Page 55 of The Light Falls
He scowls. “Everyone’s on her side. Arden is barely speaking to me. Callyx sent me a nasty text. The cadre won’t let me visit The Abbey.” His gravelly voice is full of bewilderment and emotion.
“Why did you wait so long?” I can’t help but ask him.
“I wanted to be sure she would fall for me, even if I didn’t look the same, smell the same, or act the same. Would she feel the same about a stranger?” he admits with a heavy sigh. “When I left this world, I lost everything, including my identity. I was the same person for thousands of years. A high-ranking Chaos demon with the respect of the Underworld. Who was I now? Could she love this person as much as she did ‘Vargas’?”
“You’re an old fool.” Solandis’ voice comes from the doorway. Spinning on her treacherously high heels, she strides out of the room.
Kaius jumps up, but I grab his hand. “Before your third date, she confessed she felt deeply for this version of you, the same way she did for Vargas, but she was also excited because it was new. Maybe you need to figure out a way to combine the past with the present. You’ve both changed during this whole thing.”
He leans down and places a loud kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”
I watch him rush out the door after her. Taking Kaius’ abandoned seat, I turn my attention to the enigmatic man in front of me. “It’s hard to believe he’s Vargas.”
Cormal studies me for a second. “You don’t think I would have trusted just anyone with you, do you?” He flips the map around and points to three marks. “I’m going to check these locations today to see if they will work for our delivery.”
Sweet wordsandhe told me what he was going to do. Exactly what I told him I needed. Why does it feel weird?
“Um, yeah. Thank you. I’m going to talk to Camon, then check in on the delegation to see when they’re leaving.”
He takes back his coffee, gives me a hard kiss, and disappears into a shadow. I smile. That felt right.
Hurrying out the door, I text Estrella to find out whether she’s available. She texts back to say she was heading to Camon’s to get a copy of the Lesser Fae proposal. I tap the phone on my chin as I debate whether to go with her.
“Mind if I join you?”
She appears in the hallway not far from where I’m standing, much to Ansel’s irritation. “Oops, sorry. I didn’t think.” Her eyes meet mine with a plea for help in their depths.
Laughing, I tap Ansel on the arm. “We’re going to Lord Camon’s. Do you need to call someone to join us?”
While he’s busy locating another guard for our trip, I scan the hallway. “How did you get here?”
“The light beams,” she replies with a grin. “I’m too impatient to actually walk anywhere.” She cocks her head to the side. “Why did you ask to join me?”
“I actually want a copy of the proposal too,” I admit with a shrug. “Maybe there are some things we can do immediately for the Lesser Fae. I won’t know until I see what’s in the proposal. Also, I have a task for Camon. Is the delegation ready to go?”
There’s an unusual glint in her eye. “You would champion the rights of the Lesser Fae?”
“Yes, I would,” I state firmly, without giving her my reasons.
She nods several times. “Good. And yes, the delegation is ready to go. We leave tomorrow around noon, which should give us enough time to finalize any last-minute details. The meeting will take place on my land tomorrow evening. Everyone should be back a day or two later.” Her hand reaches for mine. “It won’t resolve anything, but it should give the council concrete evidence of everything I’ve been saying.”
“Maybe we can use it to springboard the changes,” I murmur.
Ansel returns with Garren and Galen.
I can’t help but grin at the look on Estrella’s face when she sees the remarkably handsome twins.
She laughs. “Mmm. We better get going.”
When we get to Camon’s, he’s waiting for us on the front steps of his cream mansion, wearing a huge frown on his face. “Brina’s not feeling well. We’ll have to make this short.”
Estrella gives him a sympathetic look. “When is the baby due?”
He scowls. “A month. Here’s a copy of the proposal.” He thrusts it in Estrella’s hand. When I open my mouth, he waves a hand and hands me a second copy. “Is that all?”
I motion for him to follow me several yards away. “I want you to meet the weapons coming from Fallon. Can you do that, or do you need to stay here with Brina?”
He stiffens. “When are they coming?”
