Part 2 (1/2)
”I never noticed the necklace you're wearing. Is it new?” Calliope asked, helping herself to a sticky bun from the plate in the center of the table.
Chapter Four.
EIRA.
I covered the medallion at my neck with my fingers, rubbing the stone in the center, and shook my head. ”I've had it since before I was a vampire. It was a gift from a man I loved.” Pain gripped my heart. Even after so many years had pa.s.sed, I missed him more than anything. I'd never been able to let another man into my life -not on a long-term basis, anyway.
”What was his name?” Diana asked, her eyes holding understanding.
If anyone knew what it was like to lose a mate, it was Diana. She'd been trapped in a prison in the Veil for a thousand years, separated from her mates.
”Killian. We were betrothed. He was a strong, compa.s.sionate man. He and his brother were our Jarl's most respected warriors. We were to be wed two weeks after the day I died.”
I lifted the cup of blood to my lips and took a long drink. Power flowed from Diana's blood into my veins, filling me with energy. Nothing quite compared to Drakonae blood. But even the rush her blood provided wasn't enough to make the pain of losing Killian fade.
”You loved him,” Calliope stated. ”Have you ever been able to love another?”
I shook my head and put the empty gla.s.s on the table. Diana wiped moisture from the corners of her eyes with her cloth napkin.
”Did you know the necklace is Elvin?” Diana asked, laying her napkin down.
A frown pulled at my mouth, and I raised my head to meet her gaze. Why would the necklace be from her world? ”I didn't.”
”I never really noticed it before, but the stone is a stunningly cut G.o.ddess Sea diamond. The purple hue in the center of the stone gives its origin away.”
”Are you saying my necklace is from the Veil?”
Diana nodded. ”Elvin men gave their intended a G.o.ddess Sea diamond as a pledge of their love.”
I frowned. Killian couldn't have been Elvin. I would've known. ”He was a Viking. Just like me. He and his brother came from the territory north of ours after a raid wiped out his village.”
”Some Elvin escaped before the Incanti took complete control of the gate. They likely sold and traded many things from the Veil when they arrived. I'm sure that is how Killian came to have the piece.” Diana sighed and reached for another bun, swallowing it in only three bites before reaching for her fourth one.
”Baby's making you hungry, isn't he?” I grinned, hoping they would go for the subject change. I didn't want to talk about the only man I'd ever loved. The only man I'd ever been able to love. It wasn't as if I hadn't tried to move on over the years... but I had never wanted any other man like I still wanted him. My mind still daydreamed of him. I could still feel his arms around me whenever I lay down to rest.
”I swear I don't know how I fit it all inside me.” She leaned back against the booth and licked her sticky fingers. The scent of honey and cinnamon clung to the air around the three of us. ”I remember starving during my first pregnancy. It's amazing that I was able to carry Mikjall to term at all. If it hadn't been for that Elvin woman sneaking extra food to me...” She paused, her face darkening with pain.
”It's in the past, D. You are here now. Healthy and reunited with both your mates and your son. How is Mikjall adjusting?”
”He's quiet. We haven't spoken much. He refused to live in the Castle. Right now he's staying with Jared. Miles and Eli keep telling me to give him time. It's just hard. I don't want to miss any more time with him.”
”Losing someone is the worst pain imaginable.” I rubbed the medallion and stared hard at my friend. ”I'm sure this Jared...person is a good guy. He'll help him find his bearings.”
Diana nodded. ”Jared MacKay is the fire chief. At least that's what they call him. He works hand in hand with the sheriff, Alek Melos. Both of them are broody and loners. I guess if that's what he needs right now, then that's what I need to let him have.”
”Nothing wrong with a broody, silent man,” Calliope chimed, grinning from ear to ear. ”Sometimes those are the best kind to have around when you are surrounded by obnoxiously loud Lycans.”
”Calliope!” Diana turned, shus.h.i.+ng the Siren.
A couple of guys across the diner turned to stare for a moment. Their eyes flashed yellow with annoyance before they returned to their rather loud conversation. I shook my head and turned to the amused Siren. Poor Diana was turning pink with embarra.s.sment. Her high breeding made her always look for the politically proper way to handle a situation.
”Apologize to Liam and Finn. And then go apologize to Kasey and her kids over there by the wall. That was rude,” Diana hissed.
”You've been here a few weeks, and you already know everyone's name. And I'm not apologizing. If they don't want to be called loud, they should be quieter.” Calliope snorted. ”Listen to them over there hooting and hollering like a bunch of rednecks. You'd think it was a hundred years earlier, and they didn't have a care in the world besides watching sports and drinking beer.”
”Calliope, I'd think I died and gone to heaven if the NFL started up again,” one of the male Lycans hollered from his table.
”When you finally keel over, Liam, the NFL will probably start fresh just to spite you,” she shouted then leaned over to Diana. ”Liam used to play professional football before the Riots.”
Diana shrugged. ”I don't know what football is.”
”A game that Americans loved before their country fell apart,” I answered. ”Big guys ran a pigskin ball up and down a field, tackling each other to try and keep the opposite team from scoring points.”
The two Lycans rose from their table, came over, and very unceremoniously shoved their way into our booth.
”Hey, wolf man!” Calliope growled as she and Diana scooted farther into the booth to accommodate Liam's ma.s.sive frame.
Finn slid in next to me, and I glared, but didn't say anything. I was used to Lycans -especially the alpha males that always did whatever the h.e.l.l they wanted.
”What Calliope isn't telling you, Eira, is that she loved football, too. She could scream and curse with the best of us at the big screen,” Finn replied, his deep voice rolling from his chest like warm honey.
”What I miss most is oogling all those tight a.s.ses,” Calliope returned. She seemed perturbed, but I caught a flicker of amus.e.m.e.nt in her sparkling brown eyes. The woman was a terrible flirt. It had probably been her intention all along to seduce the two Lycans into sitting with us.
I sighed. Football hadn't been a sport I enjoyed. I much preferred the MMA style fights and other hand-to-hand combat sports. Even the obstacle courses were more interesting than chasing a d.a.m.n ball up and down a field of painted gra.s.s.
Didn't matter now, though. Public sports didn't exist anymore. There were still underground fights, and I usually sniffed out two or three each time I was in a big city. Still, it was dangerous. Law enforcement would arrest anyone caught partic.i.p.ating in or betting on those type of events. I preferred to keep as low a profile as possible. I was already wanted for smuggling in two of the five North American Republics.
Maven strolled by the table. ”Did you need anything else?”
”A sandwich would be good,” Diana said before downing the last bit of water in her gla.s.s.
”Sure, sweetie. Guys, were you going order or just bug them about football?”
Liam and Finn grinned at Maven and stood from the booth. ”We already ate, Maven. Thanks, though. Gotta get over to Dallas today and bring back a load of supplies for the hardware store. The shelves are a bit spa.r.s.e.”
”I noticed you were out of rope,” Maven purred, sliding her gaze from the Finn's toes all the way to his laughing, brown eyes.
”You would notice that,” he shot back, a grin splitting his face.
Once the two Lycans left the diner, both women quickly focused their attention on me again.
”Can I see the necklace for a moment?” Diana asked.
”It's just a necklace.” I didn't want to take it off. I never did. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I'd removed it from my neck.