Triple Infinity (32 page)

“How did you and Aiden gather
enough rain to get to us?” She asked with a wince as she cracked and repositioned her arch.

“Horace. And Helen used her wind power to funnel it down on us.”

Charlotte’s head snapped up and she blinked in surprise. “Horace is back?”

“He is.”

She looked at him suspiciously. That was too curt an answer.

He gave her no time to question it. “I have to ask, when you were in the fire, did you see a light?”

Satisfied with her foot, Charlotte leaned back against the pillows. “A light? What kind of light? There were a lot of little explosions, and the fire was all around.”

“The kind of light that happens when a Panthenite is
baptized in the river.”

Charlotte’s forehead w
rinkled, confused. “What? Why in the world — shit — is Aiden worried about Skye?”

Triaten nodded.

“She still doesn’t remember if she went through the ‘birth by fire’ shit the Malefics do when Evan had her?”

“She doesn’t remember a lot from the time in the cave. Both Aiden and her were assuming Evan did it to her, but this fire
— it’s way too suspicious — those fire balls were gunning for Skye. They had to have been.”

“I don’t know.” Charlotte r
ubbed her temples, closing her eyes. “Like I said — lots of flames and explosions around us, but I don’t know about the light. The only thing I was watching was my hands. And I was comatose by the end.” She looked over at Triaten. “Why didn’t Skye turn back time?”

Triaten shr
ugged. “Don’t know. And we can’t worry about that right now. Right now, I need you to visit Aiden with me. I know your leg is still a wreck, and you need to sleep to heal it, but Aiden needs you. The fire messed him.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” She was already trying to move off the bed.

“Stop. I’m carrying you in there.” He moved off the bed and then leaned over to pick her up. “And there was no waking you up. Or Skye. Even after we dunked you two in the river.”

It was then Charlotte realized she was in one of Triaten’s t-shirts, her heavy legs bare as Triaten carried her out of the room
, and into the hallway. “You guys brought us to the river?”

“We wanted to rush the healing along, and it worked
— after we plopped you both in the river, the two of you spent the entire time up to the ranch puking out all of that smoke in your bodies.”

“Really?”

“Yea, the jeep is a mess. But it helped. Neither of you could move at all before the river, so at least body function came back again after submerging.”

They paused at the door of the room Skye had stayed in when she
lived at the ranch.

“I have to warn you,” Triate
n’s voice was grave, “I know you’ve seen Aiden in pretty wicked shape, but this...this is bad. He went into the fire multiple times trying to get Skye.”

“No.” It came out in a small gasp.

“Yes. So steel it and fix it.”

“Get me in there.”

Triaten had not overblown the savageness of Aiden’s burnt flesh.

He
was slumped in a chair, leaning back, hands across his belly and feet propped up on the bed. He was watching the sleeping Skye intently. Rafe was asleep on the bed next to Skye, nose nestled tight to her arm.

As they got closer, Charlotte silently prayed she was seeing the bad half of his face.

“Hey.” Aiden whispered, but didn’t look up at them.

Triaten set Charlotte
down on the bed next to where Aiden’s and Skye’s feet were touching. Charlotte could now see him straight on, and unfortunately, she had been looking at the good side of his face when they came in. Flesh was gone, giving way to strands of matter blackened and charred on his cheek down to a visible jaw bone. She looked down his torso. The entire left side of his body shifted between various states of vacant skin, blood and pus, and bones.

“Wow.” Charlotte’s hand went on his shin next to her, and he flinched. She picked up her hand. “That is not the handsome face I’m used to. You really did it this time, didn’t you?”

“Not yet, Charlotte. No fixing me until I know Skye is awake and okay.”

“She was in that smoke for an insane amount of
time, Aiden. She’s going to sleep for a long while.”

“Those fireballs were aimed at her. There was a reason for t
hat. If she wakes up and...” Aiden’s voice trailed.

“If she wakes up,” Triaten steppe
d in with logic in his words, “and something Malefic suddenly got turned on from that fire, she’s still Skye, and she’s not going to wake up crazy. And we’ll all be here.”

“I’m not falling asleep.”

“Aiden, if Skye wakes up and sees you like this, she’s going to freak out,” Charlotte reasoned. “It’s hard for me to look at you right now, and you know I’ve seen the worst. I can’t imagine how it would be for Skye to wake up and see you in this much pain.”

“Just let Charlotte heal you, Aiden. Do it while
Skye’s asleep — she’ll be out for hours still.” Triaten walked around the bed and tapped Rafe’s rump. The dog rolled and got to his feet. Triaten patted his neck, and Rafe licked Triaten’s arm before he jumped off the bed.

“
Let me propose this,” Triaten continued. “You are in such bad shape, Char is going to pass out the second she’s done with you. So why don’t you all crawl into bed, Char can heal you, and then I will watch over my three bears.”

Triaten reached in and slid Skye’s prone body to the side of the bed, leaving plenty of space for Aiden and Char.

“I promise to wake you up if Skye so much as twitches,” Triaten promised.

Aiden looked over at him, hesitant.

Triaten walked back around the bed and gently put his hand on Aiden’s less burnt shoulder. “Just let me take his one, my friend.”

With a sigh, Aiden relented, and slowly, grimacing against the pain, moved his immense form into bed next to his wife.

Four hours later, before the early dawn of light, Skye was the first to move a muscle. Triaten watched her intently, and her journey from sleep to wake was a slow one. One that looked like a fight between the world of dreams and the world of reality.

An
d then she shot straight up, gasping for air. Terror filled her face until she looked around and saw Aiden in the bed next to her in the dim moonlight. Her hand went to his stomach, but he didn’t move.

Slowly, she realized Charlotte was in bed next to Aiden, and she glanced up, finally catching sight of Triaten.

“Shiv?” She choked out.

Triaten didn’t want to be the one to tell her, but Aiden and Char weren’t moving. His heart breaking for her, he whispered, “I’m so sorry, Skye.”

She burst out of the bed in a blink, stepping away from the mattress, from Triaten, her hands up, fighting off the truth she didn’t want to hear.

Triaten stood up, and began shaking Aiden. He
didn’t react. The wounds Charlotte had healed were so deep in places, it was no wonder he wasn’t snapping too. But Triaten kept shaking him.

It wasn’t until
Skye put her hand on his wrist that he stopped and looked over at her.

“Is he okay?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t wake him. I need to be alone.” It was a whisper, and oddly flat.

Triaten nodded.

Skye stiffly walked out of the room.

Triaten followed her downstairs, keeping his distance, and then let her be once he realized she wasn’t leaving the house. She went into the library and closed the door behind her.

He was u
pstairs with Charlotte and Aiden, watching the morning light stream in through the window, when Aiden finally moved. Aiden’s hand went out to the vacant spot Skye had been sleeping in. Feeling nothing but sheets, he was awake and out of bed in one motion. A quick search of the room, and his eyes narrowed at Triaten.

“Where is she?”

“Downstairs.”

“Dammit Triaten
— you said you’d wake me.”

Triaten stood up on the opposite side of the bed. “I tried, you were too deep. And then she stopped me.”

Aiden pulled on a black t-shirt and jeans Triaten had found for him. “She knows?”

“Yes.”

“Dammit.” Aiden punched the bed. Charlotte rustled, but stayed sleeping.

“How is she? Was she acting any different?”

“Aside from just losing her sister, she was fine. She didn’t wake up a crazy Malefic, she just wanted to be alone. I’ve been checking on her. She’s downstairs in the library.”

Aiden’s eyes closed, half in relief, half in dread at the loss Skye just suffered.

Charlotte woke up at the voices.

“I’m going down.” Aiden strode out of the room.

Triaten sank back down to the chair.

Charlotte rolled over on the bed to face him
.
“Do we need to go down there?”

“No –” he shrugged, “I don’t know
— yes. Let’s give him ten minutes. How are your leg and foot?”

Charlotte sat up and
gently swung her calves off the side of the bed. She circled her foot. “Foot’s good. But I’m going to leave your splint on my leg longer.”

“You should go back to sleep.”

She shook her head. “No, we need to go down. Let’s just go find me some pants that’ll fit over your splint.”

Ten minutes later, Triaten and Charlotte made their way down the stairs, Charlotte hobbling on her bandaged leg.

Surprise registered on both of their faces when they got to the foyer and Aiden was standing outside the room, his forehead leaning against the thick mahogany door of the library. His hand was frozen on the handle.

They came up behind him, and could immediately hear what had
stopped him. Gut-crushing, screaming sobs were coming from the library.

Charlotte’s hand went over the back of Aiden’s shoulder, and she squeezed it. “You have to go in there, Aiden.”

His head stayed on the wood of the door. “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s right here. I can’t fix this for her. You hear that pain. What am I supposed to do? What can I do?”

“Hold her.
” Charlotte rubbed his shoulder. “And if she doesn’t want that, sit by her. Talk to her. Listen to her. Just be there. That you can do.”

Aiden nodded. With a deep breath, he cracked the door.

Skye was a mess on the floor. Splayed out on the center of the mosaic, her cheek pressed into the floor on the face of the ground goddess, fingers clawing at the tiles of her hair. She only wore one of Aiden’s shirts, but it was long enough to reach her thighs. Sobs were racking her body, and her shoulders blades were heaving with the weight of the pain.

Minutes passed
before she realized the door had opened and Aiden was standing at the threshold. Her sobs paused as she pulled herself half up, balancing on her elbows. She burrowed her legs into her stomach.

“Where is her body?” she choked out.

Aiden looked back at Triaten.

“She’s in town, waiting instruction.”
Triaten answered.

Skye took the news and slid back down, burying her head into her ha
nds. Her shoulders shook. She was pleading when she looked up again. “Why couldn’t I save her, Aiden? Why?”

He moved
to her in an instant, gathering her up in his arms. “I don’t know, hon.  I don’t know.”

Aiden collected
her up the best he could, and she disappeared into him, his large frame swallowing her racked body.

At the doorway, Triaten turned to Charlotte and she nodded. Silently, he slid the door closed.

Charlotte leaned against the door. “She has already been through so much. I worry about when it will all be too much for her.”

“Aiden will be able to keep her sane.” Triaten ran his fingers through his hair,
and then reached out to wipe a tear from Charlotte’s cheek. “Hungry?”

“No. Honestly, all I want right now is a hot shower. Smoke is still all I smell. And it
’s just a cruel taunt of how I failed Skye.”

Triaten’s eyebrow rose
at her comment, but he said nothing.

Charlotte started to hobble up the stairs, but Triaten didn’t let her take two steps before he picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. He set her down on the teak bench in his bathroom, and went over to the marble shower. “Do you want all the jets on?”

“Yes, I need every inch of me doused, please,” she answered as she took off Triaten’s shirt.

Triaten’s fingers flew across
the LED screen, and in a second, all fifteen jets turned on behind the glass enclosure. Five from above, and the rest lining up and down the sides of the spacious shower.

“Let me help with that.” Triaten
walked back over to Charlotte and knelt in front of her. She had just removed the wide lounge pants and was bent over her leg, trying to find the end of the bandage Triaten had wrapped her leg with. “It was a fast, crazy wrap, so it’s not going to be the easiest to remove.”

His hand slid along her skin just above her knee, finding the spot he had tucked the end of the bandaging into. He unwrapped the long snake of the
bandage, going around and around her leg, and then he suddenly stopped.

His hand went to the top of her bare thigh, his head following it down, resting on the back of his hand. His
breathing was hard.

Charlotte’s hand went into the thick of his dark hair. “Tri, what?
Are you hurt and didn’t tell me?”

He didn’t pull his head up, but he did shake it as he mumbled into her thigh. “
No…Sorry...god, Char — it just hit me again.”

“What did?”

He looked up at her. His eyes were burning moist. “How close I was to losing you...”

“No. You can’t
think like that. I’m right here.” Both of her hands clasped his face.

“I’m just having a hard time reconciling this, living with this constant dread that you’re going to disappear.” His fingers were digging into Char
lotte’s thigh. “I faulted Aiden for wanting to protect Skye from, well, everything. But no more. I need you safe, Char. And it kills me that you are in danger so often.”

Charlotte leane
d forward so her forehead touched Triaten’s. Her hands still enveloped his head. “Tri, you’re not six, and I’m not Sarah. We are not powerless. No one can take me away from you. I won’t let it happen, and you won’t let happen.”

His eyes closed
. “I know. I just wasn’t ready for that sudden…overwhelming.”

He cleared his throat with another shake of his head and went back to unwrapping. He didn’t look up at her with his next words
.“
But Char, you have to do something for me.”

“Anything.”

“Stop and think.” He looked up at her, dark eyes intense. “You’re a doer. You’ve always
been like that
—
a doer, and I don't want that to change about you. But please
— please —
before you ever again put yourself in front of bodily harm
—
take one millisecond, for me, and think.”

Charlotte’s head cocked to the side. “I'm not wired like
you, Tri. I do. I can't just turn that off.”

“
So don't turn off the doing, just add a layer of thinking in there. A layer of consequence. That's all I ask.” His hands slipped to her waist. “No, not just ask, this is me begging for that. Begging you to think.”

Pain shot through his eyes, and Charlotte was useless against it.
Her fingers went along his jaw again, and she brought her head down to his. Her words choked out. “I will. I promise.”

With a grunt of gratefulness, Triaten finished unwrapping her shin.
Leg free, Charlotte rubbed her hands up and down her lower leg. As haphazard as Triaten’s splint was, it had done its business well. She walked gingerly to the shower, and stepped into the steam.

Ten minu
tes into the scrubbing, wet muscles pressed into her frothy backside. Triaten’s mouth brushed her ear.

“I thought I could wait, Char, but I just need you. These moments
— our moments — keep slipping away.”

H
is lips slid down her wet neck, as his hands skimmed around her waist. “I couldn’t wait outside — I thought I could, but I need to feel you, Char. Me, deep inside of you. Live. Vibrant. You. I know your leg isn’t healed yet. And you need to sleep. But lord help me, I just need to be with you. This moment.”

The washcloth slipped from Charlotte’s fingers and she spun ar
ound in Triaten’s arms. “You have it. You have me. This moment. It’s ours.”

Triaten’s hand moved up her slick back to her neck
, as he leaned down on her. His lips hit hers hard, the urgency proving she was alive and fine in his arms. Her hips leaned into him as the kiss deepened, his mouth opening to hers, asking for the essence of her.

Their skin slipped
, hands and limbs moving, exploring, with neither grabbing traction until Triaten’s hands slid under Charlotte, and he lifted her up.

She gripped his shoulders, nails clinging the hard muscles as he eased her down onto him. Her legs clamped around his waist, struggling through the slick soap to lock. Her head tilted back in the waterfall, and she gasped against the liquid as Triaten accosted her neck, leaving not an inch of flesh untouched. He
pulsated inside of her, but his hips remained motionless as he enjoyed the taste of her.

Charlotte reveled in his touch, until it became agony waiting for him to move within her. Hips swiveling,
she bent her head down to him, and buried her fingers into the back of his wet hair. She pulled his head up from her body. Descending on him, she demanded with her lips that the burning deep within be sated.

Triaten needed little encouragement
, and he devoured from below, both in mouth and body. They slammed into the wall of the shower, and he took her to the edge, screaming for release.

But h
er demands did nothing to hinder her own body from pulling and teasing Triaten to his own edge. And at the last second, before they both went over the precipice, she pulled up from his mouth, eyes deep into his.

He plunged one last time, extracting for the both of them, every ounce of pleasure from the moment.
Water pounded their bodies, but neither noticed, so consuming was deepness of each other.