Page 152 of Thorns of Silence

Blackouts and fits of rage were no longer a threat. Life was good, the best it’d ever been. We’d been back in the castello for the past month, and every day the smiles on my family’s faces grew wider and brighter. It told me I was doing something right.

“The mysterious woman who leashes your demons, huh?”

“The one and only.”

A smile curved my lips as I thought of Nix and the way I left her this morning. Naked in my bed. Today was our marriage celebration day. Reina requested Romero have the chance to walk at least one daughter down the aisle. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but Nix agreed, and I could admit it was the right thing to do.

So today was the day.

“And when she’s not around?” Dr. Freud asked curiously.

“Like now?” She nodded. “Well, I’ve set us all up with trackers, and so far that’s helped.” It was probably not something the doctor would deem healthy, or even logical, but it worked for us. It had actually been Phoenix’s idea, one she reminded me of when she spoke of the black pager that was supposed to be our emergency get-in-touch method. I failed her then, but never again. We never did things the normal way anyhow. “So you’ll be happy to know you were right.”

She chuckled. “I don’t hear that too often from men.” She shifted her legs and crossed them. “How are you adjusting to being a father?”

“I love every second of it.” My daughter kept me on my toes. There wasn’t a single day that was the same as the one before. They made my world brighter. Two days ago, I found my wife teaching Skye to play piano. Yesterday, I arrived home to find Phoenix and Skye dancing to the music cranked up to the highest volume even though they couldn’t hear it. They squealed and laughed, carefree, rattling the entire castello. It finally felt like home.

I drew my gaze up to her, a tinge of amusement passing through her eyes. “Having a family suits you.”

I let out a low laugh.

“It does,” I agreed. And I wouldn’t let anyone take it away from me.

I got to my feet and adjusted my cufflinks. “Now excuse me, Doctor, I have to go get married.”

Phoenix

“I’m so happy we’re going to live so close.” Reina beamed. She looked the happiest I’d ever seen her. I felt like that too. She came behind me and worked the laces on my new wedding dress, her design. Once she was done, she came around again and faced me. “Are you happy?”

“Very,” I assured her. My eyes darted to my flower girl. My daughter. She and Dante had become my whole life. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

She sighed in relief. “Mamma would be so happy for us.” I suspected she signed because her words would get choked up in her throat. Not that I would hear them. “And I have a niece. I couldn’t be happier. She had to be part mine, especially with her strong love for everything pink.”

I smiled. “Thank you for accepting her.”

“Always,” she vowed. “I’ll always have your back, sis.”

My throat squeezed, but this time it was with happiness. No more sadness and sorrows.

Skye clapped her hands, tugging on both of us. “It’s time.”

Rays of sun trickled through the church’s stained-glass windows as I made my way down the familiar aisle. I felt the vibrations of the organs in my every step as they grew in sync with my papà’s. I gripped my bouquet in front of me. My friends’ and family’s eyes watched me, but there were only two sets I was aware of.

My daughter’s, who kept glancing over her shoulder as she sprinkled dandelions over the tiled floor, and my husband’s, who waited for me at the altar. They were my everything.

As Dante watched me slowly approach, it felt just as intense as it did the first time, the only difference being that we were now surrounded by our loved ones. His look conveyed so much—love, desire,promises. My heartbeats tripped over themselves as we neared him. Three steps… two… one.

Papà faced me and lifted my veil, pressing a kiss on both of my cheeks. With a small nod, he placed my hand into Dante’s waiting one. Bliss shot through my veins the moment our skin touched.

The same priest recited the words and I repeated them excitedly, knowing there was nothing more I wanted in this life than to be with him and Skye. When it was time for a kiss, I rose on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his, kissing him like it was our first time. Like it was our last.

The guests clapped and cheered enthusiastically, but they just faded into the background.

“I love you,” I mouthed against his lips, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue in, making me squeal and slap his chest.

He grinned and pulled back, intertwining our fingers as we walked down the aisle and across the little courtyard that led us into the ballroom in the castello.

As soon as we made it into the entrance hall, I turned to him. “We did it, now we can have a wedding night all over again.”