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“I'm going to see what I can do,” I promised. “But remember that he'd never hurt you. He loves you.”
She shook her head. “I don't think he does. But that's okay.” She snuggled in closer. “I've got you and Tiffany. You're all I need.”
“You're too wise for a six-year-old,” I said.
“So they tell me.”
I laughed and squeezed her tighter, my eyes stinging with tears. It broke my heart to hear her talk like this. No girl Mikala's age should have to deal with this kind of thing. She didn't understand her role as Elroy's bargaining chip against me, but she knew enough to have an awareness of his lack of affection toward her.
“Who else is here?” Mikala asked, pulling my attention away from Elroy.
“My friend Dorian. You'll get to meet him in the morning.”
“Good.” She smiled sleepily up at me and yawned. “I'm gonna go to sleep now.”
I chuckled. “Okay, honey. I love you.” I kissed her forehead and settled her back in the bed.
“I love you too.”
Once I was out of her room, I leaned against the door and closed my eyes. The emotional weight of the day was starting to pull on my shoulders.
The air shifted in front of me, and a pair of warm hands wrapped around my upper arms, smoothed down them and then back up to my shoulders.
“How is she?” Dorian asked softly.
I opened my eyes and was nearly blown over by the tenderness in his gaze. He loved me.
“She's okay. Though sometimes I wonder if she's a little girl at all or just a wise wizard masquerading as one.”
He smiled and leaned down to peck my lips. “She's her mother's daughter.”
It hit me suddenly. Until this very moment, I'd always shied away from the idea of Mikala growing up to be like me. I'd made so many mistakes in my life that I was terrified she'd end up repeating them through some sort of genetic twist of fate.
But now I was starting to think that things were turning around in my life. That I'd started doing the right thing, making the right choices. And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have her grow up like her mom.
“Let's go to bed,” I said to Dorian.
He grabbed my hand and smiled.
If I'd known that Dorian would be showing up at my door with heartfelt apologies and a declaration of love, I probably would have tidied my room. I tried to discreetly kick away the little piles of laundry on my floor as we stepped inside, but he didn't even notice. His eyes were on me and only me.
“Sorry about the mess,” I said lamely, looking away.
He reached out and pulled my chin back around to face him. “I wouldn't care if we were in a cave in the middle of Siberia, as long as we were together.”
I laughed nervously. “I think you were supposed to say ‘It's not even that bad,’ or something along those lines.”
He made a show of taking a look around and shrugged when he returned his gaze to me. “I don't think it would be good to start our relationship with a lie.”
My mouth dropped open, and I smacked his arm. “Jerk.”
“Yet you fell in love with me,” he said with an impish smile. “What does that say about you?”
I laughed and pushed him back on the bed, shaking my head with a bemused smile. “What am I getting myself into?”
“Darling, you have no idea.”
In an instant, he rose up and spun us, pushing me back on the mattress where he'd been only seconds before. I squealed in delight. He crushed his lips against mine and silenced me.
