Amon left the door standing wide open, and another cold wind blew through the house, foretelling evil events were to come. I softly shut the door.
Luka looked at me, at the door, and then back at me. “I’m missing something huge. What was that all about?”
This was the perfect opportunity to tell her that we were a clan of shapeshifters and that I was the leader. Because I chose to marry a full human, Amon was making a play for my position. Yet, I couldn’t say a word of it. Instead of telling her the truth she deserved, I told a half-truth. “There are some family politics going on. He has always been in high competition with me. I’m not sure if he feels as though he has something to prove or what.”
“Sibling rivalry?”
“Something like that,” I answered.
“I thought that went away when the children grew older,” she said, cutting me a piece of chocolate cake and pouring me a glass of milk, just as she had done for Amon earlier.
“Not always, my love.”
I mentally kicked myself as the perfect opportunity to tell her the truth slip away.
After I finished my snack, I suggested that we go for a walk. Although spring had already begun, the sun still set fairly early, and the stars were glorious on this cloudless night.
“You know, it’s true what they say about city lights,” she mused, looking up at the sky.
“What’s that?” I queried as I felt her hand slip into mine.
“The city lights outshine the stars and even the moon. Even if they didn’t, sometimes the air is so smoggy that the haze covers the sky.” She took a deep breath. “Out here, I can breathe.”
“When did you start writing?”
“I had been writing my entire life. There is nothing more magical in this world than a blank piece of paper and a pen or, in today’s times, a computer screen and a word app. Words are powerful. They can transform a world, for evil or good, as evidenced by Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King. Words can take you any time and any place, and you never have to leave the comfort and safety of home. Words can transform you into a beautiful maiden rescued from the big bad ogre to a time lord traveling through time and space.”
I nodded. I loved to read, as well, and she made perfect sense to me.
“I used words to create my own worlds, my own friends, and my own family. Each character is a part of me. My first book was published when I was a freshman in college. I’ve been writing like crazy ever since.”
“That sounds awesome. Not so many people get a chance to live out their dreams.”
“What about you?” she asked. “Surely, you don’t just live your life gallivanting through the woods, rescuing damsels in distress from their nasty ex-boyfriends.”
“Do you think I could make a good living from that?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. Only one damsel per knight. You had better come up with a different plan.”
“Sheesh, you’re a party pooper. Ruining all of my future plans.”
“You started it by declaring that I was your woman.”
I sighed heavily, exaggerating mocked frustration. “Okay, fine. Be that way.”
“Okay, fine. I will.”
“Honestly, I spent many years in the Army as an Army Ranger. I’ve seen some action I would have rather not seen, but I was honored to do my duty. I had enough served time to take early retirement a couple of months ago, when my father passed away. I had to come home and take care of the family.”
“I’m sorry. I know how you feel. It’s hard.”
I kissed her forehead and went on. “Dad left me a million and a half, which is why I’ve had a chance to take some time off and figure out what I want to do with my life, besides loving you. I refuse to just sit around, getting fat off my father’s hard work.”
“Have you had a chance to figure anything out?”
“I’ve been talking to a couple of my buddies. I have two friends who were Navy Seals and a buddy who was a Green Beret. We all have different specialties and have been trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives. All of us have seen a lot of action, and none of us are going to be able to sit around watching soap operas.”
“What did you guys come up with?”