Page 100 of Vicious Impulses (The Capo and Ballerina)
A serene smile comes to my lips. “Me too. When I was a girl, we didn’t get to play much in the snow either. Deep in the city, there wasn’t much room outside. Our instructors would sometimes let us, if training went really well.”
“Dance training… or the other kind of training?”
“Both.”
“Mia bella ballerinais a spy,” he teases. “It still astounds me.”
“I’m not a spy. I’m… I’m a pawn,” I say. “That’s all me and my family have ever been to a guy like Nero.”
“Don’t worry. He’ll never harm you again. We’ve won this last battle. We’ll win the war too. We got him to retreat. A first for someone like Nero. He failed at everything he wanted. Taking you back and gaining control of the key you have. Whatever medicine he claimed would make him rich. He thought he’d have control over Zinc Co. by now.”
“What about your family?”
“A lot of shit needs to be sorted out. I want my revenge on them for what they’ve done to em. I’ll make sure they suffer. All of them. Including Nero.”
I try to find comfort in Caelian’s words, though it’s next to impossible. How can I when I’m left pondering about Mom and Dad and their safety?
Worries I don’t raise to Caelian. He still doesn’t understand the complexity of our situation. He doesn’t need that kind of trouble in his life.
Especially when I know getting him more involved will put his life at risk.
He kisses me on the cheek, then unwraps his heavy arms from around me. “Nevi, I’ve been thinking about our future. I don’t know how much time I have left.”
“If you follow Tulio’s advice—”
“There’s no cure for my condition,” he interrupts matter-of-factly. “We’ve been over this. It’s not a matter of if, but when.”
My sadness drips off me. I tilt my head downward and sink into the heaviness that weighs on my heart. Caelian senses it right away and takes hold of my hand, his thumb stroking my knuckles.
“That’s not to darken the mood. If anything, I was trying to be uplifting.”
“Your version of uplifting needs some work.”
“Nevi, I want you to bear my child. It’ll be the way I’ll live on.”
I stop altogether for a stunned moment of silence. It’s thrown me for a loop. Caelian’s never expressed any interest in having a family or building any kind of legacy. He’s seemed indifferent about his family and what would come after he’s gone.
“Caelian…” I trail off.
“I want to it all with you, Nevi. I married you for a reason. Now comes children.” In the winter light, the shade of his gray eyes have never looked purer. They’re softer and paler, almost a new shade altogether. Enough to make me melt and throw my arms around him in a loving embrace.
“I want to do it all with you too.”
“More excuses to keep you trapped in my bed,” he growls. “But first… there’s something else. A Christmas surprise.”
He leads me by the hand across the snow-dusted courtyard. Though I don’t ask where we’re going or what’s the surprise, I’m racking my brain for what it could be. Earlier I’d doubted if Caelian got me a Christmas present; he’s simply not the holiday type.
It seems I’ve underestimated him…
When he brings me around the corner and a woman with shoulder-length butterfly locs and familiar eyes comes into view, I scream.
“Mom!”
I sprint the rest of the way to her. She welcomes me with the kind of motherly hug only she can give.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen her, my memory barely registers the last time we were able to embrace like this. She strokes my hair and then pulls back for a once over of me.
“My beautiful girl,” she says. “You look just the same as ever.”