Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
D ominic’s request for today became three days. The day the Dark Casters and Areleus had been divested of their magic, we’d spent in his room together, enjoying the gentle ache of pleasure as Dominic found reprieve with me. We left the room only for food and the bed for showers. The second day, I didn’t see him that much because he was dealing with the aftermath of that day. I spent time in the library, finding books that would hold my attention and devising a story to tell others that was believable enough but wouldn’t reveal the existence of shifters, vampires, witches, and other magic wielders and would garner enough compassion from Cameron to allow me to return to work at the cafe. Four hours into the task and I had nothing. Telling her the truth would either have her seeking psychological help for me or in such complete awe of my mere survival that it would warrant my job back. I couldn’t tell her the truth.
In the afternoon of the day I’d decided to leave, Dominic and I were walking through the garden with its peculiar black flowers. I gently touched the petals of the roses, feeling the weight of Dominic’s eyes on me and the dark surroundings prophetic.
“Why don’t you want to live here?” he finally asked.
“Because it’s not where I belong. Without magic, I’m a human in the Underworld. I’d have to leave my friends and family. My life. I liked my life.”
“You’re free to leave. You wouldn’t be imprisoned.”
“I know, but I wouldn’t be really free. I’d be reliant on you or the Trapsen to travel between the two worlds. And we run the risk of my possession of the Trapsen being discovered and someone taking it. You can’t believe that others wouldn’t desire something so valuable. Even if not for nefarious purposes, it would be wanted out of sheer curiosity. Areleus could try to take it and use it as a way to return. Or I could accidentally misplace it. It’s not that I dislike it here, but me living here and trying to hold on to my life would be difficult.”
At the mention of his father’s name, he looked away from me. Forty-eight hours after the loss of his magic, Areleus had gone through the first stage of grief and was lingering in the stage of anger, demanding nearly hourly to speak to Dominic.
“If anyone can make this arrangement work, we can. Things are different for you, too. You could easily do like the others and live among the humans unnoticed.” Or maybe not. His looks commanded attention. Despite his ability to mask his eyes, he possessed a distinct aura. He’d never go unnoticed, although no one would ever determine the reason why.
“When will Areleus leave?” I asked.
“Tomorrow. He has a house where he will live. I’ll take that time to reestablish the rules with the Conventicle and make sure they are acting as one. I won’t intervene with how they handle the Awakeners.” A hint of sadness moved over his face so quickly, I would have missed it if I hadn’t been fixed on the most minute changes in him. The barrier he erected to do his job objectively was sliding in and out of place to speak with me and deal with everything that was going on.
I turned, following Dominic who kept a careful eye on his sister as she approached. A sullen expression was on her face and her hands were balled into fists as if she needed that reminder not to bare her claws. Her energy hummed with restrained anger. I suspected she had just been informed by Ileana that she would be returning to the Vita with her.
“You’re banishing me, too?!”
When Dominic didn’t immediately answer, she made another demand. His cool silence pushed her into fits of anger and creative uses of “fucker” and other four-letter words that wouldn’t curry any favor or encourage him to reconsider. Dominic displayed a cool amusement at her tantrum and display of rage that in the past were given a pass or coddled.
Now it was met with no reaction except Dominic’s low modulated response. “Bye, Helena. I hope we do see each other. But for now, I don’t want to see your face. You have your magic, and I promise not to take that from you if you honor my wishes for you to leave. In time, I hope my trust in you can be restored.”
I understood her fledgling look of hopelessness and ire. In her place, I would have felt similar emotions because Dominic’s interaction reeked of indifference. She wanted more—any display of emotion—because I figured she knew, like most, that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.
In an effort to control her anger, she took several slow measured breaths. With each one, her pinched expression eased. “I hope in time it can be restored, as well. If you tell me what I can do to make that happen, I’ll do it.” She pushed the words out through tightly pressed lips. I had to give her credit at the effort she made to sound sincere.
He nodded, accepting what appeared to be a tacit apology. “Leaving is a start.” Slowly turning, she came face to face with Ileana, whose appearance surprised me although it was obvious Helena and Dominic were not surprised.
“We’ll leave together,” Ileana instructed in a tone that gave me the impression that despite her unwavering support and allegiance to her daughter, Helena would have to endure the consequences of her actions.
“May we talk?” Her gaze bobbed between the two of us, leaving me unsure.
“Meet me in my office.”
At a loss, I glanced at Dominic who gave me a wayward grin. “She would like to speak to you and then me.”
How did he get that from her statement?
Her approach seemed more like a stalk. A predator to prey. I rooted my feet in place because it was the only thing that would keep me there. Ileana’s slow advance didn’t lead to confidence. I stood taller at her intrusive gaze that bored into me.
She nodded. “You are lovely and kind. An unremarkable human,” she said decisively.
“Uh, thank you?” Is it really a compliment when the insult outweighs it?
“It is not meant as an insult. You don’t have the ability to remove empathy as a matter of recourse.”
“I don’t have the ability to be cruel,” I surmised.
She nodded as if that was a flaw and I’d accepted it. I pushed down the desire to debate the issue because I would never change her mind.
“Now, do you crave power on any level?” She considered that statement. “I guess you’re not quite human. Dominic tells me you never inquired about your magic being returned. He would have done what it took to do that and yet, it wasn’t important to you.”
“He’s important to me, not the magic. I don’t want that or—” Catching what was going to be an insulting response, I modified my words. “I just want my old life back. I liked it.”
“You realize he can’t abandon who he is?”
“I know. I’d never ask him to. But we’ll make it work. I know we can.”
She looked around the garden and over the estate, her brows netting together. I knew she was aware of me declining to stay with Dominic in the Underworld.
Her assessing gaze left me feeling bare and vulnerable. Me gawking at her disarming smile was weird. It bloomed effortlessly over her face and radiated a warmth and genuineness that I’d never seen in her. Sharp eyes softened, and peeks of the compassion that moments ago she attributed to my flaws, glimmered in her eyes.
“Do not be his fall, okay?”
I nodded when the words didn’t come. Although there was kindness in her words, I heard the undertone of threat.
But even without the subtle threat, that wasn’t my intention.