Vindicate (Insight #5)(77)

I guess Drake had convinced Silas to leave. Now Charlie was standing alone, crying. Landen knew Draven was our way out. We also knew his intent was to stay right here. He was to traumatized to make a move.

Landen turned and walked to his side, and quietly in Draven’s ear he whispered something. Draven’s eyes grew wide as he looked at Landen, then swallo wed hard and walked to Charlie. He spun her around and kissed her passionately. She wrapped her arms around him as he picked her up.

“What did you say?” I thought. Realizing that most of the shadows had vanished at this point, and a howling wind was creeping through the trees.

He reached his arm out for me and pulled me to his burning lips. When he slowly pulled away, he looked into my eyes. “I told him to love her fearlessly, for that is how she loves him.” He laced his hand through mine, focusing on the raw skin under and around my ring. He healed me as he glanced around at the trees, picking up on the silent warning of danger . His skin hummed . I furrowed my eyebrows to question what this Realm had done to us. Finally convincing myself it was just because he was healing my meaningless wound.

Even with imminent danger I could not stop staring at his mesmerizing blue eyes. There I saw the passion, love and devotion. I felt those beautiful emotions in my core, and told myself my mind was playing tricks on me. Landen was whole. The Realm had not taken or altered anything within him. If anything it amplified all that he was. And he was mine.

“Um – I don’t mean to ruin the moment, but can we wake up now?” Olivia asked.

I broke my stare with Landen and looked at Draven, who was still locked in a passionate embrace with Charlie.

Drake tapped on his shoulder. “I get it, man. I do, but I d on’t know where the hell I am. Help us get back.”

Draven took in one last deep kiss from Charlie, then set her down. Blushing slightly, he turned to face us. “Alright,” he said, letting out a breath. “This is not like meditation. I t’s a dream.”

With those words, the room we left our bodies in appeared around us. Drake and Landen looked at each other in utter surprise.

“This is where we are at. We’re in a bed together?” Drake asked, looking down at me .

“Yep,” I said smugly.

“The place Bianca took you from was destroyed,” Draven explained.

“How?” Landen asked.

Brady elbo wed Landen. “Word to the wise. Don’t make her mad. Mother Nature is on her side.”

Geez can we please give Willow a hard time after we get out of here.

Landen’s eyes grew wide as he looked down at me . “You destroyed it?” he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders weakly . “I was mad – wouldn’t you be?”

Drake laughed out loud. “I love it!” Then reason c ame to him. “Wait, where’s mom? Alamos?”

“I pulled them out before I ever w ent in to save you,” Landen replied still staring at me . I could see the wheels in his mind turning. He knew he was my balance. He knew what I was capable of. He was furious and terrified that some unknown force and pushed us into this hell.

“I didn’t hurt anyone on purpose.” I thought with an ache.

He pulled me c loser and swayed me ever so slightly. “Did someone hurt you? Was my family disrespectful to you? Was anyone?” His thoughts were meant to be tender but I knew that there was fury behind them.

“They just don’t get me the way you do. I didn’t make it easy on them either.” That was as honest as I could be.

Brady was staring at us. Landen looked over at him in an arbitrary way .

“You should be proud, Brother. It was an honor to stand with her in your absence.” Brady said so quietly that I doubted anyone else heard him. Landen nodded once in response then pulled me against his humming body.

“Save me?” Drake said, crossing his arms, trying to call back any memories.

“You don’t remember her? Long, dark hair ? Her blue eyes?” I asked.

“That should have been the first clue I didn’t let her in. Blue eyes are not my style,” Drake said, looking into my eyes.

“Can we focus, please?” Olivia said, noticing how tense Landen grew with his words. I could not have agreed more.

“Right,” Draven said. “This is where you are – asleep. This is a shared dream by all of us, and now,” he said as he walked over to Drake and Landen and put his hands on their shoulders, “it’s time to wake up.” And in that instant, they vanished. The wickedly eerie forest returned.

Draven reached back for Charlie’s hand, then looked at me, Brady, and Olivia. “Step back. This vision is closed. You’re standing before an altar. Before the waking bodies of Drake and Landen.”

“Nothing is over,” I heard Bianca say.

She had appeared behind Draven and Charlie.

“I thought I killed you,” I said through gritted teeth as I stepped forward. Charlie was at my side – pushing Draven behind her.

“Killed me?” Bianca said as she smiled devilish ly. “Dark shadows won’t hurt me. They are nourishment to me. What were you trying to do ? Choke me or something?”

I felt cold all of the sudden. I glanced at her arms an d remembered agony. But she never laid a hand on me. So that didn’t make any sense at all.

“End you,” Charlie said coldly.