Crimson Dahlia (Book #3 of the Svatura Series) Page 9

  Ramsey just gave her a steady look. “I think I can guess why you got the impression I had feelings for Selene.”

  “I don’t need an explanation, and it wasn’t just an impression,” Lila insisted.

  Ramsey looked a little stunned. “You’re not going to let me try to explain?”

  “There’s nothing to explain.” Lila’s chin jutted out stubbornly. Ramsey knew that look. Something else was coming that he wouldn’t like. “Besides… as soon as Marcus is ready to leave, I’m going back out with him.”

  Lila stared at Ramsey belligerently as he sat straight up. She could see the anger practically coming off him in waves of heat.

  “Do you even know what I— what we went through to find you? To save you? And you’re just going to go back out there? Are you freakin’ kidding me!?”

  Lila sent out a pulse of calm toward him, and Ramsey twitched.

  “Don’t you dare try to calm me down,” he practically shouted at her. “You’re not leaving. You leave and I will follow you and drag you back if I have to!”

  It was Lila’s turn to sit up. “You have absolutely no right to order me around. You’ve wanted me away from you for the last sixty years. Well, guess what? I’m granting your wish!”

  “That’s not what I want!”

  “Sucks, doesn’t it? When someone doesn’t take your wants into consideration?” She flopped back down in the sleeping bag with her back to him. “I’m going to sleep now.”

  Ramsey didn’t move a muscle, but Lila could feel him glaring at her.

  Lila jerked her shoulders. “Don’t make me force a feeling of sleepiness on you. I’ll do it.”

  “Fine. But we’re not done taking about this,” he finally said.

  “You might not be done. But I was over it a year ago,” she shot back.

  “We’ll talk more about this tomorrow when you’re more rational.”

  “I’ll give you rational,” Lila muttered. She pushed all of her swirling emotions at him at once. But instead of a pulse of emotion, a pulse of power left her body. A moment later a crack sounded, then an ominous creaking, followed by a thunderous crash.

  “What the hell?” Ramsey bolted out of the tent. “Jeez, Lila. You felled a tree. Big one,” he called from outside.

  “Whoa,” Lila breathed, as Ramsey poked his head back in the tent, his eyes wide. It had been a lower power version of what she’d done when Maddox’s forces had attacked the castle last year.

  Then she glanced up at Ramsey, and her anger from a moment ago washed back over her. “I was trying to hit you.” She flopped back down and closed her eyes.

  After a few seconds of silence, he climbed into the sleeping bag with her and wrapped his arm around her again. Neither of them said anything.

  Chapter 17

  “Hey.” Ramsey gently nudged Lila awake.

  “What time is it?” She groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

  “Early, about six a.m. I just finished talking to Griffin; he’s letting Charlotte know where we are. She’ll be here in a bit, so I’ve got to break down camp.”

  “All right. I’m coming.” With a groan Lila dragged herself out of the sleeping bag.

  Ramsey shook his head. “Still not a morning person, huh?”

  “Svatura may not need much sleep, but that doesn’t mean I have to be all chirpy-chirpy when I wake up, you know,” Lila grumbled.

  “You’re so far from chirpy-chirpy, I don’t think you ever have to worry about becoming a morning person.

  “Huh. You’re funny today.”

  Ramsey ignored her and started breaking down the tent. By the time Charlotte popped in, they were ready to go. She gave Lila a hug that almost cracked her ribs.

  “We’ve missed you so much, sweetie.”

  Lila blinked back tears. “Me too. Thanks for helping get me outta there.”

  “Your parents can’t wait to see you, though I should warn you it’s pretty nuts after the fight.” She took their hands, and in the blink of an eye, they were standing in the Great Hall.

  Chaos reigned. People swarmed around them, banged up and bloody. Lila and Ramsey looked at Charlotte with raised eyebrows.

  Charlotte shrugged. “We rescued a lot of people from those cells. And there was quite a bit of fighting to get them out. Took me most of the night to get us all out of there one way or another. We’re still sorting through all of it.”

  “Where’s my family?” Lila asked.

  “Over here,” Griffin called. “Welcome back, we’ve been waiting for you.” He gave Lila a brief hug and then took her by the elbow. “We didn’t want to distract Hugh, so your parents don’t know Charlotte went to get you yet.”

  Lila caught sight of her dad through the crowd. He was kneeling on the floor healing someone, and her mom was next to him wrapping a bandage around someone else’s arm.

  “Mom?” Lila called.

  Lucy looked up and gasped. She dropped the bandage and rushed over and threw her arms around her daughter.

  “My baby, my baby.” Lucy was crying and laughing at the same time. She pulled back and held Lila’s face in her hands. “You’re here. You’re home. I wouldn’t believe them until I saw you.”

  “I’m here, Mom. I’m okay.”

  “Lila,” Hugh’s choked up voice sounded behind her.

  “Dad!” Lila choked out. Tears filled her eyes as she turned around and flung herself into her father’s arms. He held her tightly, saying nothing.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but maybe you’d all like a little privacy?” Selene asked.

  Lucy nodded, tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t bring herself to pull her gaze away from Lila even for a second.

  Hugh looked around at all the people still waiting for his help, and Selene noticed his concern. “It’s okay, Hugh. No one is critical. They can wait for you to reunite with your daughter.”

  As they moved away, Lila stopped suddenly and looked around, “Where’s Marcus?” she asked.

  “He’s here. I’ll get him and bring him to you,” Griffin said.

  She nodded, and the group moved away. They decided to go to Adelaide’s room. Once they were inside, Lucy sat Lila down on the bed and then sat beside her and took her hand.

  “Everyone else will be here in a second,” Griffin said, as he and Selene came in.

  Selene rushed over to give Lila a hug. “I’m so happy you’re okay,” she whispered in Lila’s ear. “So is Ramsey.”

  Lila glanced over to where he stood in the back corner, watching. But her attention swiftly turned back to the room as the rest of the family all appeared and smothered her with welcoming hugs.

  “Lila,” Adelaide was already sobbing her sister’s name as she rushed in and wrapped her arms around Lila’s neck. “Thank heaven.”

  Lila smiled when Adelaide pulled back and started checking every inch of her. “I’m okay, Delia. I promise. Where’s Nate?”

  Adelaide smiled and shrugged, but Lila’s knew she was worried. “Talia needs him,” Adelaide said. “He said he’d swing by later to give you hugs.”

  Taking her cue from her sister, Lila just nodded and smiled, but secretly thought that was a little odd. I’ll have to talk to her about it later tonight.

  “Do you want to tell us what happened… what they did to you?” Griffin asked.

  Lila played with the hem of her t-shirt “Not really. They kept us all in a cell and then started removing us one by one. That’s really about it. I’m hungry. I’m tired. I could really use a shower, and brushing my teeth would be awesome.” She turned to Selene. “There are a few interesting facts I picked up that I think you should know about, but those can wait till later.”

  Selene nodded in acknowledgement.

  What Lila didn’t say, because she knew it would hurt their feelings, was that the amount of emotion in the room was starting to overwhelm her. For the family that had worried so much and fought so hard to win her back, she’d endure it.

  A surge of emotion –
concern, worry, and frustration - from the back corner of the room caught her attention. She glanced back at where Ramsey still stood.

  “You okay?” he mouthed.

  Her eyes widened and then she remembered – their link. Lila scrunched her nose in consternation, which caused Ramsey’s lips to twitch. She nodded.

  “My Lady,” Oren’s voice interrupted them. His emotional state caught Lila’s attention despite the ocean of sentiment swirling through the room.

  “Oren…what is it?” Selene asked.

  “There’s… something you should… see,” he said in a shaky voice.

  “This is not a good time, Oren. Can it wait?” Selene asked.

  Oren shook his head. “Trust me. You need to see this now.”

  Griffin stood up. He masked it well from everyone else, but Lila felt the shock that had passed through him. He must’ve read Oren’s mind. Gotta be serious then.

  “You want me to go with you?” Griffin asked Selene.

  “No, stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Selene sent Lila a smile and then glided away with Oren. Griffin’s frown followed them out the door. And silence pooled in their wake.

  *****

  Selene walked beside Oren back down to the Great Hall. Once there, he led her to a back corner of the room and stopped beside a large group of Vyusher gathered around something, or someone, on the floor.

  Desmond hopped up and halted her. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  Selene’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Ready for what?”

  Desmond glanced over his shoulder at Oren. “You didn’t tell her?”

  “What exactly should I have said, Dez? Either the words are a shock or the sight is. Telling her won’t save her from that.”

  Des was grim as he turned back to Selene. He grasped her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You need to prepare yourself for what you’re about to see.”

  “Is someone very hurt? I’ve seen fairly gruesome wounds before, Desmond.”

  He shook his head. “They’re not hurt as far as we can tell.”

  “I’m starting to get worried, Des. Please just show me whatever it is.”

  He took a deep breath. “Okay. We’re here if you need us.” He stepped back, which seemed to signal everyone else to clear a path for her. In the space they left, Selene could see two people lying on the floor. Slowly she moved closer.

  Oh my God. Oh my God.

  Shocked, she dropped down to the floor. With a shaking hand, she tentatively reached out and touched her mother’s face and her father’s arm. “Are they…?”

  “They’re alive,” Oren said.

  Chapter 18

  “Selene needs you,” Des thought to Griffin. He was one of the few people who knew the true relationship between the te’sorthene pair.

  Griffin frowned. “What’s going on?”

  “We found her parents. And they’re alive.”

  Griffin didn’t respond. He immediately left Lila and the others and ran through the castle to the Great Hall. Selene had believed for over a hundred years that her parents were dead. That they’d been driven to suicide by her. Her brother, Gideon, with the ability to bend people to his will, had forced Selene to remove their parents’ powers when they were young. That was her gift, or curse. Selene had the ability to turn off someone’s powers. If she concentrated hard enough, she’d shut them off forever. She’d blamed herself for her parents’ death all this time.

  When he reached his te’sorthene, who was surrounded by a large crowd, he knelt down and said her name softly. When she didn’t respond, he tried mentally calling her. She didn’t take her eyes off of her parents’ faces.

  Griffin debated his next move. They were surrounded by Vyusher, who had no idea of their true relationship. It would be a shock to them, but right now Selene’s needs were all he cared about. He very gently turned her face to his, saddened to see the tears streaking her cheeks.

  Selene blinked and more tears spilled.

  “They’re not dead,” she choked. Griffin felt the tremors running through her body and knew that she was barely holding it together.

  “Are they in the same state as Lila and Talia were?” he asked.

  Selene nodded.

  “We think so,” Oren said from where he knelt on the other side of Selene.

  Griffin’s face was grim. “We should move them.”

  “My room,” Selene whispered.

  Griffin stood and carefully pulled Selene up with him. He could hear her thoughts, but she was so traumatized, they were just a jumble of words and images flashing like a strobe light in her mind. The chaos of her mind dragged on him, so he cut himself off from her.

  Oren called on a few Vyusher, including Desmond, to carry Selene’s parents. The group was silent and somber as they made their way through the castle hallways. Griffin sent a mental heads-up to Hugh, Lucy, and the others to meet them in Selene’s room.

  The sleeping king and queen were gently laid on the bed, and Selene’s gaze never moved from her parents’ faces as she sat beside them. “Can you read their minds? Reach them?” she asked Griffin.

  He concentrated for a moment and then shook his head.

  “What about reaching them through their dreams? Like you did with me?” Lila asked.

  Selene closed her eyes and also shook her head.

  “Selene wasn’t able to reach you on her own,” Ramsey said. “She said it was as if you were in a soundproof room with a one-way mirror. She could see and hear you, but you couldn’t see or hear her.”

  “Then how’d you reach me?” Lila asked.

  “We used a combination – her dream control with Griffin’s telepathy - but what worked, eventually, was having me there too,” Ramsey explained. Lila tried not to blush.

  “But it took you to get us out of it,” Selene murmured. “I couldn’t pull you through by myself.”

  “So let’s try a different combination now,” Lila suggested as a plan started to form in her mind. She looked at Griffin and Ellie, mentally sharing her idea with them.

  “I think that could work,” Ellie said. “Definitely worth a try.”

  “Let’s get things set up,” Lila said.

  Selene turned to her. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’re going to need most of us to get this done,” Lila answered.

  “Who exactly?” Adelaide asked.

  “Me, Selene, you, Ellie, Griffin, and Hugh…” Lila ticked them off on her fingers one at a time.

  Adelaide raised her eyebrows. “All of us in the dream with her parents?”

  Ellie nodded.

  “It’s going to get awfully crowded in there, don’t you think?” Adelaide said.

  “We have to. Being in the dream together might be the only way to reach them,” Lila said. “And we may need to try a couple of things, which is why we need all of us in there.”

  They’d need a way to do the wagon-wheel formation that they used in battle to take advantage of the combined powers in the room – particularly Ellie’s ability to control powers by touch. Through their wagon-wheel, she was linked to every power they possessed. So they got busy clearing a space.

  Ramsey moved to help Lila move the chaise lounge across the room. For her ears alone, he muttered, “Do you really think it’s a good idea for you to go under too?”

  Lila gave him a blank look. “If we need my ability to heal emotions, or if I can tap whatever it was I used to clear out that fog again, then yes, I do.”

  Ramsey’s lips tightened, but he didn’t argue.

  “What?” she asked him.

  “Nothing. You’re right, helping them is… more important.”

  “More important than what?”

  When he said nothing, she stopped pushing the chair and put her hands on her hips. “Talk to me.”

  He glanced away. “More important than you.”

  Lila’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean by that?”

  “What if you get stuck in th
at fog again?”

  Lila said nothing for a moment. She was still exhausted from her own recent ordeal and overwhelmed by the amount of emotion flooding the room from multiple sources. But she could still feel his worry – so close to panic – at that thought.

  “You’ll just have to pull me back out.”

  “So is Ellie going to use my dream control?” Selene asked.

  Ellie shook her head. “Your power never turns into full control. You’ll always be more of an observer.”

  Selene’s shoulders slumped.

  Lila walked over and lay her hand on Selene’s arm. She pushed as much hope as she could conjure into her friend. “We’ll try to find a way around that,” she told her.

  “Okay. We’re ready,” Griffin said.

  “So it seems as if there are two key parts to this,” Lila said. “The first is reaching your parents, being able to enter the dream with them.”

  Selene nodded. “It took Ramsey to reach you, though. Just Griffin and I didn’t work.”

  “Well, if anyone’s going to reach your parents, it’ll be you, Selene. We’ll combine all our efforts to try to reach them.”

  “I can coordinate all of us as long as we’re touching,” Ellie said, taking her cue from Lila.

  “Okay. Let’s start there. If we can enter their dreams, then we’ll see about getting them out.”

  Chapter 19

  Lila opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She frowned for a moment as she tried to remember where exactly she was. And then it all rushed back. She was in her bed at the castle. She’d finally gone to sleep around two in the morning after they’d tried – unsuccessfully - for hours to wake Selene’s parents. Adelaide had come in here with her afterward, and they’d sat up talking for a while. At first, nothing specific, just sister stuff. But then Lila had asked, “So what’s the deal with Nate?”

  Adelaide had frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Nothing’s going on there?” Lila pushed.

  “He’s helping take care of Talia. He seems to be the only one she trusts,” Adelaide said.