Gwyneth Stevens - Bella Mia Part 17

Mikhail glanced at Nicholas and then back at me, sorrow evident in his face. "Giovanni told me he'd thought of all that already, but he'd made you a promise before you died and he would rather give up his own life than to give your child away. I tried to talk him into giving the baby to the King. He said no one but he and I knew you were the King's daughter and the Kingdom would question why the Kerrigan had suddenly taken in an orphan."

Mikhail's gaze landed on Pallo, who stared blankly out into the night. "I even tried to talk Giovanni into taking the baby to you, his father, but he told me about how you'd lost control of your demon and he knew the knowledge of Gwen's death would find you soon. And when it did you'd go even further over the edge. His fear was for the boy. He didn't want the baby to be hurt. He asked for my help and I gave it. I was his eyes and ears during the daylight for Nicholas growing up, then... when Nicholas got sick with the fever... I ...."

Nicholas stepped closer to us. "Mikhail, was the one who saved my life by giving me the gift of immortality. My father couldn't bring himself to turn me into something that would never again see the light of day. He told me my mother would have never allowed that to happen. He said she'd lost someone close to her to the vampires and would never forgive him for doing it to me. So, Mikhail stepped in and saved my life."

Pallo stared at Nicholas. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him, holding me tightly and rocking back and forth. "We have a son ... I have a son. He's alive. Gwyneth, we have a son," he whispered.

I let out a small laugh even though the situation was anything but funny. "Yeah, I've got a son who is two-hundred years older than me, but we look like we're the same age. Not bad, huh!"

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

Closing my bedroom door, I put my head against the wall. I was having serious issues absorbing everything that had gone on. After we were sure the rogue omnis and the Para-regs were gone for good, Pallo decided he needed some time to himself. I couldn't blame him, finding out a guy you hate might be your son is hard, I'm sure. Nicholas seemed even less enthused with the idea. He kept mumbling how his mother was almost two-hundred years younger than him and how there was no way Pallo was his father. Caleb took the news well. I think part of him had expected something like this someday. I wish I could say the same.

I didn't know how to take the idea I might be Nicholas' mother. That life seemed so far removed from mine. So often when I would hear one of the men talk about my past, it was like hearing about someone else. I had tried to talk to Nicholas and failed. I ended up walking up to him and mentioning how very rude he was. He agreed his att.i.tude wasn't the best and took off back to Mikhail's room to get dressed.

I needed to talk to Giovanni and he was nowhere to be found. I had tried calling his house before I went up to my room, but all I got was Ester. She said she hadn't seen him since the two of us left for the States. That should have been a comfort to me. It wasn't. If Giovanni wasn't at home and he wasn't here, then where the h.e.l.l was he?

Someone knocked on the door. I lifted my head off it and turned the k.n.o.b. Caleb stood there in his torn jeans. He looked tired and ready to sleep. I opened the door for him. He walked in, immediately came to me and put his hand out. I took it and let him pull me close to him.

"How ya doing?" he asked.

I put my head on his shoulder. "Not so good, how about you?"

Chuckling, he ran his hand down my back. "I'm good. Better than you. You've had a long night. You managed to find out you were, or are, someone's mother and that Giovanni betrayed you."

I rolled my eyes. "Why is everyone so hip to jump on the betrayal wagon when it comes to Giovanni?"

Caleb sighed and kissed the top of my head. "The very fact that you ask that proves you don't know a d.a.m.n thing about him."

I nodded slowly, not because I agreed with him, but out of annoyance. "Great, so I guess the deal with you being fine with him is off, I mean ... you did get what you want... him gone."

I went to pull away from him. He held tight to my arms. "Gwen, I'm not going back on my word. I just don't think you know all there is to know about him, and I don't want to see you get hurt. That's all. Am I supposed to stop caring about you ... just like that?" He snapped his fingers. I got his point, but I didn't like it.

"I guess it doesn't matter anyways. He took off. He never said good-bye, h.e.l.l, he didn't even bother to take his suitcase with him. That's how bad he wanted to get away from me."

"Gwen, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't think Giovanni walked out on you." Caleb tipped his head back. "s.h.i.+t, I hate defending the guy, but maybe he had something important come up, maybe ...."

"No, he came to me in the woods after Fritz had knocked me out. He came to me in a dream and he said his good-byes. He's not planning on coming back, Caleb."

Caleb's grip tightened on my arm. "Gwen, maybe we should search for him."

Staring into his green eyes, I wondered what it was that he was thinking.

"The only way you're going to get proof-positive that Nicholas is yours is to go straight to the man in question. Giovanni can fill in the blanks for you. He owes you that much."

I grabbed the sides of his scruffy face and pushed my mouth onto his. It was different kissing him with a goatee now and I actually found myself liking it. My magik wrapped around his. They knew each other now and so did our bodies.

I pulled back and took a deep breath. My body was shaking with need for him.

I leaned into him and gave him another kiss. I needed comfort right now and Caleb would do nicely-no, better than just nicely. We stood locked together for what felt like forever before we pulled away.

"I'm exhausted and I hate to admit it. Would you mind if I got in the shower and got cleaned up?" I asked.

It had been a long night. I'd been attacked by a psychotic omnimorpheleon chick and her slackies. I'd discovered that I might very well have a son who was a s.h.i.+fter and a h.e.l.l of a lot older than me.

Chapter Twenty-Eight.

I took a long hot shower and found a comfy pair of pink pajama bottoms and a white t-s.h.i.+rt to sleep in. Caleb had fallen asleep across the foot of my bed. I knew that he was exhausted, as well, and I had no intention of waking him. I kissed his head and climbed under the covers. Caleb's long body prevented me from being able to get the comforter up enough to get under. I finally gave up and lay sideways next to him.

I felt my body surrendering to sleep. The day had been long and by the looks of it, the next day wouldn't prove to be any shorter. I moved into Caleb's warm body and snuggled close to him. I let myself go and enter the dream world I was coming to dislike.

I had always had a gift for knowing when I was dreaming, although I'd recently had a rash of monk filled dreams that had questioned that. I found myself standing in the field of purple and yellow flowers that I had come to expect in my dreams and know in real life. I knew that a field identical to this one existed at a portal in Necro World to the realm of fairies. I had also come to expect the flowers to part for me as I walked. I put my hand out and waited for the b.u.t.terfly that visited without fail in every one of these dreams I had. He did not come.

I looked around the pre-dawn skyline and looked for a sign as to what had changed. Everything appeared to be the same, minus the b.u.t.terfly. I walked straight towards the river that ran through the field and stopped just before stepping out and onto it. I'd seen Caleb and my father walk on water before. I should have been used to it, but I still found it unnerving. Being raised by church fearing humans left water walking to a certain individual who I dared not compare myself to.

"Welcome, child of mine, balance between the light and dark," I heard a woman's voice say. I knew that voice. I'd heard it in my dreams enough to recognize it. I looked around for its source, but found nothing.

"Lydia?"

I heard a soft chuckle and then felt a warm breeze tickle my neck. "You may call me Lydia if you wish, daughter of mine, but I would rather you call me mother."

I felt my stomach tie into a knot with excitement. This was the first time the voice had ever actually responded to a question I asked. It was weird to think of the voice as my mother. I'd never met her. The mother I'd come to know had been Sarah, my adoptive mother. She was a sweet and wonderful woman whom I still missed. I'd lost both my adoptive parents in the last two years and I hadn't really had a chance to work through that.

I turned and looked around for Lydia, I couldn't find her. "Mother?"

I felt another blast of warm sweet smelling air come past me. "I am here, Gwyneth. I have come to you for a reason. You need to go to your father. You must go soon, a life depends on it."

I felt the wind blowing more. I turned into it. "Mother, whose life depends on it and why does it involve my father?"

"Go, Gwyneth, go soon. Take Caleb, he will curb your father's anger."

"His anger? About what?"

I heard her laugh softly again. "About Nicholas ... I told Giovanni to keep the child's ident.i.ty a secret. Your father does not care for Pallo and this news will not go over well."

I thought about what she was saying. She'd known that Nicholas existed? "Mother, if you knew about him, why didn't you take him? Why let Giovanni raise him?"

"Pallo was not to be reasoned with. I tried to send Caleb after him to stop him, but his vengeance spread to innocents not the woman responsible for your death. The child would not have been safe from Pallo or Sorcha at the time. Giovanni knew this and I helped to ensure that he would never again fall prey to the magik that controlled him. He is a good man, so are Caleb and Pallo. You have chosen well with who you give your heart to."

I took a step out onto the water and looked into the night sky. "Mother, how can you say that?"

"Your heart is big enough to love thousands and it is in your genes to love more than one."

It was my turn to laugh. "Let me guess, I get that from the Dark Lord, my dad, too, huh?"

The wind stopped moving around me and the night felt suddenly still. "No, my sweet child, that gift came from me. You see, I loved your father, but he was not the only man I loved. He was not the only man that could give me you."

I was. .h.i.t with a sudden realization. "Oh G.o.d, that's why he's been so insistent on me marrying Caleb in front of the Kingdom. He never got to proclaim his love for you and put an end to your other affairs." I dropped to one knee. "Why, did you leave father for them?"

Her voice was growing fainter now. "No, you cannot leave what never lets you in and he made sure that I could not commit to any other so long as he was unable to have me."

I thought about what she was implying. Had my father forbidden her to see anyone else, even though he could never publicly love her? I didn't have to wait for a response.

"You must hurry, Gwyneth, a life is in your hands now. Do not let him repeat the sins of his past. Go to him, Gwyneth, go ...."

I shot awake and found Caleb still asleep next to me. Touching him lightly, I watched as his eyes opened quickly. He glanced around and then sat up fast. "Don't laugh when I ask you this, but by any chance, did you just dream that someone was in some serious trouble in the Dark Realm?"

I nodded.

"s.h.i.+t," he said, tossing the covers aside. "Me too. Let's go."

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

We used the portal to the Dark Realm near the river by my house. My father had created it when I was a child so he could watch over me. I looked around at the large buildings and crowded sidewalks. This wasn't exactly what I had pictured h.e.l.l to be, but I was pretty sure it was what Christians based their belief of it off of.

It's always dark in the Dark Realm, hence the name. Not too many creatures that inhabit it can take direct sunlight. Everyone is free to come and go between the human world and here and that is a very scary thought.

I grabbed for Caleb's hand as I walked past a furry seven foot tall beast. Its eyes were bright red. Only the black iris let you know they were even functional. It looked at me and spread its mouth wide. For being huge, it had incredibly tiny teeth. I pulled in closer to Caleb. He'd been walking a step ahead of me the entire way.

"Caleb, wait."

He slowed and turned to me. He shook his head slightly and pulled me to him. "I'm sorry. I'm wrapped up in thoughts about ... let's just say that I've got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

The large furry beast took a step closer to us. I tensed up and Caleb smiled. He put out his hand and shook the human-like hand of the beast.

"I thought that was you," the beast said in an incredibly low voice.

"Beevan, how have you been?"

Caleb knew the thing? A shudder ran through me. Beevan turned to me. "Is this who I think it is?"

Caleb pulled me in and brought my hand to his lips and then to my horror put my hand out to Beevan. His large hand came up and took mine. He brought his wide face down to me and planted a light kiss on the back of my hand.

"Princess, it is an honor indeed."

Princess? I turned around and looked behind me. Both Caleb and Beevan chuckled.

"You'll have to excuse her, Beevan, she's not used to the t.i.tle," Caleb said.

"Yes, I can see that." He let go of my hand gently and looked at Caleb. "You should know that the elders are filtering in. They have come early to aid in the preparations for the ceremony."

Caleb stiffened. "Which ones are here?"

"At least half of them and yes, your Aunt Sira has arrived." Beevan looked down the street towards the large castle. Caleb followed suit and then looked back at me.

"Maybe we should come back later. We should really let your father know that we're coming."

I thought about the dream I'd had. No, this couldn't wait. I had to see my father and stop him from doing something. I just wasn't sure what yet.

"Caleb, I need to see my father. Now. It can't wait."

He let out a sigh and glanced at Beevan. "I take it that since you are here, so is Conlan."

Beevan nodded his gigantic head. "Yes, my master is in a meeting with several of the elders as we speak."

"Thank you, Beevan, and be safe."

Beevan smiled. "Be safe, young Caleb."

Caleb pulled me down the street. I suddenly felt like everyone we walked past was staring at us. I yanked on Caleb's hand to stop him. He turned around and stared at me.

"What's wrong now?" he asked.

My jaw dropped. He was treating me like I was the biggest burden he'd ever had to deal with. I pulled my hand loose from his and felt my face tighten. "Nothing, sorry."

His eyes fluttered shut and he closed the distance between us. I stiffened as his arms wrapped around me. He planted tiny kisses on the top of my head and held me tightly. "Gwen, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about the elders being here already." He ran his hand down my cheek. "How are you feeling?"

Ignoring his question, I glanced at the people walking past. They gawked at us. "Why is everyone staring at us?"

He looked around like he was noticing for the first time that they were. He shrugged. "I'm not surprised. You do realize that you're royalty and a public sighting of you is big stuff here."

"But why are they staring at us?"

Caleb laughed. "Because since your father announced our engagement, we're all the talk." He cleared his throat. "Of course, my s.e.xual escapades have been front and center in the tabloids while you were in Tuscany. They claimed I was sowing my wild oats before tying the knot."

I groaned. "Caleb, I'm trying really hard to be okay with my father's decision to force us to marry, but I can't lie to you."

Nodding, he pulled me close and pressed his mouth to my ear. "I know, Gwen. Deep down, it doesn't feel quite right, does it?"