Chapter 251: Rhys
I laid in bed with Grace after our long as hell day. It felt like a lifetime since she and I had gotten any time alone together, but that was a little dramatic. The Vampire Queen and Princess Elara had arrived about an hour ago. We had set them out in the basement where they could effectively shut out all the light. The rooms had actually been built for them for political reasons way back when the house had been built. It was crazy to think though that only now were we actually using them.
“Rhys?" Grace’s tipsy voice drew my attention back to her.
“Yes, my love?”
“Why do my scars matter to you?"
I sucked in a sharp breath. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to answer. I knew we would have to talk about it at some point. We couldn’t just brush it under the rug, despite how much I wanted to. We were working on having a healthy relationship. We weren’t perfect at it. But we were trying. I just wasn’t expecting her to ask about it tonight, and in a perfect world, I wanted her sober for it. Not that she was off the walls or anything... But I wanted to make sure she remembered my words.
“Do you want my honest answer?” I asked, looking into her eyes and immediately being swallowed in their big blue depths. I could look into them for forever. And I would as long as she would continue to have me.
“Yes.” She answered simply and looked at me expectantly.
“I never want you to hide any part of you, and those scars are a part of who you are. They don’t show weakness. They show strength, and courage. They show a story that just hearing, you can’t fully comprehend. You might hate the battles you’ve had to fight, but they are your battles. And maybe you haven’t won yet, but you will. I never want you to be anything less than what you are. Because you, my love, are magnificent, and I worry if you hide it, you will forget your power. Your magic. You are so much more than they made you believe, Gracie. And those scars are the proof.”
She didn’t say anything for a long minute. And maybe there wasn’t much to say to that. She seemed to accept my answer though and snuggled in closer to me. There was no such thing as too close when it came to her.
I ran my fingers gently through her hair. It was a comfort to us both. I was nearly asleep when her sweet voice met my ears again.
“Rhys?” She said it so softly for a moment I thought I was dreaming.
“Yes, love?”
“Why did you ask your mother to come?”
I chuckled slightly. I had been waiting for her to ask that question since her arrival, and yet something had held her back.
“I thought she could help you in your role as Luna Queen.” I told her honestly.
In my head it had sounded like such a good idea, but after today, that thought was laughable. My mother had been a good Luna Queen, and she had always had high standards. But after today, I wasn’t sure if it was actually standards, or something a little less kind, and a little more judgey. Maybe sending her away hadn’t been good for her in the way I had hoped. But then again, we hadn’t really been open with her about the things going on in our lives, so maybe we had really just thrown her off her rocker a little too hard with all the secrets and changes.
“Oh.”
I didn’t know one word could be so full of hurt, and the pang in my chest told me I had fucked up a bit about how I had told her.
“Babe... I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought, it would be good for you to have someone who had been there before, that’s all. Someone who knew the ins and outs of being Royalty. I thought she would be a good mentor. But after today, I’m not so sure it was a good idea. And I definitely didn’t think she was going to be here when we returned. That timing was terrible.”
“Yea, I wasn’t really expecting it,” She admitted softly.
“I’m sorry. For everything. I don’t think anything has gone to plan since we first met.” I told her sincerely.
“That’s okay. I’m glad I’m on this adventure with you.” She replied. It sounded so easy coming from her. Like even though we had been on the brink of death a thousand times, it was just an adventure we were both on.
I kissed her lips, and she deepened the kiss. She was perfect. She was made for me. And I was going to do my damn hardest to not fail her like the prophecy said I would.
“Any more questions?” I asked her, when we finally broke apart. We were both too tired to go any further than that, and I hadn’t forgotten that we both had been drinking.
“No.” She answered softly as she curled up into me, and I pulled her closer.
I was about to drift off again when I heard, “Rhys?”
“Yes, my love?” I answered but I couldn’t keep the sleepiness out of my voice.
“I lied. I have one more question. Well, maybe it isn’t a question, but I have a thought.”
“And it’s keeping you awake?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your question/thought, love?”
“I think we need to take the Vampire Queen, Princess Elara, and our group to the Wild lands.”
“The Wild Lands?” I was no longer sleepy. “Why the Wild Lands?”
She took a deep breath, and I studied her in the dark. As much as she was pretending, she wasn’t fully recovered from being taken by Red Blood Pack. Her face was still pale, and she had lost quite a bit of weight in the short time she had been gone. I worried about her health, even though Sawyer had said it would just take time. But I hated the way the dark circles under her eyes were beginning to look permanent.
“I think we need to talk to Sandra.”
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