by Peter Glenn
Taio’s wife had sprung for first class tickets again. I could get used to that kind of luxury, I decided. And the fact that Taio hadn’t been stoically quiet the entire time had made it even better.
“Well then, I am glad,” Taio replied. He reached forward from the back seat and grabbed me by the shoulder, squeezing gently. “You deserve it for all your help, brother.”
“Aww, you’re gonna make me blush,” I told him. Lo and behold, a little heat was rising to my cheeks. I could barely handle this new older brother that actually seemed a little soft and gave me compliments.
Where had he come from, anyway? And when was he going to leave again? Part of me hoped that he would, just so I’d have the familiar angry older brother back, but the rest of me hoped this version would stay.
He was becoming what I’d always wanted from an older brother. No, a father figure, really. Our father had died in a war long before the immortal curse had been placed on all of us. I’d known him for a short time, but for most of my formative years and the past three centuries, it had been Taio that I’d looked up to as a father figure.
To feel a genuine warmth coming from him pleased me in a way I couldn’t even describe. But still, I held back a little. He’d been so harsh for so long. That was hard to set aside.
“So how was ze land down under?” Sevin asked, interrupting me from my thoughts.
“Umm… it was okay, I guess.” I shot Sevin a wry grin and everyone but him broke into laughter.
Sevin looked at us, completely puzzled. I clapped him on the back. “It’s hard to explain, good sir. Just keep driving.”
“Very well, mon ami,” he replied.
“Ooh! One second!” I rummaged around in the backpack I’d brought into the front seat with me. “I have something for you. A gift for driving us.”
Sevin looked taken aback. “A gift? For moi?”
My hands wrapped around the object in question and pulled it out. I showed it to him, my face beaming.
“A jar of vegemite?” Sevin’s expression was one of confusion.
“Yep! It’s the best. Practically lived off the stuff for a few days when we were down there. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
LaLuna, Taio, and I all exchanged glances at that comment, but said nothing.
Sevin shook his head. “Whatever you say, mon ami. So where should I drop you all?”
Another grin crossed my lips. “Do you even need to ask, my good man? Mei’s, of course! A celebration like this calls for only the best!”
Sevin smiled, then nodded. “Of course, mon ami. To Mei’s we go!”
Mei’s was a little less crowded than normal, but we’d arrived in the middle of the afternoon, so it wasn’t really rush hour yet. Still, Hank the werewolf and Sally the siren were both there, as was Mei herself, of course, holding onto little Grace.
They all gave us a warm, hearty welcome.
“What’ll it be, strangers?” Mei asked as we sauntered up to the bar. She handed Grace off to LaLuna in the same motion, who took her happily.
I took my usual seat with Taio on one side and LaLuna on the other. Bao sat next to his father.
“Whatever they want,” Taio said, glancing at each of us in turn. “It’s on me tonight!”
My heart soared. “You sure know how to treat a guy.”
Taio nodded. “It’s the least I can do for you.”
He kept using that phrase, but I felt like there was more to it than all of that. Like he really did care about me, and it wasn’t just for show. A dark part of me wondered how long it would be before I could believe what he said and not doubt it.
A Manhattan slid under me a moment later with a wink from Mei. I accepted it gratefully and took a sip of the cool liquid. It went to work immediately, calming my nerves.
“Thanks, Mei,” I said, smiling at her.
“My pleasure.”
“I’ll take one of those, too,” Taio said to Mei.
I stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “What? You, Mister Stoic, are going to try hard alcohol?”
Taio shrugged. “It can’t be that bad if you like it, can it?”
I laughed. “No, it’s really not. But I’ve got to warn you, Mei is the best around. If you try one of her drinks, you’ll be disappointed by everything else after it.”
Taio gave me a warm smile. “Well then, maybe I’ll have to come visit again sometime soon.” He paused for a second, and I swore I was going to fall over from shock, then he glanced at Mei. “So I can get another of her drinks, of course.”
“Oh, of course,” I said with a nervous laugh. I returned my attention to my drink and took another sip. Mei’s bar was feeling really hot all of a sudden, and it wasn’t because she normally kept the temperature around eighty.
Without warning, Taio grabbed my shoulder again, squeezing gently. “And to visit my little brother, too, if he’s willing.”
I looked over at him. There was genuine warmth in his eyes. Maybe the trip had changed him. Maybe he really was trying to be a better older brother for once.
What could it hurt to give him the benefit of the doubt? Worst case, he’d just let me down again. I could live another twenty years without talking to him if I had to. I’d done just fine for the last twenty.
But suddenly, I found myself not wanting to. I hoped his change was for real. I gave him a weak smile. “Sure thing. But only if you want to, of course.”
Taio squeezed my shoulder again. “I do, Damian. I really do.”
There he goes, using my chosen name again. I don’t know why, but it affected me in a way that nothing else did. I stared into Taio’s eyes for another minute, then returned my attention to my Manhattan. Somehow, it was already half gone. I took another few sips of it and set it down.
“Well I’d… like that,” I said in a voice barely over a whisper.
“Mistress Mei, please get my brother another drink,” Taio said in a boisterous tone, “so that we may toast to this grand reunion!”
Another Manhattan appeared shortly, and I snatched it up. Far be it from me to turn down free alcohol.
Taio raised his glass, and I raised my own. “To brotherhood!” he shouted.
“To brotherhood!” the bar said in unison.
I clinked my glass against Taio’s, then took a big drink. Taio followed suit.
My brother coughed as he drank, then he set his glass down. “This is really good. What do you call it?”
“A Manhattan.”
“Manhattan, you say?” I nodded. “Well then, Mistress Mei. I will have another. In honor of my brother, Damian.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, and I started to feel faint from all the attention. I could barely stand it anymore. Taio was trying too hard. I’d have to talk to him about it later, get him to tone it down a notch. It was one thing for him to not hate me, but quite another for him to be going so over the top.
“Well, this has been lovely, but I should really be going,” LaLuna said a moment later.
I leapt out of my chair. This was just the opening I needed. “Wait!” I cried after her. “I’ll go with you. See you home safely and all that.”
LaLuna smiled at me. “I appreciate that, but shouldn’t you hang around with your brother and his son? You haven’t seen them in ages.”
I glanced over at them, then quickly back at her. “It’s okay, it’s not like it’s the last time I’ll see you guys, right?”
Taio raised his glass, as did Bao, and they both nodded.
“See? Besides, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
LaLuna gave me a long, hard look, then finally nodded. “All right, Damian. If you insist.”
I turned back to Taio and Bao. I gave the former a handshake and the latter a big hug, then caught back up to LaLuna, who was almost at the entry. “I’ll see you both soon, okay? A couple months, maybe?”
“Sounds good, brother,” Taio said.
I gave them both one more wave, then left with LaLuna. Instantly, I started to feel less n
ervous and embarrassed. Thanks to this adventure, my rift with my brother was better, but it would take time to fully heal. Until then, I’d still feel kind of awkward around him.
But at least now, I was pretty sure it would all end up just fine.
“So what do you want to talk to me about?” LaLuna asked. There was a hint of agitation in her voice.
In fairness, I’d been pretty quiet on the drive over. We’d made it all the way back to her house in Ravensdale, and I’d barely said a word the entire time. Grace had talked more than me, and she only had like two words in her entire vocabulary.
At some point, I’d have to work with Mei to find them a new house. If Simon Adler had found it, it was no longer fully safe. True, the immediate threat was over, but she’d need a new place before too long.
That was just a distraction, though. I needed to come clean with LaLuna. She deserved that much. I looked into her eyes and smiled. “Shall we go in? It’s pretty cold out here by the car.”
LaLuna rolled her eyes. “Sure, Damian. We should get Grace to bed soon, anyway. It’s almost bedtime for her.”
“Sounds good.”
I walked up the steps to her door and threw it open for her, beckoning her onward with an awkward bow like I was some kind of butler. LaLuna chuckled a little, then carried Grace inside and turned on a light. I followed her in a moment later.
She set Grace down on the ground next to one of her chewy toys. I remembered then that Grace was teething, and she liked the soothing motion of chewing on semi-soft toys filled with gel. I watched her for a moment in a trance, glad that she was happy and unharmed by this whole episode. If something had happened to her…
“All right, Damian. What’s this all about? Tell me,” LaLuna demanded.
Heat rose to my cheeks again. “Right. Can we sit down, first?” I pointed toward the couch and thoughts of the things we’d done there flashed in my mind, making my cheeks burn even hotter.
LaLuna nodded with a sigh. “Very well. But you have to actually talk to me, okay?”
“You got it. Let’s just sit, shall we?”
We made our way over to the couch and sat down, her on my left. I put my hand on her leg and patted it a time or two. She stared down at my hand for a second but said nothing. She didn’t put her hand on top of mine either, though.
I wasn’t sure how to read that. I let out a long, slow breath. “This is nice, isn’t it?” I said, grinning at her like an idiot.
Why couldn’t I just talk to her? “I have feelings for you.” How hard is that to say? Why wouldn’t it come out of my mouth?
Sometimes, I really hated myself.
LaLuna groaned. “What is it, Damian? Just say whatever it is you want to say.”
“I’m trying. It’s just… I’m having trouble getting it out.”
LaLuna folded her arms across her chest. “You’re breaking up with me, is that it?”
“No!” I protested. “No, that’s not it at all.”
“Great!” LaLuna balked and backed away a little. “You could have just told me this at the bar, you know? You didn’t have to come all the way out here just to break up with me.”
“But I’m not–”
“I’m a big girl, you know.” LaLuna huffed. “It’s not like this is the only relationship I’ve ever had, either. The first one in a while, sure, but you’re not the first by a mile!”
I pulled on my face. “Listen, I’m not breaking up with you!”
LaLuna blinked a couple times, her face frozen. “Then what is it, Damian? What is this grand thing you have to tell me?”
She still looked angry and was sitting well apart from me. I thought the room had grown colder somehow. “What is it? Out with it already.”
“I… um… I…,” I started, feeling every bit the fool. “That is to say, I…”
She threw up her hands and turned so she was facing away from me. “Oh for heaven’s sake!”
“I love you, damn it!” I shouted so loud that even the baby turned to look at me.
LaLuna did a double take. She turned to face me again, her face unreadable. “You what now?”
I took a deep breath. “I said I love you.”
LaLuna’s expression was still mixed, so I continued. “I realized it when I was locked in combat with my brother in Australia.” I put a hand out to silence any reply. “I know, I know, a weird place to realize anything. But that’s when it came to me. When I was down there, facing down certain death, I couldn’t think about anything else but you. All I wanted was to get back to you. To see you again. Be with you.” I gave her my best smile. “So there you have it. I love you, LaLuna. Heart and soul.”
We sat there in silence for a moment, both of us seemingly afraid to say much of anything. The silence stretched out for what felt like an eternity.
Finally, LaLuna’s face started to soften, and she scooted a little closer to me. “Well, I love you, too,” she said in a voice barely over a whisper. “Even if you are a dunderhead.”
I laughed. “Guilty as charged.”
Then she leaned forward, and we kissed. The kiss was sweet and powerful, filling my head with desire. My lips searched hers, desperate for more.
Yes, this was it. This was what I wanted. Finally, after three hundred plus years, I’d found something worth living for.
Who knew it would come in such a pretty package, huh?
I felt LaLuna’s hands wrap around my torso, snaking underneath my shirt to pull it off. I helped her with the deed, then returned the favor and got back to kissing her, feeling out her warmth.
Her body shivered slightly when her shirt was clear, and I pressed my skin up against her own. Her lips parted a second later, and my tongue plundered her mouth. She tasted slightly of liquor and strawberries; an intoxicating combination that made me want her all the more.
“Waa!” the cry came a moment later, ripping me back to reality.
I pulled away from LaLuna slowly, my desire for her still overwhelming. Grace was on the floor, right in front of me. I was positive she hadn’t been there before, but there she was, staring up at me with big doe eyes.
“Yes, little one?” I said to her, grinning down at her cute little cherub face. “Do you want some attention, sweetie?”
“Waa!” Grace repeated.
“Okay, little one,” I said with a chuckle.
I picked her up and held her in my arms for a moment. She sat there contentedly, then curled up against my chest, putting one of her tiny little hands up against where my heart beat underneath.
“Aww,” LaLuna said. “She really likes you.”
I peered into her eyes. The desire was still there, waiting for the right moment. She was still mine and me every bit hers. I’d finish what I’d started soon enough, but Grace deserved a little attention, too.
“You know, I haven’t seen you in a while, sweetie,” I said to Grace. I gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and stroked her dark hair with my hand. She curled up even tighter against me in response and cooed softly.
“That’s my big girl,” I told her.
LaLuna smiled at me and patted me on the shoulder. She leaned in close and whispered in my ear. “Later. After bedtime. I won’t let you forget.”
I gave her a big, knowing smile, then turned my attention back to Grace.
Yes, this was kind of perfect. The girl I love sitting next to me, and a child in my lap. It was almost like she was my kid. I had to admit, I was feeling a little paternal toward Grace just now. Was this what my brother had felt when he’d seen Bao as a young baby? I suddenly wondered what that had been like for him. If it had felt this amazing.
Grace looked up at me with those big doe eyes, and she smiled a nice, happy smile. “Dada,” she said.
I almost jumped out of my skin, but I did my best not to move Grace too much. “What was that, sweetie?”
“Dada,” Grace repeated. Then she brushed her head up against my bare chest and snuggled in even closer.
“I lo
ve you, too, little one,” I told her, kissing her forehead softly again. It seemed to pacify her, and we sat there for a moment, doing nothing but relishing in each other’s company. A baby and her dada.
My heart stirred again. In that moment, it all made sense. I did love Grace. And LaLuna. At long last, I’d found my reason for living. And it was one hell of a good reason.
Author’s Notes
May 6th, 2021
What a ride that book was, huh? Certainly the most fun I’ve had in a while. I’m hoping you really enjoyed it, too. Of course, if you’re still here for book four, I’m guessing it’s because you love the world and the characters almost as much as I do.
That being said, if you did like the book, please leave a review. They mean the world to me, and they help motivate me to get that next book out just a little faster. And we all like that, don’t we?
The idea for this book came to me early on when I was thinking up how the series was going to flow for Damian. I really wanted to get some opportunities for him to interact on a deeper level with his family members. I’ve read way too many books where the immortals don’t have any family left or they’re the last of the line, and I didn’t want that for Damian. That wasn’t part of his motivation. He was different from all of them. So when the chance came for him to spend some quality (or not so quality lol) time with his estranged brother, I knew that was a story I wanted to write. So write it I did.
It was also important to me to show why the two were estranged, and to have a good reason for it that would be believable to you guys, my fans. I’m hoping the reason came across clear for you like it did for me. Lastly, I tried my best to show that while the relationship improved over the course of the book, the two brothers still had some healing to do. Shared adversity can do a lot to mend things, but years of abuse doesn’t just wash away like that. I didn’t want that for Damian, either.
But enough of that. One of my favorite parts of author notes is sharing my favorite scene in the book. What was it for Immortal Brother? It definitely had to be the brother on brother fight. I warred with myself in my head as to how I wanted that to go down several times before I finally decided on letting Damian win that fight. I felt it was important for his character development to finally come to grips with the fact that maybe life isn’t so bad if you’ve got some decent people to share it with. Something I know I sometimes personally struggle with, as do many other people I know.
