“Is that what you tried to do?” Charlotte kept her eyes on the little girls, but they continued talking to their dragons. Neither seemed to try to get their dragon to fly. So far neither child had thought of it.
“Yes,” Amelia admitted. “I wanted to pretend all of this away.” She pushed a hand through her thick hair. “Even with my imagination, I couldn’t manage it.”
Charlotte moved closer to the girl and laid a hand on the orange dragon’s neck. The stone was warm in spite of the night. Amelia looked utterly lost and alone. She was fourteen years old and trying to be an adult for her two sisters who had suffered at the hands of monsters.
“I tried to pretend it away as well, especially when my brother was murdered so cruelly. Lourdes was there. They killed him right in front of her.” Charlotte glanced over at the little girl whispering to the blue dragon. “She won’t talk about it, but she has nightmares. She barely knew me when I showed up to take her home with me. We don’t have relatives, so they put her in emergency care until I came for her. They wouldn’t even allow her nanny to take her. I was in Europe.” She hesitated and then decided to be fully honest. “Fridrick was the vampire who killed my brother. He said he spared Lourdes so I would come back to the States. They wanted Genevieve and me here.”
Amelia looked over at Lourdes, compassion on her face. “I don’t know what to do to help them.” There was despair in her voice and etched onto her face when she turned back to Charlotte. Tears glittered in her eyes. “I can’t help them any more than I can help myself.”
Charlotte had been edging closer to her, and Amelia turned into her so Charlotte pulled her tightly against her and held her. Amelia burst into quiet sobs.
“I don’t know how to help them, either, Amelia, but I think we’re stronger together than apart. I think if you and I work together, we can eventually help each other and then the children.”
There was no way she could stand there in the night, holding the weeping teenager, and not want to be a mother to her. Someone needed to help them all. She didn’t think she was qualified to be a mom, but she was all they had and she was determined to be whatever they needed. “We can do this together, Amelia. Whatever Tariq decides about all of us, we can do it together. You know he won’t let us down. He’ll find a way for all of you to be safe outside the property, and in the meantime, we can find a way to help our little ones.”
Amelia lifted her head. “Do you think so?”
Charlotte nodded solemnly because she meant every word and she wanted Amelia to see the truth. “When Tariq adopts all of you, I will as well. That would make me the mom and him the dad. He wants to make certain no one can step in and take any of you from us.”
“Liv said you weren’t sure about being our mother. She can read people,” Amelia said carefully, clearly trying to find the right words without upsetting Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded and stroked little soothing caresses down Amelia’s hair. “She’s right. At the time I was just getting used to the idea of being with Tariq. I’d just taken on Lourdes, and wasn’t doing such a great job with one traumatized child who barely knew me, and then he said he wanted to adopt all four of you. I didn’t know if I could help you and that worried me. I didn’t want to make an emotional snap decision. I want you to be healthy and happy. But after really thinking about it, I’m in the same world you’re in. I’ve seen the monsters and what they do. I’m not a qualified counselor, but I don’t need to be to be your mother. I just need to love you and find a common path so we can all connect. I’m willing to do that. I want to do that.”
Amelia sighed and leaned in closer, wrapping her arms around Charlotte, holding on tightly—so tightly Charlotte felt the bite of that bruising grip almost to her bones.
“He touched me.” Amelia whispered the horrific words, pressing her forehead against Charlotte’s neck. “Inside. You know. Down there. Outside. On my skin. He put his hand on my