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“I have no doubt, Torin, but convincing Garret,” he paused, “well you know he can be a bit of…”
“A jerk,” Torin interrupted.
Antonio chuckled, though there was no humor in his response. “Impatient was the word I was looking for.”
Torin shook his head.
Watch your mouth.
Antonio gave him a direct look. “I think for the first time since Anstosa died, I can smell your anxiety. What’s happening, do I need to pull you off this case?”
“No, it’s not the case. I will get this bastard.”
“Is it the female?”
Torin stiffened then turned up the stein and quaffed the sweet, red nectar. He stood up and threw the stein which crashed into a tree, shards flying. He leaned on the bannister. “She’s killing me.”
Antonio rose to his feet and inched to his side. “I suspected as much. Gage said she was of the Durent Clan.” He raised his hand which came to rest on Torin’s shoulder. “It must have been hard for you.”
“Her eyes all but sapped the life out of me,” Torin groaned.
“Take her,” Antonio whispered.
Torn grimaced. “I can’t.”
“Anstosa is dead, Torin, hundreds of years dead.”
Torin spun to face him. “She’s not dead to me, Antonio. I still love her, she’s part of me.”
“And perhaps she loved you, though I must add, that emotion was hard to read in her.”
Torin dropped his head.
“You know that I offered her immortality,” Antonio said softly.
“She couldn’t,” Torin mumbled with his eyes squeezed tightly.
“And we both know why. Face it my friend, she never accepted our life and for damn sure, she never wanted you to be a Sirun. She killed your child, Torin, threw herself off a cliff when she learned she was pregnant.”
“No!” Torin wailed as he rocked his head, teeth gritted. “It was an accident, she wouldn’t.”
“She did it, Torin, and you need to face it. Even your father saw what she did and…”
“Don’t bring my father into this,” Torin interrupted bitterly.
“All right, I won’t, but I stand by the facts. She chose not to give you a child. She chose to fight our kind at every turn, warning the Chippewas of our existence, spreading her tales of the Seven Miigis and in the end, she willingly chose to leave you, seeking death over your heart.”
“Stop it!” Torin snapped, fury in his eyes, spit flying from his lips. “She was my life!”
“Yes, she was, but that part is forever gone. Open your eyes, you’re still alive and you have needs, this female proves that. Please,” he said, as he planted his hand firm to Torin’s shoulder. “She will make you strong.”
“No,” Torin wailed, fist balled, ready for battle. “I buried those needs alongside Anstosa. I cannot, and I will not, forsake my vows.”
“Your vows ended when she took her last breath.”
“No,” Torin moaned, the fight within giving way to a palpable torment. He dropped his head and with his eyes spilling misery, combed his hair with his fingers.
“Look at me,” Antonio said.