Sundown & Serena (13 page)

Letting go of that old chip on my shoulder
was the beginning of healing for me. I’d never sought any reasoning
for my way of life, or even felt it was necessary to understand why
I did the things I did. But as I began to feel valued by the people
around me, I understood finally it was because I was finally
standing up for myself. I’d always been very vocal about not
letting anyone screw me over, and making sure that I got my fair
share of whatever I wanted, whether it be orgasms, tips, or
anything else. Yet I came to understand that my attitude hadn’t
ever really gotten me something I’d yearned for my whole life: true
admiration born of respect. There was a difference between someone
giving me a fair deal because they were made to, and someone
willingly sharing things with me because they wanted to spend time
with me, or thought I’d earned them through an equal share of
work.

With that newfound sense of self, I finally
was able to look towards a future. I’d always lived day-to-day my
entire life, my mantra that tomorrow would take care of itself and
the present was all that was important. I saw now much of that
attitude had been because I had never been able to see a tomorrow
that was filled with something better than today. Cliché as it was
to admit it, I hadn’t known anything was missing in my life until
Terian had shown me how much more was out there. Hesitantly, I
secretly began to consider a future of getting married, maybe
enrolling in a short college program, or getting some kind of
part-time job with Solutions, Inc., like Sar had. Hell, maybe I
could fill in for her on the days she wasn’t here, as that seemed
to be most of the week these days. With Danial growing the
business, Terian said there would be a lot more work coming in.

I was finally happy, really happy. I had a
home, a committed man that loved me, and real friends. I wasn’t
going to mess that up for anything.

* * * *

A few months later, I got a letter from a
lawyer, telling me my father was dead. In spite of everything he’d
done and how much I hated him, I still went to pieces.

Terian was wonderful, holding and comforting
me until I managed to pull myself together. We arranged travel to
meet with the lawyer, fortunately having already planned to go west
to try to track down any remaining members of Terian’s foster
family.

Terian’s “can of worms” was not that big, but
it was supernatural: a demon Titus was his father, and his mother
was a faerie called Leri. Titus had apparently wanted a child, but
Leri hadn’t, or at least Titus hadn’t checked with her before
casting a spell to make a pregnancy possible. Leri had dealt with
her bundle of joy in the worst possible way: hiding it from Titus
until she gave birth in secret, then foisting the child off on an
unsuspecting human whom she’d bespelled. It was obvious that
Terian’s feelings for his mother resembled mine for my late father.
While I couldn’t fault him for that, I did understand Leri’s panic;
most women who got pregnant by a demon died giving birth. I didn’t
excuse her for her actions, but I trusted Titus even less.
Another reason I was not rushing into marriage
anytime soon, with those kinds of potential in-laws.

Our trip was a good one. Terian did find the
sister of his beloved brother

well, the
man he’d thought of as his brother. When he came back from meeting
with her, he’d clearly been crying. But he seemed so much more at
peace than he had been, almost like he’d been given a reprieve from
the gallows.

On our way home, we stopped in Janesville,
and met with the lawyer.

“Your father didn’t leave you anything,” he
said in a solemn tone. “He said you betrayed him when he needed you
most. But he didn’t leave a will, and so the money comes to you, as
next of kin.”

“I don’t want it,” I grated out, full of old
wrath. “Draw up papers to donate it to the state program for
children.”

“Which one?” the lawyer asked, clearly taken
aback. “There are dozens.”

“Pick one for abandoned and orphaned
children,” Terian said, putting his hand over mine and squeezing.
“One that gets them together with new families, and gives them a
chance, even when they think there isn’t one.”

I nodded, pressing my lips together tightly
and blinking a lot to control my emotions. The lawyer said he’d do
it, and send me some papers to sign in a few days.

Later, we went to my father’s old trailer.
Once again, it looked abandoned, with all the signs that it was
being used for sex by the local teenage crowd.

“Want me to incinerate it?” Terian offered, a
blue ball of his mystical fire appearing in his hand. “Just say the
word, and it’s done.”

“No,” I said slowly. “Leave it. My father
liked sex more than anything. Maybe this is a good way for him to
be remembered.”

Terian clearly thought me crazy for that
thought, but he just held my hand, and together, we walked away. We
had one more stop to make, before catching our plane home.

When I got to the cemetery, my mother’s grave
was overgrown again. Terian helped me weed it, and before long, the
patch of earth in front of it was bare again.

“We need to plant some flowers,” I said in
dismay. “I forgot to bring any.”

Terian looked around. “Grab me one of those
wild roses, over there,” he said.

I grabbed one. Swearing when it jabbed me, I
broke off a piece with a flower. It was a pretty variety, kind of
pink and pale orange. I handed it to him, and he stuck it in the
earth.

“It’s better than nothing—” I broke off,
gaping in shock. Terian was murmuring something, and the rose was
growing before my eyes, branches and greenery springing forth. Soon
it was a foot tall bush, covered with fragrant blossoms.

I stared at the beautiful roses, touched to
the point I couldn’t speak. I had known for years that Terian could
wield magic, but this was the first time he had ever done some for
me. “Thank you,” I finally managed, blinking back tears.

“The roses will last,” Terian said, giving me
a smile. “I helped the flower grow deep roots, Sun. It’ll be able
to get water when it needs it.”

Only one thing more was needed. Blinking
rapidly, I got out my Sharpie, which I had remembered this visit,
and wrote “Beloved Mother” on the stone. “Mom, this is Terian,” I
said. “He’s my guy, and I’m finally happy. I might not be back for
a while, but—”

“I can teleport you, Sun,” Terian reminded me
in a whispered tone. “We can come back whenever you want.”

I’d forgot. I shot him a grateful look, and
went on. “Dad’s dead, maybe you already know that. Anyway, he
donated his body to science, to try to help find a cure for what he
died of. Maybe he wasn’t the bastard we both thought he was.” I
paused. “I wanted you to know that. And I hope you can see Terian
and I, and that you’re happy for me.” I wiped away sudden tears.
“Because I finally am happy, with him. He helped me find my way to
a great life, instead of just a life.”

Terian took my hand, and we began to walk
away.

“Why do you write on the stone?” Terian
asked. “Did your Mom and you have some inside joke with
Sharpies?”

“No,” I said, smiling at his naïve
assumption. “I want the stone to say what I wrote. And it
doesn’t.”

“I can fix that,” he said lovingly. “Cover
your eyes.”

He turned, and lightning shot from his hands,
striking the headstone. I covered my face with my arms as stone
chips exploded outward with a sharp crack.

Terian gently took my hands away from my
face. “How’s that? It’s a little jagged, I’m afraid.”

He’d rent the stone with the lightning. Now
“Beloved Mother” was there in scrawled letters, beneath my mom’s
name.

I gave him a hug and a kiss, more unshed
tears in my eyes threatening to spill down my cheeks. “It’s
perfect. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he said, kissing me again. “Now
let’s go home, Sun.”

Chapter
Thirteen

I decided I’d better walk to the main house,
and call Terian on his cell. He’d probably already left, but he was
going to be so pissed off when he realized he’d forgotten the
meeting plans. He’d have to stop with Theo, wherever they were in
route, and teleport back to the house to get them. At least if the
plans were at the great room, it would be easier for him.

I walked up the drive, and saw his truck was
missing. He and Theo had already left.
Fuck.

But there was another truck there I
recognized, one I didn’t expect. More unsettling, I also recognized
the man in the front seat.

Lash got out when he saw it was me. “Hello to
you, too,” he said, grinning a little. “I heard you and Terian are
back together. I’m happy for you, Sun.”

I couldn’t stop gaping at him. It was so odd
seeing him here like this, knowing what we had been to one another.
Especially after Terian had been so repulsed by Sar being with
Devlin and then later with Lash. How would he feel knowing I’d been
with them both, too? Especially knowing I’d been the one to
initiate sex with Lash? Not good was my guess.

“Would you rather I pretend I don’t know
you?” Lash hissed, his face losing its friendliness.

“No,” I said biting my lip. “I’m sorry, Lash,
I just don’t know how to act. It’s been a long time since I saw
you. Things are so different now.”

“Only nine months ago,” Lash said with no
expression. “But it’s a lifetime ago, Sun, for both of us.”

There was a nasty scar on his face. “What
happened?” I asked, reaching out to touch him,

He grabbed my hand before I touched his skin,
pushing it away. “Demon attack. His blade had poison.”

I knew enough now about werepoison to know it
inhibited healing. “Does it hurt?”

“Only when I smile,” Lash said, and smiled,
his scarred skin twisting a little to bare one fang.

“What are you doing here?” I asked worriedly.
“It’s day, Devlin can’t be here.”

“He’s not,” Lash retorted. “Devlin had a
fight with Sar. She left without her sushi. I brought it for her,
so it didn’t spoil—”

There’s something in his tone when he
talks about Sar.

“—
and she let me borrow a DVD I needed
to return. You’ve heard of
South Park
, Sun? It’s these kids,
but they don’t talk like kids—”

“Not you, too,” I said in disbelief.

“Not me what?” Lash hissed in confusion. “Do
you not like
South Park
?”

“Not that, her,” I said angrily. “Sarelle.
The woman it seems everyone wants, sooner or later, even fucking
weresnakes!”

Lash bared his long fangs and hissed at me,
in that moment looking angrier than I’d ever seen him. “I don’t
know what you mean.”

“You’re in love with her, too.”

“She’s just been nice to me, that’s all,
and—”

“Don’t lie to yourself! You like her! You
probably fucking love her!”

“Fuck off!” Lash hissed at me loudly, leaning
back on his truck, and crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s not
your business what I do, Sun, or who I do it with.”

“You fuck off! Theo and she are happy, don’t
go chasing after her.”

“Shut up and get out of here. Right now, Sun!
You have no claim on me!”

“Stay away from her Lash, or I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Tell everyone you slept with
me?” Lash said loudly.

I cringed, hoping there was no one around to
overhear.

Lash saw my fear, and seized on it. “There is
nothing you can say without admitting we were together. And it
wasn’t just once! You asked me for more the next night! You want
your demon to know that? That you couldn’t get enough of me? That I
had you so much that night that my sack was empty, because all of
my seed was in you, every last drop? That hardly ever happens to
male weres, especially snakes, but you did it to me, Sun. You
drained me dry.”

I flushed bright red, horrified. “Shut
up!”

Lash kept talking. “You think he’ll still
want you in his bed, knowing you were with me? That it wasn’t just
sex

you all but asked me to live with you?
That you spent the night with me even knowing he was alone, that he
would have wanted you back? That you only got back together with
him after I left the fucking country? Shall I tell Terian all that,
my morning angel?”

I flushed a deeper red, and dropped my eyes,
cowed. “Please don’t say anything.”

“Then leave, Sun. Now,” Lash hissed urgently,
looking at the house. “Sar’s coming. I don’t want her to see us
together. She’s not stupid; she’ll see I was your lover. It’s all
over your face.”

I broke and ran, sobbing. The front door
opened as I rounded the corner of the garage, Sar’s surprised voice
asking Lash what he was doing here. A moment later, she went back
inside to tell Danial she and Lash were going to lunch.

I debated going after her and trying to
convince her not to go with him. Spending time with that infatuated
snake was just going to make things worse between Theo and Lash. It
was obvious Lash wasn’t going to listen to me, but maybe she could.
But I was angry all over again at her for always being the one
everyone wanted. Instead of intervening, I stayed where I was,
watching them drive off together.

As soon as they left I returned home. Then I
called Terian, telling him about the forgotten plans. He appeared
in the great room in a second with a relieved sigh, taking the
plans from me. “Thanks for this. I’ll be home about two or so,” he
said, giving me a kiss. “Theo and I’ll stop for lunch someplace,
but we’ll be back right after. Want me to bring you anything?”

I wanted him to bring me some revenge,
because I was still smarting from Lash’s words. The easiest way
would be to send Terian and Theo to the same place Lash was headed
to with Sar. Theo would go ballistic. Everyone knew he hated Lash.
If Theo knew they were together, he’d go after them and separate
them, whatever it took. The hard part was arranging the chance
meeting without saying it flat out like a tattletale.