Page 28 of A Spark in the Ash

“I’m a 180-year-old darkling. He’s a three-week-old ultralight. Trust me, I can hold my own against him,” I say with a smirk.

He doesn’t lighten up though. “I don’t want to see you get your heart broken, Serena. Because not one minute of this is going to be easy. And then what happens when he grows older? Or when the gate finally opens, and you return home, and he stays here?”

All of my insides turn to concrete. My mouth closes. My bravado evaporates.

For the first time, someone has said it out loud.

“I don’t know how you think this is going to end, Serena. I am glad to see you so happy, because I don’t think I’ve ever known you to be happy, and we’ve known each other for a long time.” There’s a protective look in his eyes, one that reminds me of a father. And it’s about the right spacing. Davorian is about the same age as my father was. And this man has watched over me for a century and a half. “I just don’t want to see you end up with a broken heart.”

My eyes fall away from his and I swallow once. “Don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind. That it hasn’t kept me up at night.” A few more moments of tension pass in silence. He waits because the ball is in my court. “You’re right,” I say as once more I look up at him. “I don’t know how this is going to end. And maybe it will end badly. Maybe I will get my heart broken. But it’s better to have it break than remain dead for another 150 years.”

And there it is. My truth.

I’ll take the risk. Because it’s worth it.

Davorian studies me silently for a moment. I don’t know what’s going on in his head. But maybe he is thinking about his own wife. The one who was human and left behind in the DarkVerse. The one he loved very much. The one who died of old age more than a hundred years ago.

Would he take their relationship back, knowing what was coming for him? For them?

I really don’t think so.

“Tell me, what can we expect with his family?” he says, and I breathe a little easier, knowing he’s said his piece and we can finally move on. “Are they really going to cause us a headache? Jaxon seems to think so.”

I smile. There it is. He’s finally acknowledged his gatekeeper has a name again.

I nod and move on with the present conversation. “Vivian Gray is no joke. And neither are any of her other children. Jaxon didn’t even have his phone, they didn’t have my name, and we paid cash, but somehow his brothers tracked us down to the hotel when we were hiding out in Utah. If they want to find Jaxon, they just might do it.”

“So, he really does need to show his face soon,” Davorian says, letting out a frustrated breath.

“Yeah,” I confirm.

He brushes his hand over his mouth, thinking. “I want other agents within fifty yards of the two of you at all times when you go back. You’re never to leave his side. If these Kindred agents come our way, they’re going to do anything they can to take him.”

I nod because I know it’s true. “You have my word.”

“And you can take care of the problem with two days or so?” he asks.

I shrug. “Maybe. Vivian always has jobs for Jaxon to take care of. The one I went on with him was over within about an hour. But who knows. I can guarantee she’s going to have a lot of questions considering we’ve been gone for weeks, and considering we told her we were going to be married when we came back.”

“Excuse me?” Davorian asks with an arched eyebrow.

I let out a sigh and roll my eyes. “It’s a whole thing. They’re complicated. It’s just for pretend though, for her sake, so don’t lose your head about it.”

He gives me a look about that last part but doesn’t call me out over it.

“Sorry,” I say quietly.

He shakes his head. “Life used to be so simple before this guy came into your life.”

I laugh, because once upon a time, Jaxon said almost the same thing about me.

My life was never boring before. I didn’t think I needed any more adrenaline spikes, but then you came into it and it’s been a nonstop rush ever since.

“Yeah, well, I think the hope he brings is worth it,” I say.

He just makes a noise of acknowledgement and nods. “Alright. Go keep an eye on those two. Make sure they don’t kill each other.”

Oh,I am in so much trouble.

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