Page 111 of Enchanted Kisses
“Ouch.” Bianca faked a wince.
Focused on Raysa’s sea-green eyes, I tipped my head toward Bianca. “Do it. Vow it.”
“Are you sure?” A crystal tear slid down Raysa’s cheek.
“Is there anyone else who can rescue him in the next ten minutes? Twenty minutes? Hour? You didn’t see him last night. He was burned and beaten and broken.” I swallowed at the memory. Real or not, I’d never forget it.
“What is she talking about?” Bianca asked.
“Nothing.” Raysa lifted her chin, her gaze complacent on Bianca. “She had a dream. A vision. And if she is correct, Caiden doesn’t have much longer.” Raysa drew in a deep breath and faced Bianca. “I vow that you may enchant Caiden’s mind, one time and only one time, at the manor. If and only if you rescue him from the Realm of Death without further harm, bring him directly to the manor, allow Lily to heal him until his mental, emotional, and physical health are fully restored, and leave his knowledge of defecting from his realm intact—as he is part of the Realm of Life now. Do you accept these terms?”
“If I get to be in the room when she heals him, I do,” Bianca said.
Raysa glanced my way.
I nodded, pushing the full weight of what was happening down so deep, I hoped it never resurfaced.
“Agreed.” It was as if someone else spoke the word. A numbness coated my insides, and I felt vacant. Like a walking, moving, breathing organism with no soul or heart.
Raysa’s eyes closed.
“I accept.” Bianca smirked and wiggled fingers at us in a wave good-bye. “See you soon.” She disappeared.
29
I Love You, Good-Bye
“Are you sure about this?” Raysa folded back the comforter to the canopy bed.
I stood across from her, on the other side of the bed, doing the same. “This was his mother’s room. This is where he should stay.” I glanced around the bright suite. “I don’t know why, but I feel it will help him heal and help me heal him.”
“He was adamant about you being the one to stay in here. Maybe if you’re the one occupying it, it will help tie him to you and his past.” She glanced up to the heavens, then closed her eyes and sat at the foot of the bed. “He’ll never forgive me.”
“Hey.” I walked over and put an arm around her. “He’ll be alive and home.Andunder your observation. You won’t let anything bad happen to him. I know you won’t.”
She let out a mocking laugh. “Right. Only Bianca.” She gazed ahead blankly for a few seconds, then her face jerked in my direction. “What do you mean,Iwon’t let anything happen to him? Are you leaving?”
“Not until Caiden’s healed. But after… Well, my mom and dad said I could join them if I wanted to.” I walked to the window and gazed out, remembering how battered Caiden’s body had been in the dream. If his injuries were as severe, my blood might be the only way to heal him. I didn’t want Bianca to know about my blood—or to be in the room when I healed him. I glanced over my shoulder. “Raysa?” She looked lost in thought. “Rays?”
She lifted her head, her expression troubled. “When did you decide this?” Before I could respond, she stood and waved, as if clearing the air. “Answer this instead; is your decision to leave based on you needing your parents or you needing to run away from Caiden?”
I returned my focus to the window, my eyes fixed on a topiary shaped as two people in formal attire, dancing. “Could you stay and watch the person you love be with someone else?”
Raysa came up behind me and stroked a long strand of my hair. “I suppose not. But you only have to be here to heal him. The rest of the time you can stay with me, at my flat in London.”
I turned with surprise. “You have a flat in London?” Why hadn’t she ever mentioned it?
“You’d love it.” She smiled then gasped, her mouth forming an O shape. “My coronation is to be here. It’s all been prepared. Had I known, I would have arranged for it to be elsewhere.” She paused, her eyes leaving mine for a second. “You don’t have to come. I won’t make you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I shuffled around her to the dresser. “I wouldn’t miss that for anything.”Focus on something else. For the last few hours, I’d managed to hold it together by doing just that. Changing my thoughts. Distracting myself. But could I stay here and continue like this? Survive?
I picked up a glittery perfume bottle and misted the air. Shimmering powder fell to the top of the dresser. “It wouldn’t matter if you planned the event somewhere else, anyway. I’m sure Caiden and Bianca would attend. I’ll handle it for one night. Iwantto see you become queen.” I turned and smiled in earnest. “I’m so proud of you.” Really, I was. “I wonder what having a queen as a best friend will do for my popularity,” I teased.
She shook her head. “Oh, Lily, still so naïve. As part goddess, you very much outrank me. But I love the compliment. And I’d understand if you didn’t want to come. Really, I would.”
“I know, but I’m coming. Besides, seeing them together is unavoidable. Especially with Bianca insisting on being in the room while I heal him, which is why I need a favor.” I paused. “If he’s badly hurt, I might have to give him my blood.”
Her lips pursed, and I knew what she thought.
