“Do you think Aiden’s sons dislike me because they’re afraid I mean to replace their mother?” Ronan asked suddenly as they were picking up the paper and empty boxes from the floor.
“No, of course not! I—” he started and then stopped, looking uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry I asked you. I shouldn’t have. That wasn’t fair of me.”
“No! It’s not that.” Ethan sighed heavily, his eyes straying to the little village they’d set up on the mantel. Warm, yellow lights glowed in the interior, creating a cozy feeling. “It’s just that anything related to Julianna Varik is complicated. I met her only one time, and she was lovely. They all loved her greatly, but I saw for myself that she also hurt them greatly too.” He shook his head and looked at his hands. “It’s not my place to say more. You’ll need to talk to Aiden about it. The point is that they’re not worried about you replacing their mother. They loved her and have let her go. They want Aiden happy. He’s suffered enough in his lifetime, and they don’t want him to hurt anymore.”
An ache deep in Ronan’s chest seemed to hollow him out when he thought of his sweet Aiden hurting. He wanted to run to him and just hold him, but that wouldn’t fix anything. So he kept his feet planted.
“I don’t ever want to hurt him. He’s my everything.”
Ethan’s smile returned and he seemed to relax again, his shoulders slumping. “Then keep doing what you’re doing. Make him happy. In the short time you’ve been here, I’ve heard him laugh more than I have in the past year. That means more to his sons than anything else.”
Ronan nodded. “Thank you.”
They finished clearing away the boxes, putting the room to rights, before they would head off in search of a step ladder. Ethan had turned the lights down so that they could enjoy the glow from the village and some of the other lights hung around the room.
“It looks beautiful,” Ronan declared. “That…that was more relaxing than I thought it would be. I guess I should have been decorating for the holidays every year.”
Ethan snorted. “The bitch part is going to be packing all this stuff up again.” He walked over toward a small side table and frowned. “Do you think I have too many candles? I really love how they cast a warm glow and make everything look cozy.” Ethan waved both of his hands over the candles as if simulating the glow of the candles, when two little flames burst onto the ends of the wicks.
“Holy shit! Fire! I made fire!” Ethan shouted, which answered Ronan’s question of whether Ethan had done that before. He certainly hadn’t heard that the fledgling had such a power. “Look! I made fire!” he continued, which really wasn’t necessary because there was no missing it. But when he pointed, a new flame spouted into existence on one of the nearby throw pillows. Ethan yelped and tucked both of his hands against his chest.
Ronan quickly snatched up the pillow and threw it on the ground, stomping it out under the sole of his designer shoe. It was only a tiny flame. Nothing to worry about, but it took only one look at Ethan’s pale face and tear-filled eyes to see the vampire was on the verge of panic.
Grabbing Ethan’s shoulders again, Ronan gave him a little shake to make him finally tear his eyes from the pillow to look at him.
“I-I set that on fire. I couldn’t stop it. What if I set the house on fire? What if I hurt Marcus or Rafe or-or—?”
“Ethan, stop. You can’t be afraid of this,” Ronan said firmly.
Ethan blinked and tears rolled down his cheeks. “But what if I accidentally hurt someone I love? I’m dangerous.”
“All gifts can be dangerous. That’s why you have to learn to control it. And you can’t control it if you’re afraid of it.” Ronan crouched a little so that he was at eye level with Ethan and smiled. “This is a big day. An important day. We need to celebrate.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you got your vampiric gift.”
“Are you sure? I can also sense what a creature is like a witch can. Fox thinks I might have witch genes running through my family tree.”
Ronan lifted an eyebrow at the young man. That was interesting, but he shook his head. “I’ve known a few witches in my lifetime. Witches don’t cast accidental spells, but vampires can accidentally tap into their powers, particularly at the beginning. Controlling fire is your vampiric gift. This is an important moment for a vampire. One you will always remember. We need to call the family together, if not the whole clan. Have a celebration.”
Ethan giggled and wiped his face with both hands. “You make it sound like a birthday party.”