The Dark God's Bride Trilogy, #3 (26 page)

Where she c
ame from, the big city, people usually minded their own business. To have a complete stranger offer a helping hand brought out some cynical feelings. But this was a small town, Amara reminded herself. She shouldn’t doubt these gentle folk.

“Oh, thank you.”

“I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new in town?”

“Why, yes. I’m on vacation.”

“It looks like you’re staying for a while,” the man hinted at the case of canned food in his hands. “For business or for pleasure?”

“Um… pleasure, I guess.” Though she hadn’t seen any bit of it since she arrived. She hadn’t had any decent sleep for the last couple of nights.

“Don’t tell me a little lady like you is staying up the mountain all by yourself.”

She couldn’t tell a complete stranger about the unstable deity locked up in her cellar. “I’m a big girl,” she replied with a smile. “I can take care of myself.”

“I live up there, too. Maybe we’ll run into each other sometime.”

“Maybe. Well, thank you Mister…”

“Jake. Please call me Jake.”

“Thank you, Jake. I’m Amara.”

“The pleasure was mine, Amara.” He helped pull down the rear door after he pushed the last of the cases in. “Look like it’s going to rain so you should be careful. I hope to see you again very soon.”

She smiled at him as she rounded the car to the driver’s seat. She secured the seatbelt, adjusted the mirrors, and then began the drive back to the cabin. It did rain like Jake said, but
it was more of a light shower, which Amara was grateful for. If it was really pouring, the dirt road would turn to mud and that would have been a hellish walk back to the cabin.

Luckily, she got back before dark. She parked the jeep in front of the cabin and brought in the fresh groceries. She left the rest of the jeep unloaded for a sunnier day. She wouldn’t want to get sick in this kind of weather. If she had, there would be no one to take care of them both. She started up the propane stove and prepare
d dinner for that evening: chicken pasta, salad, and cool tea. Living without a running refrigerator was a pain in the neck because once the fresh produce expired after a couple of days, canned food would be the only thing on the menu.

After dinner, she paid the man in the cellar a visit because she felt guilty that he might be suffering from neglect. She was partly right. The ceiling was leaking water on him and he was less than ecstatic about it.

“Oh my…” She ran back upstairs to look for an umbrella. She found an old dusty umbrella sitting in the corner of the closet. She ran back down the cellar with the umbrella and a large bath towel. She opened the umbrella to cover him despite the old superstition. “I’m so sorry. I would have come sooner if I knew this would happen.” She pressed the towel on his face and neck to dry him. “How long has it been leaking?”

“Too long,” he muttered. “This is a crime of the most heinous nature.”

She suppressed a giggle. “I know it’s beyond forgiveness, but you must try. I just got back from town.”

“Another lie,” he said. “You came back a little over an hour ago.”

“…Alright, you got me. I had to make dinner. Unlike you, I need sustenance to survive and I haven’t eaten anything since morning. I was awfully hungry.”

“What do I have to do for you to rid me of these chains? There is very little I wouldn’t do so you might as well present your case.”

“I told you. There is nothing I want from you.”

“Then,
why
are you keeping me here?”

“Because you are a dangerous man.”

Being his egotistical self, he said, “At last, you are making sense!”

“Your chains were earned, I can tell you that much. What am I going to do about the leaking ceiling? This place is old so it must be a structural problem. I don’t know anything about home improvement and I can’t hire people to fix it. They’ll see you and then put me away for life.”

The rain was unrelenting as the hours rolled by. Amara shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other and then back again. She switched the umbrella from one tired hand to the other and then back again. The feeling of sleepiness finally caught up to her after too many sleepless nights. She was drifting in and out of sleep.

“Don’t waste your time to win me over with your little act. I
will still break your pretty little neck when I rid myself of these chains.”

“That’s nice, dear,” she murmured sleepily.

Amara found
Chevalier’s fishing equipment in the closet the next morning while she was cleaning and decided to go fishing that afternoon after she caught up on some sleep. She packed two large omelets, a half-pounder turkey sandwich, a heated canteen of chicken soup, and egg salad for lunch. For dessert, she brought a bright red apple.

Amara had only gone fishing once in her life and that was on the botany class’ camping trip while she was still attending university. Their class was studying plants in their natural habitats. The pond they were fishing from was muddy and stagnant, not clear and reflective like the lake here.

She cast the line and then set up the fishing rod between the rocks so it would stand by itself. While she was sun bathing on a flat, smooth boulder, she had the wildest thought. She sat up and peeked around to see if anyone was around. Feeling secure and alone, she stripped out of her jean shorts and t-shirt. She made a final peek before she took off her bra. She removed the clip from her hair and let her long black hair flow over her form.

It felt wildly exciting.

She took small steps into the lake so that her body would get used to the water temperature. It felt just fine. She stopped going further when the water level was just above her breasts. She wasn’t a very strong swimmer so she didn’t want to risk her life in the deeper end.

The view from where she was standing was absolutely breathtaking. The crystal clear lake was mirroring everything surrounding it, even the gentle clouds floating beneath the baby blue sky. It was beautiful and unspoiled in its natural state.

“Mighty nice day for swimming.”

A deep masculine voice startled Amara. She turned around from the view and saw the same rugged man from the other day on horseback. He smiled and casually tipped his cowboy hat. She bent her knees so the water would reach her chin.

“I’m so sorry… I thought no one would come here.”

“Oh no, don’t apologize. I never thought the view would get any better, but I was wrong.” The comment was supposed to bring a blush to her face, but it made her felt a lot more uncomfortable instead. “So, I assume you are staying at the cabin up there?”

She had more sense in her than to give away her address to a complete stranger, but there weren’t any other houses around for her to deny his assumption.

“I have a horse ranch nearby. We’re practically neighbors.”

“Um… that’s nice…”

“I’m making you uncomfortable, aren’t I?” He chuckled. “I will come by to visit you at a more appropriate time then. Good day.”

He tipped his cowboy hat again and then rode away. She waited until she was sure he wasn’t coming back to get out of the water and get dressed. Feeling awkward and thoroughly embarrassed, she swiftly gathered her things and ran back to the cabin.

Trent found his wife
sleeping in their bedroom in the middle of the day. He came to her bedside and placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. Her complexion was sickly pale and her golden hair had lost its luster over the years. She hadn’t been eating enough to sustain a healthy body weight. Her condition worried him more and more each day. Her natural lifespan was already too brief as it was.

“Raya…” he whispered her name softly. He nudged her soft cheek to wake her.

She caught his hand and pressed his palm against her cheek. She opened her earthy brown eyes and looked back at him with a soft smile on her lips and a touch of rose on her cheeks. “You’re home…”

“Have you eaten yet?”

She nodded. “I miss you.”

“You don’t look so well.”

“Don’t think that’s a good excuse for you to see other women,” she teased.

“There are no other women.”

Her smile bloomed at his assurance.

“You need a doctor.”

“I’ve seen a doctor and he has already prescribed a prescription. See?” She pointed at the pills on the nightstand. “He said it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Who did you see? We should get a second opinion.”

“You are so good to me. I don’t think I could have made a better choice in a husband.”

“You are deliberately straying from the topic again.”

“That’s because you worry too much. Do you think that I would let anything happen to me when I am so content with you? I’d fight Death himself if I had to. Nothing, and I mean nothing…” his wife pressed a kiss on the palm of his hand, “could tear me from you. I love you too dearly.”

At times, the firm look in her eyes was uncannily familiar to Nala’s. It had been nearly three years since he last
saw her. She disappeared like she did last time and left no trace behind. He believed it was intentional. She must have been upset with him when he decided to marry Raya and gone off to one of her lovers.

“Trent?”

Nala had many lovers and it was not hard to see why. She was ethereally beautiful and innately cunning. Mortals and immortals alike were drawn to her. She only needed to say the word and she could have any man at her feet. One might say that she was the beating heart of obsessions.

“Trent? You’re drifting off again. Who or what are you thinking about?”

“It’s nothing. I’m going to take a shower.” His wife tugged at his sleeve when he rose. “Yes?”

She smiled up at him and he understood.

“Then come,” he invited.

“Will you
please
stay still?”

It was difficult to dress Noctis with the chains attached to his limbs. She had to cut
his clothes at certain parts and re-sew them together. She would have a much better time if he would just keep still.

“If you don’t stay still, you’re going to get pricked again.”

“Your needlework is poor,” he criticized. “I’ve never seen such wide and uneven stitches.”

“Sewing isn’t exactly a necessary skill to survive in my world, okay? Besides, I’m going to undo the stitches the next time I wash you so what’s the point of spending a lot time on it?”

“Did you not say you were very good at sewing?”

“When I did say that?” Amara inquired.

“You’ve even offered to sew my limbs back together if I come back with all of the pieces.”

Amara was trying to recall when she’d said that, but then she got distracted when he moved again. “Stay still!”

He sighed impatiently. “How troublesome.”

“You prefer to be nude?”

“I do not care either way. I am comfortable in my own skin.”

“I know you are, but it’s just not right. I wouldn’t want other people to think I mistreat you.”

“I haven’t seen anyone but you since I woke.”

“I don’t want to think that I mistreat you and… we might have visitors.”

“Are you referring to the man who came to visit you every other day?”

“How do you know about that?”

“I know more than you think I do.”

“Well, no. I didn’t mean him. I mean other guests.”

“Exactly how many lovers do you have?”

“For your information, the only man I’ve ever
—” She stopped herself in time. “They’re my friends. They’re immortals, like you. They will stop by to see how you are doing and if you behave yourself, they might get rid of these chains so you can move around again.”

“Define
‘behave’.”

“Don’t worry. They won’t expect you to hold polite conversation. You haven’t had an episode so far so I’m sure I could convince them to let you out of this cellar.”

“That won’t be necessary. I would have freed myself by then.”

“How?”

“I’m almost done breaking the seal.”

“
How?
” She furrowed her brows. “How could you remember something as complicated as breaking a seal and nothing about me?”

“Why, indeed.”

“I hate your sarcasm—” She forced herself to swallow when she felt her lunch backing up. “…Excuse me.” He flinched when she accidently pricked him with the needle.

“What is wrong with you?” he scolded.

“Indigestion. I don’t think my body appreciates a diet of canned food and plain spaghetti. It’s making me sick. I will need to go to town to pick up some fresh groceries. There, all done.” She severed the thread with her teeth and then smoothed her hands over his shirt. “You can have the rest of the day to yourself.”

“The stitches are hideous,” he complained. “Do it again.”

She smiled at him. “Are you being difficult or are you trying to keep me here with you?”