Page 67 of Fated In Forever (Nocturne Vampire Clan #4)

EVANGELINE

T he familiar scent of lemon and old wood wrapped around me as we crossed the threshold of Crimson House that evening.

Layers of Riordan’s scent, and Blake’s, had me shivering with something I might call happiness.

After everything that had happened, the warmth of this place felt like a blessing I didn't deserve.

I couldn’t help running my fingers over the faded damask wallpaper, the dented carved wood moldings. All the little imperfections of an old family house that had seen centuries of wear from generations.

Hard to believe I’d once thought of this place as run down, when the place was just… lived in .

The grounds outside were a tangle of overgrowth, but there was a certain beauty there, too, roses twining through tall grass, the way every stone was blanketed in thick green moss. A calmness I hadn’t felt in weeks settled deep into my bones, like I could finally rest.

There had been a short, fierce argument about whether or not Eldric and Angel should be dematerializing over such a long distance. But here we were.

“Do me a favor. Remind me to send Aisling a fruit basket or something when this is over,” I muttered to my sister. “Since we basically turned their castle upside down and just left without a goodbye. ”

Angel leaned heavily against my shoulder, her breathing shallow as I guided her to the sitting room where Sylvester was waiting, his glower turning to alarm when he spotted Angel.

“Let me look at you, child,” Sylvester said gently, his weathered hands steady as he examined Angel.

With his cowl thrown back, his face was even more lined than I remembered, but finally, his pinched expression relaxed, along with the band around my heart.

“The drug they gave you was potent, but your system is conditioned to neutralize toxins, and the chemicals are already working their way out of your system.”

“And the baby?” I asked, my hands clenched so tightly my knuckles had gone white. “Will the drugs harm the baby?” I whispered, afraid to voice the question any louder.

Sylvester's face softened as he placed his palm on Angel's round stomach.

“Strong heartbeat. Your little one weathered the storm just fine.” He patted Angel's hand reassuringly.

“Lots of rest, lots of feeding, and no excitement. You'll both be perfectly well. Nonetheless, I’m putting you on a week of bed rest.” He winked, “Read some of those books on wolves you like so much.”

The relief that flooded through me was so intense I had to sit down abruptly in the nearest chair. Angel reached for my hand, her fingers still trembling slightly.

“Evie,” she said softly, “it’s okay. Everything will be okay.”

I shook my head, shame burning in my chest. “I should have seen this coming, should have?—”

“Stop being a martyr, you know I hate when you do that.” Angel's voice was firm despite her exhaustion as she hugged me. “You are the best big sister I could ask for. You've never let me down, not once. ”

“But I?—”

“No buts.” She squeezed my hand. “You came for me. You found me and you brought me home. That's twice now, by the way, not that I’m keeping track. Still, thank you.”

Sylvester had moved on to Eldric, his nose swollen to epic proportions, and sporting two black eyes.

He was watching us, and the moment our eyes made contact, he flinched and looked away.

I swallowed, my throat closing up as I imagined all the ways today could have gone wrong.

Eldric had been right, though. I was a terrible sister.

“Still, I promise to be better. I'll be the sister you deserve.”

“Oh, will you shut up. You already are,” she whispered, following my gaze, to where Sylvester was checking Eldric over.

“Oh shit, that’s going to leave a mark,” she murmured, frowning at his broken nose.

“That’s what I said.” I sighed. “You should have seen him when we discovered you were missing, Angel. He was beside himself, like certifiably feral.”

A pretty pink blush climbed up her neck. “Yeah, well,” she shifted uncomfortably. “He said some things , after they gave us the drugs.” Her blue eyes turned fever-bright. “I’m pretty sure he was hallucinating, though. Or I was.”

Bex burst in the room, scanned the chaos scene, then headed our way.

“Eldric would really do anything for you, Angel. Anything. You should give him a chance.” I told her, scooting out of the way as Bex threw herself across the final few feet and wrapped my sister up in a sobbing, messy bear hug.

“Okay then,” I said awkwardly, “good talk,” leaving them alone to go check on Eldric, Sylvester giving me the evil side eye as I walked up.

“Hey,” I said softly, settling into the chair across from Eldric.

When he finally looked up, I was struck by the raw shame in his eyes, and the sheer amount of dried blood on his face.

“I could have killed you both,” he said, in a nasally whine.

“I swear, it must have been the drugs, I just…I lost control completely. The dragon fire—I nearly torched you and Riordan. The king,” he muttered.

“I almost killed the fucking king and queen of the clan. I’m a fucking disgrace.

” Sylvester snorted and I gave him the evil eye.

“But you didn't,” I pointed out, not wanting to touch that queen comment with a ten-foot pole. “Instead, you face planted and shattered your nose.”

“A humiliation I’ll be reliving until my dying day.” He glared at Blake across the room, who mouthed something that very well could have been library boy , then pointed at his own, very unbroken nose. “See?” Eldric muttered. “A complete embarrassment.”

“Well, at least my sister didn’t see any of what happened,” I patted his arm and he winced.

“I’m sorry, Evangeline,” He murmured, dipping his head.

“For what I said, before. I was angry and scared and…I took my frustration out on you, and that wasn’t right,” he sighed.

“ I wasn’t right. Angel has never complained, not once, just so you know.

She looks up to you. She worships you, actually.

And I know the sacrifices you made for her, especially after your mother died, after… ”

“Don’t worry,” I told him, cutting him off with a wave of my hand. “I’ve been called far worse, and besides,” I bumped shoulders with him, “we might be related one day, right? ”

“I highly doubt it,” Eldric groaned, running a hand through his long red hair, leaving it disheveled. “I went to rescue Angel, and got captured, then became another threat for you to worry about. Some protector I turned out to be.”

Sylvester elbowed me out of the way and peered at Eldric’s smashed in face.

“Your arm’s healing, but I have to straighten this before the bones grow together.

Take a deep breath and I’ll count to three.

One, two…” Sylvester wrenched Eldric’s nose back into the center of his face, a fresh burst of blood splattering across my shirt.

“Sorry,” the old healer said, not sounding sorry at all.

“You said three ,” Eldric complained, sounding much less nasally. “You lied.”

“Sue me for malpractice, see if I care.” Sylvester took one last, scathing look at the both of us and headed toward one of Finn’s guards, who looked like he’d walked into some sort of nasty magical booby trap at the compound.

“And here I thought it was only me he didn’t like.” I leaned forward, choosing my words carefully. “Eldric, what happened in the bunker wasn't your fault. They drugged you because they knew you were dangerous.” Okay, so that was only partly true . “But here's the thing—Angel doesn't need a hero.”

That was totally true.

“She needs you to be her friend. To listen. Someone who stands beside her, not in front of her.” I smiled gently. “Trust me, I know my sister. She's stronger than she looks, and she values loyalty over heroics any day.”

Something shifted in his expression, a spark of hope replacing the despair. “Are you sure?” He glared at Blake, who made some hand gesture that didn’t seem especially complimentary. “Because all the other males are such…”

“Ignore them. You’ll never be like them, and honestly, I don’t know why you’d want to be like everyone else. You’re smart and kind and well read. You and Angel love all the same things. Like reading,” I prompted.

“And research and baking and cats.”

“Exactly.” I said brightly, hoping he wasn’t talking about baking cats. “So why don't you go talk to her?” I elbowed him in the side. “She's been asking about you, ever since she woke up.”

He stood slowly, straightening his shoulders, cleaning the dried blood off his face with his shirt, which didn’t help one bit. “I think I will.”

I snuck behind him, unable to resist seeing how this would play out. Angel’s face lit up when Eldric got close, her expression filled with genuine joy, eyes shining, like they used to when she was little.

Bex wove her way through the room until she was beside me, up on her tiptoes, neck craning. “Stop it,” I scolded, pulling her down. “You’re being too obvious. Fuck, Angel’s looking over here. Pretend you’re telling me a joke or something.”

“I don’t know any jokes.”

“I said pretend ,” I hissed, watching my sister pat the cushion beside her on the sofa. Eldric sat down, talking fast, waving his hands all over the place, like he just realized he had them.

“Oh, gods, that looks so awkward. What is he doing with his hands, they look like they’re about to fly off the ends of his arms.”

“He’ll be fine.” I muttered. “Matchmaking at its finest.” I nudged her with my hip. “Let’s get closer. I want to hear what they’re saying.”

We found a quiet corner where we could hide in the curtains, behind a half-dead fern, just out of my sister’s line of sight, but well within hearing range.

Eldric sat with his spine so straight, he looked like he was in traction. “Angel, I feel the need to apologize. What I did down there, what I said to you…”

“Was not your fault,” she interrupted firmly. “You were drugged, Eldric. We both were.”

“What do you think he said?” Bex whispered, craning her neck. “I’ll bet it was something mushy.”

“Regardless, I came to save you, and instead, I ended up chained up in the cell right beside you. My rescue mission was a total failure.”

She reached for Eldric’s hand, “Not a failure at all. Knowing you were there, knowing you’d come made me feel safe. Knowing you cared made me feel like I wasn’t alone. That's what I'll remember, Eldric.”

“ Hey .” Blake said loudly, right behind us, Bex and I both jumping out of our skins. “What are you two doing hiding in the drapes?”

“Go away,” I whisper-yelled. “We’re in the middle of something here.”

“Oh, I see,” his shit-eating grin grew even bigger. “You’re spying on the lovebirds. How’s our boy doing? Not making a total ass of himself, I hope.”

“Speaking of ass…” I punched my mate in the shoulder. “Be nice.”

“Ow.” he rubbed his shoulder. “And I am being nice.”

“You really weren’t,” Bex pointed out with a frown. “You totally were being an ass.”

“Well, I didn’t come over here to be abused.” Blake muttered, sauntering back over to Riordan, Malachi and Finn, heads bent together like they were having an important meeting of the minds .

“Oh my gods, look,” Bex tugged at my sleeve. “They’re hugging . This is better than any book.”

I didn’t know what I’d missed— damn my mate’s bad timing —but my sister was now wrapped up in Eldric’s arms, her blotchy face smooshed against his chest while he stared down at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

And when her arms slipped around his waist, my heart swelled with contentment.

“I don't deserve you,” he murmured into her hair. “You’re too perfect and I’m just…a librarian.”

“Well, I do love books,” Angel said, batting her eyes at him. “So you and I make perfect sense, in a way.”

“Oh, look at them, is Eldric crying?’ Bex bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, hands clasped so tight her knuckles turned white. “He is, I can see tears.”

“Besides, love isn't only about deserving,” Angel replied, her voice soft. “It's about choosing each other, every day, for the rest of your life, and…” she traced his cheek with long, elegant fingers. “Today, I choose you, Eldric Dracon.”

“Oh my gods, that was so romantic,” Bex pressed a palm over her heart, eyes glistening. “I think I might faint.”

“Okay, no need to be dramatic. Let’s give them their privacy,” I muttered, steering her away.

I ended up getting waylaid by Nash, then Finn—who demanded a blow by blow of what went down in the bunker—then Rohr checked me over again to make sure my ribs were healing, then Blake had to talk more shit about Eldric…

Yet somehow, the entire time, my heart felt fuller than it ever had before.

I wandered the familiar halls, feeling something I hadn't in weeks—peace. We were home. We were safe.

And despite everything we'd been through, we were still a family.