Children of the Gods - A Chosen Novel (10 page)

“Griff?”

“I think you might have been talking to her.”
He nodded his head toward me.

“To Reka?”

“Maybe.”

“Yeah, she pesters me in my dreams a lot.” I
waved my hand like it was no big deal, but his expression and
ghostly pallor frightened me. Did I give myself away?

He moved back to his chair, but the light
heartedness from earlier was gone. His eyes were aimed straight at
me, every muscle tense. The guard he was supposed to be.

I rolled over and tried not to make a sound
as the tears just kept coming.

“Griff, will you please call a bath for
me?”

“Yes, my lady.”

I waited until he turned his back, then
headed for the washroom.

“How may I be of service,” a voice issued
from the wall.

“I need a bath and Anaya’s girls.”

“No girls, just the bath,” I called from just
inside the door where he would not see me if he looked.

“No girls, just the bath,” he corrected.

“Right away,” the unknown voice
responded.

I could hear Griff shifting in his chair.

“Anaya?” He sounded concerned. “If you need
to talk about anything, ever, I am here.”

“Thank you, Griff.” I wished I could take him
up on his offer, but this was my burden to bear, alone.

The water soothed every aching muscle. With
no girls here to panic, I sank down into the water, letting it rise
over my head. It could not wash away all my troubles, but floating
on my back in the warm water, I could pretend for a little
while.

The minute Jaxson entered the bedroom I could
feel him. Panicked, I scrambled to get to my drying cloth before he
could see my bruises.

My ears perked as the tinkling of the wall
sounded. Jaxson was still in the room. I hated to admit it, but his
presence relaxed me. It must have been Griff leaving.

“All finished?” Jaxson asked from the
doorway.

“I did not realize it was so late. I
apologize. It will only take a moment to get ready.”

“I am early.” He took his time walking toward
me. Stopping just short of me, he leaned against the cabinet.

“How was your day?” he asked.

“It was quiet. How was yours?”

“Also quiet.” He smiled.

It was odd to be near him and not touch him,
but I would not be the one to initiate contact. I found it was
harder to keep my distance than I expected.

He watched me for a moment. When I did not
say anything, he moved to the bath. Sitting on the edge, he dipped
his hand in.

“Still hot?” His eyebrow raised.

I shrugged. “I did not want to hold up
dinner.”

“You have plenty of time. Would you like to
resume your bath?”

“I am dried already,” I said, shaking my
head.

“If you do not mind waiting, I would like to
bathe then.”

“Not at all, take your time, my dear.”

A small smile played at his lips, but he
turned away and I was unable to determine the cause of his
amusement.

A strong whiff of his scent filled the air as
he sank down into the warm water. I lingered for a moment, then
forced myself out of the room, cursing Anaya for the comfort I had
to deny myself.

I pulled several dresses from the bureau. All
of them left parts of my back exposed, which would reveal my
bruises. Finally I gave up on the dresses and pulled on my animal
skin pants and bodice. It covered the bruises, just barely.

There was the thin strip of skin between the
pants and the top to worry about. Jaxson’s eyes were keen. I could
not hope they would miss any imperfection.

I turned to see if Jaxson needed a drying
cloth and nearly gasped. Jaxson was leaning against the doorway
watching me, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“How long have you been standing there?” I
asked and immediately regretted how demanding my tone was. “I did
not hear you come in.” I tried to sound casual.

“Does that bother you?”

“No, I have just been more aware of you
lately. I guess I was distracted.”

His eyes tracked up and down my body. “I
cannot imagine why.” He smiled.

Even now, after all of me that he had seen,
his comment still made me blush. He moved slowly toward me.
Unconsciously, I turned into him.

His hands slipped under the edge of my top.
He leaned in and kissed me. I forgot about dinner, or hating him,
and kissed him back.

Too quickly he pulled back to look at me. “We
should get you some food.”

“I am not that hungry,” I responded, feeling
breathless.

“You will be.” He kissed me again, then got
dressed. I sat on the bed and tried to conjure the image of him
looking wild just before he cut the worm out of Anaya’s back. She
was quick to help me remember.

~o~

The food tasted better than ever. I ordered
seconds and tried not to let the way Griff stared at me, spoil my
enjoyment of it.

The more I ate, the happier Jaxson seemed.
After two plates, I decided it was time to call it a night, though
I could have eaten more.

How awful it must be to fight the pull Jaxson
had, denying herself the benefits of being with him for a thousand
years. Did Anaya know what she was missing out on? It was clear
Jaxson did. Yet somehow he never seemed even the tiniest bit
bitter.

“Love?”

I looked up to see Jaxson looking concerned.
The only emotion that was genuine from the very beginning, even
before he experienced the passion he so desired.

“Yes?”

He moved closer. “You seem distant. Are you
still worrying about Duester?”

“A little.”

“I promise I will not let her near Reka’s
family. I have granted them a pass.” He brushed his hand over my
face hesitantly.

They were safe. I did not care about myself
in that moment. Unable to restrain myself I pulled him into a hug,
pressing my face to his chest so he could not see the tears that
welled up in my eyes.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He raised my face up so I was looking him in
the eyes. His expression was intense. “I will do anything to make
you happy. Anything.”

A shudder ran through me, reminding me he was
speaking to Anaya, not me. He kissed me and I tried not to think of
what would happen if he found out it was me, and not Anaya, he was
about to take to bed.

Chapter
12

Griff was quiet as he watched Jaxson kiss me
goodbye.

“Take good care of her,” Jaxson said to Griff
casually as he left. He seemed more light hearted this morning.

Griff’s eyebrows knitted together and he
looked at me like he was willing me to mentally hear his questions.
I was sure I knew what they were, too.

“Fast healing. A bonus I get for having the
Kincha worm.”

His expression turned sour.

“Turn around.”

He complied.

“What kind of punishment are you going to
inflict today?” I asked as I dressed.

“I thought we would start with you on the
offensive.”

~o~

When he first said it, offensive sounded
great. Maybe I would get a chance to repay the abuse I suffered the
day before. Standing there, with him looking impassable, I was
doubting my sanity.

“You want me to just attack?” I asked.

“How about you try to hit me for
starters.”

That did not sound quite as bad as hurling my
body at him. I stepped forward and swung. Before I even knew what
was happening, my arm was twisted behind my back in an unnatural
way and the ground was rising up to meet me. I threw a leg forward
to try and catch myself. Griff’s other arm wrapped around my waist,
catching me before my face collided with my own knee.

“How is this supposed to help me, Griff?”

“I wanted to show you how effective a good
block can be. I thought it would be better to have you hit me,
rather than me beating on you, over and over, while you are trying
to figure it out.”

He sounded sincerely sorry, but I was
unconvinced he was not still enjoying making me regret asking him
to lie to Jaxson.

“Maybe we can tone it down a bit, so I can
understand what you are doing, while you are doing it.”

“That was toned down,” he said, quietly.

~o~

My arms throbbed from being contorted into
all kinds of unpleasant angles.

“Are you going to stare me to death?” Griff
asked, his tone sarcastic.

“I need a minute,” I said, holding up a
finger. His lips twitched, but it was not what I would call a
smile. He looked like a bull about to charge.

“Griff, wait!”

He did not wait. He moved, swift like a cat,
reaching for me, not to hit but to grab me. I reacted without
thought, grabbing his arm. I spun out of the way and twisted his
arm like he had done to mine so many times.

He held still and I let go.

“Good job,” he said, patting me on the
back.

“Really? You did not just let me have that,
did you?”

He looked sheepish. “Maybe a little.”

I nudged his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Lunch?”

I nodded. “I am famished.”

My hair comb slipped from my hair and fell
toward the floor. Griff bent to grab it at the same time I reached
for it, cracking me with his head. Little stars popped in front of
my eyes. I stumbled and he reached out to steady me. Something warm
trickled down my forehead.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, you will have to teach me that
technique some time. It is very effective.”

“Yes, well it requires a very hard head.” He
reached up to wipe the trickle of blood from my brow. There was a
sudden flash of images racing through my head. I gasped and
stumbled back, away from his touch.

“Griff?” I looked up at him. “How did you…the
memories…” I sank to the floor. He stood frozen, a look of horror
on his face.

“They were yours?” I whispered, as
realization hit.

“No, I… I did not mean to show you any
memory.”

The tears flooded in before I could steel
myself against them. As the first ones fell, I realized I did not
care if he saw me cry.

Griff scooped me up and carried me back to
the room, cradling me in his arms. He set me on the bed and stood
back.

“I did not mean to show you anything,” he
whispered. “I am so sorry.”

“Griff, do you think you could bring lunch
here? I am not up to going to the dining room.”

“Of course.” He bowed and headed out of the
room right away. I think he was relieved to be free of me, and I
needed a moment to think, alone.

The images flooded back to me. They were
memories I was familiar with, only they looked very different
through his eyes.

Jaxson was leaning over Anaya. She looked
wild, manic even.

“
I am dying, Jaxson. I do not want to
die.”

“
You know there is a way to save you.” His
tone was pleading.

“
No, I do not want that.”

“
Anaya, if you go through the Living
Waters with me, it will heal you. It would only take a few weeks
and you would be as good as new.”

“
I do not want it that way. Please, you
have to save me. You have to find another way, otherwise…” She
paused and took a deep breath. It looked like it was a struggle for
her to do so. “Jaxson,” she gripped his arm, “I am going to
die.”

“
I will find a way to save you. Hold on.”
His voice was soft and gentle. As it was in Anaya’s memory, but
this time, I realized, he also seemed sad.

He and Griff left Anaya on the bed and went
out into the hall.

“
What am I going to do?” Jaxson
asked.

“
You could force her into the Living
Waters. It is not like she could stop you.”

“
No, I am not going to force her to do
anything. Besides it is more likely, she would actually poison me
with her hatred.”

“
Her Kincha could survive in another host,
could it not?”

Jaxson stood frozen, looking like he was
considering what Griff had suggested, and was horrified by it.

“
I do not know. How could I force someone
else into this life? If Anaya comes with the Kincha, what would
happen to that person? If not, would I just end up trapped with
someone new who hates me? I think it is just best to let her go.
She is miserable, and so am I.”

“
You will be alone,” Griff
pleaded.

“
Alone is better than what I have now. I
am tired of always doing my duty.”

“
Will you not also die, once she is
gone?”

“
It is for the best. I have lived too many
lifetimes already. Maybe the Osidian are right. Maybe it is
unnatural for us to live so long. I envy you, Griff. At least you
know you have a soul. I feel empty inside. Maybe my soul passed on
a decade ago when my body should have.”

Jaxson looked so sad. I ached for him, for a
pain and a life I could never imagine being forced to live.

“
It is an easy thing for the Osidian to be
self-righteous when they can choose not to accept their Kincha. You
were never given the luxury of choice, to accept your Kincha or
your role as king. Destiny chose you, Jaxson. You are exactly as
you should be.”

They were both silent for a moment. Both
looking lost in thought.

Jaxson looked up at Griff. There was a sudden
gleam in his eyes. “You would finally be—”

Griff interrupted, “No, do not ever think
that way. Besides, you are needed now more than ever, when there is
such turmoil. The war with the Osidian is worse than it has ever
been.”

“
Destiny would call another, Griff. A new
king would be born. Our people could survive until he is of age.
Maybe life would be better for everyone that way.”

His memory was not like my dream. It did not
jump forward in time to the point where he did save her. It ended
there, leaving me to wonder what made him change his mind. Anaya
was not forthcoming with the answer.