Chapter 23 #3
“So they’ll think I’m a bitch. I can live with that. I’ll have to. This is the only way out for Tynan.” I was still trying to convince myself that I had the courage to do it. What did I care if the Kith thought me fickle?
Abbey stood. “They won’t think that at all, Keena. You forget who’s the root of all the grapevines around here.” Her hands were on her tiny hips. “Don’t you worry about that. Leave it to me, wild child.” She gently kissed my forehead.
I had to keep myself from smiling. It would have hurt to smile. I saw my communication amulet on the floor. I pushed the beautiful twists of gold and silver toward Bevin, my heart breaking again.
“Bevin, take that with you. I have the determination not to try to use it to make him remember at the moment.” I looked back at the bed, at his face briefly. “But tonight, maybe tomorrow…I will lose that resolve.”
Cliona picked Tynan up, carefully, like a child. Her strength amazed me as she cradled him. I stood and touched my lips to his cheek, my tears flowing freely. I felt sick. “Go.”
She turned and strode to the door.
Cliona hesitated and looked back over her shoulder at me. She nodded once. “My lady,” she said with deep respect and turned, not looking back again.
“Bevin, take that and go. Doran, make sure that he’s okay and that he believes whatever tale Cliona gives him.
Make sure the household is aware that no one talks to Lord Tynan about me unless it’s official business of some kind.
As soon as you’re sure he isn’t permanently injured by Feldema’s spell…
send him back to his life.” I stood as tall and strong as I could.
I balled my fists at my side to keep my trembling hands from showing.
“Keena…we need to discuss what happened here today.” She still wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“I’m tired. And I need to be alone.” I was holding out as best I could. She turned and left without another word.
Abbey touched my hand. “I’ll give you some time to clean up and rest. I’ll bring you some food later.
” She walked out and pulled the door closed behind her.
The silence in the room thundered in my ears.
I could smell Tynan all around me, feel his presence in the room.
I wanted to run to him, to shake him and make him remember.
I wanted him to take me in his strong arms and tell me everything would be all right. I wanted to undo the last hour.
I fell to the floor, unable to stand against this world a second longer. It was too hard. It hurt too much.
At some point, I felt Manus come in and lift me off the floor. I heard Hogan milling about in the bathroom. I was vaguely aware when they put me in the tub. I felt them pamper and fuss with my hair and dress me in silky green pajamas, but it all seemed a far-off dream. Numbness was all I felt.
“I want to go back,” I whispered against Manus’s shoulder as he placed me on the bed.
“I want my human life back. This is too hard. I can’t do it.
I’m not strong enough. I want to wake up tomorrow in my old house, with my old boring job.
” I felt like I weighed a thousand pounds as I lay in the bed.
“I want to wake up from this nightmare and be back where Vampires, Witches, and Trolls are things of myth, are just that, and there is nothing hiding in the dark. Back where a bad day meant my car ran out of gas or my computer crashed.”
His tender green eyes sparkled as he looked down on me. It hurt to look at them. “Can you send me back, Manus? Can you make it all go away?”
“I wouldn’t if I could, Keena.” One corner of his mouth curled up into the smallest of smiles. “You are so much stronger than you know. Your heart is pure and your soul untouched by evil. You gave up the one you love most because it was the right thing to do. You are our salvation.”
I turned away from him. “I can’t bear it, Manus. I can’t!” My stomach tightened again.
“You will, because you love him. I have faith in you. We all have faith in you. Someday you will find your way back to Lord Tynan. A love that strong will always find its way. In time, Keena. You have to find the faith and the strength to be ready when the time comes.
“You have much to worry over. Focus on the challenges ahead. You spent your human life overcoming so much. You lived in a world of humans where you didn’t belong, and you survived against all odds.
” He tilted my face to look into my eyes.
“Your father needs you now. Our people need you. You will be High Priestess. Find your power, Keena. Your heart belongs to all the Kith and theirs to you. Let the wild heal your heart, let the Kith bring you the same strength they feel from you.” He kissed me gently on the head and brushed his hand over my hair.
He stood back and shifted to his cat form. And my favorite gray cat crawled into my arms. The same cat that had snuggled with me most of my life. His soft, gray fur, which smelled so familiar, eased my pain with just a touch. He purred and rubbed his head across my chin.