Of Water and Madness (17 page)

“Nervous?” he asked, smiling over at Rhiannon as well even though she refused to look at him.

“Among other things.” Blythe stared at him through narrowed eyes, as if trying to see what couldn’t be seen. “You’re going to be walking with Rhiannon. You might as well get into place. I think we’re about to start.”

Brogan stepped forward and stood beside Blythe, hooking his arm in hers. She glanced over her shoulder warily and saw Rhiannon do the same with Liam, her face void of all emotion. Liam’s expression was oddly blank as well, but before Blythe could think about it, the music began and they were ushered out.

As planned, Blythe and Brogan walked out first down the cobblestone pathway covered in delicate pink rose petals, leading up to an altar several yards away made of a white archway decorated with climbing roses and lilies. A soft, lilting harp played over the cool air, and the smell of warm jasmine drifted throughout the courtyard.

Overhead, the morning sun shone beautifully warm through the trees, creating a golden glow throughout the gardens. Birds chirped cheerfully as they darted from tree to tree, and hundreds of tiny white butterflies floated on the breeze.

People were seated in pristine white chairs on either side of the walkway, and among them Blythe spotted Stella, wearing a blood red dress that obnoxiously hugged every curve. She wanted nothing more than to snap the bitch in half for having the gall to even be there.

Rhiannon and Liam walked steadily behind them, arm-in-arm but as distanced as two people in such a situation could be. Rhiannon purposely held her head high, and tried desperately not to smell the scent of his soap, one that she regretfully knew all too well.

Instead she focused on Rian, who stood at the altar, his lips curved in a satisfied smile and his hands clenched together behind his back. When he met her eyes, she attempted to smile at him, but wasn’t sure how well she succeeded. By the concerned look he gave her as he nodded in return, she had a feeling she’d failed miserably.

She did her best to ignore Stella, who sat in the front row right next to where Liam would be standing. But unfortunately, when she reached the altar and took her place beside Blythe, she had an uninhibited view of the woman regardless.

Averting her eyes, she looked instead at Thea, who stood in the center of the altar, adorned in a dress the color of peacock feathers, her dark mass of curls wild and free over her shoulders. Her expression was filled with love and pride, and Rhiannon tried desperately to absorb some of the confidence Thea projected. She was going to need it to get through the ceremony.

Though he hadn’t had any inclination to do so, something drew Liam’s eyes to Rhiannon in that moment. And so he stared at her, his heart filling with this indescribable feeling. It yearned toward her, thudding hard in his chest and filled with needs and desires, so much so that his mind was shouting for him to ignore it but for some reason he just couldn’t…his heart was winning the battle, it was shutting out the little voice…

Shaking his head slowly, he watched with stunned and wide eyes as Rhiannon glanced over at him, as if she could sense his urgency. And when she did, the look she saw in his eyes had her knees nearly giving out beneath her. Oh, God, that look…that old, familiar look…

“Rhia,” he whispered the nickname, his eyes filled with desires and questions and pain. He watched as Rhiannon nearly crumbled to her knees, her face pale with shock. Blythe managed to catch her, righting her before anyone could notice what was happening.

“What the hell’s going on?” she muttered, holding Rhiannon and glaring at Liam, only to see the devastation on his face. “What, you have a change of heart?”

But then she realized that he had uttered Rhiannon’s nickname for the first time since returning from New Orleans, and her eyes widened with understanding as they shot to where Stella was sitting. What she saw had a jolt of panic shooting down her spine.

Stella’s eyes had hardened to a cold, icy blue, and her face was contorted into a kind of cruel and determined scowl. She paid no mind to Blythe’s watching eyes, but instead was staring very intently at Liam, who had suddenly gone very still and very quiet.

Looking back to her brother, she noticed his face had cleared of all emotion, and his lips were curved in a kind, nonchalant smile. No one would have known he was, just moments before, crumbling under the weight of heavy emotion. He now looked as if nothing had happened.

“Goddamnit.” Blythe turned to Rhiannon, who was still pale and shaking, recovering from what she had seen in his eyes. For a moment, he had been himself again… “Are you okay, honey? Can you stand?”

Rhiannon nodded, inhaling deeply to calm herself as she looked away from Liam, acknowledging that the moment was gone. “I’m fine.”

“Good, because Capri’s coming out. Hold in there for a little bit longer, and then we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

She released Rhiannon, who stood tall and ignored Rian’s questioning glance. She hoped no one else had seen the exchange, brief as it had been. She didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want it to be real…

She saw a flash of white out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Capri emerging from the entrance doors of the castle with her father, who was beaming with pride and emotion. She let herself envy, let her heart fill with love for her young friend, and felt all thoughts of Liam fade. Today was a day only for Capri.

Liam beamed at Capri and Rian, enjoying the moment as they were joined by Thea as husband and wife. He was smiling, his eyes lit with joy and pleasure, and his stance was confident and sure.

But deep inside, he was weeping. He wanted out, wanted to be released from this prison, and yet he couldn’t formulate the thoughts to understand what his heart was feeling. He was lost, swimming in nothingness, while the world went on around him.

Stella, Stella, Stella…

Her name repeated over and over again in his brain, a constant repetition that pounded into him until he became absorbed in it.

Stella, Stella, Stella…

And his heart turned over piteously and raged.

His eyes watched unseeingly as Brogan handed Rian the rings, as he and Capri recited vows that were nothing but words to him. He felt them land on the surface of his mind and then evaporate into nothing as if they hadn’t existed.

But the second Rian slipped the ring onto Capri’s finger and the diamond glittered beautifully in the light, the memory of the ring he’d chosen for Rhiannon jolted through him in a vivid flash, along with the memory of her face, smiling at him with those quietly serious jade eyes. He’d forgotten about the ring, and his intent to propose…

Stella would like the ring…she loves sapphires…

The voice echoed through the memory, slicing the vision of Rhiannon’s face free so it flew swiftly away, leaving only the ring. His lips suddenly curved as the little voice encouraged him.

I should marry Stella…

But the yearning to see those jade eyes again had him glancing away from the ring and looking at the girl who stood across from him, dressed in dusty rose with silent tears in her eyes. She watched as Capri and Rian kissed, sealing their life together, and her hands came together to clap along with the entire crowd as the newlyweds turned to face their family and friends.

His heart forced his eyes to stay on Rhiannon, despite what was happening around them. Had he wanted to marry her? Why couldn’t he remember?

She had always been the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes upon…

Stella is so much more beautiful. Those eyes, so blue…

His heart darkened under the clouds as the voice took over and the storm rolled in, filled with Stella’s face and name, causing him to forget his thoughts about Rhiannon.

And when she briefly glanced up at him as they hooked arms to walk back up the aisle, he only smiled, not remembering the thoughts that moments before had shaken his very soul.

He held Stella close as they danced, a pleasant smile on his face while a war exploded inside him. But on the outside he looked like a man dancing with a beautiful woman and celebrating the union of two of his closest friends.

“I never understood the need to have it be morning all the time,” Stella muttered, rolling her eyes as she glared around at the courtyard irritably. “It’s so contrived.”

“Mmm,” Liam responded, not even hearing her comment. He was shrouded in the fog, encased in the cocoon of her control.

“Liam, I want you to tell your friends and family that you love me,” she said, meeting his eyes intently. “We’re on track now, but we have to keep pushing.”

“Okay.” He smiled, his mind flashing with her instructions even as he felt sick to his stomach. When he winced from the nausea, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“What is it?” she asked, reaching up to touch his cheek so he would look at her again.

The pain cleared from his face almost instantly, replaced by cool indifference. “Nothing.”

“Good.” She glanced over his shoulder and saw Blythe approaching, and it took all the control she had not to sneer. That brat was getting on her nerves, and fast.

Blythe tapped Liam’s shoulder, causing him to turn around.

“Wanna dance?” she asked, even as her eyes narrowed in on Stella territorially. The message was clear, but Stella conceded, knowing it wouldn’t do to cause too many waves.

One dance would be nice.

Nodding, Liam grinned. “Sure.”

As Stella stepped away to take a seat within eyeshot at one of the nearby tables, Blythe let Liam pull her close and she made a point of meeting his eyes. She was determined to get to the bottom of what had happened during the ceremony between him and Rhiannon. There had been some kind of breakthrough, she was sure of it…but just what had caused it or allowed the true Liam to come through, she just couldn’t be sure.

But damn it to hell, she was going to figure it out.

“The ceremony was nice,” she began, watching his every facial expression with discriminating care. One wrong move that seemed out of place and she would notice.

Liam only grinned. “Very nice. They’re good together.” He nodded over her shoulder to where Capri and Rian were seated at one of the tables, faces close as they spoke quietly to one another, smiling and laughing. He felt a stab of envy at the sight, but the feeling was purposely ignored.

“Was it awkward for you to walk with Rhiannon?”

“Not at all,” he assured her, smiling again. “She understands that I’m with Stella now. There’s no hard feelings.”

“Aren’t there?” Blythe managed, saying the words before she’d even given them any thought, pain in her eyes. She’d seen the anguish on his face earlier, and the pale shock on Rhiannon’s. She’d be damned if he’d try and say there were no feelings involved.

“No, Blythe, there aren’t,” he replied sternly, frowning at her. “It’s time for you to let this go. Besides, I love Stella and I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

Blythe cursed violently under her breath and felt instantly sick, unable to even look at him. “You can’t mean that,” she groaned, feeling her frustration and temper rise within, burning red hot. “Goddamnit.”

She flung him off her, only to grab him by the shoulders and shake him violently.

“
What have you done with my brother?
” she shouted, her eyes filled with furious tears and her throat tightening with emotion. Damnit, this just wasn’t Liam…around them, people began to stare, alarmed by the shouting.