True Fate (18 page)

"Rian, I...” she began, this was it, the
moment was here.

“I have loved you nearly my whole life. I hope
that someday you can love me too.” she said quickly.

Rian smiled, "Avery I do love you I just
didn't know how much until now. You have been there for me through everything,
even now. I can't think of a better match for me.", he said with his
thoughts only momentarily straying to Nia.

Avery smiled an amazing smile and laid her head
on his chest.

"No pressure, okay.” he said stroking her
hair.

She only nodded and stayed there in the warmth of
his embrace for as long as possible. They scooted onto the bed and laid there
staring at their matching wrists and each other.

"Ave, why don't we get some sleep,” he said
as he kissed the top of her head.

Truly he was in awe at the delicateness of this woman he had known as a
fierce warrior. He knew it was going to be strange at times but he really was happy
it was her. They knew everything about each other and he was grateful for it.
He'd have to figure out how to get out of having to return to the dreamscape
permanently. That was going to be tricky, they both knew it too. But for now
this would be enough. Avery scooted into him and took a deep breath as he
wrapped her in his arms and they settled into a comfortable silence and drifted
to sleep, together.

Chapter 9

Nia focused her blurry vision by blinking slowly
and she saw Aaron standing a short distance away under an oak tree. His arms
were crossed in front of him. She immediately noticed the lack of a shirt on
his part, not that she was complaining. Her cheeks flushed and she couldn't
help but admire his tattooed form. He turned his back to her and she stared at
his tattoos that were on his upper back over his shoulders to his chest. He
turned around again and she hoped he wouldn’t see her yet.

He was definitely a sight to behold. Beautifully
intricate filigree decorated his muscular but not overly so, arms leading up
into some tribal ink.
 
A large deep red
rose covered his elbow. Miranda was scrawled in elaborate lettering on his
forearm surrounded by tiny roses

.

He definitely looked the part to be a Guardian.
In fact he reminded her of a fallen angel she’d read about in one of her
favorite books. His feet were bare and his dark hair was disheveled, he had on
a pair of black pants. She guessed, like her, he didn't think to dress for the
occasion. She self-consciously tugged at the hem of her t-shirt.

Aaron turned and saw Nia walking towards him
clearly checking him out with the most beautifully rosy cheeks he'd seen on her
yet. He smiled that dazzling smile happy that he elicited a reaction from her.
She was wearing a black t-shirt that had 'Rebels Read' on the front and a neon
pink fist of rock on it. Much to his vexation she had no pants on though he
assumed she had maybe really short shorts on. She noticed him eyeing her legs
sticking out of her oversized tee and lifted it a fraction to show the neon
pink cotton shorts she had on underneath.

Aaron's jaw nearly dropped at the flash of pink
that she'd shown him. He walked towards her slowly, holding out his hand and
she took it without hesitation. When Nia placed her hand in his it brought on
the buzzing hum she was becoming familiar with and he sighed like he was
relieved.

"How long have you been here?” Nia asked not
able to tear her eyes away from the details of his tattoos. He definitely
noticed he was a bit distracting to her and he loved every minute of it.
"Not long, just waiting for you.” He said pulling her close.

Nia giggled and put a hand on his chest to steady herself as he looked in
her eyes. A pulsing heat was coming from her palm that could render him
useless. Nia bit her lip as the tingling that started at her hand rippled
through her body. A million lifetimes could pass by right now and neither would
care. She was slowly leaning into him lost in his gaze when someone cleared
their throat.
 

Knowing who it was immediately a hot blush rose from her
neck creeping to her face. Aaron tensed as Eric approached them with an
unreadable expression on his face. Nia turned and her breath caught, it was so
hard to get used to his crystal blue eyes and the way they bore into her soul
with every gaze between them. She just stood there locked in the moment
and now it was Aaron's turn to clear his throat. 

Nia shook her head trying to clear it of all of the
haziness that seemed to settle when Eric was around. She stepped away from
Aaron and wrapped her arms around her torso. Aaron shifted on his feet clearly
uncomfortable at Nia's reaction to Eric noticing her sudden need for
distance. 

Nia was desperate to move past the awkward moment,
"Should I sleep fully clothed next time?" she asked as Eric smiled
mischievously.
 

"That's entirely up to you," was his reply.

Aaron's jaw tensed at the seemingly flirtatious exchange.
He took a step towards Nia and wrapped his strong arms around her waist pulling
her back to his bare chest flexing his muscles. She sighed as his warmth
settled on her and looked nervously at Eric who turned and started walking
towards a large tree.
Nia took Aaron's hand from around her waist and pulled him to follow.

"I've been wondering when the two of you
would show.” Eric said. "I brought a friend with me.", he added
quickly as Avery came out from behind the tree, giving an awkward wave.

She was beautiful in person but here, in this
place, she had other-worldly beauty. Her deep red hair had a luminous shine to
it and her emerald eyes shone bright. Her ivory skin was flawless and the
forest green pajama tee she was wearing made it glow. Her pants had tiny
leprechauns on them.

"Nice pajamas.” Nia said with a giggle.
Avery blushed and they all laughed.

"You too, Nia.” Avery added. It seemed to be
a comfortable atmosphere with the four of them, Nia thought.

"So where are we?” Aaron asked looking at
Eric. "This is a dreamscape specifically crafted for our training needs.
It's 'powered' by myself and Avery combined with parts of the both of your own
dreamscapes mixed in.", Eric explained.

"Avery can fill you in on its specialties.”
Eric said, nodding in her direction.

'Something's definitely different.’ Nia thought.
She watched as Eric and Avery exchanged shy glances and secret smiles. Avery
broke the short silence, "Okay so most of this place will morph to our
needs and in some situations our wants. We're all completely safe here too. We
have Eric to thank for that.” Avery said giving him another grin.

"That's great. So what do we start with
then? We are going to learn something right? Oh, yeah and I could use a shirt.”
Aaron asked.

Eric went by the tree and a branch dipped low as
he sat down followed by Avery. Aaron approached it with caution then sat too.
"Just think about the shirt or any aspect of your outfit you want to
change close your eyes and concentrate. It's fairly easy. And yes you are here
to learn.” Eric answered.

Aaron closed his eyes tight and concentrated.
Slowly but surely Nia was excited to see clothes come out of nowhere. He stayed
there for about thirty seconds and opened his eyes slowly. He was now wearing
jeans and a black tee, along with his vans. "Cool.", was his response
then he smiled at Nia.

 
Closing
her eyes for about five seconds Nia was wearing a black cami and skinny jeans
with her converse, earrings and full make up. Aaron's eyes were wide and Avery
whispered, "Show off." Then laughed. Eric just sat there proud of the
both of them.

Nia looked around wondering what this dreamscape
was really capable of when the ground started to shift and rumble as Avery's
eyes went wide. Aaron was leaning against the tree and gripped it for support, "What
the.” he said as Nia stared at the ground where something was clearly forming.

She stretched out her hand and concentrated
harder on what she wanted. Everything blurred and it looked like she was
looking through a sepia filter as all color drained from in front of her.

Eric laughed as he watched his own house raise up
from the ground. Nia's tattoos glowed amber and blue as the finishing touches
were forming. Eric was slow clapping, "Bravo.", he said, then laughed
again. Aaron gaped and looked from Nia to the house then back at Nia.

Eric slowly approached Nia and saw that her eyes
were glowing a bluish gold.

"Nia.", he whispered. She was still
unable to focus but could hear him clearly as he put a hand to her cheek,
"Nia.", he whispered once more. She smiled and took a deep breath as
he faded from sepia to a cool blue then dull color. She blinked away the haze
and regained her full sight, tipping forward into Eric's arms. "Wow."
was all Eric could say.

Aaron was stunned he'd never seen anything like
that ever! This was a lot to take in. He just sat not wanting to admit he was
afraid of what he'd just seen. He was upset that he hung back and Nia was now
in Eric's arms being held close to him.

Avery was astonished and her jealousy was spiking
as Eric was approaching Nia. Much less cradling her close also reminded her of
the enormity of this assignment and what it meant to all of their people.

Eric lifted Nia effortlessly and said, "Come
on.” over his shoulder to Aaron and Avery. They followed him inside and he laid
her on the couch. Aaron went to her side and grabbed her hand placing a light
kiss on her palm. Avery went into the kitchen where she could hear Eric.

"How the hell did she do that?” Avery asked
in a barely audible voice. Eric raised his hands and shook his head indicating
he had no clue.

"Have you taught her anything?” she asked.

"No, nothing.” he responded.

"So it's true then? She's the one?” Avery
asked wide eyed.

"I really think so Ave. Come on.” Eric said.

She followed him the back way to his room. They
had a few minutes until the tea pot whistled. He went to a hope chest in the
window seat and pulled out some blankets and dug in the bottom shifting a board
he dug deeper and came up with a book and a silver tarnished box. Avery stood
stunned, "Is that what I think it is?” she asked taking a step back. He
just nodded and put the board back in place, then put the blankets back in.

"But how? How did you get it? And why do you
have it?” Avery started to shake, 'What the hell did I get myself into? This is
bad.’ she thought to herself.

She put two and two together quickly. "How
long have you known about her?” she asked almost sounding hurt. The tea kettle
whistled and he pushed past her with the items tucked under his arm. Avery’s
heart sank. This assignment may very well be her last. If Eliara finds out he
has what she's sure is in the box, she'll kill them all. Not to mention the
hell they'll have to pay if he took it without Lilith’s consent.

Aaron sat quietly beside Nia as he waited for her
to stir. She'd looked at him for a moment smiled and closed her eyes but hadn't
opened them since. His hand rested on her wrist feeling her pulse and it was
the only thing keeping him from freaking out any more than he already was.

He heard the tea pot whistle for two seconds
before it was silenced, only a few more seconds passed by before Eric came in
holding a steamy mug. He set it on the coffee table and asked Aaron.

"Has she been out the whole time?” Eric
asked but Aaron could only nod. He had a lump in his throat the size of a golf
ball.

When Avery walked into the room you could've cut
the tension with a knife. She looked to be debating something in her head,
Aaron thought.

"It should only be a few more minutes, then
she needs to drink.” Eric instructed Aaron. "See that she drinks it all. I
have to go talk to Avery.” Eric said without meeting Avery's eyes.

"We'll be right back.” Eric said, grabbing
Avery's hand in passing and taking her out of the house.

Once outside she began to speak but he stopped
her and closed his eyes and a thin iridescent bubble surrounded them.

"Please Ave don't be mad. I... I wanted to
tell you but there are some things that I have been forbidden to speak of. My
life hasn't been my own for a very long time now.” he said firm but sadly.

Avery couldn't stand to see the worry on his
face.

She sighed, "I'd forgive you a thousand
deadly sins. I just... this is risky. What if they find out? Where will we go?
How will we hide?” Avery blurted in a shaky tone as her body was wracked with
tremors, clearly afraid of what could happen. Moving closer Eric cupped both
sides of her face forcing their eyes to meet.

"Avery please listen to me. If I'm right and
Nia is who I think she is, we have nothing to fear. No one will dare come
against us and if they do they will lose. I promise you that I've thought this
through, you have to trust me on this.” He said pleadingly stroking her cheek
with his thumb.

How on earth was she supposed to disagree with
him? The fact of the matter is that she trusted him utterly and completely. She
sighed and nestled her cheek to his warm palm. "I will always trust you
and if you say it will be okay. I believe you.” she gave him a small smile.