Chapter 41

Cosette turned the page in her book, seeing the words but not paying attention to what they said. Reading proved difficult when her mind lingered on thoughts of the two vampires she and her father had rescued, as well as her plans to find the other missing vampires. Sarene didn’t feel comfortable with involving herself in the operation when Cosette had asked, and ended up finding housing and employment in the city.

She also worried over Oriel. She visited the infirmary once a day, sometimes more if Zachariah allowed it, and she had already used up her allotted time earlier that morning. He was still alive. The infection had disappeared from his lungs and his mouth. But Zachariah didn’t know what fate had in store for him yet. Which was why she could only hold her breath and light a candle for him at the cathedral after each visit.

She massaged the sudden ache pounding in her temples, but it did nothing to stave off her worry for her mate.

Glancing up from her book, she found Leif drawing quietly on the floor, humming to himself. His carefree demeanor brought a smile to her face. For a four-year-old boy who had been forced to wander the streets and fend for himself before getting caught by vampire slavers, he had quite the optimistic attitude. He fit in well as a Covaci, as if he had always been meant to be a part of the family.

Suddenly, Leif’s eyes widened, and he gasped, pushing himself up from the floor and darting to the window.

“Look, Mama!” Leif cried as he pointed insistently to something outside. “A bird!”

She set her book on the table and sighed as Leif bounced up and down on the window seat, his excitement uncontainable. “Come away from there.”

He didn’t heed her words as he threw open the double windows and started to climb out. Panic shot through her as she leaped from her chair and just barely managed to grab onto the back of his shirt before he fell from the second-story window.

“You should never crawl out a window this high,” she said sternly, yet he continued to wriggle in her arms while reaching for the windowsill. “Leif, stop! It’s dangerous.”

He wriggled some more. “But it’s the same bird as my carving! Papa is a swallow!”

In her moment of shock, her grip loosened on Leif, and he escaped her arms, bolting toward the window again. This time, she wasn’t able to catch him as he climbed over the windowsill and jumped.

She shrieked and scrambled toward the window. But when he burst into a pile of blue feathers and swooped into the sky, she pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand and placed her other hand over her furiously pounding heart. Hopefully, her nerves of steel as a mother would develop because she certainly didn’t have them now.

After she recovered from her near heart attack, she lifted her gaze to the sky and experienced another near heart attack. Leif flew back and forth over the estate in his new bluebird transformation, but he wasn’t alone. A swallow flitted alongside him, its wings cutting smoothly through the air.

Oriel.

Cosette couldn’t stop herself as she, too, clambered out the window and transformed into a butterfly. But instead of joining Leif and Oriel in their flight, she landed on the ground and transformed back into a vampire.

Joyous tears trailed down her cheeks as her gaze followed the game her boys played. Her watery red tears quickly obscured her vision.

Oriel was alive.

And he was well.

A choked sob escaped her, every emotion she felt over the past several weeks breaking loose. She had entered into an arranged union with faith. She had fallen in love. And she’d nearly lost the male she held dear. But the surgery had worked. Oriel was alive.

Moments later, a tall figure landed beside her and wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders as she wept into his chest.

“Don’t cry, dear Cosette,” Oriel whispered, stroking her hair with gentle fingers. “I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?” She sniffed, finally wiping the tears from her eyes.

He offered her a dashing smile. His eyes were no longer rimmed with dark circles. His skin didn’t look quite so pale. And he no longer appeared miserable and in pain. Her breath caught as she gazed into his eyes. She had forgotten how handsome he was. His blue eyes radiated life and happiness. His large, blond curls swept lazily across his forehead. And the way he looked at her with an expression of love nearly undid her.

“I promise with all my heart,” he replied fervently.

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her so ardently that she sighed. Her legs nearly buckled, and if he hadn’t been holding on to her tightly, she might have collapsed in her happiness.

“That good, huh?” he teased when they broke apart, and she couldn’t stop herself from smacking his shoulder.

A deep blush filled her cheeks, and she stared at the ground, unable to hold his piercing blue gaze. She was overcome by many emotions ranging from fluster to joy to embarrassment to hope. She realized she would truly have Oriel for as long as she lived and well into the afterlife. They were bonded together. The two of them. Mates. Forever. Her childhood fancy had turned into something that resembled eternity, and she was both grateful and flustered at the same time.

“I found this when I woke,” he said as if sensing the need to bring her out of her spiraling emotions.

She lifted her gaze and inhaled sharply. He held her seashell in his hand.

“I never thought you would allow me to see it.” He ran his thumb over the coarse ridges. “You allowed me into your music room. You let me see your seashell. You gave me permission to help you garden. I’m beginning to suspect you like me.”

Her mouth twitched as she fought off a smile. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and finally, she lost the battle as her smile broke loose.

“My feelings for you may be a little more than just like.”

He pulled her close, kissing her forehead, her cheek, and finally her lips. She sighed, reveling in his touch. No better feeling existed than being loved by him.

Leif chose that moment to dip down, and he might have crashed if Oriel hadn’t reacted quickly and caught him mid-air in a flurry of blue feathers and flapping wings. He squawked and flapped his wings wildly, at least until Oriel set him on his shoulder where he tucked his wings away and settled down.

“When did he start to transform?” Oriel asked, and Cosette grimaced.

“Only today, the moment before you arrived. It gave me quite the scare.”

“Ah, then he needs help learning how to untransform. Will you teach him? Or shall I?”

She smiled and stroked the soft feathers on top of Leif’s head. “I would like to give it a try.” She met Oriel’s gaze once more, but her smile faltered at the unease in his expression. “What is it? Is everything all right?”

He took her hand and led her into the gardens. He didn’t answer immediately but instead stared forward as they walked side by side. As the tension grew, so did her worry. Was it his health?

“My father is alive,” he said finally, and her eyes widened in surprise. Not too long ago, he hadn’t known anything about his father’s fate. “And he hasn’t been staying away on his own accord. Nicolae has forced him to stay away. All this time…” He turned his head to meet her wide-eyed gaze. “He could have been a part of my life all this time. And I want…I want to hear what he has to say. About my mother’s death. I want to hear his side of the story.”

This was a lot to take in. Oriel’s father was hers too through their union.

He continued, “I know where he is. And I want you to accompany me. You and Leif. I swear you won’t be in danger this time. But I also don’t know what to expect upon seeing him for the first time in nearly a couple hundred years.”

“Of course, I will go with you,” she whispered earnestly. “Does Laurel know?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. But I suspect she will come visit today, and I will tell her then. I am eager to go as soon as I am able, which means I will need permission from Zach.”

She took his hand and cradled it against her face. “Don’t push yourself too hard.” She turned her head to kiss his palm. “It’s a miracle you survived, and I don’t want to tempt fate.”

“I will be careful.” He stepped closer. His proximity made her heart race, and her heart thrummed uncontrollably when he took her hands and rested his forehead against hers.

“Thank you for coming home,” she said. “I am so happy.”

“I am happy too. Ylios gave our family a second chance. And I swear I will not waste it.”