Lorenzo looked up at him, the light from the fire reflecting in the brilliant blue of his eyes. "Will you and Mommy live there with me?"
Shade felt his heart crack a little. He couldn’t lie to his son. "No, son, Mommy and I will always live here at Bel Rosso where we will be throughout eternity. This is ours, what we built and where we will raise you and your sisters when they arrive. Our heart is here, Lorenzo. Do you understand? Castello is our gift to you. It is the legacy of Medici. You are my legacy now."
"But who will take care of me, Daddy?"
He looked deep into his son’s eyes. "Marco will take care of you. Nita will follow you there. When you grow up, you will become the strongest and most powerful vampire warrior. You are a prince. You will learn to take care of yourself, the coven, and your family, just like me. You will find your own mate and have your own children. But always remember everyone in our coven is your family, we take care of each other. That is what love and family is about. Mommy and Daddy will always be here for you. That will never ever change."
He nodded his head but found it hard to imagine himself as an adult, living in Castello, without his parents, without Theresa, without Gi or Uncle Luca. The thought of it made him feel lonely and he moved closer to his father. He knew Uncle Marco was at Castello, but Marco wasn’t like his daddy. He wondered if he’d make new friends with the young warriors who trained there. He felt a lump in his throat, but he didn’t want to cry. "That's where you trained to be a warrior, right?"
Shade could feel his thoughts cascading like water over a falls. Pulling him onto his lap, he wrapped his arms around him to keep him warm and calmed his feelings of abandonment.
"Yes, I did all my training at Castello. So did Luca, Marcello, Raven and so many warriors you know at Bel Rosso. Gi, Theresa and Emma were there since they were young as well. So, you see, a lot of people grew up at Castello. Lorenzo, the next time we go to Castello, your sister will be born there. I think it would be a great idea if we went to the camp together, so you can see what it is like there. There will be lots of warriors there your age. Marco and I were best friends growing up. We were warriors together and learned together. You will make great friends too." Shade kissed the top of his head. "Anything else you want to ask me?"
"I'll be a great warrior too. I'll train hard, and you and Mommy can come see me, okay?"
"Of course, we will, Lorenzo, we will be visiting a lot. Mommy will miss you so much, and so will I. You know, sometimes, I am afraid too, it is okay to be afraid. But the best thing to cure that is to have the skills to combat the fear. You will get those skills at Castello."
As the fire died down, he could feel Lorenzo relaxing heavily in his arms. It was very late for him to be up. Standing, Shade carried him inside the tent. “Let’s get some sleep. We will have to get home to Mommy before the sun rises."
Lorenzo curled into his father's broad chest and allowed himself to be carried into the tent. His father laid him down and Lorenzo lifted the blanket and pulled the teddy close. "Tuck me in like Mommy does."
Shade smiled at his son as he tucked the blanket around his small frame and kissed his forehead. "I love you, my beautiful boy. You are my little warrior. And you did such a good job I am giving you cards for your work at camp with Skelk today and for your skills at starting the camp fire. Now, sleep, your dreams will be of slaying dragons."
Lorenzo's eyes were heavy, but he wanted to make sure his father stayed near. "You sleep right next to me, Daddy, and Aegis will guard the tent."
Shade stretched out on his sleeping bag and smiled. "I am right here, warrior, I have your back and Aegis has mine. If you feel cold or want to be with me, you can always get in the sleeping bag with me and we will sleep together, protecting each other."
Lorenzo pondered the option of moving to his father's sleeping bag and it was tempting, but he wanted to make his father proud. "I'm good."
He lifted his small fist toward his father, and Shade gave him a fist bump. Shade watched as his son pulled the bear close to his chest and nestled back under the covers.
Shade didn’t sleep during the night hours. His slumber would come in the morning with the rising sun. He lay awake and listened to his son's soft breath. He reached over and laid his hand gently on his head and walked into his dreams, giving him visions of great dragons he slayed with ease, and running home to Bel Rosso to tell his mommy and daddy of his great victory. This was his life now. He’d dreamed of a son who ruled Medici stronger than he ever could. Shade closed his eyes and his thoughts went to bel, the only woman who’d ever held his heart and they were suddenly connected, her voice ringing like a beautiful angel in his head.
***
Kate found the house much too quiet with both her warriors gone. She knew Lorenzo would be fine, but she still worried about him. She’d sent Aegis to follow them both. ”Lover, I know I worry too much, but I miss him already. How will I ever let him go?”
He answered her, “He will grow up, mi amore and want to leave. I know you can’t conceive of that right now, but our son will be a powerful warrior in his own right. Do you not miss me even a little?”
She smiled at his response and sent him an image of the two of them, wrapped around each other inside his sleeping bag. ”Does that answer your question?”
The pleasure washed over him in waves, her heat and scent. “Damn woman, you are a wicked vixen. I miss you, and you already know how much I need you.”
He visualized his tongue sliding slowly up her inner thighs, and heard her gasps in response, as he smiled wickedly in the dark.
46
Cory stood in the shop downtown, waiting on Marcello. He’d found this small shop when he was out with Madison, and it had some great handmade beads and studs he could use for embellishment on his leather pieces. Marcello had asked him to make him a coat: a long, black leather duster and Cory had remembered this shop. They had some interesting studs, skulls and other gothic inspired buttons and beads.
He’d asked Marcello to meet him here, so he could take a look and pick out what he liked. Cory checked his watch as he browsed through the shop, expecting him to arrive any minute. Pacing the floor of the shop, he heard the chime over the door and looked up to see Marcello enter.
Marcello had teleported into the city and cruised over the shops in the area where he was to meet Cory. He found an alley a block away from the shop with no foot traffic and landed near some dumpsters. Exiting the alley, he blended into the crowd walking the open mall. His hair was down and flowed softly around his shoulders as he nodded at a few college females who giggled as they walked past him. His jeans were tight, and his booted feet clicked on the pavement.
He found the shop with no problem and saw Cory inside. "Hey, bro. Area is busy this early in the night."
Cory turned to greet him, exchanging a fist bump. “It’s always busy down here.” He walked Marcello over to the selection of studs and beads and asked him if he saw anything he liked.
Marcello glanced over the huge selection of colors and styles, when his eyes landed on some silver skull studs with black jewels for eyes. Picking them up, he held them up to the light. "I like these. They’ll look good on the black. What do you think?"