Waking Eden (The Eden Series Book 3) (27 page)

T
rinity flew
toward the Shantos castle, Ramsay within touching distance at her back. A little more than forty-eight hours they’d had all to themselves, and it had been utter bliss. Two sunrises she’d been able to watch with him, vivid corals and pinks lifting over the distant mountains and his black rock cove.

Their cove
, Ramsay had called it. Their home. Compared to the castle, the lodge was tiny. Cozy, but with clean lines. One large open room, a minimal kitchen along one wall, small sitting area in one corner with a moderate hearth, and a monstrous bed along the back wall. Kind of like the loft she’d almost rented in Dallas, but more manly and with a much better view.

The landscape
and
the man.

That mysterious, but oh-so pleasant flutter she’d wrestled with since the day she met Ramsay scampered beneath her sternum. What a fairy tale. In two weeks her life had turned on its head. From lonely librarian with a secret heritage, to a multi-cultural woman with a devastatingly handsome husband.

No, not husband. Fireann. If she was going to live a Myren life, she needed to get those terms right.

And family. She had family.

She twisted and laid eyes on the mark spanning Ramsay’s entire arm. An exact replica of Lexi’s mark and the pendant she’d worn nearly every day since she was ten. Well, exactly the same except Ramsay’s mark had silver and gold just like her Pegasus, though his was accented in the blade and hilt.

God, but she was happy. Connected. Her soul beaming brighter than the red-rimmed sun creeping up the rainbow sky.

“Crazy,” Ramsay half muttered, half chuckled.

“What’s crazy?”

He shook his head and gazed down at her. It was weird seeing him with his hair bound, but the first thing he’d done upon waking was to pull his thick hair into a tight ponytail. With a satisfied smirk, he’d proceeded to braid a lock of hers. A custom, he’d explained. One that signified their relationship.

An almost misty wonderment filled his eyes. “I swear I can feel your emotions. I don’t know if it’s the Spiritu factor in our link, or if I just can’t turn off my Myren emotional radar, but right now I’d say you’re somewhere between a kid with a new toy and Cinderella.”

She gave in to temptation and touched the sword hilt on his forearm. He wasn’t wrong. Not on either count. “I’m pretty sure I’m feeling yours too, like an echo.” She navigated closer, nearly snuggled with him midair. “You didn’t want to leave this morning, but you did it anyway. For me.”

“You wanted to officially meet your family and show off your pretty new mark. I get that.” He stroked one tip of the horse’s wing near her shoulder. The gold and silver accents shimmered in the brilliant morning light. “Kind of looking forward to one-upping Eryx myself.”

She shook her head, a little of her early confusion clouding her happy mood. “I don’t get it though. If Lexi and I are related, why wouldn’t the telepathy work after my awakening?”

Ramsay laughed and laid a comforting hand at the small of her back. “Stop analyzing it. Could just be we needed to blast a hole in your Spiritu firewall.”

“So you think it’ll work now?”

“You could try calling ahead and find out.”

The castle sat nestled on an ocean-side point, growing closer by the second. Tall mountains looked down on it from one side and lush gardens with flowers in bold, exotic colors surrounded the perimeter. They were nearly there already. Not much point in testing things out now. “Nope, I’d rather keep it a surprise.”

“Works for me.” He shifted to land and swept her into his arms. “I’d rather Eryx not know we’re coming anyway. He might put me back to work early, and I’m not done playing with my baineann.”

Her happy laughter trailed behind them, her stomach lagging along with it. Someday she’d be as adept in the air as he was, but right now every aerial shift registered on par with a corkscrew roller coaster.

The guards positioned outside the main castle entrance pulled the mammoth double doors wide and dipped their heads in acknowledgement. She could have sworn Ramsay puffed his chest out a tad further as they strode past. She’d wondered why he’d chosen the more informal drast this morning, especially with how cold it had been. But with her mark plastered big and bold down his entire arm the pieces clicked.

“And you think I’m a show off.” She laced her fingers with his and traipsed beside him as he wound through the main hallway. “At least I wore a jacket.”

Granted it was Ramsay’s jacket, heavy leather with the sleeves clumsily rolled back to free her hands, but it was all he’d had at the lodge to combat the unexpected cold front.

“Hey, I should get points for having a change of clothes for you. The Great Mother, her moods I can’t predict. If I hadn't worn that to Evad a few weeks ago, we’d have had to roll you up in a blanket like a burrito to get you home.”

They hurried through the kitchen. A castle worker stood perched on a step stool in the open pantry, stowing a nearly bursting burlap sack on a high shelf. A small fire burned in the wide, skinny brick oven, and the scent of fresh bread filled the room.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Ramsay lifted his chin toward the back of the castle. “Eryx is up front in his study with Ludan. Lexi’s in the private garden out back.”

She stopped, pulling Ramsay to a standstill in the process. “How do you know that?”

His head jerked back as if she’d shocked him, then a slow smile spread across his face. “Their links. You can use ’em to locate where they’re at. It’s kind of second nature once you learn how to do it. Guess we forgot to cover that point.” He pulled her in front of him and aimed her toward the garden beyond. “Close your eyes and give it a shot.”

“Will she know I’m doing it?”

“Nope. Not a clue unless you say something.” He cupped her shoulders. “Just open your mind and search her out. You’ll feel it like a tug. Or maybe a compass. Kind of hard to explain.”

She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Muted sounds pinged in and around the house. Two women chatting somewhere near the foyer. A steady clang from outside, like a hammer on metal. Maybe they had a blacksmith. Did they even need things like that in Eden?

“Start with me,”
he whispered in her mind.
“Follow the thread you feel when we talk this way. Feel the presence that goes with it?”

Instinct urged her to face his voice.
“Like your brain is trying to line up with the person.”

“Exactly like that.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Now look for Lexi. Find your family.”

She focused on Ramsay’s link and stilled her mind. His had a certain resonation. A sparkling silver thread floating easy in her mind’s eye.

A blue stream wiggled nearby, soft in tone and so close to gray she nearly missed it beside Ramsay’s.

Wait a minute. In her mind’s eye, there was another strand near Ramsay’s. This one deeper gray and more restrained in its movement. Peaceful. Calm.

Eryx.

“I see it.” She clamped onto Ramsay’s hand at her shoulder and held her breath for fear she’d lose the vision. “Hers and Eryx’s. Because he’s family now too, right?”

“That’s right. You should see Lena and Reese too, though Reese’s might be a little dimmer.”

A green strand. Vibrant as Myren grass and set further away, a pale green strand close beside it. The two undulated as though floating in a soft breeze, in perfect alignment. “They’re all different colors. And they all act a little different too.”

“Because every person is different.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tight. “Now follow Lexi’s. See where it leads you.”

She singled out the blue thread and her thoughts shifted. A kind of mental pointer her body responded to almost instantly. “That way.” She opened her eyes and found herself aimed straight toward the rear castle exit.

“Nailed it.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. “Now come on. Let’s go meet your sister.”

She stumbled in his wake. Her emotions rattled in all directions. Sister? She’d let her thoughts fiddle with the idea of family, but sister?

Ramsay opened the door. The guards at either side snapped to attention, drawing the focus of a cluster of women, all animatedly chatting near the fire pit.

Lexi and Galena. Orla. Ian’s daughter, Jillian. At the center of their group was Brenna, the sweet little human she’d caught watching her as Lexi had taught her to levitate things shortly after her awakening. Her dark eyes seemed way too ancient for her young body.

All eyes were trained on her.

“Time to strut your stuff, Sunshine.” He peeled the jacket off her shoulders and playfully swatted her butt. “Let’s go show the girls what we made together.”

She swallowed and kept her focus on Lexi as she navigated the twisting sand path. A sister. Wow. She’d barely made it halfway to them when their expressions shifted, welcome smiles morphing to stunned looks. Every one of them had eyes locked on Ramsay’s arm.

Lexi’s head snapped up as Trinity reached the flagstone circle. Her smile reached ear-to-ear, joy shining from her face to match what danced around in Trinity’s heart.

Trinity focused on the blue strand and aimed her thoughts.
“Surprise.”

Lexi’s eyes rounded and her mouth dropped open. “I can hear you!”

Ramsay chuckled beside Trinity and cupped the back of her neck. “I guess my firewall theory was right.”

Lexi shot forward and wrapped Trinity up in a tight hug, the impact nearly knocking her off center. For long seconds, it seemed as if both of them held their breath, uncertain what to say. Lexi shook against Trinity and a sniffle sounded at Trinity’s ear.

“It wasn’t a fluke,” Lexi whispered. “We are family.”

Oh, God. Not tears. If Lexi cried, there was no way Trinity would be able to contain her own. Her throat was already clogged with more emotion than she knew what to do with. Any more and she’d be a blubbering mess. “Ramsay thinks we’re sisters.”

Lexi’s arms tightened, and then she pulled away still grasping Trinity’s shoulders. Tears trailed down her cheeks and her eyes were shiny with more yet to fall, but her smile was huge. Pure joy. Bold and as vibrant as the woman herself. “We’ll figure it out.”

Her vision swam, Lexi and the women behind her going fuzzy as reality surfaced.

Ramsay stroked her nape.

Lexi laughed and dashed away a fresh tear. “Now look what I did.” She motioned at Ramsay beside her. “You’re crying and your big bad fireann’s all prickly and ready to cart you off somewhere safe.”

“She’s right where she needs to be.” He moved closer to Trinity and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Did he realize the way he grounded her? How much she needed his strength right now?

“Besides,” he said, “she’s probably ready for some girl talk, and I’m kind of looking forward to showing off with Eryx.”

“Showing off what?” Eryx strode toward them, a few of his many braids hanging long over one shoulder, metals beads at the end glinting in the sun

Next to Eryx, Ludan scowled and scanned the women behind Lexi. Whatever it was that had brought them to the garden didn’t look to be warm and fuzzy.

Eryx didn’t stop until he had Lexi plastered next to him, a nearly mirror grip at her neck to the one Ramsay so often used with her. He glared at his twin. “You want to tell me why my baineann’s crying?”

“Unwind your panties,” Ramsay drawled from behind Trinity. He uncoiled his marked arm from around her and held it out where Eryx could see. “Just confirming family ties and sharing all ’round good cheer.”

Eryx gaped.

Ludan leaned in, studied the sword on Ramsay’s arm then ran his gaze up and down Trinity’s. His mouth quirked into an almost awkward grin he seemed determined to keep in check. “Sparkly.”

“Fuck you, Forte,” Ramsay said.

“Ignore him,” Eryx said. “He’s just scared the mating biz is contagious.” He offered Ramsay his hand. “Pretty damned impressive, brother. Guess that’s one way to make sure people tell us apart.”

Ramsay clapped hands with his brother, or more like forearms. The weird grip looked like something she’d expect in a gladiator movie. “Yeah, well, the fancy upgrades came with a few extra up-charges.” He winked at Trinity as he released Eryx’s forearm. “Made for a wild night.”

“Ugh.” Lexi swatted Eryx on the shoulder. “Male posturing. You guys go beat on your chests somewhere else and let me and the rest of the girls plot out how to unravel our mysterious family tree.”

All the humor in Eryx’s face fled. “Yeah, about that.” He locked stares with Ramsay and jerked his head toward the castle. “Just had a meeting with one of the senior ellan, Maron Deesus. He showed up unannounced about an hour ago and dropped some intel we can’t ignore.”

“Serena?” Lexi said.

“Angus.” Eryx aimed an apologetic smile at Trinity. “I was coming to tell Lexi we were headed out to get Ramsay. Need him to run down a lead.”

Ramsay tensed. “What kind of lead?”

“Angus visited the ellan a few days ago. Unexpected. Didn’t really have a good reason for being there either. Next day, the ellan realized an ancient text was missing from his library.”

Pinpricks sizzled along Trinity’s nape and a low, aggravating hum tickled her ears. A warning. Bolder than usual. Nearly as potent as the day her adopted father had died.

“Translation tables?” Lexi glanced between Eryx and Ludan. “I thought we got the only ones that were left.”

“Seems there are a few more circulating than we thought, two of them in this ellan’s family library.” Eryx pegged Ramsay with a stern look. “Need you to pay a visit to Angus. Everything’s circumstantial at this point. If you can get him to slip, we can bring him in formally.”

“Why me?” Ramsay said. “You’re the one he’s got a beef with.”

“Exactly. He’ll be on guard with me. With you, I’m hoping he’ll take the questions less serious. Besides, Ian’s tracked down the last two humans we haven’t checked out from the mystery sightseeing trips. Ludan and I are gonna split up and see if we can get any evidence Serena’s the one behind them.”

The space behind Trinity’s solar plexus cramped up tight, almost like someone had reached in and fisted the muscles.