“Yes,” I say tersely. Looks like he wants to jump right in with the questions. I grab my glass and take a lengthy sip, preparing for battle.
“Humph. So I’m assuming you’ll be aligning with the Dark upon your ascension.” Chris cuts into his meat, and places a portion into his mouth. Disappointment and judgment is written all over his face.
I finish chewing my bite of food then gently place my silverware on the table. Looks like I can forget about a nice, relaxing family meal. “I haven’t actually decided. And I don’t really understand why I have to. I am equally Dark just as I am equally Light. Why should I have to choose one side and shun the other?”
“This isn’t about being fair, Gabriella,” he says. “It’s about believing in something and devoting yourself to it. Natalia lived her life for the Light. And she died because she fell victim to the Dark allure.” Chris shakes his head as if to dispel any false speculation. “Now I’m not saying that your father didn’t love her; I know he did. Alex was a good man. But I can’t say the same about the rest of them.”
I look over at Donna who is silently picking at her meal and nod weakly, not quite agreeing with Chris but not totally disagreeing either. I get what he’s saying. Other than Dorian, I can’t fully trust any Dark One as far as I could throw them. But the same could be said about the Light. I know nothing about them, and they’ve chosen to keep it that way. Why should I place my devotion in their hands?
“But you once knew Dorian too. He sacrificed so much to protect my parents and their secret. He protected me before he even knew me. Why do you hate him so much?”
“I don’t hate him, Gabriella. It’s because I know him that makes me so cautious. It’s what he’s capable of that worries me. He’s Dark. That’s not going to change no matter what you do. A tiger can’t change its stripes.”
So what is he saying? That no matter what, Dorian will never be good? That he’ll always be a cold, callous assassin? I don’t want to change him; I never have. I love him for who and what he is. I just want to show him the good that’s already there, that’s been there all along. I don’t ever expect him to be anything less than Dark, just like he can’t expect me to be anything less than the indecisive, irrational, hot-headed Dark Light that I am.
“I understand that I could never bring Dorian into the Light, if that’s what you’re implying. And I honestly don’t want to. It was you who told me that there is no absolute evil, just as there is no absolute good. Just because Dorian was born into a family that does not value the man that he is, that doesn’t make him a bad person. He’s proved that more than once already.”
I take a deep breath and try to reflect just how deeply I feel for Dorian. I have to make them understand. “I see him, Dad. I know that sounds crazy, but I do. I know who he is and I’m not going to turn away from him just because of some ancient feud that isn’t even my fight to begin with. And if I did, that makes me no better than the ones that slaughtered my birth parents and left me an orphaned half-breed. They acted out of fear, out of hatred. I want to act out of understanding, acceptance. Love. Like Alex and Natalia did. Like you and Mom did when you took me in and raised me as your own.”
Chris chews his food and swallows laboriously. He then picks up his glass of wine and downs it in one quick gulp before turning to me. Uh oh, here it comes. I down my wine as well, ready for the onslaught.
“When did you get so smart, Kiddo?” he responds, pride and affection twinkling in his brown eyes.
I smile at my dad, the man who cared for me from birth. The man who dried every tear and bandaged every scraped knee. “I had some really awesome parents. They taught me everything I know.”
When I arrive home late that evening and have stowed the insane amount of leftovers packaged lovingly by Donna, I find Dorian is in my room waiting for me. I hadn’t seen nor heard from him since early the morning before when Jared and James had received a call from the hospital, informing them of their mom’s recovery. He dashed out of here, muttering something about tying up loose ends. I wasn’t about to beg him to stay. I needed to be happy for my friends and let them enjoy their moment of triumph. And as perturbed as I was by not hearing from Dorian, seeing him now, looking every bit as deliciously sexy as he always is in jeans and a dark knit V-neck tee, I can’t be mad at him. I know he had a good reason for staying away. At least that’s what I have to believe.
“You’re back,” I remark, kicking off my sandals and tossing my purse onto my dresser. He really hates when I do this. He’s always so meticulously neat. Oh well, I can’t wave a finger and have my room magically transformed into a showroom. I trot into my conjoined bathroom to freshen up, knowing that it will be tidied when I emerge and secretly grin to myself.