Epilogue
Hikaru
Mortals were interesting creatures. I’d observed them for millennia, watching from a distance, content to hide in the shadows, until one of those shadows had pulled me into the light.
Tenzen Huxley. The name brought an unholy growl from deep within my chest. Agent Frost was correct. The betrayal had been…unspeakable.
I would have gone back to the shadows if not for the juicy morsel I’d found. Warlock Nikodemus Holland. I ran a claw-tipped finger along his neck, reveling at the full-body shiver that ran through him.
“Stop that.” He fruitlessly batted my hand away.
“But you like it,” I teased.
“I most certainly do not.” Oh, the lies this one told himself.
I wanted to snap back, “You most certainly do,” but refrained. Contrary to what most thought, I knew when to tease and when to back off. My tasty warlock morsel was more contemplative tonight. He’d mingled earlier, but now he stood by the table full of alcoholic beverages, nursing a magenta liquid.
“You have not stopped staring at your son.” I wove around Holland’s body, slithering until I stood next to him. Two of my tails were still wrapped around his waist while the remaining twitched behind me.
“As is expected. This is his bonding day,” Holland gruffly answered.
“It is.” I followed Holland’s gaze. I suppose he could be staring at the necromancer or the human. “Do you not approve of your son’s mate?” He was, after all, merely human.
Holland’s jaw tightened, his headshake barely noticeable. “O’Hare is okay. For a human. He loves my son. The man has proven that time and again. He sees past Erasmus’s species to the individual within. I could not ask for more.”
“And yet, I feel as if that is exactly what you desire. More.”
Holland sighed, and some of the tension tightening his muscles escaped with that breath. “It was always a foolish desire.”
“And what would that be?” I curiously asked.
“I had hoped that Erasmus would find another, longer-lived species to bond with. His life is…” Holland couldn’t finish the statement. Not that he needed to.
“His life is precariously short.”
Holland nodded.
“And bonding with the human will not extend it,” I rightly guessed.
Taking another drink of the bright liquid, Holland grabbed a nearby bottle and refilled his glass. “There is nothing I can do to extend either one of their lives.”
“Hmm…” I considered the problem. “And the djinn? Aurelia was willing to help the human return from the dead.”
Swirling the magenta fluid, Holland stared into his glass. “I do not know if it is possible, but I find it doubtful.”
“Why?”
“Because of who created them.”
“Witches?”
Holland nodded. “Witches would not have considered such a thing. Their life spans are long, and it is not within their belief system to wish for more. Besides, relying on a djinn, even Aurelia, for anything life- or death-related is a foolish proposition. I am grateful that Aurelia agreed to help—this time. Who knows what will happen next time?” Holland shrugged and took another sip of liquid.
I stared at the necromancer. Familial love was not a concept I understood. “You will miss your son when he inevitably dies.”
Holland’s fingers tightened on his glass. “What kind of a question is that? Of course I’ll miss him. I’ll…” Holland’s shoulders sagged.
In response, I wrapped another two tails around him.
I’m not sure he noticed how he leaned into my touch.
“I am curious why you have not procreated again. It is my understanding that warlock children are far more common than necromancer ones. Chances are in your favor that your next child will be a warlock, like you.”
He continued staring into his glass. “I would not do that to Erasmus. I would never want him to believe that he is not enough. Gaia blessed me when she sent him to me.”
I blinked, body stilling. This warlock… Was it any wonder I was drawn to him?
Snuggling in closer, I ignored Holland’s attempts to squirm away.
I wanted to tell him that I would stay, that he would not be alone because I would not leave him.
Holland would not welcome those words, or at least he would not admit to welcoming those words. Not yet.
Warlock Nikodemus Holland would soon learn that I could be a patient kitsune. A very patient kitsune.