Hidden Hope (Hidden Saga Book 3) (8 page)

And what was Lad trying to do to me? Did he want to keep me around as his plaything while he and his fiancée planned their wedding? No thank you, sir. I had someone who wanted to put me
first
—if only we could manage to be in the same place at the same time.

The next morning I rose early, told Grandma good bye and to try not to worry, and headed for home. I dialed Nox as soon as I got near the clearing of our yard where there was a decent signal. I’d missed his return call last night when I’d been in Altum, far too deep for any satellite coverage to reach. 

Nox’s voice was edgy and strange. “Good morning. I’m glad to hear from you. I was worried last night when you didn’t answer the phone—especially after your message.”

“I’m sorry. My phone was...” I hesitated to tell him I’d stayed overnight in Altum. He was already needlessly concerned about my spending time with Lad. “... out of service. I didn’t see I’d missed your call until just now. It’s good to hear your voice.”

“You too. I miss you.” The bitter tone was gone, and his voice regained its usual spellbinding smoothness.

My confusion from last night evaporated.
This
was the voice that filled my heart, made my knees so weak I could barely stand, and inspired thoughts that made me blush.

“Is it an okay time for you to talk? What are you doing?” I asked.

“Um... nothing.”

“Oh no. I woke you up. I’m sorry. I keep forgetting about the time difference.”

Now a smile entered his voice. “No problem. I actually haven’t been in bed that long—I wasn’t even really asleep yet. We had a good show—tried a couple new songs. They still need work, but they went over pretty well. So what’s going on? What are
you
doing?”

“Actually, I’m in the woods.” I took a deep breath and told him the truth. “I just left Altum.”

“What were you doing there?” The smiley tone had disappeared.

“I was meeting with Lad and Vancia. That’s what I called you about.” I paused before admitting the rest. “We’re going to do something about Davis.”

“No. No, Ryann. I’ve already told you I don’t want you involved. It’s too dangerous. You don’t even know—”

“No,
you
don’t know. My mom’s with him, Nox. I got home from work yesterday, and she was gone. All her stuff is gone. She’s moved to Washington D.C. with him. I know you don’t want me involved, but I
am
. I have to be. Davis
has my mother
—and it’s my fault.”

“Your fault? You mean for being born? Don’t be ridiculous. No one’s at fault here but Davis. Listen, Ryann. Don’t do anything, okay? I’m coming home. Forget the tour, forget the Dark Throne crap. I’m coming back. I’m going to help you. We’ll get your mom back.”

My heart leapt at his eagerness, at the thought of seeing him again soon. There was nothing I wanted more. And just as quickly it sagged in my chest because I couldn’t allow it.

“You can’t. You have to stay there.”

“No—”

“You
have
to, Nox. You still don’t know who you can trust, who might be on Davis’s side. If you go running off and leave your court, if anyone figures out
why
—that we’re together—it could be even more of a danger to my mom. And to you.” He started to protest until I added, “And to me.”

His aggravated sigh was as clear as if we were in the same room. “You’re right. Damn it. I want to be with you right now. I feel like an alcoholic desperate for a drink—I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

It was amazing how accurately he’d described the exact feeling I had when I talked to him on the phone or listened to his music. It truly was like an addiction, and the withdrawal symptoms were kicking in big time.

“I know what you mean. But we
have
to wait. If Davis really is planning to overthrow you and get his position back, you leaving right now could give him the perfect opportunity. Don’t worry about me—I’ll be okay. We’ll handle the thing with my mom.”

“What are you going to do? Please tell me you don’t intend to go to D.C. after her.”

“I’m going to D.C. after her.”

“Ryann...”

“Not alone. Vancia will be there. If anyone knows how to handle her father, it’s her.”

“What about Lad?”

“He’s coming, too.” Why hadn’t I mentioned that to Nox earlier? Because I knew how he’d react, that’s why.

His response was a low growl. “Why? Why is he always around?”

“He’s not ‘always’ around. He brings me the saol water. That’s it. I’ve hardly seen him. And of course last night we met to talk about the thing with my mom.”

“And now you’re going to travel with him.”

“
And
with Vancia—his fiancée.”

“Yeah, well...” He didn’t finish the thought. Just left it hanging there.

“Well what?”

“When she was here, she never talked about him. Other than to confirm they
are
planning to get married, she didn’t have much to say about him or their plans. And... well, she doesn’t
act
engaged.”

That got my attention. How does one act
not
-engaged?

“If you ask me,” he continued. “She’s not really that into him.”

A thrill of alarm went through me. If Vancia wasn’t that into Lad, who was she interested in? Part of me wanted to ask him to elaborate. The rest of me knew I’d sound like an insecure wreck if I did. I went for nonchalance.

“Well... that’s too bad. For them. It would be a shame to spend eternity with someone you’re not that into. Anyway, enough about them. Tell me about you.”

Now the warmth was back. “What’s to tell? I’m missing my hot girlfriend who I’m crazy in love with.”

I giggled. “How’s your shoulder?”

“All better. You know, accelerated healing, blah, blah, blah. Alfred was so mad at me for getting myself shot just as our first single was coming out. He was totally freaking about the tour. But my playing is back to normal, and the tour’s still on schedule.”

“Maybe we’ll get all this resolved, and you can come see me before you leave.”

“Maybe you can come
with
me—see the world, keep me company?”

“What?”

“Yeah.” His voice gained excitement as the idea seemed to solidify for him. “It’s the perfect solution. You can’t come to L.A. because of the Council and the Dark Elves who might still be loyal to Davis. But the only ones you’d see on the road would be my bandmates. And they’re not going to mess with us. All they care about is the music. And the girls. Rye—you have to come with me. We’re even going to be part of the Opening Ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Boston—don’t you want to see that?”

“Of course, and I want to see you. But what about school? What about the tea company?”
What about the fact I lose my mind every time I hear you sing?
I could only imagine the mess I’d be if I traveled with the band and heard them perform night after night.

“I don’t know. I’ll hire you a tutor or something. And your grandma can run the company.”

Grandma had already shown she could handle the factory, and what better education was there than traveling the world? I
was
desperate to be with him.

Still, something inside of me balked at the idea of leaving home, of leaving the land and my family and friends behind long-term.
And
at the thought of immersing myself in a nightly glamour-bath, listening to his music. It all left me less excited than I should have been about the idea of hitting the road with Nox. It was complicated.

“I don’t know. I want to. I’ll think about it. I can’t really plan
anything
until I find Mom.”

“Of course. Listen, I’ve got another call coming in. It’s Alfred. I’ll call again soon. Love you.”

“Mmm hmm.” Why couldn’t I make those three little words come out of my mouth? I knew it bothered him when I didn’t return his declaration. I was certainly crazy about him—almost to an obsessive degree. So what was holding me back? “Get some sleep. And be careful.”

“
You
be careful. And tell Lad if he lets anything happen to you, he’s a dead man.”

“Nox—don’t joke about things like that.”

His voice was surly when he replied, “Who’s joking?”

After showering and changing, I stopped by the tea factory to check on production then headed to Daddy’s apartment in Oxford. I wanted to see him before leaving for D.C.

He opened the door after the second knock, his eyes going wide at the sight of me then crinkling into the smile I’d loved all my life. “Well, there’s my girl. What brings you by this morning? Everything okay?”

“I wanted to see you.” I held up a bottle of Magnolia Sugar Tea. “And to bring you some fresh supplies. How are you?” 

“Good. Good. Come on in.” He led me into the kitchen where he pulled out a glass from the cabinet. “You want some?”

“No thanks. Being around it all day has killed my appetite for it.” That wasn’t the entire truth about why I’d stopped drinking my own sweet tea, but I couldn’t get into it with Daddy.

“Well, I haven’t had nearly enough. It’s not in my local store yet. I have to wait for ‘special deliveries.’”

We both laughed and took a seat at the tiny dinette set. I surveyed Daddy’s appearance. He’d gotten even thinner than the last time I’d seen him. Was the poor man not eating at all?

“How are you... really?”

His smile faltered. “I’m getting by, darlin’. The job is fine.” His job had never been in question. I was referring to his Mom-withdrawals, and he knew it. He sighed deeply, his shoulders rising and falling. “How is she?”

“She’s...” Oh God. How did I tell him this? “She moved out.”

He stood up so fast his chair fell over backwards and smacked the linoleum floor. “Moved? When? Where?”

“Yesterday. It was all kind of sudden. She’s moving in with Davis. She sent me a message, but I haven’t been able to reach her since then to get any more details.”

He slammed his hand down on the table. Then, after a minute, righted the chair and slumped back into it, shaking his head. “I don’t understand. How did all this happen—and so fast? She’s not acting like herself.”

“I agree. I’m going to try to talk to her. But you—you need to think about yourself.” I reached across the table to lay my hand on his forearm. “About taking care of yourself,
eating
every once in a while, having some fun. And you need to find some way to move on.”

“I can’t.” He rested his forehead against his clenched fists as he leaned his elbows on the table top. “There’s something about her. I always knew she was out of my league, but there’s no one else for me. As long as she lives... I’ll be under her spell.”

Poor Daddy. He was under her glamour, and neither he nor Mom even realized it. I was surprised it was still so strong when they hadn’t really been close to each other in months. How tragic would it be if he was right—if the only thing that broke the spell for him was her life ending? As a half-Elf, she might live forever, or at least for hundreds of years. His relatively short life would come and go in misery.

And then a thought hit me. What if death
did
break the glamour? My heart rate sped up until I felt like I
had
drunk too many glasses of caffeinated tea.

Who knew how many unsuspecting humans were under Davis’s powerful glamour.
If he were to die...

We had to stop him. That much was clear. Ending his life, and therefore his glamour control, was one possible solution. And a permanent one at that. But could I
really
kill my own father? I couldn’t kill
anyone.
I was a high school senior with a talent for making sweet tea—not some fierce Elven warrior.

“I don’t trust that man—and it’s not just his politics,” Daddy said. “He’s got a shifty look about him. And he’s too good-looking. I mean, what kind of middle-aged man looks like that? I don’t think he’s changed a lick in the twenty years he’s been in office. He’s got to be getting plastic surgery.”

“Definitely,” I agreed. “And hair plugs.”

He laughed out loud, but his smile fell away as he picked up his glass and rubbed his thumb over the smooth surface. “They do make the perfect couple.”

“No. They don’t. You two made the perfect couple.”

He reached over and squeezed my hand, his fingers cold from the glass, but the gesture warmed me. “Well, I know one thing, we have the perfect daughter. I’ve loved you from the minute you were born. You know that, right?”

I nodded, fighting tears. This was my
real
father. “I love you, too, Daddy. You’re the best dad I could ever have hoped for.”

If it ever came down to it and there was a choice between his life and Davis’s—there would
be
no decision. I might not be too sure about my own identity right now, but I knew who my family was.

*     *     *

I made it to the Oxford Municipal airport before Lad and Vancia. When they arrived, they approached my car together, walking in perfect synch. Nearly the same height, they seemed to glide toward me, their long legs matched stride for stride. Now
there
was a perfect pairing. 

I watched them laughing together over some inside joke, no doubt, and my gut filled with a burning sensation—which I promptly doused with a bucketful of reality. I had no right to jealousy. Just because I’d seen him give me that same brilliant smile before, felt the shivers inspired by that deep laugh of his—none of that mattered anymore. He was
supposed
to get along with her for God’s sake. She was his fiancée. And I had moved on. But something inside me kept insisting things were all wrong.

I
really
needed some time with my own boyfriend. Too bad this plane wasn’t bound for L.A.

As they reached the car, and Lad saw me behind the uplifted trunk lid, he turned that sun-shaming smile in my direction. My heart did a crazy so-you-think-you-can-dance move as he left Vancia’s side. Stupid disoriented heart.

He reached me and grabbed the handle of my suitcase. “Let me get that.”

“Thanks. Don’t you two have any bags?”

“Well, we’re going to one of Vancia’s houses, so she has things there already. If we end up staying more than a day, Van said she’ll buy something for me. As you know, my human wardrobe selection is rather limited. I’ve got Scarecrow Beefcake, as you called it, and Beach Bum.” He gestured to the shorts and t-shirt he now wore—the same outfit he’d worn when he and Vancia had barged in on me and Nox in Nox’s bedroom in L.A.

“Follow me.” Vancia strode across the tarmac toward a sleek white and gold Gulfstream, the plane we’d flown from Los Angeles here. As she neared it, the boarding steps lowered and a distinctly Elven-looking pilot greeted her.

Lad and I followed her aboard. I went to the furthest back row and settled into one of the captain’s chairs, pulling out a book to pass the time on the flight. Instead of sitting with Vancia toward the front of the cabin, Lad passed her seat and came to my row.

He slid into the seat beside me and buckled his belt, angling to get a look at the cover of my paperback. “Anything I’ve read?”

For a moment I could only stare at him. “What are you doing?”

“What?”

“Why are you sitting here? Don’t you want to sit with Vancia?”

He shrugged. “I thought we could talk on the way there—maybe figure some things out.”

“What ‘things?’”

“Tell me about your dinner with your mother and Davis. Did he tell you anything else that might be helpful to us?”

“Oh. Uh, well... let me think.” So Lad was here on business. Okay then, what could I tell him that might help? “He warned me not to interfere with him and my mom. He told me he didn’t believe me when I said I had no Sway—oh speaking of that—I talked to my dad this morning. Something he said made me think. He said he’d never be free of my mom’s ‘spell’ as long as she lived. That was the word he used—‘spell.’ And I wondered... does the Sway lift from all the influenced humans when the Elf who swayed them dies? Is that true?”

“I’m not sure. Not many Elves die. I always thought the Sway would dissipate when the one who used it on a human was no longer close to that human, but your mom and dad don’t see each other anymore, and you think he’s still affected by hers?”

“Absolutely. And when I was in the fan pods, I witnessed long-lasting effects even when Reggie... and Nox... weren’t close by the girls.”

His eyes met mine and held for a long beat. “What about you?”

“What do you mean? What about me? I told you—Davis wasn’t able to sway me.”

He swallowed and looked away. When he met my gaze again, his expression resembled someone about to cross a high wire between two skyscrapers on a windy day. “I’m not talking about Davis. You said Nox’s glamour—or glamours, whatever—
did
work on you. What if...” Here he halted and looked away again, toward the front of the cabin.

“What if what?”

“What if... it’s
still
working? I mean, what if the feelings you have for him are all...” He scrunched his face in an apologetic wince.

As his implication hit me, heat rose in my cheeks, building behind my eyeballs like steam in a teapot. “Are you suggesting the only reason I feel a connection to Nox is that he’s glamoured me? That he’s
still
glamouring me into believing I have feelings for him that aren’t really there?”

He raised his brows. “You have to admit it’s possible.”

“No. It’s not. I know what I feel.” But did I? I
had
been questioning my feelings since coming home. I’d stressed just last night about Lad’s lingering ability to affect me and about the effect Nox’s music had on me.

And then I got mad. How dare he suggest my relationship with Nox wasn’t real. It had certainly been more real than Lad’s ‘love’ for me these past few months. How dare he. And besides, what if I was a little glamoured by Nox? For someone who was no longer capable of the real thing, glamour might be a pretty nice love-substitute.

I leaned forward, my voice a harsh whisper. “Nox and I spent a lot of time together in L.A., and we went through a lot.
He
was
there
for me. You know what? You should probably go sit up front with your girlfriend. I have some reading to catch up on.” I grabbed my book and opened it to the bookmark before realizing it was upside down. Quickly righting it, I stared at the page and pretended to read.

Lad didn’t move. From my peripheral vision I could tell he was still looking at me. I glanced over at his pleading eyes, and then quickly back to the meaningless words swirling on the paper in front of me.

Finally he sighed and rose from his seat, making his way toward the front of the cabin. He plopped into the seat beside Vancia and leaned over to say something to her. She twisted and glared at me through the opening between their seats before turning back to Lad and tipping her head in close to his.