Updrift (35 page)

*

Kenna’s moan came from the other side of the pool, where her guards freed her. “
Nooooo!”
she cried, and all attention focused on her as she shot through the water to where her son had just been. Several sirens reached toward her but she withdrew, hissing, “
You are not to touch me. You have taken
everything
from me now. My son, my little boy…”

She reached to catch the last of the particles of light that had been Peter, and she convulsed with grief. She saw with merciless clarity how the choices she’d made in her life, both for herself and her son, had brought everyone present to this juncture. Her well-worn rationalizations, which had served at every other time, felt empty and meaningless now. When she’d chosen to serve her state and forego bonding with a husband, as she’d procreated anyway for the good of her office and then handed her infant off to the nursery, as she’d chosen in every single instance to put the emotional needs of herself and her family last—she’d experienced and caused nothing but hardship, and her cherished son was gone.

The rest of the community absorbed her sadness and circled her, whispering their support and encouragement. She shimmered before them, caring nothing for their needs, their losses, her responsibilities to them any longer. “
I love my son
,” she repeated over and over. “
My beautiful, gifted son. I caused this. My fault. He’s gone
.”

She gave herself over to her intent with no care for the distress she unleashed. She wanted nothing of this life any more, a thought which spread alarm all around her.

“Not in sadness, Kenna
,” they begged. “
Please don’t leave us in sadness. Let us help you. Live, and then, in the fullness of time, you will leave in joy
.”

But their pleas were too late. Kenna had committed to her course as soon as she’d seen her son’s body shiver with the first signs of dissolution. Whereas Peter had left peace in his wake, however, Kenna filled the sea with anger and hurt. As she let go of herself, these feelings remained like a corrosive acid no one could wash off.

“My queen
,” they cried in anguish, as if she were still there, as if she could reverse the events that had led to this tragedy.

*

Gabe only had eyes for Kate. Had they not been separated for the past four months, his cultural responsibilities would have required him to stay and grieve and share the community’s burden. But no one questioned Gabe’s unwillingness to participate further in the drama underway now.

“Let’s go home, Gabe
,” Kate pleaded, and he shared her need to be away from this place.

They held each other, and nothing, neither the compelling need of his people nor the death of his queen, could make him deny her. He touched her face, her arms, her hands, to reassure himself she was real, and his heart broke with happiness.

“Let’s go
.” They left the confusion and grief surrounding them without a backward glance.

Kate didn’t need her husband’s superior intuition to see the toll her absence had taken on her mother. Cara’s entire body declared the fight required to cope with what she thought had been her daughter’s death, from her hunched shoulders to her overly thin, hollowed frame, to the shadows in and around her eyes. Her face radiated an agonized, shaky hope Kate could see from down the street as Gabe pulled their car to the front of the house. Her mother stood on the front lawn with John, who held Everett in his arms. Carmen and Michael watched behind them.

Despite her awkward condition, she bolted from the passenger seat and ran to her mother. The two women clung to each other, choking on tears as they voiced incomprehensible words of loss and recovery. The rest of the sirens present soon joined them.

On their way into the house, Cara and Kate kept their arms around each other’s waists, unwilling to let any space separate them. “You look so beautiful, honey,” her mother commented. “And you colored your hair? I mean, it’s nice, but…”

“Gabe insisted,” she interjected, tossing a teasing glance over her shoulder to her husband.

Gabe was defensive but laughing. “Now-now. Don’t make me the bad guy.” He explained what he knew of Kate’s changed appearance, which she had reported when she shared the whole of her experience the previous evening.

Everyone was astonished at the lengths Peter had gone, but none were more stunned than the sirens present. “That is just…
spectacularly
outside normal behavior for us,” Carmen marveled.

“I think it worked because no one would ever worry about that level of deceit,” Gabe remarked. “There’s not even a reasonable point of departure conceptually, nowhere to start from that would lead you even to the possibility.”

“That’s one for the record books,” John commented. He addressed Gabe. “Seriously, you must be pretty good at cloaking to have pulled off what you did. And you never had any idea you could cloak before?”

“None,” Gabe admitted. “I talked about it with Xanthe, and the only thing we could come up with was I had extraordinary motivation, and I was predisposed because of my family’s regular association with humans. Because humans know how to withdraw.”

“Yeah, well, that’s great and all,” Cara broke in sternly, although her voice shook, “but I’d like there to be no more disappearing for a while.”

“And, I know you two are already an old married couple,” Carmen ventured, “but I think we should celebrate your homecoming—and announce your marriage to those who don’t know about it—with a reception.”

“Um, Carmen?” Kate raised her hand. “I don’t know if all our friends and family need to see me waddling around in a formal dress trying to play the blushing bride.” John, Gabe, and Michael guffawed.

“Shush,” Carmen told her, including the men in her reproving stare. “You don’t waddle yet, and this actually has only a little to do with you.” Kate looked plaintively at Gabe, mouthing the words,
Is she nuts?

“Maybe.” Carmen
tsk-ed
. “But I can see her point, honey. We should celebrate the end of the debacle with Peter. And bring closure for the community.”

Kate balked. “What exactly do you mean by ‘community?’ I mean, how many people are we talking about, here?”

“Just a small crowd, I promise,” Carmen replied, too innocently, Kate thought. Gabe’s smile was off, as well, bland and completely insincere. Which she understood to mean he would not oppose his mother on this issue. John barked out a dark laugh and retrieved his car keys from a hook by the door.

“I’m going to check in at the clinic. Just let me know how many hors d’oeuvres to order.” He grinned at Gabe before leaving the room.

* * * *

“It’s not that bad, honey,” Cara wheedled. Kate remained unconvinced.

She stared at the hundreds of people meandering the grounds outside the Blake home, knew she’d have to talk to each and every one of them, knew the questions, direct and indirect she’d be taking for hours on the subject of her recent abduction. She thought she might throw up.

Her voice quavered with hysteria. “I’m too fat and too tired to do this, Mom.”

Cara stifled a laugh before composing herself. “No, you’re not. You’re pregnant, not fat. And you can help you and your family close the door on your experience at Shaddox by doing this.”

Kate knew she was right but didn’t feel any greater enthusiasm for the gauntlet she was about to run. Thankfully, Gabe arrived then. “You’re gorgeous.” He kissed her soundly, which eliminated the starch from her resistance. Maybe she was as puffy and tired as she feared, but her husband thought she was beautiful, so she decided she didn’t give a rip.

They had held a small ceremony after all, at the library as Kate wanted, with only family and the Wilkes present. Kate latched onto the idea promptly after Gabe reminded her Peter had felt more comfortable planning to marry her because they hadn’t had a human ceremony. “Not that I expect anything like that to ever, ever happen again,” he joked, “but I will feel better if I’m holding a marriage license up the next time I take after one of your suitors.” Kate waved him away and made immediate arrangements.

Will and Dana’s relief over her safe return touched her more than she would have believed—they’d all cried together. At the Blake home after the ceremony, she marveled with Gabe over how relaxed and healthy they appeared; Dana was radiantly pregnant and unapologetically happy about it; and Will, too, was lighter, leaner, and bright-eyed from his sobriety. “We may be moving closer to you,” Dana told them after Kate inquired about their plans. “We’re thinking of opening a bakery, of all things.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Kate told them. “I’d love it if our kids could know each other. And if you need help at the shop, I’ll fill in.” They promised to keep her apprised.

To the uninformed humans at the reception, Kate’s story was she was abducted by a distant relative on Gabe’s side. The man was more troubled than evil, and he’d killed himself when Kate got to a phone and called for help. The part where everyone thought Kate had died was explained by Gabe and Michael, who explained how they’d found her jacket while out on their boat.

Not too far off the mark but far enough for their families to be careful about what they said and to whom.

Maya pretended disgust over having to wear a dress and new shoes after all but she was so relieved her friend was still alive, Kate knew she wasn’t really mad. She confessed after the ceremony she’d play her entire next season in high heels if it meant she’d never have a scare like that again. Soley, as best man, was almost respectable in a canine tux, although he gave the maid of honor, Maya, no time at all; he only had eyes for Gabe.

“C’mon,” Gabe encouraged her as they surveyed the people milling around the lawn. “Let’s play offense, score some points, and blow this pop stand.”

“This was your idea, don’t forget,” Kate grumbled, but she put her arms around Gabe’s waist and approached the crowd with him.

Everyone was more kind and respectful than Kate anticipated, and she felt guilty about her earlier tantrum to her mother. While Cara and John entertained those who had no knowledge of their secret, siren life, she talked openly with the guests who knew better, Gabe sticking close by her, which helped her feel stable. The disrespectful questions she sensed—did she sleep with him, was the child Gabe’s—were never voiced, and, she had to admit, she might have wondered those things too. She decided to be magnanimous, giving out more information than strictly necessary in the hopes of staving off future inquiries.

“You have to remember, I didn’t know Peter was Peter,” she explained to one questioner who’d wondered her if her captivity was oppressive. “I did feel oppressed but I thought it was because we were in hiding, not because Peter was unkind.” She hesitated as she thought back on his last tirades, knowing they were the result of his frustration, and, she believed now, his precarious mental health.

“He was good to you?” This person was doubtful, and Kate thought about her answer several seconds before giving it. “Aside from the fact that he kidnapped me and tried to cut me off from everyone I ever cared about…” Her face fell. She was least comfortable with this part of her experience, where she’d been duped. She couldn’t hate Peter for his motivations—she could only feel terribly sorry for him—but she almost despised him for making a victim out of her. It was a role she wanted no part of, and she was anxious to forestall any offers of pity that would cast her as a martyr.

“He was just awfully lonely. I think it was something as simple as his mother not spending time with him when he was little, and him not ever knowing his father. He wanted to be loved, and when he saw what Gabe and I have, he tried to force a situation that would give him that love.

“But he never touched me.” Kate saw the crowd was skeptical. “Really. He told me, as Gabe, he wanted to wait until after the wedding—which I was opposed to, by the way. In the meantime, he tried to cater to my interests and give me every comfort he could. In his way, he did try to make me happy.”

“And the baby,” someone else interjected. “Were you worried about your child?”

Gabe, who kept quiet throughout her questioning stepped in to reply. “This is the fascinating part. I sensed his thoughts on the matter when I was fighting him, and the thing is, he was
happy
Kate was pregnant. He wanted a wife and family as fast as possible, and he really was prepared to welcome the child as his own.

“Of course, his acceptance had a dark side,” Gabe continued with considerably less charity in his voice. “He knew Kate would put her own misgivings aside to be a good mother, and he saw the baby as a way to further tie her to him.” Gabe snorted in disgust as he recalled Peter’s convoluted ideas. “Truthfully, I could kill him all over again when I think of that.”

His listeners exchanged nervous smiles.

“I know the idea of murder sounds strange to you, but if you were in my shoes, you would feel as I do. I’m sure you’d all fight to get your families back.” They nodded and edged away from him.

*

Feeling she’d explained all she cared to for one day, Kate escaped to hide behind her in-laws, leaving Gabe to answer further questions from people she barely knew. Carmen gave her cover while she and Michael met with Xanthe.

“What will happen to the monarchy?” Michael asked.

“We’ve never had this situation before,” Xanthe confessed. “A double suicide…” She shook her head. “Every time I think about what Peter and Kenna did, the predicament they left us in, I just feel irritated.” Her expression became bleak as she continued, “This was a pretty serious blow to our collective confidence. To be honest, most of us can’t really consider what happened; between the abduction of someone’s mate and the desire to engage in mortal battle…those motivations are so far outside our cultural lexicon. Most of us can’t understand the premise, much less get to the conclusion.” She huffed. “What a mess.”

“So, who’s governing now?” Carmen inquired. “And who’s deciding what happens to the crown?”