by Holly Martin
I nodded, but whether he believed me or not was unclear, I didn’t know what else I could do to prove it.
Seth pushed his hand through his hair. He looked like I felt, exhausted, wrecked, emotionally and physically.
‘Seth why don’t you rest for a bit, I can take her for a while,’ said Eli, moving to take me from Seth’s hand, but Seth’s hand tightened round me and he shook his head.
‘I’ll take care of her, you know I would die before I let anything happen to her.’
Seth shook his head again, stubborn mule.
‘We’re going to head back to the fort Eve, Cassidy is back there now, so she can heal you. If you feel you can shift, give me a little bite to let me know,’ Seth said.
Seth started running again and Eli ran at his side.
It seemed like hours later, that I felt a curious sense of pins and needles drift through my body and I knew the drugs were finally wearing off. Seth hadn’t stopped running since we’d last stopped, through trees, leaping over rivers, down into the very depths of the valley and as the night grew dark, the trees vanished into the gloom. I gave Seth a little bite, to indicate I wanted him to stop and he did. Eli fell in at his side. He stood and listened to the silence in the trees around him and happy that we were alone, he placed me gently on the floor. He pulled off his hoodie and placed it on the floor next to me.
I shifted back into a human and Seth gasped as he took in the full force of my horrific injuries. I quickly pulled on his hoodie, it was so big that it nearly came down to my knees, and then his strong arms were around me, pulling me to him tightly, as he kissed me, fiercely, almost painfully. I sobbed against him, because I was so relieved to be back in his arms again, that he was real and alive, because of the relief of my torture being over, but mostly for Quinn, who I knew I would probably never see again.
And that’s how the rest of my Guardians found me, half naked, sobbing uncontrollably into Seth’s chest.
It wasn’t the emotional reunion I was hoping for, the one from my dreams, but how could it be when Quinn was probably dead. How could I do anything knowing we had left Quinn to die?
‘I have to go back for him,’ I sobbed, through Seth’s kisses. He froze mid kiss, his firm hold on my face suddenly becoming tight, holding my chin in a vice like grip.
I looked into his eyes and like a light switch had just been flicked in his head, the tenderness and love was suddenly replaced with a cold anger. I flinched away from him, but he held me painfully tight. I had seen him angry before, furious, livid, vengeful. But I had never seen him reserve that look for me.
‘Seth, you’re hurting me,’ I whimpered.
‘Seth,’ Eli’s hand was on his shoulder, strong, restraining. ‘Let her go.’
Seth turned to stare at Eli incredulously. ‘Are you seriously going to let her go back there, Eli your promise to protect her is completely worthless if you do. You’re completely worthless if you do,’ he spat.
Eli didn’t seem bothered by this sudden assault on his capabilities, he pushed Seth back away from me. ‘Seth, let her go.’
Seth gave an anguished growl and releasing me he stalked away across the clearing.
I eyed him weakly, pulling his hoodie tightly around me, as I shivered against the cold night air.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ Seth growled, angrily. He stormed back to me, grabbed my sleeves and shoved them up, showing the scars, burns and purply black bruises on my arms. ‘Look at the state of you, you’ve been brutally tortured for the last week, Lucas said you had an infection, that you nearly died of blood poisoning, you’re still really hot now and you want to go back?’ His eyes were wild, manic, furious.
I stepped back away from him, tears filling my eyes at his tone. I had never seen him like this before.
‘If Quinn was successful he will be on his way back now, if not then he’ll be dead,’ he said, cruelly. ‘He risked his life to get you out, and then risked his life again to make sure Adam didn’t come after you, if you go back there it’s all been for nothing, it means he has died for nothing.’
My stomach lurched at the thought of Quinn being dead and the tears spilled down my cheeks.
‘What if he’s hurt, lying dying somewhere, what if he needs our help,’ I said, quietly.
‘Eve, I can’t do this anymore, I can’t keep fighting for your life, when you won’t fight for it yourself, I won’t stand by and let you do this, I can’t. Being husband and wife is supposed to be an equal partnership, not one person running round doing whatever the hell they want and the other person picking up the pieces,’ he muttered through clenched teeth, running his trembling hands through his hair.
Lucas was at Seth’s side, worry etched on his face, but it wasn’t worry over what Seth would do to me, it was worry for Seth. He grabbed his arm as Seth staggered drunkenly against him. ‘Seth you need to sit down for a moment, you’re not well.’
Seth shook his head angrily. ‘I can’t, not till I know she’s safe,’ he made to walk away from Lucas, but as he did his legs gave way and he sagged to his knees.
I was on my knees in front of him in a flash, holding his face in my hands. ‘What’s wrong, are you ok?’ my sobs receded a little at the shock of seeing him like this. Seth had such strength, but now he was weak, like a kitten. It broke my heart. What had I done to him?
He looked at me in despair, grief etched on his face. He looked down at my wrist, the wound still angry and raw. He gently touched it with one shaky finger, and as I flinched involuntarily at the pain. He let out a moan of agony.
‘Seth?’
‘He hasn’t slept or eaten in over a week, he just ran, as fast as he could to get to you. He’s not himself Eve, he’s exhausted,’ explained Eli.
‘Seth you need to rest, you’ll make yourself ill…’ I started.
‘What do you care?’ Seth snapped.
I felt a lump in my throat. ‘Seth of course I care, you are my life,’ I sobbed.
‘Then come home with me, please, come home now,’ he said quietly, pulling me gently into his arms, stroking my face. I could feel his heart beating against me, pounding furiously with exertion, stress, and fear.
‘Eve you need to go home, you need to be healed and Seth needs to rest. A week without sleep or food, I’m surprised he hasn’t died of exhaustion. We will go up to the Oraculum’s castle and look for Quinn. But you need to go home, if not for your sake then for Seth’s,’ Eli said. ‘The Guardlings are at the fort. We can’t stay there but we can rest there for a few days before we go back to your island.’
I nodded, weakly. I wasn’t going to lose him now that I had him back.
Seth saw my assent and tears of relief filled his eyes, as he held me tighter.
I looked up at Eli. I couldn’t send them back to look for Quinn. I couldn’t risk their lives to save Quinn’s. ‘We’ll all go home. I don’t want any of you to die searching for him. I could never live with that.’
I helped Seth to his feet. I reached out for the bond of my Guardians and slid us all back to my room at the fort, my heart breaking at leaving Quinn behind.
Chapter 16
Seth sat down heavily on the bed, with his head in his hands.
I eyed my Guardians, they looked as wrecked as I felt. It was only then that I noticed that Thomas and Jacob weren’t amongst them.
‘They’re on the island with Persia,’ Lucas explained my unasked question. ‘We didn’t know if you would go back there after we left. But if we are going to return there soon, we need to make sure that it stays safe.’
I nodded.
‘Get some rest, Eve. We’ll send Cassidy up to heal you,’ Eli said, as they left.
I knelt at Seth’s feet and undid his boots, pulling them off his feet. I stood and Seth looked up at me and pulled me onto his lap.
‘I’m sorry baby, I’m sorry for shouting at you, you’ve been through hell and I shout at you…’
I placed my finger on his lips. ‘Seth it’s fine, you’ve
been through hell too.’
He leaned his head against my heart, clinging onto me tightly. ‘I’m sorry for Quinn too. I tried to talk him out of it, I tried to get him to come with us…’
‘I know, I heard, he’s stubborn,’ I muttered, quietly.
‘Like his sister.’
He looked up at me, grabbing my face hard and kissing me, urgently. There was no tenderness there, no love, just a desperate need.
I gently pulled away.
‘Get some rest Seth, I need you, more than anything I need you with me.’ But it was my Seth I was talking to, my Seth that I needed, buried deep inside this man. I had been to hell and back over the last week, and the only thing I wanted, needed was a million miles away right now. Even though his arms were tight around me, my Seth was lost beneath the grief and exhaustion, and I was afraid he wouldn’t come out again, that the damage was irreparable. I climbed off his lap, but he caught my hand.
‘You’re staying here with me.’ It wasn’t a request, it was an order.
I nodded. ‘I’m not going anywhere, I promise.’
Seth lay down, closing his eyes and I lay down next to him. His breathing soon became heavy. I was sweating though as I lay on the bed and I realised I would have to break the promise, and leave Seth to go to the infirmary.
I rolled off the bed but a strong arm caught me round the stomach, pulling me back to him.
‘Where are you going?’ he muttered, angrily, not even opening his eyes.
I sighed. ‘To get healed. I’ll be back in a bit.’
Seth shook his head. ‘I’m not leaving your side again. I’ll get one of the Guardians to get Cassidy.’
Seth’s breathing became heavy again, but his grip didn’t relent on me. Five long minutes passed. Five minutes of me getting hotter and hotter. I wriggled round on the bed to pull off my hoodie. Seth opened one bleary eye but then closed it again when he realised what I was doing.
‘Oh yeah, Cassidy,’ he muttered. ‘I forgot.’
So it seemed had my Guardians. They all had been through hell in the last week. I crawled under the sheets, suddenly feeling very cold, and snuggled into Seth’s neck, his hand found the back of my neck, holding it tight, in his strong palm.
A few minutes later I heard the bedroom door opening, I sat up and Seth instinctively grabbed my arm. Cassidy came into the room and I smiled weakly at her.
‘You’re back, we were all so worried. Are you ok? Lucas said you needed healing.’
‘I do, but can you check Seth over first. He hasn’t slept or eaten in a week. I’m not sure if you can do anything for him but I’d appreciate you taking a look.’
Seth mumbled in his sleep. ‘Heal Eve first.’
Cassidy moved to Seth’s side, putting a hand to his head, he stirred as she healed him, but didn’t open his eyes.
‘He’s ok now, he just needs sleep and food. I’ll get some sent up,’ she eyed me suspiciously. ‘For both of you, you look like you could do with a decent meal too.’
I nodded, as she moved to my side.
‘Eve… I’m sorry, I’m sorry that my big mouth got you kicked out of the church, I never meant for that to happen. Amelie was the last person I thought would ever help you. I was scared for you. It was a shock to see you there too.’
‘It’s ok.’
‘After you left, Amelie spoke to us all, I always knew she was a fiery person, but she was so passionate about us helping you. Initially many were against it, but Thaddeus and Barak they too wanted to help and eventually most were persuaded. We came as soon as we could, but when we arrived, Adam was there. He took you before we could stop him. We saved Seth though, it was the least we could do. I came back up here after that, with Freya. I thought you might need me if you ever came back, but… I feel so guilty, if I hadn’t got you chucked out, Adam would never have taken you.’
‘He would have though, Cassidy, he would have found a way, maybe not that day, but a few days later, he would have got to me somehow. It wasn’t your fault.’
She nodded, sadly. ‘What needs healing?’
I pulled back the sheet and her hand shot to her mouth in shock. ‘Oh God, Eve!’
‘And this one got infected, I had a fever, but Mason gave me some antibiotics so it got a bit better.’
Cassidy held her hand over each scar in turn, healing each one till there was hardly any sign that I had been damaged so badly. It took her ages, there were so many of them. Then she held her hand over my head, healing the fever within.
‘Get some sleep, Eve.’
I nodded
‘Deep sleep,’ she said meaningfully and left. I lay back down next to my husband who was snoring softly now.
But I couldn’t sleep.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Quinn and what I could have done or could still do to save him. And Seth. My worry for Seth, a thick knot in my stomach, kept me alert.
I dozed, but as soon as deep sleep started to creep up on my conscious mind, I forced myself awake again. Every time I closed my eyes, the images of the last week flashed in front of them. The torture, the grief, Austin who had died for me, the fever, contorting everything horribly. And in the brief seconds my tiredness let me revisit those moments I always leapt awake, before I could fall too deeply into those nightmares.
I tossed and turned and wriggled around on my bed, trying to escape the images that were waiting for me, as soon as my eyes closed. But every time I moved, I felt a strong arm round me, pinning me to Seth’s side. Not a comforting arm, not how he used to comfort me or hold me when I had bad dreams, this arm was purely there to make sure I didn’t escape. And that made my anxiety get even worse, more panicky. Had I truly lost my Seth? Had my sweet, loving husband been replaced by a paranoid, over bearing, cold Guardian? The man that had yelled at me in the woods, the man that had kissed me so harshly, was not the man I had married. Had I driven him to this, had I driven him insane with worry?
I heard the door open and Lucas came in carrying two plates of food. He looked so worried about me and I felt so guilty for what I put my Guardians through. He passed me a plate and placed the other by Seth’s side of the bed before he left. I didn’t really feel like eating but it was a distraction from sleeping. I knew when I slept the memories from the last week would come back to haunt me.
I gently shook Seth awake so he could eat too. He leapt up in alarm, like he’d been burnt, terror filled his face.
‘Seth it’s ok, I just figured you’d want something to eat,’ I said gently, passing him a plate of food. He tucked in hungrily, eyeing me suspiciously as I ate. When he finished his, in only a short few minutes, he lay back down again without saying a word, wrapping his arm tightly round my legs. He was snoring softly again, seconds later.
I finished my meal and snuggled down into his arms. I had missed him so much, ached for him, grieved for him. I just hoped, more than anything, that Seth would recover and the man I loved would emerge once again.
I forced my eyes to stay open, watching the light in the room get brighter as the sun traced its regular path through the sky. I noticed the light take on a reddish glow and then the murky light fading. As the day, the longest day, disappeared beneath the horizon, Seth’s grip became less tight and finally he rolled over onto his back, releasing me from his hold altogether. Though this was probably due to Seth sleeping more deeply, rather than my gentle Seth emerging.
My eyes closed against my will as darkness filled the room. I forced them open but they closed again. The images of the last week played quickly, flashes of noise and pain and grief before I forced myself awake again.
The moon filled the outside world now, painting Seth with a silvery glow as he slept. I shifted round in the bed to look at him and was gratified to see his arm didn’t shoot out to restrain me.
I stared at him, breathing heavily as he slept. He hadn’t slept for seven days. I would be unconscious if I had gone without sleep for that time. How had he kept going, how did he have the energy to run fo
r so long, when running away from the Oraculum’s castle? No wonder he was angry and emotional, he had been on his knees, literally. I couldn’t believe he was with me now, that he really was alive. That moment in the cell when I knew he was alive, had filled me with such joy, such hope and my powers had crashed through me, like a tidal wave consuming a city. Was that power, that strength still in me now? I reached out for it, tentatively and as soon as I touched it, it consumed me, tore through me. It wasn’t quite as strong as when I had been in the cell, but it was more powerful than I had ever felt before. I quickly released it. It was hugely tempting to see what I could actually achieve with that amount of power. But Seth needed me now. They’d be plenty of time to use my new found strength later.
He mumbled incoherently as he rolled onto his side towards me. I wanted to touch him all over, to stroke him and kiss him. But I didn’t want to wake him, and not just because of not wanting to disturb him, but because I was worried about which Seth would wake up. I lay there watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed deeply. And I couldn’t resist the urge anymore. If I wasn’t going to get the reunion I was hoping for, then I would indulge in him whilst he slept. I reached out with one finger and softly stroked his face. He didn’t stir. Encouraged by his lack of response, I thought I would push my luck and moved my finger to lightly touch his mouth. His lips, hot and soft under my finger, moved slightly, but then the heavy breathing resumed. I moved my hand down to his heart, feeling it pound, sedately now, through his hot skin. I leaned forward and kissed his heart, softly. I looked up at his face, but he slept on.
I reached out for his arm, and caressed the contours of his arm, slowly as I stroked down towards his hand. As I stroked his palm, his fingers intertwined with mine. I looked back to his face as his dark eyes glinted in the darkness.
My heart leapt. Was he still angry?
‘Sorry Seth, I didn’t mean to wake you, I was just…’ I was silenced as he moved his hand up to my face, tracing my lips with his thumb.
I moved my hand back up his arm, stroking the inside of his elbow, before moving it up to his collar bone and round the front of his neck.
