“You aren’t helping,” Dakota muttered.
“I am not trying to.” Argento rested his large hand on Dakota’s shoulder. “What you must remember is that you have her back now, and although it will take you time to get back the woman she was before, she will come back. That one has fight in her, and she will not give up.”
Dakota nodded. “Thank you.”
“We should go now, the others have already started walking back. We do not want to be anywhere around when they discover what we have done to their village and that we have taken your Anastasia back.”
Dakota followed Argento, and together they walked back towards the village with the group. He knew that he couldn’t have possibly known she was back in Terrenia. When he left her she had been in Seattle, but he knew that it would still eat at him every day. He should have at least tried to find her here. They should have torn through the Brute camps long before now.
She wouldn’t even look at him, he remembered. How could he blame her? It was his fault she had suffered with the traitor Brutes for nearly two months. Argento seemed sure that he would get back the Anastasia he loved, but he wasn’t so sure of it. He couldn’t blame her if she hated him for the rest of her life.
Tony carried Anastasia carefully, as if she might break, and honestly she was worried she would. The Fighters and Brutes that were with them surrounded her like a wall of protection as they made the journey back, and she finally felt safe. She wasn’t sure how the Brutes began working with her people, but she was grateful to them for helping free her.
Anastasia’s entire body felt bruised, her heart broken in a way she wasn’t sure she would recover from. Dakota hadn’t even looked at her. She couldn’t blame him, since she hadn’t been able to look at him either. Not after what the illusion had shown her. Even though she knew it now for what it was, giving up Dakota and their daughter had been the most difficult thing she had ever done in her life, and she knew she would hear the little girl’s cries in her head for a long time.
“Anastasia!” She heard Brady’s voice and looked up to see him walking next to Tony. “What happened to her?” he asked.
“The Brutes had her chained in a cellar.”
Brady shot an angry glare at one of the Brutes that walked near him.
“Don’t you dare disrespect Argento and his men. If it weren’t for them, not only would we have not found her, but on the off chance we had, we wouldn’t have been able to get her out of that cellar. She was chained with Brute metal.”
She saw the battle play out on Brady’s face until it softened. “I am grateful to them for that.”
“As we all are. Run ahead and have Elizabeth set up one of the beds in the medical cottage. She is injured badly.”
Anastasia moved slightly, and Tony held her closer.
“We are almost there, Anastasia, it is okay now. You are safe now.” She looked up at his face and saw the sadness that could only come from a father, blood or not. Tony had always been like a father figure to her, and she knew he loved her like a daughter. Would he still feel the same when she told him what she did to Mitch? Would he understand?
“Oh, Anastasia!” Elizabeth’s voice brought a small smile to her lips, and she turned her head to look at her. “Oh, honey, it will be okay. Tilly, grab some pain-management herbs. Oh, honey, you must be in so much pain.”
Her comment surprised Anastasia. She couldn’t feel anything. Her entire body was numb.
Tony laid her gently down on the bed and stepped back. Anastasia knew she must look pretty banged up, because the expression on his face showed pure anger. Tony, she knew, would bottle the anger, push it down until it threatened to burst out, and then he would use it in battle.
“I will step outside.”
“Dakota?” Elizabeth asked, wondering why her son hadn’t been the one to bring Anastasia in.
“He is fine, he’s talking with Argento.”
Elizabeth nodded, and once the door was closed, she removed Argento’s cape and stared down at Anastasia’s tattered undergarments.
“Oh my.” Tilly had been one of the women Anastasia had sent through the portal from Seattle. She was married to Robbie, and they had been the leaders of a small group of survivors.
“Anastasia,” Elizabeth said sadly.
“What is it?” she asked carefully, regretting the words. The adrenaline that had been holding the pain off was gone, and every movement and word felt like someone was twisting a dagger in her side.
“This is going to hurt, but I have to see how many are broken.”
“How many of what?”
“Ribs.”
Anastasia bit back a scream as Elizabeth started feeling on her side.
“Honey, I need you to stop moving. Tilly, go get Dakota.”
“No, not Dakota.”
“I need him. Believe me, I don’t want him seeing this any more than you do. He is the only man who has seen you this way.” She gestured down, and Anastasia knew she was talking about how little she was wearing. “Is that okay?”
Anastasia nodded and lay back, closing her eyes.
“What is it?” Dakota came bursting into the house with Tilly at his heels. “I'm going to kill the bastard.”
“Dakota, I need you to focus. I have to see how many ribs are broken and make sure there is nothing internal going on, but I need you to hold her still. Can you do that?”
Dakota nodded and walked over to Anastasia. As carefully as he could, he reached his arms around her and held on.
Six hours, four broken ribs, some internal bleeding, a broken arm, and multiple lacerations later, Elizabeth had finally finished.
“I don’t know how she is alive, Dakota. I'm glad she is, but I don’t know how. The pain alone should have put her in shock.”
“She is tough.” He sat and watched her sleep. The steady rise and fall of her chest was enough to put a bit of his pain to rest. The guilt of watching her was nearly overwhelming.
“Her magic would have helped keep the injuries from causing death. It helps her maintain a state of healing, although with injuries this severe, she wouldn’t have been able to heal herself completely,” Carmen added.
There was a knock at the door, and Argento came in with his healer.
“How is she?” he asked, approaching Ana’s sleeping form.
“They nearly killed her,” Dakota said simply.
“I don’t know how they kept her alive, even with her magic,” Elizabeth said, still shocked.
“The stasis would have helped as well.” The healer moved to stand next to her.
“How so?” Dakota asked.
“We use the stasis for those who are injured beyond healing as well, as a way to help them pass peacefully.”
“He was using it so she would die?”
“I do not believe so.” The healer placed his hand gently over her forehead and closed his eyes. “The stasis he used was much stronger than that. It wouldn’t have worked long with the amount of magic in her blood.”
“She is very powerful.” Carmen smiled proudly.
“That she is,” the healer agreed.
“Why don’t you all go and rest? I will sit with her until morning.” Carmen took a seat next to the fireplace, a book in her hand and a cup of what smelled suspiciously like coffee.
“I’m fine,” Dakota said, unmoving.
“Dakota, please don’t make me drug you again.” Elizabeth yawned and stood.
Argento let out a deep laugh. “Your mother drugged you?”
“Something she is quite proud of, I’m sure,” Dakota said sarcastically, a small smile playing at his lips.
“Dakota George, let’s go.” Elizabeth lightly slapped the back of his head, and he stood.
“You are just like some of the females in our world. They are strong and stubborn as well.”
“I will take that as a compliment.” Elizabeth smiled. “Let’s go. Thank you, Carmen.”
Carmen nodded and closed the door gently behind
them.
Anastasia opened her eyes and saw Carmen sitting by the fireplace.
“Am I dreaming?” she asked. The scene reminded her of when Carmen had visited her shortly after she had given herself over to her magic.
“No, not this time.” Carmen smiled and stood to walk towards her. “It is nice to finally meet you in person, Anastasia.”
“You told me not to give up. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think I would have been able to come back.”
“All I did was let you know that you weren’t alone. You brought yourself back. You and that boy Dakota, that is.” She winked at her and noticed the flash of pain that crossed Anastasia’s face. “I noticed you didn’t want to talk to him tonight. Why?” she asked, pushing a chair over closer to the bed.
Anastasia closed her eyes on a tear, and the little girl she had been given in the illusion flashed into her head.
“I don’t deserve him.”
“Because you went dark?” Carmen raised an eyebrow. “No,” she continued, “I sense it’s because of something else.”
“I murdered the man who I believed was my father until I met Gregory.”
“You protected yourself against a man who spent your entire childhood making you a victim. He would have killed you eventually, Anastasia, don’t doubt that for a second.”
“I liked the way it felt.” Tears began streaming down her face.
“You enjoyed not being a victim. It was the power, Anastasia, not you. The power has a way of changing people, it’s why most fear it. But you know all of this, so what is really bothering you?”
“In the stasis he put me in, Vincent created a whole new life. In it I was a writer, married to Dakota, and none of this had ever happened.” She sighed heavily and blinked the tears away again. “We had a daughter, her name was Annabelle.”
“After your mother.” Carmen nodded appreciatively. “Go on.”
“I gave her up, gave up my life with Dakota, and for what? To return here to this?”
“What you saw was fake, Anastasia. You had to come back. If you hadn’t, you would be dead and we would all be doomed.”
“I saw images while I was in the illusion, images of reality. The first was of the real me, the second of Gregory, and the last one was of the real Dakota. I heard him tell me to come back to him.”
“You love him.”
“I don’t deserve him.”
“Stop saying that, Anastasia. It’s not true, and the longer you believe that, the weaker you will be. You two need each other, it’s how you both keep moving forward even though the world is falling apart around you.” Carmen gently rearranged the pillow under Anastasia’s head and continued, “If you need time to move past this, that’s completely understandable, but explain to Dakota why you need it, because I imagine he thinks it’s his fault.”
“Why would he think that?”
“He is the reason you were captured.”
“He was dying.”
“He doesn’t see it that way. Without hesitation he would lay his life down for you, and the fact that you had to send him away and gave yourself up in the process has eaten at him every single day you were missing. Don’t make him wait for an explanation when he deserves better.” Carmen leaned forward and kissed Anastasia lightly on the forehead. “Get some rest now, you will need it.”
Carmen waved her hand in front of Anastasia’s face and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. She stood watching her for a moment and smiled. She looked so much like Annabelle, it was helping to ease some of the grief that weighed in her heart.
She was so grateful that Anastasia had such a wonderful man who she would share her life with. Dakota was a hell of a Fighter, and there was no higher honor she could bestow on him then her blessing, and he most certainly had that. She only hoped Anastasia would realize she was more than enough before it was too late for them both.
***
Anastasia slept for three days. Dakota checked on her every chance he got, and he hoped that once she woke up she would give him a chance to apologize for what had happened to her. Although he was so happy they had found her, he couldn’t shake the bad mood that was following him around.
“Dakota,” Brady said as he passed by. Ever since they had brought the Brutes into their village, Brady was getting more and more irritable. He had lost the boyish grin that he had once worn, and now looked to be in even more of a bad mood than Dakota himself was in.
“Brady, how are you doing? How are your mom and your sister?”
“They are fine.” He continued walking and didn’t spare a single glance back.
“I think we need to keep an eye on Brady,” Dakota said to Tony later that evening.
“I agree. He is becoming more and more volatile, although I’m not sure why.”
“I get why he is untrusting of the Brute race, but Argento has given him no reason not to trust him and his followers.”
As they were speaking, Brady passed by a group of villagers who were laughing with some of the Brutes. They watched as he gave them a disgusted look and headed towards the fence by himself.
“What is he up to?” Tony asked as they watched him leave. “No one is supposed to be leaving unaccompanied. It’s not safe.”
“Shall we find out?” Dakota asked, and stood from the bench he had been sitting on.
They exited the gate after him and walked towards the woods. When they heard the scream, they broke into a run. They came up on a clearing where they saw Brady standing over one of Argento’s men. The Brute was on the ground breathing heavily, and they saw a wound in his side.
“Brady!” Tony disarmed him and had him on the ground before Dakota had even registered the scene.
Noelle, one of the women who had been held captive by Vincent’s Brutes, was kneeling next to the large beast.
“He attacked Griffith!”
“Because he was attacking you!” Brady screamed, and lunged towards the Brute again.
“He was not!” Noelle yelled back. “We were out here together. It was consensual!” Her cheeks were flushed, and Dakota realized he had been so caught off guard by the attack that he failed to notice the other signs. Her dress was wrinkled, one of the shoulders down on her arm.
“I confided in you, Brady!” she yelled at him.
“You’re an abomination,” he whispered. “He is a monster!”
“Brady, you had better shut your mouth or I will shut it for you,” Tony warned him.
“So you’re sticking up for them too? What’s next? Half-beast babies running around? Disgusting!” Before anyone could react, Brady pulled out a small dagger and thrust it into Tony’s side.
“Tony!” Dakota yelled, lunging for him, but Brady disappeared into the woods.
“Son of a bitch!” Tony yelled.
“What is going on?” Argento, two Brutes, and a handful of Fighters burst into the clearing.
“Brady,” Tony said through gritted teeth. “You need to get Griffith to your healer. He has been stabbed with a platinum-coated blade.”
Argento nodded to the two Brutes at his side and they lifted Griffith, carrying him off towards the village. Noelle followed closely, holding his hand.
“You need your healer as well,” Argento said to Tony.
“You’re probably right.” He lifted his hand, and Dakota saw the amount of blood that had collected. Tony’s knees buckled, and Argento caught him before he hit the ground.
“Tony!” Elizabeth screamed when she saw Argento carrying him in.
“He has lost a lot of blood,” Dakota said as Argento set him down.
“Who did this?” Selena asked worriedly.
Dakota looked at her sadly, and he saw the worry in her eyes.
“Brady,” he said softly.
Selena gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh no. I'm so sorry, Dakota. I should have told someone. I should have said something.” Tears began rolling down her face. “And poor Griffith. Argento, I'm so sorry he got hurt.”
>
“It is not your doing, Selena, you have been nothing but kind to my men and me since we arrived in your village.”
“What do you mean, you should have said something?” Dakota asked, the detective he couldn’t leave behind emerging.
“Brady has been acting so strange lately. I’ve been hearing him talking to someone at night, but when I go in his room, no one is there. He has been distant, and a few times I have asked him to watch Sarah, I have come home and she is there alone.”
“Did he say anything about Griffith or Noelle?”
“Not about Griffith. He and Noelle became friends since she came here, and I think he had a bit of a crush on her.”
Dakota looked at Noelle, who still stood by Griffith’s side. “Did you tell Brady about Griffith?”
“Yes, I told him that I was in love with him. He was the one who rescued me, and ever since then I began to develop feelings for him. I know it’s unusual, but I can’t help it.” She smiled down at the Brute, tears in her eyes. “I confided in Brady as my friend; I didn’t know he felt anything else for me.” She looked pleadingly at Selena.
“It is not your fault, Noelle,” she said sadly. “Where is Brady now?”
“He ran into the woods. Some of the Fighters went after him.”
“Please don’t hurt him,” she pleaded to Dakota and Argento. “Something is wrong. He is not acting like himself.”
“My men and I will not harm your son, Selena, but I do believe it is important he is found and held so we can determine what is going on.”
“It’s Vincent.” Anastasia’s voice was so small, Dakota barely heard it. He turned quickly and saw her standing in the doorway to the room she had been sleeping in. She was leaning against it, the bruises on her face yellowing. “Somehow he is getting to Brady. He projected himself to me when we were in Seattle, in your house,” she said to Dakota, looking away quickly. “It’s how I knew where to find you.” Her legs got shaky, and Dakota saw the exhaustion in her face. He went to her and wrapped his arm around her waist to take some of the pressure.
The Fighter (Prophecy Series Book 2) Page 5