Page 17 (1/1)

Derek didn’t look like he wanted to leave his two friends for even awith them, but we couldn’t leave our sub as I looked from Cameron, to Liana, to their two children

"So how are you a va ated the submarine toward the shore

I breathed out, and traced my memory back to when they had first left The Shade Rose and Ben had still been newborns, and Derek and I had also left The Shade to et far into our story before we arrived at the Port and Derek rejoined us

We stepped out onto the jetty, and warmth filled Liana and Caot to say," Cameron said hoarsely, "I’ve bloody missed this place"

I saw tears in the corners of Liana’s eyes She seemed quite choked up as she helped Pippa and Cedric onto the jetty next to the to be to see you again," I said,up on seeing theain Liana was her best and oldest friend "We wondered what happened to you"

It was late now and h the woods, the only person we buhttihost as he eyed Liana and Carin split his face and he hurried forward to e us back in our penthouse after he had taken Shadow back to his apart to recount everything that had happened since they left

I sat the roory, I prepared a meal for them of hot tomato soup with fresh bread, paella with feta cheese salad, and apple pie with ice crea at Cedric and Pippa I wasn’t sure how much their parents had told them of the supernatural world, and they looked in a daze listening to e said Heck, even Cameron and Liana looked in a daze--especially e told the residents

Of course, there was no way to tell the that had happened in a ood recap

And then it was our turn to ask questions

"How come you never came to visit us all these years?" Derek asked "And why are you here now?"

"Good questions," Ca a sip frolanced warmly at Liana "My love and I… you knoe yearned for a normal life, Derek Just as you and Sofia did We wanted to experience what it was like to be huain To live oblivious to the supernatural world When we decided to have children, we kneanted to give theuess if we hadn’t had them, we probably would’ve come back to visit much sooner, but anted to shelter them So once they were born, that just cemented our distance from The Shade Actually, we only told theo"

My eyes widened "Ten days ago?" No wonder the poor kids look bewildered

Ca rather… disturbing happened So that left us no choice but to tell them the truth about our past, and return to The Shade"

Derek leaned forward in his seat "What happened?"

"Two strange men showed up at our home in Scotland," Liana answered "We were away on vacation at the time, in France It was our house sitter who opened the door They arrived late at night, around 9pm, and they asked to speak to Cameron and me Our house sitter was under the iave them our mobile number We received a call while ere on the beach oneIt was an American man It was Cameron who picked up the phone" She looked at her husband, who nodded

"Yes, it was me," Cameron said "He addressed me by my first and last naovern into so on recently The long and short of it was, he was a hunter and he knee were I have no idea how he found out about Liana and me, and how he tracked us down, but he knew that ere once residents of The Shade He said that ould be required to meet with the ould be on vacation, so I told him the truth--ere due to return in a week" Ca hi that phone call," he continued, "we set up a time to meet, the very day after we returned, at noon A couple of people would come to our house and ask us questions, or so they said Well, we didn’t wait that long After I told Liana what had happened, we booked last-minute tickets and traveled back to Scotland the very saht, we packed up in a frenzy, and thanked God that we had kept the sub in good condition all those years We left within one hour--we dared not stay longer than that--and brought only the possessions that we really needed"

I stared at the couple, ine how traumatic that must’ve been, to leave what had likely been twenty years’ worth of ain Especially for their son and daughter