Damien patted her hand. “Your life can be so much more fulfilling, Celine. We promise.”
Celine nodded her head, glancing to Damien. She swallowed, composing herself. “I shall write to my sister in the morning. Inform her of the situation and request that I stay with her. My brother-in-law can sort out the legal aspects of the matter.”
“No,” Michael and Damien answered simultaneously.
Celine’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You can’t go to Celeste and Teddy,” Damien explained. “They’re on the Duke’s side. They’ll tell you to stay with him, try to convince you or worse, force you.”
“Surely after I’ve explained his wicked deeds concerning our father, Celeste will not maintain her loyalty to him.”
“She will,” Damien informed her. “Trust us, she will. She’ll go straight to the Duke. Then you’ll be stuck.”
Celine shook her head. “Then I’ve no options. I have nowhere else to go.”
“Well…” Damien began.
Then Gray knelt in front of her. Taking her hand, he said, “You’ll stay here, Celine. With us.”
Celine paused a moment, staring in his stormy blue eyes. “It is very generous of you,” she began. “But I cannot accept.”
“For what reason?” Gray inquired.
“It will bring too much trouble to you and your family. Not only with Duke Northcott but the general scandal it will cause to your family.”
“We’ll handle Marcus Northcott. And I’m not worried about scandal,” Gray assured her.
“No,” Celine responded, pulling her hands from his. “I will not cause this type of scandal for you. I will find another solution.”
Gray opened his mouth to speak again. Damien cut him off, speaking first. “You don’t have to decide anything right now,” he assured her. “It’s been a stressful evening. Perhaps you should rest, and we can discuss your options tomorrow.”
Celine took the cue. “Yes, I shall rest and hope the dawn brings clarity to me. If you all will excuse me, I shall retire for the evening.”
“I’ll walk you to your room,” Gray offered. He extended his hand to her as he stood. She accepted it, threading her arm through his. Everyone said their good nights and Gray led her from the dining room.
Damien collapsed onto the chair as they departed from the room. “Wow, that was…”
“Stressful,” Michael finished.
“Yep.”
“I must admit my mind is still reeling,” Alexander chimed in.
“That was the most Celine-like I’ve seen her, though,” Damien admitted.
Michael agreed. “That moment, right before she started to cry,” he began. Damien nodded his head. “Reminded me so much of our Celine.”
“And somewhat like our Celine, she tries to take everything on to herself.”
“Yeah,” Michael replied. “That’s definitely our Celine.”
“Well, stubborn or not, at least she’s starting to act like she’s supposed to. That’s a good sign,” Damien continued.
“Am I the only one of us concerned about the arrival of Duke Northcott?” Alexander replied as Gray rejoined them in the dining room. “I would have preferred she go to her sister’s. The fallout will, no doubt, be immense.”
“Celine can handle the Duke,” Damien assured them.
“Are we certain of that?” Alexander inquired.
“May I remind you, cousin, it was you assuring us only last night that no harm would come to us.”
“That was before you extended our home to her so she could leave her husband. Her very powerful husband.”
“If she stays here, she won’t let anything happen to you or us,” Damien reiterated.
“I’m not sure you understand,” Alexander began. “Marcus Northcott has extensive experience in his dealings. Not to mention a good bit of raw talent. He can destroy us without thinking about it.”
“We understand. And like we said, Celine will not let that happen.”
“I’m not sure she will be able to prevent it,” Alexander replied.
“Oh, she can prevent it, all right,” Damien answered. “The Celine we know has battled with the Duke for centuries. He’s never gotten the best of her. He’s made things uncomfortable, but she’s never allowed him to destroy anyone close to her.”
“We must help her,” Gray added.
Alexander sighed. “All right, all right. I shall remind myself of my own advice as of last evening and draw upon your confidence in Celine as we move forward.”
“Don’t worry, Alexander,” Damien responded, standing, “this is moving in the right direction.”
Chapter 23
Present day, Bucksville
Celine sat up, wiping the blood from her nose with the handkerchief Marcus offered her. “Does that happen often?” he inquired.
“No, only when I’m in Shadow World for an extended period of time. Or using most of my energy to keep Damien alive when he’s there.”
“You should rest, Celine,” Marcus suggested.
“We don’t have time for rest. Come on,” she responded, standing from the bed.
“Just a moment,” Marcus interjected, grasping the handkerchief from her hand and wiping a smudge of blood from her face.
Gray opened the door, peering in. He frowned at the scene, stalking into the room. “I thought I heard voices.”
“How is Damien?” Celine asked, pushing past Marcus toward Gray.
“No change.”
“We’re going straight there,” she answered, avoiding any conversation between the two men. “Come on,” she urged Marcus.
Marcus stalked past Gray, a smirk on his face. “You look a little worse for wear, Buckley. I didn’t damage anything vital, did I?” Marcus taunted.
Gray frowned at him, following him out the door. “Oh, I’m perfectly fine, no thanks to you,” he growled. They proceeded down the hall to Damien’s room. Millie waited in the room, noting several things on Damien’s chart. She raised her eyebrow as Marcus entered the room. “Hi, Millie,” Celine greeted her. “Gray said there’s no change?”
“No, none, which is a good thing at this point. There is no sign of further deterioration in their symptoms.”
“Thanks,” Celine responded as Marcus approached Damien. He glanced at him, touching his skin with the back of his hand. Celine watched him as he glanced at the monitors.
“They seem to experience intermittent responses to stimuli at various times,” Celine mentioned.
“Both of them at the same time?” Marcus inquired.
“Yes. Both of them at the same time,” Celine answered.
“Where is the other?” he asked.
“Michael is in the next room,” Celine responded, pointing to
