I raised my eyes at that moment and found his face to be only inches away from mine. His eyes locked onto mine, and I found that I could not tear my gaze away from him.
He then spoke softly in a language that I didn’t understand or recognize—not that I was any expert in languages, but I knew it wasn’t anything else I had ever heard before.
“What did you just say? What language is that?” I wanted to know. “Was that Greek or Latin?”
“Not exactly. It was your mother that contacted the Nunne’hi. That is how we knew you and where to find you.”
“That’s not possible. My mom died eight years ago.”
He told me about the Nunne’hi having a strong spiritual connection. It was how my mother informed them about me and led them to me.
“You must understand something, Maddie. There are many things that are possible if you only believe.”
It was all too much to comprehend.
“Why is it your touch makes me feel as if I don’t have a care in the world? Have I lost it or something? Am I losing my hold on reality?” I asked in a broken whisper.
I was surrounded by his strength and warmth, and it was sublime, indescribable.
He had a bit of a grin on his face when he replied, “Since I have only just met you, I am not certain if you are mentally unbalanced. However, let me simply say that I have a gift, a unique ability to relieve your fears. You have been through a very traumatic time, but I promise to stay with you for as long as you require me,” Rayn vowed.
I didn’t know if he was joking or not about me being crazy, but I would willingly accept his promise to stay any day of the week.
I glanced up at him and saw the corners of his mouth turn up.
Chapter 13
Rayn sat with me for some time, holding my hands. I didn’t want to admit how much I liked it. I decided I could get real used to this. However, things were too mysterious, like that language he spoke and the way he calmed my fears. There were too many unanswered questions.
“How will I be able to return to school, like this, I mean?” sweeping my arm across my legs. “I’m going to need some special accommodations and learn how to do things, right?”
Rayn quickly stood up and started to pace around the room.
“Currently, I have no answer for you,” he said, strangely enough.
“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t understand.”
“I cannot explain this right now.”
He walked over to me and reached out to take my hand, but abruptly, he stopped.
“There are places I can go that can help me adapt to this, using a wheelchair and all. I’m pretty sure my roommates would help me.”
“Maddie, there are things you do not understand, things I cannot explain right now,” he reiterated, as he started to sound frustrated.
“What do you mean?” I didn’t like the direction this was taking. “I don’t want to sound dense, but I still don’t understand,” I continued. “Am I a prisoner here?”
“No, you are not a prisoner, but there are things I simply cannot explain. You must trust me.”
“Easy for you to say. Am I supposed to know what that means?” I countered.
“No, but in time, I will explain things to you. You must accept my answers now and stop being so inquisitive. Now it is time for you to eat.”
It was apparent this Rayn was not used to anyone challenging what he said.
Next he said something incredible. “You have heard enough for one day. There are things that are not possible in your world, but they are in mine. And, no, you have not smoked anything illegal or been given any other illegal drugs either.”
“How did you know?” I trailed off, confused at how he could possibly know what had run through my head. “And exactly what do you mean by ‘things are not possible in your world, but they are in mine?’ And how did you know about the drug question?”
“Well, my world is very different from yours. There will be time for explanations later,” he said as he turned away from me.
I got the feeling he was uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. Maybe that’s why he was so cryptic.
There was something else I didn’t want to think about and that was the man himself. Honestly, he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I felt magnetically drawn to him in a way I couldn’t explain, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. But he also made me feel very tranquil. I didn’t understand this, but with my current situation, it was a feeling I did not want to lose. Every time he was near me, I felt this inexplicable urge to touch him, his skin, his face, his hair. Everything about him lured me in. I wanted to wrap myself around him. What I was feeling was totally abnormal and it greatly disturbed me.
Minutes later Rayn returned with a tray laden with food. Either he was extremely hungry, or he was planning to feed a herd of elephants.
“You can’t possibly think I can eat all of that?”
“Are you not hungry? I brought you a variety because I was not sure of your preferences. Please eat,” he begged. He extended his hand, which held a fork full of something that smelled delicious.
“Only if you share with me, because this girl is not putting away all of that, no way.” I opened my mouth, waiting for the fork.
“Well, I could always make you,” he challenged.
I could think of worse things than being force fed by Mr. Hawt. With that thought, I noticed the corners of his mouth turning up.
“I’m not saying I won’t eat, just that I can’t eat that much. Please have some.”
Rayn set the tray on my lap, intending to make it easier for me to eat. That turned out to be a big mistake for him. He was unaware of my extreme clumsiness, and I had chosen this moment to give him an explicit demonstration.
The tray was unbalanced, with some heavier items on one side. When he set the tray on my lap, the heavier side dipped down, allowing the lighter side to angle up in the air. In my haste to rectify the situation, I slammed my hand down on the lighter side, which ended up causing the food on the opposite side to catapult in the air. Off it went flying, and unfortunately for Rayn, he was in the direct line of fire.
In mere moments, he was covered in a vast array of food and some type of beverage that appeared to be tea. The contents of the tray were slowly dripping down his hair, face, and chest, turning him into an adorable but gooey mess. I sat there looking at him with, I’m sure, a moronic expression glued onto my face. No words could suffice.
His eyes quickly flashed from their usual emerald brightness to the color of an angry, turbulent sea. With his jaws clamped shut and a murderous expression on his face, he sarcastically asked, “How do I look?”
Again without thinking, I responded thickly, “Good enough to eat.”
Oh. My. God! Did I really just say that? I thought, as I thumped myself on the head.
“Yes, you really did and I guess I should say, ‘thank you,’ but I will spare us both.”
Again, there were no words in the English language, or any other language for that matter, to aptly describe my acute mortification.
Rayn’s stormy eyes bore into me, as he said, “Excuse me, please.” He turned and walked away.
“Well, he didn’t have to act so huffy about it. It’s not like I did it on purpose,” I said to myself.
Minutes later, the beautiful dark haired woman returned with another tray loaded with food saying, “I shall take great care in placing this on your lap.” She set it down and quickly moved out of the way. No doubt she was afraid of wearing the food, like Rayn had.
Since I had no choice, I took a bite of the delicious smelling concoction on my lap. I must admit, it was the most delicious, sinfully tasting food that I’d ever put in my mouth. I devoured the contents in record time. I tried to eat slowly, but the tempting morsels were melting in my mouth. I simply couldn’t get enough.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten anything at all. I wonde
red if it had been six weeks ago.
Minutes later, Rayn returned, clean as a whistle.
With a raised brow, he dryly remarked, “Well, I am glad to see you have enjoyed your meal. Since this is your first real meal in a few weeks, I would tell you to go slowly, but I can see I am too late for that! Do you always inhale your food?”
Oh, Lord! He must think I am a chow hound.
“No, er, but I guess I was starving. And it was so delicious!” My eyes drifted down to my empty tray, as I was uncomfortable now since I had made such a mess of things. I twisted my napkin in my hands and thought it was a good thing it wasn’t one of those paper ones, for it would have surely been shredded to pieces by now if it had been.
He reached for the napkin and gently pried it out of my hands saying, “Yes, it appears as such. I must make sure Talasi feeds you often. We don’t want you going hungry.” His voice was deep and husky and I looked up into his brilliantly beautiful eyes.
I had a gazillion thoughts and questions swirling through my mind, but suddenly, my mind emptied itself.
He removed the tray and took my hand in his. I instantly felt his warmth penetrate me. What was this effect he had on me? I had never experienced anything like it.
“Do not worry about the mess. It was nothing a little water could not clean up,” he said, as if he could read my mind again!
“How is it that you always seem to be on top of what I’m thinking? Are you one of those mind reader people that I’ve read about in novels? You know, like Mr. Spock in Star Trek or something?”
“Not exactly,” he answered. I glanced up at him and caught a strange expression on his face that he quickly hid. “However, it is part of my ability as a Guardian. Part of what I do is to protect people, like you, from getting hurt or into trouble. I do not know how, but we did not see your attack coming. That only rarely happens. It is what we rely on the Nunne’hi for. We have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship with them. They communicate with us through telepathy.”
“Telepathy? Like reading minds? Are you telling me you can read minds?” I couldn’t hide my incredulity.
“Yes, that is one way to describe it, but in reality, it’s more like communicating without speaking.”
“Okkaayy. What other tricks might you have up your sleeve?”
If he could read minds, I hope he didn’t know what I’d been thinking about him! This was so awkward and embarrassing. I glanced at him to see him smirking at me.
Busted.
With a furrowed brow, I scrutinized him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Something very strange is going on here. Are you a wizard or something? You know, like Harry Potter?”
He lifted an eyebrow and gave me one of his exasperating looks. “No, not exactly.”
Then, I thought I heard him say, “Perceptive,” under his breath.
“Have you drugged me?”
“No! I thought we covered this. No illicit drugs! Other than giving you things for pain and to help you sleep and relax, we have not given you any kind of inappropriate drugs. You have been through a very traumatic time, and it is perfectly normal for you to be apprehensive about all of this. I can tell you that you are safe and secure here, though I realize those are only words. As time passes, you will come to that understanding on your own. I wish I could help you to believe that. I promise only to protect you.”
His frustration had erupted, and I knew I was annoying him immeasurably.
I inhaled deeply and again my senses were filled with him. There it was—the earthy scent of pines again.
“Hey, do you use pine scented shower gel or shampoo or something?” I asked.
I forced myself to stop sniffing the air; I was beginning to resemble some kind of a hound dog.
“No,” he replied. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, you smell like evergreens, like a forest full of pines, you know, that great earthy smell.”
I lifted my eyes to him and caught him glancing at me with a peculiar look on his face. I averted my eyes and busied myself with my blanket. I suddenly became self-conscious of how awful I must appear to him. In my better days, I was very ordinary looking in every way—average height, average build, reddish brown hair and light brown eyes and perfectly nondescript. I couldn’t expect someone like him to be remotely interested in me, so it made no sense that I was now concerned about my appearance.
My eyes drifted back to him, and I saw he was still staring at me with that odd expression on his face. He reached out and gently brushed my cheek with the backs of his knuckles, and then jerked his hand away, as if he’d been burned. I put my hand to my cheek where he had touched me to see if my skin was hot, for I had felt that charge of electricity again.
He was still staring at me, and I finally asked hesitantly, “Is something wrong?”
He didn’t answer, but just slowly shook his head. He promptly stood up and walked away, leaving me pondering what I had done. He had probably been revolted by what must be an enormous scar on my face. I hadn’t seen it, but I was sure it must be hideous.
Minutes later, one of the women entered the room. It was the woman that had brought in the food earlier.
She came to me and said, “Maddie, I am Talasi. I will be helping you until The Guardian decides where to take you. Is there anything I can get for you?”
“I saw you in my dreams.”
“You saw me?”
“Yes, and you were speaking a strange language. Odd that I dreamed of you when I had never seen you before.”
“Yes, that is odd. But, sometimes, our dreams are speaking to us. They can tell us things our mind isn’t capable of understanding.”
“These were totally weird dreams. I guess I was in shock because I thought I was dying. I saw my mom and talked to her and all.”
“I spoke with her too Maddie. She came to me in my dreams, which is how I knew where to find you. She watches over you all the time.”
Talasi walked away leaving me more bewildered than ever. I wanted to scream at her to come back, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know everything right then. I was still too curious about Rayn and why he had left.
Chapter 14
That night was the first time I dreamt about Rayn. We were running through a forest in a place where the colors defied description. I had never seen anything like it before, and I could barely think of anything besides their magnificence. The trees, flowers, and overall landscape were bursting in this newly discovered rainbow of mine.
I awoke with a start, and the first thing I detected were deep pools of emeralds. His eyes drilled into mine, and he wore the same puzzled expression on his face. I felt like he was trying to assess my thoughts. I began to feel ill at ease, so I averted my gaze. He stooped toward me and grasped my face in his hands, forcing me to look back at him.
Words would not surface; I could not think of anything except how much I wanted him to put his arms around me. It was at that precise moment that he did exactly that.
I thought I heard him murmur, “This cannot be happening.”
Then, he continued in that unrecognizable language. I didn’t want to know what he was saying now. I just didn’t want this moment to end. I felt a sense of contentment, a warmth seep into my bones that I couldn’t explain. I felt like I belonged there, like I had come home.
I wanted to reach up and touch his face, his hair, but I feared I would break the spell. We sat together like that for a very long time. Words seemed unnecessary.
Eventually, he arose, bent down, placed a kiss on the palm of my hand, and strode out of the room. I wanted him to turn around and come back, but he didn’t. I fell back to sleep, and my strange dreams resumed.
* * * * *
I knew my strength was returning. I was ready to deal with my final injury: to go home and learn how to live without my legs. But I felt like everyone was avoiding that issue. I asked Talasi about it earlier, and she would not give me an answer. I was overcom
e with frustration. I wanted to pull my hair out!
After what seemed like years, I fell into a restless sleep, filled with unpleasant dreams. When I awoke, I was drenched in sweat. I threw off the fur covers and let the air hit my body. I was dressed in a cotton gown, so I pulled it up around my legs to try to see my wound.
I touched my calf, and it felt like I was touching someone else. I pinched my legs to see if I could feel either of them. Then I scratched them. Nothing. That’s when it all came crashing down on me. I would never walk again.
Many minutes passed by before I realized that someone was shaking me and calling my name. When I could finally focus, I was looking into his beautiful eyes. He had a disconcerted look on his face. I was so angry at the unfairness of it, how my life had taken yet another dastardly turn for the worst. I wanted to hit something, throw something, stomp my feet, and scream. Instead, I started accusing him of holding back information on my condition, my frustration and anger evident in my emotions.
I confronted him with my voice raised, and through gritted teeth, I said, “I’m tired of lying here, days on end. I want you to take me home where I can start mending my life.”
I stopped suddenly, guilt washing over me for speaking to him in such a manner. I continued on in a softer tone, “I need to move forward. I appreciate everything you and the Nunne’hi have done for me. I wouldn’t be alive without you, but it’s time for me to go home.”
“There is nothing I can do about your dissatisfaction, and for that, I am sorry. I am trying to work something out, but I cannot tell you more right now,” Rayn said.
“Ugh. This is driving me bonkers. You are driving me crazy!” I exclaimed.
“Again, I am sorry. That is all I can say right now,” he said curtly.
“No; I want more of an explanation than that. Right now, you’re telling me I can’t leave and go home. You’re so circumspect with everything. I want to know why!”
He sighed deeply and said, “It is the way things must be. You must trust me in this.”
My frustration and anger were not being assuaged one bit. I had to have answers now, or I would tear my hair out.
I sighed, letting my breath escape raggedly. “How can I trust you when you won’t give me any answers? Am I to just sit around and wonder about it?”
Survival, a YA Paranormal Romance (The Guardians of Vesturon Series, Book #1) Page 8
