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“Wherever you want,” he said, already leading me toward the doors.
“Wherever you both go,” Rhea spoke, and when I turned back, the crown was knocked from her head, and the rest of his family surrounded her, “her coven will not let her live in peace. They will hunt you both down.”
“So be it!” Theseus hollered. “I am not afraid of Axel Omeron or any witch.”
Her eyes shifted to me. “You will have us all go to war because you would not give up your magic? You could avoid all of this by simply becoming immortal, and yet I am the villain?”
“Mother, that is enough,” he said, stepping in front of me. “We have made our choice.”
“Such words remind me of so many mortals before they die. Stubbornness is a folly, for sure,” she stated bitterly.
“And you of all immortals ought to know a great deal about stubbornness and selfishness!” Theseus shouted, now between her and me, like he really was a shield. “If I recall, I was not given a choice on this life. You chose for me! Yes, out
of love but also out of selfishness! Being my mother does not give you the right to lecture anyone, least of all her!”
“Theseus!” she called out, hurt in her eyes. “I am trying—”
“I know what you are trying, and I do not need nor ask it of you. I have made a choice. Whatever that means in the future, I will deal with it. It is not your right to interfere in this!” The anger from him, the deep primal growl that came from his chest, was something I had not seen. He pointed to a boyish-looking man. “And you, brother, should you ever hide me from her again, I will rip you apart limb for limb every day of eternity, I swear upon it!”
“Druella.” Hearing my name from his mother’s lips for the first time startled me more than her glare. “You are going to have to choose, and the longer you take, the more time your coven has to discover. They will fight to keep you on their side or try to destroy you. Then we will all have to destroy them. Stay here. We can fake your death, and your family will move on. In a century, you could even return to that land.”
For the first time, she sounded less cold vampire queen and more…a mother, pleading.
“Even after I speak, you still refuse to listen.” Theseus shook his head, and I took his hand. “Mother, you tire me.” He turned back to me and forced a smile on his lips. “Are you ready to go back home?”
“Yes, please.”
* * *
Theseus and I tried to salvage what was only the start of my actual birthday morning when we got back to Virginia. We’d been in Greece for less than half an hour, yet it had drastically changed the mood he and I were both in. We’d tried leaving the cabin and walking through the forest, we even flew, and though it made me feel a little better, I couldn’t shake my sadness.
“Will you be here tonight?” he asked, opening my car door for me.
“At sunset,” I whispered as I threw my bag inside before turning to look at him and the hurt in his eyes. “Will you be here tonight?”
He cupped the side of my face before putting his forehead on top of mine. “How could I not be where the woman who loves me is?”
I rolled my eyes, unable to keep from laughing. “Good.”
“Good.” He lifted my head and kissed my lips once, then stepped back. “Are you sure you are safe to drive?”
“Yes! If you knew how many all-nighters I’ve pulled in my life—”
“I am aware,” he said with a smile.
“Right. Stalker.” I chuckled. “Then yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Get home safely, and then rest. It’s been a long night.”
“You need to get some rest, too,” I said and got in.
He closed the door gently, watching me as I started the engine and pulled away. Even though I had told him before not to follow me, he still did from a faint distance, and he would continue following until I had gotten at least five minutes away from my house on Juniper Avenue. There was a lot I did not know about Theseus. I mean, that was expected. How could I understand all of him in just a few short weeks? I had known myself for twenty-six years, and I still didn’t understand myself. All people, mortal and immortal, seemed to be complex. But what I did know for sure was that Theseus was intentionally patient with me. He allowed me to dictate almost everything. When I came, when I left, what we talked about…He left it up to me. Always kind, always sweet, doting, always watching over me like I was precious gold.
He treated me like I was once in a lifetime because I really could be. He understood that from the very first day that he chose to stay with me, and he accepted that in the end, I might always be a witch, but he didn’t care. He would rather spend a few short years of his eternity with me than none at all. He would rather fight with his mother to allow me to stay a witch than push me to become a vampire, even though he probably wanted that.
Do you know what it is to live a thousand years of loneliness? His mother’s voice echoed in my mind again. You will die, and he will be alone again? Eternity remembering you fondly—that is what you want?
I couldn’t even like the few hours I was away from him anymore. How would I feel if he died, and I was here for a thousand years?
