By the time we reached Palm Springs, Declan was the only one of us who wasn’t wiped out. None of us had really had a decent night’s sleep in days, but we kept on powering through as best as we could. Dimitri once again took it upon himself to drive and delivered us to Clarence Donahue’s house, which provided a relatively safe haven—and also a much-needed source of blood for me. Clarence Donahue was a reclusive old Moroi who’d helped us in the past, and he was delighted to see us when his housekeeper showed us into his living room. I was delighted to see my mother sitting there with him.

“Mom,” I said, wrapping her in a huge embrace.

“My goodness,” she said, when I was reluctant to let her go. “It’s only been a few days, dear.”

“A lot’s happened in that time,” I told her honestly, thinking of how much life and death I’d witnessed in those days. “And I think a lot’s going to go down when Sydney checks in with some of her friends. It’s going to keep the rest of us pretty busy, and, uh, there’s something I need your help with.”

I stepped to the side and revealed Sydney, carrying Declan asleep in his car seat.

My mom stared at the baby in confusion, then looked at Sydney, and then turned to me wide-eyed. “Adrian,” she exclaimed. “That’s not—I mean, how is it possible—”

“He’s not mine,” I said wearily. “His name is Declan, and I’m taking care of him for a friend. I might need your help watching him while we go after Jill, though. There’s no one else I can trust.”

As though he knew his name, Declan opened his eyes and regarded us solemnly. I honestly wasn’t sure how my mother was going to respond to this request. Dhampirs had always been in subservient roles to her, and she’d freaked out when I’d brought Rose home on a date. After she’d accepted my marriage with Sydney, I’d once commented to her that she’d have to accept the idea of dhampir grandchildren. My mom had shrugged off the topic, saying, yes, of course she understood that, but I’d wondered if she’d been pushing that off for another day’s worries. How would she react now to caring for a dhampir child?

I carefully lifted Declan out of the seat and was astonished when my mother snatched him away. “Look at you,” she crooned, swaying him in his arms. “Such a handsome little boy. The handsomest little boy.”

I remember when you used to be her handsomest little boy, remarked Aunt Tatiana.

My mom dragged her gaze from him. “You should change him into some lighter clothes,” she told me. “Those pajamas are too heavy for this climate.”