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“Do you want to go?” Matty asked softly. “It’s totally up to you.”
Did I?
I studied Matty’s face. The sadness in his eyes. The gentle glow of his hair in the sunlight. His kind smile, telling me he’d genuinely be happy with whatever I decided.
“Let’s go,” I said, taking his hand again. “I want them to meet you.”
We took the meandering path through the woods. Every now and then, Matty would stop to pick a flower. Being early March, there weren’t many different types, but there were daffodils in abundance.
“Maman loved daffodils,” I said, touching one of the petals gently. “She’d fill vases with them and leave them all around the castle. Sometimes I’d wake up and there’d be a bunch just lying on the pillow beside mine.”
Matty beamed up at me before stopping to gather more. “Perfect.”
Really, I should’ve put two and two together, but I didn’t. Not until I led Matty to the crumbling family vault, and he began to speak.
“Hi, I’m Matty.” There was a quiet confidence as he addressed the moss-covered stone. “I wish I could’ve met you properly. From everything Sebastian has told me, I know I would’ve loved you.”
Matty crouched, using his sleeve to wipe at the stone as he spoke. “Sebastian’s had a rough few centuries since you guys left, but he’s got me now. I’m going to look after him.”
Their names were slowly appearing under Matty’s scrubbing. The whole grave needed a lot of work, but Matty’s small gesture had me crumbling as much as the tomb that encased them.
“I promise I won’t ever let him feel alone again,” Matty continued, nodding in satisfaction at his work. He didn’t seem bothered by the fact that his sleeve was now covered in moss and mud. “I’m sorry I didn’t find him earlier, but now I have, I won’t let him go.”
Tears were falling thick and fast as I watched my sunshine arrange the flowers he’d picked on top of the grave.
“I’m not exaggerating, either. He left me once, but I don’t think he’ll do it again. And now I know what he’s been through, I’d be tracking him down myself. I’m not very handy when it comes to that kind of stuff, but some of my friends are.”
A laugh choked out of me as I imagined Matty leading the group of supes as they hunted me down. He was right, there was little his friends and family wouldn’t do for him.
But he’d never have to worry. Nothing could tear me from Matty. Not now.
“I think they’ll be Sebastian’s friends one day too,” Matty said, now pulling up weeds with his bare hands. “He likes to think he’s universally hated, but really, they all like to wind each other up. I think if he gives them a chance he’ll fit right in.”
He hissed as a thorn caught his skin. “Ouch.”
A drop of blood appeared and the pallor of Matty’s skin changed on a dime as he stared at it. “Oh.”
I had his finger in my mouth in a flash. A quick swipe of my tongue and it was like it had never happened.
“Head between your legs, sunshine,” I said, trying to hide the amusement in my voice. “How can you go from begging me to bite you to feeling faint at the sight of blood?”
“In my defence, I don’t see the blood when you bite me,” Matty said, still sounding a bit woozy.
Lifting him into my arms, I encouraged him to rest his head on my shoulder. Then, I turned to face what I’d run from for so long.
“Hi, Maman. Papa.” My accent kicked in instinctively, reminding me of how much I’d lost. I truly had become a whole new person after they’d been taken from me. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done.”
“You don’t need to apologise for that,” Matty whispered in my ear, stroking the back of my neck. “I never met them, but I refuse to believe they’d judge you.”
I clung to Matty tighter, forever grateful that he’d come into my life. “I hope you’re right, sunshine.”
“I’m always right.”
Laughter broke the tension in my chest. “That’s true.”
Taking a deep breath, I addressed the tomb once more. “Magnus, I’m sorry I wasn’t there that night. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
Matty tensed, likely because he wanted to tell me that it wasn’t my fault, but thankfully he stayed quiet. I needed to get this off my chest, and I was grateful he was letting me.
