Claire ran towards Samuel at full speed, leaping up to wrap her arms around him, her legs dangling two feet from the ground. I jumped at the sudden movement, but as soon as Samuel hugged her and a wide smile flashed across his face, I sighed in relief.

“I think you missed your calling, little girl. You were meant to be Cimmerian,” he chuckled.

Claire giggled and squeezed his neck. “I’m half human so it evens up the odds, Sam. If I were Cimmerian, you’d be out of a job.”

Samuel bellowed a laugh and shook his head. “And you accuse Shax of lacking humility!”

Jared turned to me. “Are you all right?”

I didn’t want to lie, so I remained silent.

Jared pulled me into his chest and kissed my hair. “It’s over.”

“Not according to Grahm,” Claire said after Samuel set her on her feet.

“It’s over,” Jared said in a firm voice.

Claire wiped the blood from the floor and straightened the furniture. She skipped about, the confrontation and victory making her a tad giddy. I watched her as she hummed an indistinct tune while she cleaned.

An hour later, Claire said her goodbyes to drive to Ryan’s hometown as the sky outside faded to deep blue. The loft was as before, the furniture in place, the broken glass hidden in the trash, the blood mopped up and the red stained rags thrown away.

“Are you hungry?” Jared asked, poking his finger through the bullet hole above the stove. I shook my head and Jared turned to face me. “No?”

I shook my head again.

“Nina,” he chided. “You’ve barely said a word since I’ve been back. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I closed my eyes. “I’m fine.”

“It’s normal to be afraid. Talk to me.”

“Just…don’t leave me again. Okay? Claire was prepared to defend me with her life, but I was so scared, Jared. I was so afraid they were going to kill me and you would die.”

He walked across the room and held my cheeks gently in his hands, raising my eyes to his. “You were afraid to die only because I would?”

I smiled, but my face crumpled around it. “I’m so weak, Jared. I’m just a stupid, weak, human, and that makes you so vulnerable. It’s not fair.”

Jared chuckled in amazement and shook his head. “Nina…,” he breathed out a small laugh, rendered speechless. He leaned down and kissed my lips, his mouth conveying what he couldn’t say.

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Saving Grace

Over the next weeks life had returned to normal. Jared and I spent our time painting and rearranging the furniture, and the space metamorphosed from Jared’s dark loft to our bright and cheerful home.