Page 92 of Total Eclipse of the Moon
"You belong to no one else," he whispered. "Tell me."
Cora’s eyebrows rose. In Spanish, she whispered, "Only you."
"Don’t leave, Antonio," Madeline called out. It came out a lot weaker than desired.
"This is your business,señoras." He and Cora locked gazes for a moment, something hot that promised what rested between them was far from over in their eyes, before he backed into the hallway and disappeared.
"Are we going to talk aboutthat? You and Antonio damn near burst into flames." Madeline motioned to Antonio’s retreating back.
"That’s not relevant to right now. Don’t make me get mean and force you out of here."
Every word Shane said about being tired of his life and wanting to be free reverberated in her head. "I can’t go. I need to see this through." She dropped her chin. "I understand everything you’ve said. I know you’re right about the dragons. I want to fight for them, but me staying is something I feel is the right move. But…" she rummaged through her bag until she found the small metal toy car. She held it out.
Cora took it and rolled it in her hand. "Why are you giving me this?"
"It’s the only material possession I value. It means everything to me. It’s all I have left of my son. You’re going to take it." She closed Cora’s hand around it when she tried to hand it back. "You’re going to keep it safe and give it back to me after all this. If things don’t go well tomorrow night at the eclipse, you can séance using it to find my soul. I’ll be with him so you can speak with us both."
Cora seemed to cave into herself as she turned the toy car in her hand. Her fingers closed around it. She didn’t look up. "You’re choosing that lycan above your purpose?"
"Have you considered maybe this is my purpose? Perhaps what I’m supposed to do is wrapped up with him?"
Cora swallowed hard as she held her hand with the car against her chest. "You know I don’t do good-byes." Then she walked down the hallway away from her and called over her shoulder. "Until next time."
"Cora…" She waited until Cora turned to look back. "You’re the one who taught me to have faith in those fates you spoke about."
"They’re fickle bitches with a twisted sense of humor. Be careful."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
"Can you save Mommy?"asked a dark-haired girl no more than four or five years old.
Shane stared into eyes that were identical to those he saw in the mirror daily, the same bright blue shade. His muscles felt numb as he replied, "This is her choice."
"Let me talk to Baku," the girl demanded.
"No, sweetheart." Pain pinched his chest.
"He loves me as much as you. Let me talk to him."
Shane saw the demon in his real form as a Japanese dragon hovering near her. The little girl put her tiny hand up to the green-purple skin of the demon’s face. "If Mommy dies, so do I. I love you no matter what you do."
Shane jerked awake where he’d fallen asleep in a stuffed chair in the Monaco hotel suite one floor down from that where King Frances vacationed. He swiped at moisture on his cheeks and stared at his hand. Tears?
They were hours away from confronting the monarch of England. He still felt like sunbaked roadkill. He’d been in and out of consciousness since Dom did emergency surgery on him yesterday. His chest was healing, but this kind of damage took time.
He needed a moment of quality time with Madeline to get his head straight over what was about to happen. He’d watched his brothers do their energy cleanse with a potion and spell ceremony last night…or was it this morning? Time had become unclear in his head.
"Baku, was that…Was it a dream or a vision?" He couldn’t finish the question in his head. The demon’s presence felt shaky as if it too was blown away. That might’ve been his daughter. And Madeline’s? That hadn’t been like his other precognitive visions. That had felt more like a warning from his unborn child. Those eyes, the same color as his, had been wide and so trusting in the belief both he and Baku would save her mother.
He leaned forward and cradled his head as his heartbeat rushed through his ears.
"We can’t allow this to happen,"he thought to the demon.
Roman strode into the room. "Time to go."
Without looking up he said, "Thought we had a few hours." One hour might be enough to talk to Madeline and make sure this was the right plan.
"That was before you conked out. Eclipse happens in fifteen minutes. Dom has all the guards mesmerized and controlled. Mom is monitoring security. Are you going to…"
