Vision in Trust (Legends of the North #2) (6 page)

"Okay. So you know more than I thought you would. I didn't know you knew about my dreams, Matt. I know I told you about the blackness, the nothingness. The attacks on you, they sound the same as the attacks on me, but I never saw it. I still don't know what attacked me, but ... well, you saw my injuries. Whatever inflicted mine had a go at you too. I just ... I don't understand how you were unconscious for only a few hours, and I've been missing what? Over six months? I can't have been in that state for that long, surely?"

No one answered him. How could they? Jess had no idea how long he'd been in the frozen state they found him in.

"So, why didn't you come and see us when you got out of the vault?"

"Because all I wanted to do was sleep and lay low. I think I slept straight through for two days before I needed food. I was coming to see you, Jess ... well, Matt. I didn't know you were back up here, Jess."

She saw Matt glance at his watch. "It’s late, maybe we should let you get some more rest. We can meet up tomorrow and catch up some more."

James nodded, and then pulled Jess into a hug. "Missed you, rabbit."

"I missed you too. I love you, James." Jess hugged him hard, trying not to cry again.

***

It was a quiet walk home. Rob imagined they were all lost in their own thoughts—Lord knew he had enough flying around in his head. He hadn't known James well, but finding your brother after he'd been missing for six months after you thought he was dead? He had no idea how Matt and Jess must’ve been feeling. At least Matt had Emma.
 

Jess stopped outside Matt's house even though Matt carried on walking. "Where are you going?"

He stopped and turned to face her. "We'll stay at yours tonight. I'm not leaving you on your own, Jess. Not after all that."

Jess strolled towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'll be fine, Matt. James is fine. There's no reason for you and Emma to stay at mine."

Matt held Jess at arm's length, gripping her arms. "Jess, did you not just hear? That ... that thing attacked James and put him in that state. It attacked me too. What's to stop it going after you?"

Rob saw Jess shudder and the thought of someone—something—hurting her ...? He fisted his hands and clenched his jaw to remind himself it wasn't his place to protect her.

Jess pushed Matt's arms away and stepped back. "And how do you know it's not all over? James is back. We're all fine. I refuse to live my life scared of something happening. So no, Matt, you and Emma stay here, and I'll see you both at James's tomorrow."

Matt caught Rob’s eye, who nodded slightly at the unasked question. Matt and Emma left them both on the street, and as Jess started for home, Rob followed her. When she stopped outside her cottage, so did he.
 

She turned to face him, hands on her hips. "Did you forget something?"

He fought his smile and said, "You're going to send me home hungry? Have some pity on me, Jess." When she didn't crack, he added, "I thought friends didn't let friends drive drunk."

"You're not drunk, Rob."

"No, but I've had more than I should when driving."

He heard her huff as she turned to unlock the door. "Fine. I'm too exhausted to argue with you."

Rob quietly watched her as she reheated a casserole that had his mouth watering. "Why rabbit?"

"What?"

"James, he called you rabbit."

She looked at him over her shoulder and said, "Jessica. As in Rabbit." Looking away from him, she added, "Well, that and I had terrible teeth as a kid."

Rob smiled at her words, but they fell back into silence as they ate. She did look tired. Hopefully, tired enough not to argue when he told her he would be spending the night.
 

In the end, it was easier than he thought, as she fell asleep on the sofa. He carried her upstairs and removed her shoes. Tempting as it was to remove her clothes, he wouldn't. Gently, he covered her with the bedsheets and placed a kiss on her forehead before forcing himself to leave her room.

He grabbed the covers off Emma's bed, her floral scent filling his senses, and carried them down to the sofa. He didn't mind staying there, but it would feel weird sleeping in Emma's bed, even if she only rarely used it. Stripping down to his boxer shorts, he lay down on the sofa, the day's events running through his head as he tried to fall asleep.

Jess was standing alone in the fields where her childhood home should’ve been, but there was nothing except empty space. She turned slowly in a circle until she saw a peacock watching her. Its black eyes stared at her, unblinking, and the skin across her shoulders started to prickle. Its head turned to one side, but its eye remained focussed on her.
 

Then, like a fan, it flicked out its tail feathers. Jess gasped at the beauty of it. Green feathers surrounded its blue body, but as she looked closer, she took a step back. What she thought were blue spots in its feathers were actually moving. The spots all turned in her direction, and she realised they were in fact eyes. Hundreds of blue eyes, all glaring at her.
 

The peacock started to strut towards her, its beak jutting in her direction with each step. It was stalking her. She turned to run as a scream tore from her throat. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw it was gaining on her, its feathers reaching out towards her. She screamed again as her foot caught on something, throwing her hands out in front of her and cursing as they hit the ground hard. She felt the peacock land on her, and she cried out.
Oh, God, is it going to kill me?

"Jess. Jess, it's just a dream. Wake up."

She kicked her legs, trying to free them from the clutches of the peacock. She could feel the weight of it on her arm and clawed at it, trying to escape it. When she felt the weight shift, trapping her, she froze.
 

"Shh, it's me, Rob."

It wasn't real. It hadn't happened. But then the last thing she remembered ran through her mind, and she wriggled her hands free. She pressed them against Rob's warm, hard chest and shoved. "Get off me. Now."
 

Rob sat back on his knees, releasing her, and she took a shaky breath. She felt something tickle her arm; looking down, she saw feathers scattered across her bed. She glanced at Rob, but he'd seen them too. He picked one up and pulled it through his thumb and index finger over and over. She wasn't sure how long they sat like that, surrounded by silence and unanswered questions.

Rob climbed off the bed and left her room, still holding the feather. She sat there, hands wrapped around her knees, listening as he made his way downstairs. Silence surrounded her again, and she felt like the feathers were mocking her. She jumped off the bed, not wanting to be with Rob but definitely not wanting to be alone.
 

Wrapping a dressing gown tightly around her, she headed downstairs. Rob was sitting on the sofa, Emma's bedding beneath him. He was still playing with the bloody feather, but her gaze was drawn to his muscled arms as they flexed. She could feel the heat in her cheeks as she realised he was wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. "Put some clothes on, can't you. And what are you still doing here, anyway?" she called over her shoulder, as she made her way into the kitchen.
 

He didn't reply, but as she switched the kettle on, she heard the scrape of a kitchen chair across the floor. Turning, she saw him sprawled on a chair, toned legs sprinkled with black hairs spread wide. Her gaze skipped over his tight black boxer shorts, but she noticed the fine trail of hair leading up to his navel. A navel that gave way to defined abs and the biggest pecs she'd ever seen in real life. His nipples were hard, and one was pierced with a silver bar that glinted under the bright kitchen lights. An image of her teasing it with her tongue, taking the metal between her teeth and tugging it, ran through her mind. She shook her head to try to rid herself of the thought.
What is wrong with me?
She lifted her gaze to his face, turning her back on him when she saw the smug grin. So she'd been caught checking him out. Wasn't like she was going to do anything about it. It was like admiring a piece of art, she told herself. That was all.

"You wake up screaming, surrounded by feathers, and the first question you ask is what am I still doing here?"

He had a point, but it was easier to concentrate on that than think about her vision. "Yes. And most people wait until they're invited before staying the night." She stabbed the teaspoon into the coffee jar and tried to ignore the way her hand was still shaking.
 

When she heard the chair scrape again, she grabbed hold of the worktop. She could sense him behind her, not close enough to touch her, but her body tensed in response. His hands rested on the worktop on either side of her, trapping her between his arms. She turned around, pushing at his chest to move him away, but it was like pushing on a locked door, all hard and unyielding beneath her palms. He grabbed her wrists but left her hands on his chest.

"Most people would thank me for putting them to bed.
Most people
would be grateful I was there when they woke up scared."

She jerked her hands back, and he released her wrists. Pacing away from him, she turned back to face him, her hands held out wide. "Well, I'm not
most people
, Rob. I'm sorry I didn't fall at your feet in gratitude for you carrying me upstairs. I'm sorry I didn't gush at you for still being there when I woke up. I'm sorry, but I'm not one of your adoring fan girls, ready to fall into bed with you after one look. I have more self-respect for myself. Call me frigid if you want, but I call it self-preservation." Jess took a deep breath, her chest heaving rapidly from her tirade.

Rob stared at her for an uncomfortable moment before he turned and left the kitchen without a word. After he'd left, Jess bent over the table, trying to catch her breath. She hadn't meant to say all that. Maybe she went too far, from the look of hurt on Rob's face. Her head shot up when she heard the click of the front door. She ran into the living room, but Rob was gone, and so was his pile of clothes. She dropped onto the sofa, her head in her hands.

Rob couldn't believe the bullshit Jess was spewing, and when the hell had he ever called her frigid? She could come across as cold sometimes, his ice princess, but he knew she wasn't like that really. He knew it was just a way for her to hide. But right then, he didn't want to make excuses for her. After that little rant, he didn't have anything he wanted to say to her. He had honestly just wanted to make sure she was okay, and
that
was the thanks he got?
 

He walked out of the kitchen, picked up his jeans from the sofa, and dragged them over his hips. The more he thought about her words, the angrier he got.
Does she not know me at all?
 

Pulling the front door closed behind him, he sat down on the doorstep, leaning back against the door. He didn't want to go home at this time of night, and no matter what she said, he didn't want to leave her on her own. She had looked terrified before she woke up. Maybe it was easier to lash out at him than deal with whatever had been going on in her head.
 

He fell back as the door suddenly opened, and he heard Jess's gasp of surprise. But it was his turn to be surprised when she sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry ... for what I said."

He nudged her knee with his, and when she looked at him, he gave her a small smile. "It's okay."

"I didn't mean it, and I'm sorry. Well, not about the adoring fan girl bit, because I'm not."

He laughed and shook his head. "What adoring fan girls? Maybe you need to introduce me to them—oof, you have really bony elbows!" he said, as she jabbed one into his side.

"I made you a coffee. Are you going to come back inside?"

He stood and held out a hand to her. When she placed her hand in his, he pulled her to her feet. He followed her back into the living room, where she sat on one corner of the sofa, and draped a blanket around her. Wrapping his hands around the coffee cup to warm them, he took a small sip of the steaming liquid.
 

The feather he'd brought downstairs was on the coffee table, and he stared at it, waiting for her to say something.

"I'm sorry."

She said it so quietly, he wondered if she was even saying it to him, but he answered her anyway. "I know."

"It's just ... You were there, and you were laughing with them. At me."

He turned to face her as her voice broke over the last words. Watched as the first tear fell. "Damn it." He set his cup down and slowly put an arm around her shoulders, just in case she pushed him away again. "Don't cry, Jess. Where was I?"

She leaned against his shoulder, and he tightened his hold around her, wishing he could just pull her onto his lap, wrap her up in his arms.

"In my vision."

"What happened?" he asked, gently rubbing his thumb along her collarbone.

"I was down by Alt Hall. Except it wasn't there. It was just fields. Fields and a peacock." She stopped and took a deep breath. He took her hand in his, and she gripped it tightly. "It was like it was taunting me as it spread its feathers. They had eyes that just kept staring at me, hundreds of them glaring at me. And I thought it was going to attack me. So I ran, but then I fell. When I looked up, it wasn't a peacock."

Her nails dug into his hand, and he brushed his thumb across her wrist. He could feel the frantic beating of her pulse beneath it. "What was it, Jess?"

"It ..." She pulled back from him and said, "It was you."

His eyebrows drew together at those three words. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"You were standing there, looking down at me where I'd fallen, and you were laughing at me. But you weren't alone. You had ..."

He waited for her to carry on, giving her shoulder a squeeze to encourage her. "I had what, Jess?"

"You had hundreds of women around you, draped over you, and they were all staring at me and laughing too."