Page 83 of Redeeming the Angel

She took a deep drink of her Earth liquor and offered me the bottle.“Your mother told me something very interesting.”

I accepted the bottle, raised it to my lips, then immediately lowered it at the heavy aroma of anise.“Oh?”

She took the bottle back.“Did you really help Gabriel with my escape?”

I nodded.“I even tried several times to convince Silvara to free you, but she refused.When Gabriel found out, he told me his plan to free you and, well, it was lunacy.My best friend would have been caught and locked up, right next to the love of my life, and I couldn’t have that.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”She stared at me, aghast.

“Because I didn’t think you’d believe me.”I remembered the one time I attempted to visit Kerainne in her cell.She’d spit at me between the trap-steel bars.“And even if you did, I know it was too little, too late.”

She tilted her head in that cute way when she was debating whether to be sarcastic or sincere.Finally, she nodded.“You were probably right.But I still don’t understand what made you change.”

“Because I finally learned what it felt like to lose you for good,” I confessed without shame.“All these centuries, I took it for granted that you’re my true-bonded mate.Every time we had an argument that was bad enough for us to part, there was always a part of me that knew I’d have you back.Except for this time.When the sea of rage parted long enough for my heart to speak, it cried that I’d gone too far.So I tried clinging to my anger.But I could only do that for so long before the truth gained the upper hand.”

“Oh.”She took another drink and remained silent, processing my words, hopefully believing me.

No matter what, my penance wasn’t over.

“Kerainne?”I asked softly, “Could you tell me more about your time on Earth?”

“Why?”

“Because every time we’ve been apart, I’d wanted to know how you were doing.You finally told me about what happened after your first Yearning.I want to know about this too.Like Xochitl told me, if I miraculously win you back, she could become my stepdaughter.”

“Shesaidthat?”Kerainne gaped at me.At my nod, she took a deep drink.“She’s been so quiet when it came to you, which, if you knew her, isn’t like her at all.Xochitl’s always been very vocal about her opinions, which got her into trouble over the years.”

“Maybe she’s learning and growing.”

Her lips quirked in a crooked smile.“Like you?”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, fine.”Kerainne summoned a bottle of hard cider and handed it to me.“It wasn’t all bad on Earth.And unlike many single mothers there, I had my own house.And Del came to visit, though often he wasn’t there when I needed him.I’d assumed that it was just his Keeper of the Prophecy duties at first…”

She’d gotten a job as a preschool teacher, which was perfect for her, not only because her bond with children gave her the skills, it also fulfilled her spirit and kept her going when she was in a strange world all by herself.

The women at her preschool job befriended her and threw her a baby shower.But they couldn’t become very close since Kerainne had to keep her secrets.Because of those secrets, she’d ended up giving birth all alone.

“I handled it pretty well,” she told me glibly.“I had all the knowledge and supplies, I’d gained from Wurrakia.I still cried, missing my family, missing you.But then Xochitl was in my arms and most of my loneliness vanished.I examined every detail of her, looking for evil and finding none.The only unusual thing was her hair, but even that was beautiful and perfect.”

I nodded in understanding.The only luminites with black hair came from the Austet, Kinnara, and Huitzilo clans, who had beautiful dark skin of varying shades to match.My heart ached at her giving birth all alone in a strange and barren world.Waves of guilt engulfed me.I should have been there for her.

“Delgarias arrived that night.He had a birth certificate and social security card ready, along with more money so I could take an extended maternity leave.”She smiled, and the world brightened around her.“When I went back to work, I was able to bring Xochitl with me.Though it was agony to wait until my break times to check on her.The baby room was so far from my classroom.”

I listened to her cheerfully describing her struggles with working a job, paying bills, cooking and cleaning, and raising a child all alone, and all without magic and marveled at her strength.Especially when Xochitl started to grow.Her bond with cats manifested before she was a week old, she was reading and writing before she was three, and Kerainne began teaching her magic around the same time.

“Del told me not to teach her to shield because when it came time for her to fulfil the Prophecy, she needed to be found.”Kerainne frowned then took another swig of her awful drink.“I still wish I could have, because her power radiated so strongly that I think that’s why all the humans disliked her.The constant rejection and bullying hurt her so much…”

“Kerainne?”I said quietly after she finished telling me about times she’d been called to her daughter’s school to meet with officials either because Xochitl was being bullied or a teacher not liking the way she dressed.“I’m so sorry.”

“Things got better after she met Sylvis,” Kerainne continued brightly as if she hadn’t heard me.“Aside from Del telling me his visits had to stop before she noticed that he was different.By then, I’d figured out that he was a vampire, but I never let on that I knew.Unfortunately, with Del’s visits stopping, so did the money.I was never very good with it.But we never went hungry.I took her huckleberry picking every summer and morel foraging every spring.And she loved to fish.In a way, having to fend for ourselves was for the best.”

“How so?”I couldn’t tolerate the idea of Kerainne living in anything less than luxury.

“Because as a leader, Xochitl needed to know what hardship was like.Also, that’s how I learned that she was capable of killing.”

“What?”

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