“Mom, when will I see you again?” he asked, the enthusiasm replaced by longing. “I miss you. A lot.”
“I miss you sooo much, too, little man,” I said. “But I don’t know when. Soon, though. And when you do, I’ll have a really big surprise for you.”
I waited for him to gush about getting a dog for his upcoming birthday, not ever expecting the bigger and better surprise we had in store for him.
“Did you find Dad?”
What? Tristan and I stared at each other wide-eyed, mouths open. How does he know?!
“Dorian, why would you say that?” I finally asked.
“Because you left in his car and you’ve been gone a long time and now you’re really happy.”
I couldn’t answer him. Tears filled my eyes and I thought even Tristan’s eyes were moist.
“Mimi says I have to go now, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you, too, little man.”
I snapped the phone shut and we laughed and cried in amazement.
“I told you he’s smart,” I said, “but that blew me away.”
“He’s unbelievable…even better than I ever imagined,” Tristan said wistfully. Then his lips spread into the really fabulous smile, the one that always made my heart melt and the rest of my insides turn to mush. “I think we need to try for that little girl.”
He rolled over and pinned me on the bed, kissing my neck and my chest and…lower. Good thing we hadn’t dressed—our clothes would have been shredded in renewed desperation. When his eyes blazed and he seemed to be losing control, I just had to tell him I loved him to bring him out of it. Our love served as the antidote to whatever lurked beneath his surface, whatever they’d planted in his subconscious.
We lasted slightly longer this time—long enough to break the bed in the middle, creating a bowl I had to climb out of.
“I liked that bed,” I said regretfully. “It was…comforting.”
“There are two more just like it in this house.”
I didn’t expect him to understand. While I lay on that bed, a bawling lunatic savoring our memories, I finally started climbing out of my dark pit. It was almost symbolic, having to climb out of the pit of the broken bed.
“We’re staying in this room, at least.”
“Well, help me move the beds. Or I can ask Owen?” He grinned.
My eyes widened. “Oh, no. I’ll do it. That’d be too embarrassing.”
He laughed. “Not for me.”
Men, I thought with a shake of my head. Then I thought about Vanessa seeing this and knew I would feel the same way.
Tristan didn’t really need help moving the beds. Although he probably could have lifted them with one hand, he didn’t even bother. He simply used his power, making me wonder if I would ever be able to do that. He said telekinesis was a basic power and even the weakest of our kind could move a bed. Then he said I would be so powerful, I would probably be able to move skyscrapers if I wanted. I laughed at the absurdity.
“Maybe we need to get a rock house like Rina’s,” I said, rubbing my hand over all the dents in the wall above the new headboard. I laughed. “You think that’s why she has a rock house?”
“From what I’ve heard about Rina, I wouldn’t be surprised. I hear you come by it naturally.” The gold sparkled in his eyes.
“Oh, I see. Now I know the real reason you came looking for me all those years ago,” I teased.
“Nah, it’s just a nice little bonus.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “But I don’t think Rina’s house is what you’re picturing. She lives in the ancient Amadis mansion, made of marble and limestone.”
I envisioned Rina in her fancy dresses, gliding around an impressively large, resplendent house of marble. “Ah, that fits better.”
“I do like Dorian’s description, though.” He flopped down on the new bed. It moaned in protest. “Even if we have a rock house, it won’t help the furniture.”
“No, it won’t. We’ll have to figure something out or the kids will be wondering why we need a new bed all the time. And can you imagine when they’re older? They’ll be mortified.”
“They’ll probably hate us for having such a great sex life,” he said and we both laughed. He pulled me onto the bed and we lay in each other’s arms. Just one day earlier I would have never guessed I could be so happy again. And here he was, my sun pushing the darkness away and lighting up my life once again. Discussing the future with him—including a daughter—was priceless.
Chapter 11
“What—the—hell—were—you—thinking?” Owen fumed as soon as he walked in the door that evening.
I backed away from him, until my back pressed against the counter. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Alexis, do you have any idea how I felt when I came back and you were gone? Do you know what Rina and the council would have done to me if…if…” He couldn’t finish. “And Sophia…she would’ve killed me.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated with deepest sincerity. “I know I took advantage of you. And I understand if you never trust me again. I thought I was doing what was best.”
“And exactly what did you think was best?”
“Surrender to the Daemoni so they would leave everyone else alone.” Both Owen and Tristan groaned. “They want me. Not Mom. Not Rina. And not Dorian. And I knew you’d never just let me go.”
“Of course not! That was incredibly stupid. And if Tristan hadn’t been there, you’d be in the Daemoni’s hands—or dead—and he’d be here. How do you think all of us would feel about that?”
I couldn’t answer, knowing how horrible the consequences would have been for them. I just stared at the floor, which swam through the tears I blinked back.
So he turned on Tristan. “And if you could have just let her know you were okay, she wouldn’t have gone in the first place!”
“I know. I take full responsibility for it,” Tristan replied gruffly. “But you shouldn’t have left her. What were you thinking?”
Owen raised his eyebrows at Tristan’s accusing tone and went on such a rampage, I never would have thought him capable of it. He threw his hands in the air as he advanced on Tristan.
“What was I thinking? I was thinking she could stay put for ten minutes and keep herself safe! I was thinking she’d been through hell the last seven-and-a-half years and she actually wanted to celebrate something for the first time since. I was thinking I saw a glimpse of the old Alexis who no one has seen since that day we left her at the damn safe house begging you not to go! I was thinking I didn’t want to disappoint her, even with such a little thing, after all the big disappointments she’s had to suffer!”
“Ah! Like me leaving her? Of not being able to get back because I sat in my own hell?” Tristan leaned forward, their faces less than a foot apart. His voice rose. “Say it, Owen. Say it like it is. It’s my fault she suffered! Say what you’re thinking!”
“That’s not what I’m thinking!” Owen bellowed, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “It’s my fault! I didn’t bring you back to her. I didn’t keep you safe. I had to come back and tell her I thought you were dead. And ever since, I’ve had to see her misery, hear her screaming in her sleep from the other side of the house, watch her fall apart at the seams and know it’s my fault. I’ve had to look at her and know she wished I’d been the one who didn’t come back!”
I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief and confusion. How had he twisted it into this?
“Owen, stop it.” I tried to put emotion behind the words so he would hear me and come to his senses, but my voice sounded small over the lump in my throat. He ignored me, still glaring at Tristan.
“You don’t know what it’s like to have her look at you and feel like you’re the person who made her whole world fall apart.”
“I do know what it’s like!” Tristan barked. “I’ve watched it for the last week!”
Owen’s jaw dropped. “A week? You’ve been back a week and made her go through that? Do you have any idea just how bad this week has been for her?”
