Lyall tensed his arse, making it dance.
‘Keep doing that and we’ll miss the sunset.’
It would be easy to stay in bed but they’d spent most of the afternoon there, and they had something important to do.
And they were only going to do that if Nick hurried up.
Nick’s delays were just nerves. They’d been in Greece over a week and had explored Athens, Corinth and Delphi, scrambling over ancient temples, losing themselves in old neighbourhoods and drinking ouzo with the locals, before ending up in Santorini for Avarina’s birthday.
Two days of relaxing, letting the sun and the smell of the sea bring him down from sensory overload, and they were at the point where it was time to do what Nick had gone there to do.
Especially as they’d almost not made it.
Lyall had hyperventilated before he’d even buckled his seatbelt on the plane leaving Perth, and Nick had struggled to calm him down enough to throw back another Valium. He’d been ashamed that he hadn’t managed take-off without a scene, but Nick had been patient. He couldn’t expect a miracle.
Unless it was a miracle he’d made it onto the plane at all.
Or that they’d landed safely.
When the drugs wore off, he’d coped better. His mind drifted to Bryce but through a strong effort of will and a lot of distractions, he refused to imagine his brother’s final horrific moments and how close he was to them. He’d held tight to Nick’s hand.
After two long flights, his grip eased.
They’d made it. Now it was time to complete Nick’s mission.
Nick finally got out of bed, showered and dressed. Lyall stood on the balcony, enjoying the lush and subdued light as the sun approached the horizon and its reflection intensified on the surface of the Aegean Sea. He breathed salt-spiced air and sipped chilled retsina. When Nick joined him, he shared his glass.
Nick wore blue-and-white striped shorts and an open-necked white shirt, his hair brushed back and styled, his cologne doing much to sway Lyall from continuing on with what they’d planned. But he had to resist the rumblings lower than his stomach.
‘You look good enough to eat,’ Lyall said.
Nick winked. ‘Maybe later.’ He drained the glass. ‘Let’s do this.’
On their way to the door Nick stopped at the dresser, grabbed the capsule and slipped it into his pocket. His hand followed to keep it secure. They left the hotel and walked down the street to the skaros, an outcrop of rock that had once been the site of a fortress. Only ruins remained as evidence but past it and lower down a church jutted out over the sea. Nick had chosen it as the spot for his final goodbye, close to the ocean, and away from as many people as possible. It was a perfect location.
Bryce would have liked it too.
They descended the steps in silence: Nick as he walked his last pilgrimage and Lyall as he built up an image of Bryce he could cherish. Horror had obscured his brother for too long. He wanted to go back to the moments when a teenage Bryce had been excited for his exchange to France, or when he’d called him Sparks and ruffled his hair. He hungered for those memories of his childhood hero but he was done starving.
Down the side of the cliff, across uneven and broken steps and finally, finally, when sweat coated the back of his neck, they reached the church, quiet and totally alone. The sun would soon kiss the sea.
‘Here,’ Nick held out his hand to Lyall. ‘Stand in front of me.’
Nick’s arms enclosed him from behind, his chin rested on Lyall’s shoulder, and his body pressed against his. They leaned against the stone wall, looking out to the sunset.
‘I’m glad we’re doing this together,’ Nick said.
‘Me too.’
The light hit the water.
Nick held up the capsule, and with his free hand guided Lyall’s to hold one end. ‘I want Bryce and Avarina to know that you mean the world to me, Lyall Francis Turner, and I will do everything I can to make sure you have it. I love you, and there is no one I’d rather have here with me at this moment than you.’
Nick’s declaration rebooted a part of himself he’d thought beyond repair. The terror of losing another person he’d loved had kept him home and hiding. He’d been safe but his world had gotten small. But with Nick he wasn’t just being given the world, he was being given a life that was full of more love than he’d ever thought possible. He half-turned his head, enough to see Nick’s wet eyes. He nuzzled into his chin. ‘You mean the world to me too, Nick.’ The intense light of the sun burned from within him.
Nick kissed him. ‘Ready?’
‘Ready.’
Nick waited for a gust of wind to swirl around them and then pulled. The wind caught the ashes and carried them on a current across the sea.
‘Travel safe, Mum,’ Nick said. ‘Travel safe and travel far and we will meet again.’
Goodbye, Bryce. I’ll take care of him, Avarina.
They waited until the last speck of ash was gone, until the sea swallowed the sun and only the fading dusk remained, there in each other’s arms—there was no place Lyall would rather be.
Thanks for reading The Love Left Behind. If you liked this book, you might like to try another of my books such as Embers and Echoes, or the three books in the Bonds of Blood series, Beckoning Blood, Burning Blood and Binding Blood.
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ISBN: 9781489280299
Title: The Love Left Behind
Copyright © 2019 by Daniel de Lorne
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