Chapter 31
THE MOMENT WE PULL AWAY from the house, a stampede runs across my heart.
We’re going home, where I desperately want to be, yet it also means we have a treacherous reality to face.
One filled with other witches and vampires, some I don’t trust, some I know will be out to kill me and possibly hurt my son.
But then I think about last night, how connected Bastian and I are, how committed, how he wants to marry me.
I know it’s probably not possible, but I look at his pinky ring on my finger and I admit, I would love to be his wife.
To call him my husband. But not one witch in my coven is married, and it’s not something I ever really considered.
And Bastian, well, he’s not a vampire anymore, so does that mean I could marry him?
So many questions run through my mind as we drive down the road, and then Bastian squeezes my knee.
“You okay?” he checks, and I smile and nod, placing my hand over his.
We meet Cassius and Marlowe at the little private airport terminal where rich vampires get to fly. The night sky, once a safe haven for Bastain, but now only Cassius requires flying at night. The brothers embrace when they see each other, bright smiles showcasing their shared affection.
Cassius hands Bastian an envelope, its contents including everything Bastian needs to be a part of society again: a birth certificate with a new date, license, and passport.
Chantal and I greet Marlowe, and she reaches for Aven’s head, gently rubbing it with a smile.
“What a neat contraption,” she says, pointing to the baby carrier Aven’s wrapped in on my chest.
“His favorite place.” I grin, rubbing his cheek and fixing his pacifier.
Bastian catches up to my side, looking at Aven and me, then Cassius, Marlowe, and Chantal, and for a second, I see a flash of pride cross his face.
“We are ready to board,” Cassius says and picks up my bag as Bastian places his hand on the small of my back, his mouth leaning down to whisper in my ear. “Let’s go home, baby. Fuck the world, let’s go home.”
I kiss his jaw, wanting his arm to wrap tighter around me, wanting to sink into the safety I feel now that he’s back.
My hand cups Aven’s head. I’ve never been a mother back home. Will it feel strange? Will I have to adjust all over again to a new place, a new reality? But Bastian’s hand slides from my back to my waist, pulling me closer to him, just as I wanted, and we walk on the tarmac toward the private plane.
Two witches, a vampire, and now…two humans and a baby.
Who would have thought? Who would have ever thought, but now I’m the prideful one.
Because it almost feels like some kind of makeshift family, like this is the beginning of something, like the five of us could become our own family unit, and I hold my head up higher.
Because with this team behind Aven, he should be safe.
He will be safe. At least, I’m optimistic.
Fuck the world, let’s go home.
Mother waits for us on the steps of Bastian’s Garden District house, standing the moment our car pulls into the driveway. It’s two a.m., but she looks beautiful as always, her red lipstick perfectly applied, and no hair out of place on her black bob.
Her eyes survey the sight I’m sure she never imagined as we pile out of the SUV, her stare taking in her grandson amongst a majority of beings she once thought her enemy.
I’m nervous she’ll be rude, that she’ll talk down to Bastian and Cassius as she so enjoys doing.
But the first thing she looks at is Aven, who is sound asleep in his car seat. A small smile graces her red mouth, then she looks up to Bastian and quietly says, “Welcome home.”
“Thank you, Delta. Thank you for everything,” Bastian whispers, and I start sweating immediately, a mix of nerves and the humidity I did not miss. But there’s that smell, the mix of damp air and magnolias. And I’m so happy to be home.
“My girls,” Mother says as she embraces Chantal and me, kissing each of our cheeks. The crickets sing loudly through the quiet as Bastian and Cassius unload our belongings. “Jade wanted to come, but she couldn’t leave her girls.”
“Of course. I’ll text her when we get inside,” I say, wishing she were here.
Mother and Cassius completely ignore each other, which is no surprise, but what is a surprise is Marlowe greeting Delta by name.
“The human that doesn’t listen,” Mother says in teasing tone, and Marlowe only laughs.
I see they’ve become acquaintances since Mother took over my job delivering to the vampires.
“Guess I’ll never live that down.” Marlowe turns to me. “I told your mother what you said to me that night. And I told her I wasn’t going anywhere.” She looks at Cassius with that look of worship I know so well. It’s how I look at his brother.
“Mercury is already inside,” Mother says, and my heart jumps with the desire to drop everything and run to him.
But then a light turns on from inside the house, and my eyes dart to the front door opening. And out walks Nicola, Oksana, and Amerie.
Bastian’s breath catches as Nicola’s hand covers her mouth with a shriek as she falls to her knees. Cassius takes Aven’s car seat from Bastian, looping it over his arm, whispering, “Go.”
Mother’s face sours with Aven in Cassius’s care, but she stays silent out of respect for Bastian’s and Nicola’s reunion, and I nod at her, thanking her.
Bastian takes the steps, two at a time, arms wide, and then Oksana and Amerie are in his embrace, their cries drowning out the crickets, drowning out the stars in the sky.
Moving to his mother, he falls to his knees and pulls Nicola in his arms as hers wrap around his shoulders, the words, “My boy, my boy,” echoing from her lips.
I catch a tear in Chantal’s eye as Cassius approaches us.
“May I bring the baby up there?”
Mother’s jaw ticks, her nostrils flaring as she whispers in my ear. “Don’t you let that baby near those vampires.”
Cassius chuckles because he absolutely heard her. “This child will be adored by these vampires. I guarantee it.”
“I’ll go,” I whisper to Mother to avoid any conflict, remembering the last time I was in the same vicinity as my mother and Nicola. I ascend the stairs with Cassius, Aven’s sleep uninterrupted by all the fuss.
Bastian pulls Nicola up from the floor, wiping the blood tears from her face with this thumb.
Nicola looks at me without disgust on her face—for the first time in my life—but instead with a vulnerability that makes me feel like I’m intruding on something tender. And then she does something I never thought possible, she pulls me into her arms, and she holds me. She fucking holds me.
I hear Chantal’s and Mother’s footsteps climbing the stairs, wanting to be close to ensure that Nicola isn’t up to anything. And she isn’t. When she pulls away, her eyes roam from them to me, and it seems she remembers who and what I am, and she releases me from her embrace.
Bastian and I lock eyes, disbelief seizing both of us, and then Oksana is near me, grabbing my hand. Her eyes, a faucet of tears, the snake tattoo on her collarbone shaking. “You brought our boy back.”
I nod, not knowing how to react because Oksana is human and has never been much of a threat besides the eye-rolling and sarcasm.
She only hates us because that’s what the vampires taught her.
So instead of saying something snarky like I usually would, I bite my tongue and smile. The best I can, at least.
Chantal gives me a look of shock, with Oksana’s hand in mine.
Oksana drops it, placing Bastian’s face between her hands and kissing each cheek. “It wasn’t the same without you.”
Chantal rolls her eyes, hooking my arm through hers. “I’m ready to go home, babe,” she says, pulling me from where all the vampires have gathered around Bastian.
“Did you see that?” I whisper, and she shakes her head, curls bouncing around her face.
“Hell hath really frozen over.”
And then I groan, the thought of Chantal leaving making me uneasy. “I don’t want you to leave. Do you want to stay tonight?”
“No,” she says. “I need to be home. You’ll be okay without me, right?”
I look to Bastian, who’s speaking to Amerie, but his eyes are on me, not lying when he said he wouldn’t let me out of his sight. “Yes, I’ll be okay.” Tears pierce my eyes because I haven’t slept without Chantal in the same house for almost a year.
“You can come back to our house,” Mother buts in, and I bite my lip.
“She’s safer here than with me or you. Away from the Quarter and any coven eyes.” Chantal, our voice of reason these days.
“Yes, I suppose. We have the blessing ceremony in three days, and then you’ll work on his memory?”
“Yes,” I say, too tired to remind her that she’s not in charge of me. I yawn instead of putting her in her place and kiss Chantal on the cheek.
“Remember, Bastian needs to keep a low profile until we have a plan to move forward. He can’t be seen walking down Bourbon Street when he’s supposed to be dead.” Mother’s eyes bore into mine.
“Got it,” I say.
Nicola coos over Aven, a smile on her face I don’t recognize. Is it adoration? As if Mother can read my thoughts, she says, “Good God, what is happening?” Something cuts at my chest, seeing how Nicola looks at Aven, even though it disgusts my jealous mother.
“I think it’s wonderful. Aven deserves all the love in the world.”
Spinning to face me, her eyes wide, she says, “Of course he does. Even by assholes.”
“Delta,” Chantal scolds, and I can only shake my head.
“It’s good to be back,” I deadpan, and she pulls me into her arms and kisses the top of my head.
“Back where you belong.”
I’m nauseous from exhaustion by the time Mother and Chantal leave, by the time Cassius and Marlowe promise to visit soon, by the time Nicola, Amerie, and Oksana pile into the car.
I look at Bastian and Aven standing in the foyer, the place we once had to flee. The place we once thought we couldn’t return to, and now it’s our family home.
“I thought they would never leave,” Bastian says, pulling me into his arms, squeezing my waist tight. “All I want is to be home with you two.” He kisses me, lips wet and soft.
“I never thought we’d be back here.” I look up to the staircase, memories of Franklin flashing in my mind.
How I threw him across the room, paralyzing him with pain.
But I don’t say his name, I don’t bring him up.
Bastian’s anger seems more controlled, and all thoughts of Franklin will do is ignite it.
A meow comes from down the steps, and my baby kitty comes running to me. I swoop Mercury up in my arms, kissing him all over.
“He’s a big brother,” Bastian says, petting his little buddy.
A bassinet has been placed in our bedroom, a gift from Nicola.
There’s so much to unpack and assemble, but we have time.
I transfer Aven into the bassinet, but he fusses, so I put him with Bastian and me.
And even though we don’t need to sleep on the vampire bed under the top bed, we slide it open because it feels right and comfortable, and I have the best sleep of my life.