Authors: Judith Leger
Breaking past a narrow thicket, he heaved into the meadow. She stumbled and fell to one knee. He stopped, reached down and grabbed her under the arm. He pulled her to her feet. Seconds lost, never to be returned, he rushed toward the faery circle.
Something hit the ground behind them. He glanced over his shoulder. Magical power bounced in rays of greenish beams toward them, ripping and tearing at the earth. He twisted to one side, tugging Caitlyn with him.
“There, do you see? Up ahead. Go!” he shouted to her as they neared the center of the meadow.
“No, I won’t go without you. I won’t!” she yelled over the growing winds and booming of thunder and magic.
“This isn’t the time to argue. Go.” One handed, he jerked her in front of him and shoved. As she passed him, she grabbed his wrist.
“No,” she cried.
Seeing the stubborn glint in her eyes, he nodded once, intent on her escape. Leaping ahead, they sprinted the last few feet. He shot a look behind them and noticed the vapor bearing down on them.
Flowers, their stems buffeted by the storm, formed a perfect ring. Shay stepped into the center, pulling Caitlyn close, and murmured the words needed to enter the Sidhe. Rays of light rose from the ground beneath their feet. The moment they were encased in the light, the vapor reached and joined them in the circle.
For several seconds, they were coated with searing blackness, and then the world of the Sidhe materialized. The royal gardens spread before them. Caitlyn’s legs gave out, and she sank to the ground, her gaze wandering over the new environment.
Shay sent out mental probes to check if any of the mist had managed to succeed in following them. Nothing. Panting, out of breath, he looked down at Caitlyn.
She must have felt his gaze on her because she raised her eyes and stared at him.
“What the hell was that?” she muttered, her voice vibrating from the exertion of escaping, and perhaps, a tinge of fear.
“I can’t stay.” He needed to return to the human world. Gwyneth was there, and he intended to kill her. Now that Caitlyn was safe, he would leave.
Before he opened his mouth to answer or even move, his feet slid across the stone path. Realizing the spell controlling his imprisonment was renewed upon his arrival in the Sidhe, he concentrated on breaking free. The harder he fought, the faster he was propelled, until his feet were pulled into the spot he had been rooted in almost twenty-five years ago. Frustration, anger, and then defeat filled him.
He refused to cry out for mercy. He did not expect any. His bones shifted, his skin split and cracked, peeling back to reveal the hardened wood beneath. The look of utter horror on Caitlyn’s face would haunt him forever. His last thought before pain took over was how cruel Rhys was to allow his daughter to witness this.
Caitlyn sat, frozen on the ground where they’d come into this different world. What had Shay called it? The Sidhe. She tried to convince herself that her imagination ran away with her. On shaky legs, she managed to gain her feet and stumble to where Shay had transformed. She couldn’t deny what she saw. Traces of blood mingled in the twisted bark. Strands of dark hair fluttered in the gentle breeze.
A half laugh, half sob escaped her and bounced off the garden wall. “I’m mad. That, or I’m having a horrible nightmare. Please, tell me you’re not Shay. Please.” She raised a hand and touched the trunk of the tree. Sharp thorns pierced her fingertips.
She stared at the drops of blood coming from the puncture wounds and giggled. “I’m dreaming. That’s it. I’m–”
Rhys called her name. She twisted and faced him. The gardener’s long-legged stride ate up the distance from the arched doorway of the building to her left. He wrapped his arms about her shoulders and pulled her close to his chest.
“Shay turned into a tree,” she murmured. Instead of finding relief in the security of Rhys’s arms, she pulled away and turned back to the tree. “He really turned into a tree.”
“It is his punishment.” Rhys squeezed her shoulders.
Anger sparked a burning fire in her. She jerked her gaze to the tall blond. “Punishment? He brought me back, why should he be punished?”
“I cannot reverse my judgment. He knew this when he returned you. His sentence would resume.”
“Resume? Change him back now. Do you hear me? I want Shay back, the way he was.” She eased away from Rhys, taking several steps to the right.
“I can’t do that.”
“You don’t want to,” Caitlyn accused, wrapping her arms about her waist.
His back stiffened, and he scowled at her. “No, I don’t.”
“You know, I don’t like you right now. Not at all.”
Before she continued, a movement behind him caught her attention. Myrielle glided toward them. Memories flared to life. “You’re the queen? I remember now, you’re the one I saw in my dream. I knew I saw you somewhere before I met you.”
“Come, Caitlyn. Come, dearest. You will rest for a spell then when you arise, I am sure you will feel much better.” The woman in the flowing dress held out her hand to Caitlyn. This was Rhys’s wife. The same woman who had sat beside her three nights ago, calming her fears after the accident. Now this woman wanted her to leave Shay.
No way was she going to follow them like a lamb to the slaughter.
“I don’t think so. Who are you to me?” She waited and watched as the couple cut a glance at each other. “Well?”
His blue eyes reflected his worry and concern for her. “We are your parents.”
Unable to feel any more shock, she stopped breathing for a minute. Finally, feeling secure her voice wouldn’t break, she drew in a deep breath then asked, “You expect me to believe that?”
Myrielle raised a hand, reaching for her. Caitlyn backed up another step and said, “My parents are dead. They were useless losers. No matter how much I wished for our lives to change, it never did. Now, you think you can waltz in here and believe I’ll fall all over you because you say you’re my parents?”
She glared at him. With one jerk of her head toward the tree, she continued, “You want me to believe in magic so bad, change him back. Now.”
Rhys’s jaw tightened. “No.”
She tilted her chin up. “Then leave me alone. I need to think, sort through all of this. If I am your daughter, and I possess magical abilities, then I’ll figure out a way to free him myself.”
“Caitlyn, my love,” Myrielle started, but Caitlyn cut her off by turning her face from the queen.
“Don’t beg,” Caitlyn said. A low laugh escaped her. She was insane. “It’s not becoming of you.”
Silence reigned in the garden for several moments. The scent of wild flowers and green grass filled her senses. A feeling of belonging washed over her. Battling with her inner heart, she refused to budge on what she had told them. He released a sigh. Yes, she’d won.
His words verified it. “Come, Merry. Let us give her a bit of time. Not much, though, Caitlyn. Your life depends on you finding the answer to a riddle.”
“Yeah,” she muttered, refusing to soften in her actions and words. How dare they expect her to believe them? All of what had happened seemed like a dream. Was this real? The dreams with Shay always felt real, yet they were only dreams.
Without another word, Rhys took Myrielle by the arm and led her away.
Caitlyn’s shoulders slumped. What now? Despite what she told them, how could she believe this was a dream when she still wore the same clothes she had in the real world? How could she feel so normal and this place have so much substance?
Deep in her heart, she believed what she experienced was real. That didn’t change the fact she had no idea what she should do next.
She glanced at the tree. Black bark. White flowers. Was this the tree Shay told her about in Los Angeles? Positive it was, she walked over to a stone bench situated at the base of the trunk and sat. No wonder he spoke about the tree with such anger and hatred. This had been his prison for all her life.
“Oh, Shay, why didn’t you talk to me before now? Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered, then laughed, shooting a look at the tree. “I know. I wouldn’t have believed you.”
A soothing breeze washed over her face. The cool air helped calm her. Once she settled, she heard a murmur and stiffened. Tilting her head, she frowned and studied the tree. There. Again the sound, barely above a whisper, came to her. Like tender fingers brushing through her hair, the wind lifted the strands, blowing them about her face. Above her, the branches of the tree swayed.
Her heart leaped in her chest. Was that her name she heard in the gusts? She stood and looked around. No one was with her. Turning, she faced the tree. “Shay?” she whispered. She lifted a hand to touch the bark.
An almost indiscernible reply came to her. “No. Do not. ’Twill only inflict more hurt on you. Stay away.”
For a brief second, joy filled her heart. He was alive. In the form of a tree, but at least he still lived.
“I’m going to get you out of there. I promise. Just be patient.” Her words sounded hollow to her ears. Ignoring his warning, she placed her palm on the trunk, careful not to press too hard. “Do you know how to stop whatever Rhys did to you? It’s a spell, isn’t it? Can we break it?”
Once more the wind brought his soft voice. The limbs rattled, giving emphasis to his words. “Go away. Think only of the riddle. Save yourself.”
“How do you expect me to do that if I don’t have you to help me?” she cried. Frustration grew. His insistence that she leave him alone battled with her need to help him.
The wind touched her heated cheeks, soothing her. His next words caused her to pause. “Please, Caitlyn. Live. For me.”
She didn’t have a choice at the moment so she slowly nodded. “All right. I’ll figure out the riddle no matter how difficult it is. Then, I intend to free you, Shay Evers. Believe in me and don’t give up hope.”
With those words, she sighed and glanced at the building Rhys and Myrielle had entered. She might as well go see them. Maybe they knew something to help her come to terms with what had happened. She squared her shoulders and marched to the doorway, determined to find the answers she needed. Answers that would not only free her, but also release Shay.
Chapter 30
The archway leading into the building was supported by the same columns she’d noticed in her dream, a twisted sapling design carved into solid stone. Instead of feeling amazement over the intricate craftsmanship, she understood now why these same motifs echoed throughout the castle.
Dread pounded through her with each step. Her known world had shattered into a billion pieces, and she didn’t know how to fix it.
When she entered the room, Myrielle faced her. Sitting in an armchair near an empty fireplace, the other woman tried to smile. The smile did nothing to hide the grief reflected in the queen’s emerald eyes.
A surge of guilt came over Caitlyn. She tensed, her body taut. No, this would not affect her. Steeling her nerves, she approached them.
Rhys stood behind his wife, his hands resting on her shoulders. The tender moment touched Caitlyn’s heart. When he noticed her, he straightened and asked, “How are you?”
She gusted out a low laugh. “How do you think I am? I’ve been living between the real world and this one for almost a week. Reality is shot out the window.”
“Here, sit down. All will be explained.” He gestured to the chair next to Myrielle.
The seat was covered in brocade, and Caitlyn studied the Celtic design as she sorted through what she wanted to say. She lifted her gaze to Myrielle. “It’s not that I don’t want you as my mother. I just don’t know. All of this is confusing.” She released a sigh and sank onto the seat.
For several moments, no one spoke. Happy that the older couple didn’t pester her with questions or undying declarations of parental love, she leaned her head against the back of the chair. When a measure of peace returned, she looked at him. “Tell me. Everything. Who’s the woman and why does she want me dead?”
He shut his eyes and lowered his head. Caitlyn watched him swallow. He raised his gaze and nodded. For the next several minutes, he spoke of the night she was kidnapped, explaining what had occurred.
“You never suspected either of them?” She needed to find out more than just the details.
“Perhaps Gwyneth, but never Shay.” He turned his back to her. “I loved him like a brother. He was closest to me. I trusted him, and he betrayed me.”
Her attention perked as she heard the emotion thickening Rhys’s voice. He told the truth. She felt it. “Okay, you didn’t suspect something was going to happen. Did Gwyneth have a motive for doing this? Shay told me he thought he was helping you, but instead he ended up helping to kidnap me.”
Myrielle shook her head and answered. “We have searched for a reason, but we’ve never found any clue as to why she would commit such a hideous crime against us. She was always quiet, lurking about, watching. I didn’t care to have her here, but she was one of the true bloods from our home planet.”
“What do mean? True bloods?” Caitlyn straightened in her seat.
“She came here on the colonizing ship,” Myrielle said. “There are still many who live that traveled to Earth on the ship. Your father and Shay are of undiluted blood lines.”