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A knock on the door interrupts me, and I take it as a sign that I need to stay the course.
“Come in,” I say, immediately realizing it was an order. I silently chastise myself as Elijah appears at the threshold, stepping inside with a cautious grin.
“Hey, tío,” he says.
“I wish you wouldn’t call me that,” I mutter.
“Alright, then—Father Garza?”
I groan. “Reyes is fine. You’re marrying my niece, after all.”
“Thus, the whole—”
“Elijah—stop,” I grunt. “What is it you want?”
He leans against the wall beside the door, crossing his arms over his chest. The lanky blond has been cautious with me since he arrived, always guarded around everyone in the den. I think he’s still curious why we accepted him, given his past as a crusader.
“I actually came to ask you something,” he says.
“Go for it.”
“Well,” he says. “I already talked to Charlotte’s grandfolks, but…I figured, since you’re the closest thing she has to a dad, I should ask you for your blessing.”
I frown despite myself, that word bringing up a whole bunch of unwanted feelings. The Heavenly Host has ruined the word ‘blessing’—it seems like such a farce now that they’ve used it to describe how they experiment on humans.
But this…
“Of course,” I say. “She’s your mate—but beyond that, I can see how much you care for her. And I think my brother would want the man his daughter marries to worship the ground she walks on.”
“That I do,” Elijah asks, cocking a half-smile. “On that note…I think she would really like it if you’d walk her down the aisle. We’re doing the whole shebang: ceremony, processional, all the things from those romance books she loves.”
“You don’t want me to perform the ceremony?”
“Actually, Peaches was gonna do it,” he says. “Non-religious. Hope that’s okay.”
My heart aches for the life Charlotte didn’t have—with her parents, in a world that was safe andnormal.But I nod as I accept his offer. “I’d be happy to do it,” I say. “And when do you plan on doing this…?”
“Next week,” Elijah says. “We’re anxious to tie the knot, especially Charlotte. She figures we’re already married in all the ways that count; I just want to do this right for her family.”
“I appreciate that,” I say. I heave a sigh, looking up at him. “You’re a good man, Elijah. I’m glad she’s found someone who wants to do right by her.”
We sit there awkwardly for a moment, Elijah shifting by the front door. “Okay,” he says. “I guess I’ll go.”
“Wait a second,” I say. “Did you get her a ring?”
He bites his lip, directing his gaze at the floor. “Forgive the profanity, Father, but…where the fuck am I supposed to get a ring around here?”
I frown. “Give me a second.”
I get up and walk over to the big wooden cabinet against the wall, pulling it open to find a tidy disaster. My clothes are hung in an orderly enough way, but I have stacks of notebooks and novels along the bottom of the cabinet, and boxes on top. I pull down an old cardboard box and put it on my desk to sift through it, finally finding what I’m looking for.
“You can give her this,” I say, turning around and extending my hand.
My brother’s ring sits in my palm.
It’s a plain gold band, definitely too big for Charlotte. Elijah takes it with the kind of reverence I think it deserves, and for that, at least, I’m grateful. “She’ll have to wear it on a chain, but it was her father’s,” I tell him. “I’ve kept it all these years not knowing what I would do with it.”
Elijah’s brow furrows. “You’re sure about this?”
