A year ago, I never would have condoned the act of keeping people in the dark, but now I knew there was no other way. If they knew the truth, they’d all go crazy and start following some other cult leader in much the same way they’d started to follow Theodore.
I wrapped my arms around Alora’s soft, curvy waist and rested my chin on her shoulder. The dark started to ebb away as the sun rose over the skyscrapers of the city. There was a sweet, musical sound from Roman’s magic as the people started to wake up.
Getting to their feet, they yawned, rubbed at their eyes, scratched their heads, and completely ignored the bizarre fact that they’d all been asleep right there in the middle of the street. As Alora’s eyes were scanning the people below, she tensed in my arms.
“Finn, I think I just spotted my parents. Come on, I have to go to them.”
My heart stuttered as she pulled away from me. “Wait, Goldy. They haven’t seen you in over two years. Perhaps this isn’t the right time.”
“I’m not waiting,” she answered before hurrying to the stairway that led back down onto the street. I followed her, trying to figure out why I felt so dejected. Was it because deep down I worried she wouldn’t need me anymore once she got her family back?
Maybe.
Down on the street, I stayed far behind as she raced to her parents. Her mother was blonde just like her, but her father was a tall, brown-haired man. I stood back and watched her, my heart sinking further until I thought it might just plunk down into my boots.
Her mother started to cry when she saw her, and she pulled her daughter into her arms. I looked at her dad and saw that there were tears in his eyes, too. He put his arms around his wife and daughter both. A bittersweet family reunion.
Alora hadn’t once looked back to see if I was still here. I turned around, thinking I’d leave her with them. There was no danger to her anymore now that Ridley was dead, and Theodore, too. Just as I was about to start walking away though, I heard her call my name.
“Finn, come and meet my parents.”
Taking in a deep breath, I turned back around. Perhaps she did still need me after all.
***
As it turned out, Alora’s parents had fled their home and were staying with friends because they got frightened when the vampire attacks started happening.
Their names were Tom and Beena, and I started to become uncomfortable at how profusely they thanked me for keeping their daughter safe. Beena was a full elf and Tom was human. When we got back to their house and they saw how trashed the place was, they assumed it had been broken into, and Tom started making calls to their insurance company.
Alora came and sat down on my lap in the living room while her mother tried to salvage what she could from the kitchen to make us all a cup of tea.
“So, I guess this means I’m losing you,” I said in a low voice as I caressed her thigh. I’d never get tired of touching her.
She startled when I said it and turned to look at me. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ve got your folks back. Ridley’s dead. You’re safe. You don’t need me anymore.”
“Finn, I—”
“It’s okay. I see how you look at them. You’ve missed them like crazy. I can understand that you’ll want to stay here. If I could have gotten my mother and sister back, I’d want to spend every second I had with them, too.”
“Finn, just stop. Yes, I’ll be living with my parents, but that doesn’t mean you’re losing me. God, I mean, after all we’ve been through, after all we’ve spoken about, how could you think that? I’ve seen our future, and in that future, we’re together.”
I shrugged and tightened my jaw. I’d never been good with emotional crap.
She pulled my face to hers so that her mouth was above my ear when she whispered, “I’ve fallen in love with you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, you silly man.”
Something caught in my throat, causing me to swallow hard. “What?”
“I said, I love you,” she answered, eyes looking back and forth between mine with uncertainty as though waiting for something. Then, like a sledgehammer, it hit me.
She was waiting for me to say it back.
It took me a couple of seconds to find my voice. “Shit, isn’t it obvious that I love you, too? I can hardly keep my eyes off you when you walk into a room.”
She giggled and rested her head in the crook of my neck. “Well, that wasn’t the most romantic way for you to declare your love for me, Finn, but at least you said it. I was beginning to think it was all one-sided.”