He smiled. “Music to my ears.”
After a shower that turned into another sexual marathon, they headed downstairs for breakfast. Meph was back to his usual, grinning self while Raum brooded and cuddled with Thelonious, and Bel busied himself in the kitchen like yesterday had never happened.
The only clue that things were not back to normal was Jacqui.
For Eva’s entire life, her parents had always been rock solid. She’d never seen them have a serious fight, and until now, it hadn’t occurred to her that theycouldfight. But if there was ever a good reason to, this was surely it.
Though she tried her hardest to smile and participate in the conversations, Eva could tell her mom’s heart was broken, and it broke her own heart to see it. Worse, she was leaving back to Montreal today, and her mom would be alone in the big house.
She was so angry at her dad for all the lies.
She was angry at him for being the cause of that emptiness she’d struggled with her whole life. She realized now it was a result of her Nephilim side being bound with powerful magic. If Ash hadn’t come along, she probably would have gone to her grave never knowing why she’d always felt like a piece of herself was missing.
And she would have died after a human’s lifespan, because the binding Dan had put on her cut her off from her immortality. He’d believed he was giving her a chance at a safe, human life, but the fact that he’d taken such a huge decision out of her hands was a betrayal.
But more than anger on her own behalf, she was angry at Dan for hurting Jacqui.
She couldn’t imagine how her mom was feeling, her partner of almost thirty years suddenly revealing that he was not who she’d believed he was. That the life they’d built together was built on a lie.
If the foundation is weak, the structure will fall.Well, it had finally fallen, and Jacqui was left behind in the wreckage.
Eva was so angry at her dad she wanted to scream... but he was still her dad. She needed time to come to terms with everything, but she wasn’t going to cut him out of her life. Immortal Grigori or not, she knew Dan would be suffering just as much as Jacqui in the coming months.
Her parents had given her so much love and support throughout her life. She wanted to be there for them now—for both of them—in whatever way she could.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come back with us?” she asked her mom again. “You could stay with me. I don’t have much room, but we could make it work.”
Jacqui smiled, but her eyes were sad. “That’s sweet, honey, but I’ll be fine. I think some alone time will do me good, actually. I’ll focus on my work if I get lonely. But I might decide to take you up on that so keep your couch open.”
“It’s always open to you, Mom.”
She pulled Eva into her arms and hugged her tightly. Neither of them let go for a time. When they finally pulled apart, Jacqui gently wiped a tear from Eva’s cheek.
“Don’t worry about me, dear,” she said softly. “I’ll be okay.”
“Mom...”
“I love you, my beautiful daughter. And I’m so proud of you.”
“I love you too,” Eva said hoarsely, watching as Jacqui brushed tears from her own eyes and smiled warmly.
And then it was time to go. Jacqui fussed over them and made them all promise to come visit soon. She told Belial he could cook in her kitchen whenever he wanted, and she told Meph he could come build stuff in the studio.
They headed out together to the barn, Raum carrying Thelonious, and stepped through the ruined front doors. The walls were blackened, most of the windows blown out, and the overpowering scent of burnt building materials stung the nostrils and made Eva’s eyes water.
They crossed the wreckage into Dan’s office where she noted the grimoire her mom had told her about was absent. They cleared a bit of floor space, and Belial borrowed chalk from the blackboard and whipped off the complicated gate sigil in record speed.
“There.” He tossed the chalk back on the tray and dusted his hands off.
“That’s incredible,” Jacqui said, surveying the complex design with an awed expression.
He shrugged. “It’s just a gate.”
“You drew it so fast and so perfectly.”
“He’s been drawing those things since the dawn of time,” Ash said. “I’d hope he’d have mastered it by now.”
She chuckled. “Well, I’m still impressed.”
