Tempest, p.17
Tempest, page 17
The hand returned, and an image of a snarling wolf flashed behind my eyes. Someone said my name, but they were drowned out by a low growl from my Mori before it began to flutter wildly.
“Dani,” the voice said again. “Can you hear me?”
I cracked my eyes, and a blurry face swam in my vision. I tried to speak, but all that came out was a moan.
“That’s it. Open your eyes,” he ordered.
I obeyed, and Ronan’s face came into focus. He wore a strange expression somewhere between relief and shock. I must look worse than I felt.
“Dani,” cried another voice. Dimitri’s anxious face appeared above me followed by Gavin’s.
“Where does it hurt?” Ronan asked me. His expression was back to normal, except for his eyes, and his voice sounded off, strained.
“Chest…ribs,” I mumbled.
He unzipped my jacket and pulled up my top to examine me. When he felt along my right side, I gasped in pain.
“Can you move your arms and legs?” he asked, and I did.
I gritted my teeth. “Ankle.”
Gavin handed Ronan a small metal cylinder, and I knew what was coming. I opened my mouth dutifully and let him place the awful green paste on my tongue. I tried in vain to swallow it before its dry, bitter taste filled my mouth.
The only thing good about gunna paste was how fast it worked. Numbness spread through my body, dulling the pain and allowing me to take in a full breath. I let out a sigh.
Ronan looked as relieved as I felt. “You have two – maybe three – broken ribs. We need to bind them before we can get you out of here.”
“Okay,” I croaked. My mouth and throat were dry from the gunna paste.
He grabbed the back of his black T-shirt and yanked it over his head. I could only stare at his muscular shoulders and chest as he tore the shirt into strips and tied them together. If the gunna paste hadn’t made me forget my pain, this sight would have.
Dimitri and Gavin got on either side of me and carefully lifted me into a sitting position. Was it my imagination, or did Ronan’s jaw tighten when he glanced at Gavin?
Ronan eased my helmet off my head and set it on the ground. I caught a glimpse of the scuffs and small dents on the surface and realized I’d gotten off easy with a few broken ribs.
He reached inside my jacket and began wrapping the makeshift binding snugly around my chest. When he leaned in close enough for me to smell the subtle fragrance of musk, woods, and sun-warmed earth on his skin, I wanted to press my lips to his throat and taste him.
Taste him? What the hell had gotten into me?
He finished binding my ribs and straightened. “How does that feel?”
I cleared my throat. “Good.”
A frown marred his brow. “Are you sure? You look flushed.” He reached over to check the tightness of the binding. Satisfied, he slipped one arm under my knees and the other around my back.
“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly.
“You can’t climb with your injuries.” He stood with me in his arms and started up the steep embankment as sure-footed as a mountain goat.
My friends lined the guardrail, watching us, and a few of the girls were slack-jawed at the sight of a shirtless Ronan. Out of nowhere, anger flared in me, and I almost yelled at them to look somewhere else. Could you sustain a concussion while wearing a helmet?
Kai met us at the top and held out his arms. “I can take her.”
Ronan’s chest rumbled against my cheek. “No.” He carried me to one of the SUVs and set me on the front passenger seat.
Dimitri followed us and helped me fasten my seat belt while Ronan spoke to Claire. “You scared the shit out of me,” he said shakily.
“Sorry.” It had happened so fast there’d been no time to be scared. If it had been him in the crash, I would have been terrified.
He studied my face. “Are you still in pain?”
“No.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Your Mori feels weird.”
“Probably because it was in an accident,” I teased. As twins, our Mori shared a special connection. If one of us was upset or in pain, the other could sense it when we touched.
Ronan got behind the wheel, and Victoria and Elsie climbed into the back. Elsie leaned forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”
I rested my head against the seat. “A little dinged up but I’ll live.”
Ronan was stone-faced as he started the SUV, and he said nothing during the drive home. I had no idea what to make of his sudden mood change, but I was still too disoriented to think about it. My Mori was out of sorts, too, excited one minute and confused in the next. And it kept shivering, if that was the right word for it.
My parents and grandfather were waiting for us on the steps when we pulled up to the front entrance. Dad opened my door and reached around me to unhook my seat belt. He lifted me out, and Mom fussed over me as he carried me into the manor.
“We’ll see you later, Dani,” Victoria said in the main hall.
“Later,” I called when Dad headed for the east wing.
We entered the medical ward, where two healers were waiting for us. They took me into an exam room, did a few scans, and concluded I did indeed have three broken ribs and a severely sprained ankle.
The gunna paste had started to wear off, and I grunted in pain when a healer named Cora wrapped my sprained ankle. She gave me an injection, and in no time, I was pleasantly warm and pain free.
“Does she need to stay here overnight?” Mom asked.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Cora said. “She can go home as long as she takes it easy tomorrow and comes back for a follow-up.”
My Mori was still acting weird, but I didn’t mention it because they might change their minds about letting me go home. It had stopped shivering, but it felt agitated. Hopefully, it would be better after a good night’s rest.
Mom helped me into fresh clothes she had brought from home, and Dad came in to carefully pick me up. Dimitri was waiting for us in the main room.
“It wasn’t enough you blew us all away in the obstacle course,” he teased. “You just had to get all the attention today.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re welcome to it any time.”
Dad smiled proudly. “First place. That’s my girl.”
“She was twenty seconds faster than the second-place time,” Dimitri said, opening the door for us. “Are you sure she can’t do that Fae travelling thing yet?”
“Har-har.” I stroked my chin. “And who came in second? I can’t remember.”
He laughed, and Mom said, “At least, we know she is feeling better.”
Dad had an SUV parked out front, and he settled me in the back before they all got in. I didn’t see Ronan, and I was surprised to feel a twinge of disappointment. It wasn’t like I expected him to wait around, but a small part of me had hoped he would.
“Does anyone know what happened to the truck driver who hit me?” I asked during the drive home. “Was he hurt?”
“He was fine. The sheriff took him in for reckless driving,” Mom replied. “Claire said he was fifteen, and only had a driver’s permit.”
Dad’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “You were both very lucky. If you hadn’t moved in time, he would have hit you instead of the back of your motorcycle. And if he’d hit a human, they might not have survived that crash.”
I shivered at the thought of how much worse it could have been. “How’s my bike?”
“In worst shape than you,” Dimitri said. “It’s going to need some work.”
Dad shook his head. “Don’t worry about the bike. We’ll get you a new one.”
At home, Mom made me eat something even though I said I wasn’t hungry. “Your body needs fuel to heal itself,” she reminded me.
Grandfather showed up after dinner, and he and I played chess at the dining room table with Eliot, Orwell, and Verne looking on. Every time I captured one of Grandfather’s pieces, the imps squeaked and did a little victory dance.
By nine o’clock, I was yawning, and Dad ordered me to bed. Although I was tired, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling feeling antsy and jittery. Something felt different, but I didn’t know what. The more I tried to figure it out, the more anxious I became.
I threw off the covers and sat up, careful of my ribs. Using the wall for support, I hobbled over to the large chair beside the window overlooking the lake. I sank down in the chair with a sigh and propped my leg on the small ottoman. I couldn’t remember ever being restricted like this by an injury, and it was getting old fast.
I stared at the lake and the woods beyond it with longing. If it wasn’t for my injuries, I’d be out there at this moment, running off my restlessness. I imagined meeting up with Ronan and racing with him until exhaustion forced me to stop. I’d sprawl on the grass, and he’d lie beside me. His arms would wrap around me, holding me against his warm body as the forest sounds lulled us to sleep.
A sound from the bathroom jarred me out of the daydream. I put a hand to my heated face and shifted in the chair. It wasn’t the first time I’d thought about Ronan since we started spending time together, but none of my imaginings had ever been this vivid.
I returned my gaze to the lake, and my breath caught. Was that…? I sharpened my vision until I could easily make out the outline of a wolf standing on the other side of the lake. Ronan. It was as if my imagination had conjured him in real life.
What was he doing here? He didn’t move, and I began to wonder if I was imagining him. After an hour, he turned away and melted into the trees.
I stayed where I was for another thirty minutes, but if he was out there, I couldn’t see him. I didn’t know why, but seeing him had eased my anxiety. When I went back to bed, I fell asleep not long after my head hit the pillow.
I wish I could say I woke up the next morning refreshed and rested. If anything, I felt worse than I had the previous night. My ribs and ankle were mostly healed, but I was moody and on edge from the moment I got out of bed. I snapped at Dimitri when he took too long in the bathroom, and I immediately felt so bad I almost teared up.
“Are you still in pain?” Mom asked when I left my room.
“No.” I poured a glass of water and sat on one of the stools at the counter. When she continued casting worried glances at me, I said, “I didn’t sleep well.”
Appeased, she walked over to the refrigerator. “What would you like for breakfast?”
“I’m not hungry.” At her frown, I said, “I’ll get something later.”
“Okay.” She gave me another searching look and picked up her messenger bag. “Take it easy today. I’ll be back at noon to see how you’re doing.”
I tapped a fingernail against the side of my glass. “I’m not five, Mom. You don’t need to check on me.”
She smiled. “I’ll bring you a hamburger with the works. Do you want cheese fries with it?”
I scowled at my glass. She knew I couldn’t say no to cheese fries. “Yes.”
I spent half the morning wandering around the house, unable to stay in one place for long. I tried reading and watching a movie, but nothing held my interest.
Thinking I could channel my restless energy into something useful, I went down to the lake to practice my magic. I had been working on it every day with Mom. Two days ago, I’d finally managed to summon my magic without drinking glaen first. I still couldn’t use it long without getting tired, but I was making progress.
Today, I couldn’t focus enough to summon anything, not even the water magic. After numerous attempts, I slapped the water in frustration and stomped out of the lake.
“You’re trying too hard,” said Mom, whom I hadn’t realized was there. “Remember, your magic is an extension of you and should come naturally.”
“I know that.” I stuffed my feet into the shoes I’d left on the shore. I knew I was being a brat, but I couldn’t seem to adopt a better attitude today.
As I walked up to the house, she met me and blocked my path. “You haven’t been yourself since last night. Is it the accident? Do you want to talk about it?”
I pinned my arms against my stomach as tears burned the back of my throat. “I don’t know what it is. I don’t like feeling weak. Maybe that’s it.”
“That could be it, but you are anything but weak.” She held up a basket. “I brought lunch.”
My mouth watered at the delicious smells wafting toward me. I hadn’t eaten yet today, but I wouldn’t tell her that.
We went inside, and she unpacked the basket. She had brought burgers and enough cheese fries to feed a hungry sumo wrestler. I dug in, but halfway through my burger, my appetite disappeared. When I tried to take another bite, my stomach rebelled, and I put the burger down.
“I’ll finish this later,” I said when Mom gave me a questioning look.
She got up and came over to place her hand against my forehead. I pushed it away with a forced laugh. “I don’t have a fever, Mom. I’m just not that hungry.”
“You barely touched your fries. You’re not feeling well, and you’re trying to hide it from me.”
She took my hand. The next thing I knew we were standing in the medical ward at the manor where I spent the next ninety minutes being examined and answering a hundred questions about how I felt. She wouldn’t take me home until the healers assured her they could find nothing physically wrong with me.
Mom decided to stay home with me despite my protests I was okay. By dinnertime, I was starting to wonder if that was true. The restlessness of the night before had returned, and I became distraught to the point of being on the verge of tears. Dad held me and pleaded with me to tell him what was wrong. I couldn’t answer because I didn’t know why I felt this way.
“If it’s not physical, it has to be your magic,” Mom said. “I’m sending for Eldeorin.”
No sooner had she said it than my Mori fluttered crazily. A second later, a knock came at the door.
Dimitri went to answer it, and when he returned, Ronan was with him. The moment I saw Ronan, calm washed over me like a warm summer rain.
Ronan wore an expression I’d never seen on him. He looked unsettled. When his eyes locked with mine, I felt longing so fierce it brought me to my feet.
He broke our gaze to look at my parents. “Sara, Nikolas, would you mind if I speak to Dani alone?”
Dad stood and put his arm around me. His body was tense, but I was too overwhelmed by emotions to understand why. Mom must have read his thoughts over their bond because her eyes widened, and she put a hand to her mouth. I looked between her and Ronan, trying to make sense of what was going on. The only person who looked as confused as I felt was Dimitri.
Mom recovered first. “We can leave, or you two can go out to the deck.”
“The deck,” Ronan and I said together.
I stepped away from Dad and walked to the door, which opened to the deck. Dimitri brought me my jacket, and his brows knitted in confusion. He wasn’t the only one wondering what was going on.
Our deck was three-tiered and lit by strings of lights all the way down to the dock. Sensing a need for privacy, I led Ronan down to the bottom deck and sat on a sofa, which would soon be stored away for winter. He chose to stand with his back to the water, his hands gripping the rail behind him.
“How have you been feeling since the accident?” he asked. He’d come to see how I was doing?
“I’m mostly healed. The healers said it will take a day or two.”
“That’s good.” He shifted his weight. “Other than your physical condition, how do you feel?”
The question caught me off guard, and I said the first word that came to mind. “Strange.”
“Strange how?”
“I don’t feel like myself. I go from being upset to snapping people’s heads off.” I rubbed my hands on my thighs. “I’m starting to wonder if I’m going crazy.”
He raked one of his hands through his hair. “Do you know when it started?”
“Last night,” I said then caught myself. “Actually, I started feeling weird after the accident, but it didn’t get bad until last night.” I studied his face. “Do you know what’s wrong with me?”
Ronan blew out a breath and walked over to where I sat. When he squatted in front of me, my heart started to beat faster. He reached out and took my hands in his.
I jumped when a mild electric current shot up my arms. It spread through me until my body vibrated with energy. I lifted my eyes to his, and something shifted inside me like a flower opening to the sun. From the depths of my mind came a single word, which would change my life forever.
Solmi.
Chapter 11
FOR SEVERAL HEARTBEATS, I didn’t know what had happened. All I could feel was the pure joy radiating from my Mori. Underneath it, a new awareness blossomed.
I stared at Ronan as understanding dawned. In his eyes, I saw a storm of emotions like the ones coursing through me. Somehow, knowing he was as shaken and overwhelmed as I was kept me from being swept away by it.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, but I couldn’t form the words. What did you say to the person you’d just learned was your mate?
His throat bobbed. “It happened after the accident – or that’s when it started. My Mori reacted to you, but yours didn’t respond, so I thought I imagined it. I tried to shake it off, but it only got stronger.”
My memories of the moments immediately after the crash were foggy, but I remembered his voice and seeing his face when I opened my eyes. There was something else that slipped away whenever I reached for it, but it felt more like a dream than a memory. One thing I hadn’t forgotten was how disoriented and upset my Mori had been.
“The only thing I can come up with is your Mori was in shock from the accident, and it somehow prevented it from recognizing mine.” His fingers tightened reflexively. “I think yours knew something was wrong, which made it confused and agitated. What you’ve been feeling are your Mori’s emotions.”
I needed only to remember how I’d felt when he arrived to know he was right. My Mori calmed because it sensed its mate, but it didn’t know it until Ronan and I touched again.
