“Adam did. It discusses the connection but not how to break it.”
Faye smiled at the mention of Adam’s name. “He’s been so helpful to you.”
Syney nodded and looked at her hands. The ring Adam had given her was on her ring finger. It had struck her as odd when he had given it to her—not so much the fact that he did but that he’d said it had been his mother’s. It looked so much like the necklace Gabe had given her for her birthday. She pulled the ring off her finger and showed it to Faye. “Is this yours?”
Faye’s smile fell as she looked at it. She slowly looked up at Syney and nodded.
“Adam said it was his mother’s.”
She got up and walked a few feet away. When she finally looked back at Syney, she wasn’t crying but was pretty close to it. She nodded and took a deep breath.
Syney stared at her while thoughts ran through her mind. Adam was Faye’s son and Faye was married to Gabe. That would mean…“Is Adam…Gabe’s son?”
Faye just nodded in response.
“I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t Gabe just tell him that he’s…his son,” Syney said, not really understanding it herself. He had raised Adam since he was a kid; why not just admit that he was his father? Wouldn’t it make them closer?
“Gabriel never wanted a family. I begged him for a child. He was always out and moving around. I needed something of him to stay with me in the Vampire City.” She sighed. “He was so attentive to both of us, but Goddess forbid I leave him alone with his own son. I tried, but he always turned into a nervous wreak. Adam was less than a year old when I died. Gabriel did what he could, I think.”
“Adam tried calling you forth. Why not come and…let him at least have one parent?”
“I did something before I died that kept me from crossing over. I quite literally wasn’t there to come.” She looked away and brushed some tears off her face.
Syney’s heart broke for her as her anger rose for Gabe. Adam needed parents, not a good-for-nothing guardian. She looked at Faye. “Adam’s a really great guy.”
Faye turned her scarlet eyes on her. “I know. I’m so proud of him. And he’s become a better person since he met you. I can’t thank you enough for that.”
“I didn’t do much. Trust me.”
Faye walked over and knelt in front of her. “You change people, Syney. Whether or not you want, you do.”
Syney frowned. “Sometimes not for the better, unfortunately.”
“Adam has become better, though. He was more like Gabriel before. I’d even say you saved his life.”
Syney smiled. “I love him, and I promise to love him and take care of him until the end.”
Faye smiled back. “That’s all I need.”
They stared at each other for a while before another bright light shone in the room to the right of them. They both looked at Amelia, who frowned back at them. But at least she was there, Syney thought.
“You break it with a spell,” Amelia said. “But the connection must be active, and you both have to say the spell.”
Syney stood and walked over to her. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. There’s so much more there than just a connection. You and Hunter are meant to be together, and you know that.”
“I don’t know anything but what I have right now. And I’m happy. Why is it so hard for my mother to be OK with that?” Syney snapped.
Amelia opened her mouth then closed it with a sigh. “Fine. Rumpere nexu. Just say it three times. I just hope you don’t regret this.”
Syney looked back at Faye and smiled. “I’ll be good to him.”
“I know you will.” Faye returned the smile before disappearing.
Syney looked back at Amelia, who was still frowning.
“I’ve seen your future, you know,” Amelia said.
“I don’t live in the future. I live now, and right now I’m getting married to Adam, and I’m happy about it. He may annoy the crap out of me sometimes, but I still love him.”
Amelia’s lips turned into a straight line as she stared at Syney for a moment before disappearing. Syney rolled her eyes and sighed. So much for having a good relationship with her mother. At least her soon-to-be mother in law liked her. She grabbed the candles and the spell book and headed back to her room. This had taken much less time than she’d expected, and she’d gotten her desired results. Amelia had been so excited to talk to her the first time they’d met. What a stark difference, Syney thought, as she walked down the long hallways. Today she had seemed almost angry at Syney, which made no sense. It was her life, not her mother’s. It hurt, though, to have her talk that way, to not support her. She actually had been eager to see Amelia. And this was what she’d gotten? It wasn’t fair.
Syney stopped short when she walked into the room and saw Gabe sitting on her couch, a book in his hand. He looked at her and smirked. This is going to be hard, she thought, shutting the door. She knew she should tell Adam. He deserved to know, and after more than a hundred years, it was obvious Gabe wasn’t going to do it himself. Syney was nervous, though. It wasn’t really her secret to tell, but how could she keep this to herself?
“Hey,” Adam said. He was sitting up in bed, shirtless, with a large bandage wrapped around his chest. He had an old book in his hand and a smile on his face.
Syney dropped her bag by the door and climbed into bed next to him. “Whatcha reading?” she asked, after getting a quick kiss.
“The Vilori power book. I figured we need every edge we can get,” he said, closing the book and placing it on the nightstand. He grimaced when he turned.
“Still hurts pretty bad?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but I’m still here, so I’m not complaining.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Syney asked, relaxing into the pillows.
“You can give him more blood.”
They both looked at Gabe.
“We talked about it and agreed that it’s the best thing,” Gabe said.
Adam laughed and shook his head. “No, we did not agree. And it was mostly you talking and telling me what to do. As always.”
“It’s not my fault I always know what’s best.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Oh, don’t talk like that!” Syney said automatically. “He’s—” She stopped herself. “He might be right. I mean, I could give you more.”
He looked at her and took her hand. “You don’t have to. It’s not a big deal. I’ll be out of bed soon. I’m feeling better every day.”
She ran a hand through his hair and rested her head on his shoulder. “Anything you need, you know that.”
“And on that cue…”Gabe said, standing up and heading out of the room.
“Thank God,” Adam sad with a sigh. “He’s been annoying the hell out of me for days.”
Syney’s chest tightened a little. “He’s not that bad.”
“This is Gabe we’re talking about, Syn. You know he’s that bad.”
She wanted to argue, but he was right. Gabe was one of those people who annoyed the crap out of you, but you kept them around because they were so embedded in your life that you really couldn’t kick them out of it.
Adam shook his head. “I think he’s getting antsy for something to happen. Everything’s moving too slow for him.”
Syney sat up. “I might have some good news then. Our joining is scheduled for next month.”
He smiled at her. “Sounds exciting.”
“Oh, it will be. And I have a surprise for you.”
He closed his eyes and crossed his fingers. “Please be naked.”
She laughed at him. “That doesn’t need a surprise!”
He looked at her. “What is it?”
She took a deep breath. “I found out how to break the connection I have with Hunter.”
Adam’s smile slowly fell. “You did?”
“Uh-huh. You don’t seem happy about it,” Syney said frowning.
He sighed and loo
ked at their intertwined hands. “I’ve just been thinking about it.”
“And…”she prompted.
“And I think that maybe you should keep the connection open.”
“Why?”
He hesitated for a moment. “It might be a good thing to have a way to communicate with the troops while they’re out there. We could get updates and things.”
Syney stared at him before shaking her head. “No. I’m sorry. I get what you’re saying, but I just can’t. I want to start a life with you, and I can’t do that without first doing this.”
“I love you.”
She smiled. “And I love you.”
“So how do you do it?” he asked.
“It’s a spell that Hunter and I have to say while the connection is active.”
Adam nodded. “OK. Listen, um, you don’t have to tell me when you do it. I trust you.”
She frowned at this. It seemed odd considering he’d been so big on communication and no secrets, but she let it go. He obviously had his reasons. “Sure. And you know I really am OK with giving you more blood.”
He grimaced. “I’m not sure I am.”
“Why? It’s who you are, Adam. I wasn’t thrilled when I found out I was part Daemon, but I explored that part of myself through my powers. I think you should do the same.”
He sighed. “I don’t really want that. If anything it would just be to finish the healing. Being a Vampire, or half Vampire was never something I wanted. I guess I just wanted to be like everyone else, even though I knew I wasn’t.”
She smiled and held out her wrist. “Then take it.”
He looked at her wrist. “I’m not used to it. I might…”
“I trust you,” she said, echoing his own sentiment.
Adam looked at her as he pushed her wrist away. Then he pulled her to him and kissed her hard. After a while he moved his mouth down her neck and kissed it lightly before sinking his fangs into her vein. Overwhelming bliss flowed through Syney’s body as she gripped the blanket she was sitting on. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time. After a truly euphoric moment, Adam pulled back and looked at her. His black eye was gone, and his brown eyes had gone very dark.
“You OK?” he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.
She nodded. “Better than. You?”
Adam looked away then jumped out of bed, twisting his arms around. “Little sore still, but I feel really good.”
“Good,” she said, lying back on the pillows, still in a glow after the bite. “How come the other day, when I gave you blood, it didn’t make me feel good?”
He crawled into bed and lay next to her. “Because I didn’t bite you.”
“Oh, no venom. Gotcha.” She kissed him lightly on the lips.
“Thank you for that.”
“I told you…anything.” She kissed him again as he slipped his hands around her waist. Syney relaxed into him with a sigh. This was what she wanted, no matter what damn Amelia thought. She pushed the thought of her mother out of her mind. This was her life, and she had a plan for it. That plan didn’t involve Hunter at all, and she was OK with that…really.
Gabe wasn’t surprised to find Noelle sitting in his bed as he walked in. Her own room had become almost useless to them, but there was no way they could officially occupy only one room. Smiling, he sat next to her and brushed her golden hair behind her ear. She smiled back before sniffling a little then sneezing with gusto.
“You OK?” he asked, as she took a few deep breaths.
She nodded and stretched her arms. “Just a little stiff and stuffed up. I was going to take a nap, but Syney kicked me out of my room. So I went to get some lunch and started feeling really crappy.”
Gabe frowned and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. “One, why did Syney kick you out of your room? And two, you feel warm. Maybe you should go see the doctors.”
Noelle pushed him away. “I’m fine. Probably just a cold.”
“You skipped one,” he said with a smile.
She stared at him for a moment. He knew she was debating whether to tell him. It was fun to watch these inner debates she had with herself all the time. She was always being pulled between her loyalty to Syney and to Gabe. He didn’t like putting her in these positions, even though he knew he generally would win out. She finally sighed. “Syney said she wanted to call Amelia forth to ask her about the connection.”
Gabe’s smile fell. He didn’t like Syney doing magic without any of them around, especially spells like this one. He also didn’t like the idea of Amelia talking to her daughter. There were some things he still didn’t want Syney to know. And Amelia…she wasn’t someone who kept her opinions to herself, much like Syney. He stood and headed for the door. He needed to find out what actually had happened sooner rather than later.
“Where are you going?” Noelle exclaimed, her voice pulling him to a stop.
“I have to find out what they talked about.”
“No, you don’t. I wasn’t even supposed to tell you,” she said then sneezed.
“This is serious.”
“And so am I!”
Gabe rolled his eyes and leaned against the door. “Syney is used to having her feelings hurt. Trust me.”
“Ugh, you’re horrible sometimes.”
She was right. But Gabe knew what had happened before and what could happen again, and he wasn’t about to sit around and let a nineteen-year-old run the show. Granted, she had done a pretty good job so far, but she still made stupid decisions that put them all at risk.
“What are you angry about?” Noelle asked, as he moved to sit next to her.
“Who says I’m angry?”
“I can tell. It’s still about Leaf getting involved, isn’t it?”
Gabe grimaced. “I don’t like wolves, especially when they get involved with my business.”
“You liked Hunter.”
“No, I could stand Hunter. There’s a difference.”
Noelle laughed and placed her hand on the back of his neck. “I love you.”
He looked at her and noticed how red her eyes were getting. She wasn’t crying, but something was wrong. He placed his hand on her forehead again. It was hotter than before, and her heartbeat had gotten faster.
“What?” Noelle asked, swatting him away again.
“You should see the doctors.”
“I can’t.”
He stared at her. “Why?”
She sighed. “They’ll be able to see that I’m a Shifter from my blood.”
Gabe shook his head. This wasn’t good. The only way Magic User doctors could make diagnoses was through blood samples. Most sicknesses in the Realm presented the same way physically. “Then I’ll take you out of the Village.”
“No, I’m fine. Really. I used to get colds all the time when I was younger. My mother even called me ‘Coldy’ for a while. It’ll pass.”
Gabe frowned. “At least get some sleep.”
Noelle cleared her throat. “Only if you stay.”
“Of course.”
Noelle pulled off her dress and, with a shiver, climbed under the covers. Gabe slid in next to her, his concern building. He didn’t like her like this and was genuinely worried, which bothered him more than anything. He hated worrying about people. After a while her breathing evened. He glanced at the door. This was the perfect time to leave and talk to Syney. He wouldn’t be long. Gabe started to get out of bed when Noelle jerked awake. “Gabe!” she cried out.
He put his arms around her quickly. “Shh. What’s wrong?”
A few tears fell out of her eyes. “I was just dreaming, I guess.” She shook her head and settled back into her pillows. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
She took a deep breath. “Would you ever…join again?”
He smiled slowly. “Only with the right woman.”
Noelle stared up at him, her face unsmiling.
“And I do mean you,” he clarified.
She n
odded, her face still serious. “I was thinking about asking Helen to do it for us. I think she would.”
Gabe quickly shook his head. “No more people involved.”
“She wouldn’t have to know anything other than we’re in love and want to be joined.”
“Let me think about it,” he said, knowing he wouldn’t.
She nodded as her eyes drifted closed.
He loved Noelle; that wasn’t the problem. And he would have jumped at the chance of joining with her if it didn’t involve Helen. He had a natural distrust of people, which hadn’t gotten better since Adam’s attack. He wasn’t willing to risk Noelle’s life for this. He didn’t want to risk anyone’s lives anymore, but he knew it was unavoidable. The least he could do was keep Noelle out of the line of fire. He planted a kiss on top of her head and settled back into the bed. Syney could wait. He was needed here right now.
The moment Mellisandrianna opened the closet door, Helen would be found and suffer the consequences. Helen held her breath and prayed she could somehow sink into the back wall of the closet she was hiding in, but she knew it was impossible. She wasn’t sure what her mother actually would do to her. When she was young, she and Adanna had been caught trying on their mother’s clothing. Mellisandrianna had spanked them and sent them to their rooms for an entire day. But now Helen was older, and there wasn’t a good childish reason for her to be in here. There was only a deceitful reason. She was here to spy on her mother.
Something had happened in the last week; she knew it but had no solid proof. Leaf had grown quieter than usual. When she’d asked him about it, he’d told her he was on to something big but wanted to keep it to himself until he was sure of some things. Helen wasn’t a fan of that answer but trusted him to make a good decision. It did, however, give her the urge to find out some things on her end. After becoming high priestess, she’d gone over the sanctuary of the chapel with a fine-toothed comb but hadn’t found anything that would make her suspicious besides a few notices about law changes. One was regarding the enactment of the law that prohibited the joinings of members of different races. The other, oddly enough, prohibited joinings between royals and nonroyals. She hadn’t thought that was a law, just something that always had been done. Both notices were dated more than a hundred years ago and signed by Queen Lassandrianna. Helen had recognized the name, not only as a Crystallianna name but also from somewhere else, back when she and Adanna had spent the day raiding her mother’s closet. The name had been written on a leather-bound journal that was shoved way in the back and covered in dust. Helen remembered thinking it was strange that the book was in her mother’s closet and not locked up in the library. After reading those signed notices, she found it even stranger. That was when she’d gotten the harebrained idea to search her mother’s room. It had gone fine for a few minutes until she heard voices outside. She barely had managed to dive into the closet by the time Mellisandrianna and Grass had walked into the room.
Deviation: Altera Realm Trilogy Book 2 Page 29
