She stepped forward, but I closed my fist. “No, of course, not.” I ran my free hand through my hair. This was the time, to be honest, to show her how utterly pathetic I was when it came to her. Perhaps she would not care. She might even ridicule me.
The truth was, I no longer knew the woman standing in front of me. Even if a short time had passed, I was sure whatever she went through had thoroughly changed her. I had seen it in her eyes, even in the darkness of the basement. It would have changed even the strongest of souls. “It was the only thing I had left of you,” I whispered, meeting her sunlit forest gaze. “And so, it became my most prized possession.”
She sucked in a breath, her body tightening in surprise. The sound of her racing heart had my own matching the erratic beat. “I was cleaning it because I realized in the fray with your uncle that it had been stained with flecks of blood, but no matter what I try, it will not come off.” And now, not only was it ruined, but her scent was gone from the fabric.
I was not sure which was worse.
“Oh,” she said, breaking her gaze away. “I must have dropped it.”
“Would you like it back?” I asked, quickly realizing I had no idea if this was important to her. It would seem like a silly idea, but the item meant the world to me. Who was I to judge what others held in reverence?
Calia shook her head, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips. It did not reach her haunted eyes, the still-wary glaze staying firmly in place. “No, you can keep that one. I have plenty. Always have one on hand. Literally,” she joked, holding up her wrist where two sat—one purple and one bright blue. “I’ll just be downstairs with the others. When Jasper told me you were up here, I didn’t… Well, I thought you’d be decent.”Fucking Jasper.She gestured toward my body, looking away as though in embarrassment. But I caught the subtle way her teeth tugged at her lip, the way her cheeks flushed.
As she walked away, I reached out with my mind, careful not to raise any suspicion of my intentions. Her shields were well and truly up, but they melted slightly at my gentle, reverenttouch. Perhaps all was not as lost as I assumed, though I refused to allow hope to bloom too quickly.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Idid not dally, quickly throwing on a pair of jeans and a soft cotton shirt to hurry downstairs. I did not often dress so casually, but given the hour, it did not seem appropriate to don a suit. Also, Jasper would have undoubtedly called me out in front of everyone for trying too hard, which seemed unnecessarily embarrassing.
They waited in the library, seeing as we had no formal sitting area. It was something my mother rid the house of after my father passed. Instead, she expanded the area into a ballroom—of which we had no genuine need, but it boosted her standing amongst the other vampyre families who were just as vain and vapid as she.
Calia sat curled up in a large armchair across from Jasper, Sloane, and Rowena, quietly conversing between the four of them. Castor stood behind her, eyes scanning warily around the room like something would jump at him. Brielle, whom I had not expected, sat perched on Calia’s armchair. I could not see Ballard, but given his exclamatory commentary, I assumed he was nose-deep in one of the stacks of books.
“Kept us waiting long enough,” Castor grumbled as I joined the group.
“Father,” Brielle warned, voice low. “Don’t start.”
I dipped my head. “Apologies, Castor. It is not my fault you are”—I looked at my watch—“two hours early.”
Ballard quickly strode around the corner. “Ah, yes. That was my doing. I assumed it would be best to pull our resources together as soon as possible.”
“What an excellent idea,” Jasper said, leaning back with a smirk. “Bring the whole family together, as it were.”
I caught Jasper’s eye in warning, but his only response was a wink.Ass.
“We are not family,” Castor growled, curling his fingers around the back of the armchair. It groaned under his violent touch.
Jasper smirked. “I hate to break it to you, Castor, but you are. Calia, as we can all see, is alive and well. Wait,areyou well?” he asked, leaning forward to brace his elbows on his knees.
She nodded her head, hesitantly smiling back at him. “For now.”
He leaned back, spreading his arms wide before Rowena and Sloane knocked them down. “There you have it. Whether you like it or not, Rion and Calia are still married under Kallistos law. And if they weren’t, they would both be dead from the curse. So, yes. We are all one big family. Even Ballard can join in if he wishes. All are welcome here! Especially if they are standing against that bitch Leonora.”
“Always with the dramatics,” Sloane muttered under her breath, earning a genuine chuckle from Calia.
Her evergreen eyes danced with mirth, the first sign I had seen of the woman I knew who had lived and loved fiercely. Jasper’s words even earned a smile from Brielle, who shared a knowing look with my wife.
“Can we move past the unnecessary introductions?” Castor asked. “I don’t relish being back in my enemy's home.”
Jasper, ever the smartass, opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off. “Of course. Where would you like to begin? Ballard knows everything we do, since we filled him in during our visit. Nothing has changed. Sloane has been preparing for a tracking spell, for which I believe we now have the necessary ingredients?” I asked, glancing at Sloane, who nodded. “From my little knowledge, I know that placing that responsibility on one witch alone is quite the burden. Would you be willing to lend your talents, Ballard?”
“Absolutely,” he said, dipping his chin in Sloane’s direction. His eyes softened as he spoke, and I could feel the truth of his words ring true. “It would be my honor. And yes, I shared everything with the Darrows after our conversation.”
“Perfect,” I gritted out, attempting to block out his use of the Darrow name to include Calia. But that was not the battle I intended to fight today. We had more imperative matters to discuss. “That would mean the floor is yours.”
The silence lasted for a tense beat, our four visitors looking between each other for the soul who would be brave enough to speak first. With a dramatic eye roll—a side of sass I had sorely missed—Calia trained her eyes on me. “Where would you like me to begin?”
Preferably, how the fuck are you alive? Why have you not shown yourself, and why did you not plan to? How could I make you look at me with love instead of wary indifference?
