Dead Men Walking
Page 17
After her mother’s sudden departure from her life, Piper had often thought about her—the way her hair had always smelled of vanilla and how she’d never let anyone see her without a perfectly made-up face. And it never failed to make Piper laugh when she remembered the times her mother had tried to teach her ballet. She had always supposed her own lack of dance skills was because she hadn’t been blessed with her mother’s long, graceful limbs, but perhaps she should have been clued in to her overall clumsiness way back then. It wasn’t until her teenage years, when Piper had accepted that her mother had left them for good, that she came to resent her, and now she had something else to resent her for. Her mother was the only family she had left, and the only connection she had to her real father, and that threw up another question. Which one of them was a witch?
She pondered how Maddie would feel about a trip to Paris and turned her head to stare at Lambert—sweet, exasperating, pain-in-the-butt Lambert. She had no idea how she was going to have the strength to say goodbye to him. She wanted nothing more than to take him with her, away from this terrible place, away from the death threat over his head, but she understood why he had to stay. He was a good son, and he’d been a good brother, but he wasn’t her brother anymore, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Being so close to him was both disturbing and electrifying. She’d spent so much time thinking of him as her brother, it was almost surreal to discover that he wasn’t. All night, she’d been tempted to snuggle against his body, and had imagined his reaction if she had, but she’d fought the urge knowing that it could never be. They lived in different worlds.
His eyelids flickered, and she wondered what he was dreaming about. He was peaceful in sleep, and even with cuts and scrapes on his face, he was beautiful. She glanced down at the hand wrapped possessively around her. It was strange how it felt right for it to be there.
His fingers moved. “It is time,” she heard him say.
She turned to meet his eye. “But it isn’t morning yet.”
“Precisely. Better to leave town now, under the cover of darkness, and with Connor’s speed, you will have time to make it to the portal without being detected by the guardians.”
“Oh... Yeah, that makes sense.”
His hand left her as he folded the blanket back and nudged Connor awake, and she felt oddly empty as she put on her boots. Her eyes flicked to Lambert’s bedroom door. She walked over to it and entered.
“Dad?” she whispered, lowering her head to his ear. “Can you hear me?” When he didn’t move, she tried again, but it was clear he wasn’t going to wake. “I’m going home now,” she said, “just like you wanted. Maybe one day you can come back to visit me and explain what this was all about, but if you don’t, I want you to know I couldn’t have asked for a better father, and I will never forget you. I love you, Dad. Get well soon.” She kissed his cheek and returned to the main room.
Lambert had poured them all a cup of milk and was leaning against the table watching her as she approached. Piper offered him a small smile, unsure if the nerves fluttering in her stomach were because she was scared of the journey back or because of the way he was looking at her. She took the milk he offered and turned away from his scrutiny as she drank it.
Connor drained the last of his drink, winking at Piper as he wiped his mouth and set his cup down. “I’ll wait outside while you say your goodbyes.”
Lambert caught his elbow. “Look after her,” he said with a tightness around his mouth.
Connor raised a brow and shucked him off as he turned to the door. “As if she were a precious jewel, mate,” he said, giving a laid-back salute to his temple as he left.
Lambert turned back to Piper and chewed on his bottom lip.
For a moment she was silent, and her breathing quickened as she waited for him to speak. When she couldn’t stand the tension any longer, she broke the silence. “So this is goodbye?”
He nodded. “Do not think of it as forever. Our paths will cross again. Siblings or not, we have a connection. You feel it as I do.”
She lowered her eyes, afraid that looking at his face any longer would cause the tears welling in her lids to overflow. His arms reached out and he pulled her towards him. He sank his chin into her neck and clasped her tightly. She gave in to her tears and hugged him back.
Seconds passed as they clung to each other, until his head lifted and he wiped a tear from her cheek. “I want to be selfish and keep you here, but you have to go.”
“I will never forget you. Not ever,” she whispered.
“Nor I you.” They broke apart, and he turned to open the door. “Goodbye, Piper,” he said, before dropping a gentle kiss on her forehead, the way he always did.
Piper’s chest sank. Somehow, she had hoped for more, but she forced a smile and managed a shaky goodbye. Then Connor scooped her into his arms, and she let out a long sigh as the door clicked to a close behind her and she left part of her heart behind.
THE END
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The story continues in Book Three: Dragonblood: Mountain of Lies
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Also by Raquel Lyon
Dragonblood
Box of Secrets
Dead Men Walking
Mountain of Lies
Standalone
Foxblood: The Trilogy