by Candace Sams
"The only reason I'm here now is because I'm curious. I simply had to see your home. And I also wanted an explanation as to why you've been neglecting our relationship. You owe me that much." She looped her arm through his and gazed into his eyes. Then her gaze drifted around the room until she saw Afton. "But you have a very fetching little visitor to keep you company. She's quite...adorable."
There wasn't any animosity in her voice. Rhiannon was just stating an opinion. In fact, Rhi didn't seem at all threatened by Afton's presence, for which he was supremely grateful. Some childish display of jealousy in front of everyone was the last thing he needed right now. For the first time in weeks, he began to feel clearheaded. There was really nothing unusual about Rhiannon. She was fun and brought him out of his self-absorbed thoughts. There were no overtones of anything supernatural, no magic spells or conjuring. There was no talk of anything abnormal. Nothing was expected of him except wild sex. Though that was bizarre to his way of thinking, it wasn't as crazy as everything else in his life now.
As the night went on, Blain's gaze kept drifting over the crowd and looking for Afton. For some reason, her presence reminded him of what his parents had together. There was nothing shallow or insignificant about the love his mother and father had shared. It had been deep and very rare. Even with all the crazy circumstances in his life, he wanted that kind of commitment. If he couldn't have that, marriage was out of the question. And he did want to marry one day.
Any kind of relationship with Rhi, therefore, would have been impossible. She didn't seem the marrying kind, and again it became clear that there was nothing more between them than sex, and there never would be. And even if he had wanted more, she could never find out what he was, because he knew instinctively that she would never accept his being half fairy. That realization prompted him to put down his drink and gently take her arm. It was time for him to end things with her.
"Rhi, let's go someplace quiet. I want to get out of this crowd," Blain murmured into her ear.
"That sounds like a good idea to me, darling. I've wanted to get you alone for days, now. I believe there might be a way to repair what's wrong between us." She shot him her most suggestive smile and let him lead her away.
From across the room, Afton watched them leave the room. With a sense of shock, she'd watched the other woman enter the house like some sophisticated diva. No one had to tell her who the gorgeous creature was. Rhiannon Stone had made an entrance Hollywood couldn't have duplicated. There was an arresting quality about her that men had to find enticing. The woman could put to shame some of the nymphs in the sacred forest back home. One look at the way Blain possessively held her arm and whispered into her ear told the entire story. He wanted her. That was probably why he was trying to leave, despite Hugh's and Shayla's warnings to stay close. Pictures of Blain and Rhiannon having sex entered Afton's mind, and she felt horribly jealous. She suddenly wished her oldest brother hadn't kept her from having more experience with men.
She hurried to the nearest exit to try and stop Blain. Perhaps she could say he had a phone call in his office or that something else needed his immediate attention. As she hurried to stop him from leaving, she tried to convince herself she was doing what the Sorceress would want her to do. That nothing else motivated her actions. Afton ran after them, quickly passed the couple and blocked their way. "Blain, could you help me with something in the kitchen?"
"Not now. I'll be back in a few minutes. Rhiannon and I just wanted to go out back and get some air. She wants to see the new herb garden in the moonlight," he lied.
"Well, well…so this is the little Afton. You're really quite lovely." Rhiannon held out her hand. "I'm Rhiannon Stone. I'm sure Blain must have mentioned me. Can't think why he hasn't introduced us sooner."
"Yes, Ms. Stone. He mentioned you." Afton forced back the pettiness in her voice and took Rhiannon's hand, finding it cold and rather limp. Just like her remark about 'little' Afton.
"Please, call me Rhiannon, or just Rhi for short." Rhiannon turned to Blain. "Darling, you weren't exaggerating at all. Afton is just too dulcet for words She reminds me of a young girl I saw on a medieval tapestry once You know, very lustrous and virginal. She actually has a glow about her. And that name is just too sweet. I believe she's named after a river in Scotland or someplace. Isn't that true, dear?" she finished, glancing back at Afton.
Afton glared at Blain. Surely he hadn't told the woman she was a virgin! He wouldn't have repeated what he'd heard Shayla say, would he? She'd never felt such a sudden burst of anger in her life. "You're right, Rhiannon. I was named after a river. It was described by Robert Burns. Maybe you've heard of him. He's a very famous man who used to write poems a long time ago. As for being virginal and dulcet, I'm sure Blain could say otherwise. Couldn't you, darling?" She used the same condescending tone Rhiannon had, and even affected the same inflection when she used the endearment at the end of the sentence. Her sarcastic retort caused Blain's jaw to drop and Rhiannon's face took on an angry expression. Afton was satisfied with their response.
"Uh, I think Rhi and I will take a walk in the garden. Excuse us, Afton." Blain quickly took Rhiannon's hand in his, stepped around Afton, and pulled Rhi along the path.
Blain tried to keep his shock over Afton's quick comeback to himself. It seemed his English beauty could stand up for herself quite well when she wanted to. Though Rhiannon was silent, he could still see her angry expression.
"Sorry about that, Rhi Afton isn't usually so cocky." In fact, she never was, and that was why he was so stunned by her comments.
"That's quite all right. She was just staking her claim, darling. Or didn't you pick up on that?"
He shook his head in denial and waved off the comment with one hand. There was no sense discussing Afton. He'd brought Rhi into the garden to say goodbye, so he kept silent about the matter and led her toward the fragrant herb plants. After a while, she seemed to relax, and the angry expression left her face. He tried to find somewhere appropriate to say what needed to be said.
He noticed other couples strolling about the garden. Even though torches lit the pathways and strings of white lights floated through the flower beds, their effects couldn't compete with the full, lustrous moon. It was perfect for viewing the flowers which had been planted to show up after dark. Dusty Miller and Moon Flower vines purchased from a nearby nursery, and white Astilbe glowed in the ambient light. A cloud of white Lady Banks roses covered the archway into the center of the garden. Knowing what he had to do, Blain steered Rhiannon deeper into the growth and down the pathway leading to . He was fairly certain they wouldn't be disturbed there.
He wasn't sure how Rhi would take what he had to say. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but his life had turned in a totally different direction. She couldn't be a part of it, and he had to tell her that.
Rhiannon suddenly stopped before entering the circular area surrounding . "Stop here, Blain. The light is so lovely on all these roses."
"Rhi, we need to talk where we won't be disturbed."
"I know, love. We have some catching up to do." She wrapped her slender arms around his body and tried to keep him from moving, but he took her hand and kept going.
When they finally reached the center of the garden, Blain half pulled a reluctant Rhiannon toward . He looked around to make sure no one was within earshot.
"Darling, what's wrong? You're so insistent." She turned his face toward hers.
Blain gently pulled her red-tipped fingers away from his face and stepped back. "You know we've had a good relationship. Everything has always been friendly and on an equal footing, even from the first."
"Why do I sense a but coming here?" Rhiannon stepped back and looked up into his face.
"There's no way to make this easy. What I'm going to say is abrupt and cold, and I'm sorry for unloading on you like this." He paused to put his hands on her shoulders "I can't see you anymore I've had some circumstances come up in my life that are too difficult to
overcome "
"Circumstances, I don't understand." She placed a hand on his chest. "We've always been able to get over town gossip. And we can get over this little tiff we've had. What other problems could there be that we couldn't work through?"
The confusion in her voice tore at his conscience. It felt as if he were throwing her out like Monday morning garbage, "Rhi, sweetheart, I'm sorry. It isn't within my power to explain. I wish things could be different But this is the way it has to be. Some very unexpected and overwhelming, personal problems have come up in my life."
"You brought me all the way out to the farm to break things off with me9 You didn't even have the decency to come into town where we could be alone?" she icily bit out. "Now I have to walk back through all those people in your house and act as if nothing is wrong. That damned preacher has half of them believing I'm nothing but a whore, and now he'll be proven right."
"Honey, no! That isn't true. You know I care about you as a friend, and I always will, but things in my life are very different than they were a few months—even a few days— ago." Blain tried to calm her by taking her hands in his, but she backed away
"You used me1 I was just someone to sleep with until that little English girl got here "
Blain watched as she unexpectedly smiled, but there was no warmth in it Her eyes were as cold as a Maine night in January "Rhi, you and I never cared deeply for each other, and I think you know it wouldn't have ever worked I'm a small town farmer who couldn't have given you the kind of life you want. To go on like we were wasn't right "
"Don't fret too much over it, darling," she drawled sarcastically "You wanted me for nothing but sex. But if we're playing confession, that's all I wanted as well It's just a bit mortifying that you could drop me like a bad habit to run around with a girl who won't ever be able to compete with what I have."
She ran her hands over her full breasts. "Have your little English rose, Blain. She's young and enticing, but she'll never be able to satisfy your appetites the way I can. So, when the novelty wears off, don't come running back to me, because I won't be here. There are, as they say, quite a lot offish in the sea, and I've had a few bites." She stroked his chin with one finger. "Maybe you could even send Miss English to me to break her in properly. I could show her what you like ... make sure she's ready."
"This has nothing to do with Afton. Despite what she said earlier, she's nothing but a friend." He knew that wasn't the truth as far as he was concerned, and he hated himself for not admitting it. But something in his heart didn't want Afton mentioned in what had become a sordid scene. Rhiannon's pride was hurt, and she was taking it out on Afton. This was what he deserved for engaging in a meaningless, empty affair. Someone was bound to get hurt, even if pride was the only real issue.
"I guess everything has been said. Nothing to do but say goodbye. Have a good life, lover." Rhi quickly turned and left him standing there.
As she walked by , Rhiannon's form came between the lights from the garden and the globe itself. Blain saw a blackened shape emerge on the globe's smooth surface. It was very much like looking into a carnival mirror where a person's true form is twisted and malformed into something wicked and inhuman. The reflection left him feeling sick and shaken, even though the clean, glittering lights reflected back on the globe's surface as soon as Rhi was gone. He shook off the eerie sensation. He had to keep his perspective. With everything that had happened, he could easily let his imagination get the better of him.
Through the trees, he watched Rhiannon saunter back toward the house and wanted to stop her. If he could better express what was happening to him, maybe she wouldn't be so angry. But what good would it do? Even if he could tell Rhi everything, there wasn't any way she'd understand. There would never be a way to explain who he was without sounding insane.
Hearing her voice as she laughingly told someone the party was too dull and she simply had to leave this country bumpkin scene, led him to believe she had taken the break-up as more of an embarrassment than anything more serious. She was a survivor and would land on her feet. She'd likely find someone new and tell everyone in Harvest that she had dumped him.
To Blain, the breakup marked the beginning of a great many drastic changes to come. Some of them would be just as harsh, but he knew he'd make it. There were people on his side, exactly as his mother had said on the night she died.
He ran a weary hand over his face and tried to think how hard it must have been for his parents He was just experiencing a tiny bit of what they had lived through for decades. How much harder had it been for his mother and father to exist all those years without being discovered? How many acquaintances had been left behind in similar scenes like the one he’d just played out? How many lies had they been forced to tell just to survive? People who might have become friends had been kept at a distance just so the pain of leaving them behind wouldn't be too great No real friends, no one to confide in, and no real home.
But he remembered how they'd loved each other fiercely and had been totally devoted to him until the day they died. Now, their past was his legacy for the future. Except he would be granted a luxury his parents had never had—a way back into this mystical Order and the support that existed with Hugh, Shayla and Afton. For them, he was thankful, but what would his future hold? Would there even be one? He ran his hands through his hair and walked toward . When he stared into it, he could almost see himself as a fairy. But that had to be his imagination.
"Mom, Dad.. .I'm so sorry for what happened to you, and I now realize that most of what you went through was for me," he whispered, wishing there was a way they could hear him. He desperately needed some space, and the garden's stillness was the only place that seemed right.
***
Afton turned from her position behind a tree and ambled back to the house. She'd only come out to the garden to guard Blain in case his enemy showed up. It hadn't been her intention to eavesdrop on the lovers' breakup.
It seemed Blain was beginning to understand the serious consequences of his parents' desertion from the Order. That it had been forced didn't mitigate the results. They'd had to leave friends, family and all they cherished behind. Now, Blain had to give up a relationship from the outside world. Freyja's horrible work would last a long, bitter time. Her maliciousness seemed to circle back and encompass them all.
Tears stung Afton's eyes. They were for Blain and herself. She had secretly hoped there could be something between them, but as far as Blain was concerned, she was nothing but the sweet virginal assistant tagging along with Shayla. His words in the garden had made that quite clear. She was just a friend. Moreover, she was one of the unexpected complications in his life. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and made a resolution to give up on whatever feelings might have been between them. Even if Blain had felt differently toward her, there were other complications he didn't know about.
Though traditions of the Order had never been explained, he would come to learn certain differences which would keep them apart. Though Blain was a blend, it was obvious he was very powerful. His size, musculature and physical appearance marked him as warrior class, which put him out of her league. Because she hadn't mastered the very basics of Druid powers, she was relegated to eventually handfast with someone of her own gatherer class.
Most members of the Order still clung to the belief that the strongest men and women should pair. This was an ancient holdover from a need to survive. All the Sorceress had done was make it possible for any warrior to mingle their blood with anyone else who was a warrior. No one had said anything about gatherer classes mixing with warrior classes. Though she was certain Shayla would permit it, the rest of the Order still insisted on mating with the strongest. Therefore, warrior men only chose warrior women and visa versa. This was the way things had been for thousands of years. Only a man whose meager powers matched her own would ever approach Afton. It simply wasn't socially acceptable to do otherwise.
Summoning a vision circle
was a great accomplishment, and she was proud of herself for having done such a thing. But it was the basics that mattered to the Order. Conjuring fire and the other elements of wind, water and earth had to be demonstrated on a daily basis Over and over. These were the skills that would protect a family, not one outstanding display of magic that couldn't be used for defense. And she'd only been able to do what she had because of Blain. He had been her motivation. And now that motivation was gone
Oh, someone would handfast with her Afton wasn't worried about that She'd had offers from wonderful men, but she just hadn't been ready Or, if she was honest with herself, she'd uncharitably reverted back to instinct when these men indicated an amorous interest Afton's suitors weren't warriors, and it was the warrior class that secretly appealed to her. Those men offered the best future since they were accomplished in numerous tasks. The most important of these tasks was defense. They could wield weapons as easily as farm, build or create artwork to sell. They were characteristically the largest, physically strongest, and the most virile and sensually appealing. They fathered strong children. She couldn't help it that her emotions, and thousands of years of breeding, made her want such a mate. Other women of the Order said they felt the same way
Even lacking the necessary warrior traits, many of her friends had tried to attract a warrior's attention and couldn't Some of them eventually became satisfied and happy with men of their own class. Some carried on in hysterics about their failure. Afton had never done either of those things. She tended to want to linger in the forest, mix herbs and play with the animals, silently hoping that the right man would come along. There was simply no reason to get all worked up over something she couldn't seem to change. It was easy, therefore, to let
Gawain chased off anyone she didn't fancy. She used his interference as an excuse to keep unwanted male attention at bay. And if she didn't practice her conjuring as she should, it was because she feared her powers might never meet her family's expectations. If that was the case, she'd have to settle with what was offered. And she didn't want to settle. She wanted a warrior.
