The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (69 page)

“You are very forward, aren’t you Rain?” he said, playfully.

Rain shrugged, allowing herself to behave in the way she was used to. She had never been one to mince words or hide her opinions, and she didn’t see any reason do so now. “You’ve changed,” she pointed out the obvious.

He sat back regarding her slowly, his hands clasped loosely in front of him. “What do you think of my change?”

“It’s an improvement,” she answered unashamedly. He laughed loudly, causing her jump in her seat.

“The Shaman did warn me about you,” he said, the smile still on his face. “Don’t ask her anything you don’t want to hear the answer for, he said. I see now what he meant.”

She struggled for a moment, deciding if she should ask the next question, and decided she would. The only way she was going to get answers was if she asked. “How did you do it?”

He raised one eyebrow, but didn’t seem angered. “Some things, my dear, despite what you may think, you really don’t want the answer to. Just know that what I do is temporary, which is why we must push to obtain the boy.” He stood from his chair and started to walk towards her. “It served a purpose,” he continued, “to keep up my physical demise in front of others. Sometimes it is better to have people think you’re weak so that they will underestimate you. But here, where I am at home, I can be who I am.”

“But only temporarily,” she restated.

He stopped just beside her. “Yes, only temporarily – for now.” He held out a hand to her, which she gave him without hesitation. “Would you like me to give you a tour?” he asked.

“Yes, please.” Her excitement grew.

He placed her hand gently on his arm, and then began to walk towards the entrance he had come through. “First I will take you to see my most prized possessions,” he said conversationally. When he looked back down at her, she saw something flicker in his eyes. It made her wonder if she would be counted as one of those in time. The thought made her stomach tense. “Let us go see my children.”

CHAPTER TWO

The three of them looked at one another in silence before Elisa finally shook off her shock and ran full tilt at the boy that stood in her doorway. Aiden. He was back! Not only was he here and alive, but he looked better than ever. She shamelessly flung her arms around his neck, his arms banding around her waist.

“You’re back!” she cried. She could sense him smiling against her hair.

“I missed you too,” he chuckled. She stood back to take a better look at him, but his gaze was directed over her shoulder. Elisa turned her head to look at Wolf. His face had paled, and she could see the disbelief written in his eyes. Suddenly he moved, and then he was pushing her out of the way to embrace Aiden himself. It was a quick hug, but when they separated Wolf kept his hands on Aiden’s shoulders, as if he wanted to make sure he was indeed there. It occurred to Elisa as she looked at the two of them, that they weren’t that different anymore in size. Wolf was still the bigger one, but Aiden had filled out considerably since she first met him in Diana’s cottage.

“I thought you were dead,” Wolf said, almost accusingly.

Aiden smiled lightly. “Diana brought me back home,” he pointed out.

“I know, but I didn’t know for sure. She said you’d be safe but –” he left the rest of it blank. They understood though. They had all been afraid, Elisa realized. Even though Diana had assured them he’d be fine, no one knew what happened, or how he was. It wasn’t until she saw him again now that she realized how much that stress had weighed on her. He
was
okay though, and now he was here with them.

“Since when did you become such a sap?” came another voice came from outside the hall. Elisa tried to see around Aiden, but the voice was momentarily faceless. She watched as Aiden smiled mischievously at Wolf.

“I brought you a present,” he said with a grin. One look at Wolf’s face, and she knew
he
knew who it was, but she certainly didn’t. Aiden moved to the side, but instead of a man, there stood a slim girl. She had the whitest hair Elisa had ever seen, and her eyes were an unbelievable violet that seemed to shimmer in the lights. Her skin was a lovely bronze, and her lips were a deep shade of pink. Elisa’s breath caught in her throat as she looked at her. She was lovely. Something, though, was off about her, but Elisa couldn’t decide what.

Wolf took one look at her, and let out a slow whistle. “Thanks Aiden,” he smiled, slapping him on the back. Aiden rolled his eyes, putting a protective arm around the tiny girl.

“Not her,” he corrected, pulling her to his side. A wave of emotion that she didn’t understand hit Elisa. It certainly wasn’t jealously. As much as she admired Aiden, and found him attractive, she knew she didn’t have
those
kinds of feelings for him. She
was
engaged to Markus, after all. That reminder brought another wave of emotions that she refused to acknowledge. She also refused to recall the exchange between her and Wolf that had taken place right before Aiden had arrived. When it came to Aiden, it was a feeling of protectiveness she decided. Aiden deserved the best, and she could tell from his body language that he clearly had feelings for the strange girl. It was also apparent that the girl reciprocated those feelings, the way she easily rested her body against his. There was a sense of trust between the two of them that didn’t make sense to her. Was this girl from his world too? Was that what was different about her? How long had Aiden been in Eden? Why didn’t Diana tell them he was returning? So many questions, but the answers would wait, as a fifth person entered the room.

He was tall like Wolf, with the same broad shoulders, but his hair was lighter and he appeared older. The family resemblance was not lost on her. She remembered him from her visit with the Riders when she was younger. Moose, Wolf’s older brother. As he stepped in, Wolf gave a loud shout of excitement. The two brothers embraced each other with exclamations of happiness, reaching their arms out to grab a smiling Aiden into their circle. The three of them laughed and shouted to each other, none of it making sense to her. Elisa turned to see the other girl smiling at the encounter.

“How are you here?” Wolf asked, a huge smile plastered on his face.

“I came with Aiden,” Moose replied.

“I’ve been in the west,” Aiden answered.

“What? Why?” Elisa asked, shocked that they hadn’t heard anything.

Moose seemed to finally notice her, and gave her a curious look. “Who is this?” he asked.

“You remember Elisa,” Wolf replied, more a statement than question.

Moose let out a small laugh. “This is the gangly little girl you’re betrothed to?” Elisa saw Wolf stiffen out of the corner of her eye. Moose didn’t seem to notice, and gave his brother a hard slap on the shoulder. “Good for you, brother.”

Neither of them seemed to want to correct his mistake. Instead Elisa gave him a polite smiling, trying to ignore his gangly comment. “It is nice to see you again Moose.”

“This,” Aiden said, moving beside the other girl, “is Lily.”

Wolf’s eyes widened. “You’re a –”

“I am,” she interrupted. “I’ve been given the task of keeping watch on Aiden.”

“Lucky you,” Wolf said, giving Aiden a suggestive grin.

“We have other news,” Moose interrupted, his face suddenly sombre. The rest of them instinctively followed suit. Unfortunately it was no longer abnormal to hear bad news in these times. Elisa prepared herself.

“The north attacked us,” he informed them.

“What? How is that possible?” Wolf asked, his voice filled with worry and confusion.

She watched Aiden and Moose give each other a look. Wolf shifted nervously. With a sigh, Moose continued solemnly. “The Shaman betrayed us,” he said. “He took down our wards, making us visible to the army. It was led by Brutus.”

Fury blanketed Wolf’s face. “That traitor!”

“It gets worse, I’m afraid,” Moose replied. “We fought them and won. Father killed Brutus himself.”

Elisa gasped. “Brutus the Red is dead?” she asked, amazed that she was only hearing this now.

Moose gave her a quick look and nodded. “Unfortunately, it seems the Shaman was in league with Aziz, and they had conspired to bring Aiden here in order to use him to feed the sorcerer’s energy. Luckily Lily figured it out, and we saved him before they could take him through a portal to Aziz.”

“I hope you killed him,” Wolf said, meaning the Shaman.

“We did,” Moose said, but he didn’t seem happy about it. “I’m afraid there is one more person who is in league with them. We were unable to kill them.”

“Who?” Elisa and Wolf asked at the same time. Elisa watched as Lily silently took Aiden’s hand in hers in a comforting gesture. It was bad, Elisa realized. It didn’t take her long to realize why.

“It was Rain, Wolf,” Moose said, his eyes betraying his sadness. “She helped them capture Aiden, then escaped through the portal before we could stop her.” A tense silence filled the room. Elisa looked at Wolf’s face, and cringed at what she saw there. If it was possible to see someone’s heart break, she was witnessing that now. Something inside her wanted to close the distance between them and offer him comfort…like Lily had done with Aiden. But with everything that had transpired between them, she knew it was impossible. They didn’t have that kind of relationship, especially now. Especially with everything that was going to happen within the following weeks.

“Rain?” Wolf said disbelievingly. “That’s not possible.” He looked off towards nothing, avoiding everyone’s eyes. “Mother?”

Moose shrugged slowly. “Coping I guess, as much as a mother can who has lost a child.”

“She is not lost,” Wolf bit back immediately. “We just need to find her.”

Moose shook his head slowly. “She is as good as gone, Wolf. Don’t fool yourself. Her loyalties no longer lie with her family.” He paused. “Just be glad they failed at their plan. If Aziz had gotten his hands on Aiden, we would have been in serious trouble. Since he heals faster here in Eden, Aziz would have used him as an endless supply of energy to channel into himself. Every time Aziz drained him, Aiden would have healed by the morning, and the process would have repeated itself. A fate most definitely worse than death.”

Wolf turned his head towards Aiden again. “I am sorry for her involvement in such a thing, Aiden,” he said quietly. “You are a friend of mine. You cannot imagine the guilt I feel at her betrayal.”

Aiden smiled, but it was clearly strained. “Do not apologize for something you had no place in. Your father and mother made me feel like I was a part of your family, I could not ask for more.”

“Have you told the High King all this?” Elisa asked.

Aiden nodded, turning his attention to her. “We met with him briefly when we arrived. He has summoned the Captain and Alistair for a formal meeting. We are to go to the throne room in half an hour. He knew I’d want to find you first and, of course, bring you with me,” he smiled at her. She couldn’t help but smile back, despite the news they had just delivered. Their friend really was back, and, like always, he was making sure they were all included every step of the way.

“We should go find Logan,” Wolf said. “He’ll probably be in the dining hall for a quick dinner before his shift on the walls.”

“I wouldn’t mind a bite myself,” Moose said lightly, rubbing his stomach. “Aiden here made us ride like we were mad men. I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.”

“Let’s go down then,” Elisa said, giving her bags a quick look. She was supposed to be packing to accompany Markus and his men back down to Nysa. Soon she would be living there, amongst the Sun People, as Markus’ wife. It wasn’t the time or place to tell the others though, so she’d come back after and finish. Now that the war was back on, she didn’t know what they were going to do.

“Let’s be quick,” Aiden said. “We have a lot to discuss, and then we’ll all be racing down to the south.” Elisa looked up in surprise, catching the glance Wolf gave her quickly before looking at Aiden again.

“South? Why?” Wolf asked.

“Callum is there with his forces. He plans to attack.”

* * *

The five of them walked through the halls of the dormitory, heading towards the dining hall. Aiden felt happiness and relief at being back inside the grey walls of Capital City. It felt like home. Seeing his friends again was a soothing balm to his heart. He promised to explain what was happening in the south when they met with the King. He couldn’t wait to see Logan, and was anxious to be able to sit and relax with them all when this was over.

When he had walked into the room, he momentarily froze at the apparent argument raging between Wolf and Elisa. He didn’t know what was happening with them, but he knew it wasn’t good.
It could just be their normal bickering
, he thought to himself. But something gave him the feeling that more was happening. That hesitance lasted only a second, until he held Elisa in his arms again. A wave of relief like he never known washed over him as he embraced her. She looked the same, even smelled the same, which was exactly what he needed right then. Seeing her put so many things to rest. He realized that even though he still thought she was beautiful, he didn’t have those feelings for her anymore. She was simply a friend to him, which fit perfectly. Lily was something he’d have to figure out, he thought as he looked down at their intertwined hands, but it could wait. They needed to organize the troops, and fast. His ever confusing love life would have to wait.

Wolf and Moose walked up ahead of them. Aiden felt an immense amount of sadness for the brothers. Moose seemed to hide it better than Wolf, maybe because he had longer to deal with it, but either way he knew they were both hurting.

Lily gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting go. He looked down at her, and she motioned slightly back over her shoulder. Aiden turned to see Elisa walking behind the group. He dropped back until she reached him, and then matched his steps to hers. Putting an arm around her shoulders, he tugged her closer to him as they walked. She looked up with a genuine smile that made him smile in return.

“I’m happy you’re back, Aiden,” she said.