Page 30 of Witch's Exile
13
DEJA
Sal swiftly took the bag of steaks from me and gave me a fast peck on the cheek.
"I'll be inside," he whispered, quickly shutting the door behind him to give us alone time.
Raum remained a safe distance across from me on the porch and my heart could barely handle it. I didn't give a fuck anymore about my pride or being right, or even the original argument we had. I just hated this sick, empty feeling of not having his hands on me.
"Raum," I said again weakly, moving toward him to close the agonizing distance.
"Deja." He held up a hand as if to stop me, his voice hoarse from lack of use.
I stopped in my tracks, feeling like an arrow just shot through me. If he was going to reject me, leave me... fuck, I would not survive hearing those words, let alone thinking about them.
He lowered his hand and held his palm out to me. "Can I show you something?"
I nodded and skimmed my shaking fingertips across his. His hand closed around mine and that small, simple touch left my core opening up and spilling out with need for more. I was starving for him so badly I was desperate for whatever crumbs he would throw at me.
His aura gently pulled on mine and I followed, realizing he was bringing me into his shadows. I stifled a sob with the awareness he was about to show me something deep within his memories, something he never shared with anyone.
We didn't travel back far when he paused in front of the memory he wanted to show me and brought it out of the darkness of his mind for me to see.
I saw a woman who looked almost exactly like me, down to the dark hair and amber eyes. I looked down and saw muscular tanned arms and a flat torso. Of course, I was seeing this woman from Raum's perspective.
"You're going to have a daughter," his mouth said. A flutter of nervousness rose in his stomach. My Raum, nervous? I didn't know he could feel such a thing. "She will be the completed reincarnation of Lilith, the Mother of all Witches."
In my own body, tears flowed freely down my cheeks. This woman was Deidre, my birth mother. And holy Hell, she looked so beautiful. I could feel how entranced Raum felt under her amber gaze and his uncertainty at how she would react to his news.
She pursed her lips, a curious, thoughtful gesture. "You know this for sure? How?" Her voice was soft, almost whispery.
"I'm one of the few demons with the ability to see the future," Raum answered. "And I've waited a very long time for Lilith's soul to repair itself."
"Why? Who is she to you?" Her questions were curious and also a bit protective.
Raum answered without hesitation. "She's the love of my incredibly long life."
My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. Deidre looked surprised but at no point did she seem threatened by or afraid of Raum.
"She'll be extraordinarily powerful," he continued. "Modern witches are trying to sever and erase all connections they have with demons and that is the result of her absence from this world. Whether you like it or not, she is the balance between our two species. And balance will be restored."
Deidre looked down at her just-barely protruding belly and rubbed a hand across it.
"Will she be loved?" she asked quietly. "Will my daughter be safe, protected, and know what love feels like?"
"Yes," Raum whispered. "She will be loved and protected so fiercely. If anything ever manages to kill me, I would not hesitate to die for her."
My mother looked up at him and smiled. "That's all I want for her. I don't care if she spends time with demons, witches, or a pack of wild animals. I just want my Deja to be happy."
"I'll be spending every minute of every day making sure that she is."
Raum's voice choked a little as he spoke. There was also something weird about what Deidre said. Did either of them know she would be dying in a few short months?
I wanted to stay, to linger on my mother's face and her voice longer but Raum gently pulled the memory back. It faded until I found myself in my own body again, on the front porch with my handsome sad-eyed demon in front of me.
A pregnant pause hung between us as he wiped a tear away from my eye. I didn't even know that I was still crying.
"Thank you," I breathed. "For sharing that with me."
