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He knelt in front of me and grabbed my hand. “Honey, that’s not your mom. This is Ornessa.”
I blinked a few more times. “What?”
Vance pulled me into a standing position and looked at the woman with features so similar to my own. “Ornessa, meet your granddaughter. This is Karli.”
She came up to me and brushed her fingertips against my cheek. “I wouldn’t have believed it, if I wasn’t seeing it for myself.” She briefly glanced at Vance. “When I heard you were coming, I was so pleased. But when I heard that I had a granddaughter? Words cannot describe the elation I felt.” She rested her hands on my shoulders. “You look so much like your mother. I should be furious with her for keeping you from me, but knowing Bryt, she had her reasons.”
Everything was finally starting to register. This wasn’t my mother resurrected from the dead. The woman standing before me was practically a carbon copy of her, but close up, I could see minute differences. Her top lip was slightly fuller, her ears were a little less pointed, and her frame was a bit more rounded. The most noticeable disparity though was in her eyes. While Ornessa appeared to be the same age as me, I knew she was remarkably older through those eyes, as they spoke volumes. You’d have to be blind to miss the wisdom they held in their depths.
I collapsed into her arms and sobbed. She felt just like my mom; even smelled like her. I didn’t realize how much I missed having one until that moment.
A few seconds later, Leo approached us and offered his hand in greeting. I wiped my eyes as I introduced them. “This is Leo. He’s the one who made arrangements to get us here.”
Ornessa stiffened and narrowed her eyes. “Why does the blood of my blood flow through your veins?”
Leo looked startled and I was pretty sure I did too. “Karli was poisoned a while back by a demon,” he explained. “Removing the infected blood was necessary to save her life.”
I flushed. How could she possibly know that Leo has had my blood? I must have telegraphed that thought because my grandmother’s voice popped into my head a second later.
The blood transfer is fresh. Why does he lie? She cleared her throat when I failed to reply. “Gentlemen, may I have a private moment with my granddaughter, please?”
“Of course,” Leo said.
“Sure,” Vance agreed. “We’ll be waiting out front when you’re ready, Karli.”
I nodded.
Ornessa began her telepathic interrogation as soon as the door was closed. Are you daft? You willingly let a vampire have your blood?
So much for the happy family reunion. “I’m sorry, but I think that’s between me and Leo.” I refused to have this conversation in our heads. Ornessa may have been my only living relative but I was a grown woman fully capable of making my own choices.
He’s your lover, isn’t he? I knew I sensed an intimate bond between you! Her volume had increased. Do you have no sense of self-preservation whatsoever? I will not allow this!
I resumed my seat on the couch. I
f I was going to sit through this crap, I was damn well going to be comfortable. I crossed my arms. “Again, I think that’s between me and Leo.”
Bollocks! I still can’t believe I allowed him into our realm, tonic or no tonic. Everything you do is my business! You are too important to our people to take such risks! Our future is at stake!
“What does that mean? What’s so special about me? These people don’t even know me. And please stop making judgments about Leo! He is a good man.”
He is a vampire!
“Oh, trust me, I’m well aware. Just as he’s well aware of what I am! He has proven countless times that he would never harm me.” No way was I about to tell her that he’d also scared me a few times recently.
She stood ramrod straight and cut our telepathic wire. “It’s no matter.”
Huh? “You’re dropping the subject now? Just like that?”
She nodded. “Your past is irrelevant. What’s important is your future. Besides, it’s not like your fiancé hasn’t had his share of questionable bedmates.”
“I’m sorry; I don’t think I heard you correctly. My what?”
“Thylus. He is your betrothed. You shall be wed in one week’s time.”
Oh, hell no.
After dropping the wedding bomb, Ornessa stormed out of the room. I sat there stunned, unable to move. Being here was nothing like I’d thought it would be. Why couldn’t life have a rewind button, I wondered. I didn’t care how beautiful the scenery was; right then, I wanted to go back to the day I’d read that passage about the portal and burn the page.
