But as I turned away, I knew one thing: Letting Maisie kill Lavinia had been the right choice. Instead of feeling robbed of the opportunity for revenge, I felt like justice had been done. Maisie had just served our grandmother a heaping spoonful of her own bitter medicine.
I just hoped for two things. One, that Maisie would recover quickly from her wounds— both physical and emotional. And two, that eventually I could look at my sister’s face and not see the feral monster who killed the male I loved.
31
Back in the main boulevard, the green expanse lay in ruins from pools of blood and blackened circles from dead vamps. Scorch marks marred the white stone tombs. The air stank of spent magic and death. Several mages and fae bent over the bodies of fallen comrades, tending to wounds or whispering blessings for the departed.
The protective instinct that had insulated me from reality was already receding. My nerve endings sizzled like live, exposed wires. My arm and back screamed from injuries. But the wounds on my heart caused the greatest pain. Because even though Lavinia was finally dead, achieving that goal— even indirectly— had come at too high a cost.
I paused as the truth slammed into me like a battering ram. David had predicted tough choices with long-range consequences. Had he known I’d choose to go it alone and fail, thus setting off this chain of events? Or would any choice have netted the same outcome?
And how would the choices I made tonight impact all of us going forward? Obviously, my choice to allow Maisie to kill Lavinia would be a factor. On the other hand, Lavinia’s death would allow the peace accord among the fae, mages, and vampires to go forward. But could Tanith really be trusted as an ally? And would the Queen or Orpheus listen to me when I told them any peace was tenuous as long as Cain still lived? The weight of those big questions was almost too much to bear in the wake of such personal loss.
I looked up at the moon and allowed the heaviness to settle deep into my bones. Closing my eyes, I imagined Adam’s face in my mind. I realized the image was a memory of the first time I’d seen him in that smoky vampire bar in Los Angeles. He’d been trying hard not to be noticed, but a male like Adam was hard to miss.
A tear ran down my cheek. Hard to miss in a lot of ways.
May the Great Mother wrap you in her arms and keep you safe until I can join you.
Footsteps crunched on the grass. I looked up and saw a familiar silver-haired mage emerge from between two crypts. “Rhea?”
She wiped a bloody hand across her brow. “Sabina. Thank the goddess you’re okay.”
“What are you still doing here? Why would you risk staying?” Pain and worry added an acidic edge to my words. When I thought about how she could have been injured ….. or worse, my chest tightened.
“Sabina, I might be an old woman, but I’m not a coward. Besides, I had healing to do here.”
“But—”
She slashed a hand through the air. “What’s done is done.”
The dam broke and I threw my arms around her. “I’m so sorry.”
Her silver brows slammed together. “What in the world are you apologizing for? I told you Maisie’s prophecy was right.”
I pulled back, my face wet with tears. “What?”
She smiled at me. “The prophecy. About how you were going to unite the dark races and stop the war? Look around you.” She motioned in a circle, “You brought together fae, mages, demons, weres, vamps, and, hell, even a human. Lavinia is dead. The war is no longer a threat.”
I boggled at her. Had grief over Adam’s death made her come unhinged? “What? I don’t care about that—”
“Well, you should, because you lost the bet.” The bet she referred to was one we made back when Maisie told me about the prophecy. I’d told the mage I didn’t believe in fate or in my ability to unite anyone. She told me she reserved the right to rub my nose in it when I was proved wrong. “And because you lost, consider yourself officially I-told-you-so’d.”
Considering the Cain factor, I felt her words were a tad premature. But what bothered me more was the lack of emotion she displayed. “Rhea, are you feeling all right?” I asked, putting a hand to her forehead. “I was trying to tell you I’m sorry about Adam.”
She frowned. “That wasn’t your fault. Besides, it all worked out in the end.”
“What?” I whispered. How could she say that?
“I will say, though, it took just about every resource I had at my disposal to revive him.”
My stomach somersaulted. I grabbed her arms. “What!”
She shot me a look. “Sabina? What—”
Movement behind Rhea captured my attention. A familiar silhouette emerged from behind the tombs like an apparition. My knees went weak. Reaching blindly toward a vault wall for support, I both cursed and thanked the goddesses for the Chthonic powers that allowed me to see Adam’s ghost one final time.
A low keening cry rose from my diaphragm. “Oh, gods, Adam!” The pain was literally too much to contain.
Seemingly oblivious to my agony, Rhea turned and put her hand on her hips. “Adam? I told you to stay put.”
The ghost looked up and stilled, one hand pressed against his chest and the other against the solid wall of the tomb. A white bandage marred with a splotch of bright red wrapped his chest.
Rhea’s voice sounded far away. “You’re going to reopen your wound stumbling around like that.”
That’s when it clicked that, unlike David’s ghostly form, I couldn’t see through Adam.
“I needed to …..” He paused. “Sabina?”
At the sound of his voice, my knees finally buckled. “Adam?” I whispered brokenly.
He took a step toward me. The move forced his handsome face into a grimace of pain. Something about that expression— so real and unghostly— finally convinced me that he was real.
Alive.
Oh, my gods. He’s alive!
I moved without conscious thought. Moved so fast I’m not sure my feet actually touched the ground. Finally— miraculously— my arms clamped around his solid form until I clung to him like a vine. Hesitantly, his own arms slid around me as great, heaving sobs wracked my chest.
“Hey,” he said. “It’s okay.”
I wanted to explain, but I couldn’t speak. Just a few seconds ago I was convinced I’d never be okay again. But now, the hope I’d abandoned reignited in my chest.
From far away I heard Rhea mumble something about giving us some privacy. My head rubbed back and forth on his shoulder. I wanted to explain, but I couldn’t speak. His hands found my face, gently urging me to look at him. “Did someone not make it?” His voice cracked. “Maisie—”
A whole new round of sobbing began, robbing me of speech. Unable to control myself, I launched at him again, pressing my lips to his. He returned the kiss slowly at first and then relaxed into it, deepening it with his tongue.
I squeezed with my arms, my hands grabbing at his back. He jerked back abruptly, hissing in pain. I stilled, finally noticing the bright white bandage strapped across his chest. “Oh, gods!” I cried. “I can’t believe it.”
He looked up from his chest. “It’s okay. Just a little tender.” He smiled and leaned in for another kiss.
Realizing he misunderstood my meaning, I put a hand to the left of the bandage, stilling his progress. “No.”
His expression fell, tightened. “Hey, you kissed me first.”
I shook my head. “No, you fool, I don’t mean no more kissing. I meant, I thought you were dead.”
Light dawned in his eyes. “Oh, gods, Sabina.”
“I saw you f-fall and ….. and then you were so still ….. I thought it was too late and I never got a chance to tell you—” My voice cracked as a fresh round of tears began.
He pulled me to him, his arms wrapping around me again. Surrounding me with his sandalwood scent. I breathed in deeply as he rocked me, placing soft kisses on my hair, whispering, “It’s okay. I’m here.”
The storm of emotion passed quickly, leaving me exhausted. I lifted my head from his shoulder. Placed my hands on either side of his dear, handsome face. Looked him in his eyes, which were red and glistening with his own emotions. “I love you,” I said. “I’m sorry I hurt you by sneaking out. I was trying to protect you. All of you. But I only ended up making things worse. Can you forgive me?”
His expression was serious, too serious for my comfort. “You love me?”
I tilted my head. Was that a trick question? “Of course.”
“Then I should probably tell you I forgave you for your decision five minutes after I realized you’d left.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? But those things you said—”
He rested his forehead against mine. “Were said out of fear.” He swallowed hard. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion. “The thought of you facing all that by yourself— the idea of you dying alone— made me more terrified than I’d ever been in my life.”
I kissed his lips softly. “I was scared, too,” I whispered against his lips. Memory of watching my sister feed from him reared in my mind. I pulled back. “Oh, gods— Maisie.”
He stilled. “Did Lavinia—” His voice cut off as if he couldn’t bear to voice his worry that Maisie might be dead.
I shook my head. “No, she’s alive. But she still thinks she killed you.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled. “Let’s go.”
His injuries slowed our progress, but before we made it halfway back across the main avenue of the cemetery, Giguhl entered the area. When the demon saw Adam he went statue-still. Then he was nothing but a blur of green. Adam didn’t have time to brace himself before Giguhl was on him. “Mancy, you’re alive!”
Adam groaned. “Not for long if you don’t stop squeezing.”
Chastened, Giguhl gently lowered Adam back to the ground. The demon’s claw came to rest heavily on the mancy’s shoulder. With a huge grin Giguhl said, “Gods-damn it’s good to see you.”