by Rye Brewer
“Who would’ve guessed a fae mage would become queen of the shades?” Felicity chuckled. “So much has changed.”
“For the better,” Allonic reminded her. “Now that Gregor has agreed to serve as my mentor and advisor while I find my stride as king, I have confidence in the future.”
“A wise idea,” I nodded.
“Hers, naturally.” He allowed his queen to take credit without a moment’s thought, beaming with pride at her cleverness. He was wise enough to trust her. I had confidence in their future, too.
“I’m going home soon—would the two of you visit us there from time to time? You know Anissa wouldn’t hear of your duties keeping you away from us for long.”
“I’ll send word,” Allonic promised. “And the invitation goes both ways. You’re always welcome with us.”
I raised a skeptical brow. “That hasn’t always been the case.”
“Again, much has changed for the better. And remember, we’re no longer closing ourselves off from one another. It’s time to forge stronger bonds. If that means a visit now and then, I believe it can be arranged.”
They were so clearly happy to be together, walking hand-in-hand out the door along with Gregor, who shook my hand before joining them. There was still a touch of sadness at the corners of his eyes, the sort of sadness that a man doesn’t simply shake off. He would carry it with him for the rest of his days. I hoped something would help ease it, that mentoring Allonic would add new purpose to his life.
And a grandchild or two wouldn’t hurt matters.
“Congratulations.” My father joined me. “I never had a doubt, by the way.”
“I did,” I confided with a grimace. “I had quite a few doubts.”
“Most people will rise to the occasion when their better nature is called upon. Your brother can come home. So, too, can Philippa if she chooses. With a little finagling and you and Vance’s brother in the top positions, they’ll be well protected.”
“I can hardly believe it,” I confessed as we walked slowly down the length of the nave, only the two of us left behind after the meeting. “It’s been so long since we were together. I wish I knew where to find Scott.”
“He’ll find his way home again, once he’s found whatever he was looking for. I don’t envy him. I don’t envy anyone as conflicted as he is.” He paused, bringing me to a halt. “Keep in mind that it might not be possible for all of you to be together now, or ever. You have your own lives. You’ll be busy with the League, not to mention your wife and the family you may one day start. Gage has his mate now, Philippa has hers. Life has changed beyond our expectations.”
“I’ve learned to let go of my expectations,” I confessed with a chuckle. “I know better now.”
“Just… maintain your expectations,” he advised. “In all areas. Taking Lucian’s place won’t be a picnic, no matter how well things went in there.”
“I have no illusions, I assure you. I know there will still be those with an agenda of their own. I’ve already maneuvered my way to having my agenda realized—even when it meant pretending I hadn’t intended to take Lucian’s life myself. Pretending to care that he died.”
I lowered my gaze to the floor. “I don’t want to be like him. Scheming, only telling those around me what I believe they need to know. Being truthful when it suits me. Do you think this position has the power to change a person? Will I wake up one day, fifty years from now, to find myself just as bad as he ever was?”
“No. I have no doubt about that. You’ll never be like him, because he wasn’t a decent man. You are. The fact that you would even question yourself tells me so.” He resumed walking, and I fell in step beside him. “You have something else he never had.”
“What’s that?”
“Family to anchor you, to keep you on course. Yes, he had his sons, but they were his heirs. Nothing more. He was never satisfied, and that unhappiness poured out into everything he put his hand to. Focus on what truly matters. Anissa, your family. The people you love. Make decisions with them in mind, not yourself or what suits your desires best. You can’t go wrong.”
“I’ll take that to heart,” I vowed, and I meant it with every fiber of my being.
“Here.” He handed me a phone. “The number to the phone I gave Gage is in there. You should be the one to make the call.”
“What about you?” I asked as he looked prepared to move on.
He smiled, and for an instant, he reminded me of the father I used to know. He hadn’t changed. Dommik was still in there, the essence of what had made him who he was. I’d only tricked myself into believing anything else.
“I intend to bring back our family from Hallowthorn Landing, if that would work for you. Now that the League is in good hands, I have no need to worry about Sirene or Elena.”
“That would work just fine,” I grinned, relieved, watching as he opened a portal. “I’ll meet you all at the high-rise.”
When the portal closed, I looked down at the phone he’d given me.
There was another call I wanted to make first, and that number was programmed into my personal phone. I dialed it up and waited, hoping she would be able to talk. Knowing Philippa, she was making the most of wherever she happened to be—which meant partying, visiting nightclubs, and generally cutting a swath through the city.
“Jonah?” she answered, sounding pleased and a bit surprised. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t say anything was wrong,” I said, looking around the empty nave and reminding myself that I would now conduct meetings there. “In fact, there’s a lot that happens to be going well. For starters, I was just elected as Lucian’s replacement.”
“Oh, I’m so glad!”
“Landon is my second-in-command. And I know we would agree that we want the two of you back here. There’s no reason to run anymore. I plan to work everything out here. I want us to be together again, if we can. Or at least for all of us to feel like we don’t have to hide.”
The moment’s hesitation from her end of the call told me everything I needed to know. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful…”
“Oh, no. Not you. You would never.”
“Hush,” she chided. “It’s just that… we’ve been very happy out here. Happier than either of us have been in a long time, in fact. I don’t necessarily want to give that up just yet.”
“Nobody’s asking you to.”
“You know what I mean. There, we have our families, our clans. Here it’s just us. I like that. I don’t mean to stay away forever, but…”
“Just for now,” I finished. “I understand.”
“Do you? I need you to.”
“I only want you to be happy, Philippa. I want you to come home, yes, but when you’re ready. The option is there now. You no longer have to hide.”
“Thank you for that. I know it’ll mean the world to Vance.” The tenderness with which she spoke his name told me this was the real thing. He had always been the only one she’d ever loved, and they deserved their time together.
“I guess the two of you are just coming back from a night on the town, then.”
“Actually…” She laughed. “We spent the night watching movies on the couch.”
“You? I don’t believe it.”
“We spend a lot more time inside than out. I’m tired of the party scene. Sure, it’s nice sometimes, maybe once or even twice a week. Otherwise? I’d rather stay in.”
“Well, domesticity certainly has changed you. I can’t say I’m unhappy about it.”
“Thank you. I didn’t know I was such a nightmare.”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m glad you’re settled down. I’m glad you’ve found what you were missing.”
“So am I. And what about you? Did you find what you needed?”
“I’m married now.”
“What?” she shrieked at a pitch I was sure dogs all over the city must have heard. “You married Anissa?”
“Is it such a surprise? That’s where
we were always headed.”
“Without me there?”
“It was private, in Avellane. No one was there but Allonic and Felicity.”
“Now I need to return earlier than I’d planned,” she declared, and I could practically hear the wheels spinning. “We’re going to throw a bash like nobody’s ever seen. It’ll be unforgettable.”
“Well, if anyone can plan a party like that, it’s you. I’d better go. I need to call Gage and tell him it’s safe to come back, if he wants to.”
“Hey, Jonah. I love you. And…” She paused. “Tell Anissa the same from me.”
I managed to keep myself from collapsing. This was a complete about-face from how she’d once felt. Vance had changed her, for certain, and I couldn’t complain. “I will. And I love you, too.”
We’d said it not nearly often enough over the years, something I’d never given much thought to until Anissa entered my world and opened my life to a new depth, a new richness. I could never have imagined how she would turn everything around and grant me an appreciation for that which I’d taken for granted.
Like my twin brother. I called him using the phone Fane gave me. I could’ve lost him more than once—and I hadn’t cared, or I’d done my best to convince myself that I hadn’t. He’d insisted on challenging me, and I’d sworn it didn’t matter.
Now, I would’ve fought the entire League if they’d stood in the way of overturning the law keeping him out of the country. Good thing they hadn’t.
“Gage,” I said when he answered, relief washing over me at the sound of his voice. “Are you finally tired of Europe? Because Manhattan misses you.”
41
Anissa
“They’re beautiful together.” Sirene looked absolutely beatific as she watched Branwen walking arm-in-arm with Stark, strolling along the docks. We knew the intimate gesture served a deeper purpose, making sure he didn’t lose his strength too easily, supporting him as he walked a little further every day.
“They are,” I sighed. “Branwen’s glowing. I almost feel bad for watching. Like I shouldn’t witness something so private.”
“Should we go inside?”
“Oh, no way.”
She clearly agreed, because we stayed in the courtyard, where there was a clear view of them as they took their walk.
“Elena enjoys being outside,” she rationalized. “I wouldn’t want to keep her out of the fresh air.”
“And sunlight,” I pointed out. “Though she’ll have to get used to being indoors during the day once we go home.”
Sirene looked pensive at this. “Perhaps she won’t carry the sensitivity. Perhaps her witch blood will outweigh the vampire blood. It’s all such a mystery.”
“I would hate to put her in the sun and watch her burn, just for the sake of finding out whether she can tolerate it,” I fretted. The thought of her sweet, unblemished skin blistering in the sun made it feel like a fist squeezing around my heart.
She lifted Elena from her basket, which she’d already begun to grow a little big for. The baby clapped her hands, then placed them on either side of her mother’s smiling face. It was clear they adored each other.
“I know. I would do anything in my power to prevent it, yet I’m learning, too, that there are only so many things we keep our children from. There are times when they have to experience pain, no matter how it pains us. Imagine keeping Lena indoors during the day for years and years, only to find later that she could have ventured into the sun at any time. How much she would miss.”
“And you’ll never know until you try,” I mused.
“Precisely. The notion hardly thrills me, but if it means allowing my daughter the chance to fully experience life, that is the chance we must take. I suppose that’s the case for all of us, all the time.”
“I suppose.” I turned back toward the long stretch of dock below us, where Stark noticed me looking down and lifted his hand in a wave. Branwen wasn’t the only one who looked practically blissful. He’d waited long enough for her, from what Sirene had confided to me.
Things were finally right, for so many of us.
Why did my heart feel so heavy? We were closer than ever to the peace and security I had longed for. I should have been happy, grateful. It was a blessing that we could even take refuge as we were, and that Stark and Branwen had made it back alive. That they were in love and so perfectly happy. The Starkers weren’t a threat anymore.
I couldn’t manage a smile no matter how hard I tried.
I was missing Jonah, of course. He was on my mind day and night. What was he doing? What was he feeling? Where was he? Did he need me?
Had he heard about the debacle at the Carver mansion? I would’ve put money on it. That would be a conversation when we were together again, no doubt. Better for me to steel myself for it beforehand.
And there was Sara. We’d heard what she’d done to the Starkers—news of that sort of disaster tended to spread, even to a remote location like Hallowthorn Landing. After all, an elemental witch had destroyed an entire estate. The priestesses and witches who called it home had fairly strong opinions of it, and they weren’t positive ones.
It wouldn’t be easy for my sister. She had already made enemies—or, at last, vocal opponents. It didn’t reflect well on any witch for her to be so flamboyant, even if humans would never know it was a witch who’d caused the event.
Where could she make a life for herself? What sort of life would it be? And how was I supposed to forget her, even if she wanted me to?
The happy couple made their slow way toward us, climbing the stone stairs which wound their way up along the mountainside. By the time they reached the courtyard overlooking the sea, Stark needed to sit and rest. “It seems I’m still a bit weaker than I’d like,” he admitted, grimacing, and I noticed beads of sweat at his temples.
“You get stronger every day,” Branwen reminded him, firmly but with kindness. “Not many people could make it through what you did. You’re fortunate to be with us still.”
“I only made it back thanks to you,” he replied. Once again, the loving look they exchanged made my heart ache. I needed Jonah more than ever and wondered how much longer I’d be able to last without him.
The opening of a portal surprised all of us.
Lena burst into tears at the sudden burst of swirling light, and Sirene comforted her while we waited to see who would step through.
“Fane!” she gasped when he entered the courtyard. She was in his arms in the blink of an eye, holding the baby between them.
“I told you I’d come back, didn’t I?” he murmured, kissing the top of her head as she wept openly. “I told you I would. Do you doubt me so much?”
“It isn’t you I doubted. It was the rest of the world.” She offered a shaky smile before looking down at their daughter, would could not have been more confused or disturbed by her mama’s emotions. “Elena, your father has returned to us.”
Lena looked up at him, her big, sparkling eyes taking him in. What was she thinking? She reached up with one chubby hand to pat his cheek. He wrapped his fingers around hers.
“She’s grown so much,” he marveled. “I knew she would, but I couldn’t have imagined this. My daughter. My Elena.”
I didn’t bother to hold back my tears—and neither did Branwen, who wept openly with her head on Stark’s shoulder. Even he looked more than a little choked up.
Sirene handed Lena to her father, who held her close to his chest. She took to him right away, as if she knew who he was and how she could trust him. Maybe she did, deep down inside.
He looked at me from over the top of her head. “I just left your husband,” he smiled. “He’s looking forward to seeing you soon.”
“Jonah?” I jumped to my feet. “How is he? Where was he? Is everything all right?”
“He’ll want to tell you all about it himself. I wouldn’t want to ruin any surprises,” he winked.
“When will he get to tell me?” I wanted to claw at hi
m, to beg him to tell me the whole story and stop playing games. It might have amused him to keep me hanging, but I didn’t appreciate it after waiting endless days for even a single word.
“When would you like?” he asked. “It’s up to you.”
“To me?” I almost didn’t want to believe it. Was I dreaming? “We can go home?”
“Any time you wish. I came here to gather you and bring you back. If you’re ready to go.”
I looked around at the fortress, the sparkling sea, the warm—and harmless—sun. It was beautiful. And I didn’t care if I never saw it again.
“What about you?” I asked, suddenly regretting leaving them behind. They were the only things I’d miss.
“We can always visit,” Branwen promised, crossing the cobblestones to hug me. “But Stark needs time to get his strength back, and it’s generally better for us to stay out of the human world whenever we can.”
“But don’t think for a second that anything could keep me away from my niece.” Stark managed to get to his feet with no help, and made his way over to where Lena held her arms out to him. He held her carefully, almost reverently. “I’ll miss you, little one.”
“You know you’ll always have a home with us,” I promised. “Both of you. Whenever you want to visit, you’re more than welcome.” Stark seemed pleased by this, but he still hesitated when handing the baby back to her father.
They would be happy together—and who knew? Maybe they’d have a baby of their own in time. The thought of our big, unlikely family growing even larger thrilled me.
But not as much as the thought of home. And Jonah.
“Can we leave now?” I asked, laughing.
The penthouse was strangely quiet when we stepped through the portal.
I could’ve wept with joy at the sight of it. This was the closest thing to home I’d ever known, really, much more so than the Carver mansion had ever been.
“Finally,” I whispered with a sigh of relief. Finally.
“Who’s there?” An unexpected voice, followed by the unexpected presence of none other than Genevieve. She came in from Philippa’s bedroom, and I had to wonder what Philippa would’ve thought of her stepping foot inside.