But the power would not be stopped. It ate away at the caster and through her, the woman who bound her, until it was reduced to a grayish powder that fluttered to the stones to join the other colors.
She woke in
a room with no light. She could hear Rick's breathing, sense him sitting on the chair beside her bed. His fear was a living thing. She drew a deep breath to speak, wondering at the feel of air moving freely into her lungs. It felt wondrous to actually have enough air. How could she ever have taken breathing for granted?
"You're awake," he whispered the words.
"Where am I?
When
am I? Did it work? Or has it even happened yet? And why does the bed smell like Raven?" Josette's voice was a rough croak. Her throat was so dry that it hurt to speak.
"One question at a time." He chided her softly. "It's been exactly a week since the ceremony. Yes, it worked. Everyone else has been up and about for days. According to that book of yours,
if
you woke up at all you were going to be having light sensitivity and ultra-sensitive hearing for the first twenty-four hours, so Amber set you up an interior room and soundproofed the walls." His hand sought hers on the bed, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"The bed smells like Raven because I sent for him. It was the only thing I could think of. We were losing you."
"You
sent for him?"
"He's your mate,
Josette.
You needed him. I'd have done anything
—" His voice failed him, and it was a few minutes before he could continue. "I
did
do everything in my power for you. But it wasn't enough."
She smiled at him. "Actually, it
was
enough. It was your strength that allowed me to finish. Not Raven's. You gave me courage, and unity, and
…
love. I couldn't have done it without you."
He chose not to acknowledge it. Instead, he stood there, nearly trembling with closed eyes. "You scared the hell out of us all,
Josette.
Everyone's been on pins and needles, snarling and snapping at one another, praying for you to wake up." He paused. "I'd say I was the worst, but I'm not sure it's the truth.
Antoine
has been taking his nerves out on the furniture after Raven had to break up a fight between us. I hesitate to guess how much he owes the owners of this villa right now." Relief and amusement mingled in his voice.
"Antoine?"
She couldn't keep the disbelief from her voice. Her relationship with her brother had been strained for his entire life. She'd heard, and believed, that he'd pushed to have her put down as being mad. Was it already time for his attitude to begin to change?
"He's ready to work things out,
Josette.
He wants to talk to you about it, as soon as you're strong enough. But first Lucas would like to debrief you. Are you up to it? If not, I'll tell him no and if he insists, I'll kick his ass out like I tried to earlier."
A small smile came to her face. That
would
be a
fight worth seeing. But no, she couldn't let him do it. The things she'd seen were too important, more important than any one person. She reached over to squeeze Rick's hand, letting him know how much she appreciated the offer. "Send him in."
He rose and walked to the door. "Close your eyes."
She did as she was told. She heard him walk to the door; winced at the squeak of the hinges as it opened. She could clearly hear Amber's voice in the hall. "You have ten minutes Lucas. No more."
He didn't argue, just closed the door and padded quietly over to the bed.
"Are you awake?"
"Yes." She opened her eyes.
"I
apparently
have ten minutes. Talk fast. What are we dealing with? Do you have any clue who's behind it?"
Josette
sighed. Too much had happened for her to possibly tell him everything. So much simpler to just show him. Reaching over, she touched his hand. She opened her mind to him, allowed the night to replay for him. Every vision; every event flowed to him in as much detail as she remembered, but in fast forward, so that when there was time he could review it in his own mind, as if he'd lived it himself. When she got to the end, she revealed as much as she could of the terrain, since the only people she'd seen had died. But it was the words that were important. The place could be anywhere and could move tomorrow.
Even that small use of power exhausted her. She
sagged against the mattress, her eyelids dropping closed.
Lucas rose to his feet. "Thank you. Now rest. You've earned it."
She wanted to answer, she really did, but it was just too much effort.
She didn't know how long she slept, but when she woke again, Rick was back in the chair by her bed. There was light in the room, though the dimmer had been set to its lowest level. His hand brushed her cheek as he heard her stir.
"You're awake."
"How long was I out this time?"
He smiled softly. "Only a few hours. Amber says you're doing better, that you should be able to eat something."
Josette's
stomach growled audibly at the mere mention of food. It made Rick laugh, and while the sharp burst of sound hurt her ears she was happy to hear it and even happier to feel his emotions lightening to hope, love, and joy.
"If you'd like I can fetch you one of those fat koi you were admiring in the fountain. I saved you
three."
He winked and let out a small purr that rumbled his chest. "They were pretty good, too."
"That would be just about perfect."
"Whatever you want." He whispered the words as he bent down to kiss her forehead. "Anything you want. For the rest of our lives."
Smiling, she closed her eyes as he opened the door. She wasn't expecting a vision, but then, she seldom did.
The front porch swing moved lightly under her on the porch of a large white house. She was drinking iced lemonade from a tall glass. It was hot and muggy, a typical late summer day. She was smiling as she watched Rick pushing a small blond girl of about four on the tire swing hung from the branch of an old pin oak in the side yard. The girl squealed with delight. "Higher, Daddy! Higher!" she ordered.
The tire spun, giving her a good look at the child. She had
Josette's
round face and sturdy build. But she had her father's golden eyes, and
…
she smelled of fur.
There were tears in her eyes when Rick came back in the room. He dropped the platter to the floor with an unholy clatter when he saw her face, and a golden fish flopped onto the carpet. Ignoring the mess, he hurried to her bedside and dropped to one knee.
"Are you all right? Should I get Amber? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." She smiled through her tears, reaching for his hand. "I just need to know, do you still want children?"
Rick didn't pick up on the hint. Instead, he looked
at her with serious eyes. "I love you. I've always loved you, and I always will. The years when we were together were the best of my life. I want that again, want to be with you."
"What about children?"
"Josette,
I've been sitting in this chair for days thinking about this. I probably
do
have children out there somewhere. And even if I don't,
this
is more important.
You
are more important. I know that the assassins will keep coming after you. But we can face them and whatever else life brings us together. Come back to me,
Josette.
Be my wife. I don't care if we have children, or if we don't."
Tears filled her eyes. She loved him so much. "All right. Just so long as you don't
mind
my having our daughter. And if it's all right with you, I'd like to name her Ellen."