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“Wait, Caius knows? Jo knows?” Celeste’s eyes were wide, and she looked at the door where he’d exited.
“Jo may not know yet, but he will. We just have to wait.”
“But—” she began before quickly getting cut off.
“Jo isn’t the subject of this conversation,” my dad said.
I groaned internally. “What do you want me to say, Dad? That I’m going to forsake my mate and stay in The Crossroads forever?”
“Well ...” Sin said, trailing off as she obviously agreed.
I whipped around to glare at her. “You can’t be serious.”
Sin grumbled and her shoulders fell. “I’m not, it’s just a lot to take in. I knew I was losing you for six months, but I didn’t think that you’d go and fall in love with the bastard.”
The pain in her voice made me flinch.
“You have to understand, Sin. Everything we knew about him was based on lies. Nothing about him was true. And Tartarus? It’s not at all a bad place. It might have been long ago, but under his rule, it’s thriving. I know it’s hard to see past what we’ve believed for almost twenty years—I struggled with it too—but I have no reason to deceive you. You just have to trust me.”
My dad squeezed my shoulder gently. “You do love him, right? It’s not just because he’s your mate?”
“I do love him. I fell in love with him before I accepted the mate bond.” I chose to leave out some of the details leading up to it. Less was more in this case. “Caius is ... I don’t even know how to simplify him. He’s funny and smart. He gets me even when I don’t get myself, and he doesn’t let me lie to myself either. And he doesn’t judge me. He supports me and my choices. Hell, even Clara loves him.”
“That doesn’t mean much,” Sin said. Dad chuckled under his breath.
“She has a history of finding every pendejo in a ten-mile radius,” Dad said.
“Can’t disagree there,” Tía said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that girl was rooting for him right after he kidnapped her.”
I stifled my laugh with a smile. “My point is, he’s not perfect, no, but he ismychoice.”
Dad pulled me in tight for a side hug. “Then I guess the only thing left to say is that I’m happy for you, kiddo. All I ever wanted for my girls was a happy life. I hoped you lived long enough to find what your mom and I had.” I hugged him back, inhaling his signature piney scent. “You’re safe, and you have a mate. I can’t ask for much more than that.”
Tía raised her brows in surprise. “Alvaro, I’m shocked. You don’t want to kill him for mating with Reagan?”
“Oh, I didn’t say that,” he answered with a laugh. “I just said I’m happy for my daughter, and I’m leaving it at that.”
“There’s something else,” I said, wanting to get the most important piece off my chest.
“Oh, gods. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Sin said. From the hallway there was a hushed “pay up!”as my shit-for-brains cousins eavesdropped and took bets.
“No!” I said vehemently, shaking my head. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Thank the gods,” my dad muttered.
“It’s abuela’s tonics you should thank. She’s looking out for all our girls,” Tía Celeste said. “She knew what it was like to be saddled with a child too young.”
“Okay, so if you’re not pregnant, what is it?” Sin asked, bringing the conversation back around. I laughed lightly under my breath because this was just sous. The chaos. My cousins. Tía and Dad going back and forth on who we should be praying to.
“The way I left things when I went to Tartarus ...” I sighed heavily, and my dad and sister tensed at the new subject. Guilt lined my father’s eyes, and Sin looked down at her feet.
“Reagan,” my dad said softly, but I held up my hand for him to stop.
“I forgive you for not telling me the truth. Really forgive you. Not the way I sort of shouted that I forgave you when I was storming off. I’m still upset, but I know you aren’t perfect. You wanted to protect me, and that was the only way you knew how.” Sin looked up at me, eyes brimming with unshed tears. “I don’t ever want to walk away from the people I love with so much anger lingering between us. No more lies, okay? Me included. We all tell each other the truth. About everything.”
They both nodded fervently.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Jo got his book, tracing the pieces of parchment delicately with his fingertips before he lowered his nose to it and inhaled. A huge grin and a giant hug were my thanks. Sin begged me to make dinner, claiming how much she missed my green chile enchiladas, and echoes of agreement filled the air. How could I say no?
