“Um…yeah,” he said softly. He blinked and the smile returned to his lips as he looked at Aiden. “Sorry. Yes, I did. I guess I didn’t make a good impression at the time.” He turned his focus back to Winter and shook his head slightly. “I heard that the Variks had some interesting gifts, but I never expected this. Amazing.”
“All the Variks are extraordinary,” Aiden replied with pride. He then looked at his overprotective son. It was hard to feel irritated when he knew Winter was only acting out of love and devotion. “You can leave us, Winter. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t trust him,” Winter repeated.
Aiden opened his mouth to order Winter to leave when Ronan took a step toward his son while lacing his fingers together and placing them on the top of his head.
“Search me,” Ronan offered, and some of the tension coiled in Aiden’s stomach eased. There had been no searching of any party guests. Winter had wanted it, but Aiden had refused. He didn’t want to signal that he distrusted them all. It had been an act of goodwill that drove Winter insane with worry.
With rougher hands than Aiden cared for, Winter thoroughly searched Ronan for weapons of any kind. Ronan smiled and shot a wink at Aiden that caused his heart to skip. He wanted to talk to Ronan without upsetting him.
After several seconds, Winter stepped back and looked at Aiden for the first time, giving the smallest of nods. “He’s clean,” Winter mumbled under his breath.
“There’s no one in the woods,” Fox added.
Aiden looked at the witch. “A spell?”
The young man nodded enthusiastically. “Zelda popped in after we got settled in our new house. Taught me a couple of things.”
Aiden grinned at the newest member of the Variks. Fox had struggled to find someone to teach him how to use his magic, and Aiden was so happy to hear that Zelda was still checking in on him. The old witch had obviously fallen for Fox’s charm. Of course, if that was the case, it was very likely that Fox was going to be stuffed full of more magic knowledge than even he ever expected. He’d have to ask about Zelda and the new house later. Right now, he wanted only a few moments alone with Ronan.
“Winter, you and Fox can return to the house and plot against me with your brothers,” Aiden grumbled.
Winter’s head snapped around to him, his mouth falling open in a horrified gasp while Fox laughed, falling into Winter’s shoulder.
“We would never—”
“Oh, my God! He so got you!” Fox cackled.
“Go, Winter. And tell Bel that I will notice the sudden appearance of a certain raven or any other animals. We’ll talk more later.”
Winter shot him one last disgruntled look before he released Fox and gripped Aiden in a tight hug. “Be careful,” Winter whispered in his ear.
Aiden returned the hug, closing his eyes as an intense feeling of love filled his chest, pushing back worries and fears. “Always,” Aiden replied in a rough voice. As much as he was drawn to Ronan and needed answers to what happened to him, Aiden liked to believe that he wouldn’t do anything that would take him from his sons.
Releasing him, Winter grabbed Fox’s hand again and somehow managed to throw one last warning look in Ronan’s direction as he trudged up to the house. Only now did their feet leave indentations in the snow. During Winter’s walk through the dead world, he’d left no mark on the world of the living. It made him a very effective spy and an even deadlier assassin when needed.
“I think I’m more shocked to hear that you have a son—no, sons—than I am to discover that one can be invisible,” Ronan said with an easy smile.
“It’s a long story,” Aiden murmured. He was feeling breathless again, as if a great weight had settled on his chest and he couldn’t quite draw in enough air.
“I’ve heard part of it.” His voice had become soft and gentle, leaving Aiden to think someone had told him the darker parts.
Aiden’s head popped up from where his eyes had dropped to the forest floor. “You knew I was alive?”
Ronan quickly shook his head. “Not until word reached Europe that the Americas had been claimed by a King Aiden, and even then, it was only hope on my part. No one could produce a picture of you, and I wasn’t completely sure it was you until I saw you enter the party tonight.” Ronan covered his mouth with his hand, rubbing his lips with his fingers as if he didn’t trust what would come out. Unshed tears glistened in his eyes. “But it is you. You’re alive.”
“I didn’t know…” Aiden started, but the words trailed off under the press of the lump in his throat.
A rough laugh jumped from Ronan. “I know. Your reaction when you saw me…”
Aiden winced. “That bad?”
“Could have been a lot worse, but yes, it was noticeable. Mara asked me about it, and I told her that I wasn’t sure. Didn’t think it was a good idea to reveal that we knew each other.”
“From another life,” Aiden whispered.
He rubbed his eyes against the burning there, trying to put his scattered thoughts to some order. Nerves trembled and shook throughout his whole body. His damn brain was simply useless. It only wanted to dance in his head and celebrate that Ronan was alive. That wasn’t getting him any answers, and their time was short. Dawn was approaching, and he had no idea how long Ronan had before he had to return to Europe.
No! He can’t leave!
For that, his brain came back online. Or maybe it was his heart.
It didn’t matter. It wasn’t a logical response.
“It still feels like that night. In the woods.”
“I’m sorry,” Aiden said brokenly, holding Ronan’s wide eyes.
“Why?”
“I failed to protect you. They attacked and I couldn’t—”
“No!” Ronan snapped. He took a step toward Aiden, reaching for him, and Aiden couldn’t stop himself from retreating. He wanted nothing more than to trust him, but he didn’t know this man anymore. The only thing he did know was that he was working for the European Ministry. That was reason enough to be cautious.
Ronan immediately stopped and held up both hands, seeming to understand Aiden’s hesitance. “I have never blamed you. We both died that night. I hated myself for centuries because I didn’t protect you. That I couldn’t save you. Aiden—”
“What happened to you…after?” Aiden quickly asked. It felt like safer ground than anything Ronan might say next.
“I was taken east. Denmark and then Norway. Spent a number of years in Poland and Austria,” Ronan said. His words were a little more even and controlled now, as if the question gave him a moment to get a hold of his emotions.
“Spain and Portugal.” Aiden paused and smiled at a memory. “A brief period in Morocco before returning to England. And then the United States mostly and some South America.”
“And the family?”
Aiden’s smile grew wider. “Acquired when I was in England. Or rather, I was adopted by them.”
One of the best nights of his life still remained meeting the children who would become his sons. He’d loved Julianna already, but meeting the boys had simply sealed his fate. There had been no leaving England without them all at his side. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Ronan everything about Julianna and their sons, but now wasn’t the time.