Destined for Eternity

by Susan Illene

  Cori hesitated. It was hard to let Sybil go, but after a final snuggle, she let the werewolf take her daughter. She turned to Kerbasi next. “I hate to ask, but you’re the only one who can do it quickly.”

  “What is it?”

  “Could you go to my house and get a few things from Sybil’s nursery? She needs diapers, an outfit, and a blanket at the very least.” Cori hoped to return there soon, but she would need at least a few hours to recover first and wanted her baby to have the basics now.

  The guardian shifted from foot to foot. “Are you certain I’m the best one to find those items?”

  She frowned. “Oh wait, there’s a bag by the nursery room door that will have all of it.” Her mind was still so foggy and exhausted, she’d forgotten about it. “Just grab that.”

  “Very well.” He started to head out of the room, then stopped. “Are you certain you’ll be fine until I return?”

  “It shouldn’t take you long, and we’ll be okay until then,” the sensor assured him.

  Ariel made a shooing motion. “I will protect them. Don’t worry.”

  With one last hesitant look, Kerbasi headed out of the house. He had to flash from the outside because of Melena’s protections and would have to do the same at Cori’s home, but it wouldn’t add much more time or trouble. Locks wouldn’t be a problem for him either with his powers.

  He hadn’t been gone more than a minute when Cori sensed Bartol nearby. Relief filled her, and she sat up straight. “He’s here.”

  “Bartol and Remiel,” Melena said, glancing up from where she observed Heidi examining the baby. Concern filled her blue eyes. “I didn’t expect him as well.”

  Cori waited in anticipation for Bartol to make his way up to the room, but instead, she heard him go into the bathroom down the hallway. Remiel poked his head into the room. “We will clean up first before entering. Melena, could you provide a set of Lucas’ clothes for Bartol to wear?”

  “Of course,” she said, hurrying from the room.

  Remiel disappeared behind her. A moment later, he returned fully clean and donning a fresh robe. She supposed Heaven’s minions didn’t have to shower with their nifty powers.

  “How did the battle go? Is everyone okay?” Cori asked.

  The archangel’s gaze fell on Sybil where Heidi tended her on the dresser, and he smiled. “I suspect your battle went better than ours.”

  Cori clutched the sheet covering her. “What do you mean?”

  “Most of the demons are dead, but some of them fled before we could catch them. We also had a few losses on our side.” He paused and gave Cori an apologetic look. “But it’s best we discuss that later.”

  She wanted to know more, but just then Heidi finished with the baby. Thankfully, the midwife had a spare diaper in her bag that she’d put on Sybil. The werewolf handed the child over to Melena, who’d just returned, then headed toward Cori. “I need to check you over next and make sure you delivered the full placenta. Everyone except Melena and the baby should leave the room.”

  Remiel and Ariel left the room together, closing the door behind them.

  Heidi had Cori lay back as she felt her stomach and did a full examination. After inspecting the placenta and cleaning her up with the spare towels and the water Melena had set aside, she let Cori sit up and hold the baby again. Sybil was just figuring out how to latch onto her nipple after quite a few attempts when Bartol came into the room. He wore a pair of Lucas’ dark slacks and a white t-shirt, but no shoes.

  “That’s my cue to go,” Melena said, and squeezed Cori’s hand. “I’ll check on you in a bit.”

  Bartol’s eyes homed in on her and the baby. Moving in slow motion, he made his way across the room. “I’m sorry I missed the birth.”

  “It’s okay.” Cori smiled up at him. “You were needed somewhere else more.”

  He stared down at their child, wonder in his eyes. “It doesn’t feel that way right now. You have no idea how much I’d have rather been here instead.”

  Bartol was covered in raw wounds, but at least they were healing and none of them were severe.

  Cori shifted slightly to give him a better view. “We have a daughter. I told everyone her name is Sybil.”

  He caressed her cheek. “Thank you. It means a lot that you’ve chosen that name.”

  The baby unlatched from her breast and stared at Bartol. She seemed so fascinated by him. Cori adjusted Sybil in her arms and held her up a little. “Would you like to hold her?”

  “That would be…” He hesitated, staring at his daughter with apprehension. Then he took a deep breath, relaxed and held out his hands. “Yes. That would be wonderful.”

  Carefully, he took the baby from Cori. He held her like she was made of the most fragile glass and brought her close to his chest. “She is amazing.”

  Before her eyes, she watched as her mate transformed into a different man. “Yes, she is.”

  “I cannot believe she is ours.”

  Cori thought about telling him how they’d almost lost Sybil, but she’d wait until after Bartol wasn’t holding her. It would only frighten him more, and she wanted this moment to last as long as possible.

  “You’re doing well,” she said, impressed with how relaxed he appeared. “First, you propose to me in front of a big audience, then you even hug and kiss me while they watch, and then you hold your daughter. How are you pulling all this off?”

  He leaned down and kissed Sybil on the forehead. It was so gentle and sweet that it brought tears to Cori’s eyes. There was no fear in his expression now, only love.

  “I thought it would be hard, but it’s not,” he admitted, never taking his gaze from his daughter. “It helps that I’ve been working with Eli almost every day since I last saw you at my cabin.”

  “Really?” She could hardly believe he’d take that big of a step.

  Bartol nodded. “After the fight…I knew I had to do something. You were right that we couldn’t keep going on as we were, but I didn’t know how to fix our problems. He gave me a few ideas and helped me work through my fears and what was causing them.”

  “I’m proud of you,” she said. “I know it couldn’t have been easy to go to him.”

  Bartol glanced between her and their daughter. “For you two, I would do anything.”

  Cori smiled. “Good, because you’re going to be helping with diaper changes, baths, and a whole lot more.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, mindful of the baby in his arms. “Gladly.”

  Cori had never been happier in her life.

  Chapter 24

  Bartol

  The living room was filled to the brink with visitors. Under any other circumstances, Bartol would never have been sitting in the middle of that many people, but with Sybil cradled in his arms, he felt a certain degree of calm and peacefulness. She had a way of doing that to him. As if it was her special gift, she could bring joy and happiness with her mere presence. No one could look upon her without appearing uplifted.

  It had been two days since his daughter was born. All the fears he’d had before about caring for her and holding her had been swept away. She was a part of him, tiny and precious. He would love her and protect her from the world no matter what it took.

  “You should share the baby, Bartol,” Melena said, her soft gaze on the infant he held.

  Joy sniffed. “He will hardly let her go except for Cori.”

  Normally, he enjoyed the company of his mate’s mother and her lively spirit, but he finally understood why Cori found Joy overbearing. The woman wanted to be involved in every little thing. She had her own style of swaddling and way of cleaning the baby. If they didn’t do things exactly to her standards, she could get quite upset. Having said that, she had been rather helpful when they needed a little rest. Their newborn daughter did not keep a consistent schedule and had managed to exhaust them all already.

  Bartol lifted his gaze from Sybil to address Melena. “You had the privilege of delivering
my daughter. I did not get that pleasure, so I must make up for it by spending extra time with my child.”

  “Well, I didn’t do that much…” the sensor began.

  Cori, who sat next to him on the couch, shot Melena a warning look. “You did plenty!”

  The details Bartol had been given of Sybil’s birth had been sketchy. He’d learned that the midwife did not arrive in time, but his mate didn’t go into details other than to say there had been a complication, and they’d had to clean the baby’s lungs.

  “What am I missing?” he demanded.

  “Nothing,” Cori replied, not meeting his gaze.

  Bartol lifted a brow. “Honesty, remember?”

  It had been a promise they’d made between each other and one he planned to uphold.

  She fidgeted with her hands. “It’s nothing. It’s just that Melena wasn’t the one to catch Sybil when she came out.”

  He stiffened. “Then who did?”

  Silence.

  “Cori…”

  She let out a sigh, and the words rushed out. “It was Kerbasi, okay? We didn’t have anyone else, and he wouldn’t leave my side through the whole labor. He even healed Sybil of the lung problem with help from Ariel. I know you’ve got your issues with him—I totally get that—but he was there for me when I needed him.”

  Bartol handed the baby over to Joy, who happily took her. He was too angry for the child to remain in his arms. “I knew he would stay nearby and guard you, but I did not expect you to allow him in the room.”

  “In her defense, the midwife couldn’t get there yet, and I had no idea what to do,” Melena said, attempting to pacify him.

  Lucas, who sat next to his mate on the love seat across from them, shook his head. “I would not be pleased with the guardian witnessing such an act, either.”

  Cori stood, glaring at both men. “What were we supposed to do?”

  Sybil began to cry. Joy calmly took the baby upstairs while making soothing noises.

  “Don’t blame them,” Ginny said where she sat with her daughters in the corner. “When you’re having a baby, you need all the help you can get.”

  “Anyone would have been better than Kerbasi,” Bartol growled. It was all he could do to rein in his temper, keeping in mind the baby upstairs had just stopped crying. He would not scare his daughter again, though it was difficult to keep his voice down under the circumstances.

  Cori crossed her arms. “That’s not true. Kerbasi did a great job, and our daughter is alive and well because of him.”

  The guardian had requested to visit since they’d returned to Cori’s home, but Bartol had refused. He didn’t want that man anywhere near his daughter. Finding out Kerbasi had delivered Sybil couldn’t have made him more horrified or angry. What were the women thinking?

  “He saw you…where he shouldn’t have.” Bartol could hardly contain his jealousy at the thought. “You knew I would not approve.”

  Cori closed her eyes and took a breath before speaking. “You know I broke two of his fingers because I was in so much pain, but he never complained once. He kept me calm, held my hand, and made me feel safe. Sure, he’s been a terrible person in the past, but he is doing his best to make up for it.”

  “He burned my face!” Bartol yelled, then blanched. He waited a moment to make certain it remained quiet upstairs. “There is no making up for that or all the other things he’s done. That man will never be redeemable.”

  Lucas cleared his throat. “Well, he does make a good protector. He has done everything possible to keep Emily safe these last couple of years. I wouldn’t say he isn’t without some value.”

  Bartol leveled his gaze on the nephilim. “You can’t be serious. The guardian tortured you as well, and you’re truly willing to forgive him?”

  “Hardly.” Lucas wrinkled his nose. “I will never forgive him, but I have learned he is not the same person we knew in Purgatory. There are times he’s proven useful.”

  “I cannot believe I’m hearing this.” He threw up his hands, thinking everyone must have gone mad. “Has he manipulated your minds as well?”

  Melena scoffed. “He can’t do that to me—or Cori. You might have to accept the fact that Kerbasi isn’t as terrible as he once was and get over it.”

  “Not in this lifetime,” Bartol vowed.

  “I wish you’d seen how hard he worked to save our baby.” Cori put a soothing hand on his arm. “He would have done anything for her, I swear.”

  It was getting easier to bear her touch, especially with the daily sessions Bartol spent with Eli. The psychologist had been coaching him through techniques to get over his fear of physical contact. Still, it didn’t reduce his anger.

  He broke away and paced the floor. “You shouldn’t have allowed him to see you or touch our daughter.”

  “He protected Sybil and me,” Cori said, her voice firm yet assuaging. “Hate that if you want, but at least give him credit. When you couldn’t be there, he did the best he could to look after us, and he did it knowing it would mean nothing to you.”

  “I doubt that.” Bartol paused in his pacing. “He thought it would redeem him. The man is selfish and thinks of no one except himself.”

  Melena sighed. “In a lot of ways, I’d agree, but not when it comes to innocent people and children. He would give his life to protect a baby—your baby—and he’d do it expecting nothing in return.”

  “You’re all fools.”

  A knock sounded at the door, and everyone turned their heads in that direction.

  “It’s Raguel,” Melena explained.

  Cori hurried over to let the archangel inside. Other than those staying at the house, they’d asked everyone to wait until that day to visit. It allowed them time with the baby and a chance to adjust to their growing family. They’d already had many guests come and go, but his father had been away somewhere and didn’t make it until now.

  Raguel stepped into the living room. “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation.”

  “Surely, you agree with me, father,” Bartol said, hoping he’d found an ally.

  The archangel lifted his chin. “I agree the guardian is contemptible for what he has done to you and other nephilim, but I have also heard he’s performed charitable acts since returning to Earth. Perhaps in this case, you should give him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “I’m not letting him see my child again.”

  “That is your decision, son,” Raguel said, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. “But I suspect as long as you hold a grudge against the guardian, you will never truly heal from your experiences in Purgatory. And that will affect your daughter.”

  Eli had been telling Bartol the same thing. While the psychologist had never done anything worth getting imprisoned in Purgatory, he had volunteered to stay there once for a few days to try understanding the experience. That had been when he was treating Lucas and his psychological trauma. Eli had endured a few of Kerbasi’s tortures during his short sojourn there, but it hadn’t been enough to bother him long term. Perhaps if he’d been there for months instead, he might have understood better.

  Bartol retook his seat on the couch. “I’m tired of everyone telling me to get over it as if it is that easy.”

  “I know it isn’t,” Lucas said, giving him a commiserating look. “But the bonus to allowing Kerbasi in your life is you can make him miserable in return. When he’s annoying, we take the heater from his shack so that he freezes at night, or I give him a good beating until he’s bloody all over. You would be surprised how much that does for relieving stress.”

  Melena rolled her eyes. “You’re cruel, Lucas.”

  “Says the woman who shoots him once a week.”

  “Only when he deserves it,” she argued, shrugging her shoulders.

  “Your ways of dealing with the guardian are not mine.” Bartol gave them both an exasperated glare. “Hurting him will not make me feel better and only lowers me to his level.”

  Melena grinned. “It�
�s good to be on that level sometimes.”

  “Find another way,” Cori suggested.

  “Like what?” Bartol asked.

  “The nerou have graduated and will be leaving for their assignments in a few days. Kerbasi will be out of a job. You and your father are the only ones who can kill demons, but what if the guardian could be changed somehow so he could do it, too?”

  Raguel stirred. “It is a painful process to alter an angel of any caste, but especially for those designed for duty in Purgatory. They are rather…different.”

  Technically, Kerbasi was an angel, but a lesser one.

  “How much pain would it involve?” Bartol asked.

  “Many hours of agony.”

  Something clicked into place, and it settled him. This particular idea appealed to Bartol. He might have to work with the guardian at first to assist in training him, but after that Kerbasi would be able to go on assignments by himself—preferably far away. It would keep the man busy and yet useful for once.

  “What are the odds Heaven would allow it?” Bartol asked.

  Raguel rubbed his chin. “I cannot say for certain, but the timing is the best it will ever be for such a proposal.”

  Melena frowned. “What about the treaty with the demons?”

  The archangel’s face became an emotionless mask. “That is complicated.”

  “How so?”

  Raguel glanced toward the stairs. “I believe I shall go see my grandchild now.”

  Before anyone could stop him or ask more questions, the archangel was gone. He’d been pointedly avoiding certain topics since his return. Bartol suspected there were things occurring in Heaven that the rest of them weren’t allowed to know about, but it was getting annoying. They couldn’t be kept in the dark forever.

  “That man has got a secret,” Melena said, leaning back in her seat. “And it’s a big one.”

  Lucas nodded. “Agreed.”

  “So, um, about Kerbasi…” Cori began.

  Bartol looked at her. “I’ll let the issue of him attending our child’s birth go for now, but I don’t want him here—end of discussion.”