Anastasia snorted when she saw the winking smiley face that Elizabeth had drawn next to the word asleep. Her face flushed and then she continued reading.
Tony has set me up in a cottage in town so that I can be near the children as they heal. There were no serious physical injuries, so it’s mainly for observation.
Please don’t rush back on my account, I am perfectly fine where I’m at.
Love, Mom.
Anastasia laughed and set the note on the table.
“Morning.” Dakota’s sleep filled voice had her turning. He stood in her doorway wearing nothing but his unbuttoned jeans. Butterflies began to fill her stomach as her eyes trailed up his chest.
“Morning.” She said cheerfully. Although lust was beginning to take root in her, she knew that they needed to begin searching the cottage.
He walked towards her and leaned down to give her a gentle kiss.
“Did you sleep well?” She asked him as he picked up the note.
When he snorted just as she had, she knew he had found the smiley face.
“She knows how to embarrass someone, doesn’t she?” He laughed.
“She doesn’t mean to.” Anastasia grinned.
“That’s what she wants you to believe.” He winked and looked around. “So, this is where you’ve been living?”
“It is. It’s not the original house though, we moved here after Annabelle was killed. This used to be the training center, the villagers added onto it for us.”
“Everyone seems incredibly supportive of each other.” He said as he walked around looking at various things throughout the space.
“They are.”
“How are you doing? Being back here.” His eyes held concern for her and she smiled warmly.
“I'm doing okay. Just trying not to think about it. I'm glad you’re here with me.”
“I won’t ever be anywhere else.”
“Would you like some tea?” She asked taking the water off of the fire.
“Love some, unless of course you have coffee hidden somewhere.”
“No coffee. Sorry.” She smiled.
“No worries. Tea will be great, thanks.” He took a seat at the table and Kaley padded over to him. “Hey girl, good morning to you as well.”
They sat and drank the tea as if nothing in the world was wrong. The routine had her feeling conflicted. She never wanted to get into a situation where she may lose him, but she knew that he would follow her whether she wanted him to or not. Part of her never wanted to leave this cabin. Wanted to say to hell with the rest of the worlds, let’s just stay here with our heads buried in the sand. But she knew she couldn’t do that, couldn’t allow all of those lives to have been lost in vain.
“I'm going to go get started in the training room.”
“Let me finish getting dressed and I’ll help you.” He came back quickly and they headed down the hall together.
When she pushed the door open, her hope began to fade.
“Oh no.” She whispered eyeing the wreckage. Every bag that had been hanging from the ceiling had been sliced open, the filling spilled out onto the floor. The weapon racks had been turned over and the contents missing. Gregory’s desk drawers had all been ripped out and thrown across the room.
“Someone was looking for something.”
She nodded and stepped further into the damage.
“Why couldn’t they just leave it alone?” She yelled and kicked a drawer so it bounced off the wall.
“Ana, calm down its okay.”
“How can you say that, Dakota? Look at this place. This was his place and they destroyed it.”
“Ana, breathe.”
At his tone she looked down at her hands. They were shaking and she felt the power beginning to stir. She took a deep breath and began trying to calm herself.
Dakota knew she was not upset over the damage. Had it been anywhere else it wouldn’t have bothered her. It was the location that was upsetting, this had been Gregory’s area and they had torn it apart.
“What could they have been looking for?” He asked trying to distract her. “A note? A journal? Anything he had written down?”
“No.” She knew what they had wanted and one look at the desk proved that they had found it. “They wanted the vials.”
“The vials?”
“The portals, they took them.”
“So they could go back to Seattle.” He said turning to face the door.
“No, so I couldn’t go back.” She said remembering Vincent’s comments about the portals and how Gregory had never told her of them. She closed her eyes and pictured herself back in the cave the night she had gone through. She hadn’t seen Vincent use a vial.
Anastasia jumped to her feet. “Look for anything that he may have written down about the portals. There has to be something here.”
“Atta girl.” Dakota said and dove in.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
They searched the training room all day and found nothing. It made no sense to her. Gregory had always written everything down and had kept it in here. What was she missing? The only area left to search was his room and it was something she wasn’t sure she was ready for. She hadn’t even opened the door. She wasn’t sure she could handle it if they had torn it apart as well.
Dakota had gone into town to check on Elizabeth and a part of Anastasia felt surprisingly empty without him there. She headed for Gregory’s room. No time like the present, she supposed. Even if she found nothing, she knew she had to face it.
When Anastasia pushed the door open, his scent filled her lungs. The lump in her throat grew and she beat back the tears that were fighting their way to the surface.
She stood in the doorway a moment, staring into the place where her father had slept. His bed was turned down as if it were simply waiting for him to climb into it, as if it never got the memo that he was never going to.
His robe was slung over a chair and his boots set neatly beside it. She moved further in and turned to face his dresser. Vials of the healing potion were lined up on his dresser. There were only two left and she made a mental note to gather them before she headed back through to Seattle.
She looked at the small portrait of he and Annabelle that they had gotten done years before she was killed. They had been so happy together, you could see it even in the painting. She hoped that they had found each other again in the afterlife.
Anastasia gently opened the top drawer of his dresser, and there nestled in between some clothing was a leather bound journal. Her heart began to race when she lifted it. This had to be it, she thought to herself.
She grabbed it and the painting, replaced the drawer and gently closed the door behind her.
Anastasia took a seat by the fire and opened the notebook to the first page.
My Dearest Annabelle,
I fear I may not make it without you. I have been trying so hard to focus on the good that is still in the world, just as you taught me to but I have been finding it so difficult to see past the evil. Are you still here with me love? Sometimes it’s as if I can feel you standing next to me. I keep waiting for you to walk through that door with your smile and laughter to fill the room, and then when I remember your gone I just want to crawl into a hole a die with you.
I know I cannot, I know that our daughter needs me but I am finding it so hard to make myself move from this bed. You were my light, how am I supposed to stray away from the dark now?
Anastasia’s fingers trembled on the page. She closed her eyes and the tears that she had been working so hard to hold back began to fall. When she opened them, she continued reading.
Why hadn’t I listened to his warning? I could have stopped her training and we could have lived our lives as a family, the way we never were able to before. Why had I been so stubborn? Please forgive me, my love.
Gregory
His warning? Had Vincent warned Gregory that he would come for Annabelle? She quickly turned the page.
Annabelle,
I am trying to move forward. I have been watching Anastasia in her training with Tony. She is magnificent. You would be so proud of her, our daughter shines with a brighter light than I have ever seen before. She moves with speed and purpose when she fights, and I know she will make a formidable enemy for Vincent. I am tempted to keep her with me. To not allow her to go into war with him- its selfish, I know, but she is all I have left. All that I have left to remind me of you.
I have not seen the spark in her yet, but I know that when it comes she will be more powerful than we had ever imagined. At times I worry it may be too much for her, but then I look at her and I know she will be able to handle it. Never has there been a brighter star than our Anastasia.
Gregory
Anastasia gripped the journal to her chest. He had always believed in her, what had she done to deserve such unwavering faith? She opened it to the next page.
Annabelle,
I saw it today. Maximus cornered her and began taunting our Anastasia. Had I not seen it in her eyes I may have intervened and made him a mute for the things he said to her.
She used her magic without even realizing it. With no prior knowledge of her abilities she managed to freeze Alastair and Sebastian where they stood before taking Maximus down. I have only ever known one other person with that ability.
I spoke with her afterwards. She told me that Dakota was the one who brought her back. He is her light and while it thrills me that she has someone who even after all this time is able to bring her back from the brink of darkness, it saddens me a little because I know she will need to one day go back to him.
I am not ready to lose her.
Gregory
Anastasia knew who he was talking about. She had seen Vincent freeze everyone in the clearing. What did it make her that she had the same ability?
Anastasia,
My dear child. If you are reading this, then what the seer told me has come to pass. There are so many things I have not yet told you! First and foremost, you must know that I am so proud of you. You have blossomed into the most wonderful young woman I have ever known. You have been a light in my life since the moment you were born and although you were taken from us, you continued to be our world until the day we both stopped breathing and even beyond that.
Please do not mourn me. Know that I am watching over you, just as your mother is, and we will always be here with you. You will never be alone, Anastasia. I will try and tell you the things I did not have the courage to tell you in life.
Your magic will continue to grow into something that may frighten you at first; don’t let it. You will always be in control. I have never seen anyone whose light burned brighter than yours. Do not fear the power- embrace it. Vincent’s downfall was that he had no light because he never loved anyone except himself. I had your mother, it’s why I never strayed. You have Dakota, and Anastasia,you must make it back to him. He is a wonderful man, I have spoken to him quite a few times when I visited. I was always watching over him because I knew how much he meant to you.
You need to know that you don’t have to have the vial to open a portal. You only need to conjure it, much in the way you call upon the light in your palm. I used the vials because I was afraid I might not be able to pull myself away. I am sorry that I never told you about the ability to revisit your world, I fear I was selfish in worrying that you may never return to me.
In order to defeat Vincent, you are going to need to embrace everything about you. You will succeed, I know that you will bring peace to our world once again.
I will use the rest of these pages to write down anything that I think might be of use to you. In it will be my entire knowledge of Vincent and the magic that is within you. You must trust Tony, he has been the best friend I could have ever asked for, and the brother I would have always wished for. He will never lead you astray.
The battles that we fight silently are sometimes the most difficult, and I know that you have fought plenty. Know now, that the ones you have faced have not made you weaker- you are a stronger person for the way you survived. Never give up, baby. You are the strongest Fighter I have ever had the pleasure to know.
I will always love you and I will always be with you, even though you may not see me.
Your Father
Anastasia quickly flipped through the rest of the pages but they were blank. Nothing had been written in the journal after his letter to her, and she knew it was because Ophelia must have gotten to him before he could finish it.
She shut the journal and curled into a ball in front of the fire. All of the pain and grief she had been fighting came crashing down on her. Her mind continued to replay scenes from her time with Gregory. She couldn’t get control over her emotions, and she allowed herself to feel for the first time since she could remember.
Anastasia wasn’t sure how long she cried. She felt Dakota’s arms come around her as he pulled her into his lap and cradled her.
“It’s okay, love, I’m here.” He kissed her forehead and held her while she cried.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
When she opened her swollen eyes, it was completely dark except for the embers in the fire. She looked up at Dakota who was staring into the fireplace. He looked down at her and smiled gently.
“How are you?”
“Better.” She was surprised that she did actually feel better, as if a weight had finally been lifted off of her chest. “And like I need a drink.”
He laughed. “That’s my girl.” He kissed her and shifted her so she could stand up.
“Why don’t we get one and then you can tell me what you found out, if you want to that is.”
“Sounds good to me.” She set the journal down on the table and retrieved two cups and the bottle of liquor Gregory had kept.
“Who’s this?” Dakota held up the portrait of Gregory and Annabelle that Anastasia had forgotten she had carried out with her.
“My parents.”
“This is Gregory?” He pointed looking surprised.
“He said that he visited you.” At his look she continued, “In the notebook. He said that he kept an eye on you because of how much you meant to me.”
“He did. Except he called himself Silvan.”
She smiled. “That was his last name.”
“That sneaky bastard.” Dakota laughed, “I mean that lovingly of course.”
“I know you do.” She handed him a cup and took a drink from her own.
“He always sat at the same spot in the bar down the street from my apartment. We became friends. I told him things I had never felt comfortable telling another person.”
“He had that effect on people.” She noted. “As did my mother.”
“Damn.” He took a long drink from his cup. “I'm going to miss talking to him.”
“To Gregory.” She held out her cup and Dakota clinked his against hers.
“To Gregory Silvan.”
“How are things in the village?” She asked later that evening after they had finished their drinks.
“Going well, it seems. Mom has blended right on in with everyone. She is loving how close everyone is with each other.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“The kids seem to be doing better, as well as can be expected anyways.”
She nodded, they would never fully recover but she was glad that there was some hope.
“They have really grown attached to mom and that woman, Serena.”
“Two of the most maternal women I have ever known, I’m not surprised.”
He smiled.
“Dakota-” She stopped. How could she promise him anything?
“What, Ana?” She turned to stare at him.
“I promise that I won’t ever leave you willingly again.”
“I promise that I won’t ever let you.” He leaned forward and took her face in his hands. “Wherever you go, I will be there with you. I love you, Ana, I always have and now that I have you back I'm never going to lose you again.” H
e took her mouth with his before she could respond.
He couldn’t have said anything else that would have made her heart soar the way it did. Her breath caught on a moan as he carried her into her room. Even if they didn’t have tomorrow, even if the world fell apart around them leaving nothing but a scorched circle. Even if tomorrow she were to be struck down by Vincent, never fulfilling her destiny. None of that mattered now. All that mattered to her was here with her and he was currently pledging his entire life to her.
She had once told Brady that if she could go back and do it all over again she would, well here it was. Her chance to start over with Dakota and she was going to stick true to her word. Tomorrow they could face what had to be done.
He removed her shirt and threw it to the side. They fell on each other, passion taking over. She clawed at his pants, not wanting any barriers between them and he removed them and hers quickly, and then was back on her. She pushed him onto his back trailing kisses down his chest.
She took his mouth again and reached down to grab him. He moaned under her and it made her blood race. She ached for him down to her very soul. Her skin was on fire above him and he was the fuel that pushed her on.
She arched against him and bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out as she came. He rolled her over and was pushing in to her before she finished. When he began to move inside of her she felt the heat begin to rise again and when they fell this time, they fell together.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“You’re going to need to learn to fight with one of these.” She handed him the sword and he grinned at her.
“I know how to use a sword.”
“Then let’s see.” She held hers out and took a stance. He lunged and she blocked, then she lunged and he blocked.
“Not bad.” She grinned.
“I had some time on my hands in college, so I took up fencing. Well that, and boxing.”
She spun and he moved away quickly. Impressed she stood regarding him a moment. When he attacked she was ready. She laughed and moved, knocking the sword from his hand and pointing hers at him.
The Phoenix (The Prophecy #1) Page 17
