TheHealers (29 page)

The smoothies Ana had made were the only way any nutrition could get to my stomach. Leo forced the straw in my mouth again now. He had not slept in here with me since that first night. Tabitha’s nasty words came back to me as I realized he was probably going to her. Good for him. He wasn’t worth it. Leo had betrayed me, too.

Betrayal

That word invaded my thoughts again. Marissa wasn’t that great of a Seer. She had said only one man would betray me. Ha! It was really two. And probably more if I continued to open myself up like this to others. It had to stop. I needed to get up and move again. A haunting thought sat in my mind. How long had Tabitha and Leo been going at it? While he was with me? Oh. It hurt all over again. Not as bad as Alexander, I was already too numb to experience much more of that, but this hurt still.

“How’s Tabitha?” I watched his face carefully for any reaction. His brows arched in shock at first and then they settled to an unreadable expression on his face. I think that was because I hadn’t spoken in days.

“I know what you’re thinking. Tabitha is not who I want. Yes, she’s always wanted me, but I choose you, Layna.” All this time she had been my friend and it was a lie. Leo lied, too. They would both use me.

“Why did you two feel like you had to hide your friendship?” If there was not deception, why hide it?

Leo put the smoothie on the nightstand and sat on the bed.

“Tabitha and I always knew what you were. Her family works for us. We didn’t want anyone to hurt you so we kept it a secret. I knew there would be others out to use you. I waited until I was powerful enough to protect you. I am now. No one will hurt you, Layna.”

They cannot hurt you.

The words from my dream with Asclepius whispered through my senses. No. No one would hurt me. Not because of Leo or Alexander’s protection, but because I was badass enough to do it. All this magic and blood swirled through me in a fire. The last thing I needed was another stupid, lying man telling me he was going to protect me. I would wait until I was strong enough to let Leo see the power that surged through me now. I could taste it.

“I want to start training again. I trained to fight at the Conservatory. It would be healing for me.” True. I hadn’t completely lied.

His eyes lit up like sparklers on the fourth of July.

“I’ll set up some time for you in the gym right away. You’re a fighter. This is why I want you by my side. You and I together are unstoppable. You’ll get better soon. I can wait for you.” He brought his lips until they hovered just over my ear. “I remember the taste of you, Layna. Do you remember my tongue all over you?” Bright red flushed all over my cheeks. No matter how much I knew I didn’t want him, my body protested. “You do. I know you want more.” Then he touched his lips to mine and turned to leave the room. Magic licked up my spine. I would bide my time and show him. Although, using him could be fun. I wouldn’t be attaching myself to any man, but mindless sex wouldn’t hurt anyone. I would definitely have to scratch the itch soon or it would get unbearable. Aphrodite made sure of that.

After finishing the real food that Ana brought, I decided to take a shower. I knew I was going to work out but I needed to wash the tears off of my body. There was no good coming from them.

Hot water shot out everywhere. My skin lapped it in like a kitty with milk. Soapy bubbles lathered up all over my skin and then I washed it off. I shampooed my hair twice and then stood for a while longer. A shower cream of coconut and lilies had been placed in there for me. The creamy white glistened over my skin. The smell gave me warmth and then familiarity. I tore open the shower curtain and heaved into the toilet until I plummeted to my knees in horror. I remembered the last time I wore this smell. The first day I met Alexander. Fever pitched my skin into an unwilling memory.

His hand caressed my face. No words yet, but the glow in his tourmaline eyes and the firm hold of his jaw
spoke of his need. My legs spread and my insides stretched from the push of him inside me. Alexander waited until he knew I was not in pain before he began his takeover of my body. One hand gripped me from behind while the other stroked my cheeks.

“I lose all control when I’m being squeezed in your tight body.”

His words licked fire everywhere. His gaze wandered to where we joined bodies and all his restraint dissolved. A catch in his breath and then he gorged on me. His mouth on my breast his hands everywhere else and the constant thrust of our hips and legs slapping against each other.

Huddled into a ball on the shower floor I hid the wetness of my eyes in the water spraying out of the shower.
Not willing to leave the warmth in this shower, I continued to hold myself together with the strength in my own arms.

I could do this. I had to pull myself off of this cliff. Water still fell everywhere, but I couldn’t move. Why? Why wasn’t I good enough for him? How could he just trade me off like a fucking object? I wanted to be angry. Anger numbed the hurt. The hurt rose up in my throat and I jumped out of the shower. I held my head over the toilet until it was all gone. Nothing was left.

I showered again and dressed before Leo appeared in my room.

“Ready?” His excitement induced nausea to my stomach.

“Let’s go.” I didn’t want to throw up again and the anger seemed to keep that at bay. Fighting would bring the anger out. I breathed it in and out. Embrace it. I prayed to Ares, the God of war. I knew his magic flowed through me. I gripped it now to give me power to hold myself together.

I let it loose when we got to the training room. There were others in the room watching me. I didn’t care. Let them see what I could do. Let them fear me.

Thwack! The sound of my legs and fists hitting the punching bag brought me to life. I kept at it until everything went blurry from the rigorous pace. The muscles in my arms flexed and purred at being put to use. I could heal, but I could also hurt. This power felt good. I leaned on all the magic to hold me up. It took over for me so I could heal myself.

The next few days passed just as my first few days had. Except this time I was upright and beating the crap out of punching bags. No one would spar with me and I couldn’t blame them. Rage shrieked out of my pores. Tears still continued to fall, but they were invisible next to all the sweat. I also ate more. All the exercise made for a large hole in my stomach that had to be refilled on a constant basis.

As I replenished my stomach one afternoon in the kitchen, Tabitha walked in.

I wanted to hate her, but looking at her now I was just reminded me of the friendship we had shared. Was it all fake? She could have only been my friend because of the magic in my blood. There had been chemistry between us. Now that I looked back on the memories, I wondered if it had been orchestrated by her. The thought shadowed loneliness across my heart. Wanting to be a part of something had lured my senses into a false sense of security. Surely, I would have noticed her otherness if I had paid better attention. Blinded by my need to belong, I had accepted her.

My eyes sharpened at her stare as I decided I would not be making that mistake again. This was not a woman to trust.

Tabitha crossed the kitchen amid darted glares from the others in the room until she stood in front of me. A smile threatened to tug my lips up at the sight of other people besides me that did not trust her.

“I’ve heard you’ve been training.” Eyes slit down to me with utter disregard. If she hated me so much, what motivated her to speak to me now?

“I have to find some way to release all the anger inside of me. It seemed like a safe option.” I picked up and chewed the last bite of my turkey sandwich. Her eyes widened with what I took to be fear. Good. I wanted her to fear me, distrust me. I would not play into her hands as I had before. In fact, it seemed she had always pulled the strings in our friendship. Shock rippled through me in disgust. I had been her pawn, too.

“What do you want, Tabitha? It’s obvious you’ve been using me from the start. Why not try to be honest this time around?”

A snarl sounded from her chest but her words were less volatile. “Let’s take a walk outside.”

I stood and took my plate to the sink and finished the last bit of my water before I put the cup down. The only way I could go outside was with supervision, so I guessed Tabitha would qualify or she wouldn’t have offered. No way would I turn that down. I wanted to scope out the outdoors as much as I could while planning my escape. I would not stay here forever.

I looked into Tabitha’s eyes and responded. “I’d love to.”

She cackled a scary witchy laugh and turned to lead me out of the kitchen. Funny. She didn’t seem as beautiful as I used to think. Must have had something to do with her lies.

The hallways were large enough for us to walk side by side, but I still shuffled behind a little. I didn’t have any clue how to find my way through Leo’s house so I let her lead me. We came to a door at the end of a hallway guarded by a brute of a man.

“Hi there, little missy. Any chance of letting me nibble on you later?” I stood stunned, assuming he must have spoken to Tabitha. After I caught the daggers she threw at me with her gaze, I realized he was indeed speaking to me. Surprise curled around me like electricity. Tabitha had always been the one to draw the looks and attention from men. Even I had fallen prey to her charms. Now, I was the one soliciting attention. It drove her crazy.

I looked up at the door guard. “It’s possible.” I smiled big and sweet for him.

He stood to the side with a big grin as we walked through the door. He did grab a feel of my ass.

“Hey!” I protested. Being admired wasn’t as great as I thought it would be.

“See you later, sweetheart.” And his chuckle disturbed my ears until we escaped to the gardens.

I had never actually been into the gardens but I had seen a part of them from one of the windows in my hallway. It mystified me to realize that something so beautiful could be in a place filled with people that wreaked such havoc on the world. Scented flowers kissed my nose while green leaves floated by. Lush gardenias teased my skin as my hands reached out to the bushes.

“He doesn’t really love you.” Sharp words pierced the air and seemed out of place here amongst all this beauty.

Was she talking about the brute, Leo, or Alexander?

“Who do you mean?” I continued to graze my hands over the soft petals in the leafy bushes. I didn’t even give her the satisfaction of looking up at her comment. She wouldn’t hurt me anymore.

“Any of them, Layna. Especially Leo. The only reason he wants you is because of your magic. It’s what you are, not who you are that attracts him. At least, I knew when he was with me, he wanted me.” Bitch. She was scraping for anything now that Leo had me here, so she sought out a way to bring me down with her. Unfortunately for her, I couldn’t get any lower. My soul had been emptied and beyond. In fact, the sandwich I just ate started to create a little bile in my throat. I swallowed and knew not to let Tabitha get the best of me. Her words might have hit the mark, but I didn’t have to give her credit for it.

“What’s your point, Tabby?” Getting under her skin by using that childhood name had been low and petty of me, but this was what I resorted to. A large grin creased over my face.

I continued to stroll, aware that Tabitha followed, and suddenly halted for a sweet and musky smell that took over my emotions. Lashes touched as my eyelids rested together, my legs wobbled and I found strength in a wooden bench next to the flowers. I reached out to lay my fingers against the soft candlelight color of the petal. I could see this flower without my eyes, and knew it just from the smell. Lilies had found their way to me in a plethora of ways over my life time. It didn’t make me sick this time, just thoughtful.

I knew he was there before I opened my eyes and turned. His warm hands came down on my shoulders.

“Do you remember?” Leo’s voice suddenly destroyed the bliss of my sweet smelling flower. He brought a bitter pungent scent to everything.

“I do. Why the lilies?” I would be a fool to not realize that there had to be significance in all of this. The first month we had known each other, Leo had brought me lilies. I had delighted in it at the time, thinking it unique
—
now I wondered the scheme behind it all. As things unfolded, it seemed everything had been intentional. In fact, he had been the one that first gave me the lily and coconut scented creams. I played right into his plans.

I turned my body to face him and saw that Tabitha had disappeared. His arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me into his chest.

“I planted these lilies here after we met, and knew one day I would bring you here. This is for you, Layna, everything I put in place for the family we would create.” I swallowed. Fear shivered over my skin and Leo mistook it for cold and held me closer. “The lilies are healing plants and they came from the Goddess Hera when she nursed a baby. You are a healing gift to us and the baby you and I make will fulfill many destinies. It will bring good into this world and get rid of the hate between Hunters and Healers. This family of ours will change the world. Tell me you want this. We can do great things together and I love you. I promise to love our baby or babies, however lucky we get.”

Honest to goodness, he smirked. Had he just proposed? I sat back and looked up into his stormy eyes, although they looked more like a calm ocean now.