it."
Declan saw Terek wink at her as he said, "I told you to have faith it would all work out."
"Thank you for inviting us, Solenne," Sasa said. "It was beautiful, my first vampire wedding."
"We'll give you a few days alone before we bother you again, Saint. If we find out anything before then, I'll let Terek decide if he needs to let you know," Vasilije said with a grin.
Declan didn't see Terek bothering anyone when it came to a woman, so hopefully, even if Vasilije did call with news, he and Solenne wouldn't have to deal with it anytime soon. After they said their goodbyes, they walked hand in hand through the great hall out into the courtyard. The night was hazy and warm and with Solenne's hand in his, he led her to the room they'd shared since he'd arrived at Terek's.
Closing the door, he saw her standing at the window bathed in the silvery glow of the moonlight. How many nights had he seen her just like that, and yet this night he looked at her as if for the first time.
"What are you thinking?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him.
"I'm thinking that this is nothing like what I'd ever imagined when I dreamed of us together."
Leaning next to her ear, he pressed a soft kiss on her neck. "I know you wish you were back home in France. I promise we'll go back there as soon as we can."
Solenne turned in his arms and looked up at him. Blue eyes full of love stared into his, and smiling, she said, "I do miss my home, but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we're together. France, Spain, wherever. Home is where you are, Declan."
Kissing her, he let the realization of that truth wash over him. Of all the places he'd traveled in his lifetime, nowhere had ever felt like home without Solenne. Finally, after all those years, he was home.
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