“We came all this way to rush in and save your ass, but then you end up saving your own ass before we could do anything.” Dee popped her hands on her hips, and her chin was tipped up stubbornly. “Way to steal our thunder and glory, Daemon.”
Luc clapped his hands together. “Surprise!”
Chapter 22
Katy
Daemon was absolutely dumbfounded into silence. So was I. The only two people who weren’t gawking at Dee were Luc and Paris. Even Archer had the open-mouth thing going on, but I think that had less to do with what their appearance meant to Daemon than it did with how beautiful she was.
And Dee was out of this world, extraordinarily beautiful. With her glossy black curls cascading around her exotic face and with those emerald eyes, she was stunning. A more delicate, feminine version of Daemon and Dawson. She stopped humans, aliens, hybrids, and apparently origins in their tracks.
Archer looked like he just saw baby Jesus in a manager or something.
Dee dashed out the door, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. I stepped back in the nick of time. She launched herself at Daemon from several feet away. He caught her as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Jesus,” he said, his words muffled by all of her hair. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” she responded, voice thick. “We had to do something. You just beat us to it as usual, you punk.”
I clasped my hands over my chest, close to tears, as another form appeared in the doorway and drifted out. Sucking in a soft breath, I couldn’t believe how…how different Dawson looked. Filled out and his hair trimmed up, with the gaunt pull to his face gone and the dark shadows under his eyes erased, he was the spitting image of his brother.
Daemon lifted his head, as if he sensed the arrival. His mouth worked, but there weren’t any words. None of us could’ve expected to see them here. Like me, Daemon probably figured he might never see his siblings again.
Dawson crossed the porch and dropped his arms around his sister and brother. Their three heads were bent together. Daemon had one hand fisted around the back of Dee’s shirt and the other around Dawson’s.
“It’s true,” Dawson said, grinning. “What the hell, brother? Always got to one-up me, huh?”
Daemon grabbed the back of his brother’s neck and pressed his forehead against his. “You idiot,” he said, letting out a choked laugh. “You should know better. I’ve always got things covered.”
“Yeah, and wait—I’m pissed at you!” Dee pulled back and hit Daemon in the chest hard. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed doing what you did! You jerk-face, douchebag, imbecile.” She hit him again.
Archer winced and muttered, “Damn, that girl…that girl can hit.”
“Hey!” Laughing, Daemon grabbed her hand. “Knock it off. I obviously didn’t get myself killed.”
“I worried, you ass!” Dee pushed her curls out of her face and inhaled deeply. “But I forgive you, because you’re in one piece and apparently no worse for wear, and you’re here, but if you ever do anything that—”
“Okay,” Dawson said, dropping an arm around his sister’s neck, spinning her. “I think he gets the point. We’ve all got the point.”
Dee broke free as her eyes skipped over Paris and Luc. She didn’t pay them much attention, but her gaze bounced over Archer, then went right back before moving on. I had stayed out of the reunion, remaining by one of the pillars. I didn’t think Dee even noticed me until that moment.
In the blink of an eye, she practically knocked me over. I’d forgotten what her hugs were like. For someone who had a ballet dancer’s body, she was ridiculously strong. And her hugs…well, it had been so long since I’d been on the receiving end of one of her bear squeezes.
I was slow to respond, more taken off guard than anything else, but then I dropped the tote and threw my arms around her. Tears welled up, and I squeezed my eyes shut. The part of my being that had felt achy over what happened with Dee warmed, and that warmth spilled over.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, tears clogging her voice. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“For what?”
She still hadn’t let go, and I didn’t mind. “For everything—for not seeing your side of things, for being so caught up in my grief and anger that I totally abandoned you. For never telling you that I missed you before…”
Before it was too late was what she was going to say.
Blinking back tears, I smiled against her shoulder. “You have nothing to apologize for, Dee. I mean it. None of that…” Well, it did matter. Adam’s death mattered. “It’s okay now.”
She held me tighter and whispered, “Is it? Because I’ve been so worried about you and Daemon and what could’ve…”
My body roiled into nervous knots, and I willed the sudden rise of dread to go away. It wasn’t welcome here, not in this happy moment. “It’s okay.”
“I’ve missed you.”
A few tears snuck out. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“Okay. Okay. I think you’re starting to cut off her air supply.” Dawson tugged on Dee’s arm. “And I think Daemon is starting to get jealous.”
“Pfft. It’s my turn with Katy,” she replied, but she let go.
And then Dawson replaced his sister. He hugged me, nothing as fierce as Dee’s but still powerful. “Thank you,” he said quietly, and I knew those two words encompassed so much. “I hope you know how thankful I am for everything you’ve done.”