by Debbie Behan
He stood and left without an argument and Cassie was thankful for that. She watched him go back inside, feeling sad that the others all thought of her as treacherous. She patted Starburst. ‘Do you know the way home, boy?’
He nodded and stomped his hoof on the ground.
Sticking her foot in the stirrup, she settled into the saddle and relaxed so he could find his way home. As they flew, Cassie felt as if she didn’t care anymore. She had tried to live a new life and thought she had finally found friends but she had not. What a joke my life is. She could only hope that sometime in the future she might find a little heaven to make up for all the hurt that life had thrown at her so far.
Chapter Eighteen
Aldebaran's Plan Thwarted
Aldebaran heard Conom call out. ‘Ald, where are you, old man? I know you’re here so you might as well come out and face me.’
‘Piss off, Conom. I’m not in the mood,’ Aldebaran grumbled at him as he tossed down his second full glass of ale. ‘I tried to do it politely but now she’s gone back to earth and it’s all your fault.’
Conom stood watching him with a smirk. ‘She’s a bit young for you, don’t you think?’
He threw the glass angrily at the wall. ‘She’s my bloody daughter. Get your mind out of the gutter.’
Conom walked over to the bar and poured them both another drink, handing one to Aldebaran before slouching into the chair near him. ‘You did the right thing letting her go, mate. She would never have forgiven you if you’d tricked her with one of your potions.’
Aldebaran took a drink and frowned. ‘I did trick her but it backfired. The stupid horse took her home instead of back to me. She’s going to be so pissed off when it wears off and they all realise what I tried to do. I think I’ve just blown my one and only chance with her. Damn it, Conom, if you hadn’t threatened me then maybe—’
‘You still would have done exactly what you did. You’re her father and were desperate. If she really is your daughter she will forgive you, old man.’
Conom passed him a cigar, striking a match so he could light it. Aldebaran knew he was right. He would have tried anything.
‘She’s a real beauty, Conom. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought the skinny little rake she was with pigtails and such a tiny frame would grow into such a lovely looking woman. She even has my warped sense of humour and she’s not scared of me at all.’
Conom knew when not to talk and he just shut up and listened. Aldebaran never thought he would like someone’s company as much as he did Conom’s. He read Aldebaran like a book and was easy to be around, even when he would prefer to be by himself.
He drew hard on the cigar and sighed. ‘She’s in love with the leader. Tells me they all make her happy. Said something strange though, reckons she was lost and had the spirit knocked out of her when they found her dirty and battered. I swear if that mother of hers has been cruel to my child she will regret the day she ever took to my bed.’
‘You sound like you still have a hard on for her, old man.’ Conom threw the inappropriate suggestion at him with jest and it made him smile, bringing back many memories.
‘Yes, she was all that and even more. I’ve bedded up to four women at a time and still they don’t satisfy me as that witch did. She was not much of a looker but you don’t look at the chimney while you’re stoking the fire. No, my need was not to admire. My uses for her were pure evil and she was wild and one of my most cherished toys,’ he said and made them both roar with laughter, bringing Aldebaran out of his mood.
Chapter nineteen
Kayden's Near Loss
‘Let’s make a move, Kayden.’ Woody stood up, steadying himself with the table. Shit! Talk about overdoing it. ‘It’s late and the horses need tending to.’ He slurred a little.
‘Is the traitor still out there? I’m not in the mood for any more lies,’ Kayden said, not looking forward to dealing with the woman who had secretly withheld who she was. Worse though was the way she sneakily wormed her way into his world and now blatantly threw his love back at him by lying.
‘Old man Cross told me she’s long gone.’ Woody staggered, pulling him up. ‘Come on. She’s with her dad now and good riddance to the lying bitch.’
‘You’re right. We can’t stay here forever soaking in our stupidity. I can’t believe I was so sucked in. All I know is she better keep right away from me from now on. If I get my hands around her bloody throat I’ll squeeze the life out of her.’
Jason came around the other side of Kayden, helping Woody steady him as he walked. ‘Maybe we should go and put out the wizards star that she’s on and then she’s on her own with no one. I tell you now if I had my time over, I would have not only hit her with the damned car but reversed back over her again. Sorry, boss but she’s a no-good, lying, bitch. I should have stuck to my first impression of her. She’s a spy all right—did us all over. All that crap about how happy she was with us. She faked it all.’
‘That’s enough Jason! I’ve had talking about her already. If I hear her name mentioned again, even whispered around me, I’ll go crazy, I’m so livid.’ Kayden kicked a chair that was in his way, then tried to calm down enough to say goodbye to the Cross family. He did manage a slurred thank you for their hospitality and an incoherent apology. He hoped they hadn’t spoilt the night by brooding about the traitor Cassie. They had tried hard not to talk about it unless they were not being listened to, but he was sure the younger son knew what they were saying as he kept throwing Kayden angry looks. He tried to tell Kayden he was under some sort of influence. Yeah right, he thought angrily.
They mounted their horses and Kayden could hardly wait to get back home and think straight. The dark cloud hanging over him felt like a monkey on his back, mocking him at every turn. He wasn’t even feeling upset about never seeing her again. Just so Goddamned, bloody angry with her.
They hit the clouds and like magic his mind cleared. He felt bile rise to his throat as he realised just what he’d been doing: thinking and saying spiteful, insulting crap about his Cassie all night. His neck cracked as he spun around quickly, viewing the rest of his men. They too had snapped out of it and were feeling the wave of guilt and ill feeling that had hit him.
‘What have we just done?’ was all he could say to them before he threw up. He was shaking with revulsion at how he had treated his princess. What had happened? Confused, his hands gripped hard against his aching head, glad that Zoltan knew the way home because he was too beside himself with disgust at his behaviour to even think about the trip. Pain gripped at his insides as he groaned. He felt like the biggest bastard ever.
It was dead quiet, not a sound. He looked around to see if the men were still with him. Woody looked worse than he felt. Kayden dropped back and rode in between Woody and Jason. We must have been under a spell, surely, he relayed.
Woody nodded but was having trouble even thinking. His eyes were glued in front of him.
What if she never comes home? Aldebaran has powers we have no idea how to fight. She thinks we hate her. How will we ever get her back if he keeps the spell on her? She’ll never believe anything we say. ‘God,’ Kayden groaned out load, breaking the no-talking rule.
Woody finally found his voice. ‘We should have guessed he would do something underhanded. He’s the most goddamned evil lord in the whole galaxy. We should have come straight back home instead of thinking about a bloody good time. On top of what bastards we all feel, Zoren will be furious we’ve lost her. Magic or no magic, it will never be a good enough excuse for any of this mess.’
‘Jeez, what were we thinking?’ Jason frowned. ‘We know how little and helpless she is compared to all of us. With all our strengths and powers we must have looked so frightening to her when we were attacking her about the story she was trying to tell us.’
‘How could we have been so cruel?’ Conor said and then cursed in a di
fferent language.
Kayden shuddered at the thought of five big blokes twice the size of her, all glaring down in disbelief, nothing but anger and contempt on their faces. He moved back in front of them, not wanting to picture any more of their fears in his head as well as his own.
They reached the ranch and walked their horses into the stables and a huge sigh of relief came from within them as they spotted Starburst. Kayden looked up, thanking the heavens above, while Starburst shook his head at them with disgust in his eyes. Kayden didn’t care how he looked at him, he had never been so happy to see him. It meant Cassie was still here on earth.
He dropped Zoltan’s reins and left his horse where it stood. With his heart just about in his throat he ran into the house, praying she was inside even though there were no lights glowing through any of the windows to say someone was there. The bedroom door was closed and he knew that he’d left it open. He was hoping against all odds she hadn’t packed her stuff in a backpack and shot through. He opened it slowly. He could hear her light little breaths and his legs shook at the emotions running though him. He wanted to wake her and beg her forgiveness but feared he would scare her, having made her so angry she might accidentally blow him into a million pieces.
She’s here, men. I don’t care where you bed down tonight but I am going to go hold my woman and hope when she wakes she forgives me.
Before he even finished sending the message to them, Woody was at his side. ‘Are you sure she’s in there? It’s so dark, I can’t see a thing,’ he whispered, peering in too.
Kayden nodded. ‘I can hear her breathing. Listen: so sweet and melodious. Thank God.’
Woody nodded. ‘Yes, I can hear it now too. That potion must have made her too sleepy to run. Even our whisperings aren’t disturbing her even a little. The guys and I will bunk in the barn for the night. None of us are dealing with this real well. Wake us when she gets up, okay?’
Kayden nodded. He closed the door nervously and walked over to the bed. He slipped out of his clothes and slid in carefully next to her, trying not to wake her. She was like a magnet and rolled into him as soon as she felt him. He tried to stop shaking as he pulled her into him. God, she feels so good to hold. He prayed she would forgive him and stay in his arms like this forever. He lay there thinking about the first time he had held her. She had been on the side of the road, covered from head to toe in red dust, her face screwed up, holding back sobs of pain. Yet he felt her relax at his touch before she had opened up her gorgeous eyes for him. He was so shaken he had trouble breathing. Even picking her up to put her on the truck, her delicate little frame had just seemed to gently mould into his as if he’d been holding her all his life. He remembered getting really plastered with Jase to stop himself from going out into the barn and holding her during the night. In the light of the morning, Jason had finally convinced him that she was another plant and they should get rid of her before she worked her evil into him any further.
Kayden cleaned her up a bit before he took her home. He dragged her outside roughly, hosing the crap off her, angry she still had such an effect on him. Then he had deliberately watched her undress to see how confident she was, waiting for the so-called spy to throw herself at him further. He was shocked she was so shy. She went bright red as she removed her wet things, knowing he was watching her, so red in fact, her whole body seemed to take on the crimson shade. It was then that he had spotted her nasty bruises and the look she gave him was so wounding he had to get away from her. His stomach had turned that night for being so cruel, hosing her and leaving her in the barn like an animal. This night and then, were the only two times in his entire life he ever remembered feeling that sick. He pulled himself together, showered, and with every intention of taking her back where he found her, had marched out to the shed. Kayden had listened to Jason and knew he was right, she had to go. Seeing her curled up on the hay his whole body and mind weakened with the sweet look on her face. As he picked her up, he knew she was different and took her into his home and his heart, all in the same night.
Cassie moved in his arms and it shocked him back to reality. His mind had been going over every detail of their time together. He noticed when he joined her in bed that she was naked and his heart bounded heavily, holding her bareness against him, knowing this might be for the last time if he couldn’t convince her he was sorry. There was no way he could sleep either because if he nodded off for just a few minutes and she woke, she might slip away in the night. He shook his head lightly, forcing himself to stop feeling so drugged by her nearness.
He stopped reminiscing and looked outside the window, watching as the sun touched the glass, the glare making him blink. Any other time he would be up now, tending to the horses, but this morning the whole universe could go to hell and he would still just lie here and wait. Yes, I will wait even though all the tough-man act is threatening to cave and reduce me to a sobbing, blubbering, bloody mess if she rejects me. At the thought he started to shake uncontrollably at the mistake he had made in not bringing her straight back here.
Chapter Twenty
Mending Hearts
Cassie had put Starburst in the stable and given him water, hay and a big kiss for bringing her home. She had gone inside and looked around, feeling too exhausted to even think straight. After a shower she walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around her. Even as her mind growled at her to get changed and be on her way, the bed was just too enticing. Just a couple of hours won’t hurt, she thought as she threw the towel aside and slipped under the cool sheets. She would easily be gone by the time they made it back, knowing what time they normally arrived home.
She lay for a few minutes, contemplating what she was going to do with herself now. Yawning, she rolled onto her side, too tired to even think straight. Whatever Aldebaran gave her to drink had totally mucked with her head and without another thought she drifted off to sleep. She hadn’t even felt Kayden come into bed. Yet now awake, she could feel she was all wrapped up in his arms. She tried to wiggle out and not disturb him but he only held her tighter, not letting her get up. He was awake and shaking but not talking. Is it his shaking that woke me? Is he angry? she thought, but couldn’t tell.
‘Please don’t leave me.’ His voice broke the silence. He was so upset that Cassie was gob-smacked.
‘I don’t understand. You don’t trust me, why would you want me to stay? You’re hardly making any sense. If we have no trust, our love is a lie.’
He lent over, his face full of sorrow. ‘I do trust you, Cassie. I don’t know what came over me. I was so scared when you disappeared. I knew the wizard had you and that he might do something to you and even knowing all that, I still couldn’t help the dark feelings that came over me when you came back to us. It was as if I was under some kind of spell. It wasn’t until we moved into the clouds that our minds cleared. I promise we’re not like that—none of us are. We’re all so shaken up for what we did to you. Please stay, Cassie and give us a chance to make it up to you. I love you and the boys all adore you. This is all crazy. We know you,’ he said and allowed a sob to escape as he buried his face into her hair, kissing it.
Cassie breathed out all the nasty thoughts she had and sighed with understanding. ‘I get it now. I told Aldebaran I was in love with you so he must have used some black magic on me to break us up. Now I know why he desperately wanted me to have that drink, a potion to repel you and make me look untrustworthy. With nowhere else to go he most likely thought I’d call him, knowing full well you would have all disowned me. That sneaky son of a bitch! Well, it backfired because he didn’t count on Starburst being smart enough to know his way home on his own.’
‘It had to be that,’ Kayden was agreeing. ‘I would never dream of treating you so appallingly. I’m so ashamed. You have no idea what a blessing it was when I came home and found you in bed. It was such a relief that you hadn’t run a mile from me, from us.’
‘I too
was under the drug. Calm but just so tired. Hardly able to stay awake or think straight. The potion was obviously meant to keep me in a dreamy state of mind so I’d go to him as if it were nothing. It is only because Starburst is so clever I am here now. You know, he may have just saved us from being on opposite sides. That old man of mine, if he really is of course, has a bloody lot to answer for next time we meet. I won’t be falling for any more of his potions either,’ she said, now understanding what had gone down and feeling ticked off with Pops.
Kayden was still very emotional as he spoke. ‘I’ve been lying here most of the night, not game to sleep in case you woke up and left before I had a chance to beg you to stay. Please say you forgive me, Cassie. I’m so very sorry.’
‘I’m sorry too, Kayden but I do have to go.’ And then she smiled. ‘But only to go to the little girl’s room and then I’ll be right back,’ she said, teasing him a little.
He knew she was trying to joke and lighten the moment and he tried giving her a smile before he rolled off her. But she could feel his emotions as he watched her walk to the door and knew he was still devastated about the whole situation.
When Cassie slipped back into the bedroom, he had his arm across his eyes, still miserable for what he had put her through. It was hardly fair for him to take all the responsibility; Aldebaran also had a lot to answer for. She eased into him very gently and he put his arms back around her as she tried to find the words to heal the moment. ‘Next time a big black blanket attacks me, can you at least get me back to the clouds before you stop and talk to me?’ she squeezed herself closer to him. ‘Also, maybe not talk to me until the next morning just in case.’ She kissed him around his neck. ‘Because there is so much more we can do to pass the time away while we’re waiting for the spell to break,’ she whispered, kissing his lips.