Authors: Calista Fox
Brushing away her tears, she asked, “Do most
vampires prefer being in groups?”
“Yes. That’s likely why there are a number of
them who live within the castle. The shifters prefer the woods, of course. The
other demons don’t seem to have a specific inclination, though most of them
live outside the castle walls.”
Sheena was quiet a moment then said, “I won’t
lie and say all demons want harmony with humans. We still have the desire to be
the dominant species. And we want the freedom to not live in fear of slayings.”
“Humans want that for themselves as well.”
“I understand.” The vampire smiled. “I believe
that’s why we’re all able to inhabit this world at the same time, with the
exception of the offshoots, of course. They do set back our progress when they
rise up. But for the most part, the demons in Darien’s alliance are tired of
fighting and want to enjoy the fresh air and the green land and the untainted
waters.”
“Your kind would have made great
environmentalists decades ago.”
With a shrug and a remorseful sigh, she
contended, “It’s unfortunate we’ve cared more about the ecosystem than human
life.”
“Maybe that’s where a balance can come into
play. Isn’t there a way to provide creature comforts without polluting the world
again?”
“I don’t know. But it’s something to
consider.”
It seemed to Jade each race had much to offer,
and the possibility of making those advantages mutually beneficial was
certainly a notion to explore.
“Well,” she said, “I need to make a sweep
along the eastern boundary and then north to my cottage.”
They continued with minimal chatter, both lost
in their own thoughts.
When they returned to Jade’s house, Sheena
said, “I’ll come by at dusk tomorrow to search for the necklace if you haven’t
found it during your hunt in the daylight.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the help.”
“We’ll find it.”
Jade suddenly felt compelled to do something
very uncharacteristic of her. She hugged her vampire friend.
With a laugh, Sheena said, “Oh! That came as a
surprise.” But she hugged her back. “I suppose we both still have much to learn
about being a good friend.”
“I’m going to work on it.”
“So am I.”
Sheena bid her good night and Jade entered her
cottage. She toed off her boots and settled on the sofa in front of the fire.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Then
she let out a long breath and allowed her mind to wander. Thinking of her past
and comparing it to her current life caused yet another shift within Jade.
Closing her eyes, she released her tight hold
on her emotions and they flowed through her, knotting her stomach and tugging
at her heart. She neither ignored nor fought them. Rather, she gave in to them.
Tears instantly stung her eyes, but she didn’t
push those back either. Her gentle crying turned into violent sobs that made
her body convulse. She wept for her parents and all the things she regretted
and the fact she’d lost one more thing that had meant the world to her—Darien.
But in the back of her mind, she knew
expelling all of the emotions was the right thing to do. The necessary thing.
Regardless of how painful it was, she needed the cleansing experience.
Desperately.
Hours slid by and eventually the tears stopped
flowing and her body ceased shaking. She sniffled and wiped away the stream
from her flushed cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater. A few hiccups had a
strange effect on her. She actually laughed.
Following some deep breaths, she told herself
it was time to move on. Time to stop living one day at a time and focus on her
future and her new role within the village. Time to allow her friends into her
life, and be an integral part of theirs—human and demon alike.
She even decided to invite Morgan to dinner,
the way her parents once had. Unfortunately, he’d have to suffer through her
less-than-stellar cooking.
As for Darien… Jade couldn’t help but wonder
if it was possible to win him back. First, she’d find the necklace. Then she’d
take it to him at the castle and gauge the emotional climate. She’d force
herself to weather any storm with him…as long he was interested in engaging,
that was.
In the wee hours of the morning, fatigue set
in and she permitted it to consume her.
* * * * *
Darien spent the better part of Saturday
morning at the burned-out church. He stood on the ledge and stared at the land
sprawled before him, having a magnificent panoramic view. The sun was shining,
yet there were still patches of snow on the ground. Some of the tree limbs were
laden with a half inch or so of fluffy, undisturbed white.
A breeze rippled the water in spots that had
begun to thaw along the river. In two more months, the grass along the banks
would be a lush, vibrant green. The wildflowers would bloom. The needles on the
pines would be fresh and hearty, not dried and brittle. The river would flow
freely, undulating with the rapids and the steady current.
The birds had already begun to migrate back
from their winter in the south and they chirped in a lively way as they
fluttered around, apparently in search of branches not covered in snow to perch
themselves on or nest in.
Spring was Darien’s favorite season. Granted,
it wasn’t in full swing now, but edging close.
He enjoyed the solitude and the scenery from
his current post, though in the back of his mind, he toyed with the idea of
leveling the tall structure on which the church stood. It was, after all, a
constant reminder of what had happened to Jade during the fire wraith’s second
attack.
He’d come here a couple of times over the past
month, for no reason other than it seemed to be the one place he could think
about her and let his emotions move through him when he wasn’t around anyone at
the castle to take his angst and frustration out on. Or for them to take note
over how much he missed her.
As he’d told Sheena, forgiveness was not the
issue at hand. How to reconcile with Jade and find some sort of tranquility
between them was, so they could be together. Yet even as he contemplated that
idea, he wondered if it was too late. He’d let a lot of time slip by without
seeing her or communicating with her in any form. Not exactly the best means to
express one’s love for another.
He shook his head. As much as he’d like to
blame his inability to reach out to Jade these past several weeks on his lack
of romantic experience, he couldn’t rely on that shortcoming as an excuse. The
truth was, he’d considered not reconnecting with her because the obstacles
seemed too great—and threatened his sanity when it came to her daredevil ways.
This still weighed heavy on his mind when he
heard Thunder neigh softly, in both welcome to an unexpected visitor and in
warning to Darien. Moments later, the sound of booted feet on the stone steps
caused his pulse to spike. He knew who was about to join him before Jade
crested the landing.
She walked slowly toward him, tension oozing
from her.
Her gaze slid to the view he had, and then she
said, “Master of all you survey, hmm?”
He hopped down from the ledge. “Not
all.
”
Not her, certainly. He took her in from head to toe, dressed in black leggings
and a lightweight sweater. She had mud on her hands and knees, along with a few
smudges on her face. “Starting your gardening?” he mused, keeping his tone
light, though his gut wrenched with myriad emotions at the sight of her.
An overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms
and kiss her, forgetting all about the fact she constantly defied him and put
herself in harm’s way, overcame him. But he resisted the temptation.
She said, “Actually, I’ve been looking for the
necklace. Sheena has been helping too. At night when I have my watch.”
His brow dipped. “You’re rooting around on
hands and knees?”
“I’m going to find the pendant and return it
to you,” she insisted. “I don’t care what it takes.”
He stepped toward her, held out his hand and
uncurled his fingers. In his palm lay the Star of Nadia.
She gasped and relief seemed to wash over her.
“You found it. Thank God!” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I am so happy.”
Closing the gap between them, he said, “Take
it.”
Her head shook sharply and her eyes grew wide.
“Absolutely not.”
“I gave it to you as a gift. It’s yours.”
“No,” she said, her voice suddenly cracking.
“You gave it to someone you thought you loved.”
“I gave it to someone I
do
love.” He
stared down at her, gauging her reaction to his words.
Her lips quivered and her blue eyes misted.
“When you love someone, you don’t shut them out of your life. I’ve learned that
recently.”
He thought of Sheena’s comment about not
visiting Jade a while back, and accepted that his absence had likely hurt Jade.
So he clearly hadn’t been the only one to suffer through the time and distance.
As a peculiar apprehension gripped him, he
said, “I haven’t yet figured out how to be with you and not try to control
everything you do. Not from an arrogant or tyrannical standpoint, but because
if something happened to you…” He felt a burning sensation in his heart over
the hypothetical horror.
In a quiet voice, Jade said, “I told you that
you have to accept the fact I’m human and mortal. I
will
die.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” he ground
out.
“You can’t protect me every second of the day,
Darien. Nor would I want to be so stifled. I’ve come to terms with what I’m
capable of and I can’t bury my head in the sand any longer and live with the
easy path in life. I want more. I want to help humans and demons. I want to be
someone who makes a difference.”
She drew in a breath, as though to steady
herself. “I might not be the perfect solution for world peace or the right
woman to be your queen, but I can continue to learn about life on both sides of
the border and help to build a bridge between our worlds.”
Contradictory thoughts assaulted Darien’s
mind, waging a war in his brain as to whether he should give in or continue to
push back. But a prevailing notion overruled everything sensible he had to say
on the matter. He wasn’t one to let his emotions trump his rationale, yet one
glaring fact could not be overlooked. Even as agitated and confused as he’d
been the past month—and each time Jade had been injured—he couldn’t deny the
fact he respected her tenacity. Nor could he let go of his love for her.
Sweeping aside his pride, he asked, “Do you
understand the concept of compromise?”
One corner of her mouth lifted, as though she
were about to smirk at him. But then it dipped and she frowned instead. “In
theory,” she admitted.
“That seems to be my problem as well.”
She studied him curiously then asked, “What
are you getting at?”
“I make demands,” he said in an honest tone.
“I believe you accept them in good faith, but then you go and chase after your
friend Michael in the woods and end up broken and battered when you’d agreed to
stay inside your cottage. You take a stand against fifty demons and try to kill
a fire wraith, when I’ve explicitly told you to stay in the village.”
She opened her mouth, likely to defend her
actions, but he silenced her with a look.
“You take the oath of a demon slayer,” he
continued on, “knowing full well it’ll send me over the edge.”
Her expression turned remorseful.
“And you accept my marriage proposal because
you think it’ll provide leverage in keeping the villagers safe.”
“No,” she quickly interjected. “I wanted to
accept that proposal from the beginning. Not because of anyone else or any
leverage I might gain. I wanted to marry you. There are no ulterior motives
there. I just… I needed validation that it would work.”
She shook her head, as if that answer didn’t
fully encompass what she wanted to say. “I know I shouldn’t have to feel the
need to give anyone a reason for my choices. But we were secretive, for the
most part, and that was a wrong approach from the start. I shouldn’t have
hidden my feelings for you from my friends, regardless of whether they
approved. I should have been upfront, and it was a mistake for me to spring the
engagement on everyone. Including you.”
Jade lifted her hands as though in surrender.
“I know I appear impulsive and reckless. But I
do
think about my
actions.”
Darien didn’t say a word.
She said, “The trouble I continually encounter
is that what I do is driven by demon encounters. I had to try to protect
Michael when he left my cottage in a fit of rage. I had to divert the fire
wraith from burning my house to the ground the first time he injured me. I had
to take Walker’s place because there was no one else to do it—and I possess the
skills. And I had to follow Tanner to the border in an effort to stall the
demons long enough for your scouts to reach you and for you to return with an
army.”
Her hands moved to her hips and she raised her
chin a notch as she stared up at him. “Yes, I am constantly in dangerous
situations. But that could change for me—and all humans—if we work together, as
you’d asked me to do.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. His gut
clenched.
Of course, he did not want a partner who lived
in fear and cowered in a corner. He wanted a woman who was strong and
determined. He wanted Jade. Everything about her appealed to him, even if she
did repeatedly create internal strife for him. He wouldn’t get so worked up if
he didn’t have such powerful feelings for her. But could two strong wills
unite?
He said, “There’s one thing I haven’t shared
with you yet. It can change everything about us from this moment on. In a
positive way.”
She gazed at him, intrigue in her eyes. “What
is it?”