Piper LeVine, A Gypsy's Truth

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  When I returned to Nicholas’ house there was no one home. Well, that’s what I thought until I heard someone crying. I followed the sound to one of the bedrooms and despite my better judgment, I peeked inside.

  This was the room that the grandparents shared. It was the grandma that was crying, though the grandpa looked as though he was in just as much pain. I listened to him telling her to hold on and asking her not to leave him. My eyes stung from the tears. Then she asked him to give her peace and let her go. He got up and opened the door completely then. I expected him to yell at me, to reprimand me for my nosiness, for my intrusion.

  “Please, tell her what I cannot. Give Heathera her peace.” He pulled me into the room and then flattened himself against the door. He was crying though no sound escaped him. His eyes locked with Heathera’s.

  In her eyes, I found her exhaustion, her pain. I took her hand in both of mine and blocked her view of her husband. “It’s okay now, Heathera. He knows you have to go.”

  “He will be alone,” she told me and more tears poured from my eyes.

  “He is letting you go, Heathera. Take your peace and know he will be looked after.”

  Her eyes were so imploring, her hand so frail in mine. “You will look after him?”

  I said, “I will.” She nodded and then searched the ceiling for the peace she wanted. I don’t know why I started to sing, but as soon as I did the pain cleared from her face. It was a Christian song that I loved and found soothing. Nicholas’ grandma died while I was singing to her and his grandpa who had come to stand beside me collapsed crying.

  The slave driver came in then and told me to leave. He helped his father onto his feet by pulling him out of my arms and again told me to leave. “I promised Heathera I would look after him.”

  “Get her out of here,” he said to someone behind me, but the grandpa raised his hand up and left the slave driver to embrace me.

  “Thank you for giving her peace.” When he released me, I could only give him a nod. I had no words to give him to bring his wife back. He went to Nicholas’ dad and I went into the hallway, doing my best to get out of their house and let them grieve. Nicholas was in the hallway. His brown eyes were turning an amber color and were shiny with moisture.

  “I’m so sorry, Nicholas.” He grabbed me and hugged me tight. He kissed my forehead.

  When his mother arrived, I decided it was time to give them their privacy. The door to Nicholas’ mom and dad’s room stood open and I saw the black book.

  I thought about how much I loved Nicholas all the way to my room at Seraph’s house, so that no one would overhear what an opportunist I turned out to be. Even as I hid the book in my luggage I felt disgusted with myself. I had taken a book that Nicholas’ parents didn’t want me to have while they were grieving Heathera.

  When someone pounded on my door I was sure I was busted, and yes, I tried to pretend not to be there but whoever knocked was persistent. Whoever turned out to be Brea. “Did Nicholas tell you to come here?”

  “No.”

  Her hands went to her hips. “Then I assume this is free time?”

  I sighed as loudly as possible. “Yes.”

  “I’m responsible for you and you’re acting very guilty. What did you do?”

  “Nothing. Honestly, Brea.” I tilted my head at her with my best, what’s wrong with your look. “Okay, well, I’ve got to go and find Brynn.” I didn’t go to Brynn like I was supposed to. I went looking for Barthow.

  I never did figure out where he lived, but he came to me, for once my wind whispering came in handy. “Come with me.” He led me back to the ballroom. “Couldn’t wait, could you?”

  “I’ve, I mean we’ve got to practice some more. I don’t want Nicholas to find out about this.”

  He raised his eyebrows at me. “Then you should have waited.”

  “I didn’t know if I’d get another chance.” He tugged on his beard and I saw his indecision.” You said I could trust you. So, help me Barthow.”

  “You might as well call me Blackbeard, that’s your name for me on the wind.” We practiced the entire day. It started off being incredibly strenuous but by the time Nicholas showed up, I was confident that my thoughts were safe at last.

  “It’s almost five,” Nicholas said. “I thought you might be hungry.”

  “Well, I am.” Blackbeard stood up. “Starving.” He patted my head and then paused next to Nicholas. “So sorry Heathera passed.”

  Nicholas inclined his head. “Thank you.” Once Blackbeard left, he looked at me and I stood up feeling ten times guiltier seeing his eyes bloodshot.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I know.” He took my hand and kissed my palm. “May I take you out to eat?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Oh yea, I’m sure.” We left in this big black truck, the same one that he took to Grandma Sidney’s to find me.

  It must belong to him, I realized.

  He never let go of my hand even while he was driving, which I know should have scared me, but didn’t. Nicholas’ hand in mine made me consider this whole other life, a life I never would have glanced at.

  “Sounds like you’ve got a handle on your wind-whispering. I have no idea what you’re thinking about, it’s killing me.”

  “I’m wondering if today is really the best day to go out. You’ve had a loss in your family.”

  His jaw flexed and his eyes glassed over with moisture again but he said, “It’s the perfect time.” Then he looked at me with a bittersweet smile. “You practiced all day. It was that important to you?” I nodded and though he didn’t look at me he knew my answer was yes.

  “My mom is so grateful for the way you helped Heathera and my grandfather, Donnell, she’s going to give you her pardon.”

  “Good.”

  “I thought you’d be happier.” Nicholas glanced my way before changing lanes. “Now you’ve just got my father and I to-”

  “Are you saying I don’t have your pardon? After you made me announce to the entire clan that I wanted you, that isn’t enough?”

  He nodded. “You never asked for it. If you are going to give a true apology there will be no qualifiers in it. That’s what makes it sincere.”

  I cleared my throat and then pulled my hand out of his so that I could fold my arms. “You know, where I come from, you let people apologize the best they can without telling them how you’d like to hear it or what you think they should say.”

  “That’s because the Gaje accept excuses as apologies. We do not.” Nicholas tensed up and I knew he was ready for me to argue with him, which I probably should have, but I was too happy to be out and about. I’d tell him later what I thought of his generalizations.

  “When I was growing up all Toryn ever talked about was how he was going to grow up and marry you. He’d go on and on about it and don’t get mad but I remember feeling sorry for him.”

  “Why?”

  He laughed and gave me a nervous smile. “Because he was going to be marrying a Gaje.” I slapped his shoulder with my hand in mock anger. “I had to go and see you for myself when I took over alpha and you proved me wrong then and ever since. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, I should hope so.”

  “Have you seen Toryn since last night?”

  I sighed thinking this was an insecurity thing. “No, I haven’t.”

  “He left the community after we left the celebration. The pack has told me he was really upset.” Nicholas made no secret of watching my response to this news.

  “I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just want to get what I came for and then leave you all free to live your own lives.”

  Nicholas had driven us to the beach and he parked in a huge parking lot at the white sands edge. “You haven’t changed your mind at all about that?”

  “You’ve made me want to consider it, Nicholas. But I can’t. I’m not the gypsy princess you or Seraph wants me to be.”

  “I do
n’t want you to change who you are, Piper. I want you to accept who you are in both worlds. You can be both.” I unbuckled my seatbelt. “You can be both a daughter and a sister. You are a granddaughter and a student in high school. You are the Senator’s daughter and a gypsy princess.”

  I laughed. “You make it sound easy, it isn’t.”

  “You’ve been doing it this long.”

  Nicholas sure was trying to have all the answers. I tilted my head to the right. “I may not be an experienced or well learned gypsy, but I do think Seraph will have a problem with a gypsy princess living on the outside.”

  He shrugged. “You’ve been outside the community for seventeen years.” I could feel his warm hands through my clothes at my hips when Nicholas assisted me out of the vehicle.

  Gazing down at me with an openness he’d never shown me, he kissed me. His lips caressed mine, deep and slow. He tasted like the salt from the tears I’d not seen him shed. Nicholas cradled my face in his hands. His kiss lingering on my lips as he looked into my eyes there was so much in them that I recognized. Feelings that have yet to be named, but I felt them too.

  Nicholas took my hand, stepping back and recovering that sad and sweet smile. “Let’s go get something to eat.” We got an outside table so we could enjoy the ocean breeze. I ordered shrimp scampi and Nicholas got the king crab.

  Everything was delicious and Nicholas was either much better at wooing me than before or I’d gone and fallen for him. After we’d finished our food he took my hand lovingly in his, dropped a couple hundred’s on the table and led me toward the beach.

  “My grandpa, Donnell, was really sad about losing Heathera,” Nicholas told me as we walked along the water’s edge. “There wasn’t much any of us could do for him.” I sat with him and he told me all about how he’d grown to love and count on even the smallest details about her.

  “They were married for fifty-eight years and my grandpa, the last thing he said before he fell asleep was that it wasn’t nearly long enough.” We stopped walking and turned toward one another. “I don’t want another moment to pass without having told you I love you, Piper.”

  There was no longer any room for doubt. My heart burned inside of me answering his fully in accord.

  I love him.

  It was undeniable. He wasn’t waiting for me to say that I loved him too. He was smiling and running his fingers through my hair. I didn’t realize I was smiling back at him until he ran his thumb over my smiling mouth.

  “This is good.” He brought my hand up to his lips. “You’re not running away.”

  I laced my fingers together behind his neck, looked up into his eyes and told him, “I don’t want to run away from you anymore.”

  Nicholas seized my lips. His arms were around me and his hands in my hair as he claimed my mouth as his own. Heat spiraled through me and mixed with the desire I already had for him. The passion in his kiss had my head spinning and I had no doubt that married or not I already belonged to him, and he belonged to me.

  His body was so hard against mine, there was so much solid muscle yet he did not crush me with his incredible strength. It occurred to me that he was being very careful even though he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. My hand found the bottom hem of his shirt and slid beneath it, the skin on his stomach was hot and tight beneath my touch.

  Nicholas made a tortured sound, and his hands slid down my back and cupped my behind as he picked me up off the sand and held me on his hips. I wrapped my legs around his waist, but suddenly he ripped his mouth from mine and his arms and hands bit into my skin as the pressure instantly increased. He said something in Gaelic using the same tone my father does when he’s yelling explicative’s in road rage.

  I held tightly to him too afraid to look around and see what he was seeing. “What?” He set me onto the sand.

  “Get in the truck and drive as fast as you can back to the community.” He unpeeled my fisted hand and put the keys inside my curled fingers.

  My heart was pounding. “Why? No, I won’t leave you here.”

  Nicholas grabbed my face and made me look into his eyes. “I said go, now.” He tossed me up onto the pier, which was really high up. I landed on my stomach, knocked the oxygen right out of me, and I banged my chin. I climbed up the side railing onto my feet.

  Two figures walked toward Nicholas. They weren’t in cloaks like I knew black Siths had to wear in the sunlight and though the sun was setting it was not yet gone. They were men but they moved across the sand without sinking into it and they were moving fast, although their body language made it appear a leisurely motion.

  I leaned over the railing trying to make myself breathe. I wanted to scream at Nicholas, to make him get away. If I was right then these men were worse than black Siths. The only thing I knew of that was worse than a Black Sith was a Baobhan Sith. Blood poured from my chin and I wiped it with my arm. The two figures leapt at Nicholas and he changed into a huge werewolf.

  People were screaming all around me. The three of them were so fast it was hard to see exactly what was happening, we could hear it though. Nicholas roared out a sound of terrible pain before he shrank back to his human form, and I screamed but not with my voice.

  The figures stopped tearing at Nicholas’ unmoving body. They straightened and began to turn toward me. Blood dripped from my chin again and it fell to the white sand below.

  The two figures blurred in my vision and were gone from Nicholas, who still wasn’t moving. I looked out and around the beach, but I couldn’t find where they’d gone. The woman next to me was screaming louder, and I felt like I was in slow motion as I followed her gaze to directly below us in the exact spot my blood had dripped onto the sand. A young man with dark hair stood looking up at me with a smile on his blood stained mouth.

  He was far below me, but I could see his pupils growing and shrinking matching the pace of my heartbeat. My body shook beyond my control. I felt the second one’s presence at my side before I saw him. This one had brown hair and up close it shocked me that he appeared so normal.

  “We won’t hurt you, Kellan. But it would be wise to come without a fight so you do not injure yourself.” His voice was melodic. The pier shook and when I looked back down to the sand I saw Nicholas bite straight through the other Baobhans center splitting him in half and tossing both pieces aside. He climbed up onto the pier in only two movements.

  The Baobhan’s eyes turned completely white as he grew larger. The Baobhan flew past me and I finally did as Nicholas asked me. I ran down the pier toward the parking lot, hating myself for being so helpless with every step I took.

  I hadn’t missed the blood that had been all over the pier where Nicholas had been standing. I prayed it belonged to the other Baobhan but couldn’t forget that they had left him unmoving on the beach only moments before.

  I got in the truck and started the engine as my driver side door handle was tested from the outside. The Baobhan Nicholas had ripped in half stood outside my door.

  A blur of brown fur whisked him away, and I recognized Toryn when he looked back at me and I reversed out of the parking spot. I couldn’t see through my tears as I peeled out into traffic, I was driving like a lunatic and telling myself that Nicholas and Toryn would escape the Baobhans once I was far enough away from them.

  If anything happens to Nicholas….

  No, don’t go there. Just get back. They’ll be there waiting for me. They’ll be there.