Twelve otherworldly creatures sat on gold thrones in front of a massive medieval tapestry. Of the lot, Autumn could only see six—the others were tucked away in shadow, which was probably a blessing. Each was dressed in a long red and gold robe with the hood pulled down low over their forehead. Out of those six, four were very small—about the size of toddlers—while the other two appeared to be of normal height. Bright crimson eyes stared at her out of elaborate masks that covered their whole face: a ram, three bearded men, a turtle, and a musical instrument that looked like a hand-held harp.

The skin on the back of Autumn's neck crawled as one of the creatures' arms moved, revealing a smooth grey hand. Vampire baby! she thought in terror, covering her mouth as a high-pitched, hysterical scream threatened to emerge. It's a goddamn alien vampire baby!

Then it began to speak, its voice unlike anything she'd ever heard before—neither male nor female ... androgynous.

Your wife is pregnant.

Autumn's head snapped up, all sense of terror fleeing. It was as if those four words were a spell to bring her back to earth. Prying her hands off of Corbin's arm, she turned to face the master vampire wearing the ram's mask.

"Excuse me?" She'd misheard them. That was the only logical explanation. Anything else was too fantastical to believe.

"You are pregnant," the creature repeated casually, two tiny hands popping out of its massive sleeves to interlace in its lap.

Was there something in those muffins? Was she somehow high? Autumn glanced down at her flat belly, hands rising of their own volition to protect this hypothetical cargo. "No—no, I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. I can't be pregnant." She glanced at Corbin; her husband wore that shocked look that only men who are just told they're going to be fathers get. "He can't—" She clamped down on the rest of the sentence, out of respect for Corbin's privacy. He can't father children because his gun is completely empty.

"No, he cannot," one of the vampires with the bearded mask affirmed. This one sounded vaguely male, with an accent Autumn couldn't pinpoint. "We made it that way for a reason."

Autumn looked up. Corbin blinked, then shook his head to clear it. "What?"

I always assumed it was part of the process, Autumn thought, reaching out to grab Corbin's arm. They did this on purpose?

"A long time ago, when we first walked this world," the vampire with the harp mask began, "our people freely bred with mortals."

Is that ... a woman? The figure beneath the robe shifted on her throne and a delicate bare foot slipped free from the folds. Yes, it was grey, but also quite feminine.

"Whether the fruit of Knowing or Fallen, the babes were born in terror, their mothers shunned and feared by the mortal population. Soon, the dhampir turned to darkness and violence, leading armies and slaughtering thousands. It was decided that we could not suffer them to live, so they were hunted and destroyed and we made it so that this mistake could never be repeated."

"Then ... how did Autumn come to be pregnant?" Corbin asked.

"You're telling me that I'm carrying a murder baby?" she exclaimed at the same time, watching as the robed figures in the shadows shifted. Was it going to be birthed Alien-style? Or was Corbin going to have to use his teeth to cut it free as it slowly crushed her from the inside out?

The six illuminated masters glanced at each other. In the shadows, the other masters moved slightly.

"I made it so you conceived," the ram-masked master replied as if were obvious, completely ignoring Autumn's rather reasonable question.

"You—what?" Autumn gasped, eyes wide.

"It was a simple enough process. I merely manipulated what little material there was left and aided it on its journey."

Autumn's mouth dropped open. "You—" Shit, she couldn't even bring herself to say the words. Had this little alien baby been in the room when they were making love? Oh, my God ... She shot Corbin a look, too stunned to speak.

Corbin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Master ..." he began in a strangled voice. "Be that as it may ... why are we being gifted with a child who may be inclined towards violence?"

The harp-faced master vampire leaned forward and a lock of dark black hair slipped out of the hood. "We posited the original dhampir were products of a tragic upbringing," she said, idly tucking her hair back into the hood. "Since you, Corbin Westbrook, made the decision to defy convention and openly love this mortal woman, we began to wonder—what if a dhampir were raised in a loving, nurturing household?"

Autumn looked down at her stomach, then back up at the masters. "So—this is just an experiment to you?" No, no child of theirs would be an experiment, subject to tests.

One of the bearded mask vampires cocked its head, crimson eyes widening slightly. "We have explained it so," it said as if Autumn were an imbecile.

"But—but don't we get a say in this? You just put a baby in me without my consent." And spied on me and my husband like a goddamn shriveled pervert.

Corbin's master shifted on its throne, fixing those huge, unnerving eyes on her. "This is our decision," it said gently, but firmly.

And if you don't do what we tell you to do, we're going to erase yours and your kid's memories.

The threat hung in the air, unspoken, but very much present.

"And what would you like us to do?" Corbin asked.

"Raise the child as you would any other."

"That's it?" Autumn whispered, worried the masters were going to have them train the kid to be some international assassin.

"Some dhampir were found to exhibit supernatural abilities, so should your child develop any particular talent, we wish to know that as well," the turtle-masked master said, speaking for the first time. "And it should be understood that should your child grow violent, we shall put an end to her."

"I—" Autumn began, but the lights suddenly flickered, plunging the throne room into darkness. When the room brightened again, the thrones were empty and the same servant was now standing next to them.

"I shall escort you back to your car, Mr and Mrs Westbrook," he said, gesturing towards the tunnel.

"But—" Autumn started to say, but the servant's hand gesture became more firm. Sighing, she took Corbin's hand, resting the other one on her belly. She was married to a vampire and was now having his child. How did she even think her life was going to be simple?

Wait.

"Did the turtle say 'her'?"

Corbin paused beneath a sconce, the torchlight silvering his blond hair. "I ... believe he did."

"We must keep going," the servant reminded them, a little agitated.

Autumn sighed and leaned against Corbin's shoulder as they walked. "What are we going to do, Corbin?"

Her husband tilted his head up to stare at the ancient tunnel. "We'll be a family, as always."

"You don't think we're going to have a murder baby, do you?"

A small smile creased his face. "No, I don't think so."

"Good. I needed to hear that." She needed the reassurance that only his hundreds of years of living could provide.

They emerged into the human world, with hundreds of tourists laughing, talking, and taking pictures of the Colosseum, oblivious to the fact that a vampire, his wife, and their unborn dhampir child walked among them.

The servant showed Autumn and Corbin to their limo and once the door closed, Autumn reached for the ice chest. Yes, it was early, but she needed a drink.

Ah, shit.

"What?" Corbin asked as she sighed.

"I can't drink," Autumn lamented, frowning sadly. Goddammit, she was looking forward to all that fine wine with dinner.

Corbin stared at her, then began to chuckle. Autumn's eyebrows lifted in indignation, but Corbin leaned down and kissed her. Her lips curled up and she melted against him, secure in the knowledge that if any couple in the world could prevent a dhampir from turning to violence, it was them.

Jordyn was going to be so thrilled with the news ...