Page 118 of Unbound By Shadows
Sam swallowed. “Lilith is my mother?”
Selene nodded. “I met both of your parents while I was in the Underworld. They love you so much. And miss you. They tried so hard to find you but couldn’t reach you in this realm.”
Sam looked over at the queen’s delighted face, then to Brunie’s joyful tears and Eldridge’s grin. He couldn’t fully process what Selene had just told him; it was all too much at once. Sam’s body tensed as Selene came closer. Suspicion began to claw at the elation he had felt upon seeing her.
“Is that why you're here in Aurelia? To tell me this?" he asked.
“That’s one reason. But there are things we need to discuss.” Selene said.
“I waited for you,” he whispered. His eyes searched hers. “At the Goblyn castle. We all searched for you, and when I realized you weren’t coming back, I wanted to die.”
Selene’s expression was wistful. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I went home after I left the Underworld and Queen Thema told me I’d been away from Aurelia for nine months. For me, it was only nine days. The stone isn’t enchanted to stop time as the portal did.”
Sam rubbed his forehead, feeling confused. “You went home, yet you returned here?”
“Yes. I ended it with Kevin and told my family I was moving away. Then I used the stone to go to Queen Thema’s castle. I wanted to see you.”
“I was here. I didn’t want to go back to that life.”
“I know. The queen explained where you were and insisted on bringing me to you herself. We talked a lot on the way over here.”
“Selene has forgiven me for using her as bait!” Queen Thema bellowed. “Haven’t you, dear? And she’s going to help me see my sister!”
Selene smiled and waved.
Eldridge cleared his throat. “Eh, Brunie, why don’t we go inside to give Queen Thema a taste of your cloudberry muffins, shall we?”
Brunie wiped her shining eyes and nodded. “Yes, yes. Of course. Queen Thema, would you like to come in?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Thema said loudly, then motioned for her carriage driver and cat to follow her. “Have you any milk?”
Sam watched them enter the cottage and then continued staring at Selene. It was difficult to believe she was real. His hands itched to touch her, but she seemed to be holding herself back from him.
“May I kiss you?” he breathed.
Her expression was tender, yet she said. “We need to talk first. Can we sit down somewhere?”
Feeling flustered, Sam ran a hand through hishair and motioned inside the barn. Selene took a seat at the small table near Rainsilver’s stall, and Sam sat across from her. His frantic heart pounded faster as he wondered if he was about to lose her forever.
She placed both palms on the table. Her expression was serious as she inhaled and blew out a slow breath. “Sam, being back home gave me a lot of perspective on who I am. In the past, it’s been hard for me to identify what I want. Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to explore those feelings, and it’s held me back in ways I didn’t realize.”
Rainsilver let out a short neigh, causing Selene to glance at the horse and then back at him. “I have a lot to work on, but I want—”
“I’ll give you anything!” Sam cut in. “Anything you want, it’s yours,”
“Please don’t interrupt me,” she said.
“I’m sorry.”
She held his gaze then said, “I want to be with you. I want to be your partner, your lover, and your friend. I want to learnmoreabout what I want. With you by my side. But Sam, I need you to hear this. I’m not your therapy.”
“My what?”
She shook her head slightly. “I guess that’s not a term used in this realm. It means I don’t want to be responsible for your emotional stability. When we were in the cave before Zaybris came, you told me you needed me to balance your instincts.”
Sam winced. “I regret every part of that conversation. The way I lied to you. How you found out about Queen Thema’s plan. The truth about Zaybris… ”
Selene held up her hand. “Hold on, I’m still mad about all that, but we can move beyond it. What we can’t move past is that you don’t ‘need’ me to manage your instincts.”
