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“Everything?” His brows shot up.
Tears flooded my eyes, and I threw myself at his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What? Is this about Vedoma? We already separated ways…”
“Not only her. About the pain, the torment, the…misery.”
“I’m sorry, my love, but I struggle to follow.”
I glanced at him with a meaningful gaze, and he froze. “You know?” He asked.
I nodded as I leaned my head on his chest.
“How?” Gabriel’s face sketched into a stunned expression.
“I went to Nadia’s descendants. She sent me down memory lane. Your memory lane.” I hugged him tight. “I’m sorry. I wish so much I could’ve been by your side when you went through those horrors.”
“You shouldn’t have done it, Milady. It was my fate to live through. You have nothing to feel sorry about.” Gabriel’s face hardened.
“But you did it because of…me.”
“No, I did it for us and would have done it again,” he said as he kissed my forehead.
“But now we cannot be a family.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s either you or Athena. There’s no middle ground. Vedoma sacrificed our daughter, and the only thing holding you from killing our baby is her spell.”
Gabriel remained silent and turned his head to the side.
“Say something,” I pleaded, but he stayed statue-like and somehow far away. “Please talk to me,” I whispered as tears welled up.
In one last attempt at bringing his attention to me, I cupped his face. His tears, like melted silver, flooded my fingers. His pain-stricken eyes refused to look at me. “You are not allowed to suffer alone, do you understand? You have me. I do not wish the riches, or to live in a castle, or lead a kingdom of vampires. I only wish to be with you. Come back to me, Gabriel.”
His eyes returned to mine, but I still didn’t know how to ease the suffocating pain emanating from them. The one thing I could do was send a clear message that I wasn’t about to back down on us. He already had enough. Gabriel threw himself in my embrace, holding me so tight I could barely breathe. But I would change nothing. We stayed in the embrace for a long time. It seemed that for the first time since my return, Gabriel could truly be himself. The man I left returned to me. I didn’t want to deprive him of such a necessary experience. We mostly remained motionless, except for the moments when I caressed his hair or the nape of his neck. Gabriel remained in the same position, with only his tears denoting his state. Then his body became heavy. At first, I assumed he was sick or something, but when I looked closer, I noticed he had fallen asleep. I breathed out deeply, leaned onto the tree, and laid his head on my lap. His sleeping face was a wonder to revel in. The restful demeanor of the man I loved calmed me and inspired me to take a nap as well. We’ve been fighting this battle for so long we’ve forgotten how to rest. Maybe now didn’t seem like the best of times, but it was for us. It was for him. He deserved to know I stood next to him, carrying the century-old burdens with equal force.
When I woke up, Gabriel still slept. There was only one problem. My legs became numb under his weight. I shifted just an inch to ease the pain when Gabriel opened his eyes. He stayed as such for so long that I assumed he slept with his eyes open.
“Gabriel, are you up?” I asked.
He turned toward me but didn’t say anything. His face looked statue-like.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Why?” he asked in a monotone voice.
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you want to know?”
“Because I love you, Gabriel,” I said.
“Now you’ll have to live like me.” Gabriel turned his head up and looked at the sky. “I wished so much to protect you from all this. To protect you from her.”
“I don’t need protection. I want to fight next to you.”
“I fought for so long and still haven’t won. How can we win together? The curse will unleash my beast, and then we will all be dead one way or another.”
