In The Dark

by Sarah K. Jensen

  Chapter 25

  “Don’t let this put a damper on your honeymoon plans,” Lydia Craig said to Memphis a few hours later. “And I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself for this again. People choose for themselves good or bad, and we can’t take responsibility for their actions, only our own. You got that young lady?”

  Memphis smiled and Laif relaxed.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Memphis said.

  He’d been scared that she would hold onto this as her own failure like she seemed to do with a lot of things, and he wouldn’t stand for it. Laif glanced at Bryson. Nor would he let anyone in his family hold it against her.

  “Can I have a word with you?” he asked, nodding toward the hallway. It had been only a few hours since his mom had come out of surgery, but she seemed strong and well, showing only a few signs of pain. Though she appeared in great health considering, Bryson had yet to look at Memphis with anything other than blame burning his blue eyes.

  Memphis touched Laif’s hand as he started away from her. “He has the right to how he feels. Let it go.”

  Laif was stunned. And angry. “He needs to be reminded of some things. He has no right to blame you for any of this. Just like you have no right to blame yourself.” He must have spoken much louder than her whisper because the whole room looked from him to Memphis to Bryson. His mom started to say something, but Bryson spoke up first.

  “He’s right. I know this isn’t Memphis’s fault. I was scared and angry and was taking it out on her. We’ve been fighting this battle for a long time, but never like this. Yes, it’s been dangerous, but never to this extent. We’ve known of Kyrell, but…” He seemed lost for words, and Laif knew how he felt.

  “But this is different,” Fisher put in. His wife, Caitrin—who was so much like him that often Laif wondered if they ever fought or had a cross word—took his hand. “I have to admit that it scares me a bit, knowing that we will be fighting with swords and magic, not just with words and sand.”

  Memphis leaned against Laif’s side and sighed. “You’ve always used what you’re calling magic. It’s from God. His power to thwart evil.”

  Laif wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed.

  Ian grinned. “Well, lass, part of that is true. God has blessed those who fight evil, but the magic ye use, it comes from Tuatha Dé Danann.”

  Memphis stiffened. “Are you saying the fae don’t believe in God?”

  “I didn’t say that.” He rubbed a large hand over his smooth face. A face much too young to belong to the father of a twenty-six-year-old woman.

  “Though our origins are the same, humans have a slightly different DNA makeup and we have different abilities given to us. So, in that respect, yes, it all comes from God, the Creator. But what you call magic, is gifts specific to us. It’s diluted in most Guardians, but some of it can be given to each of you.

  “And like all things, we choose how we use them. Our powers are not good or evil. They simply are. But that does not mean they cannot be used for one or the other. And it does not mean that some of my kind do not choose one path over the other. Since God allows agency of all His children, the powers of the fae can be used for His good. Does that make sense?”

  It did. If they were another being created by God, that was fine, Laif decided.

  “It does,” Memphis said. “But I don’t know what to do now. How do Laif and I just go on a honeymoon and leave like this didn’t happen?”

  Laif had wondered the same thing.

  Ian turned to study Callan, asleep on the spare bed in Lydia’s room. Once word had reached Joan that Lydia would be fine, Callan had insisted on coming to stay with her. To protect her. Laif couldn’t be prouder.

  Mikia sat beside the sleeping Callan, playing with his hair. Already in love with her new nephew. Laif knew she was going to be a pushover where Callan was concerned.

  Ian said, still watching Callan, “You need to go to Ireland. Meet his father. Learn the secrets that Fiona and her husband’s family have held onto for the last twelve years.”

  Laif balked at the idea of meeting his first cousin. The man Memphis had slept with and had had a son with. Memphis seemed to have the same reaction—if her gasp was any indication. Laif also saw the fear in her eyes. She was probably scared of how he would react.

  Seeing as he’d acted like a first-rate jerk before, he understood her fears. She might not want to see Jacob Riley any more than he did, maybe even less. But he was mostly certain the fear was because of him. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and asked, “Is it important we go now?”

  Please say no, he thought.

  “You can have a couple of days to yourself,” Ian said, grinning. “But you need to go soon.” Again, he looked at Callan. “Very soon.”

  Memphis moved to her son, lightly running her fingers across his face. “Does he need to go?”

  Ian nodded. “Aye, lass. He is part of this. You have a holiday townhouse reserved in Cloghane, not too far from where the Riley’s live. Nor too far from the caves Áinle hid up his swords and books of spells in. You will need them to fight this battle. Though I don’t believe the books are for you to find.”

  “Then who?” Memphis asked.

  Ian again cast his eyes to Callan. “It is for he and his sister to find the books. They are the children of Nuadha and Síofra. They are they who will close the fissure between this earth and the underworld.”

  Laif turned all his attention to the sleeping boy. His cousin’s son. No! His son. “What do you mean? He has a sister?”

  Ian grinned. “Not yet, he does not. But in nine months he will.”

  Reagan Craig cleared his throat. “Laif?”

  “No way is she pregnant. Promise. We haven’t done anything to get that way yet.” Laif smiled at Memphis and whispered, “But soon.”

  He was rewarded with a pretty pink blush on each cheek. He loved that about her. The fire-red hair. The blushes she couldn’t hide. He loved her so much it was overwhelming at times.

  “And on that note,” his dad said, “it’s time to let these two get out of here. Don’t worry about Callan, he’s in good hands for the next couple of days.” He looked at Laif. “Where were you planning to go for your honeymoon?”

  Laif laughed. “Ireland. Not the part we will be going to, but we can change the dates in Galway and go there a little later. Maybe after Bryson and Alannah’s wedding. We’ll be gone a week, and now I don’t have to feel guilty about leaving Callan with you yahoos for very long.”

  “Get out of here,” Lydia said. “Your dad and Callan are staying here with me tonight. We will be fine. If anything happens we can’t handle, we have your cell numbers. And don’t worry, we won’t call unless it’s very important.”

  Laif nodded, kissed first Callan on the top of his head, then his mother on the forehead. Memphis knelt by the bed her son lay in, took his hand, and whispered something to him Laif couldn’t hear. Callan’s head turned toward her, and he opened his eyes, mumbling, “Goodnight, Fair Maiden.”

  Then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Memphis came to Laif’s side, taking his hand, but before he could drag her out of the room, she bent over Lydia’s bed, kissed her cheek, and said, “Thank you for giving him to me.”

  His mom nodded, squeezed Memphis’s hand, and Laif led his new wife from the hospital room.

  Ian had more work to do tonight if the looks Shane Evans had given Kambry Craig at the wedding were any indication. Now that Mikia’s future husband was safe and would heal properly, he could focus on the couple that would be coming together before the year was up. If Evans was strong enough to let go of all the things that have kept him from seeing the Oíche Scáthanna in the first place.

  Instead of simply appearing before the man in his apartment, Ian took himself to Evans’ front door and knocked. When Evans opened the door, he stumbled back a few steps before catching himself and straightening to his full height of six-foot-three.

  Posturing was okay, as far as I
an was concerned. In his mind, it was showing courage in the face of fear. He liked this man who’d lived his life much like Ian had before he’d found his own lifemate.

  “You can relax,” Ian told him. “I’m here to help you.”

  Evans raised a brow but didn’t speak.

  “Do you want to know how to win the lass, or not?” Ian asked, becoming perturbed.

  That didn’t have the relaxing effect on Evans he was hoping for. Instead, his chest puffed out and his hands fisted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Ian laughed. “Maybe you fooled Kambry’s family, Evans, but I know things they don’t. Besides,” he said, pushing his way into the man’s apartment. “You have the blood of the Caomhnóirí na Oíche. You’ve just never lived to where you could see them.”

  Evans stood by the open door while Ian looked around the man’s living space. A clean, well-kept room. Rich, dark brown leather couch and recliner. Large telly sat on a solid wooden stand that fit well with the masculine look of the room. Ian knew Evans was a good man, just had some vices he’d have to be willing to give up. So, Ian told him so.

  Evans shut the door, came into the living room, and sat. “Like what?”

  Ian smiled. Evans would not like this one bit, but… he’d do it if he wanted Kambry. “Sex. Alcohol. Anything that keeps your spirit and flesh weak.”

  “Figured,” Evans mumbled as he ran his hands over his face. “I already decided I’d have to give those up, with what Memphis told me. I can do that.”

  Good. This will go easier if he’s on board.

  “So, what’s this about me having the blood of the Quee-Vee na EE-heh? What is that?”

  Ian smiled. Not bad. “You have a way with languages. The Caomhnóirí na Oíche are the Guardians that fight the Oíche Scáthanna. It translates to Guardians of the Night.”

  “And are the EE-heh Ska-Ha-No the Night Shadows Laif and Memphis told me about?”

  Yes, Evans had a real talent with the Irish language. Ian nodded. “They are.”

  Evans leaned back, resting his head on the back of the sofa, and closed his eyes. After a minute, he asked, “And if I don’t drink, ever, and don’t have sex with anyone I’m not married to, I will be able to see them?”

  “Yes.” Ian plopped the footrest up on the recliner and leaned back. He’d had a busy day and was tired. “It may take a while since you’ve not been taught and haven’t exactly lived a chaste life.” He heard Evans move, knew he was bristling. But went on. “Again, you haven’t been taught.”

  After a while of no one saying anything, Ian wanting to give the man a moment to think, Evans finally whispered, “What if she doesn’t want me? I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. Plus, she’s so young. I’m older than Laif. I’ve got more than a decade on her.”

  Ian wouldn’t lie to the man, so he told him the truth, as he saw it. “It won’t be easy. You’re going to have to show, by example, that you’ve changed. You’ve got a long road ahead of you if you’re willing to walk it.”

  Evans sat forward, rubbed large, calloused hands over his face and through his hair, spiking it in different directions, and finally said, “I’m willing to do whatever I have to for her.”

  Ian sat forward, lowering the footrest. “You’ll have to do it for yourself. If you’re only doing it for a woman, and that woman doesn’t act the way you’d like her to, then you’ll just fall right back into your old ways. Then you’ll lose Memphis and Callan as well.”

  Ian stood, patted Evans on his shoulder as he passed by on his way to the door. “I’ll give you time to think about it. I’ll check back with you soon to see if you are willing to make these changes, regardless of what may come from them.”

  With that, Ian left Shane Evans to contemplate his future.

  The room was elegant. It even had one of those wall-hung canopies hanging over the head of the bed. Memphis had “oohed” in appreciation at the Bridal Suite. She’d squealed with joy when she’d seen the oversized jetted tub with marble surround. Laif had smiled at the double shower heads in the glass-enclosed steam-shower.

  Now Laif waited, staring at the navy and rose colored rug which sat atop honeyed oak floors and under the ornate king-size bed. The light blue bench at the foot of the bed would have probably been more comfortable if he weren’t so nervous. What if he didn’t do it right? What if he hurt her?

  She wasn’t a virgin, a fact he was still trying to cope with, and she’d had a son, but she hadn’t been with anyone in twelve years.

  His legs bounced in anticipation. What was she doing in there? In what way did a woman need to prepare for her husband? You took your clothes off and went at it. Okay, maybe not so fast, but if she didn’t hurry….

  When the water finally shut off in the bathroom Laif jumped up. Then he sat again. He didn’t want to appear too eager. What if she were scared?

  Was that why she’d kicked him out of the bathroom as soon as she’d stopped “oohing” and “awing” over the suite at the Hillsdale Hotel?

  Okay, he knew she was nervous, seeing as how she’d told him her fears of not being any good. What if neither one of them were any good? It had been a long time since she’d done this, and he never had gotten this far. Would she be comparing him to his cousin?

  “Come on,” he grumbled. He was making himself crazy. Memphis really needed to hurry up in there before he kicked the door in and just took her on the bathroom floor. He smiled. That didn’t sound half bad.

  Before he had the chance to act on that thought, the bathroom door opened and the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen stood before him. Dressed in a white-lace-halter-top-night-gown-thingy, which was completely see-through, Memphis smiled, slowly turning in a circle. She flipped her hair to the front and looked at him from over her shoulder.

  “You like it?”

  His tongue swelled up, making it impossible to speak. His mind went blank and he just stared at her.

  “I look okay, don’t I? Jane told me you’d like this. If you don’t, I have a couple of other ones. Or a nightgown. I don’t have to wear this one.”

  She was nervous.

  “Baby, come here.”

  Fear etched on her gorgeous face so Laif moved to stand in front of her. Once there, he took Memphis in his arms, lowered his mouth to hers, and took it in a kiss that seared him to his bones. Caught fire to his blood.

  “I wanted to go slow with you,” he said, dragging his lips down her neck, kissing each new spot with an open mouth. Tracing his tongue over her clavicle, back up her neck, to the tender spot just behind her ear. On a moan, Memphis settled her body against his and rubbed up and down like a cat.

  He all but stumbled to the bed with his wife in his arms. Man, he loved the sound of that. His wife.

  “Mine,” he growled, dropping her on the mattress, and following to lie down just off to her side.

  Memphis smiled. “Yes,” she said. “In every way, Laif, I am yours. Only yours. No one else has held my heart like you.” Her smile faltered. “Don’t break it. Please.”

  Memphis didn’t see herself as he saw her. She saw mostly her weaknesses while Laif saw her strengths, her love, and compassion.

  “I am yours, Memphis. In every way. I might hurt you over the years by being stupid, but I will strive every day to not break your heart because that would break mine. You are my everything, sweetheart. My world. I love you more than any man’s ever loved a woman. I’ll take care of your heart. I’ll love you and Callan, and whatever other children we have, forever. Mo chuisle. Mo shonuachar.”

  With that declaration, Memphis pushed him on his back and straddled him, undoing buttons on his shirt, and kissing each new spot revealed. Once his clothes were off, he flipped her over and returned the favor.

  As he sank into the kiss, he knew he’d found his home. It didn’t matter where he went in life, or what happened, as long as Memphis was by his side, he’d be fine. He’d be home.

  Chapter 26

  Two days o
f being Laif’s wife was not nearly long enough to pack up and go back to life. Memphis wanted to just stay in bed with Laif forever. She hadn’t remembered it being like this before. Probably because it hadn’t been. How could the clumsy attempts at lovemaking she and Jacob had done so long ago even compare?

  For one, she loved Laif with a maturity and understanding that went so far beyond the childish love she’d felt for Jacob. With Jacob, she’d been lost and needed someone. But with Laif—she’d been okay before she’d met him. She’d had her son, her friends. She’d been content with her life.

  Until this beautiful man had grabbed her hand and all but dragged her through the streets of Austin, trying to save her from the Oíche Scáthanna.

  Memphis watched her husband—she loved that word—as he zipped the carry-on he’d packed for their two-day hotel stay. Her stomach tightened into a hard knot as her mind filled with worry. She hadn’t been to Ireland since she’d left the Riley’s all those years ago. A lifetime ago.

  She would see Jacob again. And his mother. A woman who had handed her one thousand American dollars and told her to leave and not come back. What would they say to her? To her son? If they hurt her son… There would not be a place in heaven or hell that they could hide from her wrath.

  “You okay?” Laif stood in front of her.

  When had he moved?

  Taking her by the shoulders, he bent low enough to see her eye-to-eye and said, “I will do my dead-level best to not be an idiot when we meet Jacob. Okay? I won’t promise that I won’t freak out just a bit, because, honestly, I hate that he ever touched you. That he hurt you. But I’m so glad we have Cal. That I have you both. Part of me wants to thank him for sending you away with my son.”

  Memphis groaned. How had she overlooked Laif’s jealous rants? Of course, he’d act like a jerk when he saw Jacob. Just look at how he’d acted when he’d found out about Callan. She whispered, “Let’s not go.”