As they flew, Santiago felt a sense of unease come over him. It had all seemed far too easy…or had that simply been because his rage had been so fierce? He tried to recall all that had happened from the moment they were taken captive to the moment they had flown away free. Of course, their idiotic attempt to just walk right in the front door was something he would feel anxiety over for years to come. But after that, he and Costin had been hauled off and shackled in the basement of the place, left alone and with no explanation whatsoever from their captors.
A comment his uncle had made about the politics of the situation had him understanding why he and Costin had not been killed…but that still left a number of questions unanswered. As much as it annoyed him, the chances of him learning the reasons this family had done what they did were slim to none. He simply had to be content with what he had – his wife and daughter back safely. It was enough.
When they finally arrived back to the Balaurescu estate, the sun had finally risen fully into the sky and most of the country was just wrapping up their breakfast. They had flow as high as they safely could with humans in tow, and just as they reached the Carpathian Mountains, they descended to the tree line and flew as silently as their massive wings could manage. Flying in full daylight over populated areas like this had been considered a grievous violation of Dragon Code for hundreds of years and should a mass panic arise from them being sighted…well…best not to think of the repercussions involved.
It seemed as though someone, either Luca or Geza, had ordered a number of the staff to watch for their return, considering the small welcoming party that awaited them at the front gates of the home. Santiago and Costin landed in the large space created by the circular drive in front of the main gates and shifted back to their human forms. Sorinah, on cue as always, pulled out clothing for the men as they returned to their human shapes and offered it up to them with a smile.
“You may want to visit our head cook, Santiago,” she suggested as she handed him his shirt and trousers. “He doubles as our in-house doctor. Have him patch you up, hm?”
He hadn’t even noticed any injuries at first, but now that she had mentioned it (and that his adrenaline was finally settling down to normal) he began to feel various throbs and stabs of pain across his body. His head stung and he reached up to touch a fresh gash, roughly an inch or so long, that ran across the side of his forehead. He hissed a bit in pain…but forgot it just as quickly as it had stung him when his wife stepped into his view.
Gabriella had stood by in stunned silence once they landed, her dark eyes taking in the Balaurescu Estate in all its nearly ancient glory as her husband and his cousin transformed back into their human selves. It was only Sorinah’s suggestion he seek out their cook and then her husband’s hiss of pain that pulled her from her daze. She went to him…and her heart broke at the sight of his wounds.
The gash to his forehead was small, but it had stained half of his head in his own blood. She could see marks across his neck that disappeared under his shirt to spread across his shoulder and arm. By the way he stood, she could tell he was partially favoring one of his legs or perhaps his foot. Clutching their child, subconsciously unwilling to let her go for even a moment after all they had been through, she stepped into her bruised and battered husband to bury her face gently against his chest. A sob she had been holding in for some time finally slipped from her.
“Oh, thank God…” Her voice cracked as the words fell out behind her sob. “I couldn’t…”
“Shh…” was all he said as he wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter.
They stood there for a while and simply held one another, little Isidora cooing and squirming softly between them in Gabriella’s arms. It had been less than 36 hours that they had been apart…but they had been the most agonizing 36 hours either of them had ever experienced. The fear that they would never see one another again…that their daughter would be lost to those who kidnapped her…it was enough to stop the heart.
Eventually, and far sooner than either of them would have liked, they realized they had to go through with the entire reason they had come to Romania in the first place. They could put it off for another night, though. They needed that time with their daughter before the inevitable.
The following morning was more than bittersweet. Gabriella and Santiago had spent the past day and night inseparable from one another and their child. They had spent time with their family, learning about the life that little Isidora was going to lead here in Romania. It tore Gabriella’s heart from her chest to think of leaving their daughter behind after all they went through to get her back safely, but at least the Balaurescu family seemed to care about the little girl as much as her own parents did.
As they stood together in the massive entrance hall of the home, tears began to slowly slide down Gabriella’s cheeks as she looked at her baby girl in her arms. Sorinah came to her and embraced her.
“It will be alright, Gabriella,” Sorinah murmured. “Isidora will be safe here…and we will make sure she is happy always.”
Gabriella had no words. She only sobbed softly into the shoulder of Sorinah as they stood there. What could she say? Yes, deep down she knew and understood that this really was the best place for Isidora to be safe while she grew up…but that didn’t mean Gabriella had to be happy about it. She was leaving her only daughter, her baby girl, in the care of others. She might never see her again.
“Luca,” she heard Santiago say. “We cannot thank you enough for what you are doing. To keep our daughter safe…I will do whatever it takes. Even if it means leaving her behind.”
“She will be kept safe, Santiago,” Luca said, stepping forward to embrace his nephew tightly yet briefly. “On my life as a Balaurescu.”
“We will raise her alongside my own son, Dorin,” added Geza, who stood beside a lovely young woman with a lively baby boy sitting on her hip. “She will have a good life here.”
Santiago nodded, giving silent thanks to all of them one more time before turning to his wife and Sorinah, who still stood hugging one another. He placed a hand gently on his wife’s shoulder and, with a look of anguish on his face, said the words he had been dreading all morning.
“Gabriella, it’s time to go…” he said softly.
She made a slight whimpering sound but nodded that she understood. Sorinah stepped back, giving them both a gentle smile as she waited to be handed Isidora. Gabriella bit back her tears, lifting her little girl so she could kiss her sweet little forehead a few more times. Santiago gripped her shoulder, gently cupping his daughter’s head in one hand as he too leaned down to hiss her forehead.
“We love you, little one,” Gabriella managed to whisper. “We will never forget you and we cannot wait to see you again.”
“Be safe, Isidora,” Santiago told her, holding back tears of his own. “You will get to come home soon, we promise.”
Gabriella closed her eyes and kissed her daughter again before finally looking to Sorinah. She held out her daughter, biting her lower lip as Sorinah came and gently took her and stepped back. She cradled Isidora so gently, smiling down at her…but Gabriella felt cold. As if she had just handed over the majority of her soul and now stood empty. Had it not been for her husband’s warm and firm hand at her shoulder, she felt as though she might have blown away in the wind.
Rather than prolong the pain any further, Santiago began to guide his wife away from the group and out through the main and massive stone gate. Waiting to drive them to the airport was the same beautiful car that had first brought Santiago here just a few days ago. The same old driver waited for them, the car already packed with the luggage they had brought yet barely used.
Gabriella was thankful for her husband’s steady arm as he helped her into the car. The moment she settled onto the seat, she felt the life nearly drain from her body and she broke down. Tears began to flow uncontrollably, and her breath caught in her throat. Santiago hurried to join her in the car, th
e driver shutting the door behind him as he wrapped his arms around his distraught wife.
He didn’t try to calm her down or stop her crying, which she was thankful for. Her husband understood that she needed to cry these tears, lest she burst from the pain that had been building up inside of her. He simply held her while she cried…and cry she did. By the time their car reached the Sibiu Airport, she had drained herself to the point of near exhaustion. Her beautiful, dark eyes were now red and puffy from her emotional strain.
The entire trip back from Romania to Mexico seemed to fade into a long blur that Gabriella could hardly remember. Her mind cared about nothing but thoughts of their baby girl, left with a new family halfway across the world…just to keep her safe. She wanted to turn the plane around and go fetch her daughter. She wanted to damn the world and keep her daughter close at her side to keep her safe…not hide her away and hope for the best. But she knew better. They could never hope to protect Isidora the way the Balaurescu side of the family could. They had access to far more resources and knowledge than Gabriella or Santiago could ever hope to. Besides…they had three little boys at home who needed to be kept safe as well. It was thoughts of her sons that kept Gabriella grounded and kept her from giving up entirely. She had to be there for her boys, no matter how her heart ached for her daughter.
As the vibrant landscape of Mexico appeared below them, Gabrielle felt her mood lift and her desire to see her sons grow strong. The loss of her daughter left her feeling a great need to hold her remaining children close and never let them go. She would make sure her sons knew unquestioned and unconditional love from her…and she would make sure to keep them safe. No matter the cost.
The Afterward
“Momma! Poppa!” two little voices shouted with love and excitement.
“My boys!” exclaimed Gabriella with a happiness faintly tinted with melancholy. “Oh, how I have missed you!”
Rafael and Ignacio came running through the foyer of their home, Lucia close behind with a babbling toddler Mateo in her arms, their hands waving like crazy as they saw their mother and father there waiting for them. Gabriella crouched down and opened her arms, catching both of them as they collided into her. She hugged them tightly, kissing both of them on the cheek over and over again until they melted into a puddle of giggles in her arms.
Ignacio was too little, but Rafael was old enough now to notice that his mother looked a little sad, even though she was smiling. Even as he giggled in her arms, he could tell she was sad about something just by the way she hugged him extra tight.
Something was off about Father, too. He looked extra happy to see them…but it looked like he might start crying at any second. Rafael was confused by that…but he was more confused and interested in the cuts and bruises his father seemed to have all of a sudden. He wondered what had happened…but before he could ask, his mother was squeezing and kissing him again, so he giggled and wiggled away from her.
“Did you boys have a good summer with your Nana?” Santiago asked, kneeling down beside his wife to be at a better level to his two older sons.
“Yes, Poppa!” Rafael answered, giving his father a smile.
“Very good!” Santiago said before pulling his eldest son close for a tight hug. “You will have to tell me all about it. But for now, how about some lunch?”
Rafael nodded and followed his mother and father, along with Lucia, towards the kitchens so they could all have a bite to eat. Rafael may have only been about 9 years old at the time, but he was a smart boy and had noticed quite a bit. Aside from the strange sadness in his parents and his father’s banged-up appearance…he had noticed that his mother had lost most of the belly she’d had before they left to go to their Nana’s for the summer. Father had told him he would have a new brother or sister…but where was the baby? He was sure that mother and father would have had the baby with them, wouldn’t they? He was full of questions…but even for as young as he was…he somehow knew better than to ask.
Years passed and not once did Gabriella or Santiago attempt to explain anything to their sons. Both Ignacio and Mateo were too little to really recall much of anything…but Rafael never forgot. As time went by, Rafael watched as his parents seemed to pull apart from not only one another…but from him and his brothers as well. He never understood why…and yet he never asked. Not until the day arrived that his mother passed from this world would Rafael ever learn the truth of what had happened. Until then, he could only wonder.
The End
About The Author
Selene Griffin is from Forest Hills, NY. She lives there today, alone, for no other reason than she likes it that way.
Following college, Selene went on to have a variety of jobs, but it is for writing that she has always held a passion.
Her first novel, Mad About The Dragon: Dragon In My Heart Series Book 1, is a steamy paranormal romance adventure, specifically with dragon shifters. It is her dream, to continue to write many more stories, releasing the power to make others happy in the process.
When she has free time, Selene enjoys traveling, vegan dining, movies, reading books, astrology, crystals, numerology, dancing and listening to 90s R&B music.
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P.S. Readers
It means the world to me that you read my book. Your feedback is very important to me. I’d like to ask for a small favor. Would you be so kind to leave an HONEST review on amazon now?
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-Selene Griffin
The Forbidden Dragon Baby: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Dragon In My Heart Series Book 3) Page 9
