Fate Forgotten (15 page)

A raven pecked him awake, but it was not Odin’s bird. He shooed it away and frowned. The woman had been so familiar, even without seeing her face. If the bird had only left him alone for another moment…

He shook his head to clear it, and dropped from the tree to go in search of a meadow, where he could clear the sky and lie in the sun to dry. The grasses were green, and scratched him less than the wool of his cloak and shirt. Ra had offered him linen, but as often as he slept against rough bark, it would not have lasted him more than a month before turning into rags, and he preferred the longer lasting woolen fabrics. He set a trap, hoping for rabbit to make into a meal, and then he stripped off his wet clothes and laid them out. The way the grasses were bent, it was clear the deer had spent their night here, making a ready bed for him. He found a soft place to curl up, with enough shade for comfort, and went back to sleep.

He dreamed of a god without a home, without a family, without a world of her own. A god who wandered the void, a vagabond and lonely, just like Thor wandered the earth. And he dreamed of Eve, loving and warm, welcoming him home to their small hut in the village. The last peace he had ever known.

He thought he was still dreaming when he woke to a hand on his shoulder, and looked into Eve’s eyes and dimpled smile. She held his cloak, long dry, blushing at the nakedness she tried not to see.

He thought he was still dreaming when he caught her hand and pulled her down into the grass with him. It was only when he kissed her, and she responded with surprise, and then need, that he realized he was not.

With a muttered oath, he grabbed his cloak and his clothes and his boots, kissed her one more time, and fled.

Chapter Fourteen: Present

Benjamin Adam Hastings was born after ten long hours of labor by his mother. Ten hours and an eventual c-section which left Mia exhausted and pale. Eve held her new nephew and looked up at her brother. “Benjamin Adam? Really?”

“Why not?” He shrugged, but his eyes didn’t leave the baby in her arms, and even in the afterglow of his newfound paternal instinct, she could still feel his wish that she was the mother of his child now, and not Mia.

You know that isn’t possible.

He raised his eyes to her face.
We’ll see.

She sighed and kissed the baby’s forehead before handing him back to his mother. “He’s a beautiful baby boy, Mia.” She kissed her sister too, and excused herself from the room. She already had enough nightmares without Adam broadcasting his dreams for a future that couldn’t exist.

Garrit offered her a cup of hot tea when she found him in the waiting room, sitting with Alex who had long ago woken, played, eaten, and fallen back to sleep again. “How is she?”

“She’ll be fine.”

They were alone in the room, having been abandoned by her parents the moment the baby was available to be viewed. “How’s your brother?”

She sipped her tea. “I think he’ll be fine, too. Did you actually get a chance to talk to him about fatherhood, or were you too distracted by whatever that situation was in the hall?”

“We talked. For whatever help it was. Not that it matters. If he has half the talent you do, it will be simple enough.”

“Garrit, this can’t go on.”

He looked away. “
Qu’est ce que tu veux que je te dise?
” he asked softly.
What do you want me to say?

She studied his face. The way his forehead creased and his lips thinned. His eyes stayed fixed on his coffee cup, but from the way his jaw flexed, she was sure he knew she was watching him. “Maybe Ryam had his reasons for keeping these secrets, Garrit, but do they still apply? This family isn’t just his. It isn’t just Reu’s line, it’s mine too.”

He raked his fingers through his hair, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “It isn’t that simple, Abby.”

“Why can’t it be that simple?”

“It’s not just Ryam’s reasons, or Ryam’s rules. If it were just him, I would tell you everything I know. I honestly don’t think he knew what all of this would mean, later, or he never would’ve agreed to it.” He snorted. “I would never have agreed to it, but nobody asked me.”

She frowned. The obligation of the oath carried through blood for generations was ridiculous. More so when the renewal was made by children who didn’t know the meaning of the words they spoke. But Reu had made his decisions, and Ryam his, and there was nothing she could do about any of what had happened centuries ago.

“I’m not doing this to our children, Garrit. I’m not making them take any vows.”

“Certainly not these, no.” He swirled the tea in his cup. “But there are things they’re going to learn, regardless, and things they’ll have to keep to themselves. Secrets they’ll have to keep. And when do we trust them with the truth of who they are and where they come from? Who their mother is?”

“Are you changing the subject on purpose?”

He laughed darkly. “My answers can’t change, Abby. What I can tell you won’t change.”

“But you can tell Adam. And Lars Owen. And Juliette. And this Minerva woman who you dislike so much.” Maybe that was what bothered her most. Everyone seemed to know what was going on. All these people she had never known, would never meet again, seemed to have this intimate knowledge of her life and the DeLeon plan for it, but they wouldn’t tell her.

And Adam. It irked her that he could throw it in her face. That even he knew. Of course, that much of it made some kind of sense, since it all revolved around him, and keeping them apart. And she still wasn’t sure if they even knew why.

“I didn’t tell any of them anything.”

His vehemence startled her out of her thoughts and she blinked. “Then how do they know? René?”

“Oh, my father told my mother, of course. She’s known the basics since I was born. The details probably didn’t come until after you showed up. The others had nothing to do with us, though. Your brother knew a great deal before I ever spoke to him, and not just what he picked from my mother’s mind.”

Since this was more than he’d admitted about anything, she took a moment to digest it. “Then I’m right about Lars.”

The paper cup in Garrit’s hand crumpled, his tone emotionless. “I couldn’t say.”

“How else could he know?”

He shook his head and said nothing.

She frowned again, because his irritation was putting her on edge. “Every time he comes up, you get weird, Garrit.”

“Perhaps you should stop bringing him up.” He stood and dropped the cup in the trash. Then he kissed her forehead. She could feel his contrition in the gesture, though he didn’t offer an apology. “I should go see our newest nephew before Mia decides I don’t care for her children.”

“Yes.” She watched him go, feeling relief and frustration simultaneously. There was something about that man he wasn’t telling her. But what she couldn’t figure out was how it had anything to do with Ryam.

And if it was Ryam and the family vow that kept her husband from talking, what was keeping Adam from telling her everything? The more this went on, the more tempting it was to find the answers through her brother rather than her family. And if he let her, it wasn’t really a breach of trust, was it?

I’m surprised at you, Eve. I thought you had morals.

I’m not prying am I? Thinking about it is not the same as acting on the thought.

Adam chuckled softly in the back of her mind.
Is it really prying when he wishes he could tell you? Wouldn’t it be a kindness to lighten his burden? Isn’t there some saying about sharing troubles, or secrets, or something?

Unlike some people, I respect the privacy of the mind.

I have plenty of respect. But you can’t tell me you aren’t tempted. Everything would be so much easier for both of you without all these secrets.

Then tell me.

I’m not really interested in risking my memory or this new lease on life to save your marriage to a man who hates me, Eve.

But if I took it?

He sighed dramatically.
If you took it, I’d be an unfortunate victim of your abandoned principles.

She frowned. There was something in his tone that bothered her. Like he couldn’t wait to see what her response would be. Like he was entertained by the idea. And some sort of odd feelings of retribution.
What do you stand to gain, Adam?

Everything, Evey.

The way he said it made her shiver. It wasn’t menace, exactly. At least not directed at her. It was close though. And paired with a determination that frightened her. Adam had lost none of his arrogance. He still genuinely believed she was meant for him, that they were meant for each other.

Is it just that I refuse you? Is that why you’re so determined?

You feel it too, Eve. I know you do. Your heart races every time we touch.

I love my husband.

He sneered.
You love your past with far more passion than your present. That Thorgrim. I saw it, in your mind. In your memories. Your heart still aches for him three thousand years later.

She wished she could steal the thoughts back from him. Wished that she could wipe even Thorgrim’s name from his mind. That he would never even whisper it again.
You have no idea what you’re talking about.

I know better than you think.

She shook her head, even though he couldn’t see it.
I’m not even sure you’re capable of love, Adam.

Just the implication that what he felt for her could touch what she had shared with Thorgrim made her feel sick. Thorgrim had been selfless in every way. All he’d ever wanted was her happiness, and he would’ve moved mountains to provide her the means.

Selfless? If he had been truly selfless he would never have married you! Never have given you the opportunity to love him!

You don’t even know him!

He laughed.
But your family does.

And then his presence disappeared. She couldn’t even feel him in the hospital anymore. It was like he had been knocked out.

What did that even mean? It made no sense whatsoever. It wasn’t possible that her family had ever known Thorgrim. It would’ve been months of travel to cross from the Nordic regions through Germany and into DeLeon lands. And it was rare for people to travel more than a day in any direction during the course of their whole lives, then.

She reached for Adam, because she could feel him again, but his mind was shut to her with an absoluteness that stung.

“
Maman?
”

She looked down at her son, he had his arms open and she picked him up to hold in her lap. Alex, at least, was innocent. With no secrets and nothing to drive them apart. As a DeLeon though, he would never have the option to live the rest of his life that way. His future would always be full of those same secrets and truths. Finding a woman who could accept his family with all its mythology would be a challenge for him. Garrit had been lucky, in that respect, to have found her. Someone who already believed. Already knew the truth. Already perpetuated the myth.

Or perhaps not. If it hadn’t been her. If it had been any other woman, he wouldn’t have had to keep the secrets he did now. He would have been able to tell her everything, as René had told Juliette. And even if Garrit chose not to force his son into the same vow, she had a feeling Alexandre, too, would someday know all of the secrets that were denied her.

“My boy.” She kissed the top of his head. “I wish I could give you an easier future.”

He squirmed in her arms, reaching for the floor, for the bag with his toys. Of course he didn’t understand her words. He was still too young for that. She set him down and he pulled his favorite toy from the bag. The family had found it entertaining to give him a plush lion, and Alex hadn’t been parted from it since. He carried it awkwardly as he made a circuit around the room, chair to chair, and she stood up to follow when he began to climb on them with the stuffed animal still in his arms.

Something tickled the back of her mind, and she looked over her shoulder. She was alone in the room, but the feeling that someone was watching her was almost overwhelming. Michael? But no. He wouldn’t bother hiding. He’d already proven that. It was just being in the hospital that had her on edge, that was all.

She sighed, and then caught Alex before he fell, and tried to put it all out of her mind.

Chapter Fifteen: Future