Chapter 53

DEMETRIUS

It was almost sunrise when Aric and Rose arrived home, parking the car in the driveway and hurrying inside with their boxes of wine and champagne.

Aric hauled them downstairs to the cellar while Rose busied herself making an AB positive and O negative cocktail in the kitchen from our stock of refrigerated blood baggies.

She leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping her drink. She noticed me in the doorway and breathed out heavily. I moved toward her, sliding my arms around her waist and pulling her against me.

“I missed you,” I breathed, pressing my lips gently against her throat.

She sighed heavily. I could sense her body tensing. I leaned back, keeping my hands on her hips. She scowled up at me.

“What is it?” I asked. She pursed her lips and shook her head slowly.

“Let’s go to the barn,” she said curtly, grabbing her drink and leading me out of the house and toward the barn. The sunlight was simmering in the distance.

I followed her, frowning. Spending the day in the barn was never a good idea. It got very hot and wasn’t sufficiently well-sealed from the sunlight.

Rose didn’t seem to care at all.

She shut the barn doors behind me and marched to the back where Orion and I had our whiskey barrels. She sat down on the stools and waited for me to join her.

“So, what’s going on?” I asked her.

Her lips were pressed together in a tight line. She sipped her drink.

“I am furious with you, heartbroken, and very proud and thankful,” she said softly. I blinked at her.

“What did Aric say?” I asked, hoping that we weren’t talking about Eleanor, but I could tell from that look in her eyes. Rose had found out that she was still alive.

“He didn’t say much,” Rose replied. She glanced around, and I could see her ears twitching, making sure no one could hear us. “He brought me to her.”

I frowned in confusion. “He brought you to her?”

She nodded.

I had felt Eleanor when she’d moved back to Europe a couple of months ago, but since Aric had created a new and stronger Infinity with her, my own was fading. I could barely sense her anymore.

Rose was nodding.

“He told me that you know that he found her again. She’s moved to Toulouse. She’s a Ph.D. student. She’s so beautiful, Demetrius. A smart, strong young woman. I couldn’t be prouder of her.”

Her eyes had started to brim with tears. She glared at me through them.

“How could you keep her from me like that? Make me think that I had killed my own daughter? Put us through that pain. Both of us!” she spat.

I pursed my lips. “I was keeping her safe, Rose, from my uncle, from my parents, and from us, Rose. From you and me. I love her. I loved her so much. I knew the best thing for her was to let her go.”

“You could have told me when I was grieving.”

“You wouldn’t have convinced my mother and the king so easily had you known she was alive, Rose.”

“And after? Was I too frantic? Too crazy to be told? Did you think I would fly off to find her and expose her? Do you think I’m like my mother?”

“You would have tried to find her, not expose her. But eventually, she would be. I never told you or Aric because I didn’t want either of you to go looking for her!

“I wanted to keep her safe, Rose. Neither you or Aric seem to understand that as long as she has a relationship with us, she’s in danger. I don’t even want to know where she is.

“I want to keep the fantasy of her life that I’ve created in my head where she’s a smart human woman with children and a happy life.”

“That is the life she’s leading, Demetrius! And Aric and I aren’t reckless. We made sure no one else was around, no one to follow us or discover her.

“She’s safe, and now she has an Infinity with Aric to keep her even safer. He told me he wanted to watch over her.”

“Did he tell you he keeps in contact with her almost daily? They’ve been texting for months. That’s not watching over. That’s an integrated part of her life.

“Someone is bound to notice at some point and be curious.”

“I’m not sure he’s texting her, Demetrius.” She paused, pursing her lips. “He’s admitted to me that he’s interested in someone. I believe he was texting her.”

Her words surprised me, and I frowned in confusion. “I was not aware. I have only seen Eleanor’s name on his phone. He has her under Martinez. Her human surname.”

“I took her number as well. To keep in contact and visit her.”

“Rose, that’s exactly what I wanted to avoid by not telling anyone! You’re putting her in danger!” I snarled.

She bristled at my tone. I knew I was hurting her pride, doubting her strength to protect her daughter.

But we’d failed, together and as a family, to keep Eleanor safe before, and I did not want that to happen again. Sneaking her away had been my one chance, one opportunity to save her.

“Demetrius, she’s my daughter,” Rose snapped at me. “I don’t understand how you can possibly fathom me not putting her needs and her safety first!

“Of course, I won’t approach her if that’ll be dangerous for her. But discreetly, like we did the other night. That was safe. She’s safe. No one knows about her.”

“Except for Henry, Grace, James, Aric, and you and me. And I’m assuming you might want to tell Selene? Or the twins? How easily could that information get to Alexander and the king, Rose?”

“Don’t patronize me, Demetrius. You have lied to my face for fifteen years.”

“And I would do it again in a heartbeat to keep my daughter safe!” I snapped back.

Rose glared at me, her eyes flashing red with fury. I could see her hands clenching. She was holding back from ripping my head off.

“You will never keep me from my child again, Demetrius,” she snarled.

“I’m doing this for ~her~!” I snapped back, exasperated.

“I understand that, Demetrius. But there are more of us who can protect her now. She can live the life we wanted for her with us watching over her. I’m sure.” Her eyes were wide.

“Rose. If this fails, and I know it will. I cannot save her again. I cannot make her disappear again.”

“We can find another solution.”

“The best thing, Rose, is to keep her a secret and back off.”

“Demetrius,” Rose sighed. “Thank you. I didn’t say thank you for saving my baby’s life. I am so grateful. For lying to me for her sake, I’m furious, but I can understand. So, I forgive you.

“I also understand if you don’t want to be in her life anymore. To keep her safe. Aric and I can do it, are happy to do it. I won’t tell Selene or the twins. I promise.”

She pursed her lips and gazed up at me, her blue eyes wide, her porcelain skin flushed red with the heat of the rising sun in the barn.

I reached out and stroked the side of her face, caressing her soft skin. She buried her face into my hand, breathing heavily. I quickly wrapped her in my arms, holding her tightly against my chest.

“I only wanted to keep her safe,” I whispered.

“And I thank you. Now it’s my turn to keep her safe,” she whispered against my chest. I nodded slowly.

“I can agree to that.” I smiled, feeling my own tears pricking at my eyes.

I sat down and drew Rose onto my lap, keeping my arms wrapped tightly around her slight waist. “So, tell me about our beautiful daughter Rose. Is she happy? Is she married?”

Rose’s eyes overflowed with tears, and I stroked her back as she told me everything about Eleanor.

I closed my eyes and let my imagination run, following Rose’s descriptions of our tall, athletic human daughter, of her shoulder-length dark brown curls, her light brown skin, and her eyes, still the same piercing blue-green eyes.

“She’s smart, Demetrius. She’s traveled, and she still speaks French fluently, as well as Spanish and Portuguese, which she learned in Brazil a few years ago. She’s completing a Ph.D.

“She’s kind, she smiles a lot, she hugs a lot, and she laughs loudly. Her art Demetrius, she’s developed it so well. She had a foster father. An artist who truly helped her.”

“A foster father.” I frowned. Though it hurt to think of another father figure guiding her through life, him being able to love her openly; I knew it was for the best.

Rose was nodding, placing small kisses against my jaw.

“I would like you to see her, Demetrius,” she said quietly. “I would love for you to see our daughter again.”

“Maybe, when she’s safe,” I agreed softly. Rose grinned at me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into a long, passionate kiss.