Rowen nodded. “Technically, we aren’t even permitted to train like that. Once Children are past the need for a guide, we train them anyway in secret. Neither Bethany or James are there yet. It wouldn’t help any for me to train her either; my speed would far outstrip hers.”
“See?” Caius shrugged. “They are no better off than Jo. And Rowen has the same problem I do.”
“Fine,” Lilly walked toward me, “then I will work with Jo, I will be a better match than you. And the rest of you can work with the others. That way, if we end up in another situation like we did back in the mortal world, maybe they will actually be of some help.”
Caius considered her suggestion for a minute before nodding. “All right.” He turned to Malik. “I assume it will be you working with Bethany and not I?”
Malik frowned, his gaze on my friend. “You assume correctly.”
“Looks like you’re with me, James.”
James gave me a nervous glance before addressing Caius. “What about Rowen?”
Rowen shook his head. “It would be better if you learned how to fight demonborn from another demonborn.” He gave the three siblings a hard look. “I will just make sure none of them harm you with their methods.”
Lilly scoffed. “If we wanted them harmed, it would be easy enough to do at any time. We won’t hurt them too much, but we won’t baby them either.”
As the others paired off, I watched Lilly with more than a little trepidation. Granted, Caius was only a few yards away already working with James’s stance, so I doubted Lilly would go too far. Even so, I wondered why she was suddenly interested in helping me. When she drew me a little farther from the others, I asked.
She gave me an unreadable look that reminded me so much of Caius. “I don’t like you because of the danger Caius is in, thanks to you. At the same time, he chose to put himself there, so I can’t wholly blame you. But after watching you repeatedly eat dirt without complaining during your training sessions with Malik and Caius, I’ve grown to respect you and if you are going to improve at this point, you need someone who hasn’t had over eight hundred years to mature into their strength and speed.”
Stunned, it took me a minute to answer. Lilly respected me? It was something I hadn’t ever expected, especially now that Caius and I were definitely together. Unsure of what else to say, I simply answered, “Thank you.”
“Take your stance.”
She barely gave me enough time to ready myself before she engaged. Though still faster and stronger, I could tell she didn’t have to hold back as much and it was easier for me to see the progress I’d made since coming to Between. I couldn’t hold my own in physical combat even against Lilly, but I was getting better.
After Lilly put me through my paces with hand-to-hand combat and battling her with my staff and I finally flopped exhausted to the ground, Rowen came over and sat next to me. He was quiet for a long time. We hadn’t spoken since our argument and I got the sense he was trying to gather his thoughts, so I left him to it while I watched Malik watch Bethany.
Finally, Rowen spoke, his voice quiet, “I don’t mean to be so harsh with you, or to seem overbearing.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Could have fooled me.”
Sighing, he looked at me. “I know you are an adult, Jo, not a child to be commanded about. Even so, all of those in my group are like my own children, even those that are a couple hundred years old. I’m only trying to protect you.”
I stared at my hands that were folded in my lap. “I know. And, I’m sorry I’ve been kind of bitchy to you. I’m just tired of everyone pushing and pulling me, throwing rules in my face while at the same time condemning me with those same rules for something I had no control over.”
Even after a year on this side of the veil, I wasn’t used to any kind of father figure in my life and wasn’t sure how to handle having one now, when I was well past having a parental authority presiding over my life. “You know, my mom was so sick the last couple years of my life in the mortal world, that I’ve been making my own decisions since I was sixteen. Victoria and I cleaned the house, cooked dinner, and paid bills long before Mom died. And since going to Midtween, I’ve shared an apartment with a friend, decided how all my leisure time would be spent, and got myself to the Reaper Offices at the beginning of every shift, and worked my job with unfailing dedication. I can’t just go back to being told what to do.”
“I know, and I guess I don’t truly expect you to.” Rowen put an arm around me and pulled me close. “Things are just different for immortals, especially you two.”
“Because of the bond?” I frowned, wanting to understand his meaning.
“True emotional bonds between immortals are stronger than the bonds you’ve seen in the mortal world. The two of you being full hybrids only enhances that. Sexual flings are just that. Once reciprocated emotions become a part of it, everything changes.”
“So…” I paused to gather my thoughts. “Because we are both actual hybrids, our relationship affects us more?”
“Emotional bonds only run deeper over time. Once a physical relationship enters into it, the emotional bond becomes unbreakable. Once you take it to that level, it can’t be undone. Mates are forever on this side of the veil. It’s why in the year and a half you’ve been on this side of the veil, you’ve never seen James and Aaron have any kind of breakup even though they are a young couple.” Rowen regarded me. “Would you have chosen your relationship with Caius more carefully if you had known? I tried to tell you back in the mortal world, but you had no intention of listening to me then.”
I considered his words for a little bit before answering and could admit the idea of Caius being irrevocably mine was appealing. “No. Knowing that wouldn’t have changed my course of action. This isn’t some fling. I may not have known it would create something unbreakable going in, but he did. I imagine it took a lot for him to enter it knowing it would be impossible to walk away. ”
He smiled slightly. “After seeing the two of you in the woods and the way you reacted to my attempted warning, I figured it was deeper than a possible fling.”
I leaned against him. “I guess if everyone is going to be out to kill me, I might as well give them as good a reason as possible.”
“That’s one way to look at it.” He chuckled.
Rowen and I lapsed into silence. We had said what needed to be said and cleared the air between us. It felt good. I didn’t like being at odds with him. He was a good guy and his intentions and heart were in the right place.
We traveled as a mostly companionable group for the next two weeks. Malik began having me practice using my powers in the evenings after I worked with Lilly and I was getting better at controlling the bubble. Caius only had to help me disperse it one other time. It was easier to let it go when it didn’t get too big. If I kept it just big enough to cover me, it was as easy to send it away as it was to summon it.
Although it was getting easier, it still felt like a struggle. The angel and demon powers were coming easier, but fully connecting with my Morrigan powers wasn’t something I’d achieved yet.
Near the end of the second week, the faint hint of ocean tang could be tasted on the breeze. It was a subtle change in the temperature, scent, and feel to the air. The ground began to slope downward, gently at first, then more noticeably as the day went on. We weren’t far now.
The forest of sentient trees continued to our left, the stream to our right. The open land on the right gave way to craggy cliffs that drew closer to the stream with each day until there was nothing more than a narrow, rocky beach separating the water from the sheer stone cliff that soared a couple hundred feet or more above us.
It was starting to feel a bit squished with the trees growing ever closer on one side and the cliff on the other. At first, the vertical stone was bare, but as the days progressed, small, pale green vines began to climb the face of it. The farther we traveled, the bigger the vines got until wide leaves adorned the vines along with soft pin
k flowers. Trumpet shaped, the flowers were as big as me, some larger. Despite their size, the petals looked surprisingly delicate and fragile.
Something about the flowers clustered on every vine left me feeling edgy and I can’t say I was thrilled to be so close to them when we settled down that night near the stream. The area between the cliff and the forest had narrowed more. The demonborn seemed to be as wary of the vines as they were of the forest, which worried me but I didn’t get much time to dwell on it. Malik had just set the fire when Lilly approached me for our nightly fighting lesson. It was followed by another lesson in power use by Malik, which went surprisingly well.
By the time Caius called a halt, I was sore and exhausted, but pleased and feeling more confident that one day I might actually be able to kick some ass. When we all finally lay down for the night, I didn’t hesitate to cuddle close in Caius’s arms with Amisi stretched out near us. Between the long hike and the sparring, I was ready for sleep.
Strange dreams visited me that night. A woman’s voice I didn’t recognize, but somehow knew, whispered words I couldn’t quite make out. I stumbled through a foggy landscape that obscured the enemies closing in around me. I couldn’t worry about them. I had to focus on protecting something, though I didn’t know what it was. Only that I had to reach it. The whispering voice grew in volume.
“It is sown.” The words were so loud they echoed in my head.
***
“It was good to see the rift between Jo and Rowen was repaired. And to see Lilly soften toward her.” ~Caius
Chapter 16
I snapped awake, confused and disoriented as something prickled across the skin on my shoulder. Green surrounded me. Tiny bands of early morning sunlight barely made their way through the cocoon of vines that encased us. Caius’s arm was tight around my waist, his entire body tense as he said quietly, “Don’t move.”
Careful not to so much as twitch, to barely even move my lips, I asked, “What happened?”
“I don’t know. This is out of character for these plants.”
I swallowed, unsure if I really wanted to ask but needing to know. “How out of character?”
“If they were going to hunt us while we slept, they would have tried to kill us already.”
I wished I could see his face, but didn’t dare turn so I could. “What do we do?”
“If I knew that, I would have freed us before you woke. I think, though I could be wrong, it might have something to do with your Morrigan powers coming out.”
My dream flashed through my mind. I’d been desperate to save something. Terrified for my own life, yet more afraid for the other thing. Had I connected with my Morrigan heritage while asleep? Had fear for my life, for whatever else I was trying to protect in my dream, created our current predicament?
Surprised voices from beyond our green prison filtered to me as the others in our group woke to realize the two of us were trapped. Why hadn’t someone been keeping watch? Then it occurred to me one of them probably had been, but they might have stepped away to find something for us all to eat, or maybe they were watching for something more than vines.
“Caius, Jo, can you hear us?” Malik’s voice came through, slightly muffled.
Caius very carefully twisted his head so he wouldn’t yell in my ear and answered his brother. While Malik relayed the fact that no one could get near us thanks to the flowers threatening anyone who got too close, I tentatively reached one hand toward the green wall in front of my face. My fingers brushed against the thick stems and they shuddered under my touch.
I closed my eyes and tried to think of what I’d done to make the tree let me go. No understanding dawned on me, no epiphany came. I opened my eyes and pushed on the vines. Through a tiny gap above me, I saw one of the massive blooms turn and hiss at me as if it didn’t like my action. It didn’t look so delicate now. Without thinking, I bared my teeth and hissed back.
The bloom pulled back. I can’t be sure since there were no facial expressions to read, but if I had to guess, I would say it was startled by my response. I glared at the bloom and pushed against the vines. They didn’t budge. Keeping my gaze on the soft pink petals, I raised one eyebrow and increased the pressure. In my mind, I fixed gratitude for the protection the plant thought it was offering as well as a clear command to release us. I also included a sense of displeasure that it dared to hiss at me.
The opening between the vines widened and I could see several blooms crowded together as if they were all looking at me. I stared at their trumpet shapes and got the feeling they were trying to decide something. Apparently, I needed to convince them I was in no danger. If my fear while I was dreaming had drawn them, then perhaps I needed to use my emotions to let them know I was perfectly safe now. Maybe if I could feel tranquil instead of afraid it would help.
The vines loosened some more. Rowen started to reach for the ever-widening opening, but one of the flowers swiveled on its vine and hissed at him. The vines stopped moving. Damn it. I didn’t want to break my concentration enough to tell them all to stay back, but if I didn’t do something, the plants were going to tighten the cocoon again. I grasped Caius’s hand in one of mine and squeezed. He seemed to get what I needed. I barely paid attention as he told them all to stand well back.
Trying to force tranquility wasn’t going to help. I needed to really feel it. Casting around for a way to achieve that, I became aware of Caius’s arms around me and his hard chest against my back. I realized I’d always felt safe, even cared for, when I was wrapped up in him. I closed my eyes and let myself sink into him, to relax and just feel his embrace. Allowed the feeling of being safe to fill me.
I knew it was working by the amount of light against my closed lids, but I didn’t look to see. Not even when Caius shifted us so I was lying on my back with him beside me, arms still around me. Instead, I just reveled in the fact that somehow, in the midst of the mess my life currently was, Caius was mine. And that he wanted me to be his. Warmth spread through me. Not the heat of passion, but the warmth of knowing I was loved and accepted.
Yeah, my mother had always loved and accepted me, and my friends on this side also did, but that was different. So unbelievably different than this. I couldn’t even define why it was so different. I felt Caius lift his arm and then his fingers trailing down the side of my face.
“This is hardly something to be smiling about,” he said.
I realized then that I was grinning like a fool, but I couldn’t stop. My eyes opened to see the golden depths of his gazing back. My smile got wider as I traced the line of his jaw with my fingers, feeling the rough stubble there.
Caius raised an eyebrow. “Being cocooned by lethal vines makes you glow?”
Chuckling, I pulled his face down and kissed him, letting the warmth inside me guide my actions. He responded immediately. One hand slid into my hair, cupping the back of my head as he deepened the kiss, his body shifting closer, partially covering mine.
A clearing throat broke us apart. I realized then that the vines had fully released us and retreated back to their side of the river. Everyone was looking everywhere except at us. I should have been mortified or at least embarrassed a little. Instead, I found myself totally unrepentant. Caius chuckled, then sighed and lifted off me, standing in one smooth movement.
I took his offered hand and he pulled me to my feet. A mix of fire and amusement lit his eyes. “Well, that was interesting.”
A glance at the cliff across the stream showed the vines still winding their way back up it. “Interesting? I hope my Morrigan powers won’t keep creeping up on me in my sleep.”
“I don’t know, if it’s going to make you wake up like that…”
This time I did blush a little. Lilly snorted and stalked a little way away as if it was too much for her. Malik, acting as if our display hadn’t bothered him at all—it probably didn’t—handed Caius a wide leaf filled with the iridescent berries I’d gotten used to eating here. There was also something that looked lik
e bananas.
Amisi was nowhere to be seen. I could only assume the young cat had done her usual morning disappearing act and hadn’t gotten swallowed by a flower. Then again, considering the way she had torn up Thedon’s head, perhaps the flowers would have taken a bigger bite than they could chew.
Malik offered another berry and banana-looking filled leaf to me. I took it and thanked him before going to sit next to Bethany who stared at the flames dancing above the ground. I popped one of the berries in my mouth then scratched at the top of my shoulder where the skin still prickled slightly.
Thinking I’d been bitten by a bug or something, even though I hadn’t seen anything that even looked like a mosquito or fly since we’d come to the Between, I pulled the neck of my shirt to the side and stared. The little curl of black on the top of my shoulder had a single, tiny leaf of the same color attached to it. I frowned.
Bethany leaned closer to me. “What is that?”
“I don’t know. The curl appeared right after I started using Caius’s power more. And the leaf appeared this morning.” I poked at the leaf. It didn’t prickle anymore. Strange.
“Do you think it’s because your bond with Caius is stronger since he gave you his blood?” Bethany asked.
“Probably.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about possibly having tattoos all over my shoulders and down my sides. Then again, there was no way to know if it would even progress that far since we only shared a partial bond. And if it did, I didn’t exactly have a way to stop it.
Letting the neckline of my shirt fall back into place, I stuffed some more berries in my mouth. Bethany seemed lost in thought, her interest in the tattoo already gone as she stared at the ground. “Okay, what’s up with you?”
She sighed and stared down at her own food, pushing it around in her hand. “How did you and Caius know there was something between you?”
I concentrated on eating the last few berries in my hand while I considered her question. “I’m not sure. I don’t think there is an exact moment I can pinpoint. It just sort of happened.” I gave her a sidelong look. “Does this have to do with Malik?”
Betrayed (Raven Daughter Book 2) Page 12
