Fall From Grace: Book Four of The Medici Warrior Series Read online

  Fall From Grace

  Book Four in the Medici Warrior Series

  by Emily Bex

  Foundations Publishing Company

  Brandon, MS 39047

  www.foundationsbooks.net

  Fall From Grace

  Book Four in the Medici Warrior Series

  By: Emily Bex

  Cover by Dawne Dominique

  Edited by Laura Ranger

  Copyright 2020© Emily Bex

  Published in the United States of America

  Worldwide Electronic & Digital Rights

  Worldwide English Language Print Rights

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any form, including digital and electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to all the loyal readers and hopeless romantics who are on this journey with me. Your enthusiasm and love for these characters makes the long hours spent in front of the computer screen writing and re-writing worthwhile.

  Acknowledgements

  This series could not have been written without the help of my collaborator, Johanna Morisette. Johanna had dabbled in fan fiction, and dragged me reluctantly into a world of vampires, encouraging me to write. She had the initial vision for Shade and was instrumental in the development of that character. Throughout the seven years it took to write this series, she remained a sounding board for the development of the storyline. These characters, and this saga, would not exist if not for her constant support and input which kept me motivated to keep pushing forward.

  Table of Reference

  Italian to English Translator

  Re-cap of The Medici Queen, Book 3

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

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  Lorenzo’s Rising – Sample of Book 5

  About the Author

  More from This Author

  Italian to English Translator for Book Four

  Addio Good-bye Alzati Stand-up

  guerrieri warriors Amica Friend

  Amore Love Bambino(s) Baby/babies

  Bastardo Bastard Bel Beautiful

  Beleeza Beauty Bellissimo Very beautiful

  Bravado Brave Buonasera Good evening

  Cazzo Fuck Ciao Hi/Hello

  Dipendenzo Addiction Dolce Sweet

  Dormire Sleeping guerrieri warrior

  Familia Family Figlia/Figlio Daughter/Son

  Fino ad allora Until then Fratello Brother

  Grazie Thanks Guerrieri Warriors

  Impavido Fearless Lei e il mio She is my

  Vero amore true love Madre Mother

  Meile Honey Mi/Mio/Mia My

  Mio vampire My courageous Coraggioso Courageous

  Moltobella Very beautiful Nostra Figlia Our Daughter

  Padre Father Per Favore Please

  Per Sempre Forever Rosso Red

  Scusi Excuse me Si Yes

  Signorina Young Lady Sorella Sister

  Stupido Stupid Ti Amo I Love You

  Re-cap of The Medici Queen, Book 3 in The Medici Warrior Series

  Book three begins with the elaborate coronation ceremony for Kate, as she has just been made an immortal and must now assume her role next to Shade as Queen of the Medici Coven.

  Shade must help her navigate his world, as they both discover she has not one, but two gifts. She emerges as a day-walker, but also with the gift animalism, a gift long thought extinct among the vampires. It is a gift that gives her the power to communicate and control the animal kingdom. Her conduit to the animal world is a she-wolf named Aegis who appears at Bel Rosso and remains at her side.

  Kate quickly discovers she is pregnant again, as the royal couple prepare for the birth of Lorenzo, the long-awaited heir to the Medici dynasty.

  Cory has moved back to Virginia and asks that his mother, Rachael, be allowed to visit. When his mother arrives, she recognizes Shade as the vampire she met in the underground clubs in San Francisco and realizes Cory is Shade’s half-breed son. As the family overcomes the shock of this revelation, Cory is warmly accepted into family, and Shade insists the Council recognize him as his rightful son.

  Not to be undone by Kate, Rissa is planning a wedding ceremony to rival the grandiosity of any royal event. During her grand reception, she and Alec are caught off-guard by an uninvited guest. Max returns with his new mate, Lein, the daughter of a royal master in Asia. While Max is there to goad his former lover, he discovers that Shade has expanded his Bel Rosso estate in Virginia to include a warrior training camp.

  Max tries to negotiate with Shade, offering to buy him out at any price, but Shade refuses the offer. Max attempts to blackmail Shade, when he sets him up to be seduced by two feeders. Shade feels he has betrayed his queen, but Kate takes matters into her own hands and delivers the heads of the feeders to Max in a hatbox, and challenges him to war.

  When war comes, Max calls on the army of his father-in-law, and his forces outnumber Shade’s warriors five to one. The Medici’s fight valiantly, but as Kate observes the slaughter of the Medici troops, she draws on her gift of animalism, turning the tide of the battle, and forcing Max to surrender. Bel Rosso is saved, and Max’s surrender leaves Shade with the expan
ded territory of Virginia, but it didn’t come at a small price. Many warriors were lost in the battle, included his beloved Fiamma.

  Fall From Grace

  1

  Kate swung in the hammock, suspended between two trees in the lush garden behind Bel Rosso. Lorenzo squirmed restlessly, playing with his stuffed bear, which he kept tossing out of the hammock to his Golden Retriever, Warrior. The dog shook the stuffed bear before tossing it in the air.

  Kate admonished the boy. "Lorenzo, that's not a dog toy."

  Lorenzo giggled at the antics of the dog. "Look, Mommy. Look at Warrior!"

  Kate smiled at this child, his hair a thick mass of black curls, his eyes the same steel blue as his father's. He was three now, and it took all her energy, as well as all of Theresa's, to keep up with him. He was a day-walker, and even though Kate still slept during the day with Shade, she got up for short periods during the day to spend some daylight hours with Lorenzo as well. The sun was setting on the early spring day, and she waited for Shade to join them.

  ***

  Waking from his death slumber, the soft spring air blew gently through the open windows in the house, now filled with activity. It was his favorite time of night, waking to those he loved, the sun setting, the smell of spring in the air, and the sound of Lorenzo’s laughter. Love never felt this good before, and no man should ever have it this good. Closing his eyes, he honed his senses and knew they were outside, enjoying the last of the evening light.

  Climbing out of bed, throwing on a pair of sweatpants, he padded down the stairs and out the back door to the gardens. He could hear Lorenzo's laughter, the greatest joy in his life. He was growing so fast. Before long, he’d be training in the camp to become a warrior, and Shade couldn’t wait to teach him. Walking out onto the soft grass, it felt incredible under his bare feet, its lushness between his toes. Bel Rosso was their private paradise. Before he got to them, Warrior raced in circles at his feet. Bending down, Shade rubbed his ears. Animals of all species abound here now, and it was finally feeling natural to him. It was just a part of who they were as the animals assimilated into their lives.

  His eyes focused in on that beautiful crimson hair, and soft lilywhite skin as she swung in the hammock, her face lit with a smile. He loved seeing her like this, beaming with happiness and contentment. She knew she was well loved.

  Walking up to her, he kissed her forehead and climbed in next to her, cuddling her in the large hammock. He saw a pair of eyes, blue as the sky and big as saucers, staring back at him. Lorenzo was such an innocent, and he wished he could hold that inside him forever.

  Kate curled into Shade and kissed him, as Lorenzo crawled over the top of him. "You slept well, lover?"

  Lorenzo had retrieved his bear and was trying to draw his father's attention. "Daddy, look at Ted. He's got dog slobber on him. Wipe it off, Daddy."

  Her kiss ignited his heart, but it was short lived. Spending time alone together had become harder than he ever imagined, now that Lorenzo craved every second of his attention.

  "I slept fine, mi amore, except... Lorenzo, do you want to explain to me why there is dog slobber on Ted? Warrior does not eat bear.”

  Laughing, he wiped the bear on his sweatpants and handed the toy back to Lorenzo, who deftly slid his body between his parents. Shade shook his head. No one ever told him this part.

  Kate smiled at him. "Are you happy?"

  Grunting as Lorenzo beat him on the chest with his bear. "Oh si, mi amore. Why do you ask? Are you not happy?"

  Kate giggled at the antics of Lorenzo, a constant source of entertainment, but also a constant drain on their time. She couldn’t have imagined there was more love to give until this child was born, and now there’d be another.

  "I only ask because I’m wondering if you’re ready for the next one?"

  His heart skipped a beat and he tried to sit up quickly, almost tumbling all three of them out of the hammock. Letting his hand slide along her cheek, her eyes were glowing with mischief and love.

  "I am more than ready for another bambino. Are you? Say yes!" Kissing her on the lips, letting his tongue slide inside her mouth, he wanted to crawl inside her and love her forever.

  Kate wrapped her arms around his shoulders and surrendered to the kiss, as Lorenzo was tumbled sideways in the hammock. He climbed onto his father's back.

  "Eww, kissing."

  He tugged at his father's hair, leaning in close and whispering loudly into his ear. "You should kiss Ted. He has a boo-boo."

  Kate started laughing and shook her head. "I'm not sure how we found the time, but yes, the answer is yes."

  Lorenzo held the bear up over his head and asked, “Time for what, Mommy?"

  Kate looked at their son, this beautiful boy who had been the center of their lives, before stroking his cheek. "Time to make your little sister. You’ll have a little sister soon."

  Lorenzo looked at her quizzically. "Well, how did you make her?"

  Kate shook her head and looked at Shade. "Uh, you and your father can have that discussion."

  Feeling Lorenzo tugging his hair, the child made doing anything with bel a struggle. He wanted everyone’s undivided attention. Shade’s grin went from ear to ear when he heard her say yes. Two, they would have two now.

  Pulling Lorenzo off his back and holding him upside down above his head, Shade dropped his leg off the side of the hammock, pushing gently to make the hammock sway from side to side. Lorenzo’s laughter was contagious. Shade’s own padre never had time for what he called nonsense. It was his madre's job to entertain him until he was old enough to begin his warrior training, but this generation of Medici's would be much different.

  "My little warrior, it is vampire magic, creating a little sister. Do you think she will look like me or Mommy?"

  Lorenzo laughed uncontrollably, as his father held him in the air. "I think she will look like Ted. Can you use your vampire magic to make him a brother instead?"

  Shaking him around in the air, Lorenzo dropped the bear and Warrior barked, grabbing up the stuffed toy and leaping over the hammock.

  Pulling Lorenzo down onto his chest, the boy calmed down and snuggled his head into his father’s neck, his tiny hand tangled in his father’s curls.

  "There is no magic for deciding brothers or sisters, but I do think you will enjoy having a sister. You need to protect and love her. Can you do that for your sister when she arrives? Perhaps we shall need to get you a sword to make sure no enemies come near her. Big brothers are protectors. I think it is time you took some responsibility and learned some warrior lessons. What do you think?"

  Lorenzo lifted his head. "I’m already a warrior, Daddy. You said I protect Mommy when you’re in your slumber."

  Kissing his massive mop of midnight hair, Shade hugged him tight. "You were born a warrior. Just like me. I love that you protect Mommy for me. You are such a big boy now. Fierce and brave. But you will need to protect all the females around you always. They are very special. You would protect Theresa and Nita, si?”

  Lorenzo laid his head back down on his father's chest, as Kate ran her fingers through his curls.

  "I love Tressa and Nita. I protect them too...just like Uncle Luca. I'm a good protector. But I need a sword."

  Kate shook her head no. "Not yet, young warrior."

  Shade watched as bel responded negatively to weapons, knowing she would do whatever she could to delay the process and keep her beautiful boy within her grasp.

  "You are a good protector, but Mommy seems to think it is not time for a sword. Perhaps, we will have to come up with another way for you to protect all the beautiful females in our life."

  Lorenzo's mind never stopped. Shade could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Lorenzo sat up quickly, inhaling the air, then squealing at the top of his lungs as he saw his half-brother approach. "Cory, Cory!"

  As he scrambled to get down, Shade juggled him, so he didn’t fall. As Cory walked up, he kissed Kate on the cheek and messed up Lor
enzo's mop of curls with his hand.

  Cory laughed, as he asked his father if he was going to work or lounge like a lazy lizard all night.

  "I think I deserve some downtime with my family. That includes you too, son. Are you heading into camp?"

  Cory nodded yes as Lorenzo climbed him like a tree, screaming to take him along. Cory put his younger brother on his shoulders and started running around. Lorenzo screamed for him to go faster. Leaning into bel, Shade took this opportunity to snuggle and steal a kiss.

  "Sometimes, two sons are valuable, they can entertain each other."

  Kate nuzzled into him, inhaling him, his scent as intoxicating now as the first time she held him. Her desire for him grew with the passage of time, just like her love for him. But the demands on their time were great. He still commanded the camp, now even larger after its third year, and the demands of the Dead House remained. They made frequent trips to Florence, to stay visible to the coven there and for him to coordinate with Marco and check on the running of Castello. They made trips to California, to check on the inn, which stayed full year-round, and the vineyards, which were at full production, as were the vineyards here at Bel Rosso. Kate had planted large fields of lavender and sunflowers, and both had proved to be very profitable crops. Their estates in both California and Virginia had become a mecca on the wine tours, as mortals flocked to see the vineyards, taste the wine, and walk through the fragrant fields of blossoms. Kate had also turned the large mansion they inherited with Max's property into a very expensive inn, and Shade had staffed it with more from his coven in Florence. Everything they touched had turned to gold for them, but it all took time.

  Raising Lorenzo had been pure joy, and she’d change nothing. But she knew adding another baby would more than double the demands on their time. Their visits to the Paris house had been infrequent because he had no business interest there, and Luciano managed the French and Greek vineyards, which had been established now for centuries. Kate enjoyed this moment of passion, knowing they must steal time where they could.

  She could hear Lorenzo's laughter, as he played with Cory. Lorenzo adored his older brother, and didn’t seem to understand, or care, that Cory was a half-breed. When Shade broke the kiss, she stared back at him, the hammock swaying gently beneath them.