21. Brinley
Chapter 21
Brinley
L ong boughs of pink leaves brushed the grass below them, sparkling in the bright sunshine.
“I can’t believe you painted this.” Brinley leaned in to get a closer look. Around the beautiful weeping cherry tree, she could just make out the ruins of what had to have been a breathtaking courtyard. But the focus was the tree.
Rose chuckled from where she sat on the settee.
“Seriously, this is incredible.” Brinley couldn’t get over the details. She turned toward the girl who was slowly creeping into her heart. Rose smiled at her and shrugged, pulling her blanket over her lap. It was impossible to hate her. Brinley had tried so hard to hold on to her anger and disgust, but Rose was… too kind to be mad at.
She tried to make excuses to herself, claiming it was all right because Rose was too young to have been involved in the deaths of Brinley’s family. Except, it wasn’t only the girl. It was Paxton too, and Harris, who both joined them more often than not. Who kept her visits a secret from his alpha and brought them treats in the afternoons. It was Joel, who’d taken care of her that first week, wrapping her injuries and making sure she ate. It was the families in the street she watched from her window seat in Gabriel’s study, the children laughing as they raced by.
Someone was always here with Rose. Paxton or Harris often sat with them, but the others—Joel, Daciana, and Darren—also rotated through, all sitting in the chair by the door to give them privacy. Based on Gabriel’s reaction to finding her in here that first time, they seemed to serve as guards. But none stopped her from coming in the past week; none told Gabriel.
Today, Darren was posted near the entrance with a book in hand when she arrived. Even he no longer seemed like the vicious monster she’d initially believed him to be. Daciana was feisty and fierce, but her twin was more reserved. Each time he saw Brinley, he had apologized for their first interaction, claiming he never should have left her in that cell. Apparently, Gabriel had really done a number on Torin—the man who tortured her—and threatened Darren with the same treatment if he made that mistake again.
As the days wore on, Brinley found herself accepting Darren’s apology. Somehow, he’d convinced her he was sincere. She had since asked him to stop saying he was sorry, to which he’d agreed. He had started greeting her with smiles instead and insisted she called him Dare.
She and Rose couldn’t see him from the sitting area though; the tall bushes and wild grass blocked him from view. It was like a small labyrinth of flora in here, full of life and brightness.
“You’ll get better with practice,” Rose said, reeling her back to the present.
A snort escaped Brinley, and she returned to her seat beside the DeLoup. “Did you see my last attempt? It looked like a toddler smeared her hands through the paint.”
Rose began laughing. “It did not.”
“You’re right. That’s not giving enough credit to toddlers. They could probably do a better job.”
They chuckled together, and Brinley couldn’t deny how light she felt in Rose’s company. Despite her best efforts, she enjoyed spending her days up here. Growing up, Brinley didn’t have many friends. She had vague memories of playing with children before her mother died, but that was about it. For the past several years, she’d only had André.
Not that Rose was her friend. But it felt like she could be.
“I actually have another one I want to show you.” Rose said the words almost like she wasn’t certain. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, staring at Brinley, before she nodded to herself and pushed to her feet. Tossing the blanket onto the settee, she went to the canvases leaning against a nearby trunk. She squatted and began searching through the half-dozen paintings.
When she paused on one, Brinley’s curiosity got the better of her. She stood and started in that direction. “What is it?”
Rose didn’t answer.
Before Brinley could reach her, the girl collapsed. The canvases clattered to the floor.
“Rose!” Brinley rushed to her side and screamed for help as she gently rolled her to her back.
“Rose?” The deep voice sent a shiver down Brinley’s spine.
She snapped her gaze to Gabriel, wondering where Darren had gone. Fear coursed through her as he quickly closed the distance between them and dropped to the ground next to his sister. “I-I don’t know what happened. I swear this w-wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything.”
“I know.”
She stared at him in surprise that he would agree so easily. There was no way he wouldn’t blame her for this.
Gabriel scooped Rose into his arms and carried her to the bed. He swept her blond hair from her face then kept a hand on her cheek. “Rosalyn? Wake up.”
His whispered command nearly broke Brinley’s heart. It felt like a vise was squeezing her lungs, her chest. She couldn’t breathe. Stepping forward, she knelt and put her hands out over Rose’s heart. Gabriel grabbed her wrist, and she met his gaze.
“Let me try,” she whispered.
He visibly swallowed then released her with a nod.
She closed her eyes and focused on Rose. She tried to remember how it felt to heal Gabriel a couple weeks ago, tried to recall the way she’d knitted him together.
Gabriel’s wounds were evident though. They were slices with a clear solution to help him heal. She didn’t know what was wrong with Rose.
It didn’t seem to matter. There weren’t any signs of her power. Not a morsel of magic came to the surface. She didn’t feel it at all.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, she opened her eyes and looked at the alpha as she shook her head. “I… I don’t know how. Even if I could draw up the magic, I don’t know what ails her.”
Such horrid grief filled Gabriel’s gaze. He glanced back at his sister, running a thumb along her cheek. “You should go.”
Brinley almost missed the words because they were so quiet. She stood on weak legs. “I’m sorry.”
She turned away to hide her misty eyes, but he didn’t look at her. His sole attention was on his unconscious sister. Lifting a hand to cover her mouth, Brinley rushed through the solarium toward the door. She ran down the iron stairs then the grand staircase at the end of the hall.
Air. She needed air.
It was almost a surprise to find the front door unlocked. She yanked it open and moved into the sunlight, dropping to her knees on the porch.
“Brinley?” Paxton jogged up the path to where she’d fallen on the landing. His hands went to her shoulders as he knelt on the steps. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
She felt as if she was going to be sick. Raising her chin, she noticed two others standing outside the door. More guards? So much for not being a prisoner.
“He’s going to kill me,” she whispered.
“Who?”
“Gabriel.”
Paxton helped her to her feet, holding her up when she almost fell again. “Why do you think that?”
She didn’t want to tell him. He was one of the only people here who’d treated her kindly from the moment they met. Though, deep down, she knew that wasn’t true. Only Torin had hurt her, and Brighid avoided her, but the woman wasn’t mean. She’d still brought her tonics and clothes. The tears spilled over, rolling down Brinley’s cheeks.
“Come with me.” Pax guided her back into the house. They didn’t go upstairs but to an empty drawing room on the first floor. As soon as they were alone, he faced her and pulled her into his arms.
She was so stunned that she didn’t even fight it. Instead, she took the much-needed comfort, melting into the embrace and resting her head on his chest. She hadn’t realized how much she needed this. After the attack, after finding out they hadn’t found any survivors, she’d felt so isolated. There wasn’t anyone to hold her and tell her everything would be all right—even if it was a lie. She didn’t want to examine it too closely, but she was sure that was the reason she’d wanted to have sex with Gabriel. It was the only form of intimacy she had available to her. At least, that was what she tried to tell herself.
“Talk to me.” Paxton rubbed soothing circles along her back. “Tell me what happened.”
Brinley sniffled. “Rose?—”
He stiffened and pushed her away to see her face. “What happened with Rose?”
Before she could answer, he was moving toward the stairs. She followed him, explaining, “She collapsed while we were talking. Gabriel is with her now. He… he knows I was with her. He’ll think I did something, but I promise?—”
Paxton stopped at the top of the landing, and she bumped into him. Turning, he tilted his head, sympathy filling his green eyes. “I know it wasn’t you, and Gabe does too.”
“But… he told me not to go in there,” she whispered, remembering the vicious way he’d fought the other wolves. Without her magic, it would take no effort for him to destroy her. “He doesn’t trust me. He’ll think I did it.”
With a sigh, Pax pulled her up the last step and into another hug. “Go to the study. I’ll send him in to explain, and I promise he’s not going to hurt you. Just don’t run, all right? Wait for him in there.”
She nodded and let him lead her to the room she’d lived in the past few weeks. Before he left, she blurted, “I wasn’t running.”
She needed him to know that.
Paxton raised his brows as he stood in the open doorway, a combination of shock and relief playing out in his green eyes.
“I just… needed fresh air.” When he nodded in understanding and started to leave, she said, “Pax?”
He turned once more, with a small smile, making her realize she’d never used his nickname before. “Yes?”
“Is she going to be all right?”
With a visible inhale, he whispered, “I don’t know.”
Then, he was gone, shutting the door behind him.
Brinley returned to her window seat and brushed at the tears that wouldn’t cease. Her heart ached—a stark contrast to the brief happiness she’d experienced earlier. She stared at her hands in anger. If she just knew how to access her magic, maybe she could have helped.
That was when she realized she wanted to help. Déesse save her, she needed to help.
There were things she could never forgive. She would never forget her hatred of the DeLoup, but after spending so much time with Rose, she couldn’t feel that way about her.
Because there wasn’t any denying it. Rose was her friend, and Brinley would do anything she could to help her. Even if it went against everything she believed.