Fate: California Obscura

He opened another door, and I actually gasped. That’s how different it was than the rest of the house. I stepped into a spacious room all done up in warm wood and deep jewel tones, with a grand piano and floor-to-ceiling shelves full of books. “This is more like it,” I said, as I perched on the edge of the L-shaped, dark red couch. There was a door in one corner, and I asked, “Where does that lead?”

“The kitchen. Well, one of them. There’s a big, modern kitchen in the other wing of the house, but I found I didn’t really like it, so I had another one built.” He seemed embarrassed as he added, “My bedroom’s through there,” and gestured at an open doorway to my right. I got up and followed him into the master suite.

It, too, was warm and welcoming, decorated in that same rich color palette. The focal point of the room was a huge bed made up with deep sapphire linens, and directly across from the bed was a fireplace with a portrait above it—of me. The oil painting looked like the work of a Renaissance master, right down to the softly draped, white silk shirt, which was unbuttoned and dipped seductively off one shoulder. Now I understood why he seemed embarrassed.

I grinned and said, “I look like I’m ready for the cover of a regency romance novel.”

He muttered, “I’m mortified. What must you think of me?”

“That you’re a man who cared deeply for his mate. Did you paint that?” When he nodded, I said, “It’s an excellent likeness.”

Elias seemed a bit lost when he turned to me. “This must all seem strange, and more than a little eccentric. I’ve been on my own for a very long time, and I designed a home to suit my far from conventional life.”

“I totally understand.”

An awkward silence stretched between us. Finally, he asked, “Are you hungry?”

“No. Just tired.”

He nodded and found me a new toothbrush, and I stepped into the pristine, dark blue master bathroom. When I emerged a few minutes later, dressed for bed in my T-shirt and briefs, he slipped past me to take a turn getting ready for bed.

I stood in the center of the bedroom while I waited for him to return, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, and eyed my portrait. He’d either misremembered or taken some liberties with my hair, which was thick, wavy, and shoulder-length, and made me look a bit like a Latin Fabio. Then again, maybe the original Fabio was already Latin. I actually had no idea.

I paced around a bit before opening the doors to the balcony. There was a sweeping ocean view, and the breeze was cold, but I left the doors open anyway and breathed deeply.

I was both weary and disoriented. I’d totally lost track of what day of the week it was. Had it really only been the night before that Elias and I walked along the cliffs and ran through the forest? The moon was still full, and that was still the Pacific, but our night in Big Sur felt like it had happened a lifetime ago.

By the time Elias returned to the bedroom dressed in a T-shirt and black pajama pants, I was shivering. He turned on the gas fireplace with the flip of a switch while I shut the balcony doors, and then I joined him under the covers.

As he plugged in a phone on the nightstand, he told me, “Carter sent a message to tell us the compound is totally abandoned. Desiree said Abel returned and set all the humans free before firing his staff and driving away. He left all the doors and gates open. Desiree says if he doesn’t return, she’s going to take it over and turn it into her version of Hogwarts.”

“I can totally see her doing that.”

He turned off the lights from a panel by his nightstand, and we stretched out on our sides facing each other with about two feet of mattress between us. After a while, I murmured, “Hell of a day.”

“I’m still trying to come to grips with the fact that I literally died.”

“Are you okay?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think I have demonic energy flowing through me and am about to turn evil or anything.”

“I know,” I said, “but do you feel alright?”

“I’m fine, just tired. But I think I’m going to be processing this day for a while.”

“No doubt.” After a pause, I said, “You know what surprised me today?”

“All of it?”

“Well, yes. But I mean the fact that Cain gave off pure white light when he was destroyed. For a second, it looked just like Ari does when he transforms into an angel.”

“That’s because demons and angels are the same thing deep down, but demons became twisted and corrupted at some point in their history. Not irredeemably, as Carter demonstrates every day.”