Breath of Air (16 page)

“Rohan, this is completely uncalled for!” Lucian cried angrily, eyeing Rohan like he had just sprouted antlers.

“Oh, that’s just perfect, Rohan. Make it all about you and your precious daughter as usual. Screw you!” Blythe took off, her hands clenched in fists, and she slammed the door behind her as she went.

“Do you have proof that Blythe let in the demon?” Sebastian asked Rohan, an astonished look on his face.

“No. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she had. Fire is bad blood, her father couldn’t be trusted, nor could his mother before him, therefore I don’t trust her either.”

“Rohan, as usual you are blinded by your prejudice.” Thea said sternly. “Leave your personal troubles out of this.”

“I know Blythe didn’t do it!” Capri stammered, blushing as everyone turned to look at her. “She’s been nothing but kind to me.”

“Yeah, Blythe wouldn’t do something like this.” Liam agreed with a nod, turning to Thea. “She’s like my sister, I know how she does things. She wouldn’t do something sneaky like this, she prefers head on confrontations if she’s pissed. It wasn’t her.”

“Capri, do you remember anything before you started having what you thought was a dream?” Clynn asked kindly.

Capri closed her eyes and thought for a moment, trying to remember anything that might help…but, once again, she was useless. “No, I just remember going to bed, and then waking up by the tree in the meadow. Rian was there…where is he?”

“He’s out there right now, tracking the demon.” Roarke answered, pride in his voice. “Thank God he was reading next to a window and spotted you walking through the courtyard, otherwise that demon might have made off with you just like last time.”

“Capri, for the demon to have been able to possess you, you would have had to have been in a weakened emotional state.” Clynn told her. “Has something been bothering you lately that might have caused you severe emotional pain?”

“No.” Capri answered instinctively, but then she guiltily remembered hearing the harsh voiced man in the library and how scared that had made her…but she wasn’t sure she should talk about that when Rohan was standing right in front of her. Especially after the way he had treated Blythe; she was certain now that it would be smart to stay away from him as much as possible. “I want to speak to Rian. I need to thank him…”

“We will send him up later.” Thea promised, her face softening a bit. “You need to rest now.”

It was then that Clarity came into the room with scented herbs and flowers, and everyone else began to leave. Her father squeezed her hand in his own reassuringly.

“Thank God you’re safe.” He tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. When he left, Capri was all alone with Clarity.

“Relax, Capri.” She said softly, her voice soothing and lyrical. She placed some kind of cool compress over Capri’s forehead and eyes, and began gently massaging her temples. She could smell the soothing scent of lavender and vanilla as she felt her breathing slow and her mind calm.

Within minutes she slipped into a pleasantly dreamless sleep, and all disturbing thoughts of demons seemed to fade away into darkness.

♦ ♦ ♦

CHAPTER NINE

Sometime later, in the early morning hours, Rian came into her room and stood beside her bed. She thought she remembered waking and saying something to him, but she wasn’t exactly sure what it was. It was probably something along the lines of a simple thank you…and when he touched her hand and watched her in silence, she must have drifted back to sleep. When she woke, hours later, she could have sworn for a moment that he was still there, holding her hand in his, reminding her that he would protect her.

But maybe she was only imagining the whole thing. After all, she had been in a very deep and heavy sleep.

♦ ♦ ♦

“She’s been out for twelve hours…shouldn’t we wake her up?”

“She has a concussion, Blythe, I think we should give her as much rest as she needs.”

“Right, but aren’t you supposed to keep people with head injuries awake or something?”

“What’re you a doctor now? I don’t think so.”

Capri felt her lips twitch into a smirk as she listened to her friends argue quietly with each other.

“You’re actually supposed to wake the person up every few hours and check on them, but seeing as its already been twelve hours I think I’m okay.” Capri opened her eyes and grinned at them sleepily.

“See, I was right.” Blythe replied haughtily, earning a swift punch in the shoulder from Liam.

“Shut up.” He told her as he looked at Capri, a wide grin on his face. “How you feeling, champ?”

“Better.” Capri yawned and stretched her arms up behind her, and when they came down she felt the bandage on the back of her head. “Oh.” She pressed on it lightly, wincing at the dull pain she felt.

“Yeah, you’re gonna have to wear that for a day or two until the wound heals. It’s cool though, you actually look pretty badass with it on.” Blythe commented, sitting down on the side of the bed and holding Capri’s hand in her own, her eyes softer and more serious. “You scared us really bad, honey.”

Capri sighed and leaned back against her pillows again. “I’m sorry…I guess I can’t let my guard down again.”

“It shouldn’t be like that.” Liam said irritably, sitting down opposite Blythe on the bed and taking Capri’s other hand in his. “You shouldn’t have to be afraid here. The Furies are going to find out who did this, and then everything will be normal again, I promise.”

“Okay.” Capri smiled, feeling sentimental as she looked at both of them. “Thank you for being here…I really appreciate everything you both have done for me.”

“We care about you.” Liam replied, squeezing her hand gently.

“Yeah, so don’t worry about it, okay?” Blythe agreed with a quick grin.

“Okay.”

There was a sudden gentle knocking on the door, and when it opened, Rhiannon peeked her head inside.

“Oh.” She paused when she saw Liam and Blythe sitting beside Capri, for a moment looking unsure what she wanted to do. “I just wanted to bring you some flowers and see how you were doing.”

“Please, come in.” Capri said with a kind smile as she tried to sit up. She winced at how weak she felt, but she continued to sit up anyways, until she was propped up against her pillows.

“Maybe you should wait your turn.” Blythe suggested, her eyes spitting fiery daggers at Rhiannon as she stepped over the threshold.

Rhiannon looked insulted, and opened her mouth in retort just as Liam stepped in.

“We were actually just leaving, Rhia.” He said softly, his eyes kind. “Come in.”

He stood up, eyeing Blythe as he did so, and she rolled her eyes and stood up as well.

She looked down at Capri and smiled. “I’ll come back later, k?”

With that, she turned and headed out the door, passing by Rhiannon without another word. Liam headed out as well, but as he passed Rhiannon he stopped in front of her, and his hand came up to touch her cheek.

“Are you okay?” He asked her, and Capri watched as Rhiannon looked up at him, her eyes cold.

“I’m fine, Liam.” She shifted away from him and approached Capri, standing somewhat awkwardly beside the bed.

Capri watched as Liam stood frozen for a moment, his hand raised where it had just been touching Rhiannon’s cheek, before he turned and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Rhiannon and Capri were both quiet for a moment, neither of them really knowing what to say.

“I didn’t know what kind you liked, but I hope these will do.” Rhiannon motioned with the vase of sunny daffodils in her arms.

“They’re beautiful.” Capri replied cheerfully, hoping to make Rhiannon feel more welcome.

“I’ll just set them here on your nightstand.”

She set the cheery blue vase down, then held out a small tin of butter cookies to Capri. Her lips curved into a soft smile.

“Cookies always make me feel better.” Rhiannon told her as she took a seat in the wooden side chair beside the bed.

“Thank you.” Capri held the tin to her chest, watching the other girl carefully.

“Are you feeling better?” Rhiannon asked, her hands folding properly in her lap and her back ruler straight. She was wearing a neat navy blue pencil skirt and crisp white blouse, and her long coco hair was pulled back into a trim ponytail.

Capri suddenly felt frumpy and disheveled compared to the pristine Rhiannon, but she had to remind herself that she had had a rough night, and couldn’t be expected to look exactly perfect.

“I am, actually.” She replied as she anxiously smoothed out the blanket in front of her. “I slept for twelve hours apparently.”

“I’m sorry this happened to you.” Rhiannon said quietly, sadness in her eyes. “And with you only being home one month. I can only imagine how you must be feeling.”

“I’m fine, really.” Capri reassured her. “Though I suppose I should be wondering why this happened…” She added thoughtfully, feeling uneasy.

“The Furies will find out, you shouldn’t worry. And until they do, you will be protected.”

“That’s good to know.”

The two of them were quiet once again, as though each searching for what to say next. Rhiannon broke the silence first.

“I’m sorry I haven’t really had time to speak with you lately…it’s mostly my fault, I’ve been so busy.” She apologized, attempting to smile.

“No, I understand, please don’t think I’m angry with you or anything.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Rhiannon replied with a light laugh as she visibly relaxed. “If you’d like, when you feel better we can have a picnic lunch in the courtyard. It’d be fun and relaxing, I think you’d enjoy it.”

“I’d love to!” Capri beamed happily. It actually was just the sort of thing she enjoyed to do, and the fact that Rhiannon invited her made it all the better.

“Good, I’m glad.” Rhiannon said as she glanced down, tugging at the hem of her skirt anxiously. “Other than what happened last night, have you been enjoying Euphora?”

“Of course! I don’t think I’ve ever been happier, really.”

“We were worried you would leave after what you found out about your mother…and everyone’s wondering if you will leave now because of this.”

Capri stared at Rhiannon, her eyes widening with surprise. “Why would I leave because of this?”

“Aren’t you frightened?” Rhiannon asked curiously.

“Well, yes, I guess I am, but I’m not going to just get up and leave because of it! This is my home…” She felt angry tears burning in her eyes, though she knew she shouldn’t be upset with Rhiannon. “If it was you, would you leave?”

Rhiannon watched her quietly for a moment, forming her answer in her mind before she spoke. When she did, her face was carefully blank and her eyes were clear. “I’ve never known the outside world, not like you have. For all I know, I might prefer it to this prison I’ve lived in my entire life.”

“Prison?” Capri asked, looking startled.

Rhiannon smiled grimly, though her eyes softened a bit. “Most of us are never given the choice of whether or not we want this life. I suppose a part of me is envious that you have been.”

“I’ve never wanted anything more than to live here, with all of you.” Capri insisted. “You can assure everyone that I will not be leaving.”

Rhiannon stood up then and reached out for Capri’s hand, holding it in her own gently. “Deep down, I think I knew you would stay. You’re so strong, Capri, in ways the rest of us can only envy. Please, remember that.”

With that, Rhiannon let go of her hand and left the room, leaving behind a faint scent of sage and vanilla.

Capri laid back in bed, curling up under the covers and pulling them over her head to hide the light. She wondered why everyone seemed to think she was so strong, when most of the time she felt nothing but weakness.

♦ ♦ ♦

After two full days of bed rest, Thea finally agreed to let Capri get up and walk around on her own. She still felt a little shaky, though it was probably more from so much rest and not using her muscles very much for forty eight hours than from her head injury, which seemed to be healing just fine. Her head still felt a little tender where she had hit it when she fell, but other than that she felt great.

Encouraged by her newfound freedom, she cleaned up and slipped into a pair of comfily faded jeans and a pale yellow blouse, and headed downstairs for breakfast.

When she entered the dining hall, she immediately scanned the faces of the people who were already seated and eating, only to be disappointed. The one person she really wanted to see was nowhere to be found.

Rian had not come to visit her since the night she had been possessed, and even then she was pretty sure she had only imagined him being there. At the very least, she owed him more than the half-conscious thank you she must have given him if he had been there.

With a sigh, she sat beside her father at the dining table, who smiled happily at her.

“Goodmorning, darling.” He greeted, reaching for the coffee pitcher to pour her a cup like he did every morning. As he started pouring for her, he looked up, eyeing her with concern when he noticed the look on her face. “What’s wrong? Does your head still hurt?”

Capri jolted, looking flustered. “No, no I’m fine.” She replied as she reached for a blueberry muffin. She picked off a small piece and stared at it for a moment before turning to her father. “Actually, have you seen Rian? I really want to speak to him.”

Clynn set the coffee pitcher down and met her eyes sympathetically. “The Furies are all very busy right now, Capri, trying to figure out what happened.”

“I know, but I just need to speak with him for a moment. Do you know where he is?”

“I believe he’s outside in the courtyard. Most mornings he exercises out there.”

“Thank you.” Capri kissed his cheek with a sweet smile as she stood up, handed the muffin to him, and raced out of the dining hall.

She headed down the long corridor, into the atrium, and out into the morning sunshine. Glancing around, she spotted Rian off to the far right side of the courtyard, standing in front of a punching bag that was suspended from a large oak tree.

He was punching the bag rhythmically, right, left, right, left, in rapid succession, and as she approached him she could hear the slaps of his knuckles against the leather bag.