Beyond (56 page)

“
Vivian, stay here with Claudia. Davin and Caleb, come with me. We need to attend the meeting they are holding now. I need to talk to Katherine , and you can tell Austin the good news.
”

With one lingering kiss on her lips,
Michael left with the others .

Chapter
3
7

Tugging and pushing herself in
to a sitting position, her legs hung down straight. The pain had lessened a few hours ago, but it was still there.
The white gown she suddenly realized she was wearing could almost pass for a wedding dress. It was one of the most beautiful dress es she had ever seen , and she wondered if they were preparing to bury her in it .
It was a morbid thought , so she shook it out of her mind.
Looking down, she saw how pale her feet looked , and wonder ed if her face was pale too.

Slowly, with small bounces from the bed, she managed to stand up.
Sliding her feet one step at a time , as if she were on ice skates , she headed for the closet mirror. She was almost there when she was startled by the door bu r sting open.

“
Claudia!
”
Austin flew through the door and pulled her tightly into his hold.
“
Is it really you?
”
He smo th ered his face into her, taking her smel l and all of her in. His hand s ran all over her, still unable to believe she was standing right in front of him.

Vivian
had gone to the kitchen to get a cup of water for Claudia. She saw the door wide open and saw Austin , so she headed back to the kitchen to give them space.

“
Crazy , huh? I ’
m back from the dead, ”
she wisecracked .
Then it became silent and neither of them knew what to say.
“
I heard you ’
re one of the Twelve. That is fantastic…I think? Is this what you want?
”

Austin looked away, then b
ack to her , and he set his eyes on her butterfly necklace. There was only one person that would give her something like that.
His face showed his pain for a second , but it was a reminder he had to let her go.
“
You know what I want, but I can ’
t have her. Her heart belongs to someone else .”

“
Austin…
.
”
Claudia took a deep breath and let out a worried sigh.
Her heart split into two and tears pooled in her eyes.

“
Claudia…
.
”
Austin buried his head into her again.
“
It ’
s okay. You don ’
t have to say anything. Please don ’
t cry.
”

“
P
erhaps if I had met you first…then…maybe—”

“
It ’
s okay. I knew this would happen. I ’
ve been preparing myself to let you go . When you left this world, I stopped breathing …
I died too. Now that you ’
ve come back, it ’
s much easier. I ’d rather have you here where I can see you and know that you ’
re happy , even if it ’
s with someone else. Though I wish it was with m e…
I can bear it. Having you in the same world with me is more than I can ask for , and I ’
ll take it.
”

Claudia hated hurting him like this. She cupped his face. He closed his eyes and listened.
“
Thank you for being my guardian angel and for always being there for me. You will always be a part of me , and I will always love you , my dear friend.
”

Austin opened his eyes
and gazed into hers as tears stream ed down her face. He wiped her tears and took both of her hands into his.
“
Island of Eden will always be here for you. This will always be your sanctuary. This will always be your room.
”

“
Thank you, ”
she nodded as more tears fell.

“
Say I release you from being my guardian angel.
”

“
No…I can ’
t, ”
she said sharply, shaking her head.
S
omething about those words was just too painful to say. It felt as if she would never see him again.

“
You must say it to set me free. I need to hear you say it.
”
His tone was strong and adamant. He wrapped his arms around her with his wings.
After today I will never hold her like this again , he told himself.

Claudia shivered, tears
welling up again. Never did she realize how difficult this would be. She had to let him go, to set him free from her. He would no longer be her guardian angel. After all, she really didn ’
t need his c onstant protection. She was a venator , and she could hold her own. But the words were too difficult to repeat.

Feeling wetness from her tears, his heart broke too. Exhaling a deep sorrowful sigh , he whispered, “
Say it, my sheltered one. It will be okay. I ’
ll always be there for you. You should know that by now. My eyes may wander, but my heart is with you.
”

Claudia let out a short laugh and pulled herself out of his hold.
“
Yes, your eyes do wander.
”

“
You do notice, ”
he grinned his usual sly grin. He ran his hand down her hair.
“
I ’
m going to mi ss your presence here.
”
He placed his forehead against hers.
“
Say it, Claudia , before I do something Michael won ’
t like. You r closeness is driving me insane.
”

“
Okay…
, ”
she said softly.
“
I release you from being…my…guardian…
, ”
Claudia gripped him hard on his shoulders. Austin cringe d from the pain he was surprise d to feel. She was a lot stronger than before, but he didn ’
t say a word about it. Her last word was spoken softly , as if saying it had drained the life out of her.
“
A ngel .
”

“
There…that wasn ’
t so bad, ”
he said, releasing his hold on her.
“
Now…what were you trying to do before I came in ?”
His tone and attitude was back to the way it was before—the Austin she knew. He carried her to her bed and place d her down gently.
“
Doctor Austin ’
s order…get plenty of rest and stay off your feet. You are one hell of a venator, but you are also human…don ’
t you forget that.
”

Claudia giggled and smile
d .

“
Duty calls , my sheltered one. I am one of the Twelve now. I can ’
t wait to give Jeremiah some grief. I ’
m going to make some changes. They are such old farts. It ’
s about time they adapt to the new culture and tim e, don ’
t you think?
”

Claudia nodded. Though she could smile again and things were almost back to normal, her heart was broken too because she knew she was breaking his. Austin covered a light blanket over her and kissed her on the forehead.
“
I ’
ll catch you later.
”
He winked .

S
he watched him open th e double doors as the wind gushed in. The light captured the frame of his body and wings. He glowed beautifully like the morning sunrise. This was Austin, her guardian angel , even though she had set him free.

Austin looked over his shoulder to her one last time, recal ling the younger days when they play ed together at Nubilus City. Lucy visited Katherine because they were good friends. Austin would excitedly wait for the ir visits when Lucy would bring Claudia along. Though at times she stayed behind, he yearned for those days that she visited . They would play hide and go seek, tag and all the games normal human kids would play.

Austin
, being the Austin he was , would hold her hand and often steal kisses. They were about ten years old, but he knew he loved her and would do anything for her.
Then one day, Lucy stopped bringing her. He was forbidden to see her. Lucy had erased the memories of him and the visit s to Nubilus City. He hated Lucy for doing so, but a part of him understood. Lucy was protecting Claudia because of her special soul , but that never stopped him from watching over her from afar, to make sure she was safe.

There were occasions when he
’d almost stepped into her life, but he held back until an opportunity ar ose . Her best friend Patty was dating his friend, Andrew. This time there was no way to turn back. He purposely held a job at her favorite restaurant just to be close to her. And without Katherine ’
s or Lucy ’
s permission, he stepped into her life, but it was too late. She had already fallen for someone else , so deep ly that even he couldn ’
t change her mind.
He thought it was f unny how it all turned out , and Claudia ’
s word s echoed through his head.
Perhaps if I had met you first…then…maybe.
He knew her first , that was the irony of all this. She could have been his, but destiny had its own plan.
How he hated this version of his destiny.