"No one calls her a bitch and lives," Valerius snarled as Desiderius collapsed.
Tabitha was frozen completely by the grisly sight. She should have felt avenged.
She didn't.
Nothing could ease the pain this night had wrought.
Valerius pulled her into his arms and turned her away from the body as Otto came crashing through the door's remains.
He stood there, surveying the damage that had once been her sister's prized home.
"Do I want to know?" Otto whispered.
She shook her head.
"Amanda," she breathed in an agonized tone as her tears started again.
How could her twin be dead?
"Tabby?"
Tabitha's breath caught in her throat as she heard her sister's voice from the stairs. She turned her head slowly, almost afraid it would be another specter.
It wasn't.
Amanda stood there, her face pale, her hair disheveled, her gown coated in blood.
But she was alive!
Shrieking, Tabitha ran for her and pulled her into her arms, holding her tight as her tears flowed yet again, only this time in happiness.
Amanda was alive! The words echoed in her mind.
"I love you, I love you, I love you!" she breathed against her sister's neck. "And if you ever die on me again, I'll kill you so dead!"
The two of them stood there locked in an embrace.
Valerius smiled at the sight of them, grateful for Tabitha's sake that Amanda was whole.
His smile died when his gaze met Kyrian's as the Greek came down the stairs with Acheron behind him. There was nothing but open hatred in the Greek's eyes.
"Where's Kassim?" Otto asked.
"He's dead," Ash said wearily. "He's upstairs in the nursery."
Both Valerius and Otto winced.
Tabitha let go of Amanda as she caught sight of Kyrian.
"You were dead," she breathed. "I saw you."
"They both were dead," Ash said as he stepped past the twins and headed into the living room. He held his hand up and clenched it into a fist.
Desiderius's body vanished instantly.
"You're a god?" Valerius asked him as Ash's earlier declaration finally seeped into his mind.
Ash didn't respond. He didn't have to.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Kyrian asked.
Ash shrugged. "Why should I? By tomorrow none of you will even remember that you ever learned this about me."
Tabitha frowned. "I don't understand."
Ash took a deep breath. "The universe is an extremely complicated thing. All any of you need to know is that Amanda and Kyrian are now immortal. No one will ever be able to kill them again."
"What?" Amanda asked, stepping away from Tabitha.
Ash looked to Kyrian. "I promised I wouldn't let you die and I am bound by my oath."
"Wait!" Tabitha said. "You're a god. You can bring back Tia!"
Ash's face turned pale. "Tia is dead?"
"Didn't you know?"
"No," Ash said quietly. He got that faraway look as if he were listening for something very faint. "She wasn't supposed to die tonight."
"Then save her!"
He looked as sick as Tabitha felt. "I can't help Tia. Her soul has passed on. I can't force it back into her body against her will. Amanda and Kyrian's souls refused to leave their daughter and I got here in time to restore them."
"What about my unborn baby?" Amanda asked. "Was it hurt by this?"
Ash shook his head. "He's fine and would appreciate it greatly if you'd drink more apple juice." Ash lifted his hands and everything in the house went back to what it had been before the Daimons had come.
Nothing was out of place.
"Ash," Tabitha said, moving to stand beside him. "Please bring Tia back for me."
He cupped her face in his palm. "I wish I could, Tabby. I really do. But know that she's watching out for you and that she loves you."
She saw red at his words. "That's not good enough for me, Ash. I want her back."
"I know, but right now I have other people to check on."
"But my sister..."
Ash took Tabitha's hand and placed it into Valerius's. "I have to go, Tabitha." He turned to Otto. "Jean-Luc is alive, but seriously hurt. I need you and Nick to get him back to his boat."
"We don't know where Nick is," Otto said quietly. "I found his mother dead."
Ash vanished immediately.
"I really hate it when he does that," Kyrian said as he shifted a now-sleeping Marissa in his arms.
Tabitha didn't move while her sister sat down on the floor and started crying.
Tabitha sat beside her and pulled her close.
"What a day," Amanda sobbed. "I saw my husband killed. Kassim... Tia and now Cherise."
"I know," Tabitha said. "I'm not so sure we're the ones who won this time around."
"No," Kyrian said as he joined them on the floor. "We're still here and they're not. To me, that's winning." He pulled his wife against his chest and kissed her on the head.
Tabitha turned to see Valerius heading for the door with Otto.
By the time she caught up, he and Otto were outside the house.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"We didn't want to intrude on a family moment," he said quietly. "Your sister needs you."
"And I need you."
Valerius was stunned as she walked into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him close while Otto turned off her car.
"I'll leave the keys in it and see you guys later." He got into his Jag and drove off.
"Thank you," Tabitha whispered as she tucked her head in below his chin. "I wouldn't have made it through tonight without you."
"I'm sorry I wasn't of more help and I'm so sorry about Tia."
He felt her tears scalding his chest through his shirt.
"Your mother said she wanted you home."
Tabitha nodded. "Yeah, I need to go see her. She draws her strength from us." She pulled away as Amanda came out onto the front porch. "I'm going to see Mom."
Amanda nodded. "Tell her I'll be there tomorrow morning. I don't want her to see me like this."
Tabitha looked at Amanda's bloodied gown.
"Yeah, that's the last thing she needs."
Then Amanda did the most amazing thing of all: She reached out and pulled Valerius close for a hug. "Thank you for coming, Valerius, and for keeping Tabitha safe. I really appreciate it." She kissed his cheek before she pulled away.
Valerius had never been more stunned in his life. In that moment, he felt a strange sense of almost belonging somewhere. It was such a foreign, odd sensation that he wasn't sure how to cope with it.
"My pleasure, Amanda."
She patted his arm, then went back into her house.
Valerius helped Tabitha into her battered car and for once he took the driver's seat. He didn't say a word as she gave him directions to her mother's house in Metairie.
Neither of them spoke the entire way. His heart ached for her. Taking her hand, he held it quietly in the darkness while she stared out the passenger side window.
When they reached her mother's house, he got out and opened the door for her.
Tabitha drew a ragged breath as she contemplated facing her mother. For once her courage was gone.
Valerius handed her the keys.
She frowned at him as he stepped away from her. "What are you doing?"
"I was going to head back."
"Don't leave me, Val. Please."
He brushed a tender hand down her cold cheek and nodded. He kept his hands on her shoulders and in truth she needed to feel his touch as she knocked on the door.
Her father answered it, his face grim. His dour look lightened and tears filled his eyes as he saw her and pulled her up into a rib-crushing embrace. "Thank God at least you're all right. Your mother has been out of her mind with fear for you."
She hugged him back. "I'm okay, Daddy, so's Amanda and Kyrian."
Her father released her, then narrowed his eyes on Valerius. "Who are you?"
"He's my boyfriend, Daddy, please be nice to him."
Kindness was the last thing Valerius expected, so when her father held a hand out to him, he was stunned.
Valerius shook it and then was led into a house that was packed full of the Devereaux clan.
And as he stepped into the living room, Valerius felt something he'd never felt in all his life.
He felt like he'd come home.