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Chapter Sixty-Eight
Antonio Payne
Sophia.
Antonio looked away from the contract hovering in front of him - the one he was just about to sign - and to the voice that called out from the darkness.
Sophia’svoice.
She was here. Though a quick glance at Drusilla, who looked primed to inflict pain - orworse- onto Sophia, told Antonio that though Sophia was here, she was far from safe. He had no idea what Drusilla intended to do to her, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d wait around to find out, so he readied himself to attack.
“Well, now thatshe’sfound,” Maya told Drusilla in a much too peppy tone.“Youcan die.” When Drusilla’s hands flew to her neck, gripping her throat in a panic, he knew she was as good as dead. “For my aunt,witch.”
Confident that Drusilla was taken care of, Antonio searched for Sophia. He caught sight of her as she emerged from the darkness, running for him faster than he’d seen her run before. Considering how fast she was on a daily basis…
He nearly fell over when she ran into him, embracing him with what he believed was all the strength she could summon.
And hell couldn’t stop him from embracing her in return.
As Maya continued working her magic on a dying Drusilla, the sorceress gave Antonio a playful wink, which was the kindest gesture she had ever given. “You owe me one, wolf.”
He gave her a nod in thanks, then looked to the fey in his arms, his heart leaping with joy. Sophia was here, in his arms. More importantly, she was safe.
Wearing a grin that would not quit, he cupped her head into his chest and pressed his now trembling lips against her soft hair. He wanted her like this - safely in his arms - forever, but it would be wishful thinking to hope she’d want the same. Their last interaction was far from a pleasant one. Sophia was pissed at him, justifiably, and he saw no reason why she wouldn’t be any longer.
Though, her running into his armshadto be a good sign. At least, hehopedit was a good sign.
When she finally looked up at him, his heart nearly broke in two at the sight. Tears reddened her swelling eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Her tears physically hurt him. It took everything to fight tears of his own. “What’s wrong,Fia?”Gods, those tears ripped right through him, and he was sure he was the reason they fell.
Because of him, she couldn’t use The Heart of Aphrodite to find her parents. Sure, she was safe, but nothing else changed. He still royally fucked up and couldn’t take back that fuck up.
Her eyes narrowed just as she began jabbing her fist into his chest. Not once, not twice, but three times. He allowed it, knowing he deserved it and so much more. “Don’t you scare me like that again! If you signed that contract…” Her voice broke, and when it did she shoved her face back into his chest, her cries muffled by his shirt.
For some time, he held her there while rubbing her back, trying to comfort her however he could.
She was hurt because she was worried about him, not because she was upset with him. Maybe all hope wasn’t lost.
“Scare you?” He finally asked. “You scared the living hell out of me, too. When you ran off with her…” Antonio recalled the moment Sophia vanished with Drusilla. The moment he thought he had lost her. He wanted that memory ripped from his mind forever. “None of that matters.” He pressed a finger to her chin, lifting her face until she was looking at him. “What matters is that you’re here now.We’rehere now. But why’d you have to run away?” He knew why - she had been upset with him. She wasstillupset with him. Yet, for some damn reason, he asked anyway.
She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with her sleeve, her expression hardening. “Understand this, Antonio. I’ve always done whatever it was I wanted to, and I will continue to do exactly that. If you go behind my back again, I will run off, andno onewill stop me.”
He knew this. She was her own person and always had been. “You’ve walked to the beat of your own drum since the moment I met you, I wouldn’t expect anything less if…” His voice trailed as he fully grasped what she said. She spoke of retaliating if he screwed upagain,which meant she was giving him another chance. She had to be. “Fia, are you considering giving us a chance?” He needed to know.
“Of course I’m giving us a chance.” She frowned, seeming hurt by what he asked. “I’m sorry I was so cruel, cruel enough to give you a reason to think otherwise. I shouldn’t have said certain things, especially not what I said to Lance.”
“What did you say to Lance?” Antonio tried to think back to what she might’ve said that would be upsetting her so much, but couldn’t think of anything.
“I told him you didn’t deserve a mate,” she whispered, as if it was too painful for her to say any louder. “I didn’t mean it. I don’t believe it. I was just soangry.But that’s no excuse.”
Ah, that.
Antonio was so worried about her he didn’t give those words any thought. They were forgotten by him the second after they were said. “Truthfully, I had completely forgotten about it.” He traced a finger down the side of her face. “I’m surprised you’re giving me a chance because I know I don’t deserve it. I shouldn’t have gone behind your back the way I did. I had no right to. But I promise you, Iwillfind your parents. I’m going to fix this.” He would work to make it up to her until his dying breath if he had to.
The look in her eyes spoke volumes. And he knew, before she had a chance to utter the words, exactly what she was going to say. “They’re dead, and I think they have been for a very long time.”
“Fia.”He didn’t know what to say, so he held her face in his hands and pressed tender lips against her forehead. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, pressing his forehead to hers. He knew, if they were dead, nothing but The Heart of Aphrodite could save them. “If I hadn’t destroyed that amulet-”
“Let’s leave the past in the past,” she cut him off, lifting her head away from his. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I realized it’s a good thing the amulet was destroyed. If you didn’t destroy it, we would’ve been forced to fight in that tournament until the end - whether that end be our deaths or one of us winning. No matter what, there would have been no happy ending for us.”
