Caleb swallowed and nodded, too overcome with grief to even speak.
“And I’m sorry about Sera,” Caitlin added. “I never meant to get between the two of you.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “It had nothing to do with you. It was between her and I. We were never meant to be together. It was wrong from the start.”
“Well, finally, I’ve been wanting to tell you that I’m sorry for what happened in New York,” she added, feeling relieved to get it off her chest. “I would have never stabbed if I knew that it was you. I swear, I thought you were someone else, shapeshifting. I never in a million years thought it was really you.”
She felt herself tear up at the thought of it.
He stopped and looked at her, and held her shoulders.
“None of that matters now,” he said, earnestly. “You came back to save me. And I know that you did so at great expense. It might not have even worked. And you risked your life for me. And gave up our child for me,” he said, looking down again in momentary grief. “I love you more than I can say,” he said, still looking at the ground.
He looked at her with wet eyes.
At that moment, they kissed. She felt herself melting into his arms, felt her entire world relax, as they kissed for what felt like forever. It was the greatest moment she had ever had with him, and in some ways, she felt like she was getting to know him for the first time.
Finally, slowly, they pulled out of it, looking deeply into each other’s eyes.
Then they both looked away, demurely, took each other’s hands, and continued their walk through the gardens, alongside the river. She looked at how beautiful, how romantic Paris was, and realized that at that moment, all of her dreams were coming true. This was all she’d ever wanted out of life. To be with someone who loved her – who really loved her. To be in such a beautiful city, such a romantic place. To feel like she could have a life ahead of her.
Caitlin felt the bejeweled case in her pocket, and resented it. She didn’t want to open it. She loved her father very much, but she didn’t want to read a letter from him. She knew right then that she didn’t want to continue on this mission any longer. She didn’t want to risk having to go back in time again, or to have to find any other keys. She just wanted to be here, in this time, in this place, with Caleb. In peace. She didn’t want anything to change. She was determined to do whatever she had to to guard their precious time together, to truly keep them together. And a part of her felt that that meant giving up the mission.
She turned and faced him. She was nervous to tell him, but she felt that she had to.
“Caleb,” she said, “I don’t want to search anymore. I realize I have a special mission, that I need to help others, that I need to find the Shield. And it may sound selfish, and I’m sorry if it does. But I just want to be with you. That’s what’s most important to me now. To stay in this time, and in this place. I have a feeling that if we continue to search, we’ll end up in another time, in another place. And that we might not be together next time…” Caitlin broke off, and realized she was crying.
She took a deep breath in the silence. She wondered what he thought of her, and hoped that he didn’t disapprove.
“Can you understand?” she asked, tentatively.
He stared off into the horizon, looking concerned, then finally turned and looked at her. Her own concern mounted.
“I don’t want to read my dad’s letter, or find any more clues. I just want us to be together. I want things to stay exactly as they are now. I don’t want them to change. I hope you don’t hate me for that.”
“I would never hate you,” he said, softly.
“But you don’t approve?” she prodded. “You think I should continue with the mission?”
He looked away, but didn’t say anything.
“What is it?” she asked. “Are you worried about the others?”
“I guess I should be,” he said. “And I am. But I, too, have selfish reasons. I guess… in the back of my mind I was hoping that if we found the Shield, it might somehow help bring my son back to me. Jade.”
Caitlin felt a terrible feeling of guilt, as she realized that he equated her giving up the mission with letting his son go forever.
“But it’s not that way,” she said. “We don’t know that if we find the Shield, if it even exists, that it will bring him back. But we do know that if we don’t search, we can be together. This is about us. That’s what matters most to me.” She paused. “Is that what matters most to you?”
He looked off at the horizon, and nodded. But he didn’t look at her.
“Or do you only love me because I can help you find the Shield?” she asked.
She was shocked at herself, that she actually had the courage to voice the question. It was a question that had been burning in her mind ever since she’d first met him. Had he only loved her for where she could lead him? Or had he loved her for her? Now, she had finally asked it.
Her heart pounded as she waited for the answer.
Finally, he turned and looked deeply into her eyes. He reached up, and slowly stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.
“I love you for you,” he said. “And I always have. And if being with you means giving up the search for the Shield, then that is what I will do. I want to be with you, too. I want to search, yes. But you are much more important to me now.”
Caitlin smiled, feeling in her heart something she hadn’t felt in forever. A sense of peace, of stability. Nothing could stand in their way now.
He brushed the hair from her face, and broke into a smile.
“It’s funny,” he said, “I lived here once before. Centuries ago. Not in Paris, but in the country. It was a small castle. I don’t know if it still exists. But we can search.”
She smiled, and he suddenly hoisted her onto his back, and leapt into the air. Within moments, they were flying, high up above Paris, and heading into the country, to search for his home.
Their home.
Caitlin had never been so happy.
Chapter Five
Sam was having a hard time keeping up with Polly as she walked. She talked so fast, and never seemed to stop, racing from one thought to the next. He was still discombobulated from the time travel, from this new place – he needed to process it all.
But they had been walking for nearly half an hour, he tripping over twigs as he followed her through the forest at her brisk pace, and she hadn’t stopped talking. He’d barely been able to get a word in. She went on and on about “the palace” and “the court” and about her coven members and an upcoming concert, and a man named Aiden. He had no idea what she was talking about, or why she’d been looking for him – or even where she was taking him. He was determined to get some answers.
“… of course, it’s not exactly a dance,” Polly was saying, “but still, it’s going to be an amazing event – but I’m not quite sure what I’ll wear. There are so many options, not enough for a formal event like this – ”
“Please!” Sam said finally, as she bounced along merrily through the forest, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have questions for you. Please. I need answers.”
She finally stopped talking, and he breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at him with something like wonder, as if she were totally oblivious to the fact that she’d been talking all the while.
“All you need to do is ask!” she said happily. And then, before he could respond, she added, impatiently, “Well? What is it?”
“You said you were sent to get me,” Sam said. “By who?”
“That’s an easy one,” she said, “Aiden.”
“Who’s that?” Sam asked.
She snickered, “My, you have a lot to learn, don’t you? He’s only been the mentor of our coven for thousands of years. I’m not sure why he’s taken an interest in you, or why he’d send me on such a beautiful day tramping all the way through the forest to get you. The way I see it, you could have found your own way, eventually. Not to mention, I had a thousand things to do today, including looking at this new dress and – ”