by Grant, Donna
She hesitated for only a moment before she lifted her skirts and raised her leg for his inspection. His hands closed over her ankle, and even through the thick wool of her stockings, she could feel the heat of him.
His eyes closed, and he began to move his lips but no words could be heard. Then, her body began to almost hum, as if, magic poured through her. Almost instantly the pain in her ankle ceased, and when he finally released her, she knew he had healed her sprain.
Slowly, she stood on her foot and felt not a twinge from the damaged ankle. “Thank you.”
He bowed his head. “Think nothing of it.”
“I understand I have the Fae to thank for the clothes as well.”
He smiled. “You do not like that we’ve been kind?”
“It has been...awhile since anyone has been kind to me.”
His unusual blue eyes grew sad. “You are in the company of very good people. They are risking their lives for the fate of all mankind. You couldn’t have come to a better place.”
“I agree,” she said softly. But she wasn’t fooled. The Fae were all-powerful, which meant, he must know her story was false.
“Tell me, Jayna,” he said as he held out his arm for her. “What brings you to Stone Crest?”
Jayna wanted to run away, to hide from the prying eyes of the Fae, eyes that could see deep into her soul. She took his arm instead. “I’m sure Lord Hugh has told you my story.”
“Aye, as has Gabriel. However, I’d like to hear the truth from you.”
She stumbled and nearly fell to her knees, but he was quick to right her. She looked straight ahead, unsure of how to answer.
“I’ll be honest,” he continued. “Your mind is blocked from me. That doesn’t usually happen unless someone knows how to block a Fae, or magic was used. Which was it?”
She shook her head and stopped. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said as she looked up at him. “My mind is blocked from you?”
“Aye. The Fae have the power to read minds. It is how I keep the Shields safe from harm. Whenever I encounter someone who has blocked their minds from me I become suspicious, as I’m sure you can understand.”
She nodded slowly. “I don’t know how to block my mind from you.”
He studied her for a moment. “You’re being honest.” He held out his arm once again.
“You know that as well?” she asked as she took his arm and continued walking.
“There isn’t much we can’t do.”
“But save this realm.”
He sighed softly. “Understand, Jayna, that if it was in my power, I’d battle the Great Evil myself. I would fight him from now to eternity if it meant he left this realm and others alone. However, I don’t have that authority.”
“Why?”
“The Fae once dwelled on Earth. We had a great love of this place, but eventually, we had to leave.”
“Why?”
He smiled down at her as he opened her chamber door and ushered her in. “There was a war long, long ago. We had no choice but to relinquish Earth to man. Because we loved it so, the Fae have always looked out for this realm, as well as man.”
Jayna was riveted by the story. “It still doesn’t explain why you cannot fight.”
Aimery gestured to the chairs before the roaring fire. When she had taken a seat, he took the other. “Upon abandoning this realm, there were...rules set in place that kept us away. Most people of this realm think the Fae are nothing more than a myth, a story to tell children at bedtime.”
“Yet you walk among them.”
“What people don’t believe, they don’t see.” He shrugged. “Though we are allowed to aid mankind, we cannot fight their battles.”
“So, you gathered together the Shields?”
“Exactly. They have kept Earth safe.”
She thought over his words for a moment. “You say you can’t fight the evil here, but you will if it comes to your realm.”
A dangerous fire lit the Fae’s blue eyes. “How I wish it would dare to step foot into our realm. The evil is not that brainless, however. He knows a direct battle between him and the Fae would destroy him.”
“This evil, it has to know you are aiding the Shields.”
Aimery laughed, but there as no mirth in the sound. “Of course he knows. For he understands, to destroy Earth, it would destroy our realm as well.”
Jayna felt as if the wind had been sucked from her body. “What?”
“Since we once inhabited this realm, we are connected to it in ways that you couldn't possibly understand. The Realm of the Fae is directly linked to this realm. The Shields fight not just for this realm, but for mine as well.”
“A mighty task they have undertaken.”
“You only know half of it,” Aimery said with a sigh. “What the Shields have endured is impossible to comprehend. They are men who know they might never live through this final battle, but willingly do it to save two realms.”
Jayna found herself looking at the Shields much differently. Her mind wandered to Gabriel, it was always Gabriel.
“Gabriel can’t remember his past,” she said. “How can he give an oath to the Shields if he doesn’t know what his past holds?”
Aimery’s gaze held her prisoner for several heartbeats. “Gabriel has proven his worth time and again to the Shields. His knowledge of healing and herbs has saved each of their lives more times than I can remember. His past matters not to any of them. Or to me.”
“You hold him in high regard.”
“I hold each of the Shields in high regard, most especially the ones whose lives their missions have claimed. We’ve lost so many. I cannot lose these last remaining five.”
He looked into the fire. “Gabriel is special. I wasn’t the Fae who found him near one of our doorways, but I was called as soon as they discovered the extent of his injuries. In all honesty, I’m not sure how he lived. His will was strong, that I know. It was almost as if he couldn’t let go of something, or something held onto him.”
Jayna blinked away the hated tears. “He does sound special.”
Aimery turned and smiled at her. “With all our magic and healing abilities, there are times Gabriel can heal what we cannot. His knowledge is unexplainable.”
But Jayna could explain it all to them, to expose Gabriel for who he really was. Yet, she found herself unwilling, not when Aimery had such great things to say about him. She was getting another look at Gabriel, one she hadn’t thought to ever hear.
“What do you think of Gabriel?”
Aimery’s question startled her. It seemed she was always startled around the Fae, never knowing what to expect from the handsome commander. “He is very loyal.”
“Loyal? Is that all you’ve gained from him during your stay here?”
“This is only my second day, and I met him at supper just last eve. It is difficult to discover the true extent of a person in so short a time.”
“Not true,” Aimery said as he leaned back and threaded his fingers over his stomach. “You can discern a lot from a person by a simple conversation, much like we are having now.”
“If that is so, then what have you discerned from me?”
“Besides the fact that you are no commoner as you claim, that you are much, much more than that? At the very least, you’re a noblewoman.”
“I had reasons for telling that lie.”
“I’m sure you did. However, once you tell one lie, you’ll find they aren’t so easy to believe anything else you say. How many other lies did you tell?”
“If I had told Hugh and the others that I was a lady, do you think he would have allowed me to stay? Nay, he would’ve wanted to know who my family was immediately so he could send me back.”
“You don’t give Hugh enough credit,” Aimery said sternly. “He is a good man who puts a person’s well-being before anything else. He might have sent you somewhere only to get you out of Stone Crest and the dangers surrounding this castle.”
Jayna was caught. If Aimer
y pushed, she would have to tell him at least a partial truth or another lie. She was tired of the lies, so very tired of living the way she had. She wanted to be free of Gabriel, to be free of the revenge controlling her life. She wanted to return home, or to what was left of her home.
“Why did you leave your home?”
Jayna turned her face to the fire with a deep sigh. She decided some truth was needed. “There was a war. I lost... someone. And I was betrayed.”
“So the revenge I see in your heart is what has kept you going?”
She nodded, not bothering to look at him.
“My heart bleeds for your misery, Jayna, but you must know that this revenge you seek will not stop the pain within you.”
“I know, but I must carry through with it. For too long I have sought this revenge. I can’t give up now.”
A hand touched her shoulder and immediately the worries clouding her mind vanished. “Be at ease. And know that turning away from your revenge won’t be giving up, it’ll be living again.”
Tears burned the backs of her eyes before they fell down her cheeks. “I wish....”
“Wish what?” Aimery asked softly.
“I wish things were different.”
Aimery knelt beside her and turned her head toward him. “If you ask, I’ll help you in any way that I can.”
“I won’t ask,” she assured him.
His kind eyes then turned hard. “But know this, Jayna, if you play any of us false, the retribution will be swift.”
She swallowed hard and decided to turn a question to him. “You think I came here to do someone harm?”
“I do. I just haven’t discovered who it is. Yet.”
She forced a smile through her tears and stood. “If you think I’ve come here to do someone harm, why give me clothes and a warm, safe place to stay? Why the kindness?”
Aimery stood, his sheer height causing her to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. “Because deep inside you there is goodness. We’ll do whatever it takes if we can turn you away from your revenge.”
He took a step away from her and bowed. “Until later,” he said. Then vanished.
Jayna blinked. He was gone. She tentatively moved her arms over the spot Aimery had just been, but felt nothing. Her emotions were in a whirl around her.
She sank back down onto the chair and let the tears flow that wouldn’t be held back, tears she hadn’t shed since the day Gabriel betrayed her.
Chapter Sixteen
Gabriel opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Only a minor twinge of pain bothered him. Aimery’s magic had healed him. Someone had laid him back down and covered him. Most likely Hugh.
He sat up and swung his legs over the bed. Cool air brushed against his bare torso. Cautiously he poked at his ribs. There was only a slight discomfort. To test his back, he held his arms out to his side and slowly lifted them over his head.
The skin on his back pulled, and Gabriel released his arms. The wound was still healing, but healing quickly. Maybe it had just been something on the Harpy’s talons as Hugh said.
He needed a bath, desperately, not only to wash away the sweat that had soaked his body, but to sink into the heated water and help with his sore muscles.
Gabriel padded barefoot to the trunk at the end of his bed for a clean tunic and pants, and then he left his chamber for the bath.
Torches flared in the hallway and the castle was almost ghostly quiet. He passed the balcony overlooking the great hall to see row upon row of bodies sleeping. As he continued on his way, he couldn’t help thinking of the dreams that had plagued him.
The woman in the dreams was fascinating, and he would have given almost anything to see her entire face. Snatches of his first dream flashed in his mind. The woman had a wonderful, infectious laugh, one that put a smile on his face even then.
But was she real, a person from his past, or just a figment of a dream?
The answer he might never know. With a yawning sigh, he walked into the bathing chamber, stripped and sank into the heated water with a groan.
In the distance he could hear soldiers moving around outside on the battlement, searching the skies for the Gargoyle they all expected. And he couldn’t wait to fit his bow in his palm again and let an arrow find its mark.
The need to battle the creatures was great, so great that it left little room for anything else. He had never felt such hatred for the creatures before. Though he suspected it had something to do with his exchange with the Great Evil. Part of him wanted to forget it ever happened, yet, another part, the part that yearned for knowledge of his past, wanted to seek the evil out.
With a curse, Gabriel reached for the soap and began to scrub himself clean. It wasn’t until he had dried off and put on his fresh clothes that he thought about Jayna. He silently chided himself for forgetting about her, especially after she had sat in his chamber, worry clouding her pretty hazel eyes.
On his return to his chamber, he detoured to the left and walked silently to her chamber. He knocked softly, not wanting to wake her if she slept. When she didn’t answer, he reached to try the handle, just wanting to check on her to make sure her ankle was healing.
The handle moved, opening her door noiselessly. He looked to the bed but found it empty. His gaze quickly scanned the small chamber and found her sitting before the now dead fire.
Gabriel shut her door to help keep what little heat there was in her chamber, then moved to the hearth to work the still glowing embers to life. It took him a bit, but once the fire was roaring again he turned to her.
She had unbraided her hair, letting it fall all golden and loose around her like a blond mantle. Her nose was red and her eyes ringed with dark circles. She was still in her gown and fast asleep.
He shook his head and touched her hand to feel her icy skin beneath his. Gabriel stalked to the bed, yanked down the linens, then walked back for her. He gently moved her into his arms and carried her to the bed without waking her.
Once she was in her bed, he reached down to remove her shoes and noticed that her ankle no longer had any swelling. He smiled, knowing Aimery must have seen to it, and tucked her feet beneath the thick blankets.
As he pulled the blankets up to her chin he saw the streaks down her face where tears had been. Why the thought of her crying twisted his insides, he didn’t know.
She stirred and buried herself deep within the covers. Her lips parted on a soft sigh, and for a moment he couldn’t tear his gaze from her. There was something different about Jayna, something familiar as well, and he desperately wanted to know who she was. If she could be a link to his past, even one that was nothing more than a replica of someone he knew, he needed her.
The wind began to howl as gusts blew past the castle. The storm would be fierce, keeping away the creatures for one more night at least.
With one last look at her, Gabriel straightened and closed the bed curtains around her. He checked her fire again, then left her chamber. His feet were like bricks of ice, but it was better than not being able to move in bed.
As he walked the stairs to his chamber, he felt someone near. He slowed his steps, checking the shadows as he walked.
“Do you fear me now, brother?” Roderick said as he stepped from one of the shadows.
Gabriel sighed. “You know I don’t.” One look at Roderick’s face and he knew something was seriously wrong. “What is it? What keeps your roaming the corridors instead of in bed with Elle?”
“Fear for her life,” he said softly and turned away from Gabriel. “Have you ever had something within your grasp that you never thought possible? A love so pure and right that you knew ‘twas your mate?”
Gabriel swallowed past the lump of pain in his chest. “Nay.”
“I pray you don’t, Gabriel,” he said as he faced him once more. “The very thought that I might lose Elle has robbed me of my sleep. I need her. Without her...I am nothing.”
Gabriel gripped Roderick’s shoulder. “We won’t let Elle or any
of the Chosen die.”
He gave a half grin and lowered his head. “Thank you for trying, but you cannot promise that, my brother. No one can. Is it shocking to you that I long to take my wife far from here, to a realm untouched by evil? To forget about my oath or Earth and live my life as I wish?”
“Not shocking, Roderick. I think if I had discovered my mate, I would feel the same way. But you won’t leave because Elle won’t let you. She also has a duty.”
“I know,” Roderick said and all the apprehension and agony could be heard in his voice. Suddenly he lifted his head and looked Gabriel in the eye. “You’re healed?”
Gabriel shrugged and let his hand drop from Roderick’s shoulder. “Aimery helped to speed it along.”
“How do you feel?”
“There’s still pain, but it should be gone shortly. Do not worry, Roderick. I’m ready and eager to fight.”
Roderick sliced a hand through the air to stop his words. “That isn’t what I mean. I know you would fight even if your blood drained from you as it did earlier today. My faith does not waver from any of the Shields.”
“Then what does your faith waver on?”
“Us standing together,” he said softly before walking away.
For a long moment Gabriel simply stared after his friend. Of all of them, he never suspected this of Roderick. Roderick had shouldered so very much with the weight of his realm hanging in the balance.
Worry for Roderick and the other Shields filled Gabriel’s mind. He was so caught up in his conversation with Roderick that he didn’t look in his chamber as he always did when he entered.
It wasn’t until he checked his fire and turned to his bed that he saw it – the puddle of clear, thick liquid near his chest at the foot of his bed.
Gabriel’s gaze glanced to his bow and arrows that stood by the bed near his sword. It was too far way for him to reach. He let his gaze wander over the chamber in a lazy slow motion, as though he didn’t suspect someone, or something, of being in his chamber.
When he didn’t immediately see anything, he searched the chamber and came up empty. Without further ado, he pivoted and left his chamber.
