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His smile falters when he looks at me, as if realizing for the first time I’m here. He steps back, pressing into his mom’s legs before tugging at her arm. “It’s her, isn’t it, Mama?” His eyes, wide and questioning, never leave mine. I scrunch my brows, looking at the woman for clarification. She’s too busy scanning over his new stuffy to notice my confusion.
“Sweetie, look how dirty he is already. I’ve told you if you want things to last, you have to take care of them.”
I too look down at the dirt covered shark. “That’s a cool toy. What’s its name?” I’m met with a shrug. He lowers it, eyes still surveying me curiously. “Someone nice must have given it to you.”
This finally cracks the kid, and he grins, nodding his head. “Yeah. He’s real nice. Not like how most people think.”
“Is that so?” I question, trying to engage with the little guy.
“Yeah. And he’s sorry for what happened to us. He doesn’t want to be like the bad man, huh, Mama? That’s why he’s helping us.”
She smiles softly at her son, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s right, baby. Why don’t you go play with your new toy some more?”
He beams at that and runs back to the yard.
“What I wouldn’t give for an eighth of that energy.” She sighs, then lets her gaze fall back to mine.
“Do I look like someone he knows?” I ask, returning her friendly expression.
“No, no. Nothing like that. We’ve just heard a bit about you, that’s all. Rhenn doesn’t talk much about himself. Unfortunate, really. He has so much to offer the world. But he has slipped up about you a time or two.”
Me? I shake my head. “I’m sure you’re referring to Siena. She’s his girlfriend. Or, was his girlfriend, anyway.” I’m still not sure what happened there.
“Now that’s a girl that can chat your ear off.” She tries to stifle a laugh. “You’re Vix, right?”
My lungs constrict, sending a wave of heat flying up the back of my neck. I should be angry he couldn’t even call me by the correct name to a person who was likely never going to meet me, but I’m too shocked to be upset.
“Rhenn’s…talked about me? Just today?”
Her head shakes back and forth. “No. He seemed a bit distracted today. Poor guy. Basically left right when he got here. Not that I blame him. He has so much he’s trying to figure out.” She pauses to look at me, the hint of a smile on her rosy lips. “And I imagine you’re not making it any easier.”
“Easier for what?”
She pulls her lips between her teeth, eyes flashing between mine in a way that makes me think she’s worried she let something slip, even though she hasn’t told me anything yet.
“Look, sweetie, Rhenn’s a good man, despite what people think. If it wasn’t for him, my family…” She looks at her son and her bottom lip trembles. “We wouldn’t have made it without him. Please don’t let his bloodline make you see him the way others do.”
His bloodline? No one sees the vampires in any sort of negative way, except maybe some of Josten’s pack, and that’s in more of a “they can be so ignorant” kind of way. I see Rhenn the way I see him because, despite how kind he’s been to this family, he’s been borderline cruel to me.
“Can I ask what happened? Why he’s helping you?” Her face falls, and I regret being so forward. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”
“No. It’s okay.” She takes in a deep breath. “My husband, he…he was taken from us. We never had much, and after…well, we had nothing.”
The woman’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. There’s a tightening in my chest, a physical ache that mirrors the pain in her words.
“Callum was the best father to Tyrus. He was a good man.” She shakes her head. “The Reaper can be so merciless.”
My blood thickens in my veins. Everything I once knew is falling apart from under me. The Reaper is real. Fairytale creatures are real. And Rhenn? Maybe he isn’t the monster I perceived him to be.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
SUMNER
My eyes scan over the open grounds, taking in the large Ferris wheel and children playing at the fountain. It’s the opposite part of town from where I live, farther than I’ve come before. It’s not somewhere I would have wandered to on my own, but when I saw he was taking a walk, I invited myself along.
I’ve been so curious to know more about this family he’s helping, but the question never quite makes it past my lips. I can’t admit to having followed him. That a part of me feels a deeper pull to him because of it.
My company wasn’t declined, though it’s been a rather quiet stroll. Rhenn doesn’t say anything as we walk across the thick grass, only shifting his focus from in front of him when a man jogging past us does an obvious doubletake in my direction. He looks irritated with the guy, and for the briefest moment, I wonder if it was because he didn’t like that the man saw me, that he stole a second opportunity to take me in.
