Of Water and Madness (22 page)

But this hurts…this pain, God, it hurts…

Ignore it.

I can’t.

Yes, I can. Stella, Stella, Stella…

And then the memory of her voice, Rhiannon’s voice, saying the words he’d waited all his life to hear…as long as you want me, I’m yours.

Of course I want her. I love her.

No.

Yes. God, yes, I’ve always loved her…

NO!

YES!

He shot up into a sitting position, clutching his violently beating heart and gasping wildly for air, his eyes wide with stunned clarity. The fog vanished from his mind as he stared around him, for the first time in days actually feeling his hands, feeling his face and his heart thudding in his chest. It was like waking up from a nightmare…cold sweat dripping down his back, painful aches still resonating in his chest, echoes of the dream still pulsing through his mind.

Stella. Who the hell was she?

And what had happened to him? Had he fallen asleep?

He tried to get to his feet, but felt dizzy and had to immediately sit back down, his mind still swimming with random images that seemed to make no sense…

This blonde woman, kissing him in the courtyard. His father and Rohan, shoving at each other and shouting. Blythe’s angry tears and frustrated cries. Thea slapping him hard across the face, her dark eyes filled with disgust. Capri and Rian sharing a kiss at the altar. Rhiannon’s pale and stunned expression as she collapsed against Blythe.

God, where had all of that come from? He pressed his palms into his eyes, willing the images away. That must have been one hell of a dream…

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and fought to clear the wave of dizziness from his mind. When he felt slightly more stable, he got to his feet and slowly wandered into his bathroom, switching on the light.

He stared at his face in the mirror, examining himself. He frowned at how pale he was, at the dark shadows under his eyes and the sweat that was still dripping down his face. But it wasn’t until he caught his own eyes in the mirror that he remembered.

New Orleans.

How had he gotten home? The last thing he remembered was a woman…a blonde woman.

Shaking his head, he flipped on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face, letting it soothe his skin. He realized his hands were trembling and he groaned, his head feeling hollow and wounded.

It was like something had been inside his mind and now it was gone. But that didn’t make sense…

It was probably just something from the dream, he decided, drying his face and heading back into the bedroom.

And then he spotted the sapphire engagement ring, resting on the surface of his dresser, the stone glinting in the moonlight.

His eyes widened as the memory came back to him of Rhiannon, sitting on the stone steps of the back gardens, listening to him explain to her that he didn’t want to be with her anymore, that things weren’t working out.

We can still be friends.

Good God. That had happened, he was sure of it. What in the world had caused him to say those things to her? The last thing he wanted was to break up with her, especially after all the years he’d waited for her to love him in return.

Damnit, whatever the reason, he had to set it straight.

Grabbing the ring, he threw on a pair of jeans and left his room as quickly as he could, his heart thudding with panic and uncertainty.

He would never forgive himself if he had somehow screwed this up.

The moment she
lost it, she screamed.

“What the hell is it?” Dante demanded, looking more irritated than worried.

Stella clutched her head and rocked back and forth, trembling. “He broke the connection…I’ve lost him…”

“Shit!” His mood severely soured, Dante got to his feet and violently upended the chess board they’d been playing with, scattering marble pieces everywhere. Those nearby in the hotel lounge eyed him warily, but he ignored them. Leaning over Stella, he gripped her shoulders tightly and forced her to look at him, his eyes darkly dangerous. “Try and reestablish the connection.
Do it!
”

“I can’t,” she murmured, her eyes glassy and unseeing, her face suddenly pale. “He’s gone.”

“Useless bitch.” Dante shoved her back and stepped away, trying to figure out what to do about this unfortunate turn of events. There was still more information he wanted Liam to unearth for them and he needed Stella on Euphora to continue to weaken the relationships.

But…a lot had already been accomplished, especially in regards to his foolish brother. Perhaps it would be enough.

“Get up,” he ordered, roughly grabbing Stella’s arm and dragging her to her feet. “We’re going back to the room. I think I might have another idea.”

“Okay,” she stammered, stumbling along as he dragged her. He found it pathetically amusing that the humans looked so concerned for the woman. He wasn’t going to hurt her. No, he still had use for her yet.

He punched his fist into the up button for the elevator, just because he felt like it. In fact, he wasn’t really all that angry anymore. Instead, he was feeling rather excited.

When the mirrored doors opened, he pulled Stella in with him and then patiently waited for the doors to close again.

As they did, he punched the button for the sixth floor and pushed Stella into the corner so she would be forced to look at him.

“You said that the Earth Dryad took a little vacation, right?” He cupped her chin roughly in his hand, his fingers digging into the flesh of her face.

She nodded, fear in her eyes.

“Good. Did they say where she went?”

She shook her head and he scowled. “Then I want you to do whatever voodoo hoodoo thing you did to find the boy and find her.” His lips curled into an eerie grin, madness flashing in his eyes. “Oh, how they’ll come running the second they know we have her. Things will work out, my sweet. You just wait and see.”

He went to her bedroom door, finding it closed. Unsure if barging in on her was really appropriate given that he wasn’t even sure just what was going on between them, he swallowed his urgency and knocked.

He waited a few seconds, hearing no sounds inside. Knocking again, he pressed his ear against the door, imagining her lying in bed, ignoring him.

Frustration overriding any hesitation he had felt, Liam pushed open the door and swept into the room, a smile already spreading over his lips just at the thought of seeing her.

The empty room had him stopping short, confusion hazing his brain as he stared around. Maybe she was down in the kitchens…

He didn’t even notice that many of her things were missing or that the room was cold, the scent of her faded and gone.

Instead he swung around, adrenaline pumping as he left the room, slamming the door shut in his hurry to get to her, wherever she was.

Blythe suddenly appeared out of her room across the hall, rubbing her eyes sleepily, having heard the noises.

“What are you doing?” she asked, yawning hugely and stretching her arms over her head.

Then she saw the brightness in his eyes and felt his urgency. Blinking back the sleep from her vision, she stepped toward him and reached out to grip his arms, holding him in front of her even as he started to go.

“Liam?” she asked, staring into his eyes, unsure whether she was really seeing him. “Is it you?”

He laughed at her, wondering what game she was playing with him. “Dork, of course it’s me.”

He reached out to playfully ruffle her hair, grinning. “I was just trying to find Rhia. Do you know if she’s downstairs?”

Blythe faltered, her breath hitching in her throat as tears sprang almost instantly into her eyes. Her hands came up to cover her mouth, stifling a sob.

“Thank God,” she whispered, suddenly throwing herself on him. He stumbled back from the force of her as he caught her in his arms, still confused by what was going on.

When Jax emerged from Blythe’s room, caution in his eyes, Liam shook his head and tried to smile.

“What’s wrong with her?” Liam nodded down at Blythe. “I just told her I was looking for Rhia, and she started crying.”

Understanding flashed over Jax’s face as his eyes narrowed in on his girlfriend. But Blythe suddenly pushed back from Liam and started beating her fists against his chest frantically, furious tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Damnit, what the hell has been going on with you?” she cried, anger and frustration exploding out of her. She was so mad at him for everything that had happened, even though the reasonable part of her that cowered in the back of her mind reminded her that it probably wasn’t his fault at all…

Liam gawked at her and tried to block her blows, alarmed more than hurt by her attempts to take out her anger on him.

“Blythe, stop it,” he grunted when she landed a punch straight into his gut. “I don’t want to have to hit you back, but damnit, I will if you don’t stop.”

Jax grabbed her and pulled her away, pinning her against him until she stopped fighting back. Her breath was heaving out of her chest and her mass of fiery curls fell over her face.

“Calm down, darlin’,” he murmured, rubbing her back to relax her while she fought back the beast that had burst from within.

“I’m fine,” she muttered, stepping back from him and brushing her hair out of her face, taking deep and calming breaths.

Sensing she had regained control of herself, Jax looked at Liam. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned casually against the doorframe, firmly eyeing the other man.

“Rhiannon is gone,” he said flatly, noting Liam’s instant denial and confusion.

“What? Where is she?” he asked, looking down at Blythe. She met his eyes and slowly shook her head.

“You don’t remember?” she asked, a bit wearily, unsure how to even break the news to him. “Liam, you broke her heart. So she left.”

“I don’t understand.” He glanced back at Jax, as if he would come out at any moment and confess it had all been some kind of joke. But from the stern look in Jax’s eyes, this was far from a joke. “I remember saying something about us just being friends, but I didn’t mean it. I just need to talk to her.”