Ancient Guardians: The Uninvited (27 page)

She stared up into dark eyes. “I’m feeling fine, thank you. When did you want me to go?”

His eyes studied hers intently before he responded. “Immediately, if that agrees with you.”

“What about Jasmeen?” she asked nervously.

“Arrangements have been made for her to return to Pasidian Palace.”

“Can I tell her goodbye?”

Levi’s brow furrowed in response. “Of course, you may do whatever you wish. Jasmeen will also be preparing you for your departure. I will inform Simone of your leaving with me, and I will be waiting for you in the front courtyard.”

She stared past Levi; should she tell him she was sorry now? Should she say anything to him? She had to admit it; she didn’t have the courage to make all of this right again. Her embarrassment was too great, and it was obvious he wasn’t here to work anything out. “I won’t be long,” she finally answered, and then quickly walked back to the room she was residing in.

When Reece entered the room, Jasmeen was there, ready to help her change for her departure with Levi. She stared at the clothes in Jasmeen’s hands, and swallowed hard.
My Earth clothes? Guess I know where I’m going.
Reece thought sadly.

Jasmeen said something, but Reece didn’t hear it. She gave the maiden her best smile, and before another exchange was made, she snatched the clothes out of Jasmeen’s hands and went into the other room to change.

Tears poured out of Reece’s eyes as she fought the corset dress, struggling to take it off. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She really was leaving Pemdas, and worse than that, she was leaving Levi.

Jasmeen knocked on the door, “Reece, please allow me to assist you in—”

Before Jasmeen could finish her sentence, Reece had already changed and had opened the door. She smiled at her, gave her a farewell hug, and fled the room.

When she walked out to where Levi awaited her, any hope that she may have had that he might bring her back to Pasidian Palace had vanished. Instead of a carriage waiting for her, it was Levi and Areion.

He stood formally, and his expression was unreadable, making Reece somewhat intimidated to be in his presence.

For the entire time since she had known him, he’d never looked at her in this manner. She recognized that there was no reason left to hope that he would forgive her. Not even now, when it would probably be the last time she ever saw him.

Heartbroken, she couldn’t bring herself to smile at him. She had no idea why it was Levi and not Harrison who would take her back to Earth. He must have been forced to do it, because right now, he seemed as though he wished he could be anywhere else. With all of these insecure thoughts running through her head, her stomach twisted in pain at the realization that it was over. A love that could never be replaced in her heart had ended and she struggled to accept how she would go on without him. How she would deal with such a dramatic and painful change in her life. Her love for Levi was endless and her comfort of living in the captivating domain of Pemdas could never be replaced. How could she ever move on in her life after she returned to Earth?

Levi went through his usual motions of helping her onto Areion, and they were soon swiftly leaving Simone’s home. She wrapped her arms tightly around Levi’s waist, certain that this would be the last time she would have this closeness with him. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against him, savoring these final moments. His fragrance filled her senses, soothing her as it always did. She loved this man with all that she was and now she would never have the joy of spending the rest of her life with him.

She kept her eyes closed throughout the entire ride, savoring the final moments of being near him. When Levi called back to prepare her for crossing over the Pemdas barriers, she opened her eyes and was confused by her surroundings. She had never traveled this way back to Earth before.
This isn’t the way we traveled through the vortex out of Philadelphia.
She inwardly thought
.

The red-leaved trees were nowhere to be found; instead, there were tall cliffs surrounding them. If she had not witnessed Areion leap over the barrier, she wouldn’t have believed they were on their way out of the dimension of Pemdas.

They approached a short stone wall, and on the other side of it, a black Pemdai vehicle awaited them. Once they dismounted, Levi commanded Areion to return to the palace stables, and she questioned where on Earth he was taking her. She looked up at him, hoping to see that his expression had changed. It hadn’t, and she was left to question what was going on. As they approached the Pemdai vehicle, she watched in disbelief as Harrison stepped out of the driver’s side.

She was comforted when he smiled widely at her. “And now…it is finally us three again!” he shouted.

“I guess it is.” Reece answered softly.

Levi guided Reece to the passenger seat of the car, and sat in the back behind her. Feeling uncomfortable, she remained silent the entire time. It didn’t help her discomfort that, as they sped down the road, and everyone else sat in silence as well.

Reece found solace in staring out the front windshield, wishing they would hurry and get to where both men were planning to bring take her. None of this was normal, and she couldn’t help but think it was about to end badly for her.

Her wishes were quickly granted when they made it through the vortex. Now they were on Earth; but, she had no idea where. They sped through winding roads in the countryside somewhere. As they approached a private airport, Reece looked at Harrison curiously.

He smirked, “You will be thanking me later for this, I assure you.”

She gazed out of the front windshield again and noticed that Harrison was pulling up to a large black helicopter.
Thanking him? For what, a helicopter ride?
Reece didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know where they were, but the land that they traveled through was absolutely beautiful.

Once they were parked, Harrison quickly got out of the car and opened her door.

“Welcome to Greece, my friend,” he proclaimed, as he helped her out of the car.

Reece looked at Harrison in surprise. She finally gained the courage to question him. “Greece? Why are we back on Earth? Is it safe?”

Harrison took her arm gracefully and placed it into his while guiding her toward the helicopter.

“Reece, if it was unsafe, we would have not returned. Now, do not be mistaken; since you are the most sought-out individual in every domain, you will be heavily guarded by Pemdai warriors. Nevertheless, have no fear, as you will not even notice the Guardians amongst you on this visit.”

“You’re not bringing me back to live here?” she inquired, still confused about everything that was occurring.

“Of course we are not returning you to Earth to live here.” He looked down at her, shocked at her remark. “Reece, we are bringing you back for a little vacation. We figured you missing your life on Earth may be the cause for your irritability lately, so we sought out a wonderful area for you to return to.”

She had definitely done more than cause a scene between only her and Levi. It was sickening, but at least Harrison was in decent spirits about having to do this. Levi, on the other hand, was acting quite the opposite. He went directly from the car to the pilot’s door of the helicopter without saying a single word. She realized then that this would probably be an uncomfortable vacation with him acting this way. The last thing she wanted was to see that he had no desire to do this or to be around her.

Harrison led Reece to the passenger side of the luxurious helicopter, and she looked at him in amazement. “You guys have a helicopter, too?”

Harrison smiled sympathetically down at her. “Reece, as I told you that day in Scotland on our aircraft; you would be surprised at how we get around protecting Earth.”

Once she was in the helicopter seat, Harrison fastened her safety harness. He reached for a headset, and handed it to her. “Levi will communicate with you through these during the flight.”

“You’re not coming with us?”

“Someone has to get the car to the location where we’ll be staying.” He glanced over at Levi, and then back at Reece. “And Levi’s favorite vehicle to operate is a helicopter, so being the kind man that I am, I let him have his way.”

Reece glanced over at Levi, only to find him glaring at Harrison before abruptly bringing his attention back to the gauges in front of him.
Yeah, Levi seems absolutely thrilled to be flying the psycho ex-girlfriend around.

“Now, enjoy yourselves. I will see you both later this evening,” Harrison said with a friendly wink, as he closed the door.

She put her headset on, and quietly stared out of the front window while Levi finished going through his pre-flight check of the helicopter. He slipped the log book between the seat and the instrument panel, and started flipping numerous switches that were all around them in the cabin.

Her adrenaline picked up as the helicopter engines suddenly roared with a high-pitched sound. The sound grew louder, and then the main rotor above them started slowly moving. She looked up, out through the front window, intrigued as the loud engines started propelling the two blades so fast that it seemed like they were spinning in slow motion.

Reece remained quiet, but was filled with excitement as Levi communicated with the tower. Then, slowly, the helicopter lifted from the ground. They hovered over the ground for a few minutes before the nose dipped down some, and they glided forward.

It was an incredible and peaceful feeling, floating through the air like this. The helicopter stalked the Pemdai car traveling rapidly down the road beneath them, and then suddenly they banked left toward an ocean that seemed to appear from out of nowhere.

She glanced at Levi more than once, only to see that he was focused intently on the instrument gauges in front of him. As thrilling as this was, her heart sank when she saw his somber expression. It brought her back to the reality of their situation; this was such a remarkable experience, and she couldn’t share it with him even though he sitting right next to her. She felt strangely alone, but tried to focus on the sights they flew over, letting the incredible views surrounding them give her some comfort.

She listened as Levi communicated with someone who was giving him flight information and updating him on the wind patterns over the headset. It was quite intriguing, being a part of the whole flight process. As they flew over the ocean, Levi announced that they were flying over the Aegean Sea.

They toured the coastline for a little over an hour before they came to their final destination. Levi landed the helicopter faultlessly, and as he began to shut the engines down, two men exited from a Pemdai car and approached them. The two gentlemen helped Reece from her seat, and once she was out, Levi was at her side. After speaking briefly with the two men, he led Reece to the car.

“We have reserved five villas in this area for your safety while you are here. You will have no need to fear being on Earth; as Harrison mentioned to you earlier, you will be heavily guarded. Currently, there is no threat to you in this location, and you should be able to freely enjoy your time here.”

Reece glanced at him. “Okay, thank you. You guys didn’t have to do all of this for me,” she responded softly.

“It was nothing. Harrison believed it would help if we brought you back to your world, to prevent the possibility of your feeling as though you were confined to living in Pemdas.”

He had said it himself; this was Harrison’s idea. She sighed in defeat, knowing that she and Levi would never be the same again. She stared down at the ring on her finger, and was embarrassed that she still wore it.
This really couldn’t be any more awkward,
she thought.

Levi escorted her into the villa, and if Reece hadn’t lived at Pasidian Palace or visited Stavesworth Hall, along with her living in the beautiful lands of Pemdas, she would be awed by the villa they were staying in.

In the center of the room, cream sofas were positioned to face the glass doors that displayed a pool that gave the illusion of it ending in the aquamarine ocean behind it. It was something she had only seen in movies and magazines. She couldn’t fathom how much a room like this would cost for a night. She followed Levi as he gave her a tour throughout the large villa. He showed her the rooms that he and Harrison would each occupy, and then hers, which was essentially a honeymoon suite.

She tried to gain enough courage to look up at Levi and thank him, but she couldn’t. Every time she looked at him, she felt more insecure. She had to find a way to get past this, and to find her confidence again.

“With the help of an assistant at the hotel, we have taken the liberty to have clothes purchased for you, which will suit Earth’s fashions while you are here. They are prepared for you in your closet. If the attire does not meet with your approval, other arrangements can easily be made to replace them. We will depart for dinner as soon as you are ready,” Levi informed her formally.

She gazed up at him in amazement of what they had done for her. She didn’t know what to say. It made her feel all the more horrible for what she had done. She had obviously displayed to them that she was miserable with her life in Pemdas, and now they were going completely out of their way to placate her.

“Thank you. Will Harrison be joining us soon?” she asked, knowing his personality would alleviate the tension between her and Levi.

“If that is your wish, I will see to it that he joins us. Now, if you will excuse me, I will return within the hour when you are ready for dinner.”

Before she could reply, Levi left room.