Discovering Home

Apollo scanned the basement over the frantic crowd. His eyes settled upon Pandora. They exchanged a grim look before he walked towards her and some of her coven members. This was what they feared would happen and they almost didn't rescue all of them. The hired vampires were sent to slaughter the residents. He had hoped that they could have prevented this exact scenario from playing out, but at least, everyone was safe.

“We need to act now,” Pandora told him as he approached them.

He nodded in agreement. “We should split up into groups. We'll draw the least amount of attention.”

“I agree,” Arielle said. "Each group must leave at separate times. We'll separate the residents -- well, the ones that wish to continue to be under our guidance. Some may have the means to venture off on their own.”

His eyes settled upon Caleb and he sighed. How in the world was he going to keep Persephone safe and keep his family's promise to Derrick as well? He needed to assist the residents in traveling to Shale Abbey. Persephone was somewhere within the city. She couldn't have gone far.

"You know the directions,” he reminded Pandora before he walked toward the vampire.

Caleb waited until he was in front of him before he spoke. “I won't leave her.”

“I didn't think you would,” he told him. “But I must help the others as well.”

“I understand.”

Apollo searched the vampire's eyes. “You, myself, and a small group will be leaving shortly. We'll find Persephone first before heading out of Eden Borough.”

He didn't notice Pandora until she was popped up beside them. Her silver eyes met Caleb before she spoke.

“I've given you access to her banking account as well,” she told Caleb. “You'll be able to track her movements and find her. We will keep track of your financial trail so if anything happens we will know.” Caleb nodded his head in understanding then she glanced over at Apollo. “Choose your group of residents and I'll lead you all above ground with the others who wish to venture off on their own.”

With that, Pandora left to speak with the others. Caleb raised an eyebrow and Apollo chuckled at his expression. The two vampires shared a look before Apollo patted his arm before he headed off. He had a group to select and his own mission to fulfill now. His eyes surveyed the room and landed on those toffee eyes. It was the young lady he had saved with her roommate.

Most of the residents didn't know that he could see through their disguises. He also had access to all of their true identities, but he never pried unless he had to. If he was on a particular case, he paid more attention to their true identity. Their true identities were locked away in the vault back at Shale Abbey.

He approached the ladies, who were whispering back and forth between each other. The one that caught his attention the most shyly peered up at him. There was something about her toffee eyes that drew him to her. It was as if something flicked on inside of him and he recognized the flame flickering within her.

“Thank you for saving us,” she gasped in a rush of words.

Her roommate chuckled, patting her friend's arm. “Truly appreciate you manhandling all those assholes. If there's anything I can do to show my appreciation, please let me know.”

Her blatant flirting was enough of a warning to tread carefully. Was it truly worth coping with double the distractions? The lady with the toffee eyes haunted him, but he couldn't be too hasty. No matter if those eyes dug deep into his soul. His true mate was a fire warden like he was. Until his mate passed through the doors of the Shrine, he needed to wait for that added confirmation to be assured.

Her flirty roommate would prove to be more of a nuisance and he had a full week to endure it. Did he really desire that headache? He had a job to do afterall. He had to remind himself of the code of honor and etiquette he took and taught to others.

"You're very welcome,” he finally forced out.

Those toffee eyes gazed up at him and all logic went out the window. Damn. Those eyelashes framed her big eyes. Her natural dark chocolate hair fell into her face a little bit and fell passed her shoulders. He resisted the urge to sweep back her hair and tuck it behind her ear so he could see more of her face.

She was hiding and he wanted none of that. Fuck. He was absolutely in trouble.

"I'm Delia." Delia, hm? He would need to do a background check on her when he had a chance. She gestured to her roommate. "She's Quincy."

"At your service, big boy," Quincy purred, causing Delia to chuckle and roll her eyes.

"Our other roommate, Opal," Delia said nervously. “She was due to come back from her first day of work.” Ah, Persephone. Concern bled into her face and his heart twisted. Heart of gold. “Will she be--”

“She will be,” he promised quickly. His eyes glanced over at Caleb momentarily before his attention refocused on her. He noticed that only Delia followed the quick flick of eye movement when her eyes darted from Caleb to him. Impressive. Impressive and perceptive. “We're tracking her movements so she can be found and brought to safety. Do you wish to be part of the search party?"

When she visibly relaxed with obvious relief, he knew he would endure whatever he needed to discover more about this vampire. She nodded her head in agreement at being a part of the search party. He needed to get to Shale Abbey to confirm his suspicions, but he had that feeling that dug into him and clawed into his very soul.

It was her.

It has to be.

Nothing and nobody usually distracted him from the task at hand, but there was just something about her that drew him to her like a moth to a flame.

"I'm taking you two," he said and his eyes swept to the two male twin vampires leaning against the wall watching the exchange between the three of them. "And both of you."

Quincy's eyebrows rose as she glanced over at the other vampires. "Jeremy? Kyle?”

"Yes, them,” he told her. He watched Jeremy nod his head. "We'll head out soon to find Opal before making our way to Shale Abbey... unless any of you are ready to strike out on your own.”

When all of them shook their heads to tell him they weren't ready, he gestured them to follow him. They made their way to where Caleb stood and they waited for Pandora to finish up her task. A small brave group followed her as she made her way over.

~

Once Dimitri was certain Dove was settled back upon the bed and slipping back into her dreams, he was about to let her rest and go talk to the others. However, Dove's eyes shot open in fear when he made a move to get up out of the chair.

"Don't go,” she begged and Dimitri sat back down. Her eyes watched him. “In case this is all a hallucination, I don't want you to go just yet."

Dimitri bit his lip. She was still afraid it wasn't real. "You need to rest, Dove," he told her gently. “You're not of the woods, but you still need to recover.”

"If you get up out of that seat, I will leave this bed and go after you until this hallucination ends," she threatened. Dimitri couldn't help but chuckle. She was completely serious. He knew that, but this woman was truly something. "I'm serious. I will--”

“You're not hallucinating," he interrupted. Amusement shimmered in his eyes. He could see her annoyance mounting. "I won't leave. Relax, little one."

She huffed in frustration. "You best not. No more secrets. No more keeping each other at bay."

"I agree, Dove Nightingale of Skye Elysium.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock. Her eyes widened as realization fell over her. "Who-Who are you?"

"High Lord Dimitri Cristos of the High House of Cristos," he told her. His eyes burned into hers. "Ask the right question, little one."

She took a deep breath. "Who are you in the Elysiums?"

Only silence endured. He continued to look straight into her eyes. He knew this moment would come. For once in his immortal life, he was glad his actual mate was from the old world. Perhaps, it was why he had chosen a human wife than to find his mate. He was always concerned about how to explain this.

"In Skye Elysium, I was birthed Prince Dimitrius Calla."

Once again, silence endured. His eyes watched her closely. She was speechless, gazing at him with wide eyes. He waited for her to process that information and what that truly meant.

"I guess we both were running from our past and who we truly are," she finally said.

"My brother is dying." He arched an eyebrow. “He's calling for me to return to take up the throne.”

"I'll stop running if you stop," she told him. "Or we can keep running together."

He loved her. If he hadn't realized it beforehand, he truly figured it out now. His little mate stood before the fire of his past and surrounded by the heavy weight of his secrets. She was prepared to stand by his side no what path he decided to walk.

"I think it's time to face who we're meant to be," he told her softly. She nodded her head in agreement. "After you get some rest and recover, little one."

"You better be here when I wake up," she grumbled when he got up for his chair to adjust the bed sheets around her.

He chewed his bottom lip before he put out a brave suggestion. "We could start the mating ritual? Would that help rest your heart and soul?" His eyes locked on her surprised ones. "It'll also help you recover faster."

The surprise faded to bold determination and his heart clenched. He prayed it wasn't a mirage within those depths. It would soothe the fear within him. When he had first discovered her in the bed, she had been at death's door and no condition to remember anything that his blood would reveal.

Now was different. She would see everything that kept them apart. Was he truly ready for that? Was he prepared for her to see him as he was?

He couldn't afford not to. Death almost separated them and he wouldn't allow cowardice to dictate his decisions. He was ready to discover and embrace his mate, but was she?

She would become a vampire. She would be a hybrid -- fae and vampire. Would she want that?

"There is no going back for us anyway," she told him genuinely. She gazed up into his eyes. "I wonder how our eyes will look."

He smirked. “Breathtaking. Our eyes will look breathtaking.”

“Then what're you waiting for, Dimitri?”

A smile tipped the corners of her lush mouth. Oh, yes, he was absolutely done waiting. When he sank his teeth into her neck, the intense fulfillment of completion filled him. He felt like he was coming home. He finally was coming home.