The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (47 page)

“Maybe not before, but now,
yes.”

Erich's childhood home came into view and
our steps slowed.

“What’s the best way to approach?” Seth
asked. “Knock on the door or walk right inside?”

“Do you have your keys?” I asked with a
grin.

Erich thought for a moment and then
dropped his bag on the ground. “I just might.” After a few minutes
of rummaging, Erich made a triumphant sound. “I hope they didn’t
change the locks.”

Traffic was increasing and we carefully
made our way down the street. Most likely, both my aunt and uncle
were awake, but Uncle Friedrich would still be home.

We walked around the back of the house
and Erich unlocked the door. I could hear voices in the direction
of the kitchen. Familiar voices of loved ones. Tony closed the door
behind us and I motioned for the three non-Kunzes to wait there
while Erich and I announced our presence. I nodded to Erich and we
crept to the kitchen. Dishes clinked and Uncle Friedrich spoke
about a legal case he was researching.

We walked slowly into the spacious
kitchen. “Hello, Mutti. Hello, Vati.” Erich spoke loud enough to be
heard, but not loud enough to startle them. Too much.

Klara screamed and dropped her coffee
mug. It crashed to the floor and porcelain and coffee scattered
across the floor. Friedrich stood, pushing his chair back and took
a defensive stance. His gaze went back and forth between us.
“Erich?” he whispered in wonder. “Alex?”

Klara put her hands to her mouth and then
rushed to Erich, embracing him and crying. She reached for me as
well. Friedrich was quickly behind her and we were hugged and
kissed and stared at in wonder.

“We were told you were dead,” Friedrich
said in a hoarse voice.

“That’s what you were supposed to
believe,” Erich said. “I’m sorry you suffered.” He kissed his
mother’s head.

“The others are here,” I said softly.
“May I call for them?”

“Oh!” Klara said. “Of course.”

I quickly went to gather the others and
returned to the kitchen. My uncle and aunt knew them too and hugged
them with just as much enthusiasm.

“Have you spoken to Wilhelm?” Friedrich
asked.

I shook my head. “We only just got in.
Your house was closest to the station.”

“I should call him,” Friedrich said,
reaching for his phone.

“No, Uncle. I need to see him in person.
Soon.”

“Of course.” He looked around at the
group of men. “If you don’t mind being uncomfortable, we might be
able to squeeze into the SUV.”

“We surprised Vati and Mutti and the others,”
Alex said with a soft smile. “To say the least.”

Anna was staring at him with a mix of awe and
sadness. It must have been a shock, hearing him speak so casually
about killing a man. Another reminder of how little time they had
together before he was captured.

“Why...,” she said in a soft voice. “Why
didn’t you come right away?”

“I wanted to,
Schatzi
....”

“Vati, I need to see her. I’ve waited
years to see her.” I ran my hands through my long hair as I stared
out the window of Vati’s study at the first Frankfurt sunset I’d
seen in many years. I had spent the whole day with my family,
sharing and learning what had happened since I’d been gone. The
families of Seth, Tony and Greg would arrive tomorrow. They were
being brought here so they could be reunited, but also so Devin
wouldn’t know. My whole family knew I was still alive by now. I
would get in touch with the families of Jesse, Jason and Michael
soon as well. My whole family save you, my beloved wife. “My heart
can’t stand it much longer.”

Vati stood behind me and put his hand on
my shoulder. “I know, Son. But the situation needs to be handled
very carefully. Devin is still very strong. If you go announcing
you’re alive, he will find you and likely find Anna. You’re not
ready to confront him yet.”

I frowned and wanted to lash out at my
father, but I knew Vati was right. You had only just escaped. Devin
was still very strong and would remain so for several
months.

“I miss her,” I whispered after a long
silence. “My heart aches for her....” I turned suddenly. “I could
touch her. The last few times...I could touch her. I could kiss
her.”

Vati’s eyes widened in surprise. “You
could?”

I nodded. “Ever since I got sick....” I
paused. “Did Devin know she dreamt of me?”

Wilhelm shook his head. “No, I told her
not to tell him. When were you sick?”

“During Vitaly’s funeral.”

Wilhelm pressed his lips together. “Anna
was sick too. She must have been....” He paused and then chuckled.
“When you’re bonded, you’re really bonded, aren’t you?”

I cocked my brow, not understanding why
my father was amused.

“Because Devin arranged for your
disappearance and insisted on you being put in the cellar, Anna got
sick with you.”

“Devin must have done something so she
could touch me without disappearing. He likely wouldn’t have
thought to remove the ability because he didn’t know she visited
me.”

Wilhelm nodded and we were quiet for a
long time.

“What have you learned from the third
book?” Wilhelm asked, breaking the silence.

I sighed. “Not as much as I hoped to. As
I understand it, the final bonding ritual is very similar to the
first one, with some subtle differences. The most important element
seems to be the strength of the bond that has formed between master
and slave since the first ritual.” I gave my father a sad look.
“Vati, I don’t want to take Anna like that. I don’t want her to be
a mindless slave. I want her to be free.”

“The whole point of that ritual is to get
the mindless slave,” Wilhelm said thoughtfully.

“I want my wife, not a slave.”

“What would happen if it wasn’t
performed?”

The room was silent while we both
contemplated Vati's words. “Is it possible?” I whispered.

“You would know better than I,
Alex.”

I turned back to the window. What would
happen if the final ritual simply wasn’t performed? Would your bond
to Devin simply dissolve? Would your bond to me dissolve? Would
something even worse happen? Would you be free? “I need to study
more.” I turned to leave, but my father stopped me with a hand on
my shoulder.

“Alex, you can’t bury yourself in the
library again.” Vati gave me a sad smile. “We’ve missed you
too.”

I nodded. “You’re right.” I had missed my
family terribly. “Please help me find a balance. I’ve been isolated
for a long time.”

Vati chuckled. “Your mother will drag you
out if you try.”

I studied as much as I could without
neglecting time with my family. I read and read, but found nothing
about breaking the bond or what would happen if the ritual wasn’t
performed. The only thing it said, and what I knew already, was
that the final ritual solidified the bond. Logic told me that the
bonds would dissolve, but I was hesitant to take the risk. I didn’t
want anything to happen to you.

I was lying on my bed in my old room.
According to the clock, it was almost midnight. Kurt had moved into
Greta’s old room a few days ago. Sophie and Derek both had rooms on
this floor and he didn’t want to move them back into the wing he’d
lived in with Gretchen.

I had stayed in one of the guest rooms
until Kurt was ready. I didn’t want to push my brother. Kurt was
having a difficult time adjusting to my return. I had a feeling it
had more to do with you than just my presence. Kurt had said that
he was glad he didn’t have to worry about becoming an Elder, but I
had seen regret in my brother’s eyes.

Vati had said Kurt had been doing very
well trying to step into my shoes. I’d never seen Vati so proud of
Kurt, and I hoped Vati would continue to support Kurt in the way he
had obviously supported him while I had been gone.

Kurt had certainly changed. I never would
have imagined my younger, carefree brother ever feeling so
responsible for so many things. But he did. And he had taken his
adopted role as eldest son very seriously. I didn’t imagine for a
minute it had been easy; I knew it wasn’t. But it wasn’t in Kurt’s
nature to be so serious. I hoped Kurt would learn to be himself
again.

We hadn’t talked much since I had
returned, aside from light family conversation. But every time your
name was mentioned, Kurt got quiet and his jaw clenched. Kurt had
fallen for you hard. Harder than the first time. Vati had said he’d
asked you to marry him twice, but both times Devin had prevented
it.
I was torn to hear this. What would I have done had I
returned home to find you married to Kurt?

The stabbing pain in my heart brought to
mind what Vati had told me a few days ago. You were dating someone.
I rubbed my chest at the pain. That is why I had wanted to go to
New York immediately. What if you fell in love with this guy? Where
would that leave me? It didn’t help that Tom said that this Hugo
person was a good guy. You are
my
wife!

I growled and imagined punching the guy
in his face if he touched you.

Laughter from behind me made me jump. I
was out of bed and in a defensive stance before I realized what I
was doing.

“Sebastian!” I exclaimed. I hadn’t seen
my Immortal friend since we’d been taken by Vitaly’s men. He looked
exactly as he had the last day I'd seen him. We embraced. “What
took you so long to come?”

Sebastian gave me an apologetic look. “I
had to get out without Kaveh knowing.”

I had forgotten about that Immortal’s
involvement. “Does he know you’re gone?”

Sebastian shook his head. “I finally
convinced the leaders that what Kaveh was doing was wrong. Since
the humans have finally realized what Devin is doing, Kaveh and the
others needed to be dealt with. They’re protecting me and staying
out of it until you deal with Devin. But I promise you, Kaveh will
be dealt with.”

I nodded. “Good.” I felt a grim twist to
my mouth that couldn't really be called a grin. “I can’t shoot him,
can I?”

Sebastian chuckled. “Well, you can, but
it won’t do any good. Don’t worry, Alex. He, and the others, will
pay for what they’ve done.”

I set my jaw and nodded again. “Good.” I
ran my hand through my hair. It was still long. For some reason, I
was reluctant to cut it and shave my beard off. I supposed it made
me feel less vulnerable. I wasn’t immediately recognizable, even
though I had no intention of leaving the estate until I was ready
to go to New York. How long would it be?

“Not long, Alex,” Sebastian said
sympathetically. “You have to be patient.”

“I hate it when you do that,” I grumbled,
not altogether seriously. Sometimes it was nice not to have to
talk.

Sebastian laughed and then sat down on a
chair near the fireplace. “How are things going? Why do you want to
punch someone in the face?”

I stood and walked to the chair opposite
Sebastian. “Anna’s dating someone.”

“Ah.”

“He’s supposedly a good guy.”

“You’re rather amusing when you’re
jealous.”

I growled. “How can I not be? That man is
fucking my wife.”

“Alex, she thinks herself a widow. She’s
finally accepted it and moved on.” Sebastian's smile was gentle.
“You have to woo her back.”

I slumped in my chair. “Is it possible?
Will she be able to love me again?”

“I firmly believe so. But you’ll have to
be careful with her. She’s likely changed quite a bit from the girl
you married.”

“I hope it’s in a good way.”

Sebastian shrugged. “Gavin told me she’s
been through a lot. She has more emotional scars than before. Your
death being the biggest.”

“How do I approach her?”

“Slowly and carefully. Talk to Tom and
Tommy. See what you can glean from them. Did you know she’s living
with Aaron?”

I nodded, my heart squeezing again. I
missed Aaron, too. I felt guilty that I hadn’t thought of Aaron’s
reaction to my return. And all my other friends. They’d suffered
too. Oh, what a mess Devin had made. He would certainly
pay.

With Sebastian back, planning became more
rounded. Sebastian had a different perspective, and while he
couldn’t tell me exactly what to do, he did give guidance and kept
us going in the direction we needed to go.

I wanted to get information from Tom as
well, but couldn’t call directly. We didn’t want Tom to know I was
back for as long as possible because of how close he was to Devin.
Tom was no longer loyal to Devin, but he kept up appearances to be
able to feed information to Vlad. Vlad was the only one who knew
everything that was going on. The central contact. It was safer
that way. Although, now Vati and I knew most of what was going on
as well. But keeping Tom in the dark kept him safe.

Tom spoke to Wilhelm occasionally, but
too much communication would be noticed by Devin. Their
relationship had to retain the appearance of how it had always
been. More often, their sons were the ones who maintained the
communications. It was less obvious that way.