It was almost cold outside, but I ignored it and made a beeline for my goal. There were no shoes or discarded clothes on the sand as I approached, and I felt a swelling of relief and something else when I recognized Linden. Even with his back to me, I knew it was him. He might have heard me already, but I approached slowly. I stared at his slightly hunched shoulders and the way his head hung towards the water. He wasn’t wearing anything and the water leveled out at his navel after each wave.
I sat next to him, not caring that my pajamas were getting soaked. He looked no different as he stared at the water and I was relieved to see his muscles weren’t in a constant tremor under his skin.
“Rhys told me everything,” I said quietly. I could barely hear my voice over the waves, but I was sure he could.
Linden lifted his head slightly and parted his lips to speak. He didn’t say anything for a long time. “So are you leaving then?”
“No,” I said, louder this time. I reached out and moved his hair away from the side of his face. “No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.”
“Riley, you don’t have to—”
“Linden, listen to me!” I jerked his arm towards me, surprised at how limply he moved. “I’m staying, and you can’t say or do anything that’s going to make me leave. Are you listening? Nothing can make me leave now.”
He shook his head very slowly, his body shifting with the next wave. “What if I hurt you?” he barely mumbled. “I could. Easily. This thing is insane …”
“You couldn’t. Why? I—I’m in love with you.”
His eyes darted up from the water to my face. He looked like he didn’t believe it.
“I don’t know when,” I went on, hating his silence. “Maybe when you showed me Rhys’ garden on the roof or when you said you always knew I was a witch. I wouldn’t have hid my aura and rode in your trunk if I didn’t.”
He was still only looking at me. Now his eyes stood out almost too bright from his face, the gold picking up silver light from the sky. This was unnerving, and I looked away, about to stand up. His hand lashed out from the water and gripped my wrist tightly.
“Since the swamp,” he said. “The very first time.”
That was all I needed to hear. I waivered every warning I had heard before and fell against him, tasting salt on his lips. He buried his hands in my hair and held me to him so I could barely move.
To think I loved him was one thing, to say it was another, and to hear him say he felt the same was so unreal, I thought I might snap out of it at any second. But the cold water and his warm body kept me in check, and I never wanted to go back.
CONFRONTATION
I awoke early the next morning as Linden sat up, moving the bed slightly. I turned to look at him, noticing he still looked as sick as the day before if not a little worse.
“I need to go to the other room,” he whispered. He was almost still half asleep.
I nodded and reached up to touch his face. “Okay. See you later?”
He mumbled a reply and bent down to kiss me before he stumbled out. I sighed and just lay there for a second. My hair was still slightly damp and the ends were crispy from the ocean. We hadn’t come back inside for a long time, but when we did Linden insisted on staying with me. I wasn’t worried at all; he seemed very clear-headed.
I sat up slowly, realizing my body felt sore all over. I moved my head in a circle, trying to loosen the muscles in my neck. Since the hall was quiet, I thought it would be safe to grab my clothes and head for the shower.
I let the water run for a minute while I waited, looking over my reflection. I was surprised to see the reddish marks on my neck and I tried to pull my hair over them. It wasn’t very effective, so I’d have to be cautious all day. Rhys probably wouldn’t like to know that neither of us was heeding his warnings.
I pulled my hair around the sides of my neck as I went downstairs. Everyone was home and Nerio’s thundering voice carried through the halls. He and Tally were in the living room, and I smiled meekly as I walked by to see Rhys and Calder in the kitchen.
“Hi,” I said, feeling like they could see right through my casual attitude.
“Morning,” Calder said, watching me closely. “Still feel like living here after all you heard?”
I laughed as I sat down. “Yeah, I guess so. I’m mostly worried, not really scared.”
“He’s still asleep,” Rhys said, pulling out a chair. “Either he didn’t sleep well or he’s actually getting better.”
I just nodded, trying to act like I didn’t know where he’d been all night.
“I can’t believe you forgot to mention that guy from last night,” Calder piped up, looking at me pointedly.
For a minute I didn’t know what he was talking about, and then I remembered. “Oh—Omar. Sorry, I just forgot with all that was going on.”
“Yeah well I told everyone about it.”
Rhys nodded. “I wanted to talk to you about that. Who is he anyway?”
I gave him a brief explanation of everything, leaving out some of the more personal details until he understood what I thought might be going on.
“So he’s just out for himself,” Rhys nodded thoughtfully. “Like Calder said, I’m also surprised he would come here. Perhaps the vulcani sent him instead of risking coming here himself.”
“Maybe. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, but I don’t even know why they’re doing this,” I said, glancing outside, half expecting to see Omar somewhere.
“It’s all right,” Rhys said as he stood. “We’re all in the same boat. I need to make a few phone calls. Everyone leave Linden alone, all right?” He looked at both Calder and I pointedly, and we both nodded.
“Sorry I forgot about that,” I said when he was gone. I looked down at my hand and rubbed the raw skin from my fall.
“It’s okay, you had a lot to think about,” Calder replied.
“Yeah,” I laughed, looking out the windows. Hopefully this whole crisis would be over soon. I hoped Linden would start to feel better today, even though he didn’t look any better when he woke up.
“Whoa—what happened?”
I turned to Calder, seeing he pointed at my neck. I grabbed a handful of my hair and smashed it against my skin.
“Um—”
“I guess that means he feels a little better,” he laughed while I turned red.
“I didn’t want Rhys to see,” I muttered.
“Yeah well just keep it covered,” he said. “I’m going to go see if anything’s on.”
He left for the living room as I stayed put. Now that Omar had been brought up again I was antsy as well as angry. What kind of nerve did he have to follow me? And how did he find me in the first place?
That had my stomach sinking in a second, and I rushed back up to the bedroom, searching for my phone. I was worried about Alysana—what if they had gotten to her again?
It rang a few too many times before she finally picked up.
“Aly, are you okay?” I asked immediately.
“Yeah I’m fine—are you?” she replied.
I closed my eyes in relief. “Yeah, I was just checking. Where are you?”
“Still at Meryl’s. She’s got quite the setup for everyone,” Aly replied. “It’s nice, actually. How are things up there?”
“It’s great, everything’s fine,” I lied. “I’m just trying to figure things out.”
“That’s good to hear.” I could tell she was smiling. “So are you living up there for good? Rene’s been asking every day if I’ve heard from you.”
“I don’t know yet,” I said, glancing outside. There were clouds on the horizon.
“Well as soon as you do, tell me. I want to know if I’ll have to be making trips to see you.”
“Or you could just come live out here, too.”
She laughed and her voice faded a little as she spoke to someone else. “Hey Riley, I have to go. I’ll let everyone know you’re still alive though.”
“Than
ks,” I said, smiling. “I’ll talk to you later.”
She said a quick goodbye and the line clicked. I hung up and put the phone on the bed. At least she was safe; they were done with her.
I didn’t see Linden for the rest of the day. He never came out of his room, and only Rhys ever went inside. He was constantly bringing in a pitcher of water and he must have refilled it four times that day. The one time I asked if I could see him, Rhys told me no. Linden was barely awake most of the time and rest right now was crucial.
I managed to keep my neck hidden from Rhys, though Calder would laugh to himself when I casually moved my hair. Day turned to night, and it got later and later while I waited for Rhys to go to sleep. I sat on the end of the bed and listened as hard as I could for the sounds in the house to stop. When they finally did, I waited a little longer and crept downstairs.
No one should have expected me to really stay away. I went to the door and hesitated, listening. There was no sound from inside, and I tried the handle. I grit my teeth when it didn’t move; it was locked. When I tried to use my will on it, I was surprised that there seemed to be some kind of block on it. There was a feeling like opposing magnets, and I took a step back. Rhys must have done something to keep me away.
The nerve, I thought angrily as I headed for the front door. I wanted some fresh air.
The darkness was a comfort for a minute as I walked down the stairs, but I stopped when I saw someone standing near the bottom. At first I thought it was Calder, but the build was too muscular.
When I could breathe again, my voice was a pathetic whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you,” Omar replied.
Just hearing his voice made the fury rise in my chest, and I gripped the railing beside me. “You’re wasting your time. Now get out of here.”
“No,” he said firmly, walking into the first step. “I’m not leaving until I finish what I want to say.”
“Forget it, I don’t want to hear what you have to say,” I spat, about to turn around.
“Riley, please!”
“How could you even come here?” I asked, whirling around as he took another two steps. “What crazy idea made you think I would want to talk to you or even see you? You have ruined everything.”
“I wanted to say I was sorry, that’s why I came,” he went on.
I laughed harshly. “Sorry? You want to say you’re sorry? I will never forget what you tried to do after my ceremony—I will never forgive you. And after what you did to Alysana? How could I forgive you?”
“I didn’t do that to her!” Omar said, now only a step away. “Aidan did that on his own before I met him. That’s what he does for fun, I wasn’t involved.”
“So burning down our house doesn’t count?”
Even in the dark I could see something strange in his expression; pride. “That had to be done, and I thought the undine was inside.”
I just shook my head, completely disgusted. “I don’t know what your sick plan is, Omar, but you can’t have anything you want. You’ve lost your friends and your family. If they knew all of this—every detail—they won’t want you back either.”
I turned to go back inside, but his hand closed around my arm and jerked me towards him. His palm burned into my skin.
“You can’t seriously go back in there,” he hissed. “You know about them. You think I’m being a disgrace? Look at you. Have you asked them which ones were part of the trials?”
I tried to pull away. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“What did he do to you?” he growled, now taking both of my arms. “The Riley I know would never fall into this.”
“Yeah well that Riley has gotten smarter,” I replied. “And she knows the truth.”
“They’re just lying to you about—”
“Quit it, you’re too late!” I yelled. “I love Linden—deal with it on your own time.”
His eyes seemed to smolder the second I said that, and he abruptly pulled me down the steps. I felt like I might fall, but his grip was too hard on me. My hair was in my face, and I could barely see. He stopped suddenly and held my jaw in his hand, forcing my chin up.
“I can’t believe you’d even let him touch you,” he said, his voice shaking. I was about to break the biggest rule I knew to use my will against him, when a soft, vibrating voice came.
“What’s going on here?”
Omar released me and I stumbled away from him. Nerio stood at the top of the stairs, his arms folded across his broad chest. Omar didn’t say a word and was slowly making his way down the stairs.
Nerio snickered down at him. “Get out of here. Start running when you get to the end of the drive.”
Omar reached the bottom and turned around, walking quickly. Nerio and I just stood and watched him go until he was a dark spot in the distance.
“Thanks,” I said when he was gone.
Nerio just grunted in reply. “It’s my job to watch.”
“Do you think he’ll come back?”
“If he’s stupid,” he laughed, turning back to the front door.
“I’m starting to think he really is,” I said, going after him.
“Well don’t play into it,” he said when we stepped inside. “You might want to just keep to well lit areas at night. It’s bad enough I have to make sure you don’t go into Linden’s room.”
So he was back to hating me. This felt a little more normal, and I muttered another thanks before going towards the stairs.
I felt uneasy being alone, and I huddled onto Linden’s side of the bed with my back against the wall. Omar was being much more daring than I would have thought. It made me wonder what could be coming next, or would this constant stalking just continue? Either way, I closed my eyes and tried to forget it, not seeing the long crack that had appeared in the window.
I saw the crack the next day but only found it annoying. It was the least of my problems. After two days, Linden still didn’t appear from the bedroom and I only had few updates from Rhys. He tried to tell me Linden had gotten no worse, but I found this hard to believe.
Nerio was constantly pacing the grounds, mostly at night. He didn’t see to ever sleep, but it kept Rhys at ease. He had enough on his plate, and none of us were in the mood to deal with much else.
I didn’t know what to do with myself most of the time. Rhys decided it wasn’t the best idea for me to be walking around even with someone else. Calder felt bad for my minor imprisonment and stayed with me when he could. I always told him to leave; I didn’t want anyone else to have to suffer through the boredom. He was patient though, and he stayed.
Both of us were lounging on the couch early in the evening. The TV was on, but I was hardly paying attention to it. Surprisingly, Tally had joined us. She usually kept her distance when I was around, but she didn’t seem to mind so much anymore. Maybe it was mostly for pity, but I was grateful there wasn’t animosity.
I lifted my head from the arm of the couch. I thought I’d heard something outside. I glanced at Calder and Tally, but they hadn’t noticed. Relaxing again, I froze; there was definitely someone out there.
“Undines!”
Tally and Calder both looked towards the windows.
“Who was that?” Tally asked, standing. I sat up and Calder pushed himself up on his elbows.
Tally and I stood at the window and scanned the beach. Someone stood near the surf, cupping their hands around their mouth as they yelled again.
“Oh no,” I breathed.
“Who’s that?” Tally asked. “Is that him?”
“It’s Aidan,” I replied.
She reacted instantly. She yelled for Rhys and Nerio, but they had already heard.
“So he finally showed up,” Nerio said darkly, looking at me.
Rhys ignored his comment. “Come on, all of you. Riley, stay here.”
“But—”
“Please.” It was a statement, and I didn’t move as the others made for the fr
ont door.
I had no idea what they were going to do or what they could do. Linden had said no Elemental ever hurt another, but could anyone really trust that Aidan wouldn’t? Laws probably meant little to him.
From the window I could see the group now as the made their way across the sand. Aidan stood alone, his hands behind his back. He had his pants rolled up as the water washed over his feet. I opened the window a little to see if I could hear anything, but the ocean was drowning out any other sounds. I bit my lip thoughtfully, remembering the garage door. Rhys had asked me not to come with them, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t try to listen.
I felt like I hadn’t been outside in a long time. The wind was blowing hard, and my hair whipped around my face. Looking to the right, I gauged the small space between the dark rocks and the house. I could fit through.
Some of the rocks scraped my shoulder blades as I went, but I kept going. When I got to the end of the house, I peered around it at the beach. The group was standing a good twenty feet from Aidan while he just stared at all of them with a smile on his face.
“What, no welcome speech?” he said, his voice carrying on the wind. “No threats? I was expecting so much more from the lot of you.”
None of them moved, but I could see Nerio had curled his large hands into fists.
“What do you want, Cinaed?” Rhys asked.
Aidan looked surprised. “Ah—so you do remember. And here I thought the fifties would have escaped you.”
“What a shame; they haven’t,” Nerio called.
“I remember you,” Aidan said slowly, pointing. “The irrational giant, yes? Could you tell me, are you still scarred? I wasn’t sure if that would actually stay with another Elemental.”
Nerio was about to lunge forward, but Rhys put his arm in front of him. Nerio didn’t go, and he was no calmer than before.
Aidan laughed at him. “Finally, someone exerts some control. Now, I don’t believe all of you are here. You look much like Linden, but where’s the star?”
The Evensong Page 32