Page 55

“Misha, it’s been too long. How’s Lilian?” Lilian is Misha’s wife.

“Fat, her words, not mine,” she laughs. “She’s only got a week left and is thoroughly over the whole pregnancy thing.”

“Poor woman. Send her my love, won’t you? I need to find my father. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Wandering to the bar area, I see my father grab two flutes of champagne. “Here, this is for you,” he says.

“My hero,” I laugh.

“Feeling alright?”

“Fine, I just hope Mohan has some useful information. I’m worried that if we don’t find something soon, Erin is going to flip.”

“When I spoke to him, he seemed to think he might have something.” I nod and take a sip of my drink. “Ah, there he is. Shall we?”

Following my father, I’m grateful Erin isn’t downstairs just yet. If Mohan has bad news or no information to give, I get a few minutes to come up with something to tell Erin.

“Amelia, it’s wonderful to see you.” Mohan Chakan has been our Grand Master for over three hundred years. He is short with a kind face. It matches his character. There is a reason we have voted him into position for so long.

“Mohan,” I say, air kissing his cheeks.

“Shall we have a chat and then we can get to the party? If I know Victoria, the food is going to be phenomenal.”

“Of course,” Father laughs. “You can always count on Victoria.” We slip into my father’s study. There are already three glasses of bourbon waiting.

“So, I think I have something. After our phone call, Harlan, I went digging in the archives. I believe your theory that the legend holds truth is correct. I believe I found the vampire.”

“The vampire that successfully mated with a human?” I gasp.

“The one and only,” Harlan smiles. My heart is drumming furiously in anticipation. “And it gets better. I know where he is!”

“Good God!” Father barks in surprise. “That’s fantastic. Thank you, Mohan.” I’m stunned into silence. “Amelia, honey, did you hear that?”

“Y-yes,” I whisper. “Oh, my God.”

“Where is he, Mohan?” Father can see I’m overwhelmed and is thankfully taking the lead.

“Ireland.”

“Ireland?” I parrot.

“Yes, as in over the sea and far away.” Mohan chuckles.

“How can you be sure it’s him?”

“I can’t be one hundred percent, Amelia. But I have a good feeling.”

“We have to go,” Father states. “We need to talk to him.”

“Not tonight, you don’t,” Mohan grins. “Tonight we have to celebrate, and I have to meet your beautiful new mate, Amelia.”

My mind snaps out of its fog as soon as Erin is mentioned. I need to tell her, but I’m going to wait until the end of the party. She deserves to have a night of fun, away from all the drama. “I look forward to introducing you,” I smile. Just the thought of Erin lifts my spirits.

“I’ll leave all the information I have in here. Come back to it fresh. I think it would be a good idea to make an announcement. No need to hide anything.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you straight away, Mohan,” my father begins. “We didn’t want to cause alarm until we had a better idea of the situation.”

“No apology necessary, I understand. Now we can work together and find a solution.”