Of Water and Madness (6 page)

“I’m not drunk,” he told her, already reaching up to loosen the straps tied at the back of her neck. “And you’re just–”

He was cut off by the sound of an opening door and harsh whispering around the corner of the hallway to their right, and both of them froze in stunned silence as they heard Lucian’s voice, accompanied by what sounded like his wife. Even though they were as yet out of sight, Rhiannon and Liam parted like guilty children and looked at each other questioningly.

Down the turn in the hallway, they could hear both Lucian and Clarity stop just outside their bedroom door, and fortunately they didn’t come any closer.

“We should probably go,” Rhiannon whispered, beginning to lead the way back down the hallway. But Liam stopped her, concern in his eyes as he stepped a bit closer, hoping to hear just what it was his parents were fighting about. Rhiannon followed him, chewing her bottom lip anxiously.

“You care nothing for my feelings, Clarity,” Lucian said, bitterness laced with frustration in his tone. Even though he kept his voice down, they could still hear every word echoing off the stone walls. “And, frankly, I don’t know if you ever have.”

“Lucian…” Clarity softly replied, her tone soothing but coolly unemotional. “Serendipity is like a sister to me, and she needs me right now. How can I refuse her?”

“You should refuse her because she had no qualms voicing her prejudices against your own son, our son, Clarity. Don’t you see that she is only using your kindness for her own gain? All she ever does is suck the life out of whoever is nearest.”

“How dare you,” Clarity began, though there was little heat in the statement. “She has since explained to me that she feels Liam is a fine boy, but just not the right fit for Rhiannon. I completely understand, Lucian, and I’m not about to go ending my friendship with her because she wants the best for her daughter.”

Lucian let out a harsh half laugh, and Liam met Rhiannon’s eyes, stunned.

“That woman wants only what’s best for herself, and that has always been the case. She was a poison to her husband, a poison to her daughter, and now you are letting her poison interfere with your own son’s happiness.”

“She isn’t going to get in the way of Rhiannon’s relationship with Liam, so you can stop worrying about that. She’s only focused on getting her husband back,” Clarity said firmly.

“She made a very grave mistake, Clarity,” Lucian said, his voice hollow and mean. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Rohan never forgives her.”

Clarity gasped. “If you know something, Lucian, you need to tell me. She’s realized just how badly she needs him, and if he’s decided to separate from her for good…”

“It is not our place to get involved,” Lucian replied, a tone of finality in his voice. “But I want you to understand that what you are doing is hurting me. I feel like you’re not even my wife any longer, that you are married to your fellow Muses instead.”

Silence hung heavy in the hallway and Rhiannon reached out for Liam’s hand, feeling sorry for him. She knew firsthand how hard it was to see parents bickering this way.

He looked back at her, his blue eyes wide with misery. He had no idea that what was going on between his parents was this bad…

“When we got married, Lucian, you knew that it was more out of obligation than anything else,” Clarity reminded him, her voice betraying no emotion. “Over the years I’ve come to love and respect you, but we both have our own lives, separate from one another. You have Liam for your own and I have Cilla. We each have our own duties, and part of mine is to support Serendipity and Trinity, just as I fully expect you to support your fellow Dryads. So please, don’t fault me for doing what I have to do, what I need to do. I couldn’t bear for you to hate me, Lucian.”

“I don’t hate you,” he murmured, misery in his voice. “I guess I just need more from you than what you’re able to give.”

“Perhaps,” Clarity quietly replied. “Or perhaps you don’t need me as much as you think you do.”

“Maybe not.”

They heard the sound of a door opening again and the shuffling of feet.

“I’m going to bed,” Lucian said.

“I’ll be there in a moment. I want to check on Cilla and make sure she made it to bed alright,” Clarity told him.

They heard the door shut and then heard Clarity heading directly toward them, her heels clicking on the stone floor.

Liam briskly backed up several paces with Rhiannon, and hoped it would appear as though they had just begun to walk down the hallway.

Rhiannon had her arm hooked in his, and took a deep breath to clear the emotion from her face.

Clarity rounded the corner and nearly ran into the two of them.

“Oh,” she gasped, clutching a hand to her chest as she let out a trembling breath. Her lips curved into a kind smile as she looked at them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone else was up here.”

Rhiannon shot a quick glance at Liam, who was eyeing his mother with intense dislike.

For a moment, he seriously considered saying something to her, scolding her for being such a callous, and coldhearted wife. But it might hurt his father even further if he knew his son was privy to the disaster their marriage had become.

“We were just going to bed,” Liam told her, forcing a nonchalant smile on his face.

“It’s very late.” Clarity smiled, her hands clutching together in front of her even as her expression remained politely indifferent. “Have a good night.”

She brushed past them and strolled down the hallway toward the stairs, her footsteps echoing hollowly. Liam turned to watch her go, a mixture of sorrow and anger in his eyes.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that,” Rhiannon said, squeezing his arm gently.

He shook his head as he turned to her, coldly sober after what they had just witnessed. “I had no idea it was like this. I mean, he told me a little bit, but not that he was hurting this way. I should have known. I should have found out so I could help him.”

Rhiannon pursed her lips, weighing her words carefully. “He doesn’t want you to be hurt by this as well. That’s all. It’s not that he doesn’t want your help, he just feels he needs to deal with it on his own.”

Liam wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began walking, knowing he’d feel better once he could sit down and really think this all through.

When they made it to his room and stepped inside, he shut the door and sat on the bed, beckoning Rhiannon to sit with him. He pulled her close, needing her presence as a cold, harsh reality settled bitterly into his stomach.

“She never loved him,” he murmured, shutting his eyes and pressing his face into her hair. “My mother…she never loved my dad. They only got married so they could have Cilla and me. It was basically arranged. God…he’s never told me that.”

Rhiannon curled against him. “I think he thought that over time, she would love him as much as he loves her. But maybe she’s just not capable of it.”

“I just don’t understand.” He pulled away so he could look at her. “How can you fool someone that way? It’s so damn cruel.”

Rhiannon reached up to touch his face, a soft smile upon her lips. “You’ve never been cruel, Liam. That’s why you don’t understand it.”

His eyes searched hers, his brow furrowing with frustration and pain and disbelief as his hands came up to frame her face. This was real, this love he felt for Rhiannon, what he had right in front of him. And she loved him in return. It wasn’t fake, it wasn’t make-believe…

“Tell me, Rhia. Tell me you love me. Let me know that you mean it. Please,” he groaned. His hands fisted in her hair, bringing her closer. A sharpening awareness flashed in her eyes as her hands roamed over his chest.

“I love you, Liam,” she told him, her green eyes serious and focused upon his. “I always will, I promise you.”

And when he kissed her, he truly believed in his heart that his love for her, and her love for him, was all they would ever need.

Though he’d been upset about his parents and their marriage, there was little he could do about it. And Lord, it was frustrating.

During the next few days, his father was his normal, cheerful self, revealing none of the misery he must have been feeling. Knowing his father was holding back his emotions simply to save face was annoying the hell out of Liam.

Maybe there wasn’t anything he could actually do, but he still wanted his father to know he was there for him if he needed to vent his frustrations. But every time Liam brought it up, his father would change the subject as if it were the least important matter in the world.

So what was he supposed to do? He wasn’t as skilled as his father at concealing his emotions, and he was having a hell of a time not exploding at his mother over her insensitivity. He was certain she knew he was angry with her. Either she wasn’t bothered by it or she simply didn’t want a confrontation to find out why he was upset. Instead, she kept to herself and clung to Serendipity and the other Muses all hours of the day, a constant supporter for that horrid woman and her scheming to get Rohan back.

And that was another matter altogether…Rohan and his sudden insistence on expressing his emotions and living life to the fullest. It should have been a good thing. Hell, it was a great thing. But it was irritating Rhiannon and therefore affecting him as well.

On one ill-fated occasion he’d gone into the kitchen to grab a snack and drop in on her, and she’d been in a shrewish mood, irritable and exhausted. He had tried to comfort her but it only made her angry.

“I don’t need to be coddled, Liam, I just need some time to myself,” she spat, which only succeeded in making him defensive and irritable as well.

“Don’t take this out on me, Rhia, I didn’t do anything to you.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the door jamb to the little greenhouse off the kitchen, eyeing her resentfully. “I can’t control the way your dad behaves.”

“I know that,” Rhiannon shot back, annoyed with herself when she heard the prissiness in her voice. “I’m just sick of him getting into these childish, brutal arguments with Brock and then letting it sour his mood for the whole day. He’s a grown man. He’s supposed to be more mature than this. In fact, up until recently, he
was
more mature than this. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

“He’s trying out this whole ‘freedom of expression’ thing,” Liam reminded her. “Look, this will all blow over. He just needs time to adjust. I think he and Brock need to sit down and have a long talk about the past, and try and come to some sort of resolution.”

Rhiannon frowned as she considered his words. “I just don’t know if either of them will ever get over it. They are both too proud and convinced they are not at fault.” She shrugged, though her mouth curved into a tired smile. “It’s like a ram going up against a bull, both of equal strength and both too stubborn to give an inch to the other side.”

Liam chuckled and shook his head wearily. “I don’t want our parents’ bullshit to come between us, okay? It’s not fair to either of us to let them influence our relationship, whether they mean to or not.”

In response she moved close to him and tilted her head up, meeting his lips as her arms circled around his back. “I’m sorry, you’re right,” she said as she broke the kiss, her eyes searching his, humor in them now. “If our family was the slightest bit normal, I bet we wouldn’t have any of these problems.”

He snorted out a laugh, still holding her against him. “Nothing about any of us will ever be normal, Rhia, even you and I.”

“I think I’m fairly normal,” she said stiffly although a bemused look crossed her face. “I’m definitely the most normal out of us all.”

“Not a chance. But you are by far the most beautiful. In fact…” Something wicked flashed in his eyes as they darkened to a deeper, more glorious blue, and a sly smile spread over his lips as he spoke. “I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

He suddenly lifted her up by her hips and planted her swiftly on the surface of her workbench, his hands roaming over her body possessively. Her answering giddy laugh died the second he crushed her mouth with his own and took possession of it.

Her legs wrapped around his waist and she clung to him as he pressed against her, eager to devour her in one, delicious bite. The sudden urge to have her, then and there, was too much to resist, and by the way she responded to him, both with her body and her voice, he knew she was just as seduced as he was.