THIRTY-EIGHT
The world swirled and blurred in Laurette’s milky vision the minute she took the hand of the man Evalle had called Quinn.
He squeezed Laurette’s fingers and said, “We’re almost there.”
She expected to wake up any minute and find out that she’d fallen in Piedmont Park and hit her head and that all of this had been a bad nightmare. But when her feet touched solid ground next, she was wide awake and still clinging desperately to some guy she’d bet would answer to the name Quinn. “Are we there yet?”
“If you live in a charming cottage with blue shutters and a large pottery vase next to the front door, I’d say we are.”
She could only see blurry light. “It’s my home, but I may need some help getting inside.”
The sound of him moving around was followed by the familiar squeak of her front door opening. He took her arm with gentle fingers and led her slowly inside. “How impaired is your vision?”
He had a kind voice full of understanding, but Evalle had already told her no one could fix her eyesight. Laurette wouldn’t whine. “It’s manageable now that I’m inside.”
“Take this.” He pressed a cell phone into her palm. “I know this has been a harrowing experience, but you are part of the Belador family now. Can you find the number five in the middle of the keypad?”
“Yes.”
“Press that to call me when you’re ready to talk about a companion dog and adapting to the changes you’ll be facing. We won’t leave you to face them alone.”
“Thank you.” She needed him to go now or she was going to break down in front of him. The rock had certainly seduced her, because she felt the loss of her vision as acutely as when she’d lost her granddad. On top of that, she couldn’t quiet the urge to see Vyan again, but he was where he wanted to be.
She would be happy for him and remember the way he’d made her smile. Remember the way he’d stepped between her and danger.
Remember his kiss.
“Thank you for bringing me home, but …” Go away.
“I sense that you’re ready to be alone. I’ll leave, but I’ll expect your call soon. And know that you can call any time, day or night.”
She just nodded because she couldn’t push any words out of her tight throat. When the door closed, she gave in to the pain expanding in her chest. A sob broke free over everything she’d lost. But she’d found out why her granddad had never come home. He’d been a Belador. They spoke of him as if he was a hero. He used to tell her the Barrett women were strong, that her ancestors were warriors. Warriors!
She was a Belador.
A blind one.
And Granddad would have been frowning at her right now for giving in to despair. She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
Suck it up and act like my granddaughter. She could almost hear him saying that.
Having practiced recently, in anticipation of her vision being all but gone, she stuck the cell phone in her pocket and felt her way across the room. She might not be able to create her signature designs on the large pottery anymore, but right now she needed to sink her fingers into the clay and feel her granddad’s spirit surround her again.
At the door to the basement, she put a hand on the rail along the stairs and worked her way down. She’d reached the bottom landing and had taken two steps into the room when she heard someone’s sharp intake of breath.
Her own breathing was suddenly short and frantic. “Who’s there?”
“’Tis I.”
Fear pumped with the blood slamming her heart. “Who?”
“Vyan.”
Impossible. “What are you doing here?” Her heart raced for an entirely different reason now.
“I don’t know.” He sounded lost, which cut through her thrill of happiness over finding him here.
“I’m so sorry. You weren’t supposed to get stuck in this time period.”
“What did you tell the rock when you sent the Kujoo away?” His footsteps moved toward her.
She thought back on her exact words, the ones she’d chosen based on what Vyan had told her. “I asked the rock to send all the Kujoo tribe wherever their hearts desired. I thought you would go home with the others.”
Had she condemned him to this world by not being more specific?
He chuckled and touched her hands, folding them inside his. His scent met her next breath. “I knew you were a wise woman, and my heart is wiser than my head some days. I did not know where I wanted to go, but I did not want to return with Batuk to war, nor did I like leaving you alone either. It seems my heart chose to stay here.”
“You’re happy about this?”
“I believe I will find happiness here I have not felt for many years.”
She wouldn’t have been able to see through her tears even if she had unimpaired vision. “You are a gift I never expected to receive.” Getting used to being blind was not going to be easy, but now she didn’t fear the darkness with Vyan staying in this world. She couldn’t believe he was really here.
He took her hand in his. “I asked for a gift as well but was denied.”
A deep voice boomed into the room. “No, my faithful Vyan, you were not denied. I merely waited to see if you were truly content to remain in this time and still wished to give up your immortality before I granted your request.”
Vyan was silent for a moment. “If I return to my home with the other Kujoo, I will be expected to pick up a sword again. My family would still be dead. What would be the reason to continue life there? None that I can think of. But I have managed for two years and know I can survive here. More than that, I can start anew here.”
Laurette wiped at her wet eyes. “You really don’t want to go home?”
“My heart would miss you.” He lifted his voice. “I am ready to trade, Shiva.”
“To trade what—” Her words were cut off in a gasp when bright light flashed through the room. She covered her eyes with her hands. Warm fingers clasped hers and pulled them away from her eyes.
Crisp details of everything in her studio flooded her vision. Vyan’s happy face was completely in focus. “What happened? My eyes … I can see. Oh, Vyan, I can see!”
His warm eyes—warm brown human eyes—crinkled with happiness. He cupped her face with his hand. “When I could not escape Tristan and Batuk to come back to you and make sure you would be safe, I told my god Shiva I wished to offer my immortality in trade for your eyesight. I did not want to leave you alone and blind. I expected to die at the battle with the Beladors, but I still survived. I do not wish to live another eight hundred years—only as long as you live.”
Tears streamed down her face. “I’m a Belador descendant. You’re sure you want to stay here with your enemy?”
“You will never be my enemy.” He leaned in and kissed her softly, a tentative touch that gave her the confidence to kiss him back.
She could feel her granddad’s blessing flood over her.