“I’m real. You’re real. What we have is real. Nothing Amabel or Arabesque or anyone else does can change that.”
“Say it again, my love.”
“We’re real.” I touched my forehead to his. “You, me, Zoodle, Koko, Brummy, all real. And what we’re building here is the realest thing I’ve ever known. It’s our‘ohana,Simmy.”
A single tear tracked down his cheek, and I caught it with my thumb. To see him like this was both heart-wrenching and achingly precious.
“I don’t deserve you, Serafina.”
“Shut up, husband. You deserve everything good in this world.”
I kissed him gently, but with all the love and certainty I had in me. His hand slid into my hair as he returned the kiss with equal tenderness. When we parted, some color had returned to his face. The panic had receded from his eyes, leaving behind exhaustion, but also alertness. He was back, fully himself, although the shadows of his nightmare hadn’t completely vanished.
“Ready to eat now?” I asked.
He considered for a moment, then nodded, so I adjusted pillows behind his back as he sat up against the headboard, then fetched the tray and settled it across his lap.
He wrapped his hand around mine, his thumb pressing against my pulse point.
“Your heart. It’s beating.”
“It does that when I’m alive,” I agreed with a sad smile.
“Should have been more prepared.”
“How?” I challenged. “We’re fighting an enemy who breaks all the rules. We do our best, but we can’t anticipateeverything.”
“Should have seen through the illusion. There were so many things that didn’t add up.”
“Harrow illusions don’t just fool your eyes, Simmy,” I explained quietly. “They’re complete sensory immersion. Plus, they’re designed to distract you if you start to see through them. I bet every time you noticed something wrong, someone moved or spoke or there was a new sensation. I warned you that Amabel was an expert at illusionary magic.”
“You weren’t kidding,” he muttered. “Still. I should have been better. Faster. Smarter—”
“Stop.” I laid my fingers over his lips. “You are enough. Your protection is enough. Your love is enough. I don’t need you to be perfect; I just need you to behere.”
“I will always be here,” he promised. “As long as I’m drawing breath, Serafina, I will be between you and anything that tries to harm you.”
“I know. I’m not afraid of what’s coming next because I have you. All three of you. Now how about you eat something?”
With a bit more coaxing, he ate his breakfast, making a face at bone broth instead of black coffee, just as I’d predicted.
His hand never left my wrist, though, and his thumb stayed tight against my pulse.
#
Zane
“Perhaps I could assist with the Harrow girl,” Lucian said, brushing invisible lint from his sleeve.
Lemme tell you, nothing kills a post-breakfast glow faster than your undead daddy dearest offering to help torture your wife’s psychotic stepsister.
Brummy’s delighted barks from outside did little to offset the way Pops’ cufflinks suddenly looked like miniature interrogation tools. Through the window, I watched Addison lob a mangled soccer ball, Brumster’s tongue lolling as he chased after it, and the wholesome scene made our impending basement excursion feel extra stabby by comparison.
“I dunno, Pops.” I leaned back in my chair until the wood creaked. “Last time you ‘assisted’ us with something, we were fourteen and Casimir didn’t speak for a week after.”
The lie came easy. Truth was, Cas had screamed himself awake for three nights straight. But hey, who’s counting?
Koa went statue-still, his obsidian gaze fixed on the butter knife like it held the secrets of the universe. The tension in his shoulders could’ve cut diamond.
