CHAPTER 7

I touched the side of David’s face and traced the angle of his jaw. Besides the dirt and blood he was covered in, I could smell the sandalwood essence he emitted. For so long, I’d craved to be close to him, to feel his hands caress my skin, to taste his lips, to feel his heart beat against mine, to hear him say “I love you”. Now, all those things I wanted were out of the question.

“You’re engaged,” I said.

“Not because I want to be.” He shook his head. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted, Isis.”

“Even after—”

“I don’t care about that. I just need to know what you feel for me. Right now.”

I thought for a moment. “There isn’t a word for what I feel,” I said. “But if I were to describe it, I’d say it exceeds love.”

He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. His blue eyes fixed on me. The tips of his fingers lifted my chin, and his lips pressed against mine. I reveled in the feeling of his arms encasing me. I felt complete, like a whole person. I was no longer remnants and pieces of debris scattered by the wind, waiting to erode. No, not anymore. I was wanted, needed, loved by the person I’d so much wished to reappear in my life. And now that he was here, I wouldn’t make the same mistakes. Not ever again.

While I delighted in having my dream boy’s kisses on my lips once more, it occurred to me I had no desire to rip him open and have him for lunch like I did everyone else.

David gave me a few final pecks before he stepped back to look at me.

“I should take you to the emergency room.”

“You think that’s a good idea? They’re going to want to run tests on me.” The thought of being near so many people with possible open wounds caused my shoulders to tense.

“Not the best.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But what choice do we have?”

“Well, Dr. Gunn…”

“Gunn is here?” he asked, and I nodded.

“Galilea brought him and his wife, Eileen, with us.”

“Has he been observing you—the pregnancy, I mean?”

“No. I barely found out yesterday. But I feel fine…aside from the nausea and headaches.” And the unrelenting hunger for human flesh. “I’m fine.”

“You may feel fine, but you may not be. We’ll call Dr. Gunn. But first, you should get cleaned up. You can’t go home to your mother looking like this.”

I glanced down at my muddy clothes. Part of my shirtsleeve was missing. My jeans were torn and drenched in lake water. Then I remembered my wardrobe was the least of my worries.

“Oh my…” I covered my mouth. “I totaled the car. My mom is going to kill me.”

“I’ll buy her a new one. We’ll worry about it later.” He took my hand. “Come. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“But, David, what if more demons come?”

“Don’t worry about them.” He placed a hand on my stomach. “I’m more concerned about this right now and making sure you’re both okay.”

***

When I turned off the water in the shower, I heard David talking. I wrapped myself in the only towel on the rack and cracked the bathroom door open, peeking into the bedroom. David was looking out the window, his cell phone pressed to his ear. He was wearing sweatpants, which sat low on his waist. From the looks of it, he’d showered—in one of the other bathrooms, I guessed. Beads of water dripped from his hair down the toned muscles on his back and arms.

“Right. I’ll see you then,” he said, ending the call.

I stepped out of the bathroom. David dropped the phone on the bed-less mattress. It sat on the floor in the middle of the room, one of three pieces of furnishings left—the other two, a chair and a side table. He stepped toward me and surveyed the scratches left by the demon on my arm. He leaned down and laid a kiss on my bare shoulder. I shivered.

“Does it hurt?” he asked.

“No.” I touched the side of his head. “Your face looks a lot worse than my arm.”

“It’s nothing.” He put his hand over mine. “It’ll heal.”

“Were you talking to Dr. Gunn?” I asked.

“No. I tried calling him, but his phone is out of service. He must’ve changed his number. Do you have a working number for him?”

“No, and Galilea isn’t taking my calls. I think she blocked me, so I can’t ask her,” I said. David looked at me with a question on his face. “She’s upset because I suck at being a good friend,” I explained. “I don’t even know where she lives. We’ll have to wait until she decides to answer my calls again.” I tightened the towel around me. “So who was that on the phone?”

“I called my parents.”

“Your parents?” I winced. “You told them?”

“No. I don’t feel it’s right to deliver this sort of news over the phone,” David said. “But I told them it was urgent they come as soon as possible. They’ll arrive tomorrow.”

I didn’t know who I was more afraid of telling I was pregnant—Claire or Alezzander, David’s father. I trembled.

“Are you cold?” David asked.

“No. Just dreading telling our parents.”

“It’ll be fine.” He rubbed my arms and kissed the top of my head. “They’ll be upset—possibly enraged—but they’ll get over it.”

“David,” I said. “Are you scared?”

“Not scared, but nervous. I don’t know how they’ll react.”

“No, I meant, are you scared of becoming a father?”

“Oh. Well,” he shrugged, “I haven’t had a lot of time to let it sink in. But I do know I’m happy.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Aren’t you?”

“Maybe?” I twisted a strand of my wet hair. “I don’t know how to feel except terrified. How am I supposed to keep a baby alive? I don’t even know how to change a diaper.” I looked up at him. “Do you?”

“I don’t. But it’ll be something we’ll learn to do together, isn’t it?”

“Together sounds good,” I said. “Better than alone.”

Together. The word was like a symphony to my ears. It entailed union and commitment—things I’d been frightened of a few months earlier, even though deep down I knew I wanted it as much as David. But what I wasn’t clear on was why, if he claimed to love me still, would he get engaged?

I skimmed the room briefly and saw a suitcase in the corner, the flap open and clothes folded inside. “Do you have a shirt I can borrow?”

David dug through the suitcase and brought back a plain white T-shirt. It was a few sizes too big, but it’d have to do. I went into the bathroom to change and returned to the bedroom, where I sat on the mattress.

“I’ve got to get something off my chest,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“I wonder,” I smoothed out imaginary wrinkles on the bed sheets, “why did you get engaged? It’s been a month and a half since we last saw each other. Why were you in such a hurry to marry someone else? You say you love me, but… I don’t understand.”

“It’s complicated,” he said. “Wait. Are you asking me this because you doubt my feelings for you?”

“You’ve doubted mine,” I said, and I immediately regretted it. I didn’t want to start a fight. “Tell me about this engagement.”

“There’s nothing much to tell.” He sat next to me. “It was arranged by my father…to appease the Council. To convince them I hadn’t strayed from the laws and counter rumors of me being romantically involved with a human.”

“And you agreed. So easily?”

“It wasn’t easy. I told you, it’s complicated. I couldn’t deal with the thought of you…” he pinched the bridge of his nose, “…and my best friend.”

“David, nothing happened between Eros and me. I thought I made that clear.”

He stared at me for a brief moment. “Nothing at all?”

“Just a kiss…or three,” I said, and David’s jaw clenched. “He kissed me. Not the other way around,” I explained. “I used him to go find my father, to see if I could stop the transformation. I didn’t want you to turn into a Creatura because of me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this when I last saw you in Bucharest?”

“I tried, but you didn’t give me a chance to explain. You left. You…” I huffed. “You just left me there. You wouldn’t take my calls. Do you know how many times I tried calling you?”

“Yes. Four hundred and forty-seven. You left five voicemails I listened to over and over again so I could hear you say you loved me.” He sighed. “Isis, I was angry. And hurt.” He paused and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Outraged.”

“I know. I didn’t expect anything less than anger from you. But I thought you’d at least let me explain.” I tucked my legs against my chest, under the white shirt. “I messed up. I seem to have a real knack for it.” He said nothing. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you, too. I made a mistake when I left you in Bucharest.” He pulled me close and pressed me against his chest.

“So… is there anything I should know about you and your arranged bride?” I looked up at him. “I mean, since we’re being honest and all.”

“That, you really don’t want to know,” he said. I frowned at him. “I’m kidding. There was nothing between us but empty kisses.”

“Kisses?” My eyes widened, and I broke his embrace. “As in plural? With an ‘s’? As in more than a few?”

“Please…” He drew me against him. “Don’t. I honestly don’t want to talk about her anymore. It’s upsetting us both, and it’s a waste of energy—which we could be using doing other things.” He pushed me down on the mattress. “Like making up for lost time.”

He propped himself up on one arm, half of his weight over me. Using his other hand, he brushed the length of my leg, and my muscles tensed.

“I’ve missed you, terribly,” I told him.

“Serves you right,” he pecked my lips, “because I’ve been miserable without you.”

I sifted my fingers through his wet, black hair and reached for his lips. His hand moved under the oversized shirt I was wearing. He traced small circles below my navel with the tips of his fingers, and then abruptly, he pulled away from me.

“It concerns me you haven’t been seen by a doctor.” He sat up and looked at his phone. “Did Galilea change her phone number when she arrived here?”

“I don’t know.” I picked up my phone from the night table and handed it to him. “You can check.”

David clicked on my phone’s display screen and compared Galilea’s phone number to the one on his phone.

“Same number. Why didn’t I think of calling her myself?” He tapped the screen on his cell phone, and then held it up to his ear. “Galilea? Yes, it’s David.”