A Life Earthbound (31 page)

For a moment, Serendipity was silent. She only stared directly at her daughter, her eyes betraying nothing. If she felt any small amount of remorse or guilt, it didn’t show on her face.

“You are my obligation, as is your sister. I have given both of you a solid foundation and guided structure for you to live by, and I resent the implication that I have been in any way selfish. Look at your life, look at how intelligent and successful you are! Look at the man you’re going to marry, and how prominent and well bred he is! All of that is because of me and your father, and if you can’t see that then perhaps you have let the others blind you to reality. Emotions are messy, trust me when I tell you that. You are much better off not getting tangled up with them.”

“You would have me not even feel love?” Rhiannon whispered, wondering why she even said it. Her mother’s answering cool gaze said everything.

“Love is for fools, Rhiannon. Don’t forget it.”

A movement by the castle doors caught both their attentions, and they glanced over to see Burke and Michael walking down the cobblestone pathway.

“Smile and be polite. I taught you better manners than to cry in public.” Serendipity rose to her feet, checked her hair and fixed a delighted smile on her face, all traces of coldness and hostility gone. It was, as Rhiannon knew from personal experience, a neat trick.

“I wasn’t crying,” Rhiannon murmured, turning to face Burke and Michael as they approached.

“Ladies,” Burke greeted, grinning ear-to-ear as he held out a hand for Serendipity’s, lushly kissing it when she obliged. He reached for Rhiannon’s as well, and she could barely hide her grimace as he pressed his lips to her fingers. “I am pleased with our arrangement and I look forward to joining our two families.”

“As do I, Burke.” Serendipity preened before turning to Michael and frowning with an appropriately concerned look. “Dear, are you feeling alright? You look a bit piqued.”

Michael shrugged, his eyes narrowing in on Rhiannon. “No ma’am, I’m fine.”

Rhiannon stared right back at him, noting that he still looked flustered from the confrontation in the parlor. Clearly, the boys had him running scared, after all.

“Well, why don’t you and Rhiannon have a seat and talk for a bit while your father and I go for a walk?” Serendipity suggested, motioning to the bench she had just been sitting on.

“What a wonderful idea,” Burke put in, patting his son on the back. Michael flinched at the movement and scowled. “You kids get to know each other. We’ll be back in a few.”

With that, he held out his arm graciously for Serendipity and the two of them strolled away.

Rolling his eyes, Michael sat down and splayed out on the bench, stretching out his legs casually and spreading out his arms over the backrest, looking haughty and bored.

Annoyed and still suffering from the migraine, Rhiannon perched on the very edge of the seat and folded her hands in her lap. It had already been a trying day for her, and she had a feeling that if she engaged in a conversation with Michael that it was only going to get worse.

But Michael had turned his head and was watching her closely, his eyes scanning up and down, taking in her clothes, the way she wore her long dark hair, her ivory skin and soft hands. She really was beautiful, he knew as much. Maybe he preferred blondes, but he’d settle for the classy, green eyed brunette.

“I’m sorry for calling you a whore earlier,” he told her unceremoniously, causing her to turn her head slightly to face him, her eyebrows raised.

“It was uncalled for,” she said after a moment, her lips pursed as she eyed him curiously, wondering if he really was sorry.

“I was backed into a corner, quite unfairly, by your entourage in there.” He sneered as he looked away, the memory of it coinciding with most of his memories of Euphora. “I let my temper get the best of me, at your expense.”

“I am humbled to hear you lower yourself enough to apologize to me, Michael.” She smirked, watching him more closely now. “Though I suppose even you have a heart in there somewhere.”

He rolled his eyes, but smiled a little anyway as he turned to her. “Look, I don’t want this any more than you do, but the powers that be are forcing us together. But it might not be all that bad. We’re both going to have to make sacrifices and compromises, but in the end, I feel this marriage can be successful.”

“If you don’t want this, then why did you agree to go through with it?”

Michael looked away from her, staring out at the expansive gardens. “My mother. I’m doing this for her.”

Her eyebrows raised in honest surprise at his words.

“I thought your mother despised Euphora?”

“She does, but she knows what my father gave up to marry her, and she doesn’t want the same thing to happen to me.”

Rhiannon shifted, moving closer to him on the bench, curious now. “I don’t understand, Michael.”

He sighed deeply, clearly not used to discussing his private life. But when he turned to look at her, she saw that there was more to him than what met the eye. There was deeply rooted pain somewhere inside of him, the kind that she knew all too well came from years and years of suffering in near silence.

“My mother was thirty-three when she met my father. At the time, he was only twenty four, and just starting out as an Enforcer. She worked as a secretary within the department part-time just to have something to do, but she didn’t need the money. You see, my mother’s family is very wealthy, old money, very prominent in politics and in business in America. And my father, being the kind of man he is, was drawn to that kind of prestige. He’s always wanted to be powerful, to be significant, to go down in history as this great man who accomplished great things. And for awhile, it seemed as though marrying my mother would be a great way to supplement his budding career as an Enforcer.

“But when he was introduced to this place, and to you people, he was captivated by it. He understood that he could further his career and his reputation even more by finding a way to marry into the Council. He even went as far as to court one of the Fates, and he might have married her if my mother hadn’t broken down when he told her his intentions. She begged him not to leave her, told him she was pregnant with me, and so he pushed aside his aspirations to do the right thing. She knows as well as I do that he has always regretted it, which is why he is now living vicariously through me. He wants me to live the life he didn’t get to have. And as a result, my mother and I have both come to despise this place because we know he wishes he’d chosen this life instead of us. So we demonize all of you, because it’s easier than accepting the truth.”

“I’m sorry,” Rhiannon murmured, though she knew it didn’t change anything. But it did help her to know his story, to know the truth behind why Michael was who he was. And, despite everything, a part of her felt sorry for him.

“So why are you going through with this, if you don’t want to?” he asked suddenly.

“Oddly enough, for a slightly similar reason.” Her lips curved in a slow, considering smile. “I’m doing it for my father.”

With an acknowledging nod, Michael turned away from her. He stared back out at the courtyard, lost in his own thoughts. She wondered if he was thinking, as she was at that moment, just how interesting it was that the two of them were committing to marriage not for themselves, but for the one parent each of them actually cared for. Because it was clear to her that Michael did not care in the least for his father, and she knew herself that she cared not for her mother. It was probably the only thing they had in common, though Rhiannon supposed there were worse traits they could share.

Following his gaze, she sat back against the bench, content to sit in silence now that whatever was between them was aired out. It was like the final lock clicking shut. She didn’t have to wonder any longer if some miracle would occur that would put an end to this arrangement their parents had crafted. No, now all she could do was sit back, and place her fate calmly into the hands of others.

Though she knew 
it was foolish and incredibly dangerous, she couldn’t stay away from Liam. He was on her mind all hours of the day, even in her dreams, penetrating her thoughts when he wasn’t around and jolting her to life when he was.

It was in desperation that she tried to get as much out of what little time they had left. She spent her days searching for him in the gardens, following the bluesy sound of his guitar. Sitting beside him in the parlor after dinner, just to be next to him. Inviting him into her bedroom in the dead of night, where no one could be any the wiser…

And every time they parted ways, though it was never for long, it felt like deep, embedded fractures tearing her heart to pieces. The heart that he had brought out in her; the heart that would cease to exist the moment she pledged herself to another. And that was it, really–marrying Michael would be the end of her. Her father would survive, but the best thing in her life would come to an end.

But it was worth it, that much she knew. It was worth the sacrifice to know her father would stay as he was now, content, sharp and alive.

And as the days passed, she came to accept the fact that Michael would be her husband…at least in those moments when Liam wasn’t around. When he was, her mind couldn’t concentrate on more than the deep blue of his eyes, the quick flash of his crooked grin, or the sound of his voice pledging his love for her, despite how little it seemed to matter now.

She could see it in his eyes that he hated being helpless to do more than sit back and let her walk out of his life as quickly as she had walked into it. His moods had been like a chaotic whirlwind; one minute he was smiling and hugging her and the next he was pacing the floor, running his hands through his hair, his brow creased in anxiety and distress. Other times she’d catch him playing something fast and upbeat on his guitar, strumming along with a bright grin and his usual careless, free attitude. Then, minutes later, he’d switch to some somber ballad, his voice filled with anguish as it rang out through the back gardens, haunting her with the sincerity of his emotions. It was in those moments that she realized he was mourning her as if she were dead, and really that’s what she would be once this was through.

Sure, he’d still see her on a regular basis and they could be friends. But even she felt that friendship would never sate her in regards to Liam. It had for years, but going back to the way things were was proving to be much harder than it had been to establish distance in the first place. Now they had history together; dark, passionate secrets that time could never erase.

But time would move on and they would find some way to cope with the hand they were dealt. She could be resilient and she had faith that, eventually, Liam would move on and find someone new. She couldn’t ask for better for him than that.

The morning of her engagement party came with swift and unexpected speed. She supposed that most girls would be filled with anticipation, excitement, joy…she just felt a numbing acceptance. She rose early, unable to sleep, her mind and body restless. She had the urge to go for a walk, to be alone in the quiet of the meadow and forest surrounding the castle.

Her strict routine had been shot for weeks as her life was turned upside down faster than she could keep up. And yet, there was a part of her that was glad the routine was pushed aside, that she had found whatever tiny speck of freedom that existed and had snatched it up greedily, just in time to embrace the effects before she completed the task at hand.