A Life Earthbound (38 page)

Jax had already approached Rhiannon, who took a deep, steadying breath and began to speak as calmly and evenly as she could, given the circumstances.

“Dante is back at Burke’s house in the basement. I don’t know if either of them are still alive. The entire place caved in.”

“
Dante?
” Liam gasped, mouth open in shock.

Rhiannon turned to him and nodded once. Words were not necessary to convey how much more danger they were in than he’d realized.

Without hesitating, Jax grabbed Blythe and led her to the tree. “C’mon, Blythe, we gotta go dig them out.”

“Hot damn,” Blythe said, more out of shock than excitement as she ran with Jax to the tree and left Euphora with a flash of gold light.

Without a word, Rhiannon began to walk swiftly toward the castle, her purpose simple and clear. Liam raced beside her, stunned and bewildered. But he knew now was not the time to question just how Dante had found his way into Burke’s home. Pushing aside the thought, he stared at Rhiannon and had to fight back the anger he felt at seeing what they had done to her.

“You’re bleeding,” he said as he noticed her wrists, but when he reached out to touch her, she dodged away from him.

“Leave me alone, Liam,” she snapped, picking up her pace.

“Damnit, let me help you!” he shot back, glaring at her when she stopped and met his eyes.

“I don’t need your help, I’m fine.”

“Oh, that’s right.” He shook his head, his eyes narrowing bitterly. “You don’t need a hero, right Rhia?”

“Right. Now leave me be.” She turned around and started walking again, and this time, he didn’t follow her.

To her dismay, however, by the time she reached the courtyard, the others were pouring out of the castle and she was immediately barraged with questions.

Her father swept her into a hug, stunning her momentarily when he gripped her tightly in his arms. Bane was at his side and let out a welcoming howl. She was promptly shuffled into the arms of Capri, Brogan and Thea, and none of them would let her get a word in.

She broke free and pushed past them, not caring that it was rude. She was on the verge of an enormous breakdown, and she knew it would startle them if she succumbed to it in the middle of the courtyard.

To her relief, they let her go, and she heard them begin to question Liam instead. Good, let him fill them in on the details, she thought. It would give her at least ten minutes alone. She couldn’t ask for more than that.

And so she went straight to the back gardens, where the wild roses bloomed and the silence hung heavy and indefinite. It was perfect because all she wanted was silence.

She walked through the tall, wild grasses, going off the pathway and deep into the small meadow, walking until she found a good spot. She stopped when she noticed a small, royal blue wildflower, blooming haphazardly amongst the sea of roses. Seeing it, thinking of it as some kind of sign, she reached out to tenderly cup it in her hand, and suddenly pressed her other hand against her mouth.

This was it. Thank God.

The pain was incredible, but the release beckoned her with dizzying urgency until all she could do was crumble to her knees, and weep.

She covered her face in her hands, ashamed and startled and incredibly relieved all at once. Her back heaved and shuddered as she sobbed, her chest aching as warm tears poured like rivers from her eyes.

So this is what it’s like to cry…she thought wildly, the dam inside continuing to burst from within, releasing years upon years of pent up emotions in one violent, flooding wave. Oh, it was so…
liberating
.

She didn’t hear the sound of soft footsteps behind her, nor did she notice the arms enfolding her, pulling her close and giving her an anchor to cling to while she drowned.

Liam rocked her slowly, pressing her face to his chest as she let herself go. He should have known this was what she was coming out here to do…she was finally,
finally
free.

“I love you,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head and closing his eyes. “You are the strongest person I have ever known.”

Hearing his words only made her sob harder, knowing just how callous and cruel she had been to him. He deserved so much better…

“Cry, baby...” he whispered, reveling in the sound of her release, knowing how badly she needed this. “Get it all out.”

And so she did, and he stayed with her while she weathered the storm.

He guided her upstairs to her room, avoiding the others. Even though her crying jag was over for now, she still wasn’t ready to face them. She needed to clean up, to rest…but this time, she wanted him with her.

He filled her tub with hot, soapy water while she examined the bruises and cuts on her wrists, wincing at the pain as she cleansed the worst of the dust and grime from the wounds. He helped her out of her clothes and into the tub, which she sank into with a grateful, feminine purr of satisfaction.

“Is it too hot?” he asked, crouching beside her.

She managed a small smile and shook her head. “It’s amazing. Thank you.”

“No problem.” He grinned, rising to his feet to find some clothes for her to wear and bandages for her wrists. She had a cut on her lip as well, and more bruises at her temple and on her neck. The sight of them and knowing that both Burke and most likely Dante had harmed her, had him vowing to Hell and back that he’d finish them both for this...if they weren’t dead already.

And if they weren’t, if Dante wasn’t…then he would just add it to the long list of other reasons he deserved to die.

He helped her out of the tub after a while and watched her dress, mesmerized as always by her beauty. But it wasn’t just her beauty that attracted him to her. It was her quiet compassion and her unbreakable steel spine.

He realized now she would have probably made it out of Burke’s house without him, given that she’d already had an escape plan in the first place. All he had done was provide a distraction, but it might have made the situation worse.

And to see her in action, putting that clever mind to work to save them both, quite simply amazed him. She was just so captivating, so brilliant and so much stronger than she looked. So it was true that she didn’t really
need
him. But as long as she
wanted
him, he vowed he would always be at her side.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, sitting on the bed as she buttoned her blouse with her slender, capable fingers.

She turned toward her vanity table and ran her brush through her long mane of dark hair, unsure how to answer him.

“I feel…cleansed.” She let out a small laugh, not quite sure why she found it funny. She met his eyes in the mirror over her dressing table, and held them as she continued to brush her hair, her smile fading. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed that for the world.” He rose to his feet to stand behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder, his hands coming up to cup her arms. “It isn’t every day you see someone break free.”

She let out a shaky breath, feeling her hands tremble as she set down her brush. “Is that what I am? Free?” she asked, instinctively leaning back against him, welcoming his arms that came around her.

He nodded in response, pressing a kiss to the smooth curve of her throat. “As a bird, my love.”

“I don’t even know what to say to you,” Thea began as she sat in one of her cushy lounge chairs in the garden room, Sebastian at her side. Her dark eyes were focused on her Earth Dryad and there were tears in them. “You are now the third of my Dryads to have been terrorized by this monster. And I wasn’t able to protect you from him.”

“Thea…” Rhiannon twisted her hands together in her lap, uncomfortable to see the formidable and regal Thea look so weakened and afraid. “I learned a long time ago that you can’t control the actions of others. You can only control how you react in response to them.”

“And perhaps if my reaction had been harsher, we would have searched Burke’s house immediately and Dante wouldn’t have reached you,” Thea insisted, her eyes hardening with both guilt and misery. “I don’t know how he escaped from the rubble of that house…”

Sebastian had his arm over her shoulders, squeezing her gently. “We all believed Burke to be above kidnapping. But perhaps we should have seen the signs of his madness when he tried to strangle poor Rhiannon to death.”

Rhiannon shivered from the memory, the glaring hate in Burke’s eyes permanently burned into her mind. “It’s over now. He knows the truth and he won’t come after me again.”

“Yes but when he gets out of the hospital, I’m going to have a long talk with him. We are lucky Brogan had the foresight to look through Michael’s things at the Enforcer’s headquarters in D.C., or we might never have known the truth behind his murder,” Thea muttered, shaking her head with a mixture of relief and anxiety.

“Brogan gave Blythe and Jax the lead to El Paso?” Rhiannon asked, stunned. “I had no idea.”

Thea managed a smile. “He cares about you. He wanted to do as much as he could to help prove you were innocent.”

Humbled, Rhiannon sat quietly, lost in thought. When she spoke again, there was distinct concern and apprehension in her eyes.

“Thea, what are we going to do about Dante?”

For a moment, Thea said nothing and turned uneasily to Sebastian. “If what he told you is true…if he really does have some kind of army at his disposal…then I suppose we will have to fight.”

Sebastian nodded assuredly at her. “It has been done before, we can do it again.”

Thea let out a heavy sigh, looking uncertain. “I fear this will be worse than those times, my love.”

“We are strong now, stronger than we have been in the past. We will handle whatever he throws at us and we will win,” Sebastian reassured her and then eyed Rhiannon with purpose and determination. “We will all have to push past our petty disagreements and unite now if we want to survive what is surely coming.”

Knowing he meant the feud between the Dryads, Rhiannon flushed and looked away, ashamed. “We will work it out,” she murmured, staring down at Bane, finding comfort in his golden eyes.

“Rhiannon,” Thea said, waiting until the girl met her gaze. “Your mother is truly sorry. I have never seen her more repentant in all her life than she is over this. You should talk to her.”

Rhiannon grimaced, but nodded. “If you wish.”

“I do.” Thea sat up, her lips curving. “And let me just say that I am pleased to see that Rohan is doing much better. Would you believe that I actually saw him laughing about an hour ago? I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

“Laughing?” Rhiannon managed, startled. Oh, she wished she had seen it…

“Go see them both, dear. Your parents have a lot of selfishly wasted time to make up with you.”

Biting back a small smile, Rhiannon rose to her feet. With a polite nod, she swept from the room, eager for the first time, in a very long time, to see her family.