Stone Passions Trilogy (75 page)

Glancing down, she saw that she was wearing a filmy white gown that embraced her body like liquid silk. Her hair hung in loose waves to the middle of her back and there were flowers entwined with the black tresses. Her feet were bare, and each step she took was like stepping on a cloud. The world was ethereal, there but not quite real, and she could sense the presence of others but they were hidden from her.

There was a distinct possibility that she truly was dreaming, which would explain the two equally real lives that she could remember so clearly: one with Jeremy and one with Rhys. It was clear that only one could possibly be real but which one was real and which one was the dream?

“Do you wish to continue on the new path or do you wish to return to the one you left behind?” an otherworldly voice whispered through the canopy of trees. An image of the two paths appeared in her mind’s eye and in that moment she knew which one was the old one and which one was the new one.

“But the one with Jeremy isn’t real,” she said softly, closing her eyes and picturing her beloved husband as she last saw him, holding Lanie in his arms in the middle of the lavish apartment. Her heart stumbled over itself in her chest and she had to press her hand against the rebelling organ.

There was a long silence as Jenna relived her life with Jeremy, from their wedding, to living in Germany for a year when he was stationed there, to the birth of J.J. and then returning home and the arrival of Lanie. Everything, every moment, replayed itself and tears spilled over her cheeks at what could have been.

“It could be real,” the voice murmured, the words seductive and heartbreaking. Ferris….

“Where’s Ferris?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.

“A life for a life, Jenna.” A woman stepped out of the mist, her body covered in a filmy white dress similar to the one that Jenna wore. Her long, silvery hair hung to her naked feet but her face was that of a young woman, a woman perhaps no older than nineteen or twenty. “In the old reality Ferris lived but Jeremy did not. In this reality Jeremy lived.”

Jenna sucked in a painful breath as the memory of losing the baby washed over her. She hadn’t been very far along and she had been terrified about becoming a mother at such a young age. For a week she had debated calling Jeremy, knowing how hard he was working to get everything in order for them to marry and live on base. In the end it hadn’t mattered and she ended up calling him to tell him that she had miscarried.

Tears streamed down Jenna’s face as if she were experiencing the loss for the first time. Clutching her stomach, she crumbled to the ground, mourning for the baby who never had a chance and mourning for Ferris whom she loved so very much.

After her tears subsided, the woman gently laid her hand on Jenna’s shoulder, “Look.”

Hesitantly, Jenna opened her eyes and was dazzled by a wondrous tapestry whose colors fairly shined, the image pulsed with life. Awe-struck, she ran her hand over the woven threads, “It’s… it’s beautiful.”

“It is,” the woman agreed, lovingly caressing it with her own hand. Her hand stilled at a point that Jenna recognized, though she wasn’t sure how she recognized it because it was part of the whole. “This is where your path divides. Do you choose the old path or the new path?”

Jenna swallowed but her throat was dry as dust. She moved her fingers, tracing the line that she had been following, feeling every emotion that she had lived through, the grief of losing Jeremy, the depression after Ferris was born, the wondering of reawakening, the passion in Rhys’s embrace. Inhaling, she traced the other line, the sensations both new and achingly familiar: the excitement of marrying the man she loved, the satisfaction of college life, the fear and wonder of living in Germany, of experiencing pregnancy and childbirth in a foreign land.

The memories continued a few years further, ending in the apartment as Melanie and Vaughn connected on a primal level. With a slight scowl, Jenna asked, “Why did you show me the future of my alternate life?”

A serene smile graced the woman’s lips though her eyes remained cool and distant, “That is when things became interesting.”

Interesting? Jenna could only gape at the woman as ramifications warred inside of her. If she chose the new reality she would have Jeremy, two beautiful children, a life of contented bliss; everything she had ever dreamed of when she was in high school. In exchange she would only have to give up Ferris and Rhys, her child and her heart; she’d have to sacrifice the soul-bound relationship of Melanie and Vaughn, the brotherhood bond between Vaughn and Armand. Her happiness would cost everyone else theirs.

Jenna laughed grimly, “Why is fate so cruel?”

When the woman didn’t answer, Jenna turned her head and saw the woman cocking her head to the side in confusion. Shaking her head, the woman said, “It is neither cruel nor kind, it simply is.”

Jenna opened her mouth to protest but the woman pressed a finger over her lips to keep her silent. “The Tapestry must be woven and the threads must be cut. It is neither cruel nor kind to do so, it is balance. Look.”

Then they were standing before a much larger, much richer Tapestry, the colors so vibrant it almost hurt the eyes to look at it. There were vast swaths of darkness which only made the areas of light that much more brilliant: the shadows enhanced the light. As Jenna’s eyes flew over the incredible work of art, she saw a portion that was… off. It was chaotic in that thousands of threads simply… vanished to be replaced with… threads that glowed. The glowing threads continued on, mixing with the other threads until the entire Tapestry was on fire with light.

“What is this?”

“This.” Sighing in resignation, the woman lightly ran her hand over the new section and a delicate shudder wracked her body. “This is what is to come. It has been set in motion and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Everything is changing.”

“Then my choice does not matter,” Jenna whispered, her eyes drawn to the chaos, the colors. There was so much beauty there, in the destruction and the rebirth.

“Every choice matters.” Cruelty and kindness twisted her beautiful face as the two realities played out side by side: one of the present, one of the future blended into the past. “You can have Ferris and Rhys or you can have J.J, Lanie, and Jeremy.”

A wave of despair roiled in her gut, ripping her apart inside as she watched in silent agony. Tears streamed down Jenna’s face, “How can you ask me to choose?”

The woman looked at her with cool pity, “Do you want to know how it ends?”

Jenna simply looked at her. How could the woman even ask that? “No.”

“If you choose the new path your body will turn to stone as you’re… spirit is sent to your new reality, where you will live out the remainder of your days,” the woman said, ignoring Jenna’s answer. Images of the statues that were scattered throughout the temple popped into Jenna’s head and she gasped in horrified understanding. “Medusa will remember you but no one else will for this path will cease to exist the moment you choose the other path. You will have no memories of this reality, of your daughter or of Rhys. You will not suffer sadness at their loss.”

Jenna’s chest tightened as tears clogged her throat, choking her. Ferris would cease to exist and there would be no one who would remember her. The thought ripped open her chest and shredded her heart. “But that’s not what I want.”

The woman stilled, cocking her head to the side, “You would choose suffering, the heartbreak and crushing despair that you have experienced over the years, instead of contentment?”

“I love him,” Jenna whispered hoarsely, her soul ravaged by an impossible choice. If she chose to continue on then she would lose Jeremy all over again, a son and daughter that she remembered carrying in her womb, nursing when they were babies, kissing good night. If she chose the new life she would lose the years of bleak despair, of sorrow and heartbreak.

“You’ve already made your choice,” the woman asked softly. “Haven’t you?”

“There is only one choice.”

“Fascinating.” The woman waved her hand in front of Jenna’s eyes and memories of her possible life with Jeremy flooded her brain, the light and joy searing themselves into her soul. “Don’t you want happiness? A lifetime with your beloved Jeremy? With J.J. and Lanie?”

The four of them were strolling through the zoo: Jeremy’s arm was around her shoulder as she leaned into him and watched Lanie and J.J. race not too far ahead, their excitement contagious. J.J. held Lanie’s hand in his as they flew to the monkeys’ habitat.

“Look, Lanie,” J.J. said animatedly, pointing at the antics of two little brown monkeys chasing each other throughout the trees. “They’re brother and sister, too, like you and me.”

Jeremy threw his head back and laughed as they caught up to their children. Ruffling J.J.’s hair, he squeezed Jenna closer in a one-armed hug. Laughter and love welled up inside of her, pushing out the doubts and fear. She wanted to be with Jeremy. She had loved him for so long and they would have a grand future together….

The image of Vaughn and Melanie flashed in her head, the fury on Armand’s face as he saw what was happening between his brother and his lover. Jenna knew that there was a world of heartache in store for her sister if Jenna chose the second path. But she had survived the loss of Jeremy once, surely her sister would survive being loved by two powerful, gorgeous men. Swallowing thickly, she asked, “What happens to my sister?”

The woman inhaled and slowly released the breath as she studied the Tapestry. “Noth… Hmm, interesting.”

“What?” Jenna looked but she couldn’t see what the woman saw.

The woman’s lips curved upwards in a wicked smile, the first genuine expression Jenna had seen. Erasing the dark glee, she turned to Jenna with feigned sorrow, “The Fates have placed such a large burden on your shoulders, Jenna. This one choice will have far-reaching implications for the Nostuntres brothers.”

Jenna let out a humorless laugh, “Great.”

The woman curled her fingers around Jenna’s arm, her nails digging into Jenna’s skin. An image of Melanie in Vaughn’s bed flashed into Jenna’s head and she could feel what they were feeling: the guilt, the overwhelming passion, the inevitability of their coming together. The love. Rage flooded her system as Armand burst onto the scene, his eyes burning as he saw his mate, naked and in his brother’s arms and Jenna didn’t want to see any more. “Stop.”

Armand tore Vaughn from the bed, fury and betrayal making his green eyes burn. Slamming his fist into Vaughn’s stomach, his face, he turned to Melanie and unbearable pain lanced his heart, “How could you? You are my everything.”

Crossing her arms over her naked breasts, she caught her lip between her teeth and lowered her eyes. Climbing out of the bed, she slowly went to Vaughn’s side, cupping his battered and bloody face in her hands as tears filled her eyes. Looking up at Armand, loving him, just not enough, she rasped, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Armand, but I love him – I love Vaughn. There’s someone out there that is meant for you but it isn’t me. I’m so sorry.”

“Melanie.” His voice was shredded with pain as he looked at her holding onto his brother, comforting his brother. It had been a mistake to give up his nights for Katrina, it had been an even bigger one when she accepted his gift, but this…. Swallowing against the anguish that was devouring his soul, he felt the ice begin to encase his heart. Never again would he make a fool of himself over a woman. Shards of ice sliced through his veins until his blood was frozen and he was numb.

“Stop!” Jenna cried out once more, jerking her arm out of the woman’s cruel grip.

The images and feelings burned out just as quickly as they had come in and Jenna slumped to the ground, drained from that one memory. She glanced up at the woman who stood over her wearing her burden of omniscience as a mantle she must bear. “How do you stand it?”

“It is my.…” She paused for a dramatic moment, her lips curling upwards in a wry, distracted smile. “Fate. Now, it is time for you to go.”

“Yes,” Jenna whispered, her heart shattering in her chest, mourning everything she was giving up. “Will you let me remember?”

“Is that what you wish?” the woman asked with genuine sympathy.

Jenna took one last look at the path she didn’t choose, tears slipped down her cheeks as she ran her fingers over the Tapestry. Her chest tightened and she wanted to take it back, she couldn’t give it up….

“Yes.”

Chapter 18

Jenna gasped as she woke violently, her back arching off the soft bed. Every muscle in her body tightened painfully, clenching until she felt as if she was going to snap. Tendons and bone grated beneath her skin, blood scraped through her veins, and pain pierced her body as if it were waking from a long, turbulent slumber. Strong hands pushed against her shoulders, holding her down as memories of a life that was no longer hers cascaded over her and she let out a low scream of misery.

“Jenna,” a low, rough voice whispered urgently.  “Sweetheart, open your eyes. You’re back now, it was just a dream.”

She somehow managed to make her arms obey her and she wrapped her arms around him, tears spilling over her cheeks and soaking his shirt. Sobbing, she choked, “It wasn’t a dream. I was there. I could have chosen a different path.”