“I’m sure you’ll find your person someday.”
He watched the fire for a while before he turned and looked at me. He stared and stared, like he might say something in response to those words, but he chose to stay silent instead. To let his look say everything that he couldn’t. Then he looked at the fire again. “We’ll see.”
13
CALLUM
I worked on the vineyard like it was the home I grew up in.
It gave me a purpose, gave me something to do to pass the time, kept me occupied as I waited for Lily to come back to me. It meant the world to me that she’d come to me to tell me she still loved me. She could have kept that to herself and continued to ignore me, but she gave me hope.
And I needed that hope to keep going.
Otherwise, I would just buy some sleeping pills from the apothecary…and pass on. Without Lily, there was nothing for me here. At least in the Realm of Caelum, I could be reunited with my boys. Or men, I should say.
I was in the barn when someone stopped by.
“Made your first batch yet?” Hawk stepped into the room and mounted his boot on an empty wine barrel. He gave it a gentle push and watched it roll slightly before it came to a stop. “Guess that’s a no.”
I stared at him for several seconds, unable to believe that her brother had come to visit—and he didn’t seem angry. He’d shared that violent and chaotic journey with Lily, saw things he wished he didn’t have to see again. Even though he was younger, I expected him to be protective and loyal toward her. “I had to clean and prepare the equipment first. Figure out how it all works before I attempt my first harvest.” I cleaned the dirt from my hands with a rag then walked over to him, suddenly aware that I was shirtless in front of her brother.
“Need a hand?”
“I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”
“Know anything about wine?”
“No.” I was figuring it out as I went. The first time I’d ever drunk it was with Lily. She loved it, so perhaps I could make a bottle for her.
“Well, my sister drinks it like water, so she’d be a good tester.”
Anytime I thought about her, which was nearly every minute of every day, I was broken and whole at the same time.
Hawk stood there awkwardly by the barn door, looking over the valley awhile before he looked at me again. “You doing okay?”
I couldn’t share the truth, wouldn’t dump my heartache on someone who couldn’t possibly understand it. The only one who knew what it was like to lose a soul mate was Lily. “No.”
Hawk stared at me like he expected me to say more.
But I had nothing else to say. These last four hundred years, I’d been miserable, with the exception of the time I spent withLily, but those moments were few and far between. Our domestic bliss felt like it had lasted a second before it was shattered with my betrayal.
Hawk clearly didn’t know how to react to that, so he didn’t say anything for a while. “She’s been in rough shape. We went sailing and caught some fish and fried them up in her kitchen. But even then, every moment we weren’t engaging, she had this look on her face…like she was sick.”
Probably how my face looked right now. “She told you what I did?” I found it hard to believe she didn’t, but Hawk was young and far more immature, so I expected him to react with full volatility.
“Dad did.”
“And do you have any desire to talk to me?” I came closer to him by the door then took a seat on one of the empty wine barrels.
Hawk didn’t say anything to that for a while. “I kinda hate you for what you did, but I also know you love my sister, so…”
I gave a slight nod in gratitude. People questioned my character, but they never questioned the way I cared for Lily, and I was grateful for that.
“Just thought you should know that Viper is here, and he’s sniffing around.”
The only way Viper would have known was if Talon had told him, and that stung a bit. I kept a straight face and pretended like those words didn’t faze me at all. When I’d said Viper deserved her if she ever reciprocated his feelings, I meant it. He’d been loyal to her from the start. Seemed like the kind ofguy that would always appreciate what he had if he was lucky enough to have her.
Hawk continued to watch me. “Not sure if I should have told you that or not.”
