The Tribrid and Her Reflection {Book Two - - Complete}

The Stars to Her Moonlight

It was late getting back from London, but even while her eyes burned, Hope knew she couldn't sleep. She took Albus's offered glass of bourbon; he'd started supplying it when she'd offhandedly mentioned she enjoyed Old Forester one evening, and settled onto a cushion on the floor before the fire.

Sighing, she took a sip.

"Elijah's my uncle, but you probably guessed that?"

Albus sat in the chair and crossed his ankle over his knee, nodding as Newt sat on the floor next to the chair, leaning against it.

"I assumed a relation of some sort," Albus murmured, "I imagine seeing him was a bit of a shock."

Hope scoffed and smiled without humor. "That's an understatement..." she trailed off, tracing her fingertips along the ridges of the glass she held. "Many things contributed to my mom's death, and he was one of them."

Not meeting their eyes, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Elijah could have prevented her death, and he chose not to. He claimed to love her. Swore to protect her. Then let her die."

Hope furrowed her brow. "I don't like living with bitterness, but I can't bring myself to forgive him. I shouldn't have to. Sharing blood doesn't excuse people for their actions."

They shared a silence as Hope finished her glass and frowned at the emptied contents.

"Hope," Newt murmured.

Glancing up, she met his gentle green eyes.

He hesitated at first before nodding slowly. "Remember when you told us you got drunk before going to the forest?"

Swallowing hard, she looked down at the glass and up at him again. "I remember..." her voice a low whisper.

"You know, you can tell us everything you need to, yeah?" He moved closer and took her hand, which she realized was cold under his warm touch.

Hope let out a shaky breath. "I know I just don't...want to feel the pain that comes with the memories."

"But numbing it won't make it go away. It will only make it more difficult to understand."

Spending the last few years alone, she didn't reach out to the remaining family she did have, and she refused to talk to anyone other than the bartender at happy hour. Perhaps she hadn't handled her depression healthily, but she'd been trying to survive.

Hope had been traveling in a dark night for so long, guided only by the dim flicker of a dying sun. Now, she had a sea of stars shining bright enough to lead her home.

Leading her to them.

They were the light to her darkness.

She lost herself in the golden flecks of his eyes and smiled softly. "I thought I knew what love felt like, but I was wrong. It feels like this moment."

Newt smiled, dimples in his cheeks as he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you, Hope. Memory or not. Past, present, and future.

Biting her lip, she glanced at Albus, and her heart twinged with warmth from how he watched them. Eyes twinkling happily. It was so obvious he was looking at the two loves of his life, making Hope's soul dance.

She looked down at the glass and offered it to Newt.

"I won't need this right now."

He was right. Hope didn't need the drink right now.

She just needed them.

Smiling softly, Newt set the glass aside, taking her hand and squeezing it before his brow furrowed in thought. "Do you think he knows you're related?"