Mark of Damon by Eva Chase Page 0,34
up to in here?”
“My dad’s moving to house arrest, so he’s going to be working again,” I said. “I’m supposed to send a few things to the Assembly so they can check them over and then pass them on to him.”
“I can help with that if you want.” The slimmer twin eased into the room. “I went through everything in here searching for additional evidence after we took over the house. Whatever you need, I’d bet I can remember where it is.”
“That would be wonderful,” I said with a rush of gratitude. Just having company in the room forced its ghosts to retreat.
True to his word, Ky produced the folders of records that Dad had wanted in a matter of minutes. As I added the last one to the stack on the desk, a sudden resolve filled my chest. I made a sweeping gesture toward the whole room.
“You know what? I’ll set aside the things he specifically asked for, but I think it’s time to clear the whole room out. I’ll hire a moving van and pack everything up, and the Assembly can decide what they toss and what they pass on to my dad.” Maybe getting his things out of the house for good would settle down my own memories.
Kyler grinned. “I fully support that plan.” He glanced around. “But before you start making calls, I think there was something Seth and Jin wanted to show you. Something good,” he added quickly when the panic that flashed through me must have shown on my face.
The other four guys were all waiting by the base of the stairs when we came down. Even if Ky hadn’t told me not to worry, the way Jin was beaming would have revealed I had nothing to be afraid of. Seth looked more serious, but in a hesitantly hopeful sort of way that made me even more curious.
“Jin and I have been working on something over the last week,” he said. “We managed to get the finishing touches done just now.”
And they’d have wanted to show me quickly with Jin leaving for his L.A. exhibition tomorrow. Anticipation bubbled through me as Seth led us all out the back, through the garden, and along a winding trek through the forest.
After about ten minutes in the warm, piney air, a glint of rich yellow caught my eye between the leaves. Seth picked up the pace, and I hurried along with the other guys. When the trees thinned to reveal our destination, my breath halted in my chest.
The little clearing there held a gazebo, perfectly structured within the open space. Perfectly painted too, to fit the sunlight that streamed through the gaps in the leaves overhead. The creams, yellows, golds, and oranges Jin must have applied caught every bit of warmth in that light and radiated it out as if the structure were a miniature sun here on the ground.
Tears crept into my eyes at the beauty of the building and the thought that they’d created that beauty for me. My vision blurred. As I blinked the moisture away, I made out the finer details within the glow.
Jin had carved witching glyphs into the beams that held up the roof: truth, devotion, strength, passion, and more. When I stepped closer to peer inside, I saw that wasn’t all. He’d painted a facsimile of the sketches I’d found in the old tower at the edge of our property: a woman with the flame of a spark in her chest and five unsparked figures surrounding her. My eyes welled up all over again.
“I know I should probably have asked before building anything on the property,” Seth was saying. “I was hoping you’d like it enough that it’d be a good surprise… Do you like it?”
A laugh spilled out of me. “Are you kidding me?” I spun, grasping his arm, and tugged him into an emphatic kiss. Then I planted a matching one on Jin’s lips. “It’s spectacular. You two are amazing.”
Jin beamed even brighter, and Seth flushed adorably pink. “I also wanted to keep it a good distance from the house and the other areas we’ve normally used a lot so it doesn’t interfere with whatever memories you’re holding onto,” the brawny guy added. “Something new for us in this future we’re making without needing to write over the past.”
A lump rose in my throat. He’d taken the comments I’d made the other day to heart, clearly. But now, thinking of the decision I’d made about my father’s office,