[Dennis]My Solus Amor smirked as her eyes went from me to Sybil. She looked my fiancée up and down before returning her gaze to me. Sybil didn’t look pleased. I never told her what Francesca looked like, but it seemed that she had some idea of who was before us. “My husband was talking about how striking your partner was and I figured you wouldn’t have a problem with them having a little dance. It will give us time to catch up... Dennis... was it?” she laughed dryly. “I preferred your first name, but I suppose this one will do. Well, shall we dance?” I was torn. I didn’t want to upset Sybil, but I also knew Francesca to be a very powerful vampire who could easily make trouble for us. I looked down at Sybil, who gave me a reassuring nod.“It would be my pleasure, Francesca,” I replied, taking her hand and leading her onto the dancefloor.As we started to dance, Francesca leaned in close to my ear. “You know, Dennis, I never realized how much I missed you until I saw you with her,” she said, nodding towards Sybil.I stiffened. “Francesca, I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you had better not be here to sabotage my relationship with Sybil. You rejected me centuries ago and I respected your wishes by leaving the continent as soon as I could. What are you even doing here?” “We moved out here some time ago. Settled in Washington. Our territory is now part of the Nightshade rule. We didn’t attend the party announcing him and were threatened by the High Council if we didn’t attend his next function. We treated him and his little... dhampyr kindly when they came to visit our area, but, apparently, that wasn’t enough. “As for your engagement, I couldn’t care less. She has the same eyes as you, do you think I would be jealous of someone so desperate for love that they turned some unwitting fool and got the High Council to declare them lovers?” she laughed. I gritted my teeth, feeling my anger boil up inside of me. “You know nothing about Sybil or me. Our love is real and we’re engaged because we want to be, not because of some High Council decree,” I replied through clenched teeth.Francesca raised an eyebrow. “Well, well, aren’t you defensive? Perhaps I struck a nerve,” she taunted. “But I do know one thing, Dennis. I know that you still have feelings for me. I can see it in your eyes.”“That’s not true,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I love Sybil with all my heart and soul.”“Is that so?” Francesca purred, her hand tracing across my chest. “Then why did you agree to dance with me? Why did you let me get this close to you?”She was enjoying goading me, but I wouldn’t fall into her trap and try to explain myself. “You know as well as I do that once you rejected me, our connection was done.” “If I had known you had the drive to make something of yourself like this, then I might have been tempted to wait for you. In fact, now that you are here and I am here, I can give up my bond with my husband and we can be together. I know you said you love that childe, but everyone knows you can only love me,” she scoffed. I knew what Francesca was trying to do. She was playing with my emotions and trying to ruin what I had with Sybil. It wouldn’t work, though. I knew the only woman in my heart was Sybil. In fact, I knew it now more than ever before. I felt nothing but contempt for the woman in my arms.“We can never be together, Francesca. Our time has passed. I am in love with Sybil and I will do anything to protect what we have,” I replied, stepping away from her touch as the song ended.Francesca’s face twisted in anger. “You will regret this, Dennis. You will regret choosing that childe over me,” she hissed before storming off the dancefloor.She was wrong. I would never regret choosing Sybil over Francesca. She only wanted me because of my success. Francesca was materialistic and vain. Maybe if I had met her before I started my second life, things could have been different. I didn’t know when this had set in for her, but it was ingrained enough that she rejected me over three hundred years ago. I looked over at Sybil, who was making her way toward me. She looked at me with concern in her beautiful eyes, and I knew I had to tell her everything. There was no reason to keep secrets, but I would wait until after the party. We were there to enjoy ourselves. “The man I was dancing with told me who she was. Are you going to leave me for her?” Sybil asked, coolly. She was trying to see unaffected, but I could see her heart in her eyes. Sybil was scared that my love for her could be stolen. She didn’t realize how precious she was to me.“Never. You are my one and only heart. Come, let’s go find our friends and forget about that woman and her manipulations.”Taking her hand, I led her off the dancefloor and around to other vampires I knew. She hadn’t been introduced to many since she’d been turned, but most of them had sent us gifts as soon as our bonding was announced by the High Council. Many of the vampires in the area were indebted to me and they behaved as vampire society dictated. I had invited Master Nightshade, Echo, and Gray to the ceremony along with Silence and Talon, Master Nightshade’s supports, and a couple of vampires who I counted among my friends. With the addition of Rock and Carmen, I had almost as many people attending as Sybil did. She had invited her family and, while her brother and his wife accepted, her parents declined saying that their daughter was dead and they had no reason to attend. Sybil knew she should be sad about that, but since most of her memories of them were still obscured, she couldn’t actually feel it. We made our way over to the two members of the High Council who were attending the party. Master Marius stood with his wife, Lila, and Mistress Talia was next to a tall, blond male vampire I didn’t recognize. He was obviously younger and proud of the fact that he had been selected to be her escort. “Dennis, I’m so glad you made it,” Mistress Talia said and offered her hand. I accepted it and kissed it while bowing. She giggled coquettishly. Courtly manners were rare, but still valued among older vampires. It was one of the things that humans did right. We mimicked them rather than them mimicking us in that. “You’re looking well, Mistress Talia. Are you enjoying your visit?” I asked. “Very much so, thank you. And may I say, congratulations on your bonding with Sybil. It is wonderful to see two young vampires so in love,” she replied with a smile.I chuckled. Master Nightshade considered me to be an elder vampire, but to an ancient vampire, I was a mere childe. Sybil dipped down into a curtsy. “It’s nice to see you again, Mistress Talia.” “And you, Sybil. I know you remember Master Marius and his wife, Lila, this is... um... Lawrence?” “Terrance, Mistress Talia.” “Right, Terrance. He lives over near Queen Bellamy’s collective and I asked him to escort me tonight. Isn’t he lovely?” Sybil laughed. “He is pretty cute if you like that big blond guy thing. Not really my type.” She winked at the diminutive ancient being, who also laughed. “I suppose that’s fine. Not everyone has the same interest as I do when it comes to men or women.”We chatted with the council members and their dates for a while. Mistress Talia tried to put me at ease whenever Sybil said something I thought they might take offense to. It made me start to realize some of the similarities between Sybil and Francesca. Both were strong willed women who went for what they wanted. They were confident and social, but reserved about certain things. Neither one saw themselves as anything less than anyone else. Francesca showed that by giving herself a nickname like the council members had. Sybil showed it by talking with them as if they were old friends instead of powerful vampires to be revered and feared. They both acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world for others to want to be their friends and acquaintances. But there were stark differences as well. Sybil didn’t appear to think herself better than anyone. She liked Echo and treated her with respect, even though she was a dhampyr. Most of all, she didn’t focus on what I could give her beyond my love. Even when she was alive, Sybil wanted me. Not my money, not my connections, and not what I could give that had monetary value. That was their biggest difference. Maybe when Francesca was a younger vampire, she would have accepted me. By the time I met her, though, she had become the sort of person who couldn’t. She wasn’t my Solus Amor long before she ever rejected me. “Was that Francesca de Mere I saw you dancing with earlier?” Mistress Talia asked. “It was,” I confirmed. “Was she trying to win you back, then? She had that scheming look on her face.” I nodded. “Yes, she wanted me to be with her now that I’m successful in life. I told her, in no uncertain terms, that I was bonding with Sybil and had no interest in her.” “Really? You weren’t even a little bit tempted. She was your Solus Amor, after all.” Mistress Talia looked very curious. “I felt nothing for her,” I answered. “That’s not entirely true....” “Nothing like love. Only contempt and disgust for what she suggested. I don’t love her. I only love Sybil,” I told her. “A very good answer. I had better complete my rounds before I go. Everyone knows I don’t stay long at these things. I have other plans for the night,” Mistress Talia giggled. She was mysterious in many ways, but didn’t hold herself above other vampires. You either knew her threat, or you were a fool who didn’t live long. No matter how girlish she seemed, she was as deadly as her broodmate. We were left alone with Master Marius and his wife. Lila was talking to Sybil about the new spells she was getting to try because of the plethora of materials now available to her in Master Marius’ home. I stood by Sybil while she asked every question that popped into her head. It seemed that Lila was happy to have someone so interested in her work. “I will deal with your ex-Solus Amor. She will leave you and Sybil alone. Sybil is my goddaughter. I said she would be a good vampire and tonight has only proven to me, more than before, that I was correct. As someone who my daughter considers her uncle, I would not let you suffer whatever that woman has in mind,” Master Marius said to me in a low growl.“Thank you for your assistance, Master Marius. I merely want to seal my bond with Sybil and start my life with her. I’m sure she is appreciative of the fact that you regard her as a goddaughter. If anything ever happens to me, I know you will take care of her,” I replied. After a while longer, we took our leave and went to find Master Nightshade and Echo again. It wasn’t hard. They were alternating between being stationary in a highly visible area and dancing. It was the best way to give people a chance to talk to them while still enjoying the night. We went over and gave them our compliments before taking our leave. The party would last until an hour before dawn, but not everyone was required to stay there for it. I was grateful for that. Heading back to our home, I felt at peace. This was the place we were safest from the world and whomever decided to try to break us up. This was our place where only our love existed. As we walked into the house, I held Sybil’s hand tightly, reveling in the comfort that it brought me. She was mine and I was hers, and nothing in this world could change that. I looked at her and felt my heart swell with love and affection.“Are you alright, my love?” she asked, noticing the silence that had fallen between us.“I’m more than alright, Sybil. I’m happy. Happier than I’ve ever been before,” I confessed.“Not having second thoughts?” “If anything, I have a renewed passion for sealing our bond. I know I made the right choice. You are perfection and I can’t wait for you to be mine for eternity,” I murmured as I pulled her to me and gripped her waist firmly. Sybil’s eyes glinted with desire as she leaned forward to kiss me. Her lips were soft and pliant, molding perfectly to mine as we poured our love and passion into one another. I felt my desire for her surge, my hands moving to grip her backside and pull her closer to me. Our tongues tangled together as we kissed deeply, the world around us fading into the background as we lost ourselves in one another. I couldn’t imagine ever wanting anyone else, ever again. Sybil was everything to me. Finally, we pulled away from one another and gasped for air, our eyes locked together. “I love you,” we both said simultaneously, making us laugh.We went to change into more comfortable clothing before heading to my office to work more on the last bits of the ceremony and thank you cards for those who had already sent gifts. This was the last night before she was entirely mine forever and I could feel the contentedness and the excitement warring against each other inside of my heart.