Falling Into Place (30 page)

She looked to the door, “I just want to get
out of here.”

He nodded. “Okay, but Liz, Preston will have
to meet us back at your place.”

“That’s fine. He’s always been a good
friend, but please, let’s leave.” Her tone was harsh and Tremaine
was on his feet, taking her hand as he started for the door.

Robert followed on their heels. Tremaine
gave him a warning look over his shoulder before they ever made it
out the door. Liz practically ran to the Land Cruiser and into the
driver’s side.

Tremaine rushed to catch up. He opened the
driver door with a raised brow. “Give me the keys. You’re on edge,
and I don’t know why, but you’re starting to worry me.”

Her eyes slid shut, but she scooted over to
the passenger side as Robert climbed in and caught her. He shifted
her, sitting her in his lap.

Tremaine met his gaze. “Wait until we get
home, Robert. Please.”

He nodded once, but took Liz’s chin in is
fingers. Tremaine rolled his eyes.

“That’s not going to work on me.” Liz
snapped. “Fuck. I don’t want to be here. It’s nothing more.
Okay?”

“Fine,” he answered, but Robert obviously
didn’t buy it.

Neither did Tremaine. However, he knew that
Liz wasn’t answering anything until they got back to their place.
Something had happened while she was talking with Dacia, who had
been uncharacteristically mellow ever since she gave up on
Hayden.

Robert pulled his phone out and quickly
texted Preston with his free hand. Liz rolled her eyes and stared
out the windshield, but stayed in Robert’s lap.

Liz was tempted to slam the door on Robert.
Picking her up like that, forcing her gaze to his had ticked her
off… and turned her on at the same damned time.

Bastard.
He still knew exactly how to touch her, to push
her, to hold her, and she was scared to death she would lose
herself in all of that. If he ever left, she would fall apart. It
was inevitable.

Except, she knew he wouldn’t leave. The only
reason he had let her go was because she begged him to. He never
once gave her a reason to doubt him, but she always had.

Tremaine, oh he still grounded her as
always, but now there was a heat there that had always been under
the surface waiting to break out. She could get lost in it just as
easily.

Between the two of them, she found balance,
she finally felt like she was on even ground and not sinking as
long as she shut off that nagging little voice of doubt. The fear
of losing one or both was paralyzing, but reason wouldn’t shut it
out.

She stormed into her room and slammed the
door. Everything had been fine until her little talk with Dacia and
she remembered the sea of hopelessness she had waded in for so damn
long. She was one little push from the edge again.

She wrapped her hand around the knob and
felt her magic surge, fusing the knob together as she heard Robert
and Tremaine stomping up the stairs to get to her.

Lightning lit up the whole room as she fell
against the wall and slid down to stare at the storm brewing
outside. Her arms wrapped around herself and she tried to shut down
her thoughts, her heart, everything for a little while.

She needed to find peace before the storm
set off a spark of wild magic that flared beneath her skin. Robert
hated storms, and since she left, she was drawn to them even still.
Liz felt like a ticking time bomb.

The door rattled in its frame. Tremaine
bellowed, “Liz, talk to us.”

There was no talking at that point, she was
beyond words, barely hanging on to her control. There was another
flash, this one closer. The thunder cracked and she winced at the
current that coursed through her system.

Their argument was on the outer reaches of
her consciousness, but the storm was calling to her. She wanted to
walk right into it.

“Shit, it’s the storm,” Tremaine
growled.

“What? What the hell are you talking about,”
Robert demanded.

“She rides the storm,” he slammed his hand
against the door. “Liz, it’s all right. Open the door.”

“She doesn’t have to,” Robert answered, and
then there was a pop.

The two of them appeared right before her as
the next bolt of lightning hit a tree not twenty feet from the
window.

Robert jumped, that’s all it took. She was
on her feet, running for the window. She slid it open and jumped to
the ground, rolling on impact and then running into the field
beyond the trees.

She heard Robert calling after her, and
heard Tremaine yelling her name.

Falling to her knees, she let the tears
come. This was going to scare the hell out of Robert, but she
couldn’t push the storm aside, not just then. She was too close to
losing it as it was.

This time when the lightning struck, it hit
her, but it didn’t burn, no it danced through her, clearing her
head, sweeping away most of her doubts.

There was one left. Robert. He had always
feared storms even if he always braved them for her. She heard the
pop as another lightning bolt hit her.

Tremaine caught Robert around the waist and
pulled him back. “Give her a minute to rein it in,” Tremaine
yelled. “She’s fine, I swear it. This isn’t the first time.”

“Liz, tell me you’re okay,” Robert begged,
his eyes round with terror.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, pushing to her
feet. “I’m fine,” she said louder.

And Robert stopped struggling, falling
against Tremaine who held him, leaning his forehead against Roberts
face. “I told you she was fine,” Tremaine said loud enough for her
to hear.

“It doesn’t hurt.” Liz shrugged and took a
deep breath. “I don’t want you to try it, but it calls to me, or I
call to it. I’m not really sure. Just wait until it passes.”

“Passes?” Robert demanded, but he let
Tremaine stroke his chest, and he relaxed again.

Tremaine brushed his lips over Robert’s ear,
and it seemed Robert went weak in the knees. “The storm. She feeds
off it. I’ve seen druids do it.” And then Tremaine froze, his eyes
widening as he stared at Liz.

“What?” she whispered.

He shook his head slightly and Robert
straightened, turning to look at Tremaine. “What is it?”

“Soon, I’ll tell you soon,” Tremaine said
softly.

Liz frowned, but held her hand out as Robert
turned around. Hoping to calm him further she called to the
lightning as she raised her hand above her head. The bolt surged
into her palm, and she felt the tingle all the way to her toes.

Robert’s mouth fell open, but he didn’t look
scared so much as in awe this time around.

The rain calmed and the dark storm clouds
faded away. She took a step closer to Robert and took his face in
her hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was the storm, I thought
it was hearing that Dacia was going through the same sort of thing
I went through.”

He nodded, but then shook his head. “What do
you mean?”

“Her whole world was rocked when Izackarus
took her over, and showed her a darker side of herself. I think
she’s realized how she was and she’s now on the edge of figuring
out who she wants to be. She’s broken, and now she has to find the
strength to find herself.”

“You’ve never been broken, Liz,” Robert told
her.

“Oh, but I have, many times. I’ve always put
myself back together again.” She nodded toward the house. “Let’s
get dry before Preston shows up.”

* * * *

Preston’s phone dinged. He brought up the
text and winced.

P- Come to the house. We’re not at the bar -
R

He was looking forward to stopping by In 2
Deep for a drink or two. Anything to avoid detailing the shit he’d
seen in the last twenty-four hours. He had seen the first victims
with his own eyes, and hopped on a flight.

Robert would have come to get him, but he
hated Robert’s method of travel. Besides, he had to check on a few
things on the way. He was shocked to say the least, but he didn’t
know what to make of it.

Magister Draecyn had a child eighty-four
years ago. The mother was a druid. There were a few stories about
true druid/mage hybrids, who inherited both druid and mage traits,
and when you pissed them off, they were scary as hell.

That fit Liz. Not that Liz was scary, but
when her magic went off the charts, she was terrifying. Hybrids
weren’t supposed to exist. They were supposed to be myths

So, what the fuck does it mean?

Preston wasn’t even supposed to know Liz was
a hybrid, let alone who her parents were. In fact, Draecyn would
probably flip the fuck out if he knew that Preston knew, and how he
knew.

If he hadn’t found records at the Fanning’s
he would never have made the connection. He saw the contract
Sinclair McCallister wrote up, that Maynard signed. The bastard
agreed to take an infant from Draecyn’s druid lover. There was a
search for the child, but she was never found. And the story got
more fucked from there. That is, if his suspicious were
correct.

With a sigh, he pulled into Liz’s driveway
and made his way to the door. He knocked before he noticed the
bell, but left it alone. It had been years since he’d been here.
She lived on the edge of Edenton, and he knew she had a cabin
deeper into the forest, high into the foothills but he had never
actually seen it. He knew she used some crazy wards that hid it
from view. Once upon a time, he had tried to follow Robert and
wound up lost. That was forever ago though.

Liz opened the door, her hair was wet and
slicked back. Tremaine and Robert both came down the stairs.

Preston’s brow arched. “You three just get
out of the shower?”

Liz rolled her eyes. “That’s a hell of a
welcome.”

His eyes widened and he smacked himself in
the head. “Sorry, it was the first thing that came to mind. It’s
good to see you and not have you run the other direction.” He
winked.

She grabbed his wrist and hauled him in with
a laugh before kicking the door shut and locking it.

“Sorry. I guess I thought
Robert didn’t know where I was.” She shot Tremaine a look, but it
wasn’t as icy as he expected. Preston couldn’t figure out what was
going on with the three of them… unless it was the
three
of
them.

“Wow, so you all are together?” He shook his
head, trying to work that out. Robert and Liz were always the
obvious choice for him, but something about the three of them
seemed connected and locked into place. He looked at each of them
and then back at Liz. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Yes, and we’re happy, so don’t fuck with
that,” Liz warned with a spark in her eye. Not like a twinkle but
it looked like actual sparks, and then he remembered the
lightning.

“Right, wow, well…,” Preston stammered. “I’m
happy for you. Really, maybe a bit surprised though. I remember how
you two were. So, I’m sorry if this comes as a shock.”

She grinned. “Sorry for always running. I
thought it was best. I missed you though.”

Preston grinned and hugged her. He did miss
her fiery personality. “Of course you missed me. It’s been too
damned long.”

She laughed then. “Agreed. Now come on. I
hear you have news.”

“I do.”

Tremaine sighed, probably in relief. He had
looked a little tense a moment before. “Preston, sorry I couldn’t
tell you.”

“It’s cool. I get it. You were doing as she
asked.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Well, I have a lot of shit to
cover, but to start, I believe all your crazy ideas from back in
the day. Something is going on within certain factions of the
Council.”

Liz nodded. “What changed your mind?”

Preston ran his hands through his hair and
then down his face. “We’ll get there. Let’s all get cozy first, and
I could use a drink or two. Liz, you might need a couple for part
of this.”

Tremaine gave him a sideways look but
started for the living room. Robert went to the bar to pour
everyone what they needed.

* * * *

Before Liz could sit down, Tremaine wrapped
his hand around her waist and pulled her close as he sat at the end
of the couch.

Sighing, she looked at Tremaine who was
watching Preston closely, then turned to him herself. “Why do I
have the feeling that you are about to tell me something totally
life-altering?”

Preston held up one finger as Robert handed
him a shot of Patron that he knocked back. Robert brought the other
drinks to the coffee table and took Liz’s other hand.

“Okay, now you guys are all starting to
worry me. What the fuck is going on?” Liz demanded, about a second
before she pulled her hands away from Trem and Robert.

Preston set the shot glass down and looked
her in the eye. “I think your father is Magister Draecyn.”

Her eyes popped wide, her mouth fell open as
she stared at Preston.

“You found proof?” Tremaine asked
carefully.

She flipped around to look at Tremaine. “You
knew,” she whispered.

Tremaine caught her arms before she could
stand and bolt. “I didn’t have a clue until I watched the way you
drew the lightening into your hand.” He shook his head. “I hadn’t
ever given it a thought until tonight when I watched you channel
the storm. I was the one helped Draecyn search for you. We thought
you had died.”

“Died?” She scoffed. “Someone gave me away,
and you thought I died?”

Tremaine took a deep breath and nodded
slowly. “Look, it was eighty-four years ago. Very few people knew
about you. Draecyn was in love with a druid named Amalie. He kept
it secret, they had a hidden cabin far in the woods…,” his eyes
rounded.

“Shit,” Preston exclaimed. “That explains
how you cast those wards for the damned place. I couldn’t find your
cabin, and I can track anyone anywhere.”