Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

P aige's heart sank as she stared down at the unreadable symbols surrounding the compass. She'd nearly died multiple times in the pursuit of this compass only to find out it was useless to them.

Her heart twisted into a knot and tears welled in her eyes. She glanced up to find a grin on Devon's features.

"Why are you so happy?" she snapped, feeling instantaneously guilty for coming across as so harsh.

"Drucinda's right," he answered. "It takes a special bloodline. And I know someone who both speaks and reads Celestial."

"You? I didn't think your mother had Celestial blood," Drucinda said.

"She didn't." He slid his eyes sideways to his Valkyrie friend, the grin still on his features. "But Luna's did."

"Oh, Luna," Dewey said as he clapped his paws together. "Of course. The blue hair."

Devon poked a finger at him. "Yep. I'll get her. I know she'd love to help us. "

"I'll come with you." Dewey fluttered over and settled on Devon's shoulder.

"Dewey!" Paige cried.

"What? I'll be there as your representative. In case we need to make a hard sell."

Paige offered him an unimpressed stare. "Yeah, right. You want to flirt with her."

"If that should happen…I don't see the harm in it. Perhaps my devilish charm will make all the difference."

"Devilish charm?" Paige slid her eyes closed and shook her head. "Never mind, just go."

As they left the room, Paige collapsed into her armchair with a sigh. Her fingers tightened around the compass as she stared at it, tears filling her eyes. Had they come this far only to be stuck. Would Luna help them?

Drucinda sucked in a breath as she paced the floor in front of the fireplace. "Thank heavens Luna is a Celestial. I haven't seen her in so many years, I had forgotten."

"Really? Where has she been?"

Drucinda spun on a heel and traversed the room in the opposite direction. "Bouncing around the French countryside with some traditional vampire."

"Oh, right." Paige creased her forehead as she tried to figure out why Drucinda had said it with such disdain.

"You know the sort," Drucinda answered, her eyes locked on Paige's. "The kind in the movies. They're all swagger and trouble."

"Yeah. Uh-huh," Paige answered as she nodded.

"Are you kidding? Do you really not know the typical dark-haired, dark-eyed, sexy yet troubled vampire bit?"

Paige frowned as an image of her husband formed in her mind. "I do know that type, yep."

"If you're thinking Devon, you're wrong," Drucinda said with narrowed eyes .

"That's not what I was–" The door burst open, and Devon entered with his sister. Dewey rode on her shoulder. "Devon. There you are."

"Here I am. Luna would be happy to help."

Luna slid her eyes sideways to Dewey, tickling his chin. "You bet I am."

"OMG," Paige groaned.

Luna shot her a confused glance. "Something wrong?"

"No," Paige said with a shake of her head. "Nothing. I just…"

"Paige is disturbed that we're flirting. She has some real issues with prejudices and so on. We're working on it," Dewey announced as he fluttered back to land on Paige's shoulder.

"Oh, wow. I can't believe Dad accepted your marriage."

Devon shoved his hands in his pockets as he shook his head. "That's not accurate. Well, it is a little. Paige is just…new to all of this. She's still learning."

Luna crossed her arms as she studied Paige. "You've got a lot to learn, new sis."

Paige winced. "Yeah, I know. And sorry ahead of time. I'm not usually this uptight–"

"She is," Dewey interrupted with a bob of his head.

"I'm…just worried about finding my mom."

Luna cocked her head, wrapping a strand of blue hair around her finger and twirling it. "Your mom?"

"Reed Moore," Drucinda answered.

"Ohhh, that's your mom?" Luna's eyes went wider as she stared at Paige. "I hadn't realized you were Reed's daughter."

Paige shifted her gaze from side to side, unsure if being Reed's daughter helped her or hurt her. She plastered on a nervous grin. "Uh, yep."

Devon slipped his arm around Paige's shoulders. "She is. She's Shadow Harbor's newest librarian, too. "

Luna's features scrunched. "Wait…the one you were supposed to–"

"Yep," Devon said before she finished. "That didn't happen."

Luna stared at Paige with an unhinged jaw. "Yeah, obviously. Dang, sis, you know how to turn your luck around."

Paige chuckled nervously, her fingernails digging into her palm. She just wanted to find her mother, and every second they waited was like torture.

"Would it be possible to stick to the task at hand and discuss Paige's luck another time?" Drucinda asked.

Paige shot her a grateful smile.

"Yeah, sure," Luna said with a shrug. "We can get to know each other better once we decipher this."

Paige swallowed hard, handing over the compass as she held her breath. Would Luna be able to read it? Would they finally find her mother's location?

Luna accepted it, staring down at the compass as the needle stayed straight after being locked in with Paige's memories.

"Can you read it, Luna?"

"Umm, yes, I just…I'm a little rusty, so I need to really think before I send us to Russia instead of Canada or something."

"Take your time," Devon said, wrapping his arm around Luna's shoulders. "This is fun."

"Fun?" Paige asked with a wrinkled nose.

"My sister and I haven't spent time together in a while."

"There's a reason for that, bro," Luna said, her features scrunched as she studied the compass.

Devon pressed his lips together as he sucked in a breath. "Dad."

"Bingo," she said, flicking her purple-eyed gaze up to him.

"Maybe he'd accept Caleb," Devon suggested with a shrug .

She rolled her eyes before they settled on Paige. "Well, maybe. I mean, he accepted her."

"Hey," Paige objected. "I'm a catch."

"You're a librarian. And you look like the do-gooder type, too."

"I'm…a doer of all sorts of things. I mean…I married your brother, so…"

Luna screwed up her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Paige said with a shake of her head. "Never mind. How's that compass looking there?"

"No, no, I really want to get this straight. Did you mean you married my brother as an example of one of your bad deeds? Like because he's a daywalker, he's some kind of terrible creature? Is that what you're saying?"

Paige chuckled again as she desperately tried to control the situation. "No, of course not."

"Luna, that's ridiculous," Devon answered. "I love Paige. And I'm glad she married me no matter what the reason was."

Luna's lips formed a wide O. "No matter what the reason was? What was the reason? Obviously not love."

"That's false," Dewey answered. "Listen, Paige is weird. And sometimes she says ridiculous things, but you should see the stuff that came out in the Amor Fortis. Paige may not want to admit it to even herself, but she's definitely digging Devon and his beefy muscles."

Luna huffed out a laugh. "Girl, every female in a ten-mile radius is digging Devon's beefy muscles. I'm his sister, and even I'll admit he looks good."

"But what we saw when Paige poured her heart out went way beyond the muscles." Dewey fluttered over to land on Luna's shoulder. "You know, I'm an author."

"Really?" she purred, her lips tugging into a coy smile .

"I am. And I based a paranormal romance trilogy off of your brother and Paige's tumultuous relationship."

"Tumultuous, huh?" Luna crossed her arms and shot Paige a less-than-friendly glance.

"First, he marked me, and I nearly died!"

"I told you I'd fix that," Devon said. "That was a nonissue."

Paige flung a hand out. "And then he kidnapped me."

Luna narrowed her eyes at Paige. "I don't understand why you're acting like that's a problem."

"He kidnapped me," Paige said again, her jaw tight.

Luna shifted a questioning gaze to her brother.

Devon shrugged as he shook his head. "Paige thinks this is like some kind of terrible thing, not a romantic gesture."

Luna scoffed. "Seriously? If Caleb kidnapped me, we'd be married so fast…"

"I just…humans don't kidnap other humans for the purposes of romance," Paige defended.

Luna shifted her eyes side-to-side. "Uh, I mean, yes, they do. Have you never read dark romance?"

"Oh, please. That's…okay, never mind." Paige shook her head. " I mean, can we just move on?"

"Aw, Paigey, she's just teasing you," Devon said as he slid his arms around her waist and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Aw, Dev, you are so in love!" Luna grinned at him as she clasped the compass between her hands.

"I am, and my wife wants to find her mom. So, let's find her mom."

"Okay, I do know what this says. But…I sort of need a favor first before I'll tell you."

"What?" Paige barked as Drucinda held her back.

"What's the favor?" Devon asked.

Luna rose to her tiptoes, her features pleading. "Please, please, please, can we stop on the way and pick up Caleb, and then bring him back here with us and you can convince Dad that he's suitable?"

"Whoa, Luna, I'm not even entirely sure he's suitable," Devon said with a shake of his head. "I mean…seriously?"

"Yes?" she said, her nose wrinkling and a smile-like wince spreading on her face. "He's not that bad."

"Luna, you can do way better than some skulky vampire who makes eyes at every woman he meets."

"He doesn't. The whole steamy vampire thing is just a front. He loves me, I know it. He just…won't admit to it because Dad won't accept him."

Devon rolled his eyes. "Luna, you are so beautiful and you're a really cool person. I just feel like you could do so much better than this. I'm sorry but–"

"Maybe we shouldn't rush to judge," Paige interrupted with a shrug.

Devon shot her an unimpressed glance.

"I'm just saying…you know, you keep telling me that I have all these prejudices, but it sounds like you all do, too. I mean, maybe this Caleb guy is perfectly lovely."

Devon shook his head. "Paige, he's not perfectly lovely, he's a mind-controlling vampire who–"

Luna shook her head as she jabbed a finger at him. "He's not! That's such a harmful stereotype. It's exactly why people like Paige are afraid of all of our people."

"We are not the same as his type."

"His type ?" Luna crossed her arms and grimaced at him. "Now, who sounds like they're filled with prejudice."

"Luna…" Devon heaved a sigh as he set his hands on his hips.

"I vote we give this guy a try."

Devon shot her another glare. "Hon, mind if we have a private conversation?"

"Yeah, I kind of do. I have my opinion. I'm allowed. "

He wrinkled his nose as he grabbed her arm and dragged her across the room. "Paige, I get that you want to find your mom, but I'm not going to sacrifice my sister to do it."

"I'm not asking you to do that. Maybe we meet Caleb and then say he's the jerk we thought he was, and that's it. No harm, no foul, and we get to find my mom."

"Look, Paige, I know my sister, okay? This business that she just wants us to meet him and give him a chance is bull. She wants me to convince my Dad to let her marry this skeevy guy, and I'm not going to do it. She deserves way better."

"So did you, according to your Dad and sister," Paige shot back with a shrug.

"Well, that's completely untrue."

"But they didn't think so. We almost didn't get married because of how your Dad felt, though."

Devon's jaw flexed as he wrinkled his nose. "That's not entirely true. My dad wasn't thrilled, but he was willing to listen. Because you are completely different than Caleb."

Paige crossed her arms, her lips tugging into a pout. "Fine. Fine. We won't find my mom. It's totally cool. You're right. Not meeting your sister's boyfriend is definitely the right decision."

"Paige…" he answered, his voice tempered.

"No, it's fine. It's totally fine. I'll figure it out on my own."

"I will help you–"

"I don't want your help. And I don't need it. You know, I actually felt bad about all of this. I felt horrible about using you like this, and I actually started to believe you were a way nicer guy than you are. Now, I realize I wasn't using you, you were using the compass to make sure I did what you wanted.

"It's pretty obvious now that your dad basically told me where my loyalties lie. All you wanted was to get a librarian in your pocket. Why you didn't just ask your good buddy, Drucinda, is beyond me."

"Paige, none of this is true," Devon said with a shake of his head. "Yes, I may have used the soul compass as a way to convince you to marry me, but that's because we're meant to be together."

"Oh, don't give me that. We're not destined by the stars, Devon. We were destined by you ." She poked a finger at his chest. "You used my mother to insert yourself into my life after your kidnapping plan went awry. And then you twisted everything all around to make sure you got the outcome you wanted."

She shook her head, crossing her arms. "Well, you're not getting the outcome you wanted."

She yanked her wedding ring from her finger and tossed it at him. "I'm getting a divorce from this sham of a marriage."

"Paige, Paige, whoa, wait," he said, grabbing her arm to stop her from storming away. "Don't do that."

"I'm doing it," she answered.

He stopped her again, leaning closer as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Wait. Okay, I'll…meet Caleb."

She furrowed her brow as she raised her eyes to his. "You will?"

"Yes. Because this marriage is not a sham. It's not, okay? Not for me." He held up the ring. "Now, please, put this back on."

Paige frowned at the golden circle clutched between his thumb and forefinger. "Devon, I really think we need to rethink this."

"Rethink what? I'm doing what you want."

Her shoulders slumped. "But you shouldn't be."

Devon screwed up his face. "What? Didn't we just have an argument about how you thought I should give in to my sister so we could find your mom? And now, I agreed, and you're saying I shouldn't. I'm confused."

Paige slid her eyes closed as she pressed a palm to her forehead. "Okay, look, you don't think Caleb is a good guy for your sister. And you should be able to stick with that. You shouldn't give up on your principles because I'm mad at you. That's the point. We're an awful couple. We don't agree on anything. And you keep giving in to me just to stay married. This is like…an abusive relationship, and I'm the abuser. I don't want to be the abuser, Devon."

Devon pressed his lips together. "You're not abusing me. You have somewhat of a point. And I don't mind doing it because we should stay married. We'll figure it out as we go. It's fine. Relationships aren't easy."

"We're not…" Paige heaved a sigh as she shook her head and grabbed the ring from him and slid it back onto her finger. "Right. We'll just keep working through it as we go."

"Of course," he said as he pulled her into a tight hug. "We'll figure it out."

"Okay, let's do this, then."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they approached the others.

"Well?" Luna demanded.

"Fine. We will get Caleb, and I will talk to him, and then I will talk to Dad, but I get to make my own decision about him, okay?"

"Fine," she said with a shrug. "But you're going to love him."

"We'll see," Devon said with a grumble.

"So," Paige asked after a second, "what does the compass say?"

"Oh, right," Luna said, retrieving it from her pocket. "Your mom's in Mexico."

"Mexico?" Paige repeated .

Luna retrieved her phone and tapped on the screen a few times. "Pretty sure I'm reading this right. She's at the Oaxaca ruins."

Paige squinted at the picture glowing from the screen. "How sure is pretty sure?"

"Paige," Dewey said with a shake of his head, "Luna is like a genius and would not make a mistake."

"Aww," she cooed at the dragon, "you're so supportive, Dewey."

He beamed at her.

Drucinda pressed her phone to her ear. "Ro, it's Dru. We have a location. Oaxaca ruins, Mexico. How soon can we be in the air? Perfect."

She lowered the phone, ending the call before shoving it into her pocket. "We'll be airborne in thirty. Let's go find Reed."