A Life Earthbound (8 page)

Rhiannon watched them go, then turned and stared at Rian. To her surprise she saw him watching Heidi and Capri with a blank expression. She filed this away as well.

Just then, Blythe appeared and took a seat beside Rhiannon on the bench, her own face scrunched together and tears on her cheeks. She sniffled and kicked her legs, restless.

“I can’t find my daddy,” she announced, sulking.

Rhiannon wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t seen Brock all night.

“No one has seen him, I asked,” Blythe went on, still kicking her legs, more fervently now. Rhiannon felt anxious watching Blythe’s agitated energy, her hands clenching uncomfortably in her lap.

Getting no response from Rhiannon, Blythe sniffled again and started to move away, only to have Nyxa suddenly rush up and glare at her.

“Where is your father?” she asked in a heated voice.

Blythe looked at her mother and shook her head. “
I don’t know
!” she shrieked, upset and tired and cranky.

“Shush!” Nyxa grabbed Blythe’s arm, pulling her to her feet. “Be quiet, you’re disrupting everyone. God, when I find him I’m going to kill him. How dare he be so late?”

Rhiannon’s eyes widened as she watched Nyxa’s grip tighten on Blythe who began to cry, sobbing loudly and howling for her father. Embarrassed and uncomfortable, Rhiannon shifted away, wondering if she should leave. Nyxa scolded Blythe, her voice raising as she hissed at her to be quiet.

Suddenly, the Fury Balgaire bolted through the parlor doors, his face strained and pale, his dark eyes frantic.

“We’re being attacked!” he growled, glaring at everyone. For a moment, everyone stood in silent and collective shock. And then, just as swiftly, pandemonium reigned.

The adults in the room began to move all at once. Sebastian ordered the men to follow Balgaire to defend the castle. Thea hurriedly instructed the Muses and the Fates to take all of the children upstairs to the Muses’ tower, where the babies were sleeping with the fairies.

Rhiannon’s head darted back and forth, watching everything and wondering what was happening. Confusion and fear crept through her but she was too scared to move.

Beside her, Nyxa pulled the sobbing Blythe into her arms, panic in her eyes. She put a hand on Rhiannon’s shoulder and pulled her along, making her way out of the parlor with the other women.

Behind them, Rhiannon saw her mother with the other two Muses, looking more annoyed than scared.

“This is probably all some big misunderstanding,” she said as the group of them walked down the corridor to the Muses’ tower. “A shame to disrupt the party this way.”

Clarity grabbed Liam’s hand firmly and despite Serendipity’s lack of concern, she looked terrified.

“I don’t think Balgaire would misinterpret something like this,” Clarity said nervously. Trinity nodded in agreement, clutching her newborn son Tobias in her arms.

Blythe was crying soundlessly, the adults’ alarm scaring her into silence. Her bottom lip trembled as she nuzzled against her mother.

Nyxa still had her hand on Rhiannon’s shoulder as they raced up the stairs and then entered the tower, locking the door behind them.

She let go then, taking Blythe and sitting down on one of the plush sofas, her face intense with warring emotions. Rhiannon was left standing in limbo, not sure what to do. Her own mother glided past and sat imperiously on a separate sofa, crossing her legs and pursing her lips, as if this entire commotion was created just to inconvenience her.

Clarity sat beside Serendipity, ushering Liam to sit. His eyes were huge and glassy, his face pale. Beside them were two cradles, holding Sierra and Clarity’s newest daughter, Cilla.

The other two Fates sat with Nyxa, looking agitated and nervous. The only one left standing was Rhiannon.

She glanced around and realized that Capri and Heidi weren’t there. Then she remembered they went outside just before Balgaire had rushed in. Where could they be?

She wanted to ask her mother why they weren’t in the tower but then a loud explosion outside rocked the castle walls and trembled the floor.

Rhiannon hurriedly went over to her mother and crouched beside her, reaching out to hold a fold of Serendipity’s skirt. She closed her eyes tight, more frightened than she had ever been in her life.

She could hear the babies whimpering and crying, and Blythe was still asking for her father. At every sound of explosion or gunfire, Liam asked his mother what it was. But she had no answers. None of them knew what was going on. All they could do was wait.

The minutes ticked by, and after what seemed like forever, the noises outside stopped. Silence hung heavy, cloaking them all in a shroud of uncertainty and tentative hope.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door. Trinity ran to open it, letting Lucian inside. Apprehensively, they all turned to face him.

“It’s over,” he reassured them. But there was something dark in his voice and a numb sadness in his eyes that meant there was bad news. When he spoke again, his voice cracked and his composure wavered. “We lost Heidi and Capri.”

“What? How?” Serendipity asked as all of the women rose to their feet in disbelief.

His eyes flicked over to his own son. “Someone let in a group of demons, and they ran into Heidi and Capri in the courtyard. Heidi…she didn’t make it. And they took Capri. We don’t know where. We’re going to send out a search group as soon as possible to try and find her.”

“Who let in the demons?” Clarity asked her husband, her hand clenched tightly on Liam’s shoulder.

Lucian watched her for a moment, unsure how to phrase his answer. “Well…it appears as if...at least Balgaire is saying ...that he witnessed the demons being let in by…Brock.”

“
What!
” Nyxa shrieked, setting Blythe down on the floor as she rushed up to Lucian, getting in his face. “You think Brock is behind this?”

“We don’t know anything for certain,” he corrected, trying to reassure her.

Serendipity stared at him, her eyes hard as stone. “Brock isn’t that stupid,” she declared, tilting her head up defiantly.

Nyxa rounded on Serendipity. “This is none of your business, bitch!” she growled, fury in her eyes.

Serendipity glared at the other women in disgust. “Control yourself, Nyxa. There are children present.”

Nyxa trembled with anger and a deeply rooted, jealous hatred but Serendipity brushed her off like an annoying fly.

“Where is Rohan?” she asked Lucian.

“He should be on his way up, he was with Clynn. In fact, I should probably go down to him.” Distracted, Lucian started to turn around to leave, only to whirl around and walk to his son, pulling Liam into his arms tightly. “I love you.”

“I love you too, daddy,” Liam replied, scared at the anguish on his father’s face.

With that, Lucian swept from the room just as Rohan came in, looking disheveled, his face stone cold.

“Rohan, is it true that Brock is responsible?” Serendipity demanded to know.

He stared at her, his rage barely controlled. “It looks that way.”

“I’m going downstairs to find out for myself,” she huffed, pushing past him and leaving the tower. Nyxa followed her, along with a few of the other women.

To Rhiannon’s surprise, her father stepped forward and lifted her up into his arms, clutching her against him as he buried his face in her hair.

“My heart,” he whispered, tears suddenly falling down his face. She clung to him, unsure what was happening, but thrilled all the same.

He sat down on the sofa with her still in his arms and rocked back and forth, grief and rage taking over. Never in his life had he seen such pain, such agony, as like what he had seen on Clynn’s face moments before. It had quite literally staggered him, destroying his steel resolve. The only thing that reassured him of anything was to hold his own daughter, and to know that at least it wasn’t his child who was taken that night.

Days later, Brock was banished.

It had taken awhile for Rhiannon to adjust to the fact that Capri was gone and that Heidi was dead. It didn’t seem real to her. She kept thinking she’d see her little friend wander out from behind one of the jasmine bushes in the courtyard with a smile as sweet as honey on her face.

She knew she would probably never see Capri again. Her grief left her feeling closed off with no idea how to release it. Instead, she retreated within herself, her heart shattering more while her mind tried to shut out the pain in an effort to survive.

Her father barely let her out of his sight the days following the raid, and while she was delighted with his attention, she was also perplexed by it. He was acting as though she was in danger, as if the demons might return and take her like they’d taken Capri. The idea of it terrified her so much she could barely sleep.

On the day of Brock’s banishment, everyone gathered in the courtyard to say their goodbyes.

Sebastian and Thea hung back, standing in front of the entrance doors to Euphora, watching the scene unfold with livid expressions. Brock had been proven guilty not only by Balgaire as an eyewitness, but one of the demons had named Brock as the man who’d led them there. It had been enough, coupled with the lack of an alibi and his history of dealing demon weaponry, to declare him responsible.

Nyxa was sobbing and snarling at the same time, her grief and fury so great she could barely contain herself. Brock gripped her tightly in his arms, still in disbelief.

From where she sat under a nearby tree, Rhiannon watched them with quiet eyes. Liam was beside her, both of them too young to fully understand the implications of what was happening. All they knew was that Blythe’s father had to leave because he had done a very bad thing.

They watched Blythe hug her father for the last time, her piercing cries echoing throughout the courtyard. Her face was red and tear streaked, and all Brock could do was try and comfort her as he pulled her into his arms.

Nearby, Serendipity and Rohan stood hand-in-hand, both staring at Brock with cold and distrustful expressions. They wholeheartedly believed in his guilt and though Serendipity may have loved him once, this one act had shattered her image of him.

Lucian was with Clynn, who was staring at Brock with empty eyes. Neither of them could believe that Brock was guilty, but the proof was too damning to question. They would have never thought that their lifelong friend, their brother, would do something like this. But there was nothing they could do now except mourn what was lost.

Rhiannon turned to Liam, unable to watch anymore. He looked at her and smiled, earning a tentative smile back.

“Want to see something cool?” he asked her, holding out his hand. She nodded and he proceeded to produce a bubble out of thin air that hovered just inches over his hand. It glistened in the sunlight, all shades of purples, blues, and vivid pinks. She stared at it in wonder, her fingers aching to touch it. But she knew what happened when you touched bubbles…they popped, and she didn’t want to destroy his creation.

He lifted the bubble into the air so it could float, and they both watched it fall to the grass, bursting as it hit one of the blades.

With a giggle, he looked at her again. “You should make something.”

She bit her lip, wondering if she should. But he was looking at her expectantly, so she held out her hands just above the grass and moments later a green stem emerged, rising up into the air and sprouting leaves. A single bloom opened into a vivid blue daisy.

He stared at her in amazement, never having seen her create anything before. “That’s cool,” he told her, reaching out to touch the daisy.

As he was marveling at her flower, Brock was leaving Euphora and the courtyard was silent except for Blythe’s whimpering sobs.

Within moments, Rohan and Lucian appeared beside where she and Liam were seated. Her father lifted her up into his arms, prepared to carry her away.

Although she didn’t know why, she did not want to leave Liam. She wanted nothing more than to stay with him, and the need for it was so great that she did something she had never done before.

“No!” she cried out, straining against her father’s arms and reaching toward Liam, who got to his feet and stood, his eyes wide. Lucian placed his hand on his son’s shoulder as the two of them watched.