Page 28 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

He hoped that was okay, and that she didn't have some crazy rules about the maintenance of that stone, like dunking it in salt to clean it instead of using soap.

"You have no idea what this means to me." Her voice was thick with emotion.

"Enjoy," he said, because he couldn't think of anything better to say.

Glancing around, he searched for a place to sit.

Across the aisle, Ell-rom sat with Syssi, while several rows back, Yamanu had already pulled Mey into an embrace. This left him with the choice of sitting alone or next to Fenella.

Sighing inwardly, he settled beside her. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"It feels nice to wear proper clothes," she said.

He nodded. "Have you been home in recent years?"

She cast him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me? As who? My own daughter or granddaughter?"

"Right." He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "So, you haven't been in touch at all with your family?"

She shrugged. "At first, I sent letters, and I called whenever I could, but making international calls was super expensive back then, and you had to find a place that offered the service. It wasn't easy." She chuckled. "Cell phones changed the world."

"They did."

A long moment of awkward silence stretched between them, and then Fenella shifted in her seat. "Have you been home recently?"

He shook his head. "I don't like going back and having to see Din. He still gives me the cold shoulder fifty years later."

Her eyes widened. "So, he's an immortal, like you. Who else?"

"I don't remember every immortal who ever visited your pub."

She shifted back and turned toward the window, which was no longer opaque. "You said that it might have been someone else who induced me."

He let out a breath. "That's not likely. I've been defensive." He chuckled. "I guess I deserved you calling me an asshole."

"You are." She looked at him from under lowered lashes. "So, what does it mean that you are my inducer? Are you responsible for me or anything?"

"I am," he admitted. "I want you to have a good life."

Her lips twisted in a sneer. "Right. Just not with you."

"We are not in love, Fenella, and we never were, but Din loved you."

Fenella scoffed. "Din was just a possessive asshole. He could have flirted with me, shown me that he was interested, but instead he just wanted to make sure that none of his friends got near me. That's the definition of an asshole."

She surely liked to throw that descriptor around. Perhaps it was her defense mechanism, and she used that word for every guy who had ever hurt her feelings.

Given what she'd been through, though, Max couldn't really blame her for being bitter and defensive.

"Din was just shy, and he was taking his time. If anyone deserves to be called an asshole, it's me. I earned the name fair and square."

"Is that what you think?" She snorted. "That he was just shy? I have news for you. After you left, he came to the pub and hurled insults at me. Called me all kinds of names that no one should call a woman. That's not what a guy in love does."

Max was aghast. "He insulted you right there in the pub in front of everyone?"

That was unforgivable, and Din didn't deserve to know that Max had found Fenella and that she was immortal now.

"Well, not exactly," Fenella said, her voice tight. "He asked me to step outside because he wanted to tell me something. I said fine, and then he proceeded to call me every name in the book for choosing you over him." She gave a harsh laugh. "Not that I knew there was even a choice to make. I'd seen him looking at me, and I knew he found me attractive, but he was always so quiet and standoffish, so I thought he was just one of those guys who liked to look."

---