A Life Earthbound (27 page)

“I know,” she managed, fighting back the swelling in her chest at his words. He gave her one last, lingering kiss before hastily leaving the room. When the door shut behind him, she stood where she was, marveling at her own daring.

On impulse, she wandered to the mirror over her dressing table, inspecting her face, wondering if she looked as different as she felt. Maybe her cheeks were a bit flusher, glowing with an odd sense of happiness she certainly hadn’t felt in ages. And her eyes seemed brighter, more alive, the sage in them less dull than it had been before. It was incredible for her to see the results of her experiment thus far…to feel warmth replacing the coldness in her chest, and her heart beating with newfound purpose. Her goal now was to keep her heart open, and hope it gave her the courage to save her father. Already that hope was filling her, bit by glorious bit, until she almost raced down to find him that very moment. She’d wasted so much time already, and never had she felt as incredibly free as she did now.

She was almost there, almost entirely freed. God, how easy it was once she allowed it, once she broke through her own barriers with a brazen axe and fierce determination. And on the other side had been Liam, calmly waiting with his hand stretched out, reaching for her. She was closer than she ever had been, that much she knew. And as long as she stayed strong and didn’t cower from the dangers she knew were inherent with having an open heart, then perhaps sooner than later, she would be free.

Riding on the memory of him, on the awareness that he loved her, she took a shower and got ready, her lips curving into a genuine smile as she left her room.

With her logbooks tucked neatly in her arms and her bag slung over her shoulder, she headed down the steps and out into the corridor, hoping to catch a quick breakfast before meeting with her father in the Greenhouse. But before she reached the dining hall, she spotted Thea and her mother standing just outside the doors, watching her. Thea looked tense and aware, while Serendipity looked eager and impatient.

“Rhiannon, there you are.” Serendipity glided toward her, her smile serene and dignified. “Thea and I need to speak with you, right this moment.”

Disliking the gleam in her mother’s eyes, Rhiannon stopped and turned to Thea, her expression carefully guarded. “What is this regarding? I have a lot of work to get to after breakfast.”

“It won’t take long.” Thea tilted her head, watching Rhiannon very closely, as usual giving the impression that she knew way more than Rhiannon was comfortable with.

Knowing she had no other choice, Rhiannon nodded and followed the two women to the garden room, anxiously chewing her bottom lip. What could her mother want now?

Serendipity shut the door and hastily beckoned Rhiannon to sit down on one of the sofas.

She took a seat, setting her books beside her and folding her hands together in her lap, forcing a look of polite indifference on her face.

Serendipity and Thea sat together on the opposite sofa, facing Rhiannon. With a lustrous smile, Serendipity spoke first.

“I am pleased to tell you that I have, just this morning, completed the arrangements for your marriage. I received word just an hour ago that our agreement was accepted, and I have thus confirmed our compliance on your behalf.”

Rhiannon blinked, unsure she had heard her mother correctly. “Marriage?”

“Yes, to a fine, upstanding Enforcer. It is the perfect match, if I do say so myself.” Serendipity preened, sending a satisfied smile to Thea before turning back to Rhiannon.

Thea, however, was not smiling. She was watching Rhiannon, gauging the girl’s reaction. And what she saw thus far displeased her enormously. The panic that flashed briefly in Rhiannon’s eyes, and the way her hands clenched together tightly in her lap had not gone unnoticed.

“But…this is all so fast, you didn’t even tell me you were doing this,” Rhiannon stammered, a disbelieving numbness spreading throughout her chest. No, not now, not when everything was slowly but surely going just right…

“Rhiannon, I expect you to be appreciative of all the time and effort I have put into securing this husband for you. I have spent several weeks putting aside other projects and even your sister’s needs to ensure that you are taken care of.”

Dully, Rhiannon glanced over at Thea, who had remained silent and observant. “Who is he?”

Thea inclined her head, knowing that the girl was not going to be satisfied with the answer. “Michael Callahan.”

“But he hates me,” Rhiannon managed, shaking her head and staring back at her mother. “I can’t marry him.”

“You can and you will,” Serendipity huffed, waving away the words impatiently. “This is not open for discussion, Rhiannon. It is traditional that parents make the final decision on who their children marry, and your father and I have both agreed that you shall marry Michael.”

“Does Michael know this? Because I am certain he will refuse.”

“Michael has known for awhile now. Burke has assured him that marrying you will not only be an important and crucial career move for him, but that he will get to live here and bear the next Earth Dryad heir. It is quite an honor for a human to be considered for such a responsibility, but Michael is fully prepared to do so.” Serendipity crossed her legs casually, smirking at her daughter. “I’ve made you into a lady, Rhiannon. Now accept this last token from me; it is the last thing I can give to you as your mother.”

“Father agrees with this?” Rhiannon asked quietly, feeling the walls closing in on her, imprisoning her once again in a cage.

“Rohan is thrilled. You are of marriageable age and he wants nothing more than for you to marry a respectable young man and produce an heir.”

“Do I have a choice?” she murmured, her voice cracking as her hands trembled in her lap. Her eyes held her mother’s, but instead of sympathy, she only saw coldness.

“What is there to choose, Rhiannon? Michael is the son of the most respected Enforcer we have. He is as good of a match as I can secure for you. There is nothing better.”

It occurred to her, rather painfully, that her mother would never allow her to be with Liam. In order to marry him, she would have to go against her parents, shaming herself to them. They saw Liam as an immature dreamer, capable of nothing good in this life. And even if she tried with everything she had to convince them that they were wrong about him, they wouldn’t listen. They never listened to her, and they had certainly never given her a choice before. What made her think they would in regards to her future husband?

She had, unwittingly it appeared, dug herself into a painfully deep and muddy hole. What choice did she have, other than to accept her mother’s rope and climb to safety, all the while covered in muddy guilt and shame? Liam would be left in that hole, left behind to wallow in one last, vicious rejection. But what else could be done?

“Well, now that you are informed of the arrangement, we can begin planning the wedding. Two months should do, don’t you think, Thea?”

“A fall wedding. It will be lovely,” Thea replied, not looking away from Rhiannon. “Serendipity, can you give Rhiannon and me a chance to speak alone for a moment?”

Serendipity looked momentarily confused, but rose to her feet nonetheless. “Certainly.”

With that, she swept from the room, shutting the door with a soft click at her back.

Rhiannon was staring at her hands, wondering what she had done to herself. A few weeks earlier and this would have been nothing more than a mild inconvenience. But now…with Liam’s scent still with her, the feel of his hands and the look in his eyes when he told her he loved her…everything had changed, so swiftly and suddenly that she wasn’t even sure she had a good grasp on it all yet.

“Rhiannon, I want you to look me in the eye and answer me very honestly,” Thea said, rising to her feet and crouching down in front of Rhiannon, resting her hands on the girl’s knees.

Rhiannon lifted her eyes, meeting Thea’s, knowing her face betrayed everything.

“Is there someone else, dear? Do you love someone else?” Thea asked gently, though from the look in her eyes she already knew the answer.

The urge to scream it, to confess to everything, was struggling for purchase within her, fighting to get out. But reason bashed it on the head and her face cleared, masking what was roiling inside of her.

She shook her head, all the while damning herself for the very act. “No.”

Thea let out a huff of breath, the urge to shake the girl senseless coming over her. “Why do you do this to him?”

“Excuse me?” Rhiannon’s eyes widened as her hands clenched tighter together in her lap.

“Something has changed, I can see it in your eyes, girl. You are not the same as you were weeks ago when we last spoke about this. My best guess would be that you have finally let yourself be happy and now you are prepared to throw it all away. Why?”

“I don’t have a choice,” Rhiannon insisted, rising to her feet now, resentment coursing through her. “I’ve never had a choice.”

Thea pressed a hand to her temple, frustration mounting inside her as she rose to her feet as well. “It is not my place to regulate the parenting techniques of members of the Council, nor is it my place to interfere with you now. Arranged marriages have been commonplace on Euphora for centuries, and for many of those who did it, the marriage was successful. But I can see it in your eyes that you are not prepared to do this, Rhiannon, and though I cannot tell Serendipity what action to take with her own child, I think you should tell her you love another, and perhaps she and your father will be swayed to approve that marriage instead.”

“She won’t be swayed, Thea, not in favor of him,” Rhiannon shook her head wearily. “It’s done. I will marry Michael Callahan in two months time.”

“And destroy my Water Dryad in the process?” Thea charged, eyeing Rhiannon bitterly. “Everyone can see the way he looks at you, the way you look at him. Perhaps that is why your mother is forcing this marriage on you so suddenly. Even she could sense you yielding to him these last few months, since Capri returned, and she wanted to stop it before it was too late.”

Rhiannon nodded solemnly, knowing Thea was probably right. “That sounds like something she would do.”

“I hope you’ll change your mind, Rhiannon.” Thea turned away, unable to look at her any longer.

“What good will changing my mind do? I don’t have a choice. It’s either obey or disobey, Thea, and I think you know the side I’ve always been forced to take. If this is what my father wants for me, I can’t refuse him. Especially not now, not when he’s suffering.”

For a moment, neither spoke, the silence heavy in the air between them. Then Thea sighed, and without turning around, uttered words that stung like an arrow to the heart.

“Prepare for the backlash, Rhiannon. It will be brutal.”

Sensing the dismissal in Thea’s voice, Rhiannon grabbed her books and left the room, feeling numb and unbearably cold. She was right; there was sure to be an uproar over this.

What would she say to Liam when she saw him? How could she possibly convince him this was for the best?

It was going to be a hard task to convince him or anyone else, when she was so unsure of it herself.

She skipped breakfast,
not feeling remotely hungry, and headed straight to the Greenhouse. Her father was there, but she couldn’t bring up the topic with him, feeling all her earlier confidence slipping away. Instead, she worked in silence, as did he, and the hours ticked by, minute by painful minute.