"Ladies." Professor Lara stepped forward, her voice sharp. "Will you accept the responsibilities of becoming wives to the guards and mothers to their children? You understand the implications, of course. Your children will not be human, nor will they be vampires."
Everyone stopped chattering, and Alexia rose. "What would they be exactly? None of us have been told about such creatures."
"Well, they are not creatures. They are mostly the same as you and me, of course." Professor Lara straightened her shoulders. "But they are called intercrosses, and they are neither vampires nor humans. Each one is different, and some of them have talents. Some are also immortal." Gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd. "But little is known about them, for they are very rare. In my three hundred year
