Page 79 of Muerte
“Thank you for reminding me.”
His laugh carried through the speaker. “I’m going to see her after tomorrow’s Tenebris Consummatum.”
“Good. You should.” I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel, plotting how I was going to give her the first ring I had made. The second was for our final binding.
“The day after, bring her here for brunch. If she can meet me, she can meet the rest of our family. They’ve waited just as long for her.”
“She’ll be there,” I promised, thinking of my mother and the rest of our family.
We hung up shortly after, agreeing to fill in the others when we got to the office. They had a vested interest in this, too. I wouldn’t have made it this far without the men that were always in my corner, the rare few I considered family without sharing a drop of blood.
I arrived back home in record timing, feeling a weight I hadn’t realized I was shouldering lifted off me. I climbed the staircase and slipped into the bedroom. Lolita was still sound asleep, facing away from me. I started to undress as I approached the bed and looked down at her. A sense of certainty settled over me.
I had told her that our life together would be akin to a fairy tale, and I meant every word. It wouldn't be the kind of story that people read to their children at bedtime, though. Ours would be a tale laced with blood and sin, but it would be uniquely ours.
The path to get there wouldn’t be any easier than the one I had already set her on. It would be excruciatingly difficult for both of us. My biggest struggle would be letting her in. I’d never had to work so hard; I hadn’t cared this much. I’d been afraid of pushing Lolita too far too fast.
I didn’t have to break her.
I had to make sure she didn’t shatter completely when I put her back together with a few extra pieces.
Stygian Isle was my greatest ally and asset. Our doctrine and way of life. The truth she’d never known.
Everything was here.
Including her mother.
