House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,64

response: “Yes.”

She didn’t ask him how, or why, or any of the logistical things one might ask in such a situation, which gave him cause for pause. Instead, she just said yes.

The loft was comfortable and enchanting, lit by sparkling strings of lights and surrounded with the dull thrum of the pattering rain when it stormed. Brandt’s friends and allies who worked in the restaurant below kept a steady stream of food delivered, and the solitude and comfort of the soft surroundings lent itself perfectly to not needing any clothing or material desires. The only problem was that it couldn’t last.

Sooner or later, their friends would come looking for them, out of love and habit, and the fear that some new threat would descend, and they would either have to go back to the apartment or concoct some elaborate lie as to why they wished to stay in a tiny loft above an Asian take-out restaurant. They didn’t want to do either.

They loved their friends, and it wasn’t that they didn’t wish to return, it was just that they wished to be alone together. A few weeks couldn’t possibly make up for a century of separation. They needed more time, and they knew that the amount of time they needed was too much for them to expect from their friends.

Brandt had a solution, and without even needing to voice it, Brenna knew what the solution was. They both thought for a moment that perhaps it was unfair or cruel for them to do. But after giving it thought, it actually seemed the most humane. Brandt knew what it was like to feel the pain of loss, and he wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy. And Brenna knew what it was like to feel the pain of longing and isolation. That was why she agreed without hesitation to Brandt’s offer to free everyone from the entrapment of their memories.

To be fair, he did linger on the fact that he was taking something from his friends that was not his to take. But he reconciled with himself by thinking that it would only be for a century or so, just until he and Brenna had enough time. Then, he would give it all back.

Leif and Norna had stayed back at the apartment, so it was just the three of them, Erik, Colby, and Jerrik, who had decided to go on a short walk through the city to Chinatown to pop-in on Brandt and Brenna and ask them when they would be returning home.

“Do you think they’ll be mad that we’re just dropping by on them unannounced?” Colby asked.

“Nah,” Erik replied with his usual level of smug ego. “They’ll be happy to see us. Someone needs to break them out of their sexual revelry and bring them back to the real world.”

The two of them had a good laugh as they walked. Jerrik pushed his fingers into his pocket and felt the note he had written to Brenna there. He just hoped he would be able to get it to her.

“My friend,” one of the restaurant workers said as he peeked his head up into the loft to address Brandt. “You have guests. “Should I bring them up or turn them away?”

Brandt looked at Brenna for one last confirmation before he answered. With a single nod, she confirmed her choice.

“Send them away, please,” Brandt answered.

The man nodded and then went back down the staircase ladder and closed up the hatch to the loft.

Brandt walked over to the open window of the loft and placed his hand on the ledge above as he took a deep breath of the city air. Brenna came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso as she leaned her face against his back.

Kemma would be the only one left to remember them. Their daughter would keep their memory alive, in secret, until they were ready to reemerge into the world. But for now, they just needed their well-deserved time together in solitude.

“I made you this promise,” Brandt whispered to Brenna as she held him. “And I intend to keep it. Whenever you feel that enough time has passed, all you need do is let me know, and I will restore the memory of us in our friends’ minds. Until then, only our daughter will know of us, and we will be free to live a century or two, or however long, in love and peace together. Are you ready?” he asked.

Brenna thought for a moment