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I nodded watching him walk towards the door but stopped halfway.
"Master, forgive me if it's rude of me to ask, but I can't help wanting to know," Xaphan said.
"Know what?" I knew what it was, but I wanted him to say it out loud.
"The witch. You're wanting to bring her here so she could be yours, right?"
"That's right," I said matter-of-factly.
I didn't miss how his shoulders slumped at my confirmation, or the subtle sound of his exhale. "Can I ask why? You know having a living mortal here could jeopardize your safety, not to mention your ruling over the Court of Wrath."
"You're right about both risks, but that's not why you're asking about Antonia, is it?"
"No," Xaphan admitted. "Why do you need her? Am I...am I not enough?"
"It has nothing to do with you being enough or not, pup."
"Then what is it about?"
I could tell him about Marisol. Nobody knew of my affection for a human, not even my father and brother. Nobody knew of all that I lost because I couldn't trust anybody to keep those memories a secret. I knew if I told Xaphan, he'd take the story to his grave. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, but the story, those memories, they were for me and me alone. If I were to share it with anybody, I'd at least tell Antonia first, but only when she was ready to hear the truth. Maybe afterwards, I would tell Xaphan.
"The only thing you need to know, my pet, is that I need her here. And soon if the H.I.M. are planning to kill her," I finally said.
I could tell that wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he accepted the answer nonetheless. He walked out of my room, closing the door behind him, and leaving me alone in my bedroom. Calling on my magic, I created another small portal to look through the human realm and into Antonia's bedroom. My little witch remained asleep, in a bed all by herself. My eyes hooded as I took in her peaceful slumber.
"Soon, my little witch," I declared. "Soon you will be right where you belong. With me."
Chapter3
Antonia
"Antonia, wake up already. Will you wake up, dammit?" I stirred at the sound of an annoyed voice, followed by a hand shaking me awake. My body felt heavy as sleep tried to keep me under, but I willed my eyes to open. Slowly, my vision cleared, and when I looked up, I stared into the eyes of Bal standing over my sleeping form.
"Bal?" I asked in a gravelly voice.
Bal scowled. "Yeah, who else would it be?"
Someone made of shadows, for starters, but I didn't say that. Despite him standing me up last night, I was somewhat happy to see him. It meant nothing happened to him last night, but it also meant he really did stand me up. I pulled myself to a sitting position, stretching my arms over my head and ran my fingers over the tangled black locks of my hair. After I yawned, I asked, "Are you just getting home?"
"Yeah," Bal mumbled as he set his briefcase next to the bed and started undoing his tie while making his way towards the walk-in closet. "But I'm not staying here for very long and neither are you."
I furrowed my brow at the mention of me not being here. "And why is that?"
"Because we're going to a cabin for the weekend. Pack a bag, and make sure you don't forget anything."
"A cabin? Why? Is it to make up for missing our anniversary dinner?"
Bal froze after unzipping his leather suitcase on the floor. He didn't look up to meet my gaze, but he did answer. "Yeah."
That didn't sound remotely believable, but I knew if I said anything it would result in a heated argument. I should be glad we were doing anything together, much less going away for the weekend. While it did seem to come out of nowhere, maybe it would be a good thing. Maybe it would give us a chance to reconnect and try to find the love we lost along the way. Maybe our marriage could be salvaged. Was that what I wanted? Did I want to save our marriage?
"What are you still doing in bed? I told you to get up and start packing. You want to go on this weekend trip, don't you?" I jumped at Bal's voice breaking my train of thoughts.
"R-Right, I'm coming. Sorry," I stammered as I threw myself out of bed and rushed to grab my suitcase from the high shelf in the closet. I wasn't sure what to pack seeing as how I'd never been to a cabin before. I knew I needed my personal toiletries, obviously. In addition, I packed a couple of shorts, shirts, bras, and panties. I also packed a royal blue evening gown in case Bal wanted to have a redo of our romantic anniversary dinner. I also grabbed a couple of my books to read since I was sure there wasn't a lot to do out in the middle of nowhere. After taking a few more things from my vanity, I closed my suitcase and pulled something out to wear for the day. I settled for a pair of khaki shorts and my beige sleeveless blouse. I finished the ensemble with my white summer cardigan and my strapped sandals. I worked on my tangled mess of a hair then put the brush in the front pocket of my suitcase.
Bal was already in a pair of khaki pants and a white button-up, a pair of shades hanging off the front pocket. Both of our suitcases were gone, so I assumed he already packed them in the trunk of our car. "Are you ready?" he asked me, twirling the keys in his finger.
I nodded, feeling a little bit lighter about our trip. "All set."
