by Aliyah Burke
He frowned. That place was supposed to be deeply hidden away. A sanctuary of sorts, for Lian to go to. “How did you find it?”
“Like I told Lian, I followed the path.”
He shook his head. “There’s no path to it.”
She paused in placing turkey on her sandwich. “Uh, yeah, there was. I followed it down to there.” She reached for the cheese. “So I was there and I had a discussion with…”
Even with his hearing, he couldn’t make out what she mumbled. “With who?”
“A woman. Or female creature. I know she wasn’t human.”
Unease skated up his spine. “What do you mean?”
She clamped her mouth shut and shrugged.
He stood and went to her side of the island. Gripping her upper arm, he turned her toward him. “Tell me how you know she wasn’t human.”
“I don’t know, I guess it was the red eyes, or the shape shifting into that snakey-dragony thing. Flying away. Who knows. A whole compilation of it all. Oh, then there is that bit of where she jerked me across the meadow area with a wave of a hand.”
Fear lanced him. “Did…did she give you her name?”
“Yes.” She put some tomatoes on the sandwich and placed the top as well. With a knife, she cut it deftly into two pieces.
He brought her back to look at him. “Name.”
“Watch the tone, Tiarnán.”
He snapped his teeth at her and she rolled her eyes. Guess she truly isn’t scared of me. “Calida.”
“Tiarnán.” Her tone was as dark and angry as his. He clenched his jaw and she heaved a sigh. “Fine. She said her name was Cheza.”
Power flowed through him and he felt his weapons shifting into battle positions. He dropped her arm and adopted his stance for fighting. “Cheza?”
“Yes.” She ate a bite of the sandwich she’d made.
“Did Lian see her?”
Calida nodded as she continued to chew and eat her food. He didn’t move until after she took a drink. “Aren’t you eating?”
Fury raced through him and he struggled to not lose control. He clamped his jaw to keep his mouth shut on the tirade that raced to escape. How could Lian not have alerted him the moment—the very moment—he realized who was near Calida? Especially when it dealt with one of Them.
“Lian!”
“Something bothering you, Tiarnán?”
“Why did you not alert me the second you knew Cheza was near her?”
“I believe you are misunderstanding who of us is the elder.”
The reprimand fell clear as day. He flexed his fingers as if he had actual claws that he longed to tear into something. “You risked her safety—”
“Am I suddenly incapable of protecting someone?”
He could see him, as if Lian stood immediately before him—expression an unreadable mask. Didn’t matter, he could sense the displeasure and disappointment coming from his mentor and the only man he would view as a father.
“No. Not at all.”
“Tiarnán? Is everything okay?”
He blinked and saw Calida standing before the sink, wiping her hands off on a towel. Wait, she’d finished eating?
“You’re done?”
She watched him skeptically. “You’ve been staring off into space for a while. That fog thing rising up from your shoulders. Then there was your expression and I figured it best to mind my own and just eat. So I did…right up until I saw you appear sad. Then I asked my question.”
“Tell me everything.”
Calida hung the towel over the bar and walked toward him. He couldn’t help admiring her naturally seductive stride as she neared. She stopped just out of his reach and glared at him, fists propped on shapely hips.
“I told you. Just because you may not like what you heard doesn’t mean there’s more.”
“There has to be more, Calida. That area isn’t supposed to be easily accessible, it’s his own private area to go when he needs to get away and feel closer to Lana. No way there’s a path to it. I’ve lived here for nearly fifteen years, it’s fair to say I know my way around, and there isn’t a path.”
Her face scrunched up in confusion. He nearly groaned when her tongue snuck out to dampen her lips before she sat near him, arms resting upon the island. Remember how it was when you chastised Cale for being too focused on his woman to pay attention? Now you know how it feels. He slammed the door shut on his subconscious, not needing the reminder.
“I don’t know what to tell you. There was one and I followed it.”
“And?” He turned on the stool and reached for his sandwich. He chewed a bite and waited for her to respond.
“And what? I told you what happened.” She shifted on the seat and he knew she was keeping something from him.
“What did the two of you talk about?”
She blinked at him. “Me and Lian? Mostly Lana and how I remind him of her.” She gave a sad smile. “He loved her so much, didn’t he?”
“More than anything. Not a day goes by that he hasn’t thought about her.”
“And he never…” She gave a shrug and scrunched up her face. “Even thought about being with another woman?”
“No. Lana was the one for him. His true love.”
“I’m sorry I remind him of her then. It must be hard for him to see me, and then I went and invaded his personal place he shares his memories with.” She dropped her head into her hands. “I have to leave.”
“Not a chance. It is an honor for you to remind him of her. To hear him say it, she had no equal.”
“How did she die?”
Tiarnán placed his sandwich down. “Sacrificed herself for him.” He drummed his fingers on the countertop. “I don’t know all the details, and I only know that because I overheard him talking to her picture about it.”
He slid his gaze back to Calida and was shocked to see her wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “You’re crying.”
“Of course I am,” she retorted. “You just told me this story of such a powerful love between two people and how one sacrificed herself for the other. Why wouldn’t I be crying?”
He didn’t know how to respond so he picked up the rest of his sandwich and ate it. Calida sniffed and went to grab a tissue before swiping a bottle of juice from the fridge. He stretched out one leg, his cowboy boot slipping along the tile floor as he did. He’d not thought about it that way. But then he rarely showed emotion, according to the others. Until now. Since his life had intertwined with Calida’s, they had been commenting on how he talked and smiled more. As Billy put it, she’d cracked the shell surrounding his unflappable reserve.
“You’re not going to tell me anymore about what happened, are you?”
Her gaze turned sharp. “No.”
“Are you tired?”
“No.” She canted her head to the side. “Why?”
“Take me to this path.”
“Okay.”
He’d not expected her to be so confident about finding it again, nor so willing to go along with this. Sandwich finished, he put his dish in its proper place and cleaned up after himself. Ensuring the kitchen was clean, he held out a hand for her, feeling the strong pulse of her heart when she accepted.
Together they made their way outside and she released his hand. He wanted to argue, but if she was to lead, he knew it would be easier for her this way. She struck out with conviction and he followed. They passed the way to the stable and when she entered the woods, he frowned.
How is she traversing this so well? He lengthened his stride, taking care to step over the numerous roots and other obstacles she moved by as if they weren’t even there. Hell, the way she was going, it was like she was running across a manicured lawn.
“Calida?”
“What?” She didn’t slow.
“How do you know where to go so well?”
That stopped her and she spun to face him in the moonlight that peeked softly through the canopy.
“What do you mean? I
’m on the path.”
He took a second glance down to make sure before he spoke. “What path?”
She blew out a breath and he knew she was exasperated. “The one we’re on.” She gestured. “Wide, smooth. Easy to traverse.”
He shook his head. Who the hell is she? “Calida, I don’t see anything but forest floor beneath my feet.”
Was the man insane? Hot as all get-out but, seriously? How could he not see it? Unease danced along her spine and she shivered. “Forest floor?” she mumbled his statement back to him.
“Yes. I’m wondering how you’re moving over it all so swiftly. I’m using my tiger for assistance but you don’t have that to rely on.”
Okay, so she may be close to freaking out. “I’m telling you, Tiarnán, I see a wide path, well-manicured.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “About three people could walk side by side on it. There are no rocks, tree roots or anything like that in the way. It’s perfectly smooth. Only the undulations in the terrain change.”
“I don’t see that.”
“Had it not been like this, I wouldn’t have followed it. I wanted to go outside but I had no intention of hiking, at night. Not in my condition.”
“I don’t understand.”
She reached out and grabbed his forearm. “I’m not lying, Tiarnán.”
“I never said—” Pinpricks of flame burst up from where they touched and skated up along both of their arms. “Fuck me.”
She went to release him at his comment, but he rotated his hand around and clamped down, ensuring they stayed connected.
“What?”
“I see it, what you were talking about. Everything has a red tint to it, but I see it. The path.”
Wonderment filled her. “So what do we do now?”
“Keep walking.”
He kept them touching as she faced forward again and continued on her way. Beside her, Tiarnán nearly vibrated with tension but he didn’t speak for the rest of the way. When they entered the opening to the place that held Lana’s statue, she looked up at him again. There were small droplets of flame hanging from the ends of some hair strands as well as his clothing and skin.
She waited for him to decide what was going to happen next. Eventually he let her go and the flames faded. He looked around, everywhere including up at the sky before his gaze settled upon her.
“Do you have some sort of psychic gift?” he asked.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Unbelievable,” he uttered. “As soon as we touched I could see the path as you described it.”
She rubbed her arms and went to sit on the nearest bench. The canopy here wasn’t as thick so more of the moon’s silver rays penetrated through to them. She watched Tiarnán move, so much like the animal who’d marked him. The tiger. Coiled power in every step and the way the shadows reached out and embraced him, as a lover would. He nearly vanished from sight before reappearing in a different place.
“What does that mean?”
He stopped and stared at her, raking a hand through his black locks. “I haven’t any damn clue.”
She exhaled loudly. At least he wasn’t lying to her. Suddenly she felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She couldn’t remind Lian of his Lana. She didn’t have the strength to do this.
“You don’t know what strength you have, child. Only if you give up are you weak.”
She bolted up at the husky voice in her mind. “What?”
Tiarnán turned to her, eyebrow raised. “What, what?”
“You didn’t hear that?”
Immediately he became more alert. “Hear what?”
“That woman who spoke.”
She shook her head, sank back to the stone bench, and wanted to curl up into herself. This wasn’t what she wanted to experience. Her world had changed so dramatically in the time since she’d met Tiarnán. She truly didn’t believe she was strong enough for this, or to have a voice that appeared in her head.
His large body settled beside her and he turned her into his chest. “What voice, and what woman are you talking about?”
“I don’t know,” she wailed, burrowing her head deep in her hands. “I just heard a woman’s voice in my head. I’m done, I need to sleep.”
“Calida,” he implored.
“No,” she said, slurring the word. “I…I need to sleep.” Everything about her felt heavy, like there were weights tugging on each limb. Heavy ones. She didn’t understand why now, suddenly, she was so tired. All she knew was she was exhausted.
He swept her up in his arms and stood before walking toward the entrance. She stirred until he tightened his hold on her. “I’m carrying you.” His words brooked no room for argument.
“Can you see?”
“I can. I’m touching you.”
Yes. Yes he was. She opened her eyes and immediately noticed the flames alighting their skin. “Do you think those after you and the artifact can see these?”
“Yes, if they’re near enough.”
“Makes it dangerous to touch then, right?”
“Guess it has to be worth the risk.”
She chuckled and snuggled closer. “Is that so?”
“What did the woman say to you?”
“Let it go, Tiarnán. I’m exhausted, I’m sure I was hearing things.”
He stopped and said, “Look at me.”
She lifted her gaze and focused on his, which she could see courtesy of the pinpricks of flame. “Yes?”
“I know when you’re lying to me.”
She swallowed. “Okay, and?”
“I don’t like being lied to.”
“Me either.”
“I haven’t lied to you.” He sounded offended.
Something surged through her and she was filled with this need to go a different direction. She sat up more in his arms and peered off in the way she wanted to go. Another path.
“Do you see that path over there, leading off to the left?”
He didn’t even move his head, just gazed askew. “Yes. Was that there before?”
“I don’t remember it. I need to go there.”
He tensed.
“I have to go, Tiarnán.” She struggled to get down and he released her to the ground but retained a hold on her hand.
She didn’t mind, it was oddly comforting to have his touch in hers. Okay, so perhaps not so odd. She wasn’t stupid, the man was his own army, and she knew he would protect her.
“If there’s danger, listen.”
She nodded and headed off that way. His large, intimidating presence beside her as they made their way down the new path. Slanting her gaze to the left, she noticed the hilt of a blade in his hand, mostly hidden yet ready to be thrown. Or used in any of the other ways she knew he could. She flexed her hand—the one he held—and he gave her an encouraging squeeze.
Despite the need to be there, she couldn’t shake the fear this brought her. She would have been fine had it been something Tiarnán had been able to see without her touch acting as a conduit for him to be able to experience it as well. However, since it wasn’t, she was nervous and scared.
Tiarnán didn’t push her to walk his pace. He allowed her to go at her own. She appreciated that. As with Lana’s place, there was a large opening, well-groomed and welcoming. She saw beams of moonlight streaming down to the ground in there.
Calida paused before passing through, Tiarnán at her side. She gazed around—it was nearly identical to the other area, merely without the fountain or benches. The feeling nagged at her. She was missing something.
“See something?” he asked.
“No, but I know I’m missing something. I feel it.”
He didn’t comment. They strolled, again with her leading and setting the pace, before she eventually took them to the middle of the area. The moon glinted off an item upon the ground. She knelt and reached for it.
Tiarnán halted her, his large hand capturing her wrist. “Let me.”
She pulled her h
and back and waited for him to check it out.
He touched it with long, tanned fingers. “I don’t think it’s anything other than a blade of grass. It won’t come up when I pull on it.”
Calida couldn’t even begin to say what prompted her to do what she did. She reached out and touched the tip of her index finger to the shiny blade that had first caught her eye in the moonbeams. Like ink staining cloth, the color spread. No, not ink. More like a silk cloth billowing out to settle upon the ground.
Tiarnán snaked an arm around her and leaped away with the ease she’d come to greatly admire about him, with a sword in his hand. “Fuck!” he bit off.
Her heart pounded and she watched as the shimmering gray silky stuff flatten to a glass-like smoothness, creating a small pond.
“Tell me you see what I’m looking at.” She gripped his forearm around her midsection.
“A body of water?”
She tipped her head briefly. “Either that or mercury. That’s how it moved, fluid, as mercury does.”
“Yeah, I see it.”
Somehow that didn’t really settle her nerves as she’d hoped. Along the far side, the water—if she could call it that—rose up and created a seat. At least that’s what it looked like. However, it still appeared as if it were liquid, with the substance continually moving, just never losing shape.
“It’s like a tree trunk chair, only grayish-silver.” Untangling her body from his, she waited for him to squeeze her hand then approached.
“Careful,” he muttered.
“I’ll be fine.” The words flew easily from her mouth and she felt confident they were true. Why? She hadn’t a single flipping clue. “Like I said, it’s like a tree stump.”
“No tree stumps I know are that color, nor do they move like flowing water. And they don’t have arms.”
This stump chair did. She reached out to touch it and it was cool beneath her fingertips. Smooth and not moving at all. “It reminds me of a smooth table top that’s been shellacked by a few coats of lacquer. Hard. Firm. Not at all like anything is moving beneath my fingers.” She inched closer. “Look at this, Tiarnán.”
“What?” He bent in close, his scent filling her nostrils and nearly sidetracking her with sexual thoughts.
“A bunch of symbols, here along the sides and the arms.”