by G. K. DeRosa
Celeste didn’t feel right keeping the ring when its rightful owner sat in front of her. After a moment of consideration, she slipped it off her finger and held it out to Lilliana. “Here,” she said, handing it to her. “It’s yours. You should have it back.”
Alek’s head snapped toward the ring, his eyes bright with interest.
“No,” interjected Roman, pulling her hand back more harshly than he had intended. “Celeste, you have to keep it.” Lilliana looked at her son in astonishment. “I’m sorry, Mother. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“I see that you feel very adamantly about it. How can I say no?”
For a moment the room was quiet, and Celeste felt horribly uncomfortable. So far she wasn’t making the best impression on her possible future mother-in-law. Thankfully after a few minutes, Aunt Maddie broke the awkward silence. “As lovely as this has all been,” she said standing, “we need to be getting back home.” Maks rose next to her as a show of solidarity. “What are you guys doing?”
That was truly the million-dollar question. Roman and Nico had come to liberate their mother from her supposed captor and yet it seemed she had no desire to be freed from anything. Celeste had sought vengeance for Natalie’s death and even she couldn’t deny that it was becoming increasingly apparent that Alek had nothing to do with Brazen’s plan, nor did he seem to be aware of the wealth of power held inside him from the merging of the two covens’ blood running through his veins. All in all, the rescue attempt-slash-attack had been a bust.
“Mother, are you sure you don’t want to come back with us?” asked Roman, rising from the loveseat and taking her hands in his.
Lilliana couldn’t forget her promise to Alek. She had sworn not to go back with her sons if he allowed her to see them. He had kept his word and not harmed them and now she knew she must keep hers. “Not right now, my son,” she responded. “It seems you have quite a lot to deal with anyway.” She gave Celeste a sidelong glance.
“How will we know you are safe?” asked Nico, moving to stand in front of her. “I can’t lose you again.”
“Alek will keep me safe,” she answered, “and we can keep in touch. There is no reason for him to keep me hidden from you anymore.” She made this comment rather pointedly at Alek. He looked up, his dark eyes meeting hers, then nodded slowly. “I have always been watching over all of you. Even when I was in the Abyss, and I will always continue to do so.”
“The Abyss?” asked Celeste. It had been the second time she’d heard that word used, but still had no idea what it meant.
“It’s where supernatural beings go when they die,” she answered.
Celeste was curious, but she kept her mouth shut; she knew now was not the time for a Q and A on the supernatural purgatory.
“You swear to keep our mother safe?” asked Nico, towering over Alek.
“Of course I do,” he answered arrogantly. “Someone has to, after all.”
“She won’t be with you for long,” hissed Roman as he brushed by Alek.
“But brother, we should all be one big happy family,” Alek retorted. “As a measure of good faith, I’ll even let Celeste keep the ring for now.”
“It’s not yours to give or take away,” snarled back Roman.
As everyone filed out the front door, Roman lingered behind, the guilt of leaving his mother plaguing him.
“Keep an eye on the Guardian,” whispered Alek through clenched teeth. “I can feel the darkness growing inside of her, and it’s quite impressive.”
It took all of Roman’s self control not to smash his fist right into Alek’s smug face. He took a deep breath, gave a parting glance to his mother and trudged out the door behind the others.
“Are you sure we don’t have time to do just a little sightseeing?” whined Celeste.
“No!” shouted Roman, Nico and Aunt Maddie in unison.
The whole group was gathered in the small kitchen of Maddie and Maks’ apartment, and the savory smell of pancetta on the frying pan filled the air. Celeste sat at the dinette with Roman glaring at her from across the tiny table as he sipped his espresso.
“Geez, I just figured since we were already all the way out here, it wouldn’t hurt to stay one extra day,” she continued.
“I could show you guys around,” interjected Marco and Celeste threw him an appreciative smile.
“We’re leaving today,” said Roman, “and that’s the end of the discussion. Stellan is furious with you for sneaking off in the first place, and if the Council finds out what you did, you’d be in even more trouble.”
Celeste rolled her eyes as she took a bite of her fresh roll filled with fried egg and pancetta.
“Roman’s right,” said Aunt Maddie. “You took a big risk coming out here, and you were lucky everything turned out the way it did. It could just as easily have been a total disaster.”
“I spoke to Stellan and he is still concerned about our discovery regarding Alek’s Negrusurori-Albsurori bloodline. He fears that it won’t be long before Alek realizes his true potential,” said Roman.
“Great,” said Nico. “I can’t wait for that day to come.”
“Doesn’t anyone else find it strange how cordial Alek was acting?” asked Marco.
“I do!” cried Celeste. “It’s like he’s a completely different person.”
“Maybe it really is Lilliana’s influence on him,” suggested Maks.
Roman snorted. “That’s unlikely.”
Maks took a step toward Maddie who was leaning against the kitchen counter and put an arm around her. “Never underestimate the power of love,” he said. Maddie blushed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Celeste hadn’t even considered the possibility that Alek’s new personality was anything but a show. But there was some truth in what Maks had said. She had seen a completely different side of the vampire in Warsaw just a month ago, and he truly did seem like a changed man. “Maks could be right,” said Celeste. “Maybe having a mother who loves him and finding out she didn’t abandon him like he had thought all his life has changed him. Maybe his blood ties to the Negrusurori won’t be an issue.”
“I don’t buy it,” said Nico. “How could someone change so much over night?”
“I’m with you, brother,” said Roman.
“At least we know your mom is safe,” said Celeste.
“For now, anyway,” answered Roman. “How long do you think it will take Dante and the Council to figure out she has her memory back and her powers?”
“I’ll talk to them if it comes up,” Celeste answered. “I’ll make them understand.”
Maddie glanced at the clock above the compact refrigerator and signaled to the others. “We have to get going soon if you’re going to catch that flight out today.”
Celeste stuck out her bottom lip and gave Roman her best sad puppy dog eyes, but he didn’t budge. “Go get packed,” he said in his finest stern dad voice. Celeste let out a huff and stormed out of the kitchen with hands on hips, mumbling indignantly as she went.
After collecting her toiletries in the bathroom, she marched into the living room to pack up her suitcase. She found Marco sitting on the couch watching her.
“I’m sorry you have to go so soon,” he said, his dark eyes darting from her to the suitcase.
“Me too,” she replied. “I really thought I could convince Roman to let us stay one more night.”
“So I hear you’re back together,” he said rather abruptly.
“Wow, word really does travel fast in the guardian community,” she said nonchalantly.
Marco chuckled. “It wasn’t them this time. Roman told me.”
“When did you guys have a chance to talk about that?” she asked, all the while continuing to fold her clothes without looking up.
“It was when I called you in Oak Bluffs and he answered your phone. He wanted to make sure he made himself crystal clear.”
Celeste blushed. “He gets a little jealous sometimes,” she said. “Sorry about
that.”
Marco stood up and took a step toward her and locked his dark eyes onto hers. “I understand. If I had such a beautiful and amazing girlfriend, I might get a little jealous myself.” Celeste giggled uncomfortably and dropped his gaze, returning to her very important folding. “He’s a very lucky man, and I hope he realizes that.”
“I think he does,” she responded, backing away a step. She wasn’t sure how he had done it, but he was just inches away from her face. “Umm, I have to get something from the bathroom.” She quickly spun around and dashed in the other direction. When she reached the bathroom, she slammed the door shut and locked it tight. Sometimes she had a hard time distinguishing between Marco’s typical Italian flirty ways and real feelings he may have for her. Get a grip, Celeste. She splashed some cold water on her face and unlocking the door, peeked out into the hallway.
“Are you ready?” asked Roman, appearing around the corner.
“Yup, almost,” said Celeste.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t stay longer,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll bring you back here one day, and we’ll see all of Rome – from the Trevi Fountain to the Coliseum and back to Vatican City. The eternal city at night is truly incredible, and I want to share that with you, just the two of us.”
“It sounds wonderful,” she said as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“All right you two, more packing and less kissing,” said Aunt Maddie as she appeared in the narrow hallway.
Celeste gave her aunt a big hug. “Thanks for everything, Aunt Maddie. I really appreciate you and Maks helping Roman and Nico, especially after everything.”
“I figured I owed you for helping me find Maks in the first place. I could have never done that without your help,” she replied. “And I guess they’re not so bad after all.”
“Will you promise to come visit us in Oak Bluffs soon?” Celeste asked. “It was so nice having you around.”
“I promise,” she said. “Now that I have Maks again, I feel like we can start over, do anything.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Celeste.
“I’m not sure yet, but Rome seemed like a good place to start. Maks wants to start patrolling with me now that we’re here. It was too strange for him in Warsaw where he knew most of the vampires. I’ll have to have a talk with Mr. Caccia since this is his family’s territory, though,” she said with a grimace.
“Why don’t you like him?” asked Celeste. “You looked so uncomfortable the entire time we were there yesterday.” To Celeste, Mr. Caccia seemed like such a nice man and yet he seemed to make Aunt Maddie’s skin crawl.
“It’s old family history,” Aunt Maddie replied. “I’ll tell you about it next time I come visit.”
Celeste stared longingly out the window as they passed by the lofty dome of St. Peter’s Basilica on the way to the airport. She knew Roman and the others were right, but it didn’t make her feel any less disappointed about missing all of the beautiful sights. She knew she had to go back to Oak Bluffs and manage some major groveling so that Stellan would forgive her. And then she had to convince him that she was fine so she could work on finding and killing Brazen and the werewolves responsible for Natalie’s death.
Chapter 21
As the wheels of the 747 touched down on the runway amid cheers from the passengers, Celeste’s thoughts were troubled. Soon they would be back in Oak Bluffs and she would have to deal with the fact that one of her dearest friends was gone – forever. The past few days had been a blur with all the underhanded plotting and traveling, so much so that she’d had no time to think at all about Natalie. Now all of the unpleasant thoughts came speeding back to her along with a newly familiar dark sensation. Celeste shook her head roughly and rubbed her eyes, hoping to block it out. She knew she needed to fight the dark urges and yet they made her feel strong and powerful and in charge for once.
“You okay?” asked Roman, nudging her with his elbow.
“Yeah, just a little out of it. Must be the jet lag,” she said lamely.
After getting through customs and picking up their luggage, the three of them were on the road back to Oak Bluffs. With Nico at the wheel, they were home in no time at all. Roman had convinced Stellan to allow Celeste one night back at home with her mother before the lockdown and rehab at his house began. Stellan had only agreed because Roman swore he would spend the night watching her from his perch outside her window in the old oak tree.
As the BMW pulled into the driveway, Celeste was relieved to see her mom’s car parked in the garage. She would usually have been working at this hour, but she had taken the night off to spend some time with her wayward daughter. Celeste had been so concerned about Stellan’s wrath that she hadn’t even considered her mother’s.
“I’ll be by first thing in the morning to pick you up,” said Roman as Celeste climbed out of the car.
“I thought you were spending the night in the tree,” she said.
“I am, but I’ll leave at dawn and be back with the car,” he replied.
“I’ll leave the window open just a crack in case it gets too cold out there,” she said with a wink.
Roman smiled and with a wave, he and Nico took off, leaving Celeste to face the music with her mother alone.
“Celeste, is that you?” came her mom’s voice from the kitchen, the minute she cracked the door open.
“It’s me,” she said in between slobbery licks from a very happy Rocky.
Her mom emerged from the kitchen, her short brown hair pulled back in a tiny ponytail and her hands covered in yellow rubber gloves.
“Are you cleaning?” asked Celeste.
“You know I clean when I’m nervous and upset,” she replied as she gave Celeste a half hug without touching her with the greasy gloves.
“Before you start yelling at me, I want to apologize,” said Celeste.
“Well, that’s new,” retorted her mom.
“I know I was wrong sneaking off to Rome, and I’m sorry that I worried you.”
“Celeste, I don’t think there’s a single day that goes by that I don’t worry about you,” said her mom as she shimmied out of the rubber gloves. “I don’t understand what exactly is going on with you right now, but if it made Stellan panic, I assume it must be pretty bad.” Celeste gave her a noncommittal shrug. “What in the world were you thinking running off to Italy without telling anyone?”
“It was just something I had to do, Mom. I knew you and Stellan wouldn’t understand so I had no other choice.”
“Stellan said you put yourself at great risk. He told me how important it is for you to remain calm and not get agitated,” she continued. “If anything had happened to you, I would have died.”
“Mom, don’t be so dramatic. Everything’s fine – I’m back and I’m safe and I’ll be under twenty-four hour surveillance for who knows how long at Stellan’s,” complained Celeste.
Her mother exhaled deeply, knowing very well she wasn’t going to win this battle with her daughter. “Come on, let’s go sit. Are you hungry?”
“No, we ate on the plane, and I’m too nervous to eat right now,” she answered.
“Why?”
“It’s all this darkness stuff that Stellan’s been warning me about. Even Alek said something about it when we were in Rome. What if they’re right, Mom? What if I won’t be able to control myself?”
“Sweetie, I wish I could make this better for you. I wish I could make it all go away, but you know I can’t. I can, however, tell you that you are the strongest and most kind-hearted person I know. If anyone can fight this, I know that you can,” said Mrs. Wilder as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.
It took all of Celeste’s will power not to start blubbering like a child in her mother’s arms. “Thanks for the pep talk, Mom. I just hope you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. I’m your mother and I know you better than anyone else.”
“I’m going to miss you when I’m at Stellan’s.
And I really have no idea how long I’ll be gone,” said Celeste.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep in touch with Stellan and make sure you’re allowed family visits for good behavior.”
Celeste giggled. “Thanks Mom, I’m going to need them,” she said stifling a yawn. “I guess I am pretty exhausted after the long flight. I better get to bed; Roman’s picking me up at the crack of dawn.”
“Okay sweetie, get some rest. Goodnight and I love you!”
Celeste trudged up the stairs with her suitcase and barely made it to her bed. She was about to turn off the light on her bedside table when she remembered to unlock the window. She rolled out of bed and pushed the curtain aside, peering out into the sky. It was a dark night, a perfect crescent moon hiding behind the clouds; still, she could just make out the silhouette of a large dark bird in the oak tree right outside her window.
“Goodnight Roman,” she whispered and the falcon tilted its head toward her and cawed back faintly in reply, rustling the leaves on the branch.
“Well this brings back a lot of memories,” said Celeste as she lugged her duffel bag filled with weapons across the threshold of Stellan’s house. She remembered the first time she had moved in with him last summer when she was training to be the Guardian. She had just been a normal teenager back then.
“And they are all good ones, right?” asked Roman as he came in behind her carrying her suitcase.
“Of course,” she answered with a smile, but it was short lived because the grin slid right off her face when she saw Stellan’s stern expression as he walked toward her.
“Roman, thank you for getting Celeste here as agreed upon,” he said coldly, and Celeste couldn’t help but notice he refused to look at her, seeming to talk about her like she wasn’t even there. This wasn’t the first time she had done something Stellan disapproved of, yet he seemed so much angrier on this occasion.
“I’m really sorry for running off like that,” she said quickly. He nodded but still didn’t meet her eyes.
“Roman, please help Celeste take her things to her room upstairs. I think you are familiar with which one,” Stellan said and turned away toward the kitchen.