Mending the Rift

by Shea Balik

  But he could feel Logan’s head just barely move from side to side. “You know that’s not true.”

  Brandr did. He also knew he didn’t want this for Logan. The toll his magic took on his body to physically heal others was bad enough. Brandr didn’t even want to think what it would be like for him to mentally and emotionally heal Kyleigh.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Brandr whispered.

  Logan held onto him tighter before releasing him and taking a step back. “Yes, I do.”

  That was Logan. Whether his fated one understood it or not, Logan put everyone ahead of himself. It was why Brandr was so adamant about him getting enough food and rest. Someone had to take care of Logan, and Brandr was more than happy to be that one.

  “What do you need from me?” Brandr asked, knowing he was never going to be able to talk Logan out of doing this.

  The tension that had been keeping Logan’s body rigid moments before, relaxed. Telling Brandr, he’d already done the most important thing – standing by Logan’s decision. Those azure eyes brightened just a bit as Logan met his gaze. “It’s better when you’re touching me,” Logan told him.

  Then his head bowed and he seemed to study the floor. “Do you think…?” Logan let out a sigh. “I mean, would you mind…?”

  Brandr cupped Logan’s face with both of his hands and leaned in until their lips just barely touched. “I will be there the whole time,” he vowed as he sealed their mouths together.

  The kiss started out sweet and reassuring, but something within Brandr, and Logan, too, based on his response, needed so much more. Sweeping his tongue across that lush bottom lip caused Logan to let out a soft moan, giving Brandr access into his sweet mouth.

  All the flavors that he had come to know as pure Logan burst across Brandr’s tongue, leaving him wanting to delve deeper.

  “Leave me alone,” Kyleigh’s voice croaked out as loud as she could, destroying the moment between Logan and Brandr.

  It was probably a good thing. As much as he wished to take the man upstairs to his bedroom, this wasn’t the time. Then again, it never was. There were too many things happening all around them to find more than a few stolen moments together each day.

  “Soon,” Logan whispered against his lips. “We’ll find the time soon,” he promised even though Brandr hadn’t voiced his wish.

  One more hard kiss was placed against his lips before Logan stepped back as if needing the distance to reorient himself with what he was about to do. Azure eyes looked right at him. “You won’t leave, right?”

  Brandr leaned back in close. His pressed his forehead to Logan’s so the only thing they could see was each other. “Never,” he vowed. And that was one promise he would always keep.

  Hand in hand they walked into the training room where Brandr had put Kyleigh. Cullen and Ulf huddled close to the girl, while Eirik, Ryley, Oluf, and Mingus stood nearby. All had tears running down their faces.

  When no one had noticed them enter, Brandr gently cleared his throat. Heads swiveled until every eye was on them, including Kyleigh, who glared right at Logan.

  “You weren’t supposed to come after me.” The venom she directed at Logan had Brandr wanting to talk Logan out of what he was about to do.

  But it wouldn’t have done any good. Logan believed himself weak willed, but Brandr knew differently. There was no one in this house with a stronger will then his fated one.

  “Get him out of here,” Kyleigh demanded.

  Maybe because he was so focused on protecting Logan, it had him watching every nuance of Kyleigh’s expression in case she tried to hurt him, that he noticed it. Fear. Raw, unrelenting fear in her eyes.

  “Logan, I think maybe you shouldn’t…” Eirik started but Logan stopped him.

  “I know this sounds odd.” Logan kept his gaze focused on Cullen and no one else. “But I think I can help.” Then he shook his head as his gaze went to Kyleigh for a brief moment before returning to Cullen. “I know I can. I wish I could tell you how, but I honestly don’t know.”

  “No,” Kyleigh tried hard to pull herself as far from Logan as possible, but with only a two foot chain, there wasn’t anywhere she could go. The panic in her voice pulled Cullen’s gaze to her as he watched her for several moments struggle hard against her bonds with no success.

  When Cullen looked back at Logan, he nodded in ascent. “What do you need from us?” Cullen asked.

  Logan squeezed Brandr’s hand as if reassuring himself that Brandr had kept his promise and was right beside him. “I don’t think anything. Just…” Those azure eyes strayed over to Kyleigh. “Don’t interfere.”

  “Are you sure about this, trouble?” Ulf murmured to Cullen. “I mean, she clearly doesn’t want Logan anywhere near her.”

  Cullen leaned his head against his partner’s shoulder. “That’s why I think Logan might be right.”

  Once the pair moved away from Kyleigh, but remained close enough just in case they were needed, Logan, with Brandr right there beside him, sat down next to her. Instantly, she lashed out with what remained of her broken and torn nails.

  She’d nearly succeeded in scratching Logan’s face, but Brandr had much quicker reflexes from years of fighting and training. Grabbing her hands in one of his, he reached around behind her and shortened up the chains, giving her no room to move, much less hurt Logan.

  Then Brandr released her and scooted behind Logan, so his chest was against Logan’s back. He hoped this would give his fated one the comfort and support he needed, without getting in the way.

  Kyleigh continued to scream and yell obscenities at Logan, but Logan didn’t let it faze him in the slightest as he reached out and grabbed onto Kyleigh’s wrists. Several things happened all at once.

  First, Kyleigh’s struggling increased to the point that she was kicking and even trying to bite Logan. Cullen, Ulf, and Eirik rushed forward and held onto her, not giving her even an inch of movement. Not that it stopped her from trying.

  But it was the change in Logan that had Brandr wrapping his arms around his fated one’s body, blanketing him with his own body. Physically Logan was there, secure in Brandr’s embrace, but another part of him was gone.

  Or, not gone, but not exactly there either. It left Brandr wanting to pick Logan up and kiss him until he could feel all of him again. It was killing him to let Logan do what he needed to do.

  Breathing in slowly, Brandr tried his best to trust Logan, which he did. He just wished it wasn’t so damn hard to sit there and do nothing while Logan risked his life to help Kyleigh.

  This time, Brandr was fairly sure, he wasn’t exaggerating. He didn’t think Kyleigh could actually cause Logan any harm, but the Fae’s enthrallment over her might. He may not be entirely certain of that, but his gut was telling him so, and Brandr had learned at a young age to trust his instincts.

  CHAPTER 14

  Taking a deep breath, Logan concentrated on the feel of Brandr’s body pressed against his when he reached forward and wrapped his hands around Kyleigh’s wrists, just above the handcuffs. Energy flowed through his body, streaming through his veins and skin as it seeped into Kyleigh’s body.

  Like a snake, it twisted throughout her body, seeking out the injury. When he healed the physical wounds of others, Logan could feel the torn flesh and tissue. His magic would actually manipulate the cells to bind the ragged edges together until no damage was detected.

  But that wasn’t the case with Kyleigh. For when there was reparation needed, the body would instinctively try to make repairs and his magic would follow the path of blood and other cells heading that way. Yet with Kyleigh, Logan couldn’t detect a problem.

  Then he felt the pounding. It rhythmically beat like a drum, yet was completely off key with the heart that was also sending out thumps of its own. The steady throbbing vibrated along their connection, easily felt, which was good, since there was no way he would have heard it over Kyleigh’s screeching.

  Her protests increased as he made his wa
y along her arteries, pushing up through her body and past her heart. He knew exactly where he was as he continued to thread his way upward into her neck.

  His fingers pushed harder against her wrists as her body arched away from him. Shouts were ringing in his ears about keeping her steady. Brandr’s voice ordered someone to get behind Kyleigh. Ignoring all that, Logan pushed onward.

  Just as he surged to the upper portion of her neck, he saw it. A door.

  Tendrils of thorny vines started to creep along its surface, warning him away. With each of Kyleigh’s screams, another vein would grow and thicken. He rushed forward, but Logan knew it would do no good. Vines or no, the door was locked.

  He tried to shove against it, ignoring the stings as the thorns scratched his shoulder and arm. It was like hitting a block of concrete. There was no way through it. Not like this.

  Refusing to back away, he had to pray he would be able to communicate with Brandr. Something needed to be done. Kyleigh knew he was there and was doing whatever it took to protect herself.

  That’s when he heard it. Kyleigh’s screaming. Except, it wasn’t the earsplitting raw voiced ones that she was shrieking out like a banshee. This was different. For one, he wasn’t hearing the sound in his ears. It was more like the banging that was still giving off its steady beat.

  He stepped closer to the door, not touching it, but leaning his head to listen. There it was, bang, bang, bang, the drumbeat he’d been following. But then there was a pause followed by a cry for help in a voice that sounded like Kyleigh.

  “Kyleigh,” Logan yelled. “Is that you?”

  “Help,” the voice said again. “I can’t get out.”

  The volume outside his body increased as Kyleigh’s screeching became even more pronounced, like she was trying to stop him from hearing the voice behind the door. Except, even though he could ‘hear’ the call for help behind the door, it wasn’t the same. It was more like she was speaking directly into his brain.

  “Is there a lock or anything on your side of the door?” Logan yelled back to her.

  There was only a second’s hesitation as if she were double checking what she already probably knew. “No. But there’s a bunch of very sharp vines covering the whole thing.”

  Logan’s arm ached as if it had nearly been yanked out of its socket. Physical Kyleigh was fighting him for all she was worth. An amazing feat, since he was fairly sure the men who loved her were holding her down.

  “Can’t you stop fighting and let me in?” Logan asked her. If she was there, behind the door, trying to get out, why would she also try to keep him from her? It made no sense.

  “Not me,” the voice said in a huff. “I’ve been locked in here since that first week I went to that bitch, Rowan’s. She literally handed me to Omri before I even knew what was happening.”

  Logan wasn’t sure if that unraveled his confusion or made it worse. He got why the Kyleigh, who’s wrists he was holding, was fighting him and the one behind the door was trying to get out, but then who had invaded his dreams? It didn’t make sense that the enthralled Kyleigh would. Yet, she had told him not to come for her.

  “Was that you, who came to my dreams?” he called out as he tried to figure a way to communicate with Brandr and the others without having to leave.

  He swore he could hear her eyes roll, which was impossible since that didn’t make a sound. It had to be his magic. Even though he couldn’t get to her, he could feel all of her, even her eye roll, apparently.

  “I’d been trying to reach out to anyone in the house, but every time I got near anyone I knew, it was like I was thrown out and landed back inside a cell.” He could hear her throw herself against the door in another attempt to break free.

  There was something not right about the story though. “How were able to get out in the first place?”

  “I’ve been locked in a cage since the day Omri showed up,” Kyleigh told him. “Then, suddenly, Omri’s oppressive presence was no longer there and in time I was able to pick the lock.”

  “Wait a minute.” Again, Logan’s brain was reeling with too much information as he rushed to sort through his options on how to fix this. “You said there was no lock.”

  “That’s because, until the moment your hands grabbed mine, this door wasn’t here. I had been in a cage.” If what Kyleigh said was right, then somehow it was the enthrallment that was reacting to Logan, putting up safeguards, even though Omri was on the other side of the Veil.

  But how to undo what was being done?

  “Each time I tried to break free and contact someone, the locks became harder to pick. The last time, when I was able to invade your dreams, the lock was gone, as was the hinged door,” she said. “It was replaced with nothing but another side of bars. There would have been no way out.”

  “Why me?” he asked. “You don’t even know me, so how would have known to come to me for help.”

  “It took me a few times to realize that anytime I tried to get near the ones I loved, the spell would yank me back into the cage before I could get close enough to ask for help.” There was a soft sigh on the other side of the door. “It seemed logical that I would need to ask for help from someone else and, well, you were there.”

  “How did you ‘pick’ a lock that was all in your mind?” Logan asked as he stared at the door and the vines that seemed to be getting thicker with every second.

  “It was made of magic,” she said. “I was able to see what was holding it together and unravel it, which would pop open the lock.”

  Logan stared at the door for several moments. “Can you see the magic of the door?”

  Kyleigh made a frustrated noise and it sounded as if she might have kicked the door. “No. The walls of the cage disappeared the moment you touched me, to be replaced with what, I assume, is concrete. But I don’t see a way out. Well, other than the door, but no matter what I do, I can’t find a way to open it.”

  Another voice whispered in his ear. This time it was his physical ear and he swore the voice was that of Tess. “The door is not really there.”

  Logan frowned at the words, for it was very much there. Sure, it may be a manifestation in Kyleigh’s mind…

  Everything stilled within him. The enthrallment worked by controlling Kyleigh’s mind. The question was, did it do all this because it knew Logan was there, or was it only manipulating things based on Kyleigh’s fears?

  “I’m going to work on it on this end, but I need you to do the same,” Logan called out.

  “I told you, I already tried and it didn’t work,” Kyleigh’s voice was agitated, which might work in his favor.

  Anger tended to make people irrational and lash out. Just as Logan had done to Brandr when he admitted he wanted more time with Brandr.

  “Really?” he called to her as he placed his hands right over the door and vines. Thorns pricked into his skin, but he refused to back away as he pushed his magic into the surface. “Because I think this door, as well as the cage, and even the fact that you couldn’t reach those you loved, has to do with you.”

  He closed his eyes and let the energy flow around him. A crack along the floor let tendrils of his magic into that closed off room. Gently, he probed along the floor until he found Kyleigh huddled in the corner of the room. He could feel her despair as she glared at the door, most likely imagining him on the other side.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyleigh yelled at him.

  “Really? Because according to the people who love you, you’ve been hurting since you lost your parents.” Logan wrapped his energy around her, offering comfort, while other tendrils started to probe both the inside and the outside of the box.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled as if pouting.

  If only that were true. “Actually, I do. So do pretty much everyone who loves you.”

  There. Logan could feel it. It was like a thorn, but not from the vine. It was stuck inside her brain, pushing on something and cau
sing the entire area to be red and inflamed.

  He knew it wasn’t real, but to Kyleigh it felt real. Releasing more of his magic, Logan surrounded the thorn and gently tried to free it. But the physical Kyleigh and the one locked behind that door, screamed out for him to stop.

  It was like being inside the speakers of a stereo as his eardrums throbbed in agony at the too loud sound. It hurt like hell. Just as he was about to back off to protect his ears, he felt a warm breath brush along his ear.

  “I’ve got you, my fated one.” Brandr’s voice was like a calming balm to his overwrought eardrums. “You are mine, love,” that deep voice said. “As soon as you let me, I’m going to claim you as mine, so that I can have all of eternity to show you how much I love you.”

  Love me?

  Peace flowed within Logan. Brandr loved him. Him.

  All around him, he could feel the man’s strength feeding Logan the energy he needed to do the impossible. Pushing his magic once more at the inflamed area, Logan called out to Kyleigh. “I watched my family die in front of me almost a year ago. All I could do was stand there repeating that stupid ritual as they were shredded by those sick monsters.

  “At the same moment the Veil closed, my father had managed to kill the last of Unseelie’s pets. I never got to say goodbye or tell them I loved them.” Logan felt tears running down his face, both in Kyleigh’s head and on his physical body.

  Warm fingers brushed them off his cheek as more of Brandr’s love poured into him. “I was so damn scared I didn’t even bury them before running as fast as I could.”

  “I yelled at my parents just before the Veil opened. I’d begged them to let me go somewhere safe but they had insisted I stay.” Kyleigh let out a choked sob. “I told them I hated them,” she screamed for all she was worth.

  The thorn moved backward by the tiniest bit, but it moved.

  “I still hate them,” she screamed again. “How could they make me stay when we were destined to die?”