Stolen Heart (13 page)

Kieran immediately returned to Kestevayne.  Walking to Carrick and Ava’s apartments, he was still in disbelief over Annika’s treachery.  He wanted to wring her neck.  No, he wanted to kiss her neck. 
Fuck.  I’m going crazy.

Knocking briefly on their door, Kieran didn’t even wait to hear the invite but walked right in. 
Just great.
  He saw Carrick and Ava lying on their couch, making out like a couple of teenage kids.  He closed his eyes and cleared his throat.

“Kieran,” Ava said in surprise.  “You’re back.”

Kieran opened his eyes to see Ava trying to set up on the couch, but Carrick wasn’t letting her out of his grasp.  He still hand his mouth hovering over hers and he heard him say, “Tell him to go away.  We don’t want visitors right now.”

“Oh, stop it Carrick and let me up.”  Ava gave a great heave and pushed him off of her.  Standing from the couch, she looked at Kieran expectantly.

“Here it is.”  Kieran handed The Scepter over to Ava.  Relief flashed across her face and then she gave him a huge grin.

“You are the most super-duper brother-in-law a girl could have!”  She reached out and gave him a hard hug.  Looking behind him, she asked, “Where’s Annika?  I want to give her a hug too.”

Kieran must have had a look on his face as if someone had died, because Ava cried out in alarm.  “Is Annika okay?”

Kieran held up his hands in reassurance.  “She’s fine.  At least physically fine, the last I saw.  I left her in Balvraine.”

Carrick stood up from the sofa.  “You left her in Balvraine?”

Kieran ignored him.  “I need a drink.”

He walked over to their liquor cabinet and opened it up.  Bypassing the honey wine, he pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels Ava had brought back with her when she and Carrick went on vacation in Wyoming.  He didn’t even bother with a glass.  He walked over to the sofa and flung himself on it.  Opening the bottle, he took a long drink.

“Kieran, you are seriously starting to worry me.  Please tell us what is going on,” Ava pleaded.

Carrick didn’t say anything but walked over to the liquor cabinet and grabbed a glass.  He walked to the sofa and handed it to Kieran.  Kieran took the glass, looked at it briefly, and set it on the table.  He took another swig from the bottle and just glared at Carrick, daring him to say something.

Looking at Ava, and waving the bottle he held with flourish, he said, “It appears dear Annika, the woman I thought I loved, was the one that stole The Scepter.”

Kieran looked at Ava and Carrick. He had expected cries of outrage. They looked at him skeptically.

“It’s true.  And I swear I’m not drunk…yet.”

Carrick sighed and sat down on the couch.  He pulled the bottle from Kieran’s hand, poured a glass and handed the bottle back.  He took a swallow from the glass. 

“You better tell us everything.”  Ava walked over and sat down on Carrick’s lap.  She took the glass from him and also took a swallow. Carrick wrapped his hands around Ava’s waist and she settled back against him.  Kieran looked at them both and for the first time he felt envy. 
I almost had that.

“I’ll make the story short,then I’m stealing the rest of his bottle of Jack and going to my apartment to get stinking drunk.  It seems that Annika was the one that stole The Scepter in the first place.  She stole it for her best friend, Claire, who is apparently in way over her head trying to rule Balvraine.  Their intent with The Scepter was innocent enough.  It was only to protect Claire and Balvraine from insurrection. Once I got Annika involved to help me retrieve it, they concocted a plan to put a replica in its place.  That amulet you gave me worked like a charm, Ava.  I detected it was fake right away.”  Kieran took another swig from the bottle and continued.  “After I threatened to slit Claire’s throat, both women crumbled and confessed everything.  It was actually quite easy.  In fact, I’m considering going into a new career field.  Interrogation.  It seems I have a natural ability to get people to spill their darkest secrets to me.” 

Kieran gave a bitter laugh and took another drink.

Ava reached over and put her hand on Kieran’s knee.  “I’m sorry, Kieran.  I know you cared for Annika very much.”

Kieran just snorted.

Carrick stood up and placed Ava aside.  He held his hand out to Kieran.  “Come on, buddy.  I’ll walk you back to your apartment.”

“I’m not drunk…yet.”

“I know.  I just thought I’d give you some brotherly company and have a few more drinks with you.  Help you wallow in your own pity and all that.”

“Awesome.  Can Carrick come out and play with me, Ava?”

“Of course he can.  Just don’t drink and drive.  Well, don’t drink and ride a horse.”  Ava leaned up and kissed Carrick. 

As they walked through the palace halls, Kieran and Carrick passed the bottle back and forth.  “Thanks for drinking with me tonight, bro.”

Carrick reached for the bottle. “I’d say anytime but I wouldn’t mean it.  I’m already regretting the hangover I know I’m going to have tomorrow.”

Kieran laughed and slapped Carrick on the back.  “That’s the spirit.”

“So really, how do you feel?”

Kieran was silent for a bit.  Reaching for the bottle, he looked at Carrick.  “I feel like my heart has been fucking ripped out of my chest.”

Carrick winced.  “How mad are you at her? Enough to let her go completely?”

“I don’t know, man.  I need to think about it.  She stole from our family. She lied to me.  How can I trust her?”

“I can’t answer that for you.  Only you can judge that.  Is she sorry for what she did?”

“Yeah, she is.  Remorse was oozing out of her pores. And I get it.  She was helping her friend…in the only way she knew how.  Which, you’ll find interesting… Annika apparently is a world class thief.  She uses her glamour to still jewels and stars knows what else.  Just fucking perfect.  I fell for a criminal.”

They reached Kieran’s apartment and went in.  Kieran grabbed two glasses from the cabinet so they wouldn’t have to pass the bottle back and forth.  Carrick poured shots into each glass and raised it to Kieran.  They both downed the shots.

“So, you still love her?”

“Yes and it sucks.  But I’m hoping my new love, Jack Daniels, will help me get over her.”

Carrick laughed.  “Well, let’s drink up and find out.”

The next morning, Kieran woke up and gingerly raised his head from the bed.  He could tell it was late morning by the angle of the sun coming through his window.  He realized that the smell of bacon is what woke him.  Surprisingly, he only had a slight headache and his stomach felt pretty good. Jack Daniels treated him well after all.

After dressing, Kieran walked into his kitchen.  He wasn’t surprised to find Ava there, cooking breakfast.  She heard him come in and gave him a smile over her shoulder.  “I just peeled Carrick off of your couch and sent him home.  I hope he can make it without throwing up.  How do you feel?”

“Surprisingly well.  But then again, I have way more practice than Carrick does.  He’s an old married man now and is not used to hard core partying.”

“Well, I doubt he’ll be doing it again anytime soon.  He was positively green in the face when I woke him up.”

Ava scooped eggs and bacon onto a plate and handed it to Kieran.  He sat down at the table and she joined him with a cup of tea.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing?”

“Helping me nurse my broken heart, Ava?”

“Something like that.  It’s just…I know how it feels.  And I want to be here to support you.  You’ve done so much for me, I want to return the favor.”

“You can do something for me actually.  Two things.”

“Name them and I will do all in my power to give it to you.”

“First, I want you to help Claire Moldevaine.  I know she stole from you but she was young and frightened.  She meant no harm and I get the sense she’s a good woman.” 

Ava’s eyebrows raised high.  “Let me get this straight.  You want me to help the very woman who stole from me?”

“Pretty much.”

“And tell me, dear brother-in-law, why do I want to do this?”

“I don’t know.  It just feels like it’s the right thing to do.”

“Because Annika wanted to help her?”

“Maybe.”

Ava smiled. “Well, it just so happens I am a forgiving person.  I’ll see what I can do to help her.”

“Thank you.” 

“My pleasure.  Now what’s the second thing you want.”

Kieran stood up from the table and walked to the teapot.  He poured himself a cup and sat back down.  “Did Carrick tell you I want to challenge Renard Foss’ stepson, Mason?”

“He mentioned it but I figured you would tell me more when you returned.”

“Like I told Carrick, I can’t tell you why, but I want to issue a challenge to Mason. To the death. It would mean a lot if you would stand beside me with Kestevayne’s backing, but I also understand if you can’t.  Seeing as how I cannot tell you the details of why I’m issuing the challenge.”

Ava regarded Kieran shrewdly.  She looked every bit the Queen that she was.  “I’ve known you a very long time, Kieran and if you tell me that you have information that would lead you to issue a death challenge, then I trust you.  I will stand by your side and you will have Kestevayne’s full support.”

Kieran raised his eyebrows.  “I didn’t think…I mean I had hoped.”  He inclined his head to her in a nod of appreciation.  “Thank you, Ava.”

“So, in what order would you like these favors bestowed?”

“I’d like to get Claire settled and taken care of.  Then Mason.  Then I can get my life moving forward again and put all of this behind me.”

“And what about Annika?”

Kieran felt a pang in his chest.  He rubbed it with the heel of his hand.  “What of her?”

“Will you be moving forward with or without her?”

“How can you ask that, Ava?  She lied to me.  She stole from you.  Aren’t you in the slightest bit pissed off?”

Ava thought about it for a second.  “No, actually I’m not.  You said yourself that she did it for love, right?  To help a friend in dire need.  It doesn’t excuse theft, but I am easy to forgive.  This you know about me.”

Kieran sighed.  Ava would easily forgive Annika. It was her nature to always look for the best in people.  He didn’t know if he could do that though.  But right now, he didn’t want to think about.

Balvraine – 2 months later

Kieran knocked on the door and heard, “Come in.”

Opening the door, he stepped in and saw Claire sitting at her desk.  “Kieran!  You’re right on time.”

Claire walked around her desk and gave Kieran a warm hug.  Things sure had changed.  Two months ago, he stood in this same spot with a knife held to her throat. The thought made him chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking that two months ago I was threatening to slit your throat, and now here we are, all hugs and kisses.”

Claire laughed.  “Well, you have the hug part right but forget about the kisses.”

Kieran watched as Claire walked back to her desk and sat down.  Her eyes were alive and bright with excitement.  She radiated confidence.

“Well, I brought it.  Are you anxious to see it?”

Claire’s eyes lit up.  She nodded her head with a big grin on her face and he thought she looked like a kid at Christmas.

Reaching into his pack, he pulled out Claire’s Scepter.  He reached across her desk and handed it to her.  It wasn’t the ugly iron bar she had once stolen from Ava, but instead a crystal dove, its shimmery wings spread in flight.

“Oh,” Claire whispered reverently.  “It’s so beautiful.  I didn’t expect…”

“Ava wanted you to have something that represented peace.  She wanted to be here herself, but Emma is sick and there was no way she was leaving her.”

Claire reached out and accepted the dove.  She stroked her thumbs over the wings.  “I still don’t understand why you and Ava helped me.  Not after what I did to you.”

“Claire, you made a dumb mistake.  You were sorry.  We forgave you.  And Ava…well, she likes to help. You’re like her pet project now.”

Claire nodded in agreement.  She set the dove down on her desk and then turned to look back at Kieran.  She cocked her head to the side.  “How come you can so easily forgive me but you can’t forgive Annika?”

Kieran flinched at the question.  The subject of Annika had been taboo, ever since their first meeting after he returned to Balvraine.  He and Ava had come together to meet Claire and tell her of their desire to help her.  Before they left, Claire had implored Kieran to give Annika another chance, but he shut her down quickly.  He told her that Annika was a subject that was off limits.  And yet, here she was now bringing it up again.

“Don’t go there Claire.”  He laced his tone with enough of a growl that she should get the warning.  She ignored it.

“Why not?  Doesn’t she deserve the same gift you gave me?”

Kieran was confused.  “A scepter?”

“No, you knucklehead.”  Kieran raised an eyebrow at her.  She appeared to have completely gotten over her fear of him.  “I’m talking about the gift of forgiveness.  You gave it to me. Why not Annika?”

Kieran sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He sat down in the chair opposite her desk.  “It’s just different, Claire. Everything is different with Annika.”

“Of course it should be different.  You love her.”

“Loved.”

“Love.”

“Whatever.  I’m not going to argue about it.”

“I don’t want to argue with you either. I’ve grown very fond of you over the last few months.  But I just don’t understand how you can forgive me the crime but not Annika?  Ava’s forgiven her.”

“Yes, well, Ava’s a lot nicer than I am.”

Claire cursed in frustration.  “Why Kieran?  Please tell me.”

“Fine.  I’ll tell you why. It’s harder to forgive her because I loved her.  And I believe she loved me even though she was too stubborn to admit it.  She should have trusted me with the truth from the beginning.” Kieran paused and reflected.  He looked out the window, then back to Claire. “She trusted me enough to tell me about Mason. She should have trusted me enough to tell me the truth about The Scepter.  I didn’t have that expectation with you, Claire.  But I did have it with Annika.”

“Fair enough,” Claire said with finality.

Kieran looked at Claire in surprise.  “You accept that?  You’re not going to continue to defend Annika’s actions to me?  Not going to hound me to forgive her?”

“No,” Claire said in resignation.  “You’ve made a good point.  I’ll have to respect that.”

“Really?”  Kieran was shocked she was letting it go.

“Really.  In fact, I kind of agree with you.  Given what the two of you shared, it would be hard to trust again.”

Kieran didn’t know what to say, but for some reason, it wasn’t setting right.  Which made no fucking sense. She was doing nothing more than agreeing with what he felt was the very sound logic he had just laid out to her.

“Well, I better get back to Kestevayne.  I have some pressing matters to handle.”

“Sounds good.  I’ll see you next week when I come to see Ava.”  Claire had been meeting Ava weekly for magic lessons.

Kieran started to walk toward the door.  When he reached it, he paused, and then looked back at Claire.  “Can I ask you something about Annika?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Why does she steal?  I mean, I understand why she stole The Scepter.  I guess I don’t get the other stuff.”

Claire laughed.  “She’s a modern day Robin Hood, Kieran.  She robs from the rich and gives to the poor.  Well, the abused.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Claire said with a smile. “Look.  It’s wrong.  We all know that.  But it’s something that Annika had to do to save her sanity.  She lived every day under a cloud of guilt and shame over what Mason had done to her.  She couldn’t go back and change that. But she could make a difference in other people’s lives.”

Kieran’s heart sank.  He had been judging her pretty harshly over her criminal activities.  Still, he had to point out. “She is still hurting the people she robs.”

“Not really.  First, she only robs people that she knows have a direct connection to and actively helps aid abusers.  For example, the woman that she stole from the night on Park Avenue?  Her son beat his wife so severely, she ended up in the hospital for a week.  And he did it while his mother watched and did nothing to stop it.  She bailed him out of jail, hired the best attorney in New York City, and got the charges dropped.  The woman is stinking filthy rich.  The missing jewels probably weren’t even missed.  And the money those jewels will fetch will help keep safe many women.”

Kieran didn’t say anything.  His whole perception about Annika had been changed in just a matter of minutes. 

“If it also helps, I can tell you that Annika has given up her stealing.  Like I said, she knows it’s wrong.  And besides, I actually think you may have helped her heal the guilt she had been carrying over Mason raping her.”

“That wasn’t her fault,” Kieran snarled.

“I know that.  You know that.  And now Annika knows that.  She said you helped her see that she was the victim and she couldn’t help what happened.”

This was all a lot to process.  He’d have to mull it over, but as he had just told Claire, he had some more pressing matters to handle.