The Magic Wakes (33 page)

“You will learn to be wise, or you will destroy yourselves as effectively as the Dragumon wished.” Jewel spread her wings and with a deep inhale lifted off the ground.

The rush of air pushed Landry back a step, and Talia’s hair whipped at him this time. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, Jewel circled high above. She crossed the light of the suns, opened a portal, and disappeared.

Landry set course for Gneledar, and Talia’s childhood home. Although not as large as his suite in the palace, the cottage impressed him with its comfort. It looked and smelled like Talia. Clean, orderly, and decorated in earth tones.

The open living area included a small dining area with a food metabolizer and one seat at a small round table pushed against the wall. A faded blue couch faced the opposite wall. He saw the computer console built into the coffee table and knew the wall was her view screen.

A short hall led to two rooms and a bath. The first room was full of books, computer disks, and electrical panels, sheets of thin metal, welding equipment, and star charts. The other room was Talia’s bedroom. Decorated in soft greens and rich browns, it was an extension of the forest on the other side of the large windows lining two walls. The furniture was sparse, just a bed and one small nightstand with an old-fashioned lamp. One door led to a closet with a dresser in it and another door led to the bathroom.

The bathroom was also uncluttered with the things he thought a woman would have lying around the house. There were no bottles of perfume or make-up. He found the simplicity comforting.

Several times during the day, he tried to spoon soup into Talia. And he talked to her. He told her all about his childhood and growing up in the palace. He told her about his schooling and why he had chosen to follow his father into the military.

When night came, he carried Talia outside and up the trail above her home. There was a tree along the trail with a wide branch low enough to sit on. He leaned against the trunk and cradled Talia in his arms. Maybe the trees would be able to reach her if he couldn’t. He continued talking to her.

“I’ve never let anyone get close to me. I thought,” Landry ran his hand through his hair causing it to stick up, “I thought love would make me weak. Then I met you and I knew from that first moment. But I tried to ignore it.”

Landry buried his face in her hair and breathed deeply. The palace nurses had found the shampoo she liked that smelled like mint. The scent carried the ache deep into his chest.

“Talia.” Her name hurt, but he said it again. “Talia, I love you. Let me keep you safe. You shouldn’t have to suffer the cost alone. Let me share it with you. Come back to me.”

She didn’t move, but there was a stirring in her mind. A flutter that teased him before it disappeared. He sat up and moved them gently to the ground, laying Talia out beside him and resting her head in his lap while he leaned against the tree.

“Where did you go?” He brushed her face with his fingers and reached for her with his mind. Her mind remained empty, but something had changed.

He closed his eyes and looked around with his spirit self. Talia’s mind was dark, but small flickers of light burst into being before fading out of sight. He followed them until he found her. A small huddled mass inside a thick-walled box. Landry touched the box and a rush of emotions burst out of it.

Pink affection, bright white hope, but angry reds of fear and gray sadness surrounded them and pushed them back into the box.

Talia was a hostage inside her own body.

Landry opened his eyes and reached for her hand.

“Don’t let fear keep you from me. You’re stronger than this.” He massaged her hand in his until the hope within her gained strength. The walls in her mind weakened. He pushed them gently with his mind, seeking a way in.

A crack branched across the wall and Landry heard Talia sigh. The walls turned to water and collapsed on the small spirit girl hiding within.

Talia, the teen, lay shivering and wet. She had all of her insecurities and fears wrapped around her. Landry knelt and pulled a scarf of loneliness from her face. Her eyes were scrunched shut, but she stretched her legs and arms as he unwrapped anguish, defeat, and guilt. And she changed. She grew older, regaining the confidence from her successes. She grew to take up residence in her body once again.

“That’s my girl, come back to me. Let me see those beautiful eyes again.” Landry let his fingers trace her arm, her shoulder, up her neck to her face. He outlined her eyes, slid down her nose to her lips. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Talia, please. I need you.”

The electricity built between them again. Soft whispers sounded in his mind, but he couldn’t make out the words. Her eyes fluttered, but they didn’t open. Her fingers responded with pressure, tightening around his hand. He kissed her lightly on the lips and when he moved away she spoke to him in a scratchy whisper.

“Landry?” When no other sound came, she spoke to his mind.
I can’t open my eyes. Nothing works.

“Be patient, you’ve been unconscious for four days. Take your time. I’m just glad to have you back. There’s nowhere we need to be, just rest.”

“Water?”

“Just a minute.” Landry carried her as quickly as he dared back to the house, and placed a glass of water to her lips. It was wonderful to see and hear her swallow on her own again. He swallowed with her each time, his fingers always somewhere on her skin. Her face, her arms, her hands. She sighed as he lay her back down.

“Stay with me,” and she slept again.

Landry crawled into the bed beside her, holding her close. Relief and exhaustion fought for control, but all he wanted to do was listen to her breathe. He held her, gently entered her dreams and watched as she relived the unbinding spell.

He saw things he had missed that day. The swirl of the energy pulsing through the circle, the threads connecting the mages to the Dragumon. From Talia’s point of view, he soared through the city and crashed down with the agony of the Dragumon’s death as they were ripped apart at the cellular level. He watched as she cut the threads tying them to Sendek.

Talia cried in her sleep, and he wept with her. He shared each sensation, each emotion that flowed through her. The pain, loss, guilt, and the anger. He concentrated on sending his love and admiration in to replace the nightmare. When her breathing eased and the battle was over, he allowed himself to sleep as well.

When Talia woke again, it was slowly, but her eyes opened easily. Her body was stiff and weak, but it obeyed her command. Landry lay beside her, sleeping peacefully. His face thin and covered in stubble. Right there, Talia made a promise not to leave him alone ever again.

I’ve been so selfish
. She pushed a lock of hair off his forehead.

She carefully crawled out from under his arm and noticed her pajamas. The warmth rushed to her face. Maybe it was best not to think about that. She gathered some clothes and headed to the shower.

Landry sat on the couch waiting for her when she came out. He had placed a bowl of fruit on the table alongside her favorite juice.

“Thank you for bringing me home. It was what I needed. I . . .” Talia stopped as the heat warmed her cheeks. She couldn’t get past the pajamas. She ducked her head and let her hair fall forward, hiding her face. “I wanted to thank you for taking care of me. It was considerate of you to. . .”

She glanced at him, sitting before her, and bit her lip. Landry reached up and pulled her down to the couch. At first, his kiss was gentle, but it grew more insistent. As soon as she melted into him, he stopped.

“Thank you for staying with me. If you had given up, I might not have made it back.”

“Why did you lock me out? I could have helped you from the beginning. I wanted to.” The hurt in his voice made her ache. She reached up to rest her palm on his face, feeling the roughness of the stubble.

“I was afraid of disappointing you, losing you. I didn’t want you to see the monster I am. Their deaths were horrible, painful, and I did that. Worse, I wanted them dead.”

Landry folded his arms around her—the protective shield she longed for most.

“You didn’t act alone. I just wish,” he paused while his fingers drew circles on her back, “I just wish you would have trusted me to stay with you.”

Talia buried her face in his chest. “I’m sorry, so sorry. I should have trusted you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I’ve always kept everyone out. Made sure I was alone. Maybe I didn’t trust myself. Those first meetings with you hurt and angered me more than anything ever before. Emotionally, you brought me to life. Woke me up and kept me off balance ever since.”

“I keep you off balance?”

Talia looked up at him. Just the sight of his eyes turned her insides to liquid. “Can you feel that?”

He cocked his head to the side as if listening and the corners of his mouth tilted up. “Mmm, yes.”

He bent down and kissed her forehead. The tremor ran through her and he chuckled.

“Maybe you should apologize?” Talia grinned as his eyes widened.

He pulled her closer. “I won’t apologize for keeping you off balance, but I will say I’m sorry for my behavior when we met. You scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want to be attracted to you. Plus, I thought you worked for the Signum, and I had plenty of reasons to hate them.”

“Your father?”

“Yes. I guess that’s out of my hands now. I really am sorry.” His fingers slipped under her hair at the back and massaged her neck. “Will you let me make—”

She placed a finger on his lips then leaned in close, pushing him back into the corner of the couch.

“I found that in spite of how angry you made me, I waited for you to show up again. And that scared me. You should know that I’m not scared of you anymore.” She pressed her lips to his and it was quite some time before either of them talked again.

“Shh. I know what you need to do. I knew it the night Jaron died, and I’m going with you. There’s nothing to discuss.”

The breath she held pushed its way out and her shoulders relaxed. “How did you know before me?”

“That night I sensed the unease in the air, the fear that ran through all those mages when word of Jaron’s death reached them. It worried me, but when they saw you it changed. They knew without being told. I knew you would eventually see it too, and like every good leader you would do what you needed to help your people.”

Talia laughed. “I don’t have any people.”

“You do now.” He smoothed her hair away from her forehead and tucked an end behind her ear.

“I don’t think I want this.”

“If you did, I’d be worried. Now, forget about it for a while. We need to get back to Joharadin and fill Stefan in on the plan.” Landry squeezed her hands as she looked at her feet. “He’s going to love you. Don’t worry so much.”

She wanted to believe him, but she knew Landry was the only family Stefan had left. And she planned to take him away. For good.

They returned to Joharadin the next day for King Frederick’s memorial service, followed by Stefan’s coronation. The ceremony and celebrations took days. The only thing that kept Talia calm in the midst of all the people was the sight of Landry in his full regalia.

Her eyes found him the moment he entered the room and followed him everywhere he went. He stood tall in the navy blue suit with a red stripe on the side of the pants. The jacket, covered in ribbons and medals, accentuated his shoulders. This was his world. He moved about it with ease, and something hard and cold formed in the pit of Talia’s stomach. As much as she wanted to be with Landry, she would never feel comfortable here.