Vito nods and then his eyes light up as his daughter walks slowly towards us. She is reluctant to leave me, but also excited to embrace her Dark Fae side. I am very reluctant to let her go and even more so to let her know what it is to become a true Dark Fae. I have managed to resist the pull of my Fae side, for the most part. I can still feel the change in me though. I no longer feel guilt over my feeds, and I have been known to kill once or twice (times a thousand) since I lost ValamAtrux. Frederick encourages it, and I like to please him.
“I will miss you,” I whisper into her raven black hair as I hug her tightly. “Please be safe and do not get into any difficulty. And stay away from the Light Fae. They are…”
“Trouble,” Savvie finishes my sentence with a laugh. “I know, I know. Don’t worry. Gramps says I will have an escort.”
“A chaperone, more like,” I mutter under my breath. The Dark Fae are more laced up than nuns. She won’t be allowed within fifty miles of a male but that’s just fine by me. Too bad, Delinda’s uncle wasn’t so severe with his morals. I shake my head and push thoughts of Delinda and her many suitors aside.
“Ready?” Savvie asks her father and he nods eagerly. I am glad for two reasons that he is going with her. One is obvious, to keep her safe. But I am also glad that he won’t be here tempting me. I may be a fool in love, but that doesn’t mean a girl can’t look, lust and wish to bed another.
I hide my smile as I think of Frederick’s face if I ever told him I was with another man. He wouldn’t try to kill me over it, but he wouldn’t be pleased. I can only imagine the beating I would get. And how much I would enjoy it.
“Good-bye, my sweet girl. Be back to visit soon.”
She tuts at me. “You can always visit the D.F.K, Ma. Gramps insists on it even.”
“Maybe,” I say vaguely, but she knows I don’t mean it. If I go, I will lose myself and I just can’t allow that to happen.
I wave at them as Savvie puffports the two of them away and I sigh and turn my back on where they vanished. I need a minute to gather myself.
You probably wonder why I am letting Savannah go to the Dark Fae Kingdom. Let me explain: she has to go because the time has come to wake up my sleeping husband.
I cannot have her anywhere in this Realm where he can find her and hurt her, if he would be so inclined. I know I will be in for it, which is why I am taking my sire with us. However, she is a non-starter. That is why I have waited so long for this moment. To make sure she was an adult, with her full set of powers and able to protect herself, and also to send herself away.
I have known for some time that Constantine has another true love. Shocked? Nah, it was kinda obvious when I thought about it.
His daughter, of course. The one person in the whole World that loves him unconditionally.
Arathia only put two and two together about five years ago. I have had an uphill struggle to keep her away since, having had Remiel send Constantine away to where even I couldn’t find him.
She understands the risk to both her mother and her sister, but deep down, she wants her daddy back and I don’t blame her. She has lived eighteen years without him, but now the time has come to bring him back.
I am nervous.
I have no idea how he will react to me. Whether eighteen years in a cursed coma has mellowed him, or just made him even angrier. Hence, why Remiel is coming with me.
“You sure about this?”
I look up to see Devon and Marguerite hovering near the stairs.
I nod steadily, taking in their closeness with an inward smile. I broke Devon’s heart when I lost my ability to Shift. Even though it wasn’t my fault, it happened and there was no going back. We tried; we really did. I asked for my ring back, but he wasn’t budging. He pulled away, and to my utter heartbreak, I let him. I am glad he has Marguerite now. She is perfect for him. She is older than I thought she was and that is exactly what he needs and wants. A strong woman to look after him and give him all the love and attention he craves. She is besotted by him, as he is with her, and I couldn’t be happier for them.
“Yes. It’s time,” I reply.
“Be safe then, Aefre,” Devon says, breaking away from his woman, to give me a quick hug.
Don’t get me wrong. We are still close. As close as two people can be. Just not in that way. I cherish him and our changed relationship, even if it still sounds weird that he doesn’t call me ‘Lizzie’ anymore.
“Oh, I will,” I say with a nervous laugh.
“I have told Remiel that if that bastard even bats his eyes at you, he is to kill him,” Devon jokes, but underneath I know there is some truth to that. He would have made sure to instruct my sire to have his power at the ready.
“I hope he…” I pause and look at him.
“I know,” Devon says quietly and embraces me again. “He doesn’t deserve your love, you know.”
“I hurt him,” I state.
“Doesn’t give him the right to do what he did. He deserves every day in that coma,” he says vehemently.