Chapter 163

Charles

She looked nervous, but the pallor in her face had warmed. The tremor in her hands had vanished. I kissed her head gently. We headed downstairs. The gentle hum of activity filled the house as we headed downstairs. I could hear Margaret and Esme catching up. Eason was upstairs getting Cecil and Richard ready to head out with Kelly for the day. I helped her into her coat before pulling on my own and ushering her out to the car. The morning sun painted the sky in hues of soft pink and gold as she slipped into the car.

I climbed in after her. Then, we were off. The soft purr of the engine did nothing to take my mind off the dream, the curse, and what I knew had likely happened. I wrapped an arm around Grace, stroking her shoulder as we drove.

The city was already in full swing as Gregory navigated the streets until we hit the highway leading to the city where the Academy stood. It wasn't that long of a drive, but I was curious as to why she made it to college.

"You commuted," I said. "Why not just live there?"

She scoffed. "I had an apartment in Mooncrest. It was better for me."

She sighed. "Though looking back, I think I can admit that I was scared."

"You think so?"

She nodded. "College all by itself, my program and all that was already so... much."

"You commuted even in your Ph. D?"

She flushed. "Actually... I spent a lot of time in Devin's dorm."

I laughed. "So you were the young woman in all the reports. I should have known."

"Reports?"

"Of course. I couldn't trust that Devin was going to behave for the first year or so."

Grace chuckled. "I see. That's what he was complaining about."

"He complained about a lot of things."

"... are you really going to make him come to Cecil's birthday?"

I grinned. "I'm going to make it so he has no choice, yes."

She sighed. "That should make me feel better, but... it doesn't."

I turned over those words and couldn't tell if I was more frustrated by her statement or by the fact I wasn't sure why she didn't feel better at the thought.

"Because you'll have to see him?"

"... and Amy."

Ah, I thought, nodded. In all my thoughts about how to get Astarte to see reason and figure out the best path forward with her and Grace, I hadn't thought much about her relationship with Amy. The last I spoke with her, the twins were kicking. She'd gotten to a healthy weight per the Stormclaw healer and hadn't seen or heard much from Devin. She had sounded relieved at that, and I still hadn't put enough of my anger aside to be able to ask her why.

No one should feel relieved to be apart from their mate, especially not a woman in such a vulnerable position. There was something going on between them that I'd have to get to the bottom of, whether she liked it or not.

"I can't tell you how to feel."

"I don't want to see them happy... knowing how much pain they've caused me. Cecil doesn't know anything yet, but one day, she'll be old enough to understand. I don't want her to regret her birthday... Or anything." She clenched her fists. "She'll be old enough to ask why she has a sibling or four that she didn't grow up with... Richard will know..."

"I think you'd be surprised about how forgiving children can be of other children when they're equipped with the right information."

"You think Cecil is going to forgive that woman for wrecking our lives?"

I took a deep breath and wondered if I should tell her. She met my gaze and clenched her jaw.

"Don't patronize me. You promised to be honest with me."

"Have I lied to you?"

"Holding back feels like it."

I shook my head. "Is that because Eason doesn't bother to shield your feelings? You're siblings. I think that's, at some point, part of the job."

She set her jaw. "Devin told me that he didn't tell me about Amy because he wanted to protect me."

I held her gaze. "I'm not sure whether to ask if you believed that or if you still believe it."

She flinched.

"Or even better, if you don't believe it, do you think me capable of using such a flimsy excuse to hide something like that from you?" I lightened my tone. "I certainly hope you think I'm a better liar than that."

Her eyes narrowed. I tilted my head, and then I sighed.

"For the sake of the moon, Grace, we're... dating? Involved?" I smirked. "Very involved. Our relationship does not benefit from me being blunt all the time." I sighed. "If you want me to be blunt, you can say so, but you've had a rough start today. Can't you let me give you a bit of a reprieve, at least for now?"

"You didn't give me a reprieve during the attack and before."

I shook my head. "I didn't know you as well then, and crisis time is hardly the time to pull back from reality. We aren't in the middle of a crisis right now."

The car came to a stop, and she fiddled with the collar of her jacket.

"I'm going to agonize over it if you don't tell me. You don't have a soft way to tell me?"

I narrowed my eyes. Then, it hit me. She was just one of those people who needed someone to keep them from spiraling.

"If you keep blaming her instead of placing the blame where it should be, you're never going to forgive your part to play in it or move on."

She worked her jaw, and I opened the door.

"I know it's a lot to ask right now, but one day, I'd like you to think of Devin as your past, not just something you keep reliving." I held my hand out to her.

"And my future?"

I smiled as she took my hand. "I thought I told you that I planned for you to be his stepmother."

She laughed softly and let me help her out with her tote.

"Call if you need an out?" I asked. "I think, given everything, they'll be rather forgiving."

"And Margaret?"

I grinned. "I'll bribe her."

She laughed and squeezed my hand briefly and joined the stream of students heading into the Academy.

The morning air held a subtle chill as I watched Grace make her way inside. The remnants of her nightmare lingered in my thoughts, but I was grateful that she was focused on past hurts rather than new ones.

After all, there was only one person who had been around her recently enough to have gathered enough of an imprint of her to have made a curse stick.

Jackson's involvement with Blood Moon was more than we first thought, but there was no way he was interfacing with Astarte. That meant that there was definitely more than one Alpha Shadow. There might be more than two, and that only made it more complicated. She wasn't thinking about it now because she probably didn't know how curses worked, but it would come to her. I just hoped it would be when she was ready.

I sighed and slipped back into the car. I let my head fall back onto the headrest. My head was starting to pound at the thought of what to do next.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

I chuckled. "I will be. We will be."

I looked back out the window. "It may be hard for her now, but it'll get easier."

I should know. If there was an emotion to feel when I first found out about Tessa's infidelity, I'd felt it. The way I had closed off from even those I knew I could trust unconditionally was still fresh enough in my mind. I was still fixing the bridges I had ignored, but I had come far from the angry, hurt young man I'd been.

Tragedy, betrayal, and trauma weren't things easily beaten, and I suspected that Grace had been left to flounder in a lot of ways even before her father died.

I'd have to talk to Esme about what she knew about Grace's youth, about the influence her mother had on her.

"It's odd."

"What is, Your Majesty?"

"Eason and Grace are... night and day." I frowned. "I don't know whether to attribute that to personality or something else."

He hummed. "Perhaps it would be to ask Master Eason."

I smiled. "Master, hm? He and George speeding along down that track, hm?"

He chuckled. "I suspect that when Young Ethan arrives in Mooncrest, things will get more interesting than they have in a long time."

I laughed. "I'm looking forward to it. It's about time we both stopped brooding. Let's get--"

My phone rang, and I pulled it out, frowning at the caller ID.

"Hello?"