Page 18 of For Her, He Falls

"Come," Helena adds. "I'll show you to your rooms, and I can have another look at those cuts."

The healer leads the Rovers away, leaving only Tristan to close the door behind them as my father returns to the bedside, gesturing for me to join him.

I walk over to where my mother lies unmoving, lingering by the foot of the bed. Now that we're not fighting for our lives, I have the chance to finally look at Vanessa.

She's beautiful.

Where my father's hair is such a pale shade of platinum, it's almost silver, hers is a warm strawberry blonde. It falls around her shoulders, sleek and silky, framing her soft features. Her skin is light from having been locked away for so many years, but even so, there's a natural flush to her cheeks, and I wonder if Helena must have given her some sort of potion to help her heal.

"How is she?" I ask under my breath.

"Weak," my father replies dryly. "Malnourished. Bruised in more places than I care to count. But she'll recover."

Tristan comes to stand a few steps behind me, and I sense rather than see the unease that washes over him.

"She almost looks like you did when we first brought you to the Villa," he says, his voice husky as if the memory of the state he'd first found me in still pained him.

The sound of a soft groan stops me from considering his words long enough to formulate a reply, and my chest tightens as Vanessa stirs. Instinctively, I reach out for Tristan's hand, and he squeezes mine reassuringly as my mother's face crumples.

"Shhh, it is alright, my star," Marco says soothingly, brushing a strand of hair with a tender touch. "I'm right here."

She groans again, her eyes fluttering open to reveal an electric shade of blue. She blinks a few times as if clearing her blurry vision before taking in her surroundings. Her gaze is foggy, her movements lethargic as she tries to sit up.

"What happened? Where is he? What has he done?" she asks, her light voice sounding raspy and raw as if she'd been screaming.

"You're safe," Marco reassures her. "Viktor is gone. He can never hurt you again.

A painfully familiar mixture of relief and disbelief washes over her features as things seem to come into focus, and my father helps her sit and lean back against the pillows propped behind her.

"Marco?" she asks, tears filling her glacier-blue eyes as she looks upon the man she thought she'd never see again.

"Hello, my north star," he replies with a smile I've never seen him don before. "Take a breath. There's someone I want you to meet."

My heart thunders against my ribcage, my hand clasped around Tristan so tightly I imagine it must border on painful, but he makes no move to pull away.

This doesn't feel real.

Vanessa's brow furrows in confusion, and then she turns slowly to face me. For what feels like an eternity, she just looks at me, taking in the color of my eyes, the round lips that resemble hers, and the slender nose that resembles my father's. The frown melts away from her expression as more tears trickle down her cheek, and I'm not quite sure at what point I started crying too.

"Hi." I choke out the word, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh, my baby girl," she sobs and leans toward me. I have to let go of Tristan's hand to step forward and help her as she reaches out to me, her slender fingers pulling me into her arms.

Something taut snaps within me, and I collapse into her embrace, letting my tears fall freely as I hug my mother for the very first time. She shakes from the shock and the emotions swirling between us, whispering the same words over and over again as if trying to convince herself that I'm real. "My baby, my baby, my baby."

I whisper back the word that feels like a dream, tasting of long-forgotten hope on my lips.

"Mom."

Chapter Twelve

My father rests a hand on Vanessa's shoulder and places the other on my own, creating a sense of connection among the three of us that I can't put into words.

Still crying, she releases me to look back at Marco, taking his hand from her shoulder while still clutching my own. I mirror her actions, creating a chain between the three of us as we sit in a little circle on the bed.

"Look at her, Marco," she gasps with something between a sob and a laugh. "Look at you; you're so big. My baby is all grown up."

Vanessa's face cracks with heartache as she looks at me, shaking her head. "He took you from me. He stole my baby away, and I missed so much. So many years... He took so much from me... All that time, I didn't know what he'd done to you..."

---