AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I raised the glass and said, “For the past, which we’ll turn into the future we want…For Gabriel.”
Troy and Mei raised their glasses in Gabriel’s honor. I downed mine in a split second. “Pour another one, Troy.”
Troy complied. This time he poured a generous amount for which I was grateful. I downed the second one as if it was lemonade and lay in bed. I covered myself with the duvet and bid them good night.
Mei looked at Troy and said, “How about we take Athena with us, so you can have a restful sleep?”
I didn’t answer. They took that as a yes and rolled the crib out of the bedroom. A few minutes later, heat spread through my body, and eventually, I went to sleep.
∞∞∞
The following morning, I woke up, had a shower, put on the most professionally-looking attire I could muster, and went to search for Troy. I found Mei and him at the kitchen table, talking about last night’s events.
“Petra, you look very business-like,” said Mei.
“Troy, please finish your breakfast. We have important matters to discuss,” I said.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Troy said and wiped his mouth.
“I’ll be downstairs talking to the staff.”
For the next few hours, I got acquainted with all castle matters, as well as finance. Though the castle was half-deserted due to the attacks and Gabriel ignoring some of his duties, the vampire society spread across the entire world still depended on their ruler.
Troy and I chose not to tell anyone in the kingdom about Gabriel’s death. We preferred to say Gabriel, Athena, and I planned on going on a long vacation on his private island. We planned to return in a few years. Or how much would the past catch up to the present? So it wasn’t completely inaccurate.
Gabriel actually lived through history as it unfolded. Those years were indeed long. But written history rolled faster, and soon we would return to our previous life.
Under my orders, Troy became king interim until the present and past would merge. I promised we would find him in France when we reached the 20thCentury. He had his fate sealed to become a vampire, so he wouldn’t be able to miss our meet-up. With only one difference, I would be there as well.
I stayed at the castle for more than a week and helped Troy make long-term decisions for the kingdom’s future. In the end, Troy capitulated to my good and righteous behavior and gave me the stone.
For a second, I wished to say the words and find Gabriel again, but Athena needed to be taken care of first. The following day, Athena and I flew to Spokane. Mei decided to stay with Troy and figure out where their relationship would lead them. And given how particular she was, Troy would have a great companion to lead the kingdom. They discussed the multiple facets of their extremely different lives and came to a compromise on almost every aspect. Well, except for coffee. Troy still had to bring her Starbucks coffee every day. In the end, they settled for a coffee barista at the castle. A vampire coffee barista? Why didn’t I think of that?
They also talked about Kira’s death and the subsequent mourning Troy had to acknowledge. Together, they visited Kira’s grave many times, and slowly Troy’s grieving wound healed.
The only ones disappointed by Mei’s decision were her parents. Not only did she plan on living thousands of miles away from them, but she also had to give up on her dream of opening a daycare. Luckily, Mei found a way to realize her wish by teaching Romanian kids English. I still didn’t know how Troy managed to find her the job and appease her parents, but a man in love on a mission wasn’t something to joke around. Plus, Troy wasn’t one to joke in general. But Mei didn’t mind his serious demeanor. She rather appreciated the balance their opposing personalities molded into.
Speaking of her parents. They promised to make another glass statue for free and would keep it safe until we returned. Mei cried before we parted ways. She knew even I didn’t know exactly when we would catch up in time, but realized, given the circumstances, this was the second chance no one in the human world got, and she promised to eagerly wait for my return.
Though I refused at first, Troy made sure we arrived at my parents’ house in the most comfortable way possible. He saw I still struggled to adopt my Queen of the Undead status even after dealing with so many internal issues. But he wouldn’t have any of it. He wanted us to travel on a private jet. Then again, his stubbornness had to overpower mine since I preferred to travel on commercial flights. We reached a compromise in which I would travel first class with Athena on the most expensive jet Troy could find. And also be driven in one of the kingdom’s cars to my parents’ house. I couldn’t argue with that. A twelve-hour flight with a baby in my arms was never an easy feat.
Once we arrived at my parent’s house, I knocked on the door. At that moment, the reality of my loss hit me hard.
Chapter 19
"What happened to you?” Mom asked. “Are you trying to compete with the ghosts in our house?”
“We don’t have ghosts in our house,” I said as I went inside.
“We do now,” Mom exclaimed.
“Thanks, Mom. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.” Mom always knew how to make me feel welcome.
“There’s only one way to remedy this,” Mom said, and I already began enumerating in my mind all the teas and infusions she planned to pour down my throat.
“Mom, it’s okay. It was a long flight, you know?” I blabbered desperately.
“Costi, bring the wine bottle. Today we relax,” Mom said, sounding more like an advertisement than a mom.
