Chapter Twenty-Seven
Keryth
I was fuming. How dare he act like I wasn’t capable of helping. I needed to keep our family safe too. I needed to keep this idiot beside me safe, for fuck’s sake. “You’re an asshat.” I huffed. “And I’m coming with you.”
“No. You’re staying here. Where you’re safe.”
My nostrils flared in anger. “You saw earlier that I’m not defenseless. Just because I’m not a vampire doesn’t mean I can’t help protect you and our family, Antiochus.”
He sucked in a breath. “I never said you couldn’t. I—”
“No, you just insinuated it. I’m coming with you.”
“Keryth, I can’t have you in danger. I—”
“You are not the dictator of this family. Sorry to break it to you, but I’m your partner . You’re not the only one allowed to make decisions.”
He opened his mouth to argue more, but I glared, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn’t realize my magic was leaking out in my anger until some weeds started growing right out of the floor. Whoops . But I couldn’t rein in my anger and frustration, so whatever.
He stared at me for a long moment before huffing, turning away, and muttering, “Fine.”
He stood and walked out of the family room, clearly needing a minute, and I could see Jed hiding a smirk.
I pointed at him. “Don’t even start. He’s pissed enough.”
Jed held his hands up, still hiding a smirk. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You’re laughing.”
A small snicker came out. “I’m sorry. I just… no one ever treats Dad like that, and. It. Was. Awesome.” He sang the last word with the goofiest look on his face.
I couldn’t help but snort, and Beshiro laughed with him. With a sigh, I shook my head at the two of them.
It wasn’t a surprise that people didn’t speak to Anton that way. He was, after all, one of the oldest—if not the oldest—beings in the world. And he earned respect from everyone by being kind and caring, but he could also be aloof to others, and it wasn’t as if he could completely hide his power. Anyone who was paying attention could tell he was ancient, which meant he was powerful as hell.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be wrong sometimes, and it certainly didn’t mean I was going to let him boss me around.
“I’m not trying to boss you around,” Anton said in my head.
I sighed again. “You kind of were.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m scared of losing you.”
That made me melt a little, so I gave Tray a kiss on the top of his head and walked out of the room, following the golden cord that connected me to my viramore.
I found him in my plant room, so I walked in and shut the door, then leaned against it, staring at him. He was playing with the large leaves of one of my monstera plants, so I gave him a few seconds. He knew I was here, so I could wait him out.
Finally, he turned to me with a sigh. “Today was the second time I thought I might—” He cut himself off, closing his eyes and looking like he was in pain.
Unable to wait any longer, I walked across the room and pulled him into my arms. Anton easily melted into me. He was bigger than me, but I was solid enough that he could lean on me, and he did so now.
My arms tightened around him, and he wrapped his own around my waist, his face pressed against my neck.
“I’m sorry you were scared,” I said quietly. I hadn’t thought about it that way. This was the second time he’d thought he was going to lose me to violence.
“I just found you, Keryth. You have no idea what it feels like to wait for your viramore for thousands of years. I’ve waited and waited for you. I thought… for a long time, I thought that maybe my viramore had already been born and died before I ever had the chance to meet them. I… I’d lost hope that I’d ever be lucky enough to find you. And then you popped up into my life, and now, you keep getting threatened. I just… you have no idea how difficult it is to not lock you up in my house and throw away the key.”
“If you did that, I’d just find a way out.”
He snorted. “Oh, I’m well aware of how capable you are. I wouldn’t stand a chance.” He sighed and stepped back to meet my eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere, Anton. You’re stuck with me. Forever.”
He inhaled deeply. “I desperately hope that’s true, my darling.” He stepped closer and cupped my cheek. “I love you, Keryth. More than I thought possible, and I don’t ever want to live another day without you by my side.”
My eyes watered. “I… I—”
“You don’t have to say it back. It’s alright if you’re not ready yet.”
“I—”
“Really, Ker, you don’t have to say it.”
That made me roll my eyes. “What I was tryin’ to say is… I love you too, you big, bitey vampire.”
He let out a small laugh and leaned in, capturing my mouth with his. I hummed into him and pulled him close as his arms wrapped around me. Our magics reacted to the emotional moment, flying out of our bodies and swirling around us in a mix of green and red. As they meshed together, I couldn’t help but groan in pleasure.
Having my viramore, my soulmate, touch my heart and soul so completely was overwhelming in the best of ways.
We slowed our kiss, then rested our foreheads together, eyes closed, wrapped in each other’s arms, breathing the same air. I held him for a long time, and he held me.
“Anton?” My voice was a soft whisper.
“Yes, my darling?”
I opened my eyes to find him already staring at me. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to worry you, but… you have to know that I don’t want anything to happen to you either. When you went to Brinnswick, I was going out of my mind. The only thing that kept me sane was checking on my plants and making sure Tray couldn’t tell how badly I was freaking out. You’re my viramore, and I feel just as protective of you as you do of me. I know I’m, well, obviously I’m a hell of a lot younger than you, so I haven’t been waiting for my viramore for nearly as long, but I can’t lose you, Anton. I just… I just can’t.”
He searched my eyes for a long moment before pressing his lips to mine in a soft kiss, then pulling me into a tight hug. “I understand, and I’m sorry for not considering it. I guess both of us just need to realize that our overprotective instincts come out when we talk about walking into an unsafe situation.”
“Exactly.” I kissed up the side of his neck to his jaw, then captured his lips in the slowest most sensual kiss I could manage.
He groaned, then broke the kiss, breathing out, “You’re killing me here, my darling.”
“Right back atcha, sexy.”
He snorted, shaking his head, clearly amused. But then he sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just… very overprotective. I… after my fledglings were killed, I just… I don’t want to lose anyone else. I’m terrified of losing you.”
“Shhh.” I pulled him into a big hug. “You’re not gonna lose me.”
“You don’t know that. My fledglings, we… we were all warriors, and still, the Legion of Light was able to take them from me.”
I wasn’t sure if this was the time or not, but I still asked, “What happened?”
He led me over to the couch, and we sat down, holding hands. “They attacked us during the day. I… don’t know how they found us, but we’re pretty sure they had a witch helping them. We think they used a tracking spell. Nicu was young, only two years older than Jedediah. He was, well, he was the first they killed.
“That’s what woke me from my slumber. I felt my tie to him break, and I woke screaming. The hunters snuck into the home we were hiding in. They got through our wards using a spelled artifact, so we were all sleeping. A hunter stabbed Nicu through the heart before any of us even knew we were being attacked. He’d been sleeping in the same room as Phaeron, and my eldest, he… he’s never forgiven himself, no matter how many times we tell him it wasn’t his fault.”
I wrapped an arm around his back and used my other hand to grip his, rubbing my thumb over his skin. “I’m sorry, Anton.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Phae killed that hunter about three seconds after Nicu died. By then, most of us were awake, but disoriented from being woken like that. The hunters attacked with a force we weren’t expecting. Idris was the next to fall. He… he’d been in a room alone, and he had six hunters attack him. He killed two before they managed to… to cut his head off.” The last part was a whisper, and I winced.
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to tell me. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
He shook his head. “No, I want to. It’s time you knew. Lethia was the last. She was… she was my youngest and still susceptible to the sun. They dragged her out, and I… I watched her burn because there were too many between us, and I… I couldn’t get to her in time.” A tear ran down his cheek, so I reached up and wiped it away.
“Anton…” My heart was breaking for him. His heart was breaking, I could feel it, and there was nothin’ I could do.
I pulled him into a tight embrace, doing my best to hold him and send all my love through our bond because I didn’t know what else to do.
We stayed that way for a long time before he pulled back and sent me a shaky smile. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Thank you for telling me.”
He nodded, then reached over to cup my cheek. “I’m sorry for forcing my issues on you. I know… I know this isn’t the same thing. I just… I don’t want to lose you.”
“I understand, but I don’t want to lose you either, sweetheart.”
He nodded and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. “Alright, enough of that. I will always love and miss them, but I… don’t want to think about that any longer. We have a million things to do.”
“Are you sure? We can wait to go to the tower. We don’t have to do it now.”
He shook his head. “No, this needs to end. Come on. As much as I want to stay in here all night and forget everything else, you used a lot of magic tonight. You need to eat to rejuvenate, and we need to get to the tower soon.”
“Eating first sounds like a great plan.” I grabbed his hand and led him out of the room and toward the kitchen. “You’re still on puke duty.”
He sighed. “Of course I am.”
I snickered as we entered the kitchen where nearly everyone was crowded around the island. “Did you order yet?”
Jed grinned at me, and I knew we were screwed. “We sure did. There’s a ton of food coming.”
Anton stood beside the kitchen island and started asking Gemma about the picture she was sketching. I wasn’t sure if her artistry was a part of her fae side or if it had anything to do with her magic, but she was hella talented. Anton seemed to know a lot about art—he’d lived many lives, so I wasn’t surprised—so he’d hit it off with her, and she seemed eager to share when he was around.
I was glad to see her connecting with him.
From the kitchen, I could hear Alsira playing her guitar and singing in the family room, and I wasn’t surprised to hear Beshiro singing with her. He was a good singer, and she’d been asking him for help with writing music when she wasn’t talking to Bel about it. And even though I couldn’t see him from here, I knew Tray was in the family room with them. He sang along sometimes, but he was still a bit on the shy side when it came to his older siblings.
So really, this was a typical dinnertime in our household.
It felt warm and inviting, and my heart filled with the joy of it.
I might’ve been worried before that I’d taken the girls out of their home and moved them in here, but I wasn’t worried anymore. This really had become a true home in a short amount of time, and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
So… maybe I should finally get rid of that apartment.
Getting back on track, I asked Jed, “Is any of it dinner food and not dessert?”
“At least some.”
“Great.” I shook my head and walked over to Zellya, picked her up, stole her barstool, sat, and placed her on my lap. “What did you convince Jed to get you, little miss?”
“A big ol’ brownie.”
“Is that it?”
She smiled at me, clearly trying not to laugh. “Um… maybe three big ol’ brownies.”
I sighed, loudly, and glared at Jed. “Really? The girls can’t live on chocolate.”
“Says who?”
“Literally every nutritionist, doctor, and scientist in the world.”
He shrugged. “Eh, it’ll be fine.”
I shook my head, and Anton frowned at his fledgling, saying, “You did order some dinner food, correct?”
Jed finally let out a loud laugh. “Geez, you two. Of course I did. I’m not that bad.”
I raised my brows. “You sure about that?”
He grabbed a gum wrapper off the counter and threw it at me.
“Nice comeback.”
He let out an amused groan and threw his hands in the air. “I can’t win with you.”
That made me laugh, and when he walked by, he gave my arm a playful smack before taking off with a chuckle. Dork .
Anton sent me a big smile, and I overheard his thoughts, even though I wasn’t supposed to. “I love that he’s getting along with my kids.”
Yeah, I loved it too.