Chapter 243: Rhys
It would be a lie if I wasn’t a little unnerved by my conversation with Grace about the prophecies. Her version of it seemed to be different than mine, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit confused by it too. She had also taken mine much better than I had expected. It was almost like she expected me to break her... And maybe she did. I sometimes forgot how broken she was when she first came to me. There were moments when I completely forgot all the things she had been through because she was so different than that girl in the beginning. But I didn’t want to break her, and those words from that poem had haunted me since the moment I had first read it.
I shook my head in an attempt to try and refocus my thoughts. We would have to revisit this conversation in the near future, but for now the Vampires were vying for our attention. They had already come knocking once. We needed to be ready the next time someone came back.
“Well, how do I look?” Grace asked as she walked out of the bathroom. She was wearing a strapless, navy blue, floor-length dress that hugged her figure in all the right places. She had curled her hair and pinned half of it up in the back so that it wasn’t falling in her face.
“Like a little piece of heaven,” I told her, pecking her lips when she was close enough.
She laughed, and I knew she didn’t believe me, but that was okay. It didn’t matter if she didn’t believe me. The fact that she was feeling confident enough to wear it after all she had been through made me proud.
But I felt my face fall when I realized her scars were gone.
I spun her around and ran my finger over her back.
“What?” She asked worriedly. “Did I miss a spot?”
“What did you do to your scars?” I demanded.
“I put concealer over them, Allana showed me a cool trick to get all of them a while ago. I never really cared before, but I didn’t want to look weak in front of the vampi– why are you looking at me like that?”
I couldn’t conceal my glower in the same way she could her scars. “Your scars do not make you look weak,” I growled. “They are a part of you as much as your skin is. I never want you to hide any part of yourself. Not like that. Not today. Not ever.”
“But-”
“No. Go get that god awful stuff off your skin.”
She looked at for a moment. I would have done anything to take back the words I had just said. The hurt and horror on her face said everything she didn’t. She just turned around and walked back into the bathroom.
“Grace...” I tried as I knocked on the door, but I had heard it click. She had locked it, and locked me out in the process. “Grace, please.”
It was fruitless though. She didn’t respond, and I didn’t want to push... I had messed up. My mate was beautiful, but to me her scars were a testament to her strength not her weakness, and I never wanted her to feel like they made her less, especially because there were more now. But yelling at her wasn’t going to change her opinion of them.
“I’ll be out in the other room when you’re ready.” I said when she didn’t respond, and I could feel the hurt flooding our bond.
I was surprised to see everyone sitting around in the sitting area. I had expected them all to be still getting ready, and with the exception of Grace and Iris, they all were already. Without talking, we had all picked something with blue in it. Sawyer was wearing a grey suit with a blue button up, and accented tie. Maizie was wearing a blue and white high-low sleeveless dress, and Michael was in a blue suit that was nearly identical to mine.
“Where’s Grace?” Michael asked when he realized she wasn’t with me.
I ran my hand over my face tiredly, but before I could say anything, Maizie exclaimed, “You seriously got in a fight with her already?! She’s barely been back 24 hours!”
I sighed. It wasn’t easy navigating our relationship. Maizie would learn that relationships weren’t easy the longer she was with Sawyer. Grace was vulnerable, and I was impatient; it was always going to be a recipe for disaster.
“What did you do this time?” Sawyer asked, his brows raised in question.
“I was rude and inconsiderate.” I admitted. “I’m only human, Sawyer.”
“Want me to go talk to her?” Maizie asked.
“No, just give her a few minutes. Where’s Iris?” I asked changing the subject.
“She’s refusing to change,” Michael said with a sigh. “She’s still pretty mad at me and this whole situation.”
“Well, if she promises not to leave the room, she can stay here while we’re at dinner.” I conceded. I didn’t really love the idea of being separated, but the last thing I really needed was Iris fucking things up with the Vampires. Dinner was going to be stressful enough without her little jabs and attitude.
“Deal!” She called out from her room, the door never even opening.
Huh. She had been listening. It was good to know that she was that kind of person. She might not trust us, but she at least was curious about what was going on outside her closed door.
A knock at the door came and I sighed, moving to open it. Maizie wordlessly got up to get my mate as I made small talk with the attendant. Once Maizie and Grace came out of the room, they both took their respective places next to Sawyer and I, but no amount of concealer could hide the tear-stained cheeks of my mate. She let me take her hand though, and all I could do was kiss it softly as we walked in apology. We had a game to play now, and all that really mattered was that we were on the same team. But honestly, whatever team Grace was on, so was I. And if this whole dinner went to shit, then I would walk out of here with no qualms and Grace’s hand in mine.