Chapter 58
VINCULA
Saying goodbye to her friends and father in Erdikoa wasn’t an emotional experience this time because Rory and Caius could pass between realms as they wished.
She didn’t understand how he broke himself out of Vincula without breaking the barrier’s hold on everyone else in the realms. When she asked him about it, he said he ‘became one’ with his power and that the immeasurable amount of power flowing through him broke the bonds placed by his sister.
Whatever that meant.
Her nerves were live wires when she and her mate returned from Erdikoa. It’d been months since seeing her mother and years since having more than a day with her mother clear-minded.
Someone barreled into Rory from behind, wrapping her in a hug. “I’m sorry your boyfriend is a dumbass,” Cat said, releasing Rory from her death grip.
Rory spun around with a loud laugh. “I didn’t take you as a hugger,” she teased.
Cat waved her off and motioned up and down Rory’s body. “I make an exception when someone narrowly escapes death. I like your hair,” she commented, inspecting Rory from head to toe. “We tried asking the commander for details, but that didn’t work.”
Rory’s heart stopped. When did they see Sam? “Commander?”
Cat shot her a strange look. “Did they wipe your memory again? Lauren arrived before you two but wouldn’t tell us anything.”
Rory’s heart restarted long enough to plummet to the ground. “Right. My brain is mush after the last few days. I promise to tell you all the gory details.”
Kit skirted around Cat and side-hugged Rory uncomfortably. “You should tell my parents, too,” she suggested. “They’ll record it for the history books.”
“They’re great,” Rory replied. “Your mother is something else.”
Kit grinned widely. “I know. I heard they helped you.”
She nodded and wondered how the Coopers remembered their encounter with their memory wiped of Sam. Rory thought it was unnecessary to wipe every lesser mystic’s memory of him. She understood people in The Capital, but everyone seemed excessive.
Kit stepped aside, and Bellina appeared. She and Rory stared at each other before throwing their arms around one another in a tight embrace. “I missed you,” her friend said with a sniffle.
Rory nodded. “Me too.” When they separated, she pulled Bellina’s note from her pocket. “You helped more than you know.”
Bellina unfolded the note and read it, smiling. “You still have this?”
Cat plucked the paper from Bellina’s hands, scanning the note with a snort. “If Lauren finds out you called her an overgrown buzzard, she’ll kill you.” She handed the note back to Rory. “Burn it if you value Bellina’s life.”
Rory squeezed the note. Sam didn’t deserve to be erased, and she hated Aemas for doing so.
“I was mad,” Bellina said defensively. “But maybe you should burn it. Just in case.”
“Oh, I saw Max and met his wife,” she told them excitedly. “She’s hilarious and Max’s polar opposite.”
The three looked at each other and back at her. “He remembered you?”
Caius lightly pinched Rory’s back, his message clear. They can’t know. “No, but Lauren and I convinced him to help with my memories. She gave him a little power boost, and it worked.” Not a lie. “We’re friends now.” Also, not a lie.
“Did you know your mom can drink like a fish?” Cat asked. “She might be more fun than you.”
Rory held her chest in mock offense. “How dare you!”
“They’re right, dear,” Lenora said from behind Rory, and she spun around to face her mother with a racing heart. “You have your father’s alcohol tolerance, I’m afraid.”
Rory couldn’t hold back the emotions welling inside her, and when her mother opened her arms, she lost it. “Shh,” her mother soothed as she rubbed her back.
Rory extracted herself from her mother’s embrace and swiped her nose with her sleeve. “Gross,” Cat mumbled. “Ouch.”
“It’s not the time,” Bellina scolded, making Lenora laugh.
“I see why they’re your friends,” her mother remarked affectionately. “They remind me of you.”
She turned to Caius, who stood back, letting Rory have her reunion. “You aren’t going to greet your mother-in-law after almost dying? Shame on you.”
He looked at Lenora with a vast fondness, and Rory felt her love for him grow.
Lenora opened her arms for him, and he walked into her embrace, resting his chin on her head. “I told you I would save her, no matter what.”
Rory’s mother patted his back. “I know you did, but losing a son hurts just as much as losing a daughter. Don’t do that to an old woman.”
Caius smirked. “I’m older than you.”
“What did I tell you about using that tone with me?” she chided, swatting his arm.
Rory bit her tongue to keep from laughing, wishing she’d been able to watch their relationship grow.
“When is the wedding?” Kit asked.
Caius stuck his right hand in his pocket, and Rory tucked hers behind her back. They were going to lie, but Lenora beat them to it.
“I’m afraid we missed it,” Rory’s mother told the others. “But we’ll celebrate at the next Plenilune ball.”
Caius and Rory stared at her. “How did you know?”
She raised a brow at the two. “A mother always knows. Now, come, we have much to talk about.”
“Yeah, you promised us the details,” Cat piped up.
Caius stood at Rory’s side and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips. “I’ll let you four catch up. I need to find Lauren.”
She stood on her toes for a quick kiss and let him go. “We’ll see you at dinner,” she promised.
“Ladies,” he said to the others. “Always a pleasure.”
Bellina linked her arm with Rory’s. “I say we all have a drink.”
The others agreed, and as they left the palace, Rory’s heart was bursting with happiness. She would enjoy her time with her friends while she could, and when they left, forgetting her, she would endure it.
Caius found Lauren speaking with one of the Aatxe under her command, and when she saw him, she dismissed the guard and approached Caius with a half-hearted smile.
“Glad you made it back in one piece,” she said, glancing at the marks on his hands.
“I could say the same,” he volleyed. “Surviving Gedeon is no easy feat.”
She nodded and looked away. “He’s an idiot and thought he could kill me with his light.”
How she survived was a mystery to Caius, and he couldn’t help but press her for details. “How is that possible?”
“Lesser Angels can only be killed by the power of a Seraph or a blade forged by a Seraph,” she explained, but her answer left him to wonder what it took to kill a higher Angel.
“Thank the Seraphim for that. I couldn’t handle losing you and Sam both.”
“About that.” She sighed and asked Caius to follow her. “We need to talk.”
He trailed after her with a sinking feeling. “What is this about?”
“Not here,” she said and waited for him before she continued to walk. When they entered his office, she sat in a chair facing his desk, and he took his place across from her. “I’m leaving Vincula.”
“Why?” he asked, incredulous. “Aemas said nothing of your departure, and everyone remembers you.” Did she not want to stay? “Who will lead the Vincula legion?”
“I will train the most capable Aatxe to replace Sam and me,” she assured him. “They led the legion just fine before we arrived.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Caius tried again. “We all miss Sam, and I can’t lose you, too.”
“You’re not losing me,” she countered. He sat back, listening intently. “Sam asked me to look after Stassi.”
“Ahh. I can’t argue with that,” he conceded.
“No, you can’t, but I’ll see you when you visit.”
“How will you protect her if she doesn’t remember you?” he asked.
Lauren grinned. “I always find a way.”
“I know you do. Rory plans on becoming friends with Stassi, too. After what she did for Cora, she insists on paying for whatever the woman needs.” Rory planned to stalk her and ‘run into her’ often. He chuckled at his wife’s determination.
Lauren stood and strolled toward the door. “We’ll figure it out,” she promised. “As for now, I will train new commanders and check in on Stassi every few days until I can leave Vincula permanently.”
He rounded his desk and stuck out his hand. “We’ll miss you around here, but I understand. When Rory finds out, she will probably demand you leave and take care of Sam’s mate as soon as possible.”
“I can’t think of a more fitting queen,” Lauren admitted with an affectionate smile.
Caius couldn’t agree more.