Vanda's eyes burned. She'd never be able to honor her mother's memory by naming a child after her. With trembling fingers she brushed the blanket off Sofia's head. Black hair. Just like Jozef. The old wound in her heart cracked further open, and she blinked back tears. She couldn't do this. She had to give the baby back.
She looked at Shanna. "I - "
"She likes you." Shanna smiled. "She usually starts screaming if she doesn't recognize whoever's holding her."
"But..." Vanda glanced down at the baby. How can you like me? I'm dying inside.
Sofia waved a tiny fist in the air and moved her mouth like she was trying to talk.
"There you are, Vanda." Maggie peered around the giant ice sculpture. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
Vanda's heart leaped, then relaxed when she saw that Maggie was alone. She hadn't brought Phil with her. "Where is he?"
"Gee, I wonder whom you're referring to." Maggie circled the table. "Hi, Shanna."
"Maggie, how are you?" Shanna gave her a hug.
"I'm great. And this must be your new baby." Maggie rushed over to Vanda to look at the infant. "Sweet Mary and Joseph, what a beautiful little girl."
"Thank you." Shanna strolled over with her plate of food.
"Where's Phil?" Vanda whispered to Maggie.
"He's on guard duty right now. He said he'd catch up with you later." Maggie's mouth twitched. "I didn't know you were so good with babies."
Vanda gritted her teeth. "I'm not."
Shanna munched on a cracker. "Sofia's taken a real liking to Vanda."
"She's too young to know any better," Vanda muttered.
Shanna chuckled. "Actually, she has very good instincts where people are concerned. She always spits up on Gregori, and Radinka claims it's because she knows he's a womanizing cad."
"I'm so glad I ran into you, Shanna." Maggie removed a photo from her evening bag. "I've been meaning to talk to you about my daughter Lucy. She's seven years old now. And she's mortal, since Pierce fathered her before he was turned."
"I see." Shanna studied the photo. "She's adorable."
"The problem is, Lucy's in school now," Maggie continued. "And it's hard to explain how her parents are never available during the day. And we worry that she might slip up and mention that her parents are vampires and her great-uncle and aunt are shape shifters."
Vanda flinched, and the baby whimpered.
Shanna leaned over to whisper comforting words to her daughter.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Vanda," Maggie said. "I probably gave you a shock. A lot of Vamps don't know about shifters."
Vanda shuddered. "I know about them." Her muscles tensed and a black hole of panic threatened to overwhelm her. She gasped for air.
"Are you all right?" Shanna set her plate on a nearby chair. "Do you need me to take the baby?"
"I - " Vanda's gaze met the baby's blue eyes and she froze. Time slowed down and a soft feeling of peace poured through her, trickling down sweet and golden like honey. The panic attack was gone. "I'm okay."
"Good." With a smile, Shanna handed Lucy's photo back to Maggie. "Your daughter is a perfect candidate for the school we're opening in the fall. We'll have a few mortal children there, children who know too much, like Jean-Luc and Heather's girl Bethany."
"It sounds wonderful." Maggie slipped the photo back into her bag.
"Classes will be in the evening so Vamp parents can teleport their children to school." Shanna retrieved her plate of food, then paused with a piece of cheese halfway to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, I just had a terrific idea. You were an actress on DVN. You could teach a drama class to our older students!"
Maggie's mouth fell open. "Me? Teach?"
"Yes!" Shanna grinned. "You could teleport Lucy to school, then stay to teach a class. What do you think?"
"Well, it sounds more fun than shoveling bat guano every night," Maggie murmured.
"There you go." Shanna gave her an encouraging look. "And your husband would be welcome to teach, too."
Maggie nodded slowly. "We could use the extra money."
"Great! Let's get you a couple of job applications and a registration form for Lucy. I have them in my office." Shanna set her plate of food on the table, then glanced at Vanda. "Can you watch Sofia for a few minutes? Thanks!"
"But - " Vanda watched in dismay as Shanna and Maggie dashed off. "Goddammit." She glanced at the baby. "Pretend you didn't hear that."
The baby gazed up at her, wide-eyed and curious.
Vanda sighed. "I guess you're stuck with me."
Sofia made a slurping noise.
Vanda adjusted her hold and waited. And waited. She touched the baby's cheek. The skin felt so soft and new. The last time she'd held a baby was in 1927, when her brother Jozef was born. She'd always thought of him as her baby. He'd been only twelve when he'd marched off with his father and brothers to fight the Nazi invasion.
Her eyes grew moist. She'd begged him not to go. She'd begged him to flee with her and their sisters. But he'd wanted to prove he wasn't a baby, that he was all grown up.
He was so young to die.
"Hi," a young voice greeted her.
Vanda blinked her eyes dry. A little boy with blond curls and blue eyes stood next to the refreshment table. He was dressed in a little navy blue suit, but his shirttail had fallen out and his tie was askew.
"I'm Tino." He grabbed a cookie off the table and bit into it.
She'd seen Constantine Draganesti before but had never talked to him. "I'm Vanda."
He finished his cookie and grabbed another. "Did you know your hair is purple?"
"Yes." Apparently, small children didn't know they should stay away from people with purple hair.
"Have you seen my mommy?" Tino finished his second cookie. "She told me to come here when I got tired of dancing."
"Shanna had to go to her office for a minute. She'll be right back."
Tino approached Vanda, studying her curiously. "What are you doing with my little sister?"
"I have no idea."
He leaned over to examine Sofia's face. "I think she likes you. When she doesn't like someone, she screams." He puffed out his chest proudly. "No one can scream as loud as my sister."
You haven't heard me, Vanda thought.
"You want to see what I can do?" Tino asked, then vanished. "Ta-da!" He reappeared, standing on the chair next to her.
"Wow." Vanda stared at him. She'd heard rumors that Roman's son was special but she hadn't realized the little boy could actually teleport. "That's amazing."
"I know." He smiled smugly. "My sister can't do it."
"I guess you're all grown up," Vanda said wryly, remembering how fast Jozef had wanted to grow up.
"I am." Tino sat on the chair next to her. "I have more power than Sofia."
"Power?"
He nodded. "She wants to help you, but she's not strong enough. You want me to try?"
Vanda eyed him warily. "Try what?"
Tino rested his little hand on her arm. His nose wrinkled as he made a face. "You're hurting real bad."
"I'm a Vamp. I don't get sick."
"It's...an old pain," he whispered. "In your heart."
She felt a tingling sensation on her arm where Tino was touching her. "What are you doing?" And how the hell did he know about her pain?
The little boy winced. "I'm trying to heal your pain, but it's so deep inside."
"No!" Vanda scooted down a seat, breaking the boy's hold on her. "I need my pain. It's what I am." Dammit, she'd lived with it for so long, she couldn't imagine being without it. "It - It keeps me safe."
"Safe from what?"
"Safe from...more pain."
Tino looked confused. "I don't understand."
"It's like...having a broken leg. The pain reminds me to be careful not to break the other leg. If you had a broken leg, you wouldn't want to break the other one, right?"
Tino tugged at his crooked tie. "I don't want any broken legs."
Vanda smiled at him sadly. "You're sweet to want to help, but I...broke a long time ago. And I don't know how to get better."
"You have to want to get better," a deep voice emanated from behind a potted plant.