Page 58 of My Master
“I trust all has turned out well on the other side?” Damien asked casually.
Antonio nodded. He wasn’t really in a talking mood, after the hell he’d been through he was surprised he could even sleep, let alone dream. Talking was the last thing on his mind. He looked over at his brother, eyeing him steadily. He was dressed in his typical outfit and hairstyle, he was leaning back in the same way that Antonio was, he was looking out at the sky, the colors of the world casting intense color arrangements in his eyes.
Antonio knew that he should be mad at his brother for many things, should feel guilty for killing him, but he couldn’t find the energy to do so anymore. All he felt was a hollowness inside, an ache of loneliness.
“And Esmeralda?” Damien asked, surprising Antonio with the casualty of the question. It wasn’t a question meant to poke fun or irritate him, it was as if he actually cared and was truthfully curious.
“Pregnant,” Antonio said.
Damien pulled back one side of his mouth in a smile. “May I ask what you plan on naming the child?”
Antonio shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet, I’m sure Esmeralda will think of something, though.”
“If I may make a suggestion, brother.”
Antonio shrugged, indicating that he could care less if Damien made a suggestion or not. Even if he had declined, his brother would have made a suggestion anyway. He really didn’t like to obey Antonio…
“Be a part of this child’s life. Do not make the same mistakes that our father made.”
Antonio could see in his eyes what Damien meant. When they were children, Marco Santiago had pushed them; he had tried forcing them into becoming something that they never were or never could be. Antonio hardly minded; he never paid attention to what his father said, because it had never been important. He got around just fine on his own and didn’t need the man. Damien, however, had affection for the fool and let himself be lead around like a dog on a leash, always trying to please his master, but still failing just the same, resulting in endless fights.
Antonio nodded. “I will, thank you.” He paused before asking. “What’s the Otherworld like?”
Damien shrugged and leaned back on his elbow, watching a sunset that, undoubtedly, he’d never be able to see either. “If I could sum it up in one word: dreadful. But the Otherworld is just. I deserve the punishment I get.”
Antonio stared at him with surprise. This was certainly a new side of his brother that he had never seen before. He was expecting a rampage of uncontrollable anger, a hissy fit, a lot of swearing and cursing upon those who made his fate as thus. He hadn’t expected him to accept it with a simple shrug. Hell, maybe the Otherworld was doing him a whole lot of good.
“So why are you here?” Antonio asked. “I know that spirits can’t enter dreams unless it’s absolutely necessary. I mean, isn’t that what you said?”
“I have one last task that I must deal with, yes.”
Antonio found his brother’s eyes, brown, even in this lighting. Antonio had always wondered why Carlos, Damien and Maria had inherited their mother’s big brown beautiful eyes and he had inherited his father’s black ones? He felt as though black eyes were a bottomless pit of nothing—empty—soulless.
“And what task is that?”
Damien smiled, the corner of his mouth tugging up a fraction. “To make amends.”
Antonio raised an eyebrow. Amends? Surely he wasn’t serious? Noticing his expression, Damien smiled even wider now, a little laugh bubbling out of his mouth.
“Yes, to make amends,mi hermano, is that so hard to believe?”
If he thought about it hard, it really wasn’t.
“Hermano, quiero pedirte perdón.”Damien switched to their Spanish dialect. “I know I have done nothing to earn your forgiveness, or the forgiveness of anyone else, but I must tell you that I am sorry. Being in the Otherworld has opened my eyes to many things, and I only wish I could have realized them sooner, so that none of this would have ever happened.” He paused, sucking in a ragged breath. “I hope, in time, you can forgive me. If you can’t—not right now—I will understand.”
Antonio looked at his brother. Really looked at him. Damien’s face was a mirror image of his own, with only slight differences. His hair was gelled back, his eyes brown and big. He was wearing his tailored suit, without the jacket, his white collared shirt unbuttoned, revealing his dark chest. He looked so real, yet Antonio knew otherwise.
He had been so mad at him, for the longest time. Mad that he had convinced his father to ban Antonio from the coven, mad that he had tried to change Ezzy. He had missed him as well, missed that twin connection they had never shared when they were younger. Mostly, he had been sad about the way things had turned out. He wanted his brother back; he wanted things to be all right. And he didn’t want to be sad anymore.
“Yes,” Antonio replied in a whisper. “Of course I forgive you.”
Damien let out a breath that Antonio hadn’t realize he’d been holding. “I’m relieved to hear that, my brother.” He smiled. “Now, I am afraid that I have no more business here in the dreamland, so I must get back to suffer my punishment in the Otherworld.” He stood up, leaving Antonio to follow.
“Do you really suffer that much in the Otherworld?” Antonio followed his brother to the middle of the roof, where they stood a few feet apart, staring at each other. The wind ruffled their hair around and they squinted against it. It made Antonio wonder if this was a sign that Damien was leaving.
Damien shrugged. “Until recently it hasn’t been. At first I suffered, alone. But after I had a talk with someone important I realized my mistakes and turned myself around. So I do not suffer nearly as much anymore.”
Antonio walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder in affection. “Well, I wish you the best of happiness, brother.”
