Awakening Storm: The Divine Tree Guardians (The Divine Tree Guardians Series Book 3)

by Larissa Emerald

  She was there in her bedroom, standing in her undergarments. Thick slashes covered her shoulders, ribs, and back, scars that spoke of being on the losing side of a sword fight.

  He skimmed the room. No mirrors. Perhaps she didn’t want reminders.

  But the scepter lay on the bed not far from her.

  Since she was still turned away from him, he slinked into the room. He was about as close to the scepter as she was now, and he swallowed hard.

  As he stepped toward the bed, she turned with a hiss. “How dare you?” Her entire body was shaking with rage, and she lunged for her scepter.

  Aidan crouched, then sprang forward, transforming into his tiger in midair as he leaped. His huge paws hit her square in the chest, knocking her back. He jumped again, this time to the bed, changing back to his human form with seamless ease.

  He reached out and swept up the staff without breaking momentum and rolled off the bed, landing on his feet. Even with the scepter in his hand, unease ran rampant through him. Until it was destroyed, there was always the chance she could get ahold of it again. He would have smashed it on the ground if not for his uncertainty about whether he needed it to get out of this blasted universe or not. And he needed to accomplish that first.

  As if fleeing a dangerous animal, he backed up quickly. The door was only a few feet away.

  Just a little farther.

  Theodora rose and spun around, grabbing something from the dresser. A red-stoned ring, he noted, as she slid it on her finger. She touched the stone, and it began to glow. She extended her hand, and the room began to move. Things shifted just as they had when he’d ended up in the dungeon.

  He eyed the scepter in his hand. “But . . . but how?”

  He heard footsteps coming up behind him and then Rhianna was bursting through the door.

  “The ring!” she shouted. “We need to get the ring!”

  He glanced back to Theodora. The ring was still glowing—the true source of her power.

  Rhianna took two long strides, the second landed her on the bed and then she vaulted off the other side.

  “No!” His heart rose in his chest, pushing into his throat. Theodora had already taken her life before. He couldn’t stand to watch it happen again.

  The room was moving as if it were a boat on a stormy sea. Rhianna cartwheeled over to Theodora with seeming ease. She had executed the move so fast, Aidan couldn’t believe what he’d seen. She grabbed Theodora’s arm and held it over her head.

  Theodora twisted and struggled to touch the ring with her free hand to no avail. “Let go of me,” she snarled.

  In a blink of an eye, Rhianna reached up and removed the ring, gliding it from Theodora’s finger and into her closed fist. The room instantly stilled.

  “Run!” he yelled, even as pride filled his chest.

  Rhianna darted over the bed again and out the door in front of him.

  Theodora ranted at their backs, her voice shaking with fury. “The Demon Prince will hunt you down. The ring is mine; Riam is mine. You cannot leave.” Theodora’s cry of anguish bounced down the hall behind him, powerless.

  Clutching the staff in one hand, Aidan ushered Rhianna forward with the other.

  “We did it,” she exclaimed.

  He couldn’t help but smile at her. “Now we just need to get out of this universe . . .”

  * * *

  They ran down the staircase. When her feet hit the landing, she halted, looking left and then right. “What happened to Katsu? Have you seen him?”

  Aidan shook his head. “No. The last time I saw him was outside your chamber, before we were dumped in the dungeon.”

  “Do you remember where that was?” she asked.

  He angled his head, thinking. “The other side of the library.”

  She nodded resolutely. “Let’s go. I can’t leave without him.”

  Aidan’s jaw tensed, and he pulled back his shoulders. “Rhianna, we need to get out of here. We may have the scepter and the ring, but there is no telling if Theodora has other sources of destruction at her disposal.”

  “Please. If he’s there, we’ll take him with us. If not—” she swallowed hard, forcing the words out even though they were difficult to speak “—then we’ll leave.”

  “Hurry,” he bit out.

  Aidan led the way to the appropriate room. The door was half-closed, and he pushed it opened. Rhianna sensed from the way his body stiffened that something was horribly wrong. She pushed her way in, stopping with her chest slammed up against Aidan’s arm.

  Her gaze darted straight to Katsu, who hung from a rope attached to a beam on the ceiling. She gasped, sharp pain radiating through her as her heart pounded hard against her breastbone.

  “Is he . . . ?” She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

  “Yes,” he said, his voice soft and sad.

  “Maybe we could use the scepter or ring to—”

  “We can’t bring him back.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes. “We don’t know how to use these. For all we know they might not do anything but evil work. It’s too risky.”

  She pressed her lips together, and her chin fell to touch her chest. She knew he was right. But it hurt. God, it hurt. After all her great-grandfather had endured, after all this time, she had hoped to deliver him from this awful place. Hot tears slid down her cheeks.

  Aidan walked over to Katsu, took him down, and rested him on the floor.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I wish there was more we could do”—he held his hand out for her to take—“but we must go.”

  * * *

  Aidan led her from the castle, squeezing her hand in his. Now that the worst was over, she seemed exhausted. Her feet dragged with every step, her limps hanging loose. When they were outside, he paused. “You are too tired.”

  “No,” she said faintly. “I can make it.”

  He presented her with the staff. “Here. Carry this. I’ll change into my tiger and you can ride down the mountain.”

  Before she could protest, he transformed, stretching his muscles and testing his injured shoulder. It hurt a little but nothing he couldn’t stand. Then he stood there, waiting for her to climb onto his back.

  After a moment, she did.

  Aidan broke into an easy run as Rhianna lowered her chest against him and held on. When he came to the drawbridge and the gorge below it, he jumped and changed into his eagle, taking care to keep her weight centered over his back. They soared for a mile or so, and then he returned to his tiger once more as they came into town.

  People peered out the windows, and when they caught sight of a tiger and his woman, they ran into the streets. Aidan halted and changed to his human form. A buzz filled the air as the people around them whispered.

  “Is that Theodora’s staff?” one man finally asked.

  “Yes. We have the staff and ring,” Aidan told him. “And we’re going to see if they will take us out of Riam and back to our world.”

  “Take us, too!” someone yelled.

  “Yes, do not leave us here!” shouted another.

  The crowd pushed against them. At the back of the group, Aidan spotted Steve, Sean, and Dillon.

  Aidan held up both hands, palms out. “Wait. Wait. Anyone who wants to can come with us.”

  The people cheered and followed close behind as Aidan led them to the spot where they’d entered. Worry began to niggle in Aidan’s belly. He wasn’t sure how everyone was going to make the transition. Some of these people were very old. What effect would crossing over to the real world have on them, if any? Would it kill them instantly?

  He quickly explained the situation to the group, and every person agreed to transfer out of this universe, no matter the consequences. No explanation was needed. Aidan understood the need to be released from this pain, this prison. In small groups, they silently joined hands.

  “You took the ring from her, you should do the honors,” Aidan said to Rhianna.

  “I don’t know if
I can.” She swept her tongue over her upper lip. “What if I mess up?”

  “Just try,” Dillon said. His words were followed by others, softly encouraging her.

  Aidan leaned in and whispered in her ear so only she could hear. “No matter what happens, I love you. You can do this. I know it.”

  She pulled back and met his gaze with teary eyes. She simply kissed him and nodded.

  Placing the ring on her hand, she touched it the way the sorceress had, running her index finger in a circle over the ring and then extending the scepter and repeating the same motion.

  “Concentrate on our destination,” she told them all.

  The dirt and soil swirled up in the air and turned over. A bubble-like capsule appearing, catching all four hundred of them and transporting them back to their world. When the bubble finally burst, the men and women fell to the earth, covering his entire front yard. As they stood, it reminded him of the rock concerts he’d seen in movies.

  A boisterous round of whoops and whistles sounded.

  “Look,” Rhianna said, her voice full of awe. “Color.”

  Aidan tipped his head back, looking up at the blue, blue sky and the shades of green of the foliage around them. He smiled and rained hot kisses over her face and mouth.

  As they both came up for air, he realized he had a little problem. He had four hundred people on his deserted island.

  He turned to face Dillon. “I leave it up to you to get these people off my island.” He turned then and tromped into the forest, tugging Rhianna with him. They’d just made it beyond sight of the crowd when a dog’s bark floated through the trees.

  “Takeshi!” Rhianna cried. The dog came bounding at them, jumping up and pawing at their legs. He went from Rhianna to Aidan and then back to Rhianna.

  “Easy,” she said with a laugh. “You don’t have to get so excited. We’re home.”

  A warm feeling skipped over him. Had she just called this home?

  •

  “Do you think you can stand the peace and quiet?” Aidan asked Rhianna as they stretched on the grassy bridge overlooking the waterfall. It was a warm day for late October, and the sun shone high overhead. The perfect day for a picnic.

  “Oh yeah.” She laughed. “I’m finished with excitement in my life.”

  He smiled. He and Rhianna were finally alone on the island once more. Seth had left the minute they’d returned, and while it had taken them four days and multiple trips to get everyone off his island, they were all gone.

  Dillon had even agreed to cancel the TV show and had relinquished all footage to Aidan. Given what they had been through, Dillon didn’t even bemoan the loss of the money he’d already spent, and he hadn’t seemed in too big of a hurry to begin another “adventure.”

  “I’m taking a vacation,” he’d told Aidan and Rhianna as he boarded the yacht they’d managed to retrieve. The coast guard found the vessel floating unmanned in the pacific.

  Rhianna hadn’t quite decided her next course of action. She only knew she needed time to think, time to explore her feelings for Aidan without the threat of death hanging over them, time to decide what, besides her grandfather, was truly important to her.

  When they were in Riam, everything had been so intense, so black-and-white.

  “What do you think happened to Theodora?” she asked, rolling to her side.

  He shrugged. “Who knows. As far as I can guess, she will remain in that universe forever. Alone.” He had stored the ring and scepter deep within the Divine Tree where no one would get it.

  She looked into his eyes and smiled. She had fallen in love with him. There was no denying it now.

  Takeshi took a running leap over both Aidan and Rhianna. “Hey, you almost knocked me down,” she squealed as the dog ran into the woods. “I don’t need grass in my teeth.”

  Aidan stretched over her. “Let me see.” He pretended to examine her mouth and then zoomed in for a kiss. She giggled.

  “I like it when you laugh,” he said. Then he leaned in and kissed her again.

  His lips were firm, and he tasted like the oranges they’d eaten. Rhianna snuggled closer, gravitating toward his warmth and running her hands over his solid, muscular shoulders. She kissed him back, harder and more demanding. She wanted more of him, all of him.

  He pulled back, and they both caught their breath. “I believe we have a promise to fulfill,” he said.

  “That’s my understanding,” she whispered, leaning into him. There were many things she wanted to forget about their experience in Riam, but the sultry kiss they’d shared in the Falcon station wasn’t one of them. When they’d vowed to love another day.

  He slid his hand under her top and smoothed his fingers across her ribs. She purred, and he groaned. That one delicious touch was all it took to start clothes flying in all directions.

  He shoved the picnic items aside and gently guided Rhianna down onto the blanket in just her bra and panties. “You look so delectable. And I’m a very hungry man.”

  “Just a man?” she teased, looking at him from beneath her lashes.

  “Okay . . . a shape-shifter,” he corrected in a reluctant tone.

  “Immortal,” she said with pride.

  His brows came together, and he pulled back. “Maybe we shouldn’t . . .”

  She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to her. “I love everything you are.”

  His frown faded, and he stood up. Without fuss of fanfare, he stripped off his pants. She swallowed, barely stifling a gasp.

  Wouldn’t you know it? He’s a commando man.

  Her heartbeat raced at the sight of his magnificent body, sleek and muscular. He was a warrior. Her warrior.

  With a tiger’s grace, he knelt and ran his fingers along her jaw, down her neck, and over her breasts, pausing to admire her. She loved the intensity in his hazel eyes, the way they turned several shades darker as they flashed his longing for her. He slipped a finger along the smooth edge of her shirt and eased it down, exposing one of her breasts. She hissed in a breath, and he growled.

  He glanced up, meeting her eyes. “You are incredibly beautiful.”

  So was he. She undid the front clasp of her bra, and his gaze followed her hands. As her breasts fell free, he wet his lips.

  “I love you.” She paused, hoping he felt the same and his earlier declaration hadn’t just been the stress of the moment. “I want you so much.”

  * * *

  He pulled back. Her words were so much more than he had ever hoped for. That someone would want him, maybe even want to end his loneliness . . . It was almost more than he could process. His heart squeezed with the desire that it would be so.

  His hunger for her stirred, and his beasts seemed to be waiting at the corner of his heart to see if she would really give herself completely to him. A shape-shifter. An immortal. A misfit in her world.

  The move had to be her choice. He would not force her to live in his isolated world. He cared about her too much for that.

  As if sensing his hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Don’t pull away from me.”

  He had no more defenses against her. The dam in his heart burst, and he covered her mouth with a scorching, passionate kiss. Her breasts, soft and giving, pressed against his bare chest. He moved his hand to her ribs, then waist, and rolled so she was on top of him.

  Barely breaking the kiss, she straddled him, taking control and delving her tongue deeper. Sitting up, she guided him, allowing him to kiss and suckle her gorgeous breasts. She moaned and rocked her hips. He slid his hand between them, finding that sweet spot beneath her panties, and rubbed his thumb there. She threw her head back with a moan.

  Jesus, she was hot and ready for him. He couldn’t wait a second longer. He smoothly rolled her onto her back again, slid her panties off, and positioned himself above her. She touched him, to help glide him into her. His body trembled; every sensation was nearly too much.

  He moved inside her, and she wrapped her legs around
his hips, pushing deeper, driving him crazy as he set a rhythm to take her higher. His jaw tensed with control. He wanted her pleasure to come first. He wanted to meld with her, to touch her soul as she had his.

  Damp with perspiration, she groaned deep in her throat as he thrust into her. Her sweet body pulsed around his cock, sending him over the edge to climax with her.

  As they clung to each other in exhaustion, Aidan allowed the thought to cross his mind of how good his life would be if she were in it. He rolled onto his side, holding her tight and taking her with him.

  •

  Takeshi came bounding back, interrupting the quiet aftermath of their love-making and her thoughts about how incredible it had been, how she wanted to be with Aidan for the rest of her life. The trouble was . . . he hadn’t asked her to stay.

  The pup growled, showing off the shoe in his mouth. She laughed. It was the one that she’d lost when she’d first arrived—or perhaps he’d stolen it.

  “Hey, that’s mine,” she said as he ran by her. Aidan kissed her once more, before letting her go.

  The dog darted around them as they threw on their clothes and then it took off again, still carrying her shoe.

  Aidan called to the pup, but he didn’t listen. “I should just let him run it off,” he said.

  Instead, they followed Takeshi. Aidan tracked him to Rhianna’s first campsite on the island. She glanced around at where she’d made a fire and where she’d slept. The Mylar blanket was tucked neatly beneath the ledge, forgotten.

  “Oh my goodness. It seems so long since I arrived,” she said in a flash of memory.

  Aidan came up behind her and circled his arm around her waist. She turned her head, and his lips brushed hers. “You were watching over me even then,” she said.

  “Not exactly.” He smiled. “I wanted you to leave my island.”

  She licked her lips and raised an eyebrow. “And now?”