Read Online A Shade of Vampire 28: A Touch of Truth by Bella Forrest - Free Book Online

couldn’t have wished for a better daughter than Grace. I saw many of River’s qualities in her—her caring nature, her honesty and strength, to name a few—and I also hoped that I had managed to instill in Grace a lesson or two from what I had learned and been taught over my years of living.
    I did worry about her though. It would be a lie to say otherwise. As much as The Shade’s way of raising children had changed—going from trying to stifle them and keep them away from danger at all costs, to encouraging them to develop the skills and experience to face it—of course, as a parent, I could never stop worrying. Now that I had Grace, I could appreciate more than ever what my parents had been through when Rose and I had been away from The Shade on our misadventures.
    It hurt deep inside to watch your child walking into danger. But this was the world we lived in now. And I hoped that River and I had prepared Grace well for it.
    River and I eased into a relaxed silence while we gazed out the window and watched the ground disappear beneath us. I relished the peace, the feel of my love in my arms as we soared back toward The Shade.
    I had to admit that after almost two decades of possessing this fae body, my time as a ghost and those harrowing days I’d spent in The Underworld seemed so far off, so distant, almost like a different life. Although I would never, and could never, forget all that had happened, never taking a physical body for granted was still a decision I had to make every day.
    But there were some things in life that you just couldn’t take for granted, even if you tried… and for me, that was River. She was my soulmate through and through. In all the twenty years we had been married, we’d rarely had arguments. Disagreements, yes, but never bitterness. We understood each other too well for that. We lived in line with one another. As she held my heart completely, I held hers. I’d never really understood the love that my parents shared until I met River. I’d never understood what it was like to feel like you couldn’t live without another person—as if without them, all would be for nothing. And as we had aged mentally over the years, it felt like my attachment to her had only grown stronger. There wasn’t a lot that could frighten me anymore, but a life without River was a thought that drove me to the edge.
    “We’re almost home,” River announced, pointing out of the window to a familiar rock formation jutting out of the ocean. She looked up at me, apparently noticing my contemplative mood. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.
    I gazed down at her adoringly. Reaching a hand to her face, I brushed my thumb against her cheek.
    “That I forgot to remind you about something today,” I replied, assuming a serious expression.
    She frowned, clearly racking her brain as to what it could be. “What?” she asked.
    I caught her lips in mine before replying, “That I love you.”
    “You’re such a cheeseball, Ben.” She chuckled against my kiss, even as she draped her arms around my neck and returned it tenderly. Then her voice dropped to a whisper. “But you know I do love cheese…”
    We enjoyed the last stretch of the journey together before my father, who was sitting near the front of the aircraft with my mother, stood and called to everyone, “We’ll be landing in a couple of minutes. I know we could all do with some rest, but before we head back to our homes, I’m going to ask you all to attend a meeting in the Dome. We’ll keep it brief, I promise, but we need to discuss how long a break to take and start throwing a few ideas around as to our next destination.”
    I groaned internally. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to go with River to look for Grace. But I understood my father’s reasoning. So, after Kyle touched us down in the glade in front of the Black Heights, we all headed to the Great Dome.
    We didn’t make it that far, however.
    An anxious-looking Shayla came