The Symbolon (11 page)

“Council, I humbly beg you to consider delaying the decision on this
matter until the next council meeting, when I am certain we can alleviate all of your concerns.” Alex’s voice was almost a cry that carried throughout the cavern.

Paolo stepped in front of the council, and his volume increased
. “During that time, Cassandra will be further integrated into his family! No! Council, that is not adequate!”

Pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes, Jeremiah said, “Alexander, you attest that there has been no intimacy between you and Cassandra? I believe I will require details on what sort of physical contact there has been!”

“Council, please, may we discuss this delicate matter in private chambers?” Alex pleaded.

Paolo shrugged and smirked
. “That is not necessary. I understand they have been living together for several months. My guess is that they share the same bed. But I am satisfied that Alex has not made love to Cassandra.” He glanced back at Valeria. “However, the fact is that Cassandra has taken the place of my sister, not only with Alex, but with his family.” Paolo narrowed his eyes. “And Alex has admitted to me that he has been unable to confirm that Cassandra bears his mark.”

Jeremiah turned back to Alex
. “Does Cassandra bear your mark?”

Alex glanced helplessly back to Valeria, with deep sorrow in his eyes. She could see he didn’t want to answer. “I have not seen it
, yet.”

“It is unfortunate that Immanuel is not here to testify. Alexander, would her physician
testify that she bears your mark?”

“I cannot answer for Mani.”

“I could order Immanuel here, if necessary. Would he testify that she bears your mark?” Jeremiah demanded impatiently.

“No.”

“Paolo, it is not often that I agree with you. It is a pity you were not forthright in your objection. You could have saved this council, and the parties concerned, considerable trouble.” Jeremiah looked to Alex and Valeria.

Paolo shrugged.

The council rose and surrounded Jeremiah, as they began their deliberation. Alex looked frozen in a desperate plea. Moments later, Jeremiah waved his arms, ending the discussion as the council took their seats. Jeremiah rose.

“The council has decided that there is enough cause to
enact the Law of Nevia until the next council meeting. At that time, we will evaluate all of the information and make a permanent decision. That is all.”

Alex almost fell to his knees, as if he had been slugged. The group began to disband as whispers ran across the room.

Within moments, the council rose and joined the other immortals, and then the room filled with laughter and music and gaiety, as if they had just decided something with as much importance as repainting a cross-walk.

Camille looked at Tavish, her voice flat
. “We have to get Val out of here now!” Valeria saw both Paolo and Alex heading toward her.

“I’m not leaving without Alex!”

“Lass, we must!” Tavish whispered as he started to carry her towards the gondolas.

She turned her face to look at him with so much pain
. “Please, Tav, I
need
to see him. Please.” Tavish turned, as if a silent communication had come in from the family.

“All right, Lass
.” Tavish released her and, suddenly, both Ava and Camille closed in on Valeria, as Tavish moved rapidly toward Alex. Valeria realized that Alex was actually heading toward Paolo…who was headed for her.

As Paolo approached, Camille, Ava
, and even Daphne formed a human shield, keeping him from her. “Bella, you must know that I did this for
your
benefit! Please, allow me to explain.”

Just then
, Alex grabbed Paolo and spun him. “Wasn’t it good enough that you killed her the last time?”

Valeria broke around the women and
, with Paolo momentary distracted, she ran into Alex’s arms. Tavish and Lars formed a wall and blocked Paolo. Alex pulled Valeria in tightly and kissed her head.

She let out a cry, “Please tell me what’s going on!”

She could feel his grip on her tighten. He was shaking. “It’ll be all right,” he whispered into her hair. “We’ll get this straightened out.”

Paolo looked at Alex in disgust
. “You realize I could invoke the Law of Nevia for your actions now!”

Alex continued to hold Valeria. He drew a rough breath. “You wouldn’t do that…
not to her
. You’re too selfish for that!” He gulped. “You’ve done the damage. Can’t you let that be enough?”

There was a stand-off between Alex and Paolo. She wasn’t going to let go of Alex. He forced himself to relax and gently kissed her forehead. Then he whispered
, “Please, Paolo. You don’t have to do this.” Paolo’s expression didn’t change. Alex tried again, “Paolo, she doesn’t understand this. Please, I need time to,” his voice cracked, “to take care of this. For her, Paolo…if you ever loved her, give me…give us…time.”

Paolo spat, “You didn’t offer that luxury to my sister.”

Ava pulled on Paolo’s shoulder. “Paolo.” He glanced at her and then back to Alex. Ava’s voice became a soft plea. “Paolo, you can give them that,” she said, attempting to calm the situation. She moved in front of him and pulled his face to look at hers. “It won’t do you any good to do otherwise. You will only instill hate. That isn’t what you want. I think you want us to locate Kristiana. We can do that. But, come on…”

“One hour!” Paolo growled.

Ava brushed his face. “Come on, Paolo...one night.” He put his hand to his forehead and brushed it with his fingers and shrugged, noncommittally. Ava nodded toward Alex and with his arm wrapped tightly around Valeria, he lead her to the gondola with the family surrounding them, protecting them.

The ride back to the island home was somber and in total silence, except for the sound of the boat and the water. Valeria noticed the family appeared to be in serious, silent conversation.

Everyone looked war-torn. And she couldn’t get Alex to look her in the eyes. He simply held her as if she would be ripped from his arms any minute. Finally
, the boat pulled up to the dock and the family walked past her silently headed into the house.

Helping her out of the boat, Alex held her for a moment and then took her hand as they slowly followed the path to the house. She saw that the yard was now set up with chairs and tables for the wedding and reception. Twinkling lights had been run in the brush along the side of the property. She would have been so pleased to see the progress of the preparations, so excited knowing what the next day held for her. It was breathtaking, with the brilliant stars and the full moon casting its light on the dance floor
; but now she felt only a profound sadness in the beauty of it. It was like a magnificent dream and now it felt as if it was only
that
…a dream.

Finally
, Alex spoke in a strange, strangled voice. “So, beautiful…I was thinking that it’s…it’s a waste of this location for anything but a honeymoon.” He pulled her around and kissed her and she could feel his grief through the kiss.

“Alex
…” She couldn’t seem to find her voice. “Will you tell me what happened? I know we need to leave tomorrow. But as long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we go.” She looked at him and saw the pain in his expression. “We aren’t,” she choked back a cry, “getting married tomorrow…are we?” He closed his eyes and held her to him. She knew the answer.

“Let’s just go back to Morgana.” She brushed his face. “I know that we can’t have an immortal marriage…for now. But, that man, Paolo…he can’t keep us from getting married!” she said with a hint of incredulity. “Don’t worry…everything will be okay.” But somewhere inside her, she knew that wasn’t true and seeing the look in his eyes only increased her growing apprehension. “I guess…we need to find Kristiana before
we...” She swallowed as her fears began to get the best of her.

He bit his lip and stared up at the star-filled sky and attempted to contain his emotion. “I…I am so…so
sorry.” He choked as he closed his eyes, battling the pain in his soul. “But, I never, never imagined...”

She clung to him as he looked out to sea trying to compose
himself. He took a deep breath and then taking her hand, he kissed it and led her onto the patio. “You look…
so
beautiful tonight!” He stared at her with longing. She saw an ice bucket with champagne and two glasses sitting on the table next to them. “I’ve been saving this bottle…” He shook his head slightly, not finishing the thought. She suspected it was to have been for their wedding night. “I asked Caleb to put it on ice.” He gulped back his emotion and then pulled her into his arms. “We’ll drink it tonight…and then…” He kissed her temple and whispered near her ear, “And then I want to make love to you until morning.” He brushed his fingers through her hair.

She fought back the tears of apprehension that were building in her throat. “Alex, just please…tell me what happened tonight.”

He broke their embrace and she could see the deep battle going on inside him. He pulled the bottle of champagne from the ice bucket and stared at the label with an expression that spoke of happier times. The longer the silence, the more frightened she became. She noticed he was still shaking badly. He popped the cork of the champagne and poured it into the two glasses. Then he passed her a glass and gulped down half of his, as if it might release some of his pain.

She took a deep breath and blew it out, in an attempt to calm her fears. “I didn’t realize that Kristiana was immortal…I…would have liked to have known that,” she said softly.

Alex looked out to sea again, momentarily emotionless. “Yes, I should have told you.”

She took his arm and leaned into him. “Alex, I want to make love to you. I would have made love to you months ago. I love you.”

Fighting her growing anxiety, she continued, “But you wanted us to be married first. You said that making love to me before we were married made you feel like you were…giving up on the dream.” She fought back the horror of the revelation. She pulled his face, which was still emotionless as he looked at her. “But marriage is between hearts. Not by agreement of councils.” The force of her emotions were drowning her. “Alex, with everything in me,
you are my husband.
”

He forced a half smile
on his face and kissed her again and then downed the remainder of his champagne, refilled it, and swigged it down again, hiding behind the action. She continued, “I know it was important to you. But we can search for Kristiana and when we find her, this will all be resolved. She will see how much we love each other and she will grant you a dissolution.”

“Yes.”

There was a sound of doors opening and closing inside the house and then the entire family came outside with suitcases in hand. Valeria realized that a water taxi had arrived and she hadn’t even heard it. She stared at the family, as shock formed a fog around her reality.

“What’s going on
, Alex?” She was trembling now.

“They wanted to give us privacy tonight,” he said, woodenly.

Lars walked up first and hugged Valeria lightly, avoiding eye contact with her. “Goodbye, sweetheart.”

Then Tavish looked at Valeria for a few moments and then kissed her cheek. “Lass,” he said
, and she noticed a tear in his eye.

“Tav?”
She looked to Alex. “Where’s Caleb?”

“He’s in town already. Camille knew we would want to be alone tonight.” He gulped another glass down.

Daphne gave Valeria a sad nod. Ava couldn’t look at Valeria, but gave her a brief hug before walking quickly to the waiting boat.

Finally
, Camille approached her. Valeria noticed Camille’s eyes rimmed with tears as she looked down at the ground and shook her head as if trying to gain the strength to speak.

“Please
, Camille, will you tell me what’s going on?” Valeria said as a sob broke through the illusions she was clinging to and a few tears freed themselves from her eyes.

Camille hugged Valeria tightly, and stifling a sob, she hesitantly turned and left. Valeria could see Camille’s body
quivering with silent sobs. “Camille?” she called out, and heard a cry escape from Camille as she continued toward the boat.

“Isn’t anyone going to say anything to me?” she cried loud
ly enough for the family to hear. She watched as Camille loaded her suitcases on the boat with the others. Alex sat down in the chair, again refilling his glass and immediately tossing down its contents.

The insecurities of her childhood
, with the lack of love and the abuse, came back in full force as Valeria stepped toward the water taxi. “Please! Did I do something wrong?” she asked. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for whatever I did!”

Suddenly, Camille climbed back out of the boat and headed toward them. Camille looked at Alex sorrowfully and he dropped his face in his hands. “I have to do it this way,” he said
, with the only voice that he could find.

“I’m
sorry, Alex, but I just can’t do it like that.” She shook her head empathetically as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Please tell Val, she deserves to know.” She moved up to Valeria and hugged her tightly. “Val, I love you like a sister!” she sobbed. Then, kissing her on the cheek, she turned and left without looking back.

Valeria’s heart was pounding so loudly that it drowned out the sound of the boat motor starting up and pulling off shore. She held her breath, waiting for the news.

“Camille’s right. I guess…” He sucked in a deep breath and refused to look at her. “I thought I could protect you from this for at least a little while…at least for tonight.” His voice cracked as he stared off into the sea. He shook his head as if getting rid of the thoughts. He downed his glass of champagne before pulling another bottle out of a nearby cooler. Popping the cork, he refilled his glass and then slumped back into his seat, still not making eye contact with her. “I don’t know how to say this.” His voice came out as a cry and his face filled with grief.

Taking his hand, she sat on the cool ground in front of him and laid her head against his knee. “Just tell me.”

Gently, he pulled her up onto his lap. She rolled her head onto his shoulder. “I made the biggest mistake of my life tonight…and I thought…it would be best to face it all in the morning. The family disagreed.”

She touched his face
. “Is that why they left?” She saw a slight turn of his head as if to say no.

“Why did they leave?” Her trembling deepened. She was certain that she didn’t want to know, but something in her demanded the truth.

“Because…that was the decision tonight.”

“They have to go back to Morgana?”

He reached for the champagne bottle and she put her hand on his arm to gently stop him. Then she pulled his face to hers. His eyes held no hope, only deep grief.

With his voice flat, he said, “You would think that the gift of immortality would only be given to the very good
and the very wise. That’s the way it should be…shouldn’t it?” He shook off the thought, and continued, with no emotion in his voice. “Well,” he continued, “I guess you have gleaned most of the story about Paolo and Kristiana.” Alex swallowed. “I made an unforgiveable error.”

Valeria kissed Alex
. “I don’t blame you for marrying Kristiana.”

“Besides marrying Kristiana
,” he drew in a harsh breath, “I should not have requested an immortal marriage. It provided Paolo the opportunity to bring up old grudges.” He looked down for a moment. “Honestly, I thought all of that was behind us. And the council has been…reasonable…in recent years.

“I should have known that Paolo and Kristiana would never give up. I should have married you when we had the
opportunity.” Alex shrugged. “I’m embarrassed to tell you that I risked
everything—
including your safety and happiness
—
because I couldn’t bear the thought that Paolo might have you again.”

“Have
me again?”
Valeria shook her head, incredulously.

Alex closed his eyes. “It was my jealousy…my need to…I don’t know how you will ever be able to forgive me.”

“How does Paolo know me?”

Alex avoided eye contact with her.

“Alex?”

He shook his head, attempting to will the truth into submission, and then said quietly, “You were married to him
.” The idea that she could have ever been married to Paolo, and never married to the sweet man who had loved her throughout her entire existence, was nearly crushing; and she saw the effect on him was magnified.

“I wouldn’t have married
him!
”

Alex looked at her as if she were naïve. “You were
fifteen. Paolo was able to charm your father…and you. But when it all comes down to it, you were sold.”

She was speechless.

“You died a few years later with child.” He drew another deep breath. “As time went on, I believed that Paolo and I had moved past all of that.

“When I saw Paolo at the airport, I knew…it wasn’t over.” Alex closed his eyes
. “Still, I never imagined…”

“What is the Law of Nevia?”

He nodded, his pain visible. “Nevia was a Nymph who created a great deal of trouble with married gods. She tricked the families into believing that she was the actual wife. After disrupting several families, a law was put in place by the angry wives.”

“Alex…what does it have to do with us?” Her trembling
was affecting her voice.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “Let’s discuss it later.”

Her fear had raised her tone several levels. “Alex, tell me.” She knew she didn’t want to know.

Alex fought back the sobs and took her face in his hands
. He kissed her mouth and then cried, “It means that I have to…leave you.”

“NO!”

“If I ever see you again, the council will spare no time or expense…we will be put to death!”

Her eyes widened in tormented disbelief. “How can this be?” she cried
. “This can’t be right. We have to fight this!” She stood, needing something to do.

He rose and grabbed Valeria as tight
ly as he could hold her and whispered into her neck, “There is no fighting this. It was the decision. Paolo gave us tonight. I have to leave you tomorrow morning.” There was a long silence and then he whispered, “I can never see you again.”

Valeria pulled away in shock
. “Don’t say that, Alex!” The realization of what was happening hit her and she stared at him. “Were you going to just leave me in the morning?” The horror in her eyes forced him to look away. “Alex, how can this be? How could you do that?”

He lowered his head to his hands and choked, “I can’t! I can’t do any of this. I can’t leave. I couldn’t even tell you. I thought…I guess, I thought
,” he looked at her, broken, “tonight…that’s it.”