Flame, page 26
The furniture was well used but in good condition. Sunlight poured in from the many windows that were open to let in the fresh air. She heard whistling from outside. Noreen smiled as she remembered the tune her father had always sung.
The door opened, and in stepped a man. He was tall with a head full of long, black hair that was pulled back in a queue. His silver eyes landed on her, and a huge smile broke out over his face.
“There’s my beautiful girl,” he said and walked to her, sweeping her up in his arms.
Emotion choked Noreen as her little arms wrapped around his neck as he twirled her around the room. As her father settled her on his shoulders, Noreen saw a woman standing in the kitchen, arranging a bouquet of flowers in dazzling colors.
“You spoil her,” the woman said and turned to set the vase on the kitchen table.
Noreen’s lungs seized when she gazed at her mother. Her black hair hung over one shoulder in a thick plait that fell well past her breast. Silver eyes grinned at Noreen before they moved to the man.
“Of course, I spoil her,” Noreen’s father said. “Just as I spoil you, my love.”
Her mother walked to them and grabbed Noreen’s small hands before she rose up and placed a kiss on her father’s lips. “I’m so fortunate to have the both of you.”
“Pretty sure I’m the lucky one,” her father replied and wrapped an arm around her mother.
Noreen wanted the memories to stop right there. She didn’t want to see any more. She knew she wasn’t telling Cain any of it, but she couldn’t. The words were lodged in her throat—along with her heart.
There was a knock at the door that caused both of her parents to frown. They looked at each other, concern in their eyes.
“It can’t be,” her mother said.
Her father glanced at the door. “We know what we have to do.”
Her mother nodded and flashed a smile up at Noreen before she faced the door while her father set her on the floor with her doll.
“Noreen, my sweet, you need to listen carefully,” he said as he squatted beside her, holding her gaze. “No matter what you hear outside, don’t move from this spot. We’ll be back to get you. Do you understand?”
She nodded, trying to hold onto his hand to get him to stay. Even at that young age, she knew something bad was about to happen, and she wanted to stop it. She called out for her father, but he simply gave her a kiss on her forehead.
“I love you, my sweet. I’ll be right back,” he said and got to his feet.
She wanted to follow, but she knew better than to disobey her parents. So, Noreen remained on the rug, holding her doll as she watched her father leave the house. Once the door shut behind him, she continued staring at it, waiting for her parents to return.
It felt like an eternity passed. She didn’t hear any words, didn’t see anyone else. But she knew something was going on outside.
Suddenly, there was a loud roar that startled Noreen so badly she screamed. The roar sounded again. She put her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, wanting the sound to stop.
She heard her name. Her eyes flew open as she saw her mother rush into the house with her father right behind her. Something bright illuminated the area behind him. He shouted her mother’s name, but his eyes were on Noreen.
Noreen stretched out her arms, reaching for them both when the first of the flames burst into the house. They seemed to grow right before her eyes, swallowing her father first. Noreen screamed for her mother as tears coursed down her face. Her mother’s fingers touched hers, but it was too late. The flames devoured her, as well.
Noreen felt her fingertips burning, but she didn’t care. Nor did she turn away from the flames. But they didn’t come for her. In fact, they stopped and retreated instantly.
Leaving nothing behind but the charred remains of what was left of the house and the ashes of her parents. Noreen ignored the still-burning rug and reached through the flames to touch what was left of her mother.
She was so focused on her mom that Noreen never saw the woman enter. She was just suddenly there. She wore a long, burgundy robe-like outfit with her light brown hair pulled away from her face. Her green eyes stared at Noreen for a long moment.
“This is the last place you need to be, little one,” the woman said. “It’s a good thing I came along when I did. Shall we go?”
Noreen shook her head and ignored the woman’s hand. She wasn’t going anywhere.
“You don’t really have a choice. You’re just a child.”
Noreen looked at the woman, noticing for the first time that her voice wasn’t the same as her parents’.
The woman blew out a breath. “I’m here to save you, Noreen. I can help you get revenge on those responsible for taking your parents. You want that, don’t you?”
She did. More than anything.
“Good,” the woman said and held out both her hands. “Come now. Your future awaits.”
Noreen let the woman lift her into her arms and settle her, a little awkwardly at first, on her hip. Noreen looked over the woman’s shoulder at her parents because she knew she might never see the place again.
Once outside, she gazed at what was left of the cottage while the rest smoldered, and tiny flames struggled to remain alive. Then, in a blink, the beautiful green countryside was gone, replaced by a cold, dark room that would become her home for the next several years.
Noreen’s eyes flew open as the memory faded. At least she tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t. And her memories weren’t done with her yet.
They took her to a time in the not too distant past where she stood at a table looking down at a book with her name on it. It was by sheer chance that she had stumbled upon it. Her hands trembled as she opened it, looking over her shoulder as she did in case Moreann appeared.
But the empress had been otherwise engaged of late, thanks to Usaeil. That gave Noreen the time she needed to do some searching. As she read through the first few pages that described finding a child with just the qualities Moreann had been searching for, she came to realize that the empress had approached her parents, offering to buy Noreen. Of course, her parents had refused.
Over the next few pages, Moreann went into detail about how she’d gone to the cottage on that early Wednesday morning and tried for a final time to buy Noreen. Moreann knew, one way or another, she was leaving with the child.
And when Noreen’s parents refused again, Moreann attacked—with fire.
The roars had been for Noreen’s benefit to make her think it was a Dragon King so Moreann could instill instant hatred in Noreen for them. And it had worked.
With every page Noreen read, she realized that everything Moreann had told her was a lie.
For the second time, she was coming to realize the truth of her life. Except this time, Noreen no longer had to hide it.
Fury swept through her. She let out a scream of rage. And when she opened her eyes, Cain stood over her, his hands on either side of her face.
But they weren’t alone.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
“Noreen! Look at me,” Cain called through her screams.
Through Tristan’s link to her mind, Cain had seen everything, felt every emotion that ran through her as if it had been his own. And it left him rocked to his very core.
He glanced up at Tristan to find his face taut, as well. Delving into someone’s mind was a tricky thing, and Tristan could usually guard himself against such an intrusion of emotions. But not this time.
Not with Noreen.
Cain had a feeling it had something to do with Noreen’s gift.
“Bloody hell,” Cael murmured from the right side of Cain.
Cain looked at the Reaper to find his hands flat on the stone table, his head hanging down, and his eyes squeezed shut. It appeared as if everyone in the room had experienced Noreen’s memories.
She kept screaming, the anger and resentment coursing through her as vividly as it had the first time she’d learned she had been betrayed. Her back arched, and her fingers curved as if she wanted to wrap them around Moreann’s neck.
“I didna know clearing her memories would do this,” Tristan said over her.
Cain gave a shake of his head. It needed to be done, and now he had to wake her. He’d known from the beginning that there were things regarding her parents’ deaths that had nothing to do with the Dragon Kings. Now, he had his answers.
He just wished they hadn’t come at such a high price for Noreen.
With a little shake of her shoulders, he said her name again. This time, she stopped mid-scream, her eyes snapping open.
“Noreen?” he asked softly.
A tear leaked from the outer corner of her eye and fell into her hair. “She lied to me.”
“She’s lied about a lot of things.”
Her gaze left his and looked around the room. “Where am I? What happened to the other place?”
“You were always here,” Cael told her as he lifted his head. “We put you to sleep and spoke in your mind.”
Her voice was low when she said, “Oh.”
Cain wanted to wipe the tear track from her face, to gather her in his arms and hold her. But he did neither. He forced himself to loosen his hold on her arms and release her. Despite what he’d seen in her memories, she had still betrayed him.
He wanted to believe everything he’d seen. And while that memory of her parents’ murders had been true, he didn’t know what else to believe. Tristan could determine if the memories had been tainted by magic and tampered with. And while that helped, Cain still couldn’t forgive her.
Her eyes met his when he released her and dropped his arms to his sides as he straightened.
“Easy,” Tristan told her as she looked wildly around.
Her fingers gripped the sides of the table while her chest rose and fell rapidly. She was anything but calm, not that Cain could blame her. He didn’t know how she remained so still. He would’ve sat up, at least, but Noreen didn’t move.
She licked her lips as her gaze moved to Cael. “If I’m still alive, it’s because you need information.”
“You want to talk about that instead of what your memories revealed?” Cael asked.
Cain clenched his teeth together to keep from telling Cael to back the fuck off. When Cain lifted his gaze, it was to find Tristan’s dark brown eyes on him.
“If anyone can get through to her, it’s you,” Tristan said through their link.
“I can no’.”
Tristan gave him a flat look. “She’s your mate. Fight for her. Fight for the truth!”
Cain knew he was right, but it didn’t make it any easier. He caught Cael’s attention and gave a slight shake of his head, telling the Reaper to stand down. Then Cain held out a hand to Noreen. She observed him for a few minutes before she slid her palm against his.
He helped her to sit up, then released her. “Tristan used his power to get into your mind.”
Tristan came around to stand beside Cain and looked at Noreen. “You can only see the memory that the person is looking at, right?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“I can see anything I want.”
Noreen swallowed loudly. “Anything?”
Tristan bowed his head in a nod. “It takes some time to search through everything, which is why Cain directed you to the memories we wanted you to look at.”
“To prove it wasn’t a Dragon King,” she stated as she looked away.
Cain had known she would think that. “We wanted to know if one of our own was responsible, because we would’ve gotten to the bottom of it. If it wasna a King, then we needed to know that, as well. As did you.”
She glanced at him but quickly looked away without replying.
Tristan said, “We know you didna have to tell Cain about the spell or betraying him. We’re trying to get to the bottom of things the easiest and fastest way we can.”
“Because you can’t believe anything I say,” she replied.
Cael snorted. “No. We can’t. Neither would you in our place.”
Cain swiped a hand through the air and looked pointedly at Cael before he softened his expression and turned back to Noreen. “Why did you tell me about the spell?”
“Why do you think?” she asked testily. “I regretted it, and I wanted it all to go away.”
“But it didna. I doona know what’s real. I doona know if everything we talked about was truth or just part of the plan.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Put me back under. I’d rather suffer through memories than see the look of contempt on your face.”
“You betrayed us!” The anger rose up unexpectedly. Cain thought he could control it, but he couldn’t.
All those years ago, he’d thought he understood how Ulrik felt, but he hadn’t. No one had. But Cain did now.
There were tears in Noreen’s eyes when she looked at Tristan. “Can you put me back to sleep?”
“I can,” Cael told her.
Tristan held out a hand to stop Cael. Then he turned his head to Noreen. “You doona have to be asleep for this.”
“Whatever,” she said and lay back down.
Tristan put his finger on her head and touched Cain with his other hand. Cael moved back, seemingly no longer interested in being a part of Noreen’s memories.
“Is there anything you want to know?” Tristan asked her.
That surprised Cain. He didn’t ask what Tristan was about, though. Instead, he let the King of Ambers continue on the path he’d taken.
Noreen gave a single nod. “I want to know what happened after I learned the truth about my parents.”
“Close your eyes and think about the last thing you remember,” Tristan guided her.
In an instant, Cain found himself seeing through Noreen’s eyes as she closed the book about herself. She carefully stashed it away where she’d found it, then returned to her bedroom where she paced for hours as her mind churned through everything she’d learned.
She alternated between anger and tears, flipping from one emotion to the other like someone tossing a coin. He was shocked to discover that Noreen had wanted away from Moreann for a very long time, but the empress always found a way to tie Noreen to her.
That was the night Noreen knew she had to find a way to get away from Moreann once and for all. And there was only one way to do that—she needed to go to Moreann’s enemy.
Noreen considered Usaeil, but she knew the queen would never believe her. Then Noreen came up with a daring plan, one that was the perfect out—betraying the Dragon Kings.
It took her a month to sort through the various situations and outcomes of approaching Moreann with her idea. When she did, Noreen used Rhi as the hook to get the empress on board. Noreen made sure to word things just so, so Moreann believed it was her idea to put the spell on Noreen.
Another two months went by as she and Moreann worked out more details, including how the Others would think Noreen had double-crossed them, how she would get back to Moreann, and the spell that would be used.
Then it came time for the spell. Noreen was blindfolded as Moreann transported her to the Druid Realm where several other Druids joined them. They held Noreen down as Moreann began the spell. It was a long, uncomfortable process. The first slice of pain that zoomed through Noreen’s head had Cain reaching for her hand. She had it fisted, but at his touch, they threaded fingers.
Sweat beaded his forehead as Moreann’s spell intensified. Noreen screamed—both in her memories and in real life—from the agony. The Druids holding her kept her pinned to the table until she passed out from the pain.
Before she did, she had one thought—Moreann had added something to the spell.
Cain had to agree with her. There had been something tacked on at the end that Moreann hadn’t spoken to Noreen about.
Noreen’s next memory was of being near Dreagan and not doing any magic so none of the Others could find her. For days, she’d considered going to Dreagan before she finally decided on sending the email, hoping that would work so she could get away and live her life.
The memories continued through the internet café where she sent the message, and then Brian finding her on the street. She had been terrified then, but she’d played it off well. And when Cain had found her, she’d wanted to run, but hadn’t been able to. There had been something about him that had stopped her.
When he felt her instant attraction to him, he pulled away from Tristan. But that didn’t stop him from seeing her memories. They fast-forwarded to the Fae Realm where they stood together right before he kissed her.
“Stop,” Cain told her.
And just like that, he was disconnected from her mind.
“I think I know why Moreann wanted you so badly,” Tristan told Noreen.
Her eyes opened to look up at him. “Why?”
“Cain pulled away from me, but he could still see your memories because you projected them into his head.”
She shook her head. “That’s not possible. I’ve never done that. I just … I wanted him to know that what I felt wasn’t a lie.”
“You did.” Tristan looked at Cain before he walked from the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Cain found his gaze locked on their hands. “I’m sorry Moreann killed your family.”
“I’m sorry I used you to get away from her.” Noreen sat up and swung her legs over the side so she faced him. “My memories are clear now. Tristan can vouch for me. Should we bring him back?”
Cain shook his head. “Tell me.”
“Moreann all but shackled me to her. She didn’t like me being with the Fae. I’ve long tried to get away from her, and I saw the Kings and Rhi as an out. I never intended to go back to her.”
“That’s no’ what she planned. She added something else to the spell.”
Noreen’s lips twisted. “I know. But I don’t know what it is.”
“There’s something else you might have overlooked.”
She frowned. “What?”
“Your parents were Light Fae.”
