“I am always here for you,” he says so seriously that if I weren’t in turmoil over Delinda’s paternal lineage, I would wonder if something else was up with him. I glance at Drake and he is gazing adoringly at my daughter, but when he catches my eye, he adjusts his features and sweeps me into his arms as I choke back a sob.
“I’m sorry, my girl, this wasn’t how this was supposed to be,” he says to me.
“Then why?” I ask.
“Fate,” he says quietly.
I look up, needing to see Sebastian. He is probably feeling as sick about this as I am, but he is nowhere to be found.
“Give him some time,” CK says to me with a very weak smile, which brightens considerably as he turns back to my daughter. She is telling him the story of how we escaped from the Dragon Realms, and he is listening intently. She has completely wrapped him around her little finger, and I smile the first genuine smile I have had since who knows when. It seems like a really, really long time ago.
“Perhaps you should rest awhile,” Maurelle says, taking Drake’s arm. “Both of you,” she adds sternly, knowing I am about to protest.
“Okay,” I say meekly, and suddenly it seems like a good idea. I want to get away from the pitying looks and the mild horror that this revelation has uncovered. “I will come and find you all later,” I say primarily to Lincoln and Xane, who have remained so quiet it has been highly noticeable. Cade also hasn’t said a word, but when I look over at him, he is making doe-eyes at Pyleah and she is purposefully ignoring him.
Interesting.
I take Delinda from CK and she snuggles into me, her eyes drooping now from all of the excitement. She has accepted me ripping her away from the man she thinks is her father and her Grams, for now, but she will soon require proper answers. I have no idea what to tell her now.
CK places his hand on my back and escorts us upstairs. He knows exactly where to take us and I am grateful, because my brain has started to shut down. He opens a door to the bedroom next to mine and ushers us inside. “This is hers,” he says quietly. “Delinda’s. We were expecting an infant,” he adds pointedly.
“Yeah, me too,” I say softly, and he drops the inquisition when he realizes I have as much clue as he does as to why she is older than we thought. I sigh and place her in the crib anyway. She is small enough to still fit into it and I pull the covers up over her. “Will you make sure she has a bed–”
“Of course,
” he interrupts me and takes my hands. “Aefre.”
I burst into tears when he says my name and he pulls me close to him. I can finally release my anguish over this, quietly, and I need him to make it all better. He croons at me in Italian and strokes my hair. I start to feel stronger as he drags me under his spell, healing me as he has done countless times in the past.
“This is so fucked up,” I say to him when I can speak again.
He leads me over to a big armchair by the window and he sits down, pulling me onto his lap. “I am not going to say that it isn’t,” he says. “But you need to pull yourself together, Aefre. She needs you strong now more than ever.”
“I know,” I say, snuffling into his shirt. “Are you mad?”
“Mad?” he asks after a moment. “Why would I be mad?”
“Because,” I say.
“You think I am mad because her father turned out to be a man that raped you, as opposed to a man that raped you?” he says stiffly.
Technically Remiel didn’t rape me. I wanted him, but I can see why CK thinks I was forced into it via a dream reality.
“He was so mad at me, they both were,” I say. “If I hadn’t landed near the Faerie Ring, well, I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Did he hurt you?” he asks.
“Just a little on my leg, it’ll heal,” I reply, still feeling the burn. “How the fuck did she survive me being in that coma?”
“Perhaps she is the reason you were in the coma?” CK suggests carefully.
“Meaning?” I snap at him.
“Your body was giving her everything it had and there was nothing left over for you,” he says.
Huh, that actually makes sense. As much as any of this does. “Smart-arse,” I mumble, and he chuckles at me as I lighten the mood. I curl myself further onto his lap and sigh. I wish I could stay here for a while, but I think there is someone who needs me more than I need to feel sorry for myself. “I should go and find Sebastian,” I venture.
“Probably should,” CK says curtly.