Only in Her Dreams (32 page)

“This will answer another question you have.” Marie spoke to Lucessa.

“My mother lived on Earth, long ago, but she was a mortal being.”

“What? Maxim told me the Oneiroi can’t have children with humans.” Lucessa couldn’t keep the shock from her voice, or the hope from her heart.

She should feel confused, angry, and lied to. Instead, she felt love. Love for the father who would give up his own happiness to ensure the survival of others. Love for the woman who lived in the shadows for so many years, believing in and waiting for her happiness to return to her. Most of all, she felt love for the man who visited her dreams for all those years.

Maxim.

Her heart yearned for him...but if Guy was her father, that’d make Maxim her uncle. How can a heart feel so many conflicting emotions at one time?

What had her life been like without him? Empty. Sure, she functioned, moving through her day to day life. Only now she realized her life had held no joy, no love, and no connections. There was Julie and Brett, but her employers weren’t her family.

“You’re my real dad?” she asked.

“Yes, but you must understand, it was our secret. We debated for years whether to have a child, always knowing I might have to leave. After so many years, my father adopted twin boys to fill my role. Your mother and I decided that our family just wasn’t complete.” The words tumbled from his mouth, as if he couldn’t say them fast enough.

“Lucessa, your dad had to keep his father’s secret. Not even Maxim knows a human and an Oneiroi can have a family.”

“Wait a minute...did you just say your father adopted two sons?” The thought of who her biological father was left her mind and she focused on the news of Maxim’s heritage.
He’s not my uncle?!

Again, so many emotions flowed through her body. Relief. Joy. Hope. Love.

Guy inclined his head. “That’s true. My father had shared a love with a women and he couldn’t bring himself to love another. An Oneiroi woman died giving birth to a bastard set of twins. My father took them in and raised them as his own.”

“And neither Maxim nor Darius knew this?” Lucessa asked.
I’m not the only one that’s been kept in the dark.

“No, only I. My father came to me on Earth to let me know that my obligation to Erebos was fulfilled, as he had two new sons. I never planned to leave you and return.”

Chapter 42

Maxim stood outside Lucessa’s house. The tears still fell from his eyes. He couldn’t save Darius from himself. As he’d buried his brother in the land near the shack, he realized he’d held out hope for so many years that Darius would change, that he would accept Guy as leader and return to their family. It was the only family Maxim had ever hoped to have, his two brothers.

But it was not to be.

A new hollowness filled him.

He’d left the shack, carrying his twin’s still form, and he’d spotted another body lying motionless not far down the dirt road. The female scream had belonged to Sandy, issued moments before Greg had run her down with Alexander’s car.

He stood outside Lucessa’s home, hesitant to enter. Taking in the manicured lawn and fading paint, he forced himself toward the front door. He had to go inside and tell her goodbye. The danger was over and so was his presence in her life. A sob retched from his very soul,
if
the Oneiroi were blessed with souls.

How can I leave her behind?
Surely, his brother couldn’t expect this of him. But had Guy not said that any relationship between him and Lucessa was doomed? This must be what he meant. Maxim couldn’t stay on Earth with Lucessa, or anyone else for that matter, it was just not possible. Guy needed help monitoring the remaining Melas Oneiroi. They’d be a handful and could never be fully trusted. He and Guy would always have to be vigilant to deflect another uprising.

Could Maxim defy his brother and declare his love for Lucessa and his intentions to remain with her? He suddenly knew the pain Guy must’ve felt when he chose to return to Erebos. The guilt of abandoning the one he loved. In Guy’s case, he was forced--by Maxim, no less--to abandon both the people he’d loved.

And Maxim must do the same.

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and started up the stairs.

# # #

The front door opened and closed. A part of her tensed, but she quickly relaxed. The danger was over. There was no one left to hurt her or her family.

Goosey struggled next to her on the couch to rise and greet the newcomer. She didn’t growl but wagged her tail. Lucessa felt his presence before she saw him. Maxim had returned. She held Goosey down and turned toward the hall.

When he stepped into the room, his face, partly hidden in his black hoodie, was smudged with dirt. He looked exhausted. His shoulders slumped. Lucessa knew, through this all, Maxim cared very deeply for his brother. His death would weigh heavily on him. She restrained herself from going to him and taking him into her arms.

She’d never be able to let him go.

“It’s done.” Maxim addressed her dad. They never strayed to Lucessa. “Is it your wish I return to Erebos now?”

Lucessa’s heart sank. He’d made his decision. He was leaving. A part of her was glad she hadn’t run to him when he entered.

Her dad’s words took her by surprise. “No, Maxim. You have another situation to handle here.”

“I’m sure the Melas Oneiroi will behave for now. That can be monitored from Erebos.”

“You misunderstand your brother, Maxim,” Marie said from her position next to her husband.

His eyes finally swept across the room to connect with Lucessa’s. In them she read all of his pain, his suffering, his guilt, but she also saw love. Was the love for her? Could they possibly share the same feelings for each other?

“You have feelings for my daughter. Is that not correct?” her father asked.

“I don’t see how--”

“There are things you should know about yourself,” Guy cut him off.

“What can you possibly--” Maxim started again.

“Let him talk,” Marie cut in.

Maxim spread his arms in a gesture of surrender and stood in the doorway to the room.

“Have a seat. There’s much to discuss,” Guy said.

Maxim hesitated for only a moment before seating himself next to Lucessa on the couch. He reached over and patted Goosey’s head.

“I know what you came here hoping for,” Guy started. “You may have begun in an attempt to protect my daughter, and by that I mean my flesh and blood daughter, but you stayed because you love her.”

Lucessa risked a glance at Maxim. His mouth hung open and his hand no longer patted Goosey’s head.

“Your flesh and blood daughter? Surely, you now know our love, if that is what we feel, is hopeless,” Maxim said. Defeat radiated in each word, pulling at Lucessa’s heart.

“It is you who is unaware of your lineage, Maxim,” Marie whispered.

Maxim’s eyes moved from his brother to Lucessa next to him. It felt good to not be the one left out. A small smile spread across her face at the thought.

“It’s true. We don’t share a father.”

“Explain yourself!” Maxim’s shoulders visibly lifted and Lucessa saw the man she’d spent the last several days getting to know.

“After I left Erebos my father despaired about not having an heir to lead after his passing. He encountered an Erebos citizen who was pregnant with twins, with no means of providing for them. She died during childbirth and my father took you and Darius in as his own.”

Her eyes didn’t leave Maxim’s face as this news sank in.
Is that hope I see in his eyes?
She didn’t dare dream he cared for her, as much as she cared for him.

“Maxim, you have a decision to make. As my father gave me the choice, I too will extend it to you.”

“What are you saying?” Maxim asked.

“While you’ll always be welcome in Erebos, you also have the choice to stay here.”

“You’d allow that?” Maxim’s brow lifted and his head cocked to the side.

“It’s your choice. I will return to Erebos and lead.”

It was Lucessa’s time to stare at her parents in shock. “You’ll leave mom, again?” she asked.

“He won’t have to.” A musical voice sounded.

Lucessa looked up to see a woman, stunningly gorgeous in a cream colored, floor length dress of silk, standing regally in the doorway.

Maxim and her father immediately stood, each dropping into a low bow. “Hera, our lady of hearth and home.” They both spoke with reverence.

Lucessa was unsure if she should hop to her feet and bow...or curtsy. Or whatever a person should do in the presence of a Greek goddess.

“Please sit,” Hera continued. She turned to address Guy. “I only have a moment. You have greatly pleased Zeus and I have been sent to reward you and your family.” Her arm arced to include Lucessa and Maxim.”

“It is my honor to serve him,” Guy mumbled. His eyes remained on the floor.

“It is my wish that love always prevail.” She turned her attention to Marie. “Therefore, it is my pleasure to report Zeus’s command that Marie travel to Erebos, posthaste.”

With that, Hera disappeared as mysteriously as she’d arrived.

A collective gasp rang through the room.

“But I just got the both of you back. I don’t want you to leave.” A new hopelessness filled Lucessa. She couldn’t handle being alone again.

Marie shifted on the couch, her legs moving out from under the lap blanket to rest on the floor in front of her. “We will visit, darling. There isn’t any danger now.”

Lucessa turned to Maxim.
Will he chose to leave me as well?

His stare focused on her and her alone. “I love you, Lucessa. Only you, forever.”

Author’s Notes

Thank you for reading
Only In Her Dreams, The Oneiroi Book 1
.

Only In Her Nightmares, The Oneiroi Book 2
, featuring Darius and his lost love, Lauren,

has a tentative release date of December 2013.

Only In His Visions, The Oneiroi Book 3
, featuring Alexander,

has a tentative release date of December 2014.

If you enjoyed
Only In Her Dreams
feel free to review it at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, or Goodreads.

[email protected]

I’d love to hear from you.

www.Christina-McKnight.blogspot.com

Check out my website for giveaways, book reviews, and information on my other projects.

@CMcKnightWriter

Follow me on Twitter

www.facebook.com/christinavellamcknight

www.goodreads.com/ChristinaMcKnight

I’d love to connect with readers on Facebook and Goodreads, too.

Please watch for the first book in my Historical Romance series,
Shunned No More
,

to be released in the Summer of 2013.

On a personal note, I wrote this novel shortly after my father passed away in a motorcycle accident. Writing
Only In Her Dreams
helped me through a very difficult time in my life. I’d like to thank all the people who helped my dream come true. Especially Lauren Stewart, Emily Feustel, Rebecca Graves, Brandi Johnson, Rachelle Ayala, Angel King, Lucie Ulrich, Mary Merrell, Vanna Smythe, Shannan Sinclair, and Alex Ewell. You have all been very patient and wonderfully supportive of my eccentric ways.

A very special thank you to my editor, Norine Fisher. You’ve taught me to elude capture and allude to what I really mean. Thank you for sticking with me through this arduous editing experience.

Norine Fisher can be contacted by email at [email protected]. She is always looking for new projects to work on.

Finally, thank you for supporting indie authors.

About the Author:

Christina McKnight is a book lover turned writer. From a young age, her mother encouraged her to tell her own stories. She’s been writing ever since.

In college, Christina took many courses to help develop and enhance her writing skills. She completed a seventy-page dissertation on the need for community policing in American society. Now, she focuses on Historical Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance.

Christina lives in Northern California with her husband, daughter, two boxers, two cats, and a Beta fish named Marmaduke. If she’s not behind a computer screen or book, she’s busy leading her daughter’s Girl Scout troop. She is very active in several writing groups and a local book group.

Follow me on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/#!/CMcKnightWriter

My blog:
www.christina-mcknight.blogspot.com

Email:
[email protected]