90

Natalia was about to leave the data center when a runner approached to let her know she had a call. She thanked him and headed for the communication center, where the staffer had Malachi on hold. She asked the staffer to leave so she could speak privately. As soon as the door closed behind him, she took the seat in front of the large screen and removed the mute option. “Hello, Malachi. I hope all is well.”

He pushed the green hood back ever so slightly so he could see her better on the screen. “I am fine, thank you, child. I did want to speak with you before you went to your slumber. I have had a vision.”

Natalia sat up straighter in her chair. “About the battle?”

He shook his head, “No child. I have not seen anything further about the battle. Have you?”

Her face reflected her concern. “No, and I don’t know whether that’s good or bad.”

Malachi’s face remained emotionless. “It is neither good nor bad, it just is, child. We will see only what we are meant to see, and nothing more. But that brings me to the reason for my call.”

Natalia pushed the hood from her head, wondering what he’d seen. “You look… upset.”

He frowned slightly. “Do I? I think I am feeling more confused than anything. In my vision, I saw you as mated.” He watched her face closely for her reaction.

Natalia was caught off-guard and didn’t have a ready response. She felt her face grow hot and knew her blush would be visible to him. She was wishing she hadn’t removed her hood. “I don’t … mated?” She was struggling for words. She didn’t want to lie to him, and if he’d had a vision, she had no idea how much he’d seen. She cast her eyes downward, unable to maintain eye contact. “I don’t know how to answer that.”

He looked back at her, his face betraying nothing. “Then I suggest we just stick to the truth, si?”

Her head was filled with all the possible outcomes at once, but foremost in her mind was that he’d ban her from Council. She looked up at him, and she knew he could see the guilt in her eyes. Not able to bear his rejection, she closed her eyes as she answered. “It’s true. I’m mated.”

He nodded once. “To Marcello.”

She answers softly, “Yes.”

“I don’t understand, Ivory. How is this possible you have mated, and it has gone undetected? It is the part of my vision I could not decipher.”

She looked up at him. “My father had access to a potion he’d acquired years ago that blocks a vampire’s scent. He met separately with both Marcello and me, to understand the nature of our relationship, and then he encouraged me to mate. I do love Marcello, and were I not born to Council, he is the male I would have chosen. I didn’t do this for my father, I did this for myself, but I can tell you this mating was extremely important to my father. I’m afraid, Malachi. I’m afraid to acknowledge what this might mean, and why my father felt this was an important path to take. I was afraid Council would find out, and I’d be banned. In the end, my love was greater than my fear. So, what happens now? Will Council meet to decide my fate?”

Malachi sighed heavily. “I have been thinking about this for a few days now, ever since I had the vision. I have told no one.”

Natalia looked surprised. “You have kept my secret? Why?”

He shook his head. “The visions do not always reveal everything. I knew you were mated even before I asked, and I knew it was to Marcello. I also saw your father in the vision, and his need to have you mated to the male. I did not see anything about a potion. That explains how it has remained a secret to those around you. I have spent hours thinking about this, and why it was shown to me. There is something that nags at me about your father’s need to have you mated that has kept me silent. I do not understand it all, and I may never understand it all, but my instincts said it was related to the battle in some way.”

Natalia nodded. “Yes, I felt the same way. It was as if he felt I’d be better protected if I were mated, even though I have no role in the battle. I can tell you it gave him great peace of mind.”

Malachi thought about what she’d shared. “Who else knows?”

“Only my mother, my siblings weren’t even informed.”

He nodded once. “Good. Then keep it that way. I wanted to speak to you before making a final decision, but I have decided to keep this to myself.”

She couldn’t hide the shocked expression on her face. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

He rubbed his forehead. “I do it for you, yes, but also because I don’t see the big picture. It plagues me that by exposing your secret I may weaken us all somehow. It does not escape me you are the first female born to Council. That, in itself, means something. You have already made strides in shifting the balance of power, so our females are not regarded as second-class citizens, or merely the property of their masters. You are changing the culture as it relates to our acceptance of half-breeds. These are no small matters. Who is to say how your rule in the Council will shape us as we move forward. I can’t say I agree with your decision to mate, Ivory, because I have not been shown all the pieces to the puzzle. I will keep your secret, and I suggest you do the same. “

Natalia looked at him quizzically. “Do you think I’m in danger?”

Malachi paused as he looked back at her, considering her question. “I’m not sure how to answer that, child. I don’t feel any sense of physical danger for you, and there was nothing in the vision to suggest that. What confuses me is the appearance of your father in this vision. I don’t understand his role. As you have learned, everything in your visions is there for a reason. It is a clue, a puzzle piece, and you must be careful in how you interpret it. I feel I don’t fully understand this vision, and so, out of my love for you, and not wishing to do more harm than good, I will remain quiet.”

Natalia was struck by his statement of doing more harm than good. “So, you do think this is tied to the battle.”

Malachi shook his head. “I don’t have the answers you seek, but I felt your father needed to find peace in knowing all of his children were safe somehow.”

Natalia felt a shiver down her spine. “Malachi…”

He held up his hand. “I have no answers, Ivory. You are the only sibling that knows the Medici history. You know the curse that has followed each generation. You have known it since you were a young girl and researched the archives at Council. The end has already been written. It was written long before he was born. It is not for either of us to know when.”

Natalia felt a sensation like an ice-cold hand squeezing her heart. “But it doesn’t mean my mating is in any way related to the curse.”

Malachi nodded. “You’re correct, it doesn’t. Don’t forget, your father has known of this curse since he was a young boy. If anything, he has learned to be the master of his own fate. Don’t read more into it than is there, but if you should have any visions, please share them with me.”

She answered him softly, “I will.”

“I also think the information about the curse is something you must keep to yourself. You must not share this information with your mate. The more people know, the more they feel compelled to intervene, and I have found that only makes things worse. We must let fate play out. Your father knows what to do.”

Natalia nodded and answered, “Okay,” but she didn’t feel confident.

“Get some rest, child. Go to your mate.”

The screen went black, and Natalia sat and stared silently for several minutes. She was remembering her early exploration of the Council archives in Florence when she was just a young girl. It was her father’s secret, and she had carried it all her life.

She stood up and left the communication center, letting the door close behind her as she made her way up the stairs to her private suite. When she entered, she found Marcello already waiting.

He smiled at her. “You’re late tonight.”

She blew out the candle by the bed as she dropped her off-white robe and climbed into bed beside him. “Got held up in the data center.”