Trey withdrew from Lariah’s mouth and backed away before lowering her to the bed. Val followed, not quite ready to withdraw from her. He tucked her close against him then rolled to his side, her bottom cradled against him, still buried deep inside of her as they both tried to catch their breath.
A few minutes later, after Garen, Val and Trey had inspected Lariah’s body, Garen lifted her into his arms. Trey and Val hurried ahead of him into the bathroom, Trey pausing to get some fresh washcloths and the lemon scented wash Lariah preferred, Val reaching into a cabinet for some scented candles. Now was a time for them to relax together, and the light herbal scent of the candles would help.
The tub was quite large, easily big enough for all four of them, with bench seats set into each side. It was sunken into the tile floor with steps leading down into it. The tub was fitted with air jets, and a heater, so Val had filled the tub earlier and left the heater on to keep the water warm until they were ready to use it.
Trey stepped down into the tub first, testing the water temperature before nodding to Garen. Garen stepped in next, cradling Lariah in his arms, her face and body relaxed, eyes closed, a relaxed smile on her face. Once Garen was settled with Lariah, Val stepped in and set the candles on a shelf behind the tub. Trey gestured in the air and the lights dimmed, as Val gestured toward the candles. The five candles lit at once with a soft popping sound, each wick instantly burning with a bright, yellow flame.
A harsh, breathless scream rent the air as Lariah’s body jack-knifed so hard and so suddenly that Garen never had a chance to grab hold of her. She threw herself out of the tub, the whispery, strained shriek that was all her damaged larynx would allow, growing louder as she scrabbled across the hard tile floor on her hands and knees as fast as she could in a straight line away from them. Garen, Val and Trey leapt out of the tub after her, all three of them seeing what was going to happen, but none of them fast enough to prevent it. Mindless with terror, Lariah fled straight into the wall, slamming her head into it at full speed with a sickening crack. Her body slumped to the floor in a heap.
Garen scooped her up, clutching her close to his chest, his heart racing with fear unlike anything he’d ever known. Val and Trey pressed close, their eyes wide with shock, panting slightly as adrenaline pumped through them. They all felt the tremors that continued to run through Lariah’s body, causing her to jerk and shiver even though she was unconscious. They were all so stunned that for long moments none of them could even think.
Finally, Garen took several long deep breaths, trying to calm his body and clear his mind. “Lights,” he snapped, his heart still slamming in his chest. He breathed deeply again as Trey turned the lights up.
Lariah’s face was white, making her soft red-gold freckles look bright and artificial. Her brows were tense, her mouth in a tight line, her body still shivering, though the tremors appeared to be lessening. Val brushed Lariah’s hair out of her face and lightly probed her scalp until he felt a large bump just past the hairline. When he pulled his fingers away, they were wet with blood.
Even though they had all scented the blood and were prepared for it, the sight of it gave them all a few difficult moments. Only the fact that Lariah needed their help and care kept them from losing control of their dracons right there in the bathroom.
Lariah’s eyes opened suddenly, her pupils dilated with fear, staring blankly as her body tensed and she began whimpering. Whatever she was seeing, it was not them. “Sleep,” Garen ordered, pushing hard with his magic, Val and Trey adding theirs. Lariah’s eyes closed at once and her body relaxed, though she still shivered and shook in Garen’s arms.
“What the fuck happened?” Trey demanded, his voice harsh with tension. It was the question they all wanted an answer to.
“Think,” Val said. “We have to think.” They went over everything each of them had said or done since entering the bathroom. When they finished, they still didn’t have any answers.
Garen didn’t understand it. She had gone from totally relaxed to absolute panic in the space of a single heartbeat. They had to figure out what had triggered it before waking her. They could not risk another such episode.
Lariah jerked in his arms, then whimpered, a sound filled with such pain and fear it made his heart hurt. Garen closed his eyes and swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. When he opened them again, he was looking directly across the bathroom to the candles burning on the shelf behind the tub. All at once, he understood.
“The candles,” he said hoarsely. “Put them out, get rid of them, hide them.” Val gestured, immediately extinguishing the candles, not pausing to ask questions. He jumped into the tub and reached over, scooping them up, ignoring the hot wax that splashed against his arms and chest. Turning quickly, he passed the candles to Trey who opened a cabinet door at random and threw the candles into it, slamming it shut.
Val climbed out of the tub and stepped close to Lariah, Trey moving in next to him. They each reached out to her, needing to touch her, noting with relief that she had stopped shivering. They stroked her soothingly as they waited for Garen to explain.
“Remember what Riata said,” he whispered finally, “about burns.”
Trey and Val stilled. Shock. Rage. Horror. Pain. And finally, sorrow. Garen watched as the emotions raced through them, feeling the same helplessness, the same sorrow himself. Feeling the same hot sting of tears burn his eyes as he saw in theirs. The first tears any of them had shed since they were very young children. Garen was patient, waiting silently, not moving, until he was sure that they had all composed themselves.
“We must insist that she tell us tonight what was done to her,” Garen said. “It will not be easy for her to tell. It will not be easy for us to hear. But for her sake, it must be done.” Garen paused, looking down into Lariah’s heart shaped face, finding it difficult to believe that they had seen it for the first time only a few days before. He could not imagine their lives without her.
“I think we should all be together but if either of you feel you cannot hold control, it is best to say so now,” he said.
Trey and Val both looked at him steadily. “It will not be any easier for you than for us,” Trey said. “She will need all of us to be there.”
“I agree,” Val said.
Garen bent down and kissed Lariah on the forehead. “Awaken sharali,” he said softly as they withdrew the magic holding her in sleep. “Come back to us.”
Lariah opened her eyes slowly, frowning in confusion as she realized they were all standing naked in the bathroom. “What’s going on?” she asked, surprised, at the rough croak of her own voice. She raised a hand to her throat. “Why does it hurt to talk?”
“Do you remember nothing?” Garen asked. She shook her head, winced, and raised the hand at her throat to her head. “Ouch,” she said as she touched the tender knot on her scalp too hard.
“Sharali, we would like to get you, and ourselves, cleaned up first. Then we will all get into bed and we will tell you what happened. Do you agree?”
Lariah started to nod, then changed her mind and kept her head still. “Alright,” she said, keeping her voice to a whisper to avoid straining it further. She didn’t like not knowing what was going on, but she felt sweaty and sticky. A shower first was a good idea.
Garen stepped into the shower, still carrying her. “You can put me down now,” Lariah suggested.
“I cannot,” he said. There was something in his voice that Lariah had never heard before. Something that made her feel uneasy. She didn’t know what it was, but she did know that, for now at least, Garen needed to hold her.
She forced herself to relax in his arms as Val and Trey washed her body and shampooed her hair. The same closed, serious expression was on all of their faces, and she began to feel tense and worried as she watched them. The worry and tension built in her until she suddenly realized the feelings were coming from Garen, Trey and Val. Like earlier with the arousal, only this was not intentional on their parts.
&
nbsp; She tried to think back, but the last thing she remembered was Garen carrying her into the tub. She didn’t know what had happened after that, but whatever it was, it had all three of her men in a state of upset she had never witnessed in them before.
Only when she was completely dry, and her damp hair combed out, did Garen pass her over to Trey before stepping back into the shower to wash himself. Trey carried her into the bedroom and slid her into the bed, pulling the sheet up over her. She leaned back against the pillows, closing her eyes for a moment as she waited, her curiosity, for once, in check.
She heard Garen enter the bedroom, Val close behind him, both still damp from their showers. Trey hurried off to take his own shower and Lariah knew that whatever happened next, it would wait until Trey returned.
“Would you like something to drink Lariah?” Val asked.
“Yes please,” she said at once. ”Something cool and soothing for my throat maybe?”
“Of course, my heart,” he said, then pulled on a pair of jeans and left the room.
Garen knelt on the bed beside her and took a closer look at the bump on her head. “Does your head hurt?” he asked her.
“It’s sore where the bump is, but otherwise no,” she replied. “Is it bad?”
“I don’t think so, but we will have Doc take a look at it in the morning. It did bleed some, but it is a very small wound, not deep. However, if your head starts to hurt, or your vision changes, or you get dizzy, let us know at once.”
“I will,” she assured him.
Val came back with a tray of drinks. He set it on the table beside the bed and handed her a tall iced glass of something pink. It tasted sweet and tangy at the same time and soothed her throat at once. “That feels much better already,” she said, her voice still scratchy but improved. “Thank you so much Val.”
Val smiled at her. “You are most welcome,” he said as he handed another glass to Garen, his a dark red color.
“Can I taste?” Lariah asked.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Val said. “I put a mild relaxant in our drinks and I think it might be too strong for you.”
“Do you mean a drug?”
“No, not really,” Val replied. “It is a fermented liquid, containing what you call alcohol.”
“Oh,” Lariah said, relaxing. “Well, I’ve had a drink or two before. A sip of alcohol won’t hurt me.”
“The liquid we make is extremely strong sharali. So strong, that we only put a small amount of it into a large glass with other liquid. I did put a bit in your drink as well, which actually is equivalent to what I put in ours when you consider our sizes and tolerance. If you took a sip of our drink though, it would probably knock you out for the rest of the night…and tomorrow as well.”
Lariah wrinkled her nose. “In that case, I will stick with mine.”
Trey entered the room as Val was explaining about the drinks, picked up a glass from the tray and took a long drink from it.
Lariah drank more of hers then looked for a place to set the glass. Garen took it from her and placed it on the bedside table along with his own. He scooted up so that he was leaning against the headboard and lifted Lariah into his lap. Trey and Val climbed onto the bed and sat facing her, all of them close together.
“Alright guys,” she said softly, “tell me now. What happened?”
Lariah was surprised that she managed to remain calm as they told her what she had done, and why, they thought, she had done it. When they were finished, she sighed heavily.
“Thank you for taking such good care of me,” she said finally. “I know I upset you all, and I am very sorry for that. Very sorry that you had to witness me behaving that way.” Her head was bowed, eyes on her lap, tears in her eyes not for herself, but for the worry and concern she saw in Val, Trey and Garen’s eyes. She had frightened them, and she felt terrible about that.
“Was it the flames?” Garen asked.
“Yes,” she replied, her whisper so soft he almost didn’t hear her.
Garen placed one finger under her chin, and pressed up. She resisted him for just a moment before giving in and allowing him to turn her head to face him.
“This cannot continue sharali,” he said. “You must release this poison from your mind. It is time.”
Lariah bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. He licked the tiny wound and shifted position, still holding her, until he was lying on his back in the center of the bed. He turned her so that she was lying face down on his body, her head on his chest. Trey laid down on their left, snuggling up close, Val did the same on the other side. They each placed an arm around Lariah’s back, above and below Garen’s arms so that they all touched each other.
“Now,” Garen said softly, “feel me here next to you, hear my heart beat, know that I hold you safe in my arms. Feel Val beside you, sheltering your body with his own. Feel his warmth and strength. Let it seep into you. Feel Trey beside you, holding himself as a shield to keep you from all harm, soothing and comforting you with his touch.
“Feel us, Lariah. Feel our love for you. Know that nothing that has been done to you, nothing that ever will be done to you, will ever change our love for you.”
“You love me?” Lariah asked, her voice a soft whisper of wonder and hope.
“Yes sharali, we love you more than we can say,” Garen replied.
Lariah lifted her head and looked deep into their eyes. Satisfied, she lowered her head back to Garen’s chest. “I love all of you as well,” she said.
Garen kissed the top of her head as Val and Trey leaned in and kissed her cheeks. She snuggled more comfortably against Garen and sighed softly.
“Share this hurt with us, sharali,” Garen said. “It is time to release it so that it can be cleansed from your mind. We ask that you allow us to help you in this task.”
He felt warm tears against his neck as Lariah nodded her head. “Okay,” she agreed. “But please, don’t any of you let me go until I finish.”
“Never,” Garen agreed solemnly, Trey and Val echoing his promise.
Then, as they held her carefully between them, Lariah told them what they needed to know, what she needed to tell.
Later, after Lariah’s tears had dried and she had fallen into an exhausted sleep, Garen, Trey and Val used their magic to push her beyond dreams, into a deep, healing sleep. Once they assured themselves she would not awaken, they slid from the bed and padded to the doorway. They stepped into the hall, leaving the door open enough that they could still see her. None of them could allow her out of their sight just yet.
Trey leaned against the wall, his head back, his hands shaking. “I do not know how she survived it,” he said.
“Nor do I,” Val said, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his muscles tense with anguish.
“I do not believe that I could have endured what she described,” Garen said softly. “And knowing Lariah, she left some things out for our sake.” Garen felt nauseated when he thought of the things she had told them, the things that had been done to her.
“I do not understand how she could bear to let us touch her, how she could bear to let anyone touch her after what those men did to her.” There were tears in Trey’s voice, if not on his face.
“That is the miracle of Lariah,” Val said. “She is gentle, compassionate, fiery, and endlessly fair. She would not blame us for what others have done.”
“That is why she will heal,” Garen said. “Now that she has released this poison from her soul and shared it with us, and so long as we are able to keep her safe, her mind will heal as her body has.”
“We must make certain that those who caused her such suffering pay for their crimes against her,” Trey added in a hard voice.
“More than that,” Garen said, his voice suddenly colder than even his brothers had ever heard it. “I must confess that for the first time in my existence, I truly want these men to suffer. I do not merely want them to pay for their crimes. I want them to suffer a hundred tim
es what they made Lariah suffer.” Garen looked at the floor and shrugged. “I know, it is not in our nature to enjoy such things, and I do not. But I want it. It will not be enough for me to know they are merely dead.”
Trey and Val could only nod in agreement. They had all been in war, had all seen torture, and they all knew that while death and battle were close friends, torture was not to their liking, nor was it something any of them had a desire to engage in. But such were the atrocities that Loggia and his minions had committed against Lariah, that they knew in this one instance, they would not mind.
Slater stepped off the liner and onto the skyport wearing the form of a wealthy woman he had devoured on Rondo. It had been a lucky fluke that had placed him in the right place at the right time. With her face, her money, and her little house set in a remote area, he now had everything he needed to make his plan work. Everything except someone willing to kill the Dracons’ Arima for him.
He ducked into a utility closet and changed forms, taking on the appearance of a young, seedy human male. Then he slipped out and headed for the nearest bar. He rarely drank, but with the extra cash he had from the old woman, he could afford to have a drink while he considered his next step.
The Dracons' Woman: Book 1 of the Soul-Linked Saga Page 22