Legend of the Touched (24 page)

Darien had really out done himself though. Because
not only did the natural lighting provide a romantic mood, but so
did how he decorated the room. Strings of light draped themselves
over the support pillars, doorways, and outlined the windows. Small
stands holding glowing, blue flowers created the outline of a dance
floor on the mat where he and his brothers usually sunbathed as
dragons. The pool had a glowing blue candles floating on lily pads.
Music played out of the stereo.

"You look amazing." Darien came up next to her and
offered an arm. He walked her towards a small table with dinner.
Baked macaroni and cheese filled her nostrils, with a slight hint
of bacon and tomato. She would have drooled if it wouldn't have
been considered unladylike.

Tai looked him up and down in his black suit. The
jacket was open, and he didn't have a tie, but he looked sharp,
suave, and sexy. His usually messy shag hair was combed neatly so
it was out of his beautiful blue eyes. She opened her mouth to say
something, anything, to him, but the words wouldn't come.

"Speechless?" He smirked. She nodded. "I was kind of
hoping you would be. Not because I don't like to hear your
beautiful voice, but because that means I did an awesome job at
surprising you."

"Yes, you definitely did." She managed at last.

"Tonight was important to you."

"It was important to us. In the craziness of
everything, I'd forgotten tonight was the actual dance at school.
But spending this time with you makes up for it all. That's what I
wanted the most."

"Me too." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the
forehead.

She laughed. "It's okay. I'm not made of glass. You
won't hurt me."

"This is the second time I've almost lost you. You do
realize this, right?" He gave her such a sad smile. His eyes were
soft and slightly downcast, and his lips barely moved upward.

"As you can see I'm tough to get rid of." She tilted
her face towards him trying to entice him to
really
kiss
her. When he didn't make the move, she wrapped her arm around his
neck and pulled his lips to hers. And for the first time in a long
while, she felt alive.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

The Inero

"It seems Josiah's new wife is proving to be of great
use to us," Matt said as he lay out the blue prints of what was the
Great Oceina Lord's home. "It will be easy to go in and take them
by surprise. Not like they're expecting us to attack their home.
I'm sure they're ready for an attack on the border. I've heard
reports that more and more of their military units are stationing
there. The Terran have agreed to give us two of their best warriors
to fly us into the city. We will storm the building from both the
roof, and the ground in a pincer sort of attack. The object isn't
to kill however, but take as many hostages as we can. There will be
a diversion of sorts inside to keep the Lord and his more immediate
family in the building before they can escape. The first thing
we're going to do is take out their telepathic communications and
then—."

A member of the Royal Guard entered the room. Matt
recognized him as one of the units deployed to bring his father's
wife back. Sure enough, in his arms was a struggling Miss Navi.
Lynx's eyes brightened at the sight of her and he rushed to her.
Behind her was the bodyguard known as Chris, also in custody of two
guards, though he did not so much as move a muscle.

"My darling, you're back." Lynx took her from the
guard and pulling her close to his body. The look of joy he had was
not one she shared. The twenty-something vixen glared up at him
with nothing but disdain. Lynx frowned. "I know you're angry with
me. I deserve to be punished for how I've hurt you. Tonight though,
I shall explain everything. You will understand." He paused and
sniffed her dark, curly hair, frowning. "You've been with another
man."

Out of nowhere his father slapped Navi across the
face, knocking her to the floor.

"Don't hit her," Chris yelled. To that the guards
replied by hitting him hard in the stomach. It didn't take much for
Matt to figure out whom she had bedded.

"You are my
wife
. I have taken you into my
home and given you the world, and this is how you repay me? By
mating with a
human
?" Lynx grabbed her from the floor. "What
do you have to say for yourself?"

Navi glared at him still, and despite her small size
she held a great deal of power in her stance as she leaned forward
towards his father. "I stopped being your wife when you threw me
away. Hasn't that always been your law? I found a new husband. I'm
not yours anymore."

"You will always be
mine,
" Lynx spat. He
cupped her cheek and forced her to look into his eyes. His
expression softened as he stroked her skin with two of his fingers.
"I understand now. You're bitter and angry over what I had done.
It's only fair you repay me through like action. This game is
ending now. I love you, and I will not harm you again."

"You don't get to control me anymore."

"I'm afraid you don't understand, dear. I want you,
so you are mine. If you wish to have your freedom, so be it, but
then I will be forced to kill this other man you dare call
husband."

Navi stiffened and tears filled her eyes. "Please
don't."

"Then you know what must happen," Lynx said tersely.
She nodded. He stroked her hair. "There's a good girl. I will let
you say your farewells at least. I am not a completely heartless
man."

He released her from his grasp and she went to Chris.
Cupping his face, she stared into his blue eyes. Matt had forgotten
the young man was one of the Oceina, a traitor. What an even worse
way to make his father pay for his sin. After everything Lynx had
done for the man. They were bound together even. The man deserved
to die.

"Go and don't come back," she whispered. Chris's jaw
tightened, but he said nothing. "You can let him go. He knows what
he has to do."

Lynx nodded, and the Royal Guard who held Chris
released him. He stared at Navi for one more minute and then left
the room. Lynx went to her and put an arm around her shoulders,
hugging her close to his body.

"Your return is a good omen, a sign of success in our
operation. Take her to our room. We'll have much catching up to do
tonight. I'm sure there will be those who will want to visit her as
well. She may have a few, but do not let her leave.
Understood?"

"Yes sir," a guard member said and took Navi from the
room.

Lynx returned to his seat and crossed his legs,
folding his hands over them. "Matthias, please continue explaining
how we will be taking back our land."

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The Inero

"Is it true?" Gwen asked the minute Jason walked
through the door to their suite. She'd heard the rumors of Navi's
return circulating through the castle. Gwen had been on her way to
the library at the time. Getting lost, she only did a lap around
the building and retreated back to the room. Finding the library
was the last thing on her mind now. Navi was back. Her best friend
was home, and though it broke her heart Gwen was glad to be back
too. She could help her friend.

Jason nodded and kept his eyes fixed on the floor.
"Yes. I know you're going to want to see her, but you should wait a
day or two. Father wasn't happy. He said she could have visitors,
but...."

"He didn't mean it?"

"I'm not sure. Things are going to get complicated
fast. Matt said they're getting ready to make their move. Navi has
a lot of talking to do with my father."

"Among other things?"

"I don't know. Probably not, he's a lot of things,
but he wouldn't necessarily... I don't know." Jason shook his head.
"He'll find other ways to hurt her. I know that much. The last
thing I want is for you to get caught in the middle."

She knew he was right even if it killed her inside.
"Then in a day or so I will see her. And I won't wait any longer
than that. She needs me, both of us. I can't let her suffer through
this alone."

He gently kissed her cheek before going to sit down
in a chair. "It's bad news, but we'll work it to our advantage.
Maybe she'll have some ideas on everything. She's always been a
good backboard for solving problems."

Everything could have meant a lot of things, which
might have been why he chose the vague wording. Neither of them
knew who was listening in, if at all, but Gwen was almost certain
someone was. The room felt like it had eyes all over watching their
every move.

"Yes, and I'm sure she can help me realize I have
nothing to be so nervous over. I know it's silly." She let out a
giggle when she noticed Jason frown and raise an eyebrow at the
same time. A peculiar looking face, but it was adorable all the
same.

"Yeah, I have a number of things to ask her. I think
having a woman's perspective will be more beneficial for me. The
soft spot of my heart I guess you could say. Though Matt has been a
lifesaver too. I need to spend time with him and thank him for all
of his input. I'm getting closer to the answer I'm looking
for."

Their eyes met, and happy tears filled her eyes.
After the demon had tried to attack her by using his body, she
could no longer deny that there was in fact a demon living inside
of him. Something that was hard for her to believe, but she'd
witnessed the evidence first hand. She couldn't ignore it, and she
didn't know how to help. That was the part that frustrated her the
most. There was nothing she could do to help him. In fact, he
barely went near her now out of fear something might happen again.
A fear they both shared. She didn't like being afraid of him and
for
him at the same time.

"Good," she whispered after a minute of silence had
passed. Hopefully he was close to all of the answers he needed. He
seemed in lighter spirits since they came home. Gwen couldn't tell
if it was because they were simply back in the city, a place he
loved and was familiar with, or if he'd actually found something
useful in ending the war between the Inero and Oceina. If the Royal
Guard was close to making a move against the water dragons, she
didn't see how that could be possible.

This isn't just a battle between water and fire. It
will be a war between good and evil.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

The Oceina

As much as Tai wanted to, she didn't go back to
school the week after Ethan was delivered. She still felt tired,
and more importantly, she still felt drawn to her son by some
strange unseen force. Leaving him now would be difficult for her. A
lot was still up in the air. The doctor came in several times a day
to monitor his growth and health. Everything seemed to be in order,
but that could change drastically overnight. She wouldn't feel
secure until after he hatched. Even then, that was still
questionable.

Maybe after the break she would feel differently, but
for the time being she stayed home. Besides, it seemed silly for
her to go back after missing a week of classes only to attend for
three days to take tests she didn't get to study for. All for the
sake of having some socialization. Tai needed the break from
everything, even the other classmates. Darien still went to get out
of the house. Whenever he was at home, he got too easily stressed
out with work related things. Some of the work things he brought
with him to school, but he couldn't get pulled aside by one of his
brothers as easily. It was good for him to focus. And if he wasn't
stressing out over work, he was stressing out over her and Ethan.
It only made her worry grow.

Tai sat in her bedroom, Ethan's egg in her lap as she
read a book and made an attempt at relaxing. She made sure to keep
him cozy and warm in the covers. They wouldn't be allowed to
snuggle for much longer. Soon her egg timer would be going off
telling her it was time for him to go back into the incubator.

"And then the—." She read out loud, wanting to make
sure Ethan still got to hear her voice even if they weren't mind
linked anymore. It traumatized and scared her. She didn't want him
to feel the same way she did, alone. The timer went off mid
sentence and she shut the book, placing it on the nightstand for
the time being.

Carefully gathering him into her arms, she stood from
the bed to take him back to the nursery.

"I'll come back in an hour and I'll finish the story,
okay?" she told him. "I'm going to find something to eat, so don't
get scared." She wished he could communicate back to her so she
knew he understood. With a heavy sigh, she entered the nursery and
placed him in his incubator next to the egg of one of his cousins.
Katelyn and Lance had one as well, though it was three times as
large, and was close to hatching. It made her feel better to know
he wasn't completely alone in there though. She gave the egg a
small kiss before leaving for the kitchen.

So what am I in the mood for? Potatoes? Chocolate?
Fruit? Probably fruit so I can work on losing all the weight I
gained.
She sighed, though the chocolate was calling to her
loudly.

You don't need to lose any weight. You gained all
of two pounds? Three? Relax, you're beautiful,
Darien said.

She scowled. He didn't get it, but did men ever
understand?
Aren't you supposed to be taking a test?

I finished it. Super easy. How are you feeling
today?

Lazy. I'm going to go back and read.

That's something I miss. Reading. I –
His
voice fritzed out of her mind and became like static as the fire
sprinklers went off in the entire room. She looked around,
frowning, wondering why that was happening in the first place. As
far as she could tell, nothing was cooking. Then she noticed they
were going off in the hallway and the other rooms of the house. The
fire was elsewhere inside.