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“Do you think so, Charlie? My marriage is void because we died?” Her voice wavered.
“You aren’t married to that fucking bastard, Clawdia,” Charlie growled, tilting her head with a finger under her chin so he stared intently into her eyes.
“I agree. You died,” I began. Charlie freed her from his hold, and she turned her attention to me, big violet eyes glistening with tears. I took her hand and kissed it. “He has never touched this body. Your voice might have said vows, but the words did not come from this mouth. You were reborn anew.”
She laughed once, a look of shock on her face, and then hiccupped a sob as tears slipped from her eyes and her lip quivered.
Charlie joined us on the bed and wrapped her into his arms. “It’s okay, Clawdicat. He’ll never touch you again.”
“Never,” I promised as I kissed her brow.
Charlie and I shared a look as we comforted our beloved. Without saying a word to each other, I knew we were united in our thoughts. We’d do anything to protect her from him.Anything.
As she quietened, I asked, “Will you explain what happened when you disappeared from the dreamscape?”
Clawdia wiped away tears and nodded. She told us she’d met Nisha, an akari seer, who told her Fafnir was Mr. Jenkins and that she had to leave us behind to find him.
“It was horrible. Seeing him again … It bought back so many memories. And when he killed that witch …” She swallowed. “It could have been me.”
“Jesus Christ, Clawdicat. I’m so sorry.” Charlie tucked a curl of hair behind her ear and stared with sympathetic eyes.
Her whimper distressed me, and I squeezed her again while my hand that rested on her stomach rubbed in reassuring circles. “Why didn’t you wait for me to come with you? You shouldn’t have had to face him on your own.”
“Nisha said I couldn’t. I was really scared, but I needed to do it … I needed to face him,” she explained.
“And who is she? Why are we listening to her?” Charlie asked with his usual skepticism.
Clawdia shrugged. “I don’t really know. But she is on our side.”
“I don’t think you should trust random women who kidnap you from dreams and tell you about your future unsolicited.”
“She wanted to help us so we could help her. I believe her. Trust me.”
He sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. “Help her how? We’ve got a long enough to-do list without adding her issues too.”
“I’m not sure. She made it sound like doing this was also going to help her.”
I asked after a slight pause, “Does Fafnir know who you are?”
She hesitated, and I held my breath. “He recognized me but doesn’t think it’s me. I hope he doesn’t find out, but Mary could tell him. I don’t know how that could affect us.”
“I’m sure we will soon find out,” Charlie replied ominously.
“I can’t think about that now. Charlie, what did you mean about Fafnir being your grandad?” She paused for a moment before she gasped. “You met your birth mother! What did she say? Was it everything you thought it would be?”
Charlie barked a laugh. “Not quite what I’d dreamed of.”
Charlie went on to tell us about meeting his mother. Clawdia practically growled with anger as he explained how his birth mother, Elizabeth, attacked him, tried to kill him, and made him swear a vow to get any witch training at all. He laughed at her, “Calm down, killer. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. She tried to hurt you, kill you, and after you were so—” She huffed. “It’s horrible. I hate her.”
“We left it in an okay place. Maybe we’ll grow closer as she trains me.”
He continued, explaining that he discovered Mary is his cousin, and Fafnir, the dragon, was his great-great-grandfather.
We sat in shocked silence until I said, “You aren’t having much luck with discovering family members, Charlie.”
“You’re telling me.” He rolled his eyes.
