The Fabled (18 page)

“I don’t know about being a light.”

He kissed me instead of responding. When I
was completely breathless he pulled back and just looked at me
until I began to feel subconscious.

“Will you marry me, Sunshine?”

“What?”

Out of nowhere he held a ring in his hand. “I
asked if you would marry me.”

“I, I don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes.”

I looked into his eyes to see he was sincere.
It was apparent he was eagerly waiting for my answer. “Yes.”

His face broke into a smile and he kissed me
again even more passionately. After a moment he seemed to come to
his senses because he pulled back and took my hand before sliding
the ring in place. I looked at it. It was beautiful. Simple but
perfect in its simplicity and it appeared to be old. I’m talking
belonging in the Smithsonian old.

“It’s amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it. It was my mother’s.
It’s been in our family for a very long time.”

“It looks old. When was it made?”

He shrugged. “Probably around six hundred
AD.”

“Are you kidding me? You just gave me a relic
to wear on my hand.”

“It belongs to me and now it belongs to
you.”

“How did you keep it so shiny for so
long?”

It appeared to be made out of silver. Didn’t
that tarnish after a while?

He laughed at my absurd question. “I have a
very good jeweler.”

“Alright. I’ll try to be careful with
it.”

“Don’t fret, Sunshine. It is but a
symbol.”

“A very old symbol.”

“Do you not like old things?”

“I do. It’s just that I don’t want anything
to happen to it.”

“Then it won’t.” He looked out into the
darkened sky for a few moments and I used what light there was to
watch his profile. After a little while he turned back to me with
an almost worried expression. What could he be worried about? I
already said yes.

“If I asked you to spend the rest of eternity
with me, would you?”

“What are you talking about? I just told you
I would marry you.”

“What if I wanted more than just words in
front of a judge?”

“Is that all a marriage is to you?”

“That is what it is to most people.”

“Well, not to me. It means you dedicate
yourself to that person for the rest of your life. I know that
makes me sound like a hypocrite since I’ve been divorced before but
that is what I believe. You’re right. Not everyone believes that.
My ex-husband for example but I do.”

“Then you will agree to be with me for the
rest of my life? However long that might be?”

“Do you think you’re going to die soon?”

His brows drew together. “No, why would you
think that?”

“Because you said however long that might be.
Like you think you might kick the bucket in a few days.”

He laughed softly. “No. I referred to if I
have an exceptionally long life.”

“You think you’re going to outlive me?”

“No. I think we will both live an
exceptionally long time. Sometimes people grow weary of each other.
I only hope that will not happen with you.”

“You think you’re going to grow tired of me
before we die?”

“I meant you may grow tired of me.”

“Are you kidding? That could never happen,
Roman. You are the only man I will love for eternity.”

He smiled again. “That, my lovely Sunshine,
is exactly what I wanted to hear.”

My phone was ringing. I jumped up out of bed
and looked around. I was in my bedroom. How did I get out of the
cave? My phone stopped ringing and immediately started again. I
answered without looking at the ID.

“This is Sunny.”

“You need to come to my club now before it’s
too late.”

“Roman. Why? Did you find Tristan?”

“He was dumped in the employee lot. Carly
found him a few moments ago. You need to come quickly.”

I didn’t even bother hanging up the phone.
Instead, using Djinn magic I teleported straight to the club.

“
Going into debt”

I was standing in the middle of the club but
I didn’t see anyone. I started for the hallway leading back to the
employee lot when the door opened and Carly motioned for me to
follow. She moved around me and led the way to a room that was
obviously an employee lounge. There were a couple of tables in the
middle of the room with a counter running around the perimeter and
cabinets above it. A microwave sat to one side with a coffee maker
beside it. Toward the back was a couch and lying on it was my son.
I ran to him and fell to my knees. He looked so beaten and bloodied
I put my ear to his mouth to make sure he was breathing. I could
barely feel air coming in and out. I took another look at him. Both
of his arms appeared to be broken with one actually bent backward.
His legs looked to be in about the same shape. I looked at his
beautiful face to see a huge gash running from his right temple,
bisecting the outer edge of his right eye, along his cheek and down
to his jaw. It was old too. The blood had already crusted over. I
tried to use the rest of my Witch magic to heal him but it wasn’t
nearly enough.

“Oh, my poor boy. How could I let this happen
to you?”

“It is not your fault.”

I turned to look at Roman. He was standing in
the back corner of the room watching us. Instantly I knew what
Aerystasia meant when she told me to be prepared to beg.

“Please Roman, don’t let him die. Not like
this. Please save him.”

His brows drew together for a moment before
dawning hit and he looked horrified.

“I can’t do that Sunshine. Ask anything of me
but not this.”

“He’ll die. There is no way a Human doctor
could save him.”

“You don’t know that. If we leave now, he’ll
stand a chance.”

“You know that’s not true. He’ll die and I’ll
be alone again.”

He came closer and knelt beside me.
“Sunshine, I would do almost anything you ask of me. But how can
you ask for this?”

“Because he’s my son. You asked me if I loved
him and I said yes. That was the truth. I love him like any mother
loves her child.” I reached over and grabbed his hand. “Please
Roman. A mother isn’t supposed to outlive her children. I’ve
already had to do it once. I will do anything, anything at all if
you will turn him.”

He hesitated. “It’s against the rules.”

“I had him sign consent when he first started
working with the council.”

He bowed his head for a moment before sighing
and looking me in the eyes. He reached forward and ran his hand
down the length of my hair. Then let it rest on my shoulder. “You
say anything. I want your word.”

“You have it. By all that I am I will do
anything you want in exchange for my son’s life.”

He nodded once to me, reached back up and
wiped a tear away.

“I will do as you ask.”

He stood, picked up Tristan and left the
room. I followed but as he started up the stairs to his office he
shook his head at me before ascending them.

Great. Now, what am I supposed to do? I
looked around and found Carly behind the bar pouring a drink. That
sounds like a wonderful idea. I sat on the stool in front of her
and she slid a drink over. I downed it in one gulp then sat the
glass back on the counter. She filled it again.

“For the record. That was a low ball
move.”

I sighed. “To which move are you referring.
I’ve done so many it’s hard to keep up.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. I was
talking about telling Roman Tristan was your lover. I knew
something wasn’t right with that but I just couldn’t put my finger
on it. I mean, every time we were alone he was hitting on me
nonstop. I thought maybe he was just tired of having such an old
lover but now I know he was just sticking to the part when he was
with you.”

“Yep. You hit the nail on the head. Well,
except the old lover part. For the record though, I didn’t actually
tell Roman that Tristan was my lover. He assumed and you know what
that makes out of you.”

She let out a short laugh before downing her
own shot. “You’re not lying are you?”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to again
but I’ll just say that nothing I’ve said since entering this club
tonight was a lie.”

“Good. I would have to kill you if you hurt
Roman again.”

“What’s the deal with you two anyway? It’s
obvious you have a thing for him. I would think you would want me
to hurt him. Maybe leave things open for you to come in and pick up
the pieces.”

“I would never want him hurt. Even if that
means we’re not together. The truth is, he told me from the
beginning he would never care for me that way. I just didn’t want
to believe it.”

I picked up my refilled cup and wove it
around as I spoke. “In the great words of Nazareth, love hurts and
all that stuff.”

She picked up her drink and clinked it
against mine before drinking. I sat my glass back down.

“Carly, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken
your magic last night or whenever that was.”

“It was last night. You were really a mess
over Tristan weren’t you?”

“Too much of a mess but it was the oracle
putting me under that has my time all wonky.”

“Oracle? I’m not even going to ask.”

“Good. It was a kind of weird experience. So
what’s your story?”

She shrugged. “Roman saved me. I volunteer to
be his security as repayment.”

“And you haven’t paid that debt off yet?”

She just looked at me and smiled. We both
knew why she was still here.

I spent the next several hours pacing the
floors of the club. Several times I thought about just barging into
Roman’s office and demanding an update of Tristan’s condition.
Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore. It had been over four hours.
The sun had fully risen in the sky and I needed some peace. I
slowly ascended the stairs until I reached Roman’s office door then
I knocked softly. I felt like a kid getting caught out of bed after
bedtime.

“Come in Sunshine.”

I released the breath I didn’t realize I had
been holding and opened the door slowly to see Roman sitting on one
of the couches with a drink in hand. I entered the room tentatively
looking around for Tristan.

“He’s not here. I took him to my home for the
change.”

“Is…is he okay?”

“He survived the change so, yes.”

“Good. Thank you Roman. I know you didn’t
want to do it and making a child is a big deal so I’m really
grateful.”

“Do you know about the bond between sire and
child? Really?”

“I know the sire treats the child like a
child until they’re old enough to live on their own.”

He looked at his drink for moment. “It is
more than that. The bond between sire and child is irrefutable. It
is not something the sire chooses. It is something ingrained in
both Vampere.”

“I’m not sure where you’re going with
this.”

He sighed. “I’m telling you that Tristan is
no longer yours. He is mine. Body and soul. He is my only child and
will be mine for the rest of his days.”

“Are you saying you’re not going to let me
see him anymore?”

“For now. When a Vampere is made they have to
relearn everything. Much like an infant. I will have to teach him
how to do everything. Until he’s mastered these basic functions I
think it would be best for everyone that you don’t see him.”

“He’s my son, Roman. I raised him from age
three. There is nothing in regards to him that I can’t handle.”

“You are wrong. He is no longer your son.
That child died tonight and mine was reborn.”

“You’re not taking my son from me. I’ll give
you some time to explain everything to him but I’m not just going
to abandon him.”

“Suit yourself. You can go home for
tonight.”

“I thought the change took several hours to
finish.”

“He has been through the hardest part and
survived. It is unlikely he will not make it through the rest.”

“How do you know he’s okay?”

He huffed. “I know.”

“I’ll wait here until he’s completed the
change.”

He sighed. “Fine. You can sleep on the
couch.”

I looked at the couch opposite him.

“Just get on it. I can assure you there are
no diseases running abound.”

“Um, what about…uh, fluids.”

He laughed. “There are no fluids either so
you’re safe.”

I tentatively sat down. He walked to the
corner and opened a cabinet door pulling out a blanket. He walked
back over and sat it on the ottoman in front of the couch before
taking a seat next to me.

“Wow. You have it all here don’t you? A lot
of your lovers stay the night on the couches?”

He looked at me contemplative. “Fishing for
information about my personal life? No Sunshine.” I rolled my eyes
and he continued. “I usually send them on their way with a slap on
the rear. Would you like a demonstration?”

“No thanks.”

“Good. I fear I’m not feeling quite up to par
tonight.”

“Did it take a lot to change him?”

“More than I thought which is not a surprise
given I’ve never done it before. But don’t worry yourself. I’ll be
right as rain tomorrow.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll go back to singing
tomorrow night. Now more than ever I need to catch these guys.”

I would ask Roman to question Tristan but
it’s likely he won’t remember anything about the experience.
Especially since he was under Vampere influence.

“Do you think everyone will just forget your
little show from earlier?” He asked.

“I hope they will realize I was doing what I
had to do to find my son.”

He raised a brow. “No, this time we will do
things my way.”

I raised a brow back. “Since when do you get
to tell me what to do?”

“Since you pledged your word to do anything
in exchange for your son’s life.”