Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) (23 page)

****

For the first time in nine years, Dani felt content. She relaxed in the seat of the carriage, sitting next to Garrick who had spent most of the trip focusing intently on their surroundings. She herself had looked out the other window of the cab, gawking at all the wondrous colors that abounded
in
this realm.

She’d never seen many of the colors here, let alone on all the plants. And even though this realm was behind the times, she found it oddly comforting. It was slower, more relaxed. Peaceful.

She wasn’t sure what she would have thought of this kind of life a decade ago. She’d always been
a
fast-paced, instant gratification type of girl. The Institute had changed all that though, taking away every comfort a girl could ever need. Hell, she hadn’t gotten to bath
e
every day. Thinking back now, she realized that it was probably once a week that they’d take her to the grimy shower with disgusting-smelling water that barely leaked out of the tap. The bars of soap that were there were all nasty
,
so bad that she’d avoided using them. Thankfully Pyro kept a clean one for her, handing it to her whenever he was the one who escorted her to the showers.

The carriage stopped and Dani sat up straight, stretching her arms. Sharleigh stopped the horses frequently, letting them rest, eat, and drink as they needed. And each time, Dani and Garrick hopped out of the carriage so they could eat, chat with Sharleigh, or even investigate the different plants that surrounded them. Garrick would tell her about some of the stranger plants, even pulling weird fruit off of them and tossing them to her for a taste. Others were dangerous, he explained, pointing out some of the more obvious ones that actually looked as though they could kill someone.

Then, when Sharleigh would tell them to load up, they’d pile inside the cab and take off, listening to the sounds of the horses’ hooves clapping against the hard-packed dirt.

All in all, the hours spent on the road were good.

“There it is,” Garrick breathed, sitting back in his seat.

Dani bent over to get a peek out of his window, seeing a castle wrapped in a light haze as the sunlight started to fade from the sky. The sky itself was still an orangey color, and the
light rosy coloring
of the castle was
a
contrast to the landscape.

“
Túir
Cathair?” she asked, recalling what he’d called it earlier that morning.

He smiled, his white teeth gleaming. “Yes.”

“Is that where you grew up?”

“Sort of. I’m the cousin of the king, but I played with him a lot when we were growing up.” His voice faded as his expression changed. He looked as though his thoughts were lost in the past. “We lived just outside the castle
:
Mother, Father, Abby, Gabby, and
I
.”

Dani perked up, eager to learn more about
him
. It was one thing to see where he’d grown up—as amazing as it was—it was another for him to tell her pieces of his life.

“My father is a General in the royal army, so I grew up training to follow in his steps and possibly one day take over his position. Or fight alongside him,” he added as an afterthought.

“Why di
d you leave?” Dani asked
. “How did you end up in my realm?”

He shook his head. “That’s not something I can talk about. I just
…
I won’t talk about it.” He sighed and returned to gaze out the window where
Túir
Cathair grew ever closer.

When the carriage pulled into the surrounding town, Fairies of all shapes and sizes bustled about, waving at Sharleigh, and then at Dani and Garrick as they rode through the town. While it was obvious none of them recognized
her
,
whisperings and outright gawking was to be seen when people caught sight of Garrick.

She
looked ahead, noticing the tall rock walls that surrounded the castle, and just as she thought they were about t
o travel through the open
gates, Sharleigh halted the horses. The carriage rocked as he climbed down from his perch and approached the door next to Garrick. “Would you like to see your family first?” he asked.

He sat silent for a few seconds before he nodded. Whatever reservations he’d had, he covered them up with a brilliant smile. “Yes. Thank you, Sharleigh. We should take our leave now.”

Garrick stepped out first before turning and offering Dani his hand. As they’d discussed during their journey, they were to pretend to be engaged, otherwise their traveling together would seem scandalous.

“Careful, my darling,” he said as she
lower
ed
herself
onto the step.

“Thank you, dear,” she replied in an equally sweet voice.

Garrick gave
a quick gracious nod at Sharleigh,
and
the man scurried up onto his seat and urged his horses forward, the clopping of their hooves disappearing as he steered them through the castle gates. Dani and Garrick stood frozen in the middle of
the
cobbled street.

She was sure she looked like an idiot, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the expansive castle with its polished grounds. Garrick looked anxious, and maybe a little homesick.

“Well,” she said. “Where now?”

Her question was immediately answered by an excited scream as an older woman bustled her way toward them, her arms outstretched. “Garrick?” she beamed. “Oh, my wee baby Garrick.”

Despite their difference in sizes, her arms wrapped around him and she succeeded in pulling his head down so she could cup the back of his head with her hands and kiss his cheeks repeatedly. The woman who was so clearly his mother pulled away, her bright
hazel
eyes peering up at him. “Where have you been for the last thirteen years, my dearie?”

“Uhh—”

“Oh,” she gaped, catching sight of Dani and interrupting Garrick’s reply. “Where are your manners? Who’s the lady?”

“Oh,” Garrick said, much more relaxed than his mother. “This is my lady, Danielle.” He stepped back, hold
ing out a hand toward Dani. S
he stepped forward, slipping her hand into his.

“Your
lady
?”

“Well, soon to be,” he smiled. “Danielle, this is my mother, Fay Cyne.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Dani stepped forward, curtsying as she held her hand out, palm up.
Why was she so suddenly sweaty?

“Well
,
it’s nice to meet you too, wee lass.” Her gaze went from Garrick to Dani before they finally rested on her son, a bright smile
lighting
her face. “Oh, Garrick, I’m so proud of you. Come, come.” She grabbed ahold of Dani’s hand, surged forward and gripped Garrick’s hand with her other.

They glanced at each other as they were pulled farther away from the road.

“Oh, I just had a feeling that you were nearby. I got the weirdest sensation yesterday, almost like you were in the house, but when I went upstairs to your room, not a thing had changed,” she said. “Not a thing. But then your sister was complaining that one of her dresses was missing, and now I see that it’s on your lady. Why didn’t you say anything when you stopped by the house? I was sure that my son would say something—”

Soon the sounds of the busy village began to fade away, even as Fay jabbered on and on about how good it was too finally see her baby boy again. Dani remained quiet, merely looking back and forth between Garrick and the back of his mother’s head, and at the trees that surrounded the path they followed. She felt like a child, being dragged by her parents who walked a lot faster than her little legs could carry her.

Soon, there was a break in the trees and her eyes rested on a large cottage that was covered in vines of every color, some clinging to vibrant, waving flowers. It was two s
tories and had windows up the w
azoo. There were gardens of every kind surrounding the house, and a small cobble
d
path that meandered to the front door of the home.

“That’s my house,” Garrick explained as they were both hastily pulled toward the cottage. “Where I grew up.”

“It’s beautiful,” she replied just before they were pulled in through the door.

Finally their hands were released, and Dani took an automatic step toward Garrick, more than a little fearful of his mother’s strength.

“Mel!
” Fay yelled. “Mel, come see who’s come home. Oh, you’ll never believe it.”

A deep voice yelled back from somewhere else in the house, but instead of seeing the man it belonged to, the head of a young woman popped around the corner, her bright
hazel
eyes looking curiously at Dani before noticing Garrick standing next to her.

“Garrick!” she yelled. Running around the corner, she threw her arms out and leapt, colliding with his body. He caught her with ease, though it looked as though she could have knocked him to the floor.

She must have gotten her strength from their mother.

“Oh, my baby brother,” she said. “Oh, my Garrick. We’ve missed you so.”

Dani stepped away so as not to get knocked down herself, and even as she did, she caught sight of an older man who had dark brown hair. He wore it long, but bound it with a tie. He was tall, about the same height as Garrick if she had to guess, and she saw some of the same features on his face that Garrick had. Where he most definitely got his hair and eye color from his mother; his nose, height, and build came from
this
man. Garrick must have caught sight of him as well because both he and his sister stopped laughing.

The cottage became eerily silent, only the creaking of the floorboards that came from Dani’s shifting made any sound at all.

The man assessed her briefly before looking at his son. “Garrick.”

“Father,” he replied, bowing his head slightly.

“I see you’re not dead.”

A tick worked in Garrick’s eye. Tension filled the room, and Dani l
ooked at each of them
. It was as
if
Garrick and his father were having a silent conversation, though she couldn’t tel
l what direction it was going
.

“I live, father. . .” Garrick’s voice faded as his gaze broke first. He looked down at the cane his father held. “What happened?”

Mel looked down and banged the cane against one leg, then against the other. Both made a loud thudding sound, proving that they were both wooden. “Harpies,” he replied.

Both Dani and Garrick winced at his reply, but recovered their reactions immediately.

“When
?
” Garrick asked.

“Come on,” Mel said. “It’s not proper to be talking about in
the kitchen while your
lady is forced to stand about. Come in and have a seat. You’ve missed a lot in your absence.”

****

No shit, a lot had happened since Garrick left thirteen years ago. Well, thirteen years ago here, about thirty in the human realm. It turned out that Cyril, Fay’s brother and the ruler of the Blue Bloods, had been killed by Harpies close to a year ago. Not only that, but his son
,
Cedric
,
had barely made it out alive himself.

Garrick’s father and a few of the royal guard had been traveling with Cyril and Cedric, making their rounds and collecting their rents from the small villages on Oileán na Túir when a group of Harpies attacked their convoy. They’d ripped through most of the men with ease, taking care to leave the royals for last. But in doing so, Cyril had begged Mel to make sure that Cedric had gotten free. So in their distraction, Mel figured out a plan of escape and had taken Cedric along until he was out of sight of those winged bitches.

“But
…
why didn’t you trace?” Dani asked. Her body was strung tight as she’d listened to the story, but now her brows were drawn in confusion.

His father looked at Dani, and then at Garrick. He knew this was something he likely should have told her, and yet he hadn’t. That small part of him that still wondered if she’d use the knowledge against him.

“T
racing around Harpies is even more dangerous,” Garrick said. “
Harpies can track them, and can
intercept them
sometimes
.”

Dani’s eyes widened as she quietly said, “Oh,” and shrunk back in her chair.

“I turned back then,” his father continued. “I went back for Cyril.”

Of course he would, Garrick thought. His father had sworn to protect Cyril, vowed to risk his life at all costs if he could save the king.

His return to Cyril had cost him his legs. The Harpies had already sucked the essence from the king’s soul and finished off whatever flicker of life he’d still held. By the time he reached them, the Harpies had figured out what Mel had done and had used their poisonous claws to rip the tendons in the lower part of both of his legs in order to immobilize him.