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  There was an explosion of noise. The gathered vampires clapped and chanted, some yelling for war, some for assassination of the hateful president.

  Abbi held up a hand, quieting the room again. “I used to think a cure for vampirism was the answer, that it would be so much easier if we could go back to being human, to being ‘acceptable’ in the eyes of humans, but I’ve changed my mind about that as well. Even if someone does create a reliable cure someday, I will not be taking it. Because I no longer believe we need one. We don’t need to be cured—we are not a disease. We are people. Yes, we’re different from the humans, but that doesn’t make us ‘wrong.’ We were meant to be in this world, and we deserve to be treated with as much respect and dignity as all other people.”

  The crowd’s clamor, which had sounded aggressive and bloodthirsty before, was now exuberant.

  “Now is a time of grave danger,” Abbi continued. “President Parker is coming for us. Right now his personal army is searching out our sanctuary. If they find us, I will tell you honestly, we don’t have enough Bloodbound soldiers to hold them off.”

  The throng’s enthusiastic cheers hushed.

  Abbi remained undeterred and serene. “You’ve probably noticed their numbers dwindling, and I’ll tell you why it’s happened. Imogen used to give the soldiers her blood to keep them loyal—to brainwash them. I chose not to do that. I didn’t want to coerce loyalty from anyone. I wanted to earn it. I don’t want to enslave our people but to free them.”

  Walking to the other side of the platform, Abbi wore a sad smile.

  “At the beginning of my reign, I was advised that compelling the Bloodbound with queensblood and mating with all the drones was the way of the vampire species, the way it’s ‘always been done.’”

  Now her smile grew wide and triumphant. “Well, just because somethings always been a certain way doesn’t mean it’s the only way or even the best way. The world is always changing, and I believe we should change with it. I told you we must have power—but I don’t see power as one person lording it over the rest. Rather, I see it as a community working together and combining individual strengths to create a force more powerful than one person could ever be.”

  Abbi’s voice increased in volume and passion as she went on. “We need more soldiers—but I will not compel any of you with my queensblood. Instead I am asking you to volunteer to serve and protect of your own free will. I encourage anyone—male or female—who desires to protect the vulnerable members of our community to come forward and begin Bloodbound training.”

  Whether from shock at Abbi’s unprecedented invitation or reluctance regarding the well-known celibacy requirement, there wasn’t an immediate rush to volunteer.

  “Oh, I should mention...” Abbi said with a sneaky smile, “... I’m putting an end to the rule that Bloodbound take no mate aside from the queen. In fact, all current and future Bloodbound soldiers are encouraged to take a permanent mate of their own.”

  Now there were cheers and an outpouring of bodies into the center aisle. Abbi motioned for me to come and stand beside her. When I did, she shocked me by grasping my hand, holding onto it as we stood side by side in front of the Bastion’s entire population.

  “How could I deny my faithful soldiers that right when I myself have chosen a permanent mate, and he has chosen me,” she announced.

  She raised her arm, taking mine with it until our clasped hands were high above our heads for all to see.

  “One more thing,” Abbi said. “Not only will all of you be able to take a mate... many of you will become parents.”

  There was a collective gasp followed by a hush so that Abbi’s next words could be clearly heard.

  “Though I will not use my blood to control you, I will be sharing it with anyone who wants it. You see, queensblood serves another purpose. Larkin...”

  Abbi turned toward the back of the platform where Larkin was just emerging from the queen’s private entrance.

  It had been a few weeks since I’d seen Abbi’s friend, and even though I knew about the pregnancy, the vast changes in Larkin’s body took me by surprise.

  She appeared ready to give birth at any moment.

  When she came into public view, there was a swell of sound, astonished gasps, admiring oohs and ahhhs. Larkin came to a stop beside Abbi who used her free hand to pull her friend in for a side-hug.

  “It turns out queensblood makes vampire males and females fertile. Anyone who wants to become a parent will have the opportunity.”

  A full-on celebration broke out in the Grand Dome.

  There was literal dancing and so much jubilant noise I didn’t hear Chase or see him coming until he’d reached the front of the platform where Abbi and Larkin stood hugging.

  “For King Parker! Stake the traitors—down with the false queen!”

  The Bloodbound solider we’d banished let out a war cry and drew his sword as he jumped onto the platform, rearing back to swing the weapon at Abbi’s throat.

  Before I had time to even think about it, my right hand drew the dagger from my belt, and I hurled it at the would-be assassin.

  The platinum-tipped blade struck him in the side of the neck, causing him to fall.

  Unfortunately the momentum he’d already accrued carried him forward, propelling him directly into Larkin and knocking her down.

  Abbie screamed, “Larkin!”

  Kannon was instantly in motion, leaping onto the platform and dragging the dead attacker’s body off of her. He fell to his knees beside the hugely pregnant vampire.

  “Larkin! Larkin baby, you okay?”

  Kannon cradled her head, propping up the top half of her body and searching her face. His displayed utter terror.

  Larkin reached up and stroked his jaw with one hand. “Yes. I think he just knocked the wind out of me—oh wow!”

  Her eyelids flared, and her lips contracted to form a small “o.”

  “What is it?” Kannon demanded. “Something hurt? Did he break a rib?”

  She smiled, then winced. “No, but your son might if he gets any bigger. Fortunately I think he’s ready to come out.”

  Kannon’s face went white as pure calcite. “Labor pains?”

  Larkin nodded and winced again. “Pretty sure that’s what they are. Either that or I ate a potful of beans I forgot about.”

  Dr. Coppa appeared, having made his way through the crowd toward the platform. “Let’s get her to the clinic. The labor and delivery room has been set up and ready since I first learned about her condition.”

  Kannon nodded then scooped Larkin up in one easy move, carrying her in a cradle hold as he followed the doctor.

  “We’ll be right there,” Abbi called after them.

  We exchanged a glance that encompassed all the fear—and relief—we were both feeling.

  “You’re okay?” I asked.

  “I’m fine,” she assured me. “I guess when we banished him, he joined up with Parker. How did he get back in here?”

  Glancing down at the dead vampire I nodded, frowning. “I’m not sure. But we have to find out—fast. And we’ve got to assume the president’s troops know where we are now.”

  She nodded gravely. “I’m going to say a few more words and then we can both go to the clinic to check on Larkin.”

  Turning back to the masses of shell-shocked vampires, Abbi once again exuded confidence and determination.

  “Obviously President Parker hasn’t stopped and won’t stop until we convince him it’s in his best interests. Apparently, the only way to do that is fight back. Who’s ready to show him the power of our people?”

  A roar of approval ricocheted around the Dome.

  Abbi raised one arm over her head, beaming. “Who’s ready to join the Bloodbound and defend the vampire race?”

  More cheers and battle cries.

  “Who’s ready to go. To. War?”

  A deafening roar punctuated by chants of “Queen Abigail” reverberated through the cavern and made my heart
swell with pride.

  For the first time in a long time... it was joined by a sense of hope.

  21

  Newest Soldier

  Abbi

  Attending a birth was a new thing for me.

  Growing up Amish, I had many younger siblings and had been in the house during all their births, but only my father and a midwife had been in the room with Maam during the actual labor and delivery.

  In our culture, pregnancy and childbirth were considered private things and were somewhat of a mystery to girls until it was their turn to participate as expectant mothers themselves.

  Thankfully the Bastion had a resident who’d been a midwife in her human life. She’d presented herself at the medical clinic following the assembly in the Grand Dome, offering her services.

  Several nurses and doctors worked at the clinic, but none had specialized in obstetrics in their former lives, so her offer was accepted with gratitude.

  Reece and I sat in the waiting room, and Kannon came out every couple of hours to give us updates.

  “Did they say the baby is full term?” I asked, concerned that Larkin’s estimated gestation timeline put her at only a few weeks along.

  It might have been fine—none of us had any idea what a “normal” vampire pregnancy looked like—but I was worried the baby might be premature.

  He nodded. “They just did an ultrasound, and they’re estimating his weight at about eight pounds, so yeah, he’s fully cooked. Anyway, based on the size of Larkin’s belly, I guessed she had to be getting near the end.”

  “I hope you didn’t say that to her,” I scolded.

  Kannon laughed. “Do I look crazy to you? No, I just kept telling her how beautiful she was. Anyway, I better get back in there if I want to preserve my ability to father any future children. I’ll keep you posted.”

  Finally, about four hours later, one of the nurses stepped into the waiting room. She was smiling widely.

  “Larkin’s asking for you. Ready to come meet the little miracle man?”

  Reece and I leapt from our chairs and followed her into the delivery room. Larkin was in the bed, looking exhausted but happy. Kannon stood beside her, cradling his tiny, swaddled son in his arms.

  “How are you doing?” I asked my friend.

  “Great. I mean, not all of it was great.” Larkin laughed. “But that’s how you get a baby, right? And he’s worth it.”

  “He sure is. You did awesome, babe.” Kannon shifted his gaze from her to smile down into the baby’s face. “Daniel, say hello to your queen.”

  Then glancing up at me, he said, “Meet your newest soldier.”

  Kannon had meant it as a gesture of respect, a nice moment, but the comment stung me like a hard slap across the face.

  Seeing him holding his new baby and smiling sweetly over at Larkin with tears in his eyes, I was rocked by a powerful realization.

  I didn’t want little Daniel growing up with the prospect of war hanging over his perfect, innocent head.

  People died in war, and a war between humans and vampires was bound to be very deadly indeed.

  I didn’t want any of the Bloodbound—not Kannon and certainly not Reece—to die in battle.

  There had to be a better way.

  Taking in the beautiful scene of Kannon, Larkin, and their child sharing their first few minutes of life together as a family, I was struck with an idea. Maybe there was a way to have both peace and power.

  “Want to hold him?” Kannon asked.

  I nodded and accepted the tiny bundle, marveling over the lightness of the baby, the fragility and utter perfection. Though he’d been sleeping, the newborn opened his eyes and stared up at me with hazy, lilac-colored eyes. Mine filled with tears.

  “Hello Daniel,” I said. “Welcome to the world. You don’t know it yet, but we’re going to make it a better place—together.”

  To the new parents, I said, “Congratulations. He’s perfect.”

  Placing the baby into Larkin’s waiting arms, I turned to Reece and tilted my head toward the door. “We should give them some privacy. Larkin, let me know if there’s anything you need while you recover. Kannon, feel free to take a few weeks leave from the Bloodbound.”

  He gave me a quizzical glance. “But the war...”

  “We’ll talk about that later. Don’t worry. I promise I won’t ride into battle without you.”

  Silently I added an addendum.

  And I think I’ve come up with a way to avoid battle altogether.

  22

  The Real Reason

  Reece

  Abbi had been amazing throughout the assembly. Actually, it had turned into more of a pep rally thanks to her charisma and empowering leadership.

  And when she’d publicly claimed me as her permanent mate, I literally couldn’t have been happier. It took all the self-discipline I possessed not to grab her and kiss her right there in front of the masses.

  If we could have stayed here in the Bastion forever together, with Abbi leading her devoted followers in peace and safety, everything would have been perfect.

  But we couldn’t. And things were far from perfect.

  Graham Parker’s special forces were breathing down our necks. Peace and safety were teetering on a razor-thin wire that could snap any day. As her top advisor—and her mate—I had to make sure Abbi understood our precarious position.

  The med clinic’s waiting room hadn’t been the place to discuss it, but once we were alone in her chambers, I let the pent-up tension out.

  “We need to talk about our defensive strategy.”

  She gave me an untroubled smile and sat on the edge of her bed. “Okay.”

  I couldn’t sit. Adrenaline had me pacing as I explained.

  “Thanks to your incredible recruitment effort tonight, our numbers are looking a lot better, but the new Bloodbound volunteers are raw and untrained. No matter how many there are or how enthusiastic they are, it’ll take weeks to get them up to speed—longer, maybe, since most of them have no military or law enforcement background and some won’t be in fighting condition.”

  “I understand.”

  Why didn’t Abbi look more concerned?

  Scooting back on the bed, she relaxed against the large collection of pillows and stroked the bed covering, smoothing out the wrinkles she’d just created.

  “They won’t need to be in fighting condition. I have a new plan.”

  “You do?”

  She nodded. “First, I’m going to make a few phone calls. Sadie told me there are vampire queens in pretty much every country, and I think it’s high time we all had a chat. Then I’m going to reach out to President Parker again and request a meeting—and this time, I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Now I was even more worried. “He threatened your life. He hinted he’d wipe you out just like he did Sadie.”

  “He won’t hurt me. I’m going to convince him that he needs me alive.”

  “How will you do that?” I asked, baffled. “The blackmail attempt didn’t work. He wasn’t threatened by the sex tape. Even if he does agree to a meeting, I don’t know what good it’ll do—like you said, his mind’s not going to change. He hates us, and he always will. He won’t rest until vampires are wiped from the face of the earth.”

  Abbi smiled, her eyes glinting with confidence. “That’s what I’m counting on. I’m going to tell him there’s a way to do that, and that I’ll ensure our willing participation in the effort. I’m going to tell him there’s a cure and that we need his help to disseminate it to vampires nationwide.”

  My jaw slackened. “The cure doesn’t even work.”

  “The president doesn’t know that—and he won’t find out. Not until it’s too late and my real reason for meeting with him personally is revealed.”

  Parker took the bait—hungrily.

  A week after Kannon and Larkin’s baby was born, Abbi and I were walking through the White House toward the West Wing. Our Bloodbound bodyguards had been forced to w
ait outside, but Abbi said she wasn’t afraid for our safety.

  “It’s worth the risk,” she’d said. “Two lives instead of potentially millions lost, right?”

  “Right.” I’d nodded, though in my mind her life was worth millions of others.

  Together we stepped into the Oval Office, taking seats in the chairs our escorts offered. The president and his vice president, a man who didn’t seem as hateful but also didn’t publicly contradict Parker and his policies, were already there, sitting on a low couch opposite us.

  Secret service agents stood in every corner of the room, hands on their anti-vamp weapons, ready to fire should things take a bad turn.

  “Well...” the president began, “I have to say, you’ve got courage showing up here this evening. I was surprised but very pleased when you reached out to me for help, Miss Byler. We can’t get rid of this vampire infection fast enough. We’ll dedicate all the resources necessary to help—the National Guard to distribute it, I can enable the Defense Production Act to manufacture more, whatever it takes to restore this country to the great human nation it once was.”

  Abbi gave him a placid smile. “I think it still is a great nation—or at least it can be if we keep moving forward. And I do need your help... but not with distributing a cure. There isn’t one, by the way.”

  I could almost see the question marks floating above Parker’s head. “What are you talking about?”

  He looked from her to me to his vice president then back to her again. “That’s what we’re here for, isn’t it?”

  “Actually,” Abbi said, “I came here to sign a new version of the Crimson Accord.”

  She nodded toward me, and I pulled the amended document from my bag, handing it to Parker.

  Since I’d worked on it with a team of vampire lawyers at the Bastion, I knew it called for better enforcement of the original Accord’s protections for vampires, plus the immediate release of all detainees at the so-called Safety Centers, the return of all vampire property illegally confiscated by the federal government, and the restoration of jobs to all the vampires fired without just cause.