Assassin's Kiss
Page 20
“As long as you take each day with me, I can live with that,” he said, but his sigh told her there was more.
“What?”
He sat up, drawing the sheet around his hips. “I should have explained about firstmates before I bound you to me forever.”
A sliver of unease carved a piece out of her heart as he sat there, searching for words.
“Even by Jaguar standards, I’m little more than a thug, a paid killer, hired to do the Council’s bidding. I chose this life because I never wanted a firstmate.”
“Then why did you take me as firstmate? You didn’t have to.”
“I never wanted a firstmate because I never wanted to love anyone so much that I’d challenge her next mate to a blood-rite and kill him. I never wanted to look into a child’s eyes and know that because of me, their mother grieved herself to death instead of coming back to me. I’ll never make my father’s mistakes.”
“Do you think I’ll leave you or are you displeased because as a three-natured I might be able to have children?”
He looked surprised for a moment and then he smiled as if he hadn’t thought of that possibility but wasn’t displeased. “I wanted you to know that I wouldn’t make the same mistake that Edward did. I’m honest enough to admit that I’m possessive. Hell, I’ve wanted to kill every bastard who’s touched you but I would never put you through that if you choose another mate after me.”
She slid into his lap, taking his face in her hands. “If you weren’t the man you are, neither of us would be alive right now. I accept you for who you are, forever,” she said, marveling that he was afraid she might leave him. “Repeat everything I say,” she whispered against his lips. He closed his eyes when she kissed him and smiled. “I love you and I take you as my only mate. You come before all others, all oaths, all vows. You are mine to protect until we are no more.”
He opened his eyes and repeated the vow against her lips, folding her into his arms, silently thanking The Twelve for giving her back to him and promising to never leave her side.
He was still holding her when someone knocked on the door. It was a patient knock and they knew when the door opened that their lives would change. There would always be obstacles but they would meet them together.
Epilogue
Mycroft had determined from the tests before and after Kira’s transformation that her DNA had not changed. There wasn’t any rational reason for her transformation into her third nature except that of a miracle. He’d been puzzled because the only reason a Jaguar Warrior female didn’t transform was pregnancy. Warriors did not transform until adolescence and the sudden monthly transformation would crush a fetus.
He’d also set about using Kira’s DNA to determine her lineage. She didn’t have much hope that her sire was still alive but she still petitioned for guarantees that there would be no reprisals against him.
Juan refused to acknowledge the existence of a second Codex or any of the information it might contain, as was his right. He had admitted that a Guardian in the time of the Spaniards had been tortured into revealing the contents of the Codex entrusted to him. Marquette had, in all probability, been privy to the information and sought to use it to manipulate the prophecy and gain control of the Sacred Light. A weapon of total control in the hands of a madman was the ultimate terror.
The council had taken her admonishment that they had neglected their duty to Diego by not training him or taking his oath and respected her wishes when she refused to let him be caged after Mycroft had gotten him on his feet. Mycroft being her chief supporter had seemed odd until everyone realized she’d killed his father’s murderer, something that, by law, he would never have been able to do.
The Council had reached the same conclusion that Sebastian had. The hook-handed priest had more than likely been acting on his own, as much of a rogue as Fontaine had been. The autopsies on the Council members, Ramon and Sylvia, had determined that they’d been tortured but they hadn’t been skinned and branded until after their deaths, which wasn’t consistent with Brotherhood practices, further supporting the Council’s conclusions. The instrument of torture had been silver, sharp and as pointed as Marquette’s hook.
During the coming Age of Enlightenment, which was the true translation of the prophecy, the halfling law would be abolished. It wouldn’t solve all their problems but it would be a beginning. The Brotherhood would always be looking for the Codex that revealed the secret of the Sacred Light because there would always be those who sought to subjugate others. It was a reality of life and no one escaped it.
Sebastian watched Kira walk the vineyard, trailing her fingertips over the plump, nearly ripe grapes. The fading light surrounded her like a glowing outer skin and Diego trotted beside her, content to follow, sniffing out any danger, real or imagined. He knew that his reward was a bowl of his favorite treat, hot chocolate with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
She’d yet to entice him into the water. But she was patient and always hopeful. So was he. When she glanced up, he waved the hand not clutching the small, blanket-wrapped straw doll, nestled in the black plastic gift bag. If he’d learned anything it was that there was always hope. They had a future.
About the Author
Paris Brandon lives in the Midwest with her husband of thirty plus years and a Labrador who thinks she’s a lapdog. When not bent over a keyboard dreaming up new stories, she loves reading, consuming as much chocolate (preferably with a little chili pepper) as possible, surfing the history and science channels and dreaming about the day she finally has enough nerve to go white water rafting.
The author welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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