Chapter 44
CHAPTER 44
VALARIC
W hen we step inside the manor, Damar turns to me. “I’d like to speak with you a moment.” His eyes dart to Juliet. “In private.”
“Juliet is my wife. Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to her as well.”
His expression darkens. He opens his mouth to protest but stops as Juliet interrupts.
“It’s all right, Valaric. You have not seen each other in years. And I’m sure you have much to discuss.” She stretches up on her toes and presses a tender kiss to my lips. “I’ll be outside on the balcony for a bit.”
“All right.” My eyes track her as she slips out the door and onto the terrace.
Side by side, we walk in silence to the study. As soon as we enter, I move to the window. Lifting the edge of the heavy velvet curtains, I squint as the first light of dawn begins to spread across the waves, painting the water in gorgeous colors of yellow, pink, and orange.
Juliet stands on the other side of the glass, her silhouette outlined in the light. For my human wife, the sunrise is a welcome gift. But for me, it’s a beautiful torment—a reminder of all that I’ve lost and can never be part of again.
The faint light sends a sharp lance of discomfort through my eyes, but it’s a small price to pay to watch her in the sunlight, imagining myself standing at her side.
“You’ve always had an unhealthy obsession with the sun,” Damar grumbles from the shadows behind me.
I keep my gaze fixed on Juliet. The light paints her lovely features in hues of orange and gold. “You have never walked in the sun, Damar.” He was born a Vampire; his existence has always been tied to the darkness. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Perhaps,” he says. “But I’ve seen the pain it brings you to hold onto the last vestiges of your humanity. Until you learn to let go, you will always walk the line between two worlds, but belong to neither.”
The dull roar of the waves crashing along the shoreline fills the silence between us.
His cautionary words ring with truth. But as I watch Juliet turn her face up to the sunlight, a smile blooming on her lips, I know that no pain or warning could keep me from this moment.
“You love her,” Damar says soberly.
I release the curtain and it falls into place, covering the window and plunging us back into darkness. “Yes.”
“But does she love you?” he asks. “Do you think she could be the one to break your curse?”
“I believe so.”
He studies me with a piercing gaze. “Do you know why I took you in after you were newly turned?”
“You’ve never said.”
“You reminded me of my younger brother—Tavian.” Sadness reflects behind his eyes. I knew Damar’s entire Clan was murdered, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard him speak one of their names. “And because I understood your pain and your need for vengeance.”
He rests a hand on my shoulder. “I vow that I will do all that I can to help you save her from our kind and from your curse.”
I swallow against the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”
“When we go to the ball, you must not let down your guard. Not even for a moment,” he warns. “There will be some who do not care that she is your true wife. They are predators. She is human, and they will regard her as weaker prey. You must always remember.” He meets my gaze evenly. “There is nothing you love that they cannot take away.”