I nodded, blowing out a long breath. I felt lighter now having gotten those painful words off my chest.
He crossed his arms. “You can go now.”
That threw me for a loop. I’d been expecting some sort of retort. Maybe an apology. An attempt to mend fences. The last thing I expected was nothing. Although, given Tristan’s track record, I should have known better. As far as I could tell, he was very talented at sidestepping confrontation and not taking responsibility for his actions.
“Fine.” I turned to go. My hands were shaking from the emotional hangover of my rant. I clenched them into fists so he wouldn’t see. When my foot hit the bottom step, he cleared his throat.
“Oh, and, Sabina?”
I paused and looked at him. Part of me was relieved. The other part prepared to feel vindicated. “Yes?”
“Be sure and close the door behind you.”
I watched him for a moment, like I was waiting for him to laugh or something. But he didn’t. He just looked at me expectantly. Finally, I executed a jerky nod. I ran up the steps and slammed the door behind me. And with it, I slammed my heart against any hopes I’d secretly held that Tristan Graecus and I would ever be a real father and daughter.
Chapter 30
I marched across the courtyard with the angry words Tristan and I had spoken nipping at my heels. Gravel crunched loudly under my boots in sympathy. I was halfway to the bungalow when Adam called out.
“Sabina!”
I kept walking.
“Red?”
I finally paused and turned. Nyx was with Adam. They’d obviously just returned from town. They each carried cardboard boxes filled with supplies.
“Uh-oh,” Adam said as they got close enough to get a good look at my face. “What happened?”
I crossed my arms and shook my head. No way was I getting into this in front of Nyx. As it was, she was eyeing me suspiciously, like she expected me to attack her at any second. “I’ll tell you later. How was the supply run?”
Adam shot me a speculative glance but said, “Good. I wish we’d been able to find some fresh mandrake root, but we got everything else. How are things here?”
“Rhea and I got the cakes made. I haven’t seen the demons.”
“Where’s Tristan?” Adam asked.
I waved a hand as if I couldn’t care less. “Last I saw him was in his office.”
Nyx nodded and said to Adam, “I’ll go update him on what we found.” She rushed off like she couldn’t wait to be out of my presence.
Once she disappeared into the villa, Adam turned to me. “What happened with Tristan?”
I raised a brow. “What makes you think—” He tilted his head and gave me a frank appraisal. I sighed. “Oh, fine. We had a fight.”
“You had a fight as in you told him off or you had a fight as in you killed him?”
I nudged Adam’s arm with my elbow. “Give me a break. The guy’s an ass**le and I wouldn’t have minded introducing him to my right hook, but give me a little credit.”
Adam bumped me with his shoulder. “Let’s put this stuff in the bungalow and you can tell me all about it.” His tone implied he wasn’t looking forward to the rehash.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It was just some stuff that probably needed to come out sooner or later. It’ll be fine.”
He looked at me. “You sure?”
I nodded. “Yeah. The mission’s still on, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I’m not worried about the mission. I’m worried about you. You have a lot of shit to process over the last week.”
I shrugged. “Look, I don’t want to spend what might be our last night together talking about Tristan Graecus.”
We opened the bungalow door and walked straight into a scene from demon p**n . Apparently, while I was telling my father off, Giguhl and Valva decided to get each other off.
“Gah!” I shouted. “Jesus, you two!”
The scrambled apart like two teenagers caught by their parents. “Sabina!” Giguhl said, his voice high with panic. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
I crossed my arms. “I can see that.” I picked up a pillow and threw it at him. “Among other things. Cover yourself.”
Valva pulled a throw off the arm of the couch and covered her bare br**sts. She eyed the door like she was planning her escape route. Giguhl stood, holding the pillow in front of his pelvis. “Please don’t be mad.”
Was I mad? I wasn’t so sure. Shocked? Sure. Grossed out? Definitely. But mad? I sighed and leaned against the door. “I just don’t understand. Last night you said—”
Giguhl waved a claw. “I know what I said last night. But tonight, while Valva and I hunted down the herbs for you guys, something changed.” He glanced at the demoness with a warm look. “Our eyes met over a patch of stinkweed and I suddenly knew. None of it mattered. Not the past. Not the future.” He stood straighter and grabbed Valva’s golden hand. “All we have is now.”
I looked at Adam. His eyes were suspiciously shiny. I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to waste another moment worrying about anything or anyone else. Because Giguhl was right. All we had was now, and I intended to use it showing my mancy how much I loved him.
“Just do us all a favor and get a room,” I said finally.
Giguhl’s jaw dropped. “You’re not going to yell?”
I shook my head and grabbed Adam by the hand. “Have fun, you two. I know we will.” With that, I pulled the mancy after me and locked the door behind us.
I took the box of supplies out of Adam’s hands and set them by the door. He smiled at me like I’d just done something brilliant.
He didn’t say anything. Just waved a hand. The room lit up with a hundred flickering candles. I raised a brow. “Nice.”
He came forward and ran a hand down my face. “Beautiful.”
Adam and I generally came together in a heady rush of adrenaline and desperate passion. But that night called for slow, lingering lovemaking. Taking the time to savor, revel in each other.
I leaned forward and kissed him softly. The contact, the taste of him made a rush of heat flood my chest—desire and need and love. The warmth radiated through my limbs and swirled in my core. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders. His sandalwood scent enveloped me. My own shoulders relaxed as I left my worries behind and focused totally on this beautiful man, this perfect moment.