I am too. It wasn’t only you that messed up, Basil, you have to realize that. I made mistakes, too. I broke your heart, too.”
With a nod, I turned back to watch my viramore and his daughter, and to get my emotions under control. After a few seconds, I said, “You’re happy now though, right? With your mate?”
“Very happy,” Rebe said, although the words sounded a little sad.
I turned to them. “What is it?”
They shook their head. “He’s not my viramore, Bas, but I love him anyway… I’m scared he’ll find his viramore and leave me one day.”
“Oh, Rebe, you can’t think like that. You can’t think about all the what ifs. All that’ll do is make you miserable. You need to enjoy the now.”
They smiled, and this time a little happiness reached their eyes. “You never would’ve said that to me when we were not dating.”
I groaned and chuckled a little. “Mother of All, don’t remind me what an idiot I was. Obviously, we were dating.”
Their eyes lit with amusement. “You finally admit it, then?”
I sighed. “Yeah.”
They chuckled. “A few years too late, but I’ll take it.”
Offering a smile, I asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m good, Bas. Happy. Really happy, but seeing you always…”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.”
They shook their head again. “No, don’t be. I’m glad you called on me to help you. I’m glad we can still be friends after everything.”
“Me too.”
They smiled again. “Do you think he’ll drink from the spring also?”
My brow furrowed. “What?”
“Hiro. Do you think he’ll drink from the spring as well?” Rebe’s head tilted to the side.
My eyes pricked with tears, and my voice came out hoarse. “You’ll offer it to him, too?”
Now Rebe’s brow furrowed. “I thought that’s why you asked me?”
“I…” I rubbed my eyes. “I didn’t want to presume or take advantage. Our number one priority is helping Rasha, so… I didn’t ask for Hiro.”
“Basil…” They trailed off with a sigh. “Of course, I’ll offer it to Hiro. Of course, he’s welcome. He’s your viramore, Bas. The only thing I ever wanted when we were together was to make you happy. I still want you to be happy.”
Instead of answering, I pulled Rebe into a hug and squeezed my eyes shut so I wouldn’t start crying. After several long seconds, I whispered, “Thank you.”
“Of course.” They chuckled. “Your Hiro is about to beat me up for touching you.”
“Oh shit.” I laughed as I released them and offered a watery smile before turning and walking straight over to an angry-looking Hiro who was holding Rasha. He opened his mouth to yell at me probably, but I stepped right up to him and wrapped my arms around him and Rasha, burying my face in his chest. One good thing about being short was getting to press my face into his chest and neck without bending down. It had become my favorite place to be.
Hiro’s arm came around me, and he kissed the top of my head, growling out, “What was that about?”
I almost laughed at the anger in his voice, but I would’ve been in the same boat if the roles were reversed, so I didn’t point it out, instead saying, “Rebe offered you the water as well.”
He leaned back to meet my eyes. “What?”
“They said you can drink the water, too… if you want, I mean. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about the fact that you’re human.”
He cupped my cheek with his free hand while Rasha stared at me, listening intently. Hiro asked, “Is that what you want?”
I swallowed thickly. “Of course that’s what I want, but this is your life and your body, so it has to be what you want more than anything else.”
His lips quirked up. “You really want to spend the next few hundred years with me?”
“I mean, we’ll probably try to kill each other again at some point, but yeah, I do.”
He chuckled. “I do too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Bas, ‘course I do.” He kissed my lips hard and fast, then kissed Rasha’s cheek. “A chance at spendin’ centuries with my family? Hell yes.”
My chest grew warm at that. He’d called me his family. “That sounds perfect.” I kissed Rasha’s other cheek. “Are you okay with this, sweetpea?”
She nodded. “Yes, but Daddy said it’s underwater. How will we get there?”
“Rebe has a spell they’ll use on us,” I answered.
She nodded, and Hiro said, “I’ll go first.”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. “Rebe’s used it on me probably a hundred times. It’s safe.”
Hiro set Rasha on