Chapter 28

One morning Signe woke up to yelling outside of her bedroom door. She could hear her parents voices, and her mother screaming. She reached for Caine, but he was already gone, his side of the bed cold, as if he had never slept there. She sighed, got dressed and opened the door. Both of her parents immediately went quiet.

 "What's all this about?" Signe asked. Her mother crossed her arms and pointed towards the kitchen just as a familiar face peeked out. "What are you doing here?" she yelled excitedly, then ran up to him and hugged him. Tor's familiar scent and touch made her relax. He chuckled. "I got your message. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. I've been on a mission for the Council. Actually, the mission was to find you."

 Signe froze. "You shouldn't have come. What if they know we're here?" Tor shook his head. "They won't. They think I'm back home training my students. They send me out on look-out for two weeks, then back home for one. Then it starts again. This is my week off and they know I won't waste it. The students don't train themselves."

 He smiled at her. "Now, let's talk about you. What's bothering you?" Signe sighed and led him out of the kitchen and into the living room. "I don't know. It's just… I started having nightmares again. I'm running and running, but the thing I'm running from always catches up to me. I can only see its shadow, and the shadow of a hand reaching for me, with claws as big as houses. Right before it reaches me, I wake up. It's been on and off for months now and I can't make it stop."

 "What did you try?" Tor asked. Signe sighed again. "Meditating, picturing all the negative energy flowing out of me, thinking about it, trying to understand it. Tried not to think about it. Nothing I tried worked." They sat down on the couch. Caine, Catia and her parents retreated to the kitchen to give Tor and Signe some time alone.

 Tor crossed his legs and motioned for Signe to do the same. He reached for her hands, and she let him take them. Sitting like this, with Tor right in front of her, felt so right, so familiar. This wasn't the first time they had done this. When she first came to him eleven years ago, she had been suffering from the very same nightmares, she was controlled by her emotions. Tor had helped her clear her head again, and through countless of sessions like this, she had learned to control her mind.

 "Close your eyes. Open your mind to me. Don't be afraid to let me in." Signe did what he said. She pictured the shield around her mind getting lowered and let the familiar feeling of his presence enter her mind. It searched deeper and deeper, reached for answers buried so deep they could only be accessed through a mindreading process like this.

 "Focus on your breath," Tor whispered. "Picture all the nightmares, the negative thoughts, the negative energy seeping out of you and into me. She did what he said, the negative energy, in the form of a dark cloud, seeped out of her and into him. She heard him take a deep breath when the wall of darkness hit him, but when she felt it disappear from her, she knew he had succeeded.

 "I'm sorry," he said. Signe opened her eyes. "I'm afraid I can't help you more than this." Tor sighed and Signe looked at him with a questioning look. She felt so much better, so much lighter already. It was as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. But the look on Tor's face was easy to read. He was not happy.

 "What is it?" Signe asked. Tor stood up and stretched. "There's a lot of darkness inside you. The powers inside you are too strong and I don't think they have anything to do with your nightmares. I could take the negative feelings, and hopefully it will help with your nightmares, but the other thing – the other darkness – I can't do anything with."

 "What does that mean?" Signe asked, confused. Tor didn't make any sense. As if he understood, he smiled and put both hands on her shoulders. His blue eyes looked deep into hers, the same way he looked when he was about to tell her something very important. "The darkness, the power, it's not you. Can't you feel it? It must be at least a month now. With those great powers I wonder how you didn't already know."

 "Know what?" Why did Tor have to be so cryptic? If he knew, why couldn't he just tell? Caine, Catia and her parents came out of the kitchen. "What's happening?" Caine asked and sat down next to Signe. He put his arms around her. Tor smiled. "When we had our… session, I noticed something. It might be a gift or a curse, that one is up to you."

 Tor took both Caine and Signe's hands and closed his eyes. Signe could feel a surge of power rushing through her. A power stronger than hers, and even stronger than Caine's. But there was something else there. Something… Light. "How?" she gasped. Tor smiled even brighter. "It's the work of the Prophecy." Caine looked at both of them, more confused than ever. Signe smiled too. Finally, she had gotten what she always dreamt of. She had a home and a family, people that cared about her, and people she cared about. And now they were about to be one more. She looked at Caine and smiled even brighter. She turned towards him. "Caine, I'm pregnant."

 Caine leaned back with a look of surprise on his face. At first, he didn't say anything, then he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but when he couldn't find the words, he closed it again. The first one to react was Catia. She rushed forward and sat down in front of them. "Is it true?" she asked. Tor nodded. "I can't believe it. How? When?" Then, as if she realized, she first looked at her brother, then at Signe. "It's… yours?" Caine broke out of the trance. "Wow," he said. "Really?"

 He looked at Signe and she smiled at him. Even though their relationship wasn't official, or that they hadn't really talked about being in an actual relationship, when Caine took her hand in his, she knew that they were both on the same page in this. But when she saw the look on her parents faces, she knew that her mother was in doubt.

 She turned around and stormed off, with Eadric right behind her. Signe could hear him yell for his wife to come back, but since neither of them came back, Signe assumed her mother had taken off and refused to talk to anyone.

 "I thought my parents would be happy," she said. Tor squeezed her shoulder. "Give them some time. I'm sure they are as happy as you are." But was she? She was still on the run from the Council. She couldn't run with a baby. As if Tor read her mind, he said: "I have to go now. But if the worst happens, the baby is welcome at my place. It will be safe there." He stood up and gave Signe a kiss on the forehead. "Until we meet again, Tiger Girl," he said with a wink before putting on his jacket and heading out.

 "Wow," Caine said again. "I'm going to be a father?" Signe nodded. "I can't believe it myself," she replied, then squeezed his hand. "But as Tor said, this is either going to be a gift or a curse."

 After they had all made it past the shock of Signe's pregnancy, she decided it was time to talk to her parents. She was sure they were just as shocked, or even more, than she had been, and she wanted to make sure they were all on the same page. When she came closer to the house, she heard loud voices from the inside.

 "We can't let her stay," her mother said. "It's too dangerous." Her father replied: "She's our daughter, we can't just abandon her. We did it once, you want to do that again?" Signe could her hear mother's shaking voice: "She abandoned us too." Her father went quiet, but Signe could feel his energy; how he was torn between the need to support his wife, and the fear of losing his daughter a second time.

 "And it's not only this," her mother continued. "Now this Tor is here. Isn't he the most dangerous assassin in the world? What is he doing here? Are we in danger now?" Her father sighed. "Livia, I will support you, you know that. But think it through. Your decision might not have the outcome you hope for."

 Signe could feel her parent's energy fade and she assumed they had walked further away from the door. She expanded her energy, curious to hear the rest of their conversation. "Livia, just trust her. She is our daughter. She wouldn't do anything that would put us in danger. Even if this Tor showed up here, it doesn't have to mean anything bad. And he said she would be safe. If this man cared for our daughter for ten years, we have to trust him, don't you think?"

 Even though she could hear his words loud and clear, she could also feel some insecurity behind his words. With a deep breath she knocked on the door, her heart pounding and her pulse racing. What if they didn't want her anymore? What if all of this, Tor coming here, the child, would tear her family apart once again?

 Her mother opened the door, at first, she seemed startled, but she quickly straightened her skirt and smiled. "Signe, come in," she said and stepped aside. Signe walked inside the house and her mother led her to the kitchen. She placed a plate with small sandwiches in front of them and poured tea into cups. Signe sat down, she took another deep breath, but it didn't work, and it still felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest.

 "We need to talk," Signe said. Her mother sat down. "Yes, we do." Signe was about to speak when her mother held up her hand to stop her. "I need you to know that even though I don't approve of everything you've done in life, I want to support you now. You've created a good life for yourself here. Why would you ruin it? Why would you let this Tor come here?"

 "Mom, you need to know that after everything that happened here, my life was a mess. My head was a mess. I had nowhere to go. No one to turn to. Everything was uncertain. At some point I started having nightmares. Tor was the only one that could help me. I did everything I possibly could to get rid of them. And now when the nightmares came back and I couldn't, I needed help."

 "Why did it have to be Tor? Why couldn't one of my healer friends help you?"

 Signe shook her head. "Mom, this magic, all of this, is dark. You don't want to get involved in that. He is the only one that really understands this power, the darkness. He's the only one that could help."

 Her mother stirred her tea and nibbled on a sandwich, avoiding eye contact. "What about the baby?" she asked after a while. Signe sighed. "I've always wanted a family. And now I want a family with Caine. This makes it complete."

 "And he wants to keep it too?"

 "Yes. It felt like we were on the same page. Mom, I really want this."

 Her mother sighed and put down the sandwich. "If this is what you really want, I will support you."

 Signe smiled and took her mother's hand. The sound of footsteps made them both look up, and Eadric came into the kitchen. "You've made up? We're all friends?" he asked. When they both nodded, a big smile emerged on his face. "That's my girls," he laughed and dragged them both into a hug.

 Signe left her parent's house feeling better than she had done in weeks. It was as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders and she could finally stand straight. She could finally breathe. She let the fresh spring air into her lungs. The breeze brushed her face lightly, like a warm touch. Feeling this, feeling so… light, made her also feel alive. Suddenly she had something to look forward to, something she had dreamt of for years, but never thought would be a reality.

 Caine was waiting for her when she came home. "How did it go?" he asked while they walked to the bedroom. Now it was even more natural for them to share, even though he had his own room next to hers. She looked down at the ground. He took her hand and squeezed it, and she blushed. Then she looked up and into his eyes. Her eyes met his in a sparkling, green ocean. She was about to say something when he dragged her into a kiss.

 At first the kiss was slow, but then it got faster, harder. She felt his tongue, urging her to open her mouth. Her tongue met his in a burst of joy, passion, and love. She started to run her hands over Caine's body, felt his muscles tense under her touch. He twirled her hair around his hand before he gently cupped her face. The kisses got slower before he pulled away.

 "You are amazing," he said with a smile. Signe blushed. She was too out of breath, too caught up in the kisses they had just shared, to answer him. "Come," she said and led him into the bedroom. She pulled the shirt over his head and let it fall to the floor. In the dim light from the moon outside, she could see the shades from his scars. She let her fingers run over them, one by one, until she had done it with all five on his back, and the one over his chest that stretched all the way from his left shoulder to his right hip. Caine followed the movement of her hand and flinched when she stopped at his hip.

 "What happened?" she asked. Even though it felt wrong to dig into his past, her curiosity took over. His green eyes were shining in the light of the moon when he said: "The Council." He didn't have to say more. Signe knew what the Council was capable of. The length they would go to get the information they wanted.

 "Why?" she asked. Caine carefully touched her cheek with his hand. "After our aunt died, I was forced to steal food. I wasn't going to let my sister starve. At first, I wasn't very good at it, and they caught me. I was publicly whipped at the Square as an example to everyone. To show that stealing was a punishable crime."

 He put a string of her loose hair behind her ear and leaned down, slowly started to kiss her. She kissed him back, harder, faster. She wanted to ask him more, but his kisses stopped her, as if to tell her it was enough about his past now. So instead, she led him to the bed, and he lied down. She leaned over him, continued to kiss him the whole time. His hands ran all over her body, felt every inch of her, and she let him. His hands felt warm on her skin and gave a tingling feeling in her body. He took off her shirt and admired her naked body in the dim moonlight. His breath became heavier, and she could hear his heart pounding, could feel his energy reaching for hers. She embraced the feeling of his energy meeting hers in an explosion of darkness and chaos, but also… light. She pulled the blanket over them, covered them up, and they had another night to remember.