Enchanted (32 page)

Her eyes widened and she raised both hands. Caitlyn struggled to rise. When she gained her feet, she hopped and limped to stand in front of the tree. The air crackled and surged with an overabundance of power.

“No, you won’t harm him. I won’t let you.” She spread her arms out to the side. Her blood pounded, and she closed her eyes in concentration. She let go of her worldly viewpoints and attitudes, calling forth the abilities etched on her soul, whispering, “For Shay.”

A bolt came down from the left and Caitlyn, sensing it, opened her mouth. The words flowed out of her to redirect the current. She cracked open her eyes, and watched it sizzle across the garden before landing against a stone column. Dust and stones flew from the granite.

The witch howled and sent more lightning toward them, but as she shouted, she kept her focus on Gwyneth. Three jagged lances of electricity flashed toward Shay. Determined, Caitlyn didn’t stop. The lightning curved and struck Gwyneth with an explosion. A high pitched cry ended in a choking gurgle.

The ground shifted beneath Caitlyn’s feet, and she fell to the side. Gasping in the smoke-filled air, she stared at the burned body of the woman who had been determined to destroy her. She took a shallow breath, hoping to calm down, and turned toward the blackthorn. Tilting more to one side after the blast, the tree had come loose from the soaked ground.

The tree was falling. She bounded to her feet. She had to stop the tree. Shay
.
Ignoring the thorns digging into her skin, she wrapped her arms around the slender trunk and held on, but the weight jerked her to the ground.

Sobs tore through her.

“No,” she cried. “I haven’t told you yet. Don’t die on me, Shay Evers.”

Blinded by tears, she tried to cover the roots with dirt. She grasped the trunk closer to the branches and worked to upright the tree. Her hands and arms bled from a thousand tiny cuts where the thorns pierced her skin.

Exhausted, she fell to her knees. Sobbing, hysterical, she smeared the mud over the roots, mixing her blood and tears.

Finally, giving up, she placed her cheek against the black wood and whispered, “I never told you how much I love you.”

A gentle hand touched her shoulder. She refused to look. Rhys spoke, ordering Gwyneth’s remains taken from the garden. Caitlyn didn’t care. Shay was gone, lost to her.

Rhys grasped her upper arms. She whimpered. “Caitlyn, come, love.”

She pulled away with a growl. “Leave me alone. Haven’t we suffered enough? Let me stay with him for a while.”

As she spoke, a low humming vibration came from the trunk. She frowned and stared. Lights flickered all around the tree.

Rhys gripped her under her arms and hauled her several feet away. She glanced up at him. Surprise lined his face. He met her gaze. “Watch, Caitlyn.”

The vibrations increased, as did the humming. The sound and movement raced across the ground and rushed over her body. A force tugged her toward the tree. Her father let go of her and she was pulled back to the tree. With barely two feet separating her from the wood, the blackthorn rose upright. Rays of light burst from the twisted bark. She gasped.

Heat gathered in her fingers. She glanced down to see the rays coming from her. The light intensified until it blinded her. Her chest grew tight around her heart as if the organ would explode. A second later it did. White hot beams blasted from between her breasts.

Knowledge filled her. She sensed every molecule of matter, to the tiniest atom. She was physically blinded by the light as her eyes opened wider. She saw with an inner sight.

Past images appeared of the Tylwyth Teg arriving on this planet. A younger, innocent Shay walked the pristine meadows and forests, striding beside a golden-haired youth. Her father, Rhys, sharing his hopes and dreams for the future.

In a flash of brilliance, the future appeared. A small boy raced ahead of her toward a meadow. The green grass and bright yellow flowers fluttered with a gentle breeze. When he turned and grinned, her heart stilled for a moment. He possessed Shay’s features, but looked at her with eyes of deep emerald green.

A sob escaped her. Intense joy swept over her, and the force of the light slowly dwindled. Standing before her, bruised and bloodied, and no longer in the form of a blackthorn, Shay lifted a finger and followed the line of her nose. She gasped, taking a step closer.

He lived.

“Hello,” he murmured, tracing her eyebrows, and then her lips with a lean finger.

She smiled through her tears, unable to pull her gaze away from his bright amethyst eyes.

“So, you love me, do you?” he asked, a shy little boy smile gracing his lips.

“More than life,” she whispered, then laughed through her tears. “So, do you love me?”

He nodded slowly. “Without you, there is no magic in my life. Stay with me, here in this place. Give me a reason to go on and not to fade away.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. If you even consider doing that, I’ll turn you back into a plant. Only I won’t make you a good plant. Maybe, a mold or fungus.” She lifted a brow, trying not to grin at him. “You’d better be on your best behavior with me.”

His eyes widened. “A mold?” He cupped her face in his palms. “I won’t mind as long as I can grow on you.”

She leaned closer, her eyes drifting shut as he covered her lips with his. Cinnamon exploded though her senses with the first stroke of her tongue against his. Oh, she loved the taste of him. Savoring him, she deepened the kiss.

He groaned and pulled away. A flash of pain flickered in his eyes. Caitlyn moaned, becoming aware of his injuries. She wrapped his arm about her shoulders and took hold of him around the waist. When she glanced down at his body, bloody cuts and bruises slashed across his chest and arms. She sucked in a sharp breath when she noticed the damage to his leg.

A jagged rip in the side of his thigh ran across the front to the stop at his knee. Blood oozed from the tear in deep purple-red drops. A sweet odor rose, mingling with the rancid aroma of singed hair and the burned cotton material in his jeans.

“Come on, you need a doctor.” She glanced at Rhys. “Well, what are you waiting for? Help me.”

Her father grinned, gave orders to prepare a bed for Shay, then grabbed Shay’s other arm. Together, they managed to make it to the living quarters. Caitlyn refused to allow Rhys to take Shay to a different room. He belonged with her–for eternity.

Once she and Shay were settled, Myrielle tended to the damage inflicted by Gwyneth to both of them. When she finished, she turned and smiled at Caitlyn. “He will heal nicely. There will be a scar on his leg, but I’m sure you won’t mind, will you, my daughter?”

Tears in her eyes, she smiled and shook her head. She wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her. With her newfound abilities, she remembered her time with her true parents. For the first time since she’d arrived in Sidhe, she knew the truth. When she drew away, Myrielle, a sheen of tears in her gaze, nodded, then pulled Rhys from the room.

Drowsy from the potions Myrielle had insisted he drink, Shay lay on a stack of pillows propped against the headboard of her bed. The silken bedspread covered only his lower body, leaving his chest and arms bare. Caitlyn tilted her head and studied the slowly fading bruises and cuts.

“Come here,” he said softly, holding a hand out to her.

She smiled and carefully sat at his side on the edge of the mattress. She brushed a lock of hair off his brow, and then whispered, “I love you.”

“Here, lie beside me. I want to feel you next to me,” he murmured.

She slid down on the bed and rested her head on his shoulder. “Why wouldn’t you answer me when I questioned you about the riddle? Did you know the answer?”

“I suspected it, but I couldn’t say, in case I was wrong. If what I suspected was incorrect and I told you, then you would have spent time traveling down the wrong path. I didn’t want that to happen.” He brushed a kiss on her brow. “I love you. So much. I just couldn’t see past today.”

“You’ve loved me for a long time,” she said, smiling against his shoulder. “I saw that night through your eyes. I wondered why it was your eyes, though. Why didn’t I see it through my sight, when I was a baby?”

“You picked up the flower. When you looked into the fountain, you had a piece of me with you.”

She laid her palm on his belly, enjoying the feel of his skin beneath her hand. “Rest, and when you’re better, I want you to take me to the stars again. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of feeling you in me, loving me.”

“I hope not,” he said, then grinned lazily. “So, do you believe in magic now, Caitlyn Reiley?”

She laughed. Rising up on her elbow, she kissed him. “I suppose so. Of course, you’ll have to keep reminding me. Did I understand we have an eternity to live? If so, then you have a long time to convince me over and over again.”

“It will be my greatest pleasure,” he murmured.

About Judith Leger

Born and raised in the South, I make southwest Louisiana my home. My writing is a doorway to my imagination that I love to share with the world. Reading–living in other worlds–has always been a part of my life, and I decided to let others visit the places in my imagination. My muse set free, I write mostly paranormal fantasy and futuristic stories, but I also dabble in contemporary fiction.

I am happily married to a full-blooded Cajun. We have three sons, a horse and a very, very spoiled dachshund. When I'm not busy writing, I work in higher education and enjoy reading fantasy, romance and playing video games with my sons. Favorite Saturday evening consists of bowls of buttered popcorn and watching tons of anime with my boys and Gracie (the dachshund).