Persuaded to Love: A Kendawyn Paranormal Regency Page 18

  “Oh my,” he said softly. “Remind me never to anger you.”

  Venetia crossed to the woman, pulling the vine away. She didn't scream which surprised Oliver, but then again--Venetia was very, very scary right at that moment.

  “You won’t get away with this,” Maud said with a raspy voice. “He’ll find you and he’ll take her and you’ll never be able to stop him. And her secret will come out, her mother will be ruined. I’ll laugh and laugh and laugh. She always thought she was better than us.”

  Venetia didn’t acknowledge the woman, but Oliver wanted to reach down and shut her up. He didn’t though. He didn’t want Venetia to see what he was capable of if she didn’t have to.

  "You made a terrible mistake, Maud."

  The woman laughed and Venetia shook her head, twitching her fingers and the vines grew, muffling Maud's mouth.

  Antigone had started to stir, Venetia dropped to her knees next to her friend and leaned down, pressing their faces together.

  “Quiet,” Venetia ordered when Antigone whimpered. “I’m here. You’re fine.”

  “Alice,” the whimper was agonized.

  “Hugh went after her.”

  “If I try to escape, they'll put her on an unmanned airship spelled for the jungle. There’s no turning it around. No stopping it. It’ll crash, and she’ll die.”

  Oliver had reached down and pulled Antigone through the porthole to him, not stopping despite what she said.

  “Hugh will find her,” Venetia said calmly. Her eyes glowed, and the scent of her fury and her worry burned his nose. “He’s like a super-werewolf.”

  “He won’t get there in time.”

  “Then he’ll catch up. It’ll probably be fun.”

  “This is all my fault,” Antigone whispered. "I should have taken Rhys's offer."

  Venetia reached out and slapped the back of Antigone’s head, even though it was lolling.

  “This is the fault,” Venetia said fiercely, “of evil men.”

  “I have her,” Oliver said.

  The vine wrapped around them again and yanked them back to shore without Venetia.

  “No!” He shouted. But there was nothing he could do.

  * * * * *

  Venetia should have been afraid. But she was too angry to fear. She walked with wrath in her steps, but no one was there to fight. Rhys had taken them all. Her eyes narrowed as she made her way up the ladder. She would teach them all what they had done. The mistake that they had made. They had thought that they could get away with kidnapping Antigone because no one but a quiet plant mage cared.

  She might make flowers glow, but she was no mere plant mage. She was a master of growing things. She walked onto the deck, saw Rhys throwing yet another sailor overboard and raised her hands high. It was time for them all to learn just what she could do and just what the vengeance would be for someone daring to lay a hand on her best friend.

  She delved with her mind and felt the forest of vines growing on the ocean floor and she whispered to them. They reached back towards her because they loved her. All plants did. But these ones—they had been so lonely in the water where no plant mages caressed them with their magic. Where no mages helped them and fed them and saw to them. They wanted, needed to help Venetia.

  “Get out of here,” Rhys shouted. He worked his way towards her, bypassing the sailors who dared to stand between him and her with a great leap.

  “Are you daft?” He shouted, taking hold of her arm. “Where is Oliver? He needs to take you in hand.”

  And then he felt it. The entire ship shuddered as Venetia’s eyes glowed brighter and brighter.

  “What are you doing?” This time his voice was a whisper. The sailors left on board were screaming. More than one leapt into the water rather than face what was happening.

  “Teaching,” Venetia said, her eyes unfocused as her mind tangled with the seaweed.

  “You’re aware we’re on this boat, aren’t you?”

  “Just hold on to me,” she said, patting his hand where it held her bicep, “I’ll take care of you.”

  That was when the ship ripped in two. Water flooded in and over the sides of the deck, and she held up a hand. A seaweed wrapped around her waist and passed them from one vine to the other until they reached Oliver on the pier.

  “Um,” Oliver said as they landed next to him. He was holding Antigone but Rhys took her immediately. “You are…”

  “Bloody terrifying,” Rhys finished.

  “I think,” Venetia said ponderously, “that I might have just burned through all of the potions.”

  Her hand lifted to her forehead as if someone else were controlling it, she took a step forward and then the ground was rushing towards her. Oliver, however, caught her just in time.

  * * * * *

  Venetia woke in layers.

  At first, there was nothing.

  Then there were sounds that intruded on her darkness but she ignored them to snuggle deeper into sleep without ever really waking. Later there was the feel of a hand on her forehead or holding hers. The sound of a piano playing. Someone reading from a book that felt familiar but wasn’t.

  Finally, she was awake. But didn’t want to be, so she turned onto her side and determinedly slumbered. It was when she woke and fell back to sleep in those moments that she thought. She’d surface, remember what happened and consider what to do.

  So, when she finally opened her eyes, she was ready and willing to see Oliver sitting next to her bed, reading from a book.

  “Hello,” she said. Or rather croaked. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sleeping but long enough for her entire throat to become rusty.

  “Hello,” he replied smiling at her in a relieved sort of way. He helped her to sit without another word and handed her the water that was sitting next to the bed.

  “Is Antigone all right?”

  “She is.” He answered and then rang the bell. Footsteps followed immediately and Antigone burst into the room.

  “Of course, you horrendous wench, you wake when I’m not in the room.” Her hair streamed behind her wet and tangled.

  “You’re allowed to bathe and rest,” Venetia rasped. Antigone answered by throwing herself on the bed and hugging Venetia so tight she nearly struggled to breathe.

  “Hello,” Venetia said into Antigone’s hair, so happy to see her. Though the hunted look in her eyes made Venetia want to tear the ship apart again.

  “You are a little bit crazy,” Antigone said back. “I always knew it, but now I’m not the only one. The entirety of Arathe-By-The-Sea knows what you did. ”

  “Alice?” Venetia asked.

  Antigone’s eyes welled and she shook her head.

  “Hugh?”

  “He made it to her. We think,” Oliver answered. “But he wasn’t able to turn the airship around.”

  “Oh,” Venetia said. She didn’t know what else to say. It was horrible. But not as awful as it could be. “Did Rhys go after him?”

  “My cousin, Henry did. He’s Hugh’s brother. Hugh will keep them safe and Henry will bring them home.”

  “We should follow,” Antigone said. “We can help. She’s with child. I… I should have just married Rhys and this wouldn’t have happened. We should have gone to Wolfemuir land. We should have…”

  “You are not at fault,” Venetia said. “You wouldn’t hold me responsible if our positions had been reversed and neither does Alice hold anyone but Maud and whoever that man was responsible. Besides a brand new engagement would not have saved you from anything.”

  “Maud is missing,” Antigone said.

  “She’s dead,” Venetia answered. “She was on the ship when it went down, I doubt she got away. Though I suppose it is possible. I did let the vines holding her fall away.”

  Antigone looked haunted by that as well.

  “I am the one who killed her, if she is dead,” Venetia said. “She died because she kidnapped you and Alice. They sent Alice to the jungle. Pregnant sweet Alice. F
or money.”

  “I know,” Antigone said but she didn't seem soothed. Venetia wasn't sure she was either.

  “Do you blame me for killing her?”

  “You couldn’t have done anything else!”

  “Then accept that no one blames you for the actions of evil people.”

  “Agreed,” Rhys said from the doorway. “I am happy to see you are awake. Though we have known you were well.”

  “He had a flotilla of healers through here just to be sure,” Antigone told Venetia.

  “That’s…disturbing to imagine,” Venetia replied. She pushed her hair back from her face and said, “I am almost positive my breath could kill a small animal and I am starving and other things.” She looked meaningfully at Antigone who simply pointed to the door until Rhys and Oliver left. She helped Venetia to the bath where she relieved herself and then helped her to bathe. It wasn’t that Venetia was ill. She had just been too long in a bed and too long without food to be strong.

  Three days later she was walking in the garden with her magic awakening

  Three days after that she was walking in the garden. Daily. With Oliver.

  And all the time they weren’t together, she missed him. That was when she knew. She wasn’t infatuated or thinking on “things” anymore. She was in love.

  And he was saying nothing.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Did he despise her now?

  She’d possibly slain Maud Janus. Venetia hadn’t set out to slay anyone. Really. She’d set out to recover her friend in whatever way was necessary. But, she had been responsible for destruction that could have killed the entire crew of that ship. Looking back, she could have attempted to pull Maud out with a vine of seaweed. She could have just not torn the ship to pieces. She could have…

  But she hadn’t. She’d done those things. She wouldn’t have if they hadn’t come after Antigone. She didn’t even regret those who die that much. Those sailors were party to kidnapping a woman. The people behind this plot had put, at the very least, Alice and Hugh in terrible danger. They were, in point of fact, bad people.

  But, Venetia had been at least partially responsible for some of their deaths. Rhys certainly had been responsible for the rest. He wasn’t haunted by them. At least it didn’t seem so. He hadn’t stopped chasing after Antigone. He wasn’t pacing the garden wondering if he’d ruined everything with Antigone now. But Venetia didn't think that he' given up. More that he was biding his time.

  “Venetia,” Oliver said, taking her fingers in his hand.

  She hadn’t heard him approach and when he smiled at her, she didn’t stop wondering if he was just being nice. Too nice to leave her after what she’d done but not so nice as to ask her to love him again. Perhaps he was lingering until she told him to go away again and then planning to high-tail it then.

  “Oliver,” she replied carefully.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Glum,” she said honestly. “Do you think Alice and Hugh are all right?”

  Oliver thought for a long while and then said, “Yes and no. Hugh is capable and powerful. Alice might not be powerful at magecraft, but she is clever and so very determined. But they’re a long way from healers. Do I think they’ll make it back? Yes, absolutely. Do I think Hugh will ever let Alice or the baby out of sight after that? Never.”

  Venetia sat on the bench at the back of the garden, letting the feel of the plants flow into her. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t too hot. The ground was fertile, the earth balanced. They were happy if plants could be happy.

  “Venetia,” Oliver said carefully.

  There was something in the way he said her name that let her know this was the time. This was when she found out if she’d ruined everything or if she still had a chance. Perhaps, she could persuade him to stay, to give her another chance. Perhaps she could tell him that she’d never let her monster loose again and that she wasn’t just a monster, she was a lady as well.

  He dropped to his knees and took her hand. She looked down into his eyes and beloved face, and her heart raced as if she’d taken all the potions again and even more.

  “If I have learned anything in the last weeks, it’s that we don’t have a millennia to fritter away. I don’t have the words of poet, but I must tell you that I love you. I adore you. Your smile means everything. Please tell me I have a chance. Please tell me that all hope is not lost.”

  Venetia fell to her knees to face him, pressing her face into his chest, heart racing so quickly she thought it might escape her chest. She…it was everything. It was too much happiness in the face of such utter worry and loss. Such regret.

  “I…yes. No…I…” She couldn’t think, she just wanted to wrap herself around him and let him hold her, but she had to give him an answer. “I love you back. Hope is not lost. Please.”

  “Please let’s be happy?” He grinned down at her and the light in his eyes burned away every bit of doubt and worry.

  “Yes,” she replied, “Let’s be happy.”

  She could not say another word for his mouth was on hers—and for the first time in her life she was being kissed. Not just kissed, but kissed within an inch of her life, kissed until she didn’t know where she began or ended, she only knew that he held her and that if all was not right in the world, all was right at that moment, in that garden, in those arms.

  The End