Chapter 7
A Life Best Left Behind
Apollo’s cold laugh took Maya by surprise. “No,” he said, cutting off the laugh as suddenly as it had started. “Perhaps others want to find someone to share their life with, but I have tried that already. I prefer peace and stability.”
Maya looked at him, seeing a complication in that declaration. Fighting back a smile, she said, “You say that, and yet you are good friends with Cosmo.”
“Ah, yes,” a softer look appeared in his eyes. “A bit chaotic, but he’s a literal lifesaver. He brings the kind of entertainment that keeps my daughter from complaining that I’m too boring.”
“Does your daughter really say that?”
“No,” Apollo admitted. “But I fear she may start feeling that way since I’m not much of a risk taker outside of work.”
Maya took a sip of her drink, then she strummed her fingers on the mug, considering what to say.
“I was around your daughter’s age when it happened,” she said, launching into the memory before she could rethink her decision.
“My mother left the house one night; it was much later when I learned exactly what happened to her. I think my father was trying to figure out what to tell us, so he had my siblings and me all brought together, and we were picnicking out in the backyard. Or somewhere on the estate. I really don’t remember the place too well, but we were rich, so backyard probably isn’t the right word. ”
She took another sip, then continued, her eyes watching the bits of whipped cream moving around the top of the drink.
“Most of my siblings were adults, so they had their own schedules, but we all still lived together. I was running around, chasing butterflies or lizards. Something foolish. I didn’t notice the group that had quietly come onto the grounds until father told them to leave.
Some of my siblings joined him, arguing with the men about trespassing or some such nonsense.
They were adamant that it was still our home and the king had no right to just take it.
“A well-dressed man came up to me and said that I needed to come with him, and he offered me his hand. I took it, thinking that he was a new nanny or something—they came and went so quickly back then. I kept looking over my shoulder as he told me that my father was one of the bad guys. Of course, he didn’t tell me anything beyond that.
I remember turning around when there was a sharp yell, and my eldest sibling, Robert, was bleeding.
I never saw any of my family after that day. ”
Unable to look at Apollo, Maya looked out a window. “I later found out that the stranger was right. My father was a very bad man. And while no one ever confirmed it—perhaps it was never actually confirmed—I think my mother died the night before. She was kind.”
Apollo’s voice was low as he asked, “Was it your father’s doing?”
Maya looked back at him. “You mean, do I think my father killed her?” When he nodded, she thought for a second, then she shook her head.
“No. He wasn’t that kind of monster. My mother was too much of an asset for him to directly cause her death.
No,” she looked to the window again and the clear blue sky that looked so much like the day in her memory.
“I think she was killed to send him a message. That’s probably why he had us all together, which, looking back on it, was probably the plan all along.
Get us all in one place and it was easier to kill off the entire family. ”
“But not you.”
“No,” she sighed, “not me.” Maya looked at her mug, the whipped cream gone. “He told me that I was innocent, so I should not have to pay for the crimes of my family.”
Apollo’s voice had a harshness to it as he said, “And then he proceeded to hurt you so that you could never have children, making sure you paid for your family’s crimes.”
Maya just tilted her head to the side. “Well, they couldn’t risk having someone come back for revenge later. If I had a family of my own, it would create a potential risk should my descendants decide they wanted to make someone pay.”
“And they figured you alone wouldn’t be enough to get revenge.”
Maya smiled. “They turned out to be right. But not for the reasons they thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I feel that I’ve been wronged, I am very vengeful. It drove me for years. I became a wedding planner in an effort to get close to the family of the man who led me away that day.”
“What would you have done?”
Maya looked away, shame bubbling up for the first time in years.
“I was planning on killing everyone in attendance. Everyone who had come to my house. The royal family. All of them were invited to the wedding. Then I learned just what my father—no,” she shook her head.
“What my family had done. If they hadn’t been killed that day, they would have been publicly executed after a trial.
The family name would have been remembered by everyone instead of being erased.
I decided I didn’t want to carry on that family’s legacy. ”
“What did you do?”
Maya finally turned to look at him. “I decided to do my job. The wedding was beautiful. People were happy. And I found some joy in watching others have a good time, perhaps selfishly thinking it was because of how good I was at my job.”
Apollo was leaning forward, his arms folded on the table, watching her. “The Strifes are your adoptive family.”
“Yes. They never knew anything about my original family, mostly because I was never taken out in public by my original family. As my mother’s love child with someone outside of the family, my father wasn’t about to show me around to others.
Despite the fact that nearly half of my siblings were from other mothers.
” Maya shook her head as if to get rid of the memories.
“I can see now that I was fortunate to have been removed before I thought that their lifestyle was normal. The Strifes weren’t perfect, but they were loving. At least to me.”
“And older,” Apollo said.
“Yes,” Maya smiled, “much older. I was probably their last shot at raising a child, which makes me pity them.”
“Why?”
“Because I was not an easy child to raise. I constantly talked about going back to my real family, and when they didn’t let me return, I told the Strifes they weren’t my parents. Our dynamic changed before they died, but they definitely didn’t deserve what I did to them for years.”
“Did you ever tell them that you loved them?”
“Yes. When I was in my early 20s and learned about my original family, I became grateful for what the Strifes had done for me.”
“Then I guarantee you they felt it was worth it.”
Maya shook her head. “I don’t think so. They had me for nearly 20 years, yet I only appreciated them for about five.”
“I can assure you that the first time you told them you loved them made it all worthwhile.”
“You can’t know that,” Maya said, looking at her empty mug as tears pricked behind her eyes.
Apollo stretched out his gnarled hand and covered one of hers. “Yes, I can. They saw the daughter they had raised become a successful and empathetic woman. There’s no better reward for a parent than that.”
Maya looked up at him, a tear escaping. Quickly wiping it with her shoulder, she said, “I wish I could believe that. But I didn’t believe it when they said it, so I don’t think any assurance you give me will change my mind.”
“Perhaps not,” he squeezed her hand, “but sometimes it helps to hear someone else’s perspective. Parents often don’t know what they are talking about.”
Maya looked up at him, ready to argue, but Apollo was smiling at her, his eyes shining as he watched her. “Oh, you were lightening the mood, huh?”
His smile widened and he nodded, “I am really looking forward to a period where my daughter won’t listen to me. What you are giving me is some good practice in people tuning me out and rejecting my advice.”
Maya smirked, “And here I thought you have Cosmo for that.”
Apollo chuckled and pulled away from her as he relaxed in his chair. “Unfortunately, he will never count.”
“Why’s that?”
“He’s more like a brother. And brothers never listen.”
Maya couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t particularly funny, but she felt lighter and more relaxed. True to her nature, she couldn’t help but voice that. “I usually hate talking about my past, mostly because it just makes me upset.”
“It is always difficult to relive unpleasant events.” He stood up and walked over to her. Holding out a hand, he said, “Thank you for entrusting your past to me. I promise, it will not be in vain.”
“What do you mean?” Maya stared up at him, although her body responded automatically to his offer, and she reached out and took his hand.
With his gnarled hand he pulled her up, and his other hand he pulled her chair back. “I will use what you told me to try to undo the injury as much as possible.”
“Do you … will you be able to …” Maya squeezed his hand, nervous about asking the question she never thought she would ask anyone. “Can you undo everything?”
He squeezed her hand back. “I feel certain that I will be able to make it so you can shift without pain. And if you want, I can help teach you to fly.”
It was not the question she was going to ask, but it was definitely one of the things that Maya had never hoped to be able to do. “Really? You think … you may be able to fix me enough that I can actually be a dragon?”
He turned and gently pulled her down the short hallway toward the bedroom. “I am certain of it.”
“And you will actually help me learn to fly? Because I never got to fly very much. My brothers used to carry me so that I could feel what it was like, but I was too young to do much on my own.”
Apollo stopped at the bed. “It would be an honor to help you, Maya. I saw what kind of dragon you are, and I am eager to see what you can do.”
Maya stood still as he motioned to the bed. “What kind of dragon am I?”
“A lunar dragon. It has long been said that your kind is extinct. Apparently, everyone is wrong.”
“Then how do you know that’s what I am if there aren’t any more?”
“Pictures. My daughter has picture books of all kinds of dragon shifters, and you are one of her favorite kinds.”
Maya gave him a look of suspicion without any anger. “So you are willing to help me to make your daughter happy, huh?”
“Would it be horrible for me to say that I would like to see both of you happy?”
Maya frowned, unsure how to respond.