by Megg Jensen
“Okay, but just this once,” he said, giving in. We walked back to Ace’s side. “She’s going with me.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ace asked. “Can you trust her?”
“Hey, I’m standing right here,” I said. “And of course he can trust me. Why wouldn’t he?”
Both Chase and Ace stared at me and then laughed.
“Why should I trust you?” Chase asked.
“I don’t know,” I retorted. “Ask one of the pictures you drew of me.”
Ace laughed again, but Chase didn’t join in this time. Instead, he held out a hand to me.
“Just this once. I’ll take you to Bryden and you can spend some time with him while I do what I need to do. An hour is all you’ll get. Two at the most.”
I slipped my trembling hand in Chase’s. “Thank you! Now what do I do?”
“Just hold on to me and step through. You might feel a little sick on the other end. Most people do their first time.”
I nodded my head and swallowed nervously.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Of course! Let’s do this!”
Chase lifted his right foot and I raised mine to follow him. Not wanting to miss any second of it, I forced myself to leave my eyes open, even though a tiny part of me was really afraid of stepping into the magical portal.
The bright light blinded me. I blinked and reopened my eyes after taking two steps. All I could see was darkness, not the brilliant flashing lights of a mystical path. Then it hit me. My stomach seized and I fell to my knees. A wave of nausea raced through my body, radiating out from my stomach all the way to my toes. I struggled to keep my dinner inside me where it belonged.
“Are you okay?” Chase asked. I realized we were no longer holding hands. Instead, he was rubbing my back with one hand and holding me steady with the other. Without being braced by him, I might have fallen flat on my face. It’s not a desirable position for any warrior.
The nausea snaked back into my stomach as quickly as it had started. Taking two breaths, I struggled to my feet. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks.”
We stood close together. His breath warmed the top of my head. “Where are we?” I asked.
“Inside a closet. Take one of these capes and put the hood over your head. No one can see you when you’re in it, except for friends with magic. Bryden should be able to see you easily, but if I were you, I wouldn’t risk taking it off at all. Anyone could walk through a doorway at any time and see you.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Please don’t risk this. There’s so much at stake beyond just keeping you safe from the Malborn.”
“Like what?” I wanted to be let in on every little bit of intrigue. “If I know, then maybe I could tell Bryden and he could help you from the inside.”
“No,” Chase answered, his voice strained. “Don’t tell Bryden anything about me. He doesn’t need to know.”
“Then how am I supposed to explain my presence here?” I asked. “If I can’t tell him about you, then what should I tell him?”
“You’ll think of something. It’s not like you’re ever at a loss for words.” I could almost hear Chase’s sardonic smile. “You have one hour, Lianne. That’s it and then you have to meet me back here. You can’t travel without me.”
“I know, I know. I’ll try to keep track of the time.”
His hands grabbed my shoulders. “Promise me you’ll meet me back here. I don’t want to have to come looking for you.”
“I won’t try to escape,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I meant it or not, but until I knew more about what was going on I couldn’t make a solid decision.
“Escape?” The sadness in his voice rung out in the closet. “For Eloh’s sake, Lianne, I’m not holding you prisoner. I’m trying to protect you from the Malborn. I’m trying to protect everyone. Why can’t you see that?”
His hands relaxed their grip on my shoulders, but didn’t let me go. The tension in his muscles traveled into his fingers. I could tell he wanted to hold me tighter, but was holding back. I knew that feeling intimately. I’d been in love with Kellan, my first boyfriend, for years before he returned my feelings. That was the same way I’d touched him when we sparred. I wanted so desperately to jump into his arms, but had held myself back. My heart ached for Chase. I knew how it felt to be on that end of a non-relationship.
“I know, Chase, I do.” I tried to be more gentle with his feelings. “I’ll meet you back here. I promise.”
I heard a click and a small stream of light tumbled into the closet. Chase placed a cloak over himself and then covered his head. I could still see him, but a faint shimmer surrounded his body. That must have been the magic at work.
“Here’s yours,” he said, handing me a cloak. I pulled it around myself and lifted the hood up over my head. “Perfect. One hour.”
I ran out of the closet and into the hall. I couldn’t wait to see Bryden again.
Chapter Eleven
I stopped outside Bryden’s room for a moment to catch my breath. Everyone in the castle was asleep and I hadn’t passed anyone in the hall. I assumed Bryden would be asleep too. It had only been a couple weeks since I’d left. Had he wondered about me? Or had he given up hope of ever seeing me again?
The door opened with a loud creak. I glanced up and down the hall. At least no one came running. Or if they did hear, they didn’t think much of it. When I lived in the castle, it had never been totally quiet in the night.
Small streams of light led me into the room. Bryden’s steady breathing told me he slept soundly. I closed the door behind me, grabbed the nearest chair, and shoved it under the doorknob. Then I slipped the cloak off. Chase told me anyone could see me, but no one would if they couldn’t get in the room.
I crept over to the bed. Moonlight shined down on him, illuminating all of the features I’d missed so much. His red hair, as bright and fiery as mine, stuck up in thousands of different directions as if he’d taken the whole day and a can of wax to coax each strand into its own special direction. His arms lay on top of the blanket, the muscles relaxed but still well-defined. He lay on his side with his left leg on top of his right. He couldn’t sleep on the left or it would go completely numb. An accident when he was only a child, the one that killed his adoptive parents, left his leg permanently injured.
I sat down on the side of the bed. Tears slipped from my eyes as I ran my fingers down his cheek. I leaned over and tickled his earlobe with my lips. “Bryden,” I whispered, “I’m back.”
His eyelids flicked open. He stared at me for a moment. “Is this real?” His hand reached up, and his palm cupped my cheek. “Or is it another dream?”
He ran his thumb over my tears, then he bolted up straight in bed. The sheet slipped down to his waist. I ran my fingers along the ridges between his muscles. A playful smile crept across my face.
“It is real,” he said. “I’ve had this dream every night since you’ve left, but I’ve never felt tears before.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. “Lianne,” he whispered over and over as he kissed my face.
I melted into his embrace, feeling the weight of the last few weeks leave me in a rush. Finally, I was back where I belonged, in the arms of the man I loved. His lips found mine in the darkness. One hand moved to my lower back, the other cupped my breast. I released a long sigh, pulling back slightly from his hungry mouth.
I didn’t need magic to tell me how much he’d missed me. Part of me worried that our time apart would turn him away from me. But his gentle endearments whispered in my hair, and his hands, so insistent, told me the truth.
He pulled back from me, gasping. My chest heaved, welcoming the air I’d forsaken when I fell into his arms. He ran his hands through my hair. With two fingers, he lifted a section of my curls into the air, then he nuzzled his nose into them and took a deep breath. “I missed every little thing about you. Even the way you smell.” He pulled his fingers away. My hair settled back onto my shoulders. “You shouldn’t have co
me.”
“What? Why? You didn’t want to see me?”
Bryden smiled that crooked smile I loved so much. “Of course I wanted to see you, but you’re not safe here. They’re very angry you left, Lianne. Normally one girl wouldn’t be of any consequence to someone like them, but you’re special. I don’t know what it is, but they’re after you.”
“Who?” I asked. I scooted closer to him and rested my cheek on his shoulder.
“Marek, the Dalagan king. He’s angry you left with Trevin, without asking for permission. They didn’t even know I had gone with you. I got back before anyone noticed I was gone.”
“I wasn’t going to let Trevin grow up here, among people who do nothing but lie. He needed to be with Mags.”
“Did you find her?”
I felt Bryden’s breath on my forehead. I wanted nothing more than to stay with him, but if everything Chase had been telling me was true, then I had to trust him to protect me.
“I did. I gave Trevin to her, and then she refused to ever see me again.”
Bryden grabbed my chin and tilted my head up so he could look me in the eyes. “Why would she do that?”
“I think she was still hurt over Aric’s death. She blames me. If I hadn’t insisted on including him in our plan, he’d probably still be alive today.”
“You don’t know that. The Dalagans probably would have killed him in battle. Even though he loved Mags and hated the Fithian king, Aric would have fought for his land and his people. Make no mistake about that. Aric did what he thought was right. There’s nothing you could have done to change that fact. Now tell me how you got back in here and how long you’re staying.”
I took Bryden’s hands in mine and told him everything that had happened since I left the castle with Trevin – except Chase’s feelings for me. When I explained the trunk filled with pictures Chase had drawn of me, Bryden’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t ask any further questions. He also knew what it felt like to be in love with someone who didn’t return the feelings.
All those years I’d fawned over Kellan, Bryden had been following me with his eyes. He’d never told me how he felt until we’d gotten together. Things were so new between us. When I looked at him, I could still see the little boy who’d been my best friend. After the accident, he’d pushed me away and directly into Kellan’s life. He knew, better than anyone, how it felt to love someone who didn’t love you back. We both did.
We were together and there was no room in our lives for the drama a love triangle could bring. I trusted in Chase’s promise to leave me alone and urged Bryden to do the same. Knowing how short our time together had been and so unsure of the future, we didn’t waste another second dwelling on it. Instead, we gave into the passion that had built up while we’d been apart.
***
“I have to go now,” I whispered in his ear as I pulled my gown back up on my shoulders. I hesitated when he placed his hands on my face. “But if you want me to stay, I will.”
“You have to go. I can’t come with you. The pain in my leg is too severe. After they realized you were gone, the pain in my leg came back. It’s their subtle way of keeping me prisoner. I’d never be able to keep up with you. Besides, now that you know how to get to me, you can come visit me every night.” He planted a kiss on my shoulder, sending shivers through my whole body.
“I wish I could. Chase hasn’t taught me how to create a portal yet, but I’m going to figure it out. If I knew how I’d be here with you in a second. Besides, he only has to keep me safe for another couple weeks. Once the Malborn visit and learn I’m gone, Chase thinks they’ll take off and look for me elsewhere. Then I’d be safe to come back to you. We only have to wait a while longer to be together.”
Bryden’s fingers combed through my hair. I closed my eyes, trying to imprint the last hour on my mind so I wouldn’t forget – and so I’d have something to think about in the dark of night.
“Just a couple more weeks and everything should blow over. Then we can be together for good,” I promised.
A light flashed in the room and Chase stepped through a portal. He stood firm, hands on his hips, muscles bulging from every angle. I looked back at Bryden in bed, half-naked.
“We need to go now, Lianne.” Chase grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the bed and Bryden. I stumbled toward Chase and fell into his open arms. I glanced back at Bryden. The hurt in his eyes hurled at me like a newly sharpened spear.
I pushed back against Chase and stood on my own two feet. “You didn’t have to break in here like that. I told you I would meet you back in the closet.”
“They know I’m here. The last thing they need to do is discover you too. Your people may have given you the title Queen Slayer, but that doesn’t mean they won’t hand you over to the Malborn if it suits them. We need to get out of here now.”
“Go, Lianne,” Bryden said.
But Bryden wasn’t looking at me. Instead, his eyes trained on Chase so intently I feared what might have happened if there had been time for a confrontation between the two of them. Bryden had seen me run back to Kellan, now he had to see me do it with Chase. Except this time Chase knew about my feelings for Bryden. I didn’t have to hide a thing.
I lifted my skirt up to my ankles and ran back over to Bryden. My lips landed on his, kissing him with everything I had. “I love you.” I said it loud enough to ensure both men heard it. A stupid smile spread across Bryden’s face. I turned back, striding over to Chase as fast as my legs could take me. I couldn’t read his stone-faced expression, but it didn’t really register. Only Bryden’s feelings mattered at the moment.
A harsh knock at the door interrupted our hurried discussion. I shot Bryden one last bittersweet smile, placed my hand in Chase’s, and stepped through the portal.
Chapter Twelve
Chase and I stepped directly into his room at the tree house community.
“That was too close,” he muttered, pacing back and forth. “If they would have caught you there, everything would have been ruined. Lives could have been lost.”
I grabbed Chase’s forearms, squeezing them as hard as I could to get his attention. It wasn’t easy. His muscles were harder than rocks and even though I was strong, I still couldn’t force them to relax. “Everything is okay. We got out. Bryden’s safe. We’re safe.”
He shook free of my hands, as if my touch burned him. “Don’t touch me. Especially not when I’m this upset.”
I placed my palm on his arm again. “I’m not afraid of you, Chase.”
He pulled away again. His eyes narrowed, filling not with rage like I expected, but with sadness. “There’s never any reason to be afraid of me, Lianne. I’d never hurt you.”
I laughed. “You’re too worked up about this whole thing. Look, I don’t know who you were seeing or what they said to upset you so much, but we’re back and we’re safe. If I hide here for another week or two, this will all blow over. The Malborn will move on and we can both go back to our lives.”
He started pacing again. “What upset me was seeing you in Bryden’s arms, Lianne. I know I’m not supposed to have these feelings for a girl I hardly know. Don’t you think I know that? But it doesn’t mean they aren’t there and that they aren’t real. Seeing you wrapped up in his arms like that, wondering what you were just doing before I came in – for Eloh’s sake, I can’t even think about that.”
His hand found my cheek. When his thumb began stroking my face, my first instinct was to pull away, but I stood firm.
“Lianne, I know it’s too soon and I know you aren’t going to want to hear it. But I love you. With all my heart and soul, I love you. It kills me to see you with him. To know that you love Bryden the way I want you to love me.”
My heart shattered into a million pieces. I didn’t return his feelings. I couldn’t. Friendship was the only word I could honestly apply to our relationship. Chase’s eyes glistened as he leaned in, placing his lips just a breath away from mine. My years of combat training screamed
at me to sweep his leg and punch him in the face, but my heart won. I knew how it felt to love and not get it in return. I would treat him as gently as I had wanted to be treated.
He pulled back, turned on his heel, and left me alone in the cottage with a quiet click of the door. I stood, silent in the oppressive darkness. The night wrapped around me like a blanket.
I lay down on the bed, sinking into its cushy softness. It enveloped me into a warm embrace. The night quieted down. I didn’t know if Chase was outside my door, or if his friend Ace was there instead. I heard nothing – not breathing, not a sound. Maybe they had finally left me alone for once.
I pulled myself out of the bed and crept over to the door. I put my ear against the rough wood before placing my hand on the doorknob. I turned it slowly, pulling the door inside the cottage. I poked my head out the door. Clear. Quiet.
I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the night. The canopy hid most of the dark sky, but I could still see a few stars poking through the leaves. Glad the draught Johna gave me was still combating the vertigo, I didn’t hesitate to walk to the edge of the platform.
My hands gripped the rope handles. I didn’t lean over the edge like I had earlier. With no one to pull me back, I wasn’t as sure of myself.
“It’sssssss her!”
I spun around, searching wildly in the darkness for the source. It was that creature again. The kalli. I crouched, my legs firmly planted on the platform and my hands in fists at the ready.
“Don’t be afraid princesssssss,” it said. Something touched my hair. I batted my hands in the air, hitting something hard and scaly.
A hideous laugh, like the sound of a thousand beetles crunching underfoot, echoed through the darkness. Chills tiptoed over my body. I glanced back toward the other cottages, but no one emerged.
“No one can hear me, princesssssss. Just you. It is just you and I. Now, come with me.” A green hand thrust out from the dark air, holding its palm up. “Take my hand and come with me, princesssssss.”
