Page 28

I stared at my father and Jan, barely able to process the seismic shift that had just occurred. The library felt too warm suddenly, the crackling fire and sun conspiring to make the air thick and heavy. Or maybe that was just the weight of decades of hurt and hope warring in my chest.

Dad must have seen something in my expression because he took a half step forward, hands raised slightly as if to steady me. "We don't expect you to forgive everything overnight. We just want you to know you're wanted here. God knows I have so much to make up for being so absent in your life."

The simple statement hit harder than any of Jan's tearful apologies. Wanted. How long had I ached to hear that word from them?

"I..thank you," I managed, my voice catching. "Both of you. I just need a minute."

They nodded, understanding in their faces that made my throat tighten further. This new version of them, caring and patient, was almost harder to handle than their previous coldness. At least I'd known how to armor myself against that.

"Of course," Jan voice was vulnerable. "Take all the time you need."

Aldaine's hand found the small of my back, steadying and warm. I leaned into his touch, grateful for the anchor.

"Would you excuse us?" I asked, already turning toward the door. "I need some air."

We made it into the hallway before my legs gave out. Aldaine caught me as I sagged, drawing me against his chest. The solid warmth of him was the only thing keeping me upright as emotions I'd bottled up for years came crashing through my carefully constructed walls.

A sound escaped me, half laugh, half sob. "Oh god," I pressed my face into his shirt, shoulders shaking. "I can't believe after all this time, they apologized."

His arms tightened around me, one hand stroking soothingly down my back. He didn't try to shush me or offer empty platitudes. He just held me, letting me fall apart in the safety of his embrace.

"They actually see me," my voice was muffled against his chest. "They finally see me."

Another watery laugh bubbled up, mixing with my tears that wouldn't stop falling. "And I don't know what to do with that. How do you trust something you stopped hoping for years ago?"

Aldaine's chest rumbled as he spoke, his voice gentle but firm. "Then we'll learn together."

I pulled back enough to look up at him, finding nothing but steady warmth in his dark eyes. No judgment, no impatience. Just quiet support and something deeper that made my heart skip.

"Together?" I echoed softly .

His thumb brushed away a tear from my cheek. "Together."

This demon. This man. He would be my undoing, and it didn't scare me.

The sun gleamed off the pool's surface, turning the water into a mesmerizing sight. I slipped off my shoes and rolled up the hem of my skirt before dipping my feet into the cool water. The sensation was grounding after the emotional whirlwind I'd just experienced.

Aldaine sat beside me, his pants rolled carefully above his ankles, our shoulders almost touching. Neither of us had spoken much since leaving the library. What was there to say after witnessing what felt like my family's complete personality transplant?

"Do you think it will last?" I finally asked my feear, breaking the companionable silence. "Jan's change of heart?"

Aldaine considered the question, his legs making slow circles in the water. "I believe she was sincere, if that's what you're asking. Whether she has the strength to maintain it when Stephany inevitably pushes back," He shrugged. "That remains to be seen."

I nodded, appreciating his honesty. False reassurance would have felt patronizing.

"She looked almost afraid when she apologized," I mused. "Like she expected me to reject her completely."

"Wouldn't you have had every right to?"

"Maybe." I trailed my fingers through the water, watching the ripples spread outward. "But that wouldn't help anyone, least of all me. Holding onto anger is exhausting." I'd felt it for too long, weighing my soul down.

Aldaine's gaze was warm when I looked up at him. "You continue to surprise me, Rosie Thompson."

Something about the way he said my name sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. It wasn't just the words, but the reverence with which he spoke them, as if my ordinary name were something precious.

The bite mark on my neck tingled beneath the silk scarf. I resisted the urge to touch it, knowing that even the lightest brush of my fingers would send heat racing through my body.

"Can I ask you something?"

Aldaine nodded, his expression open. "Anything."

I hesitated, unsure how to put my jumbled thoughts into coherent words. "Our contract.."

His shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly, but I felt it in the slight shift of his body next to mine.

"What about it?" His voice remained steady, but something flickered in his eyes.

The words felt stuck in my throat. How did I ask what our deal meant now that everything had changed between us? Now that he'd claimed me in the most primal way possible, now that I'd invited him to.

"I summoned you to pretend to be my boyfriend," I began slowly. "To make me look less pathetic at my ex's engagement. That was the deal." A weak laugh escaped me. "But this," I gestured vaguely between us, "doesn't feel like pretend anymore."

Aldaine was silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the rippling water. The sunlight caught the edges of his profile, gilding him in gold, and I was struck again by how beautiful he was, how otherworldly even in his human form.

"It's not," he finally spoke.

My heart stuttered in my chest. "Then what is it?"

He turned to face me then, something raw and vulnerable in his expression that stole my breath. "I don't know if I have the right words. Not ones you'd understand without context that I haven't given you yet."

"Try," I urged gently. "Please."

Aldaine ran a hand through his hair, a surprisingly human gesture of frustration. "The contract was," he paused, seeming to search for the right words. "It was my excuse to stay close to you. To be near you when every instinct told me to claim you from the moment you summoned me."

The confession sent heat rushing to my face. "Why me?"

A rueful smile curved his lips. "Why indeed? A human woman with fire in her eyes and defiance in her spine, summoning me not for power or vengeance or wealth, but to spite a girl who hurt her feelings in high school."

I opened my mouth to protest, then shut it again. Put that way, it did sound rather small and a little pathetic.

"You were like nothing I'd encountered in centuries," he continued, his voice dropping lower. "Fearless, even when you should have been terrified. Compassionate, even to a demon who could have taken everything from you."

My chest ached with emotions I couldn't name. "And the contract?"

"A piece of paper. Words and promises that meant nothing compared to what was happening between us." His fingers found mine where they rested on the pool's edge. "What is still happening."

I swallowed hard, gathering my courage. "And what exactly is that?"

Aldaine's expression grew troubled. "That's where words fail me, Rosie. What exists between us has no perfect human equivalent. It's more binding than any contract, more permanent than any human commitment."

"Because of the bite?" My free hand rose unconsciously to touch the scarf covering his mark.

"The bite sealed it, it wasn't the beginning." His fingers tightened around mine. "I should have explained before. Should have given you a choice with full knowledge of what it meant."

Fear flickered through me, not of Aldaine himself, but of the weight behind his words. "Am I different now? Because of what happened?"

His expression softened. "You're still you, Rosie. Still human, still free to make your own choices." A shadow crossed his features. "But you're also more. Connected to me in ways that transcend physical bonds."

I should have been frightened. Should have demanded clearer answers, should have pulled away until I understood exactly what I'd gotten myself into. But the remorse in his eyes, the obvious struggle as he tried to explain something beyond human understanding, touched something deep within me.

"I still don't completely understand," I admitted softly. "But I trust you, Aldaine. Whatever this is between us, whatever it means," I squeezed his hand. "I'm not sorry it happened."

The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. "You should be. You should demand explanations, should rage at me for binding you without full disclosure."

I laughed then, unable to help myself. "Maybe that would be the sensible reaction. But when has anything about this," I gestured between us again, "been sensible?"

A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. "I've existed for millennia, Rosie. I've seen empires rise and fall, witnessed the best and worst of humanity. And yet nothing has ever unsettled me quite like you."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should." His expression grew serious again. "I promise you'll understand everything soon. There are things about the bond, about what it means for us, that I need to explain properly. Not here, not rushed."

I nodded, satisfied for now. "Okay. I can wait."

The relief in his eyes made my heart twist. Had he expected me to reject him? To recoil from whatever supernatural connection now existed between us?

"You're remarkable," he murmured, lifting our joined hands to press a kiss to my knuckles. "In all my existence, I've never met anyone like you."

Heat bloomed in my chest at the simple gesture. It felt more intimate, somehow, than the passionate encounter beneath the oak tree. That had been primal, instinctive. This was gentle, deliberate choice.

We sat in comfortable silence after that, watching the sunlight dance across the water's surface, our legs gently swaying beneath the surface. The world felt simpler here, suspended in this quiet moment where nothing existed beyond the two of us and the warmth of the sun on our skin.

"Do you regret it?" I asked suddenly, needing to know. "Any of it?"

Aldaine's gaze when he turned to me was steady and sure. "Not for a moment. Whatever complications arise, whatever explanations I owe you, the only thing I regret is not being honest from the beginning."

I leaned against his shoulder, the solid warmth of him reassuring. "We'll figure it out."

His arm slipped around my waist, drawing me closer. "Together," he promised.

For the first time since I'd summoned him from that dusty old book, I felt truly at peace.

Whatever supernatural bond existed between us, whatever it meant for my future, I wasn't facing it alone.

And after a lifetime of feeling like an outsider in my own family, that certainty was more precious than any guarantee.

He was my home.

The moment of contentment was shattered at the sound of heels clicking sharply against the concrete pool deck.

"Well, isn't this cozy? "

I tensed, recognizing Stephany's voice before I even looked up. She stood a few yards away, arms crossed over her chest, her expression a mixture of contempt and something darker, more calculated.

"What do you want, Stephany?" I asked, not bothering to hide the weariness in my tone. After the emotional roller coaster of the morning, I had zero patience for whatever barbs she'd come to throw.

Her perfectly painted lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Just checking on my dear stepsister. Making sure you're not causing trouble before my big day."

Aldaine's arm tightened almost imperceptibly around my waist. "I believe the only one looking for trouble is you," he spoke mildly, though I felt the tension radiating through him.

Stephany's gaze shifted to him, her eyes narrowing. "Yes, about you," Her smile widened, turning predatory. "I know what you did, Rosie."

My stomach dropped. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please." She waved a dismissive hand. "Drop the innocent act. I know exactly what you did. How desperate do you have to be to actually summon a demon just to make me jealous?"

The blood drained from my face. How could she possibly know? I'd been careful, had kept the book hidden, had performed the ritual in private.

Beside me, Aldaine stood in one fluid motion, water droplets cascading from his feet as he positioned himself slightly in front of me. His posture was casual, but I recognized the coiled tension in his body, a predator ready to strike.

"I don't know what fantasy you've concocted, but it sounds like you might need professional help if you're seeing demons where there are none."

Stephany's laugh was sharp, cutting. "Nice try. But I have proof. "

"And what proof would that be?" Aldaine's voice remained calm, but I could hear the dangerous edge beneath the words.

Instead of answering, Stephany smiled and snapped her fingers, the sound cracking like a whip in the still air.

The space beside her shimmered, reality seeming to bend and warp before my eyes. Then, with a sound like fabric tearing, a figure materialized at her side.

I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. Where moments before there had been empty space, now stood a creature from nightmares.

Taller than any human, with skin the color of midnight and eyes that glowed like embers.

Two massive horns curved from its forehead, and when it smiled, rows of needle-sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight.

"Rosie Thompson," the demon rumbled, its voice like stones grinding together, "what a pleasure to finally show you my true form. Aldaine has been keeping you all to himself."

Aldaine's posture changed instantly, his casual stance giving way to something predatory and unmistakably inhuman despite his human appearance. The temperature around us seemed to drop several degrees.

"Blackwood," he snarled, and the name sounded like a curse. "What are you doing here?"