When our kiss broke, I whispered, “It’s over Emma. Othanos is nothing compared to what we’ve handled before. The dimensional tears to the Stygian have been healed. And I've learned as long as we are together, we can handle anything.” My heart pounded as I felt the weight of my own words. I’d always been alone before her and I would never have to be again.
Doubt bled from her eyes and a playful spark entered them. “Even telling your mom that we want chocolate in our wedding cake?”
I chuckled. “Perhaps I spoke too soon.”
3
Jack-knifing up in bed, covered in cold sweat, I reached for Calan. My hand landed on cold, bare mattress and for a moment I believe my nightmare had already happened. He’d been stabbed by Othanos then disintegrated into dust. A few more moments and some of my disorientation passed. Judging by the soft white light filtering through the curtains, the sun had just risen. Calan was always up and out training before the dawn. Flopping back down onto the bed, I tried to calm my pounding heart with some deep breaths.
The nightmare had been recurring since I first laid eyes on the red-eyed bastard. If we killed Othanos, maybe I’d stop having these night terrors. The lack of sleep and on edge feeling I'd been riding for almost a month had probably contributed to my loss of control in the bookstore.
It probably didn’t help that I snuck outside in the middle of the night to listen to police scanners. I'd kept an ear glued to it while scanning the news and social media on my phone for any sightings of Othanos. Keeping a secret from a Chevalier was a hell of a feat, but so far Calan didn’t know how much of my time was spent trying to track down Othanos.
“It’s nothing Emma,” I said to myself as I pushed the sheets back. “You are just experiencing PTSD. Your life is totally normal now.” Except for the part where Calan and I earned our living as supernatural exterminators, but there was even normalcy in that now. “All you need to do is plan your wedding,” I said, trying not to feel anxious about Calan being out. He’d be back soon and I’d convince him to snuggle back into our puffy white bed after his shower. Maybe give him a second workout while reassuring myself he was here with me in the most physical way I knew how.
My phone buzzed on my bedside table.Holy crap. Twenty-two texts from Regina. I scooted up so I was sitting up against the headboard. Scratch that. I wasn’t planning my wedding, Regina was.
I saw the centerpieces and before you panic over those disastrous arrangements, I already called. They will redo them and send pictures of another sample.
Did you send the photographer the portfolio of desired poses you want taken? He said you hadn’t sent them yet.
Are you positive you wanted chocolate in your wedding cake? I know we’ve talked about this, but I want to make sure you are absolutely comfortable with your choice.
“Yes, it’s my comfort you are worried about,” I said under my breath, closing the phone not wanting to deal with the countless other questions and demands she’d sent me.
Pushing the sheets back, I got out of bed, unable to sleep now. Making a beeline for the kitchen, I wondered if I would have the cojones today to tell Calan his suit was the ugliest thing I’d ever seen.
Another text popped up.
I never heard back from you about the chocolate, I’ll just call and ask how much notice they would need to switch it to white cake. If they need more than twenty-four hours, then they are amateurs anyhow.
I set the phone face down on the counter and went about make a small pot of coffee. Ugh. I barely had the gumption to stand up to my future mother in law for being overly controlling, there was no way I was going to risk hurting Calan’s feelings. The suit was the one and only thing he asked to be in control of and cared about. I couldn’t take that away from him.
I took my steaming mug of coffee to sit in my comfy, reading chair with the mint colored vine print. I curled my legs under me and stared at the pile of romance books I had on the coffee table — all wedding themed to get me in the mood — I couldn’t bring myself to reach for one. So what if this didn’t feel like my wedding anymore?
So what if all I could think about was finding Othanos, or more disturbingly, finding more beings from the Stygian to absorb. Even the memory of the Ururu’s yesterday warmed my belly and sent a shiver of pleasure through me.
In another world, I would have been just as neurotic as Regina about all the planning and prep work. Now, my wedding seemed out of focus and secondary.
Second to what? Worrying something bad would happen? They were just bad dreams.
My phone buzzed three more times on the counter where I'd left it.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead as if I could knead away the crazy.
Not for the first time, I wished my own mom was awake instead of unconscious in a hospital bed. Isn’t this the kind of thing moms were best at? Telling you not to worry and that everything was fine? I hadn’t spent much quality time with her since I was little, but I got the deep sense that my mother would be really good at that.
A knock at the door, got me back on my feet. Opening the door, I was surprised to find Regina standing there along with Phillip. Thank god, I’d thought to put on shorts and silk kimono right as I got out of bed.
Several inches shorter than me, I half believed that quote, “Though she be but little, she be fierce,” had been made for Regina. Her hair was pulled back into a tight French braid and the slash of her mouth told me that she meant business. So basically, she was on the same mode as every other day.
“Didn’t you get my texts?” she asked, as she passed me, walking into the apartment. “I texted last night we would be over early.”
My phone buzzed on the counter, reminding me of the unread texts.
Regina’s first eyes tracked over to the phone that was obviously in easy reach, then to me. The lines around her mouth deepened.
Giving her a weak smile, I widened the door to let Phillip in. While Phillip was a foot taller than Regina, they both shared the physiques of professional cyclists and wore matching black turtlenecks and pants. To me, they always looked prepared to execute a professional jewel heist at a moment’s notice.
