"We're good, Theresa. Lorenzo needs to be here to protect his sister."
Lorenzo beamed with pride as he looked up at his mother, and then to his father. "I promise to protect her, Daddy."
Shade sat beside bel on the stone altar as she held their two children. "I know you will, Lorenzo, but remember one thing, she is very fragile now, so we must handle her with the greatest of care."
Reaching out, he slid his finger across the infant’s plump cheek, soft as velvet. Sophia turned her gaze on him. “Kate, she is so beautiful. I have never seen a bambino this tiny, it scares me a bit."
Kate looked at the tiny infant in her arms. "Her spirit is strong. I can feel her. She won’t be a warrior like her brother, but she’ll not be one to be taken lightly. She’ll give Lorenzo a run for his money."
Kate chuckled as the images of her daughter's future flashed through her head, strong-willed and stubborn.
Shade threw back his head with a hearty, happy laugh. "So, she will be like her madre.”
Shade took Sophia from Kate’s arms and laid her between his knees. She immediately clutched his thumbs with a strength that startled him. "Ah, si, you know who your padre is. You also know he is warrior, and you are true Medici. Cazzo, you are so beautiful, Princess."
As she cooed, he lifted her gently to his shoulder. She gripped his long curls and yanked. "Mi amore, she is making a stand already."
Kate gave him a stern look. "Could we please not have her first word be cazzo?"
Lorenzo covered his mouth with his hand as he giggled. He’d heard the word used all the time in the camp and got scolded whenever he repeated it.
"Si, my apologies, but she is beautiful."
Shade felt a soft hand on his back and felt the spirit of his own madre surround him. His voice was soft, as he closed his eyes, "Madre."
Portia leaned over her son's shoulder, beaming as she stared into the eyes of her granddaughter. Shade heard a soft gasp and immediately looked at Lorenzo. "Lorenzo, tell me what is wrong."
"Who is that lady?"
Portia's voice was soft in his ear, as she spoke to Shade, "My figlio, he can see me, but only when you are with him. He can talk to me, but not hear me. I can hear him, though. He is a beautiful warrior. Tell him."
"Lorenzo, this is my madre, Portia. She is your nonna, your grandmother. She lives here, forever in the spirit realm. You may see her sometimes when we come here to Castello. You can talk to her, and she can hear you, but you can’t hear her response. She loves you and she is very proud of you. Your nonno is here as well, his name is Christofano. You have seen their portraits here on the walls. Do you understand? There is nothing to be frightened about."
Lorenzo stared back at the lady with the blonde hair piled on her head and dressed in an elegant gown. Her face was kind and loving, and Lorenzo smiled back at her and nodded. "Your mommy? Did she take care of you like my mommy?"
"Oh, si, Lorenzo, she loved me and took care of me, just like your mommy. I will always love her, just like you will always love Mommy."
Shade smiled at Kate, as Portia laid her hand on Kate's shoulder.
Kate laid her cheek against Portia's hand. She could feel the love Portia had for her son, and for this new baby. Kate spoke to her. "I know you’d follow us home to Bel Rosso if you could, and I have a feeling I’ll wish you were there. I’ll have two to keep up with now."
Portia looked at the small babe. "I'm with you in spirit, daughter, but you are right. This one will be a handful. Do not let my son spoil her overly much. She is not a warrior, but she is Medici and she will have her own role to play. All of your children are vital to the legacy that is Medici."
Shade shook his head at her words. "I will always spoil my bambinos, Madre. It is my right as their padre."
She chuckled softly, kissing Kate on the cheek. Christofano stepped up behind her. "Come, mi amore, let them have their time as familia."
Lorenzo’s eyes grew big as saucers, as he took in the imposing figure of his grandfather, as they disappeared together, arm in arm. Shade looked at his growing family, four of them now, five including his son, Cory. There was much to do in the next hours and days, and he knew they couldn’t stay in the chamber forever.
"Bel, are you ready to return to our bedchamber? I think it is getting colder in here, and I know you would be much more comfortable. Are you ready for your warriors to escort their Queen and Princess back to the comforts of this great castle?"
Kate pulled the clean white sheets around her. "You lead, and I will follow."
"As it shall always be, mi amore. Come, we will have a short rest, and then, I fear, we must face the coven who will be clamoring to see their new princess."
Making sure Sophia was secure with Kate, he let Lorenzo climb on his back and he lifted Kate easily into his arms. "Everyone hold on tight. Per sempre Medici!"
As he teleported them all inside their huge bedchamber, he could already hear the ruckus of his warriors and his people as they heard the celebrations begin in Florence.
86
The household had been chaotic since Sophia’s birth. They’d gotten through her presentation to the coven from the balcony, and now were preparing for the ball. Shade donned the suit that had been custom made for the occasion, as Emma helped Kate with her hair. Theresa had dressed Lorenzo in a suit that looked much like his father’s and was now dressing Sophia. The infant was placed in a long white gown, before being wrapped in soft blankets.
The castle was already filling with the masters and mates of other European covens, as well as a few masters from other parts of the world. In the vampire community, there weren’t many surviving lines of royal blood, so a birth from a royal family was something to be celebrated.
Shade checked himself in the full-length mirror one last time, and caught the reflection of his beautiful bel, as Emma assisted her with her dress. She wore a gown as black as the raven’s wing, sharply contrasted against her lily white skin. The scoop of the neckline exposed the soft swell of her plump breasts, and her hair lay in perfect ringlets on her shoulders.
He swallowed hard and licked his lips. He hadn’t fed from her in so long now, and the exposed skin of her neck and shoulders called to him. The Medici jewels lay shimmering around her neck, as the diamonds dangled from her ears, reflecting back the light. He looked at her from the tips of her heeled feet to the top of her crimson head. She was always beautiful to him, but it had been a long time since he’d seen her dressed in a gown, resplendent in her jewels, and she left him speechless.
Their eyes meet in the reflected image and his love for her was communicated through his gaze. She smiled back at him with a wicked grin, knowing full well the effect she had on him. He’d need to be patient. She’d let him know when he could return to her.
Emma zipped up the back of the long black gown as Kate inhaled, pulling in her waist. The beaded gown was cut low in front to display a discreet amount of cleavage, but was cut extremely low in the back, to the top of her derriere. Emma had assisted her in her bath, and once she was dried off, had covered her skin in a rose-scented lotion infused with crushed pearls. The lotion made Kate's pale skin glisten, and the light reflected off the pearls.