Chapter 264 264
Chapter 264 264
“So you’re ticklish, huh?”
Evren shakes her head and tries to push me away with her hands, putting little effort into it. If her mother’s laughter is my favorite soundtrack, our daughter’s is the alarm clock I wouldn’t mind hearing every morning. Every time a new day begins and I discover that the little one has managed to sneak into our room to sleep between us, I can’t help but smile.
Elara says I’m a father dominated by his little one.
What I really am is a man at the feet of the two most important women in his life.
When I make a move to leave the room, Evren starts shouting.
“No! Althea, Daddy, Althea!”
I frown, not quite sure what she means. Her vocabulary still isn’t very extensive and she can’t pronounce many words properly.
“Althea?”
She points toward the curtain, at the spot where she had been hiding. There’s nothing there, I check carefully in case one of her toys got left behind. Nothing.
“There’s nothing there, Evren.”
She shakes her head, pointing more insistently toward the empty space.
“Althea, Daddy.”
It took me a while to discover what Althea was. Now we try to live with it, though I can’t help the chill that runs down my spine.
“She doesn’t want to come, Daddy.”
“But don’t you miss Mommy?”
“I want to see Mommy.”
“Then come with me.”
She glances over her shoulder at that empty space where her supposed friend is, bites her cheek, and seems to weigh her options until she gives in and nods. The rest of us exchange worried looks. Azeroth says it’s not a ghost or a soul wandering the earth, lost; however, I remain uneasy. They try to reassure me, saying imaginary friends are normal, that as she grows, her friend will appear less and less until disappearing.
“See you later, Tharion.”
Evren waves goodbye. Zerion’s son pushes his ever-lengthening hair out of his face with a swipe of his hand and doesn’t take his golden eyes off us until we disappear completely. Something tells me that in the future I’ll have to keep a close watch on him. As if his father hadn’t already been enough trouble all these years. Now I’m forced to see him even more during the monthly meetings to discuss the course of things. They’ve been complicated years, full of meetings, agreements, and disputes. Not everything is harmony; sometimes fights are inevitable, and both the Halfbloods and the Pure have to do our part to resolve them. If there was one good thing about the war with the shifters, it’s that it reminded us that deep down we are children of Lilith and must remain united, for there will always be those who wish to end us. Together we are stronger. I believe Elara served as an inspiration for many, and sometimes I wonder if they follow me or if it’s her they will always follow, like that day in the clearing.
I don’t need to sharpen my senses or ask the staff where she is, I feel it in my heart. It’s as if a cord is pulling me toward her. Our bond. No matter how many times it’s destroyed, when two people are destined to be together, they’ll always find a way to unite. That’s how we are, searching for every possible way to be connected, whether physical or spiritual, invisible or impossible. My being will always recognize her. It was about a year ago, I was looking at her, as I had so many other times, and then I felt it. A heartbeat so strong it was painful. Since then we’ve been bound again.
A small smile tugs at my lips when I realize where her presence is guiding me. I step through the arch that separates Lilith’s Garden. The first thing I hear is her voice and soon after I see her standing, speaking with a red-haired woman.
Lilith.
“Are we interrupting?”
With a wide smile, Elara turns and runs toward us. The first thing she does is take off our daughter’s gloves and kiss each of her fingers.
“How’s my little one? Did you have fun with Grandpa?”
“Yes! We made little birds fly!”
There’s your father teaching her she can bring things back to life.
Better that than teaching her she can kill them.
We Dravens like killing things. We’re much better at it.
I’m a Draven, and if I recall correctly, I brought you back to the living in one piece.
She winks at me, and it’s Lilith who interrupts our silent conversation with a throat-clearing.
“Hello, Lilith.”
“Won’t you call me Mother?”
“Don’t push it with me, don’t think I’ve forgiven you for everything you did.”
“What a resentful being.” She comes closer to us and taps Evren’s nose. “But you’re not like your Daddy, are you?”
“But I have Daddy’s eyes!”
“Yours are prettier. Want to come with me?”
“Lilith…” Elara and I say at the same time.
“What? I’m only going to show her my flowers.”
The little one reaches out her arms toward her, completely unaware of the shackles around Lilith’s wrists and ankles. It’s only a matter of time before she returns to the Underworld, but as always, she manages to escape to see her daughter or her tormented love. I don’t know if I would survive a love like that. We watch her walk away hand in hand with our daughter.
That brings back the memory of her first steps.
“I always thought you’d fit better as the father of sons, but seeing you with Evren has erased that thought completely.”
We’re in our bedroom, our daughter clutches my hands tightly, wobbling on her little feet. She smiles, oblivious to everything, showing us her fangs and the rest of her teeth.
“Yeah? What made you think that?”
She arches a brow and directs her gaze to the girl’s two pigtails. It’s not my best work to date, one seems slightly higher than the other, but I can’t complain.
“Her hair was bothering her face.”
I shrug and throw Evren a smile to encourage her. I place her facing her mother, and we begin to take small steps. Slowly I let go of her hand, she wobbles, but she smiles, and before she expects it I release my other hand. She walks alone, with clumsy steps toward a beaming Elara who waits with open arms.
“Again!”
This time Elara is the one to cheer her on and help her with the first steps until the little one looks me in the eyes and lets go of her mother’s hands, hurrying toward me. When she reaches me, I scoop her up in an embrace and lift her from the floor, spinning her in the air.
“You’re a champion.”