Dianthe's Awakening (6 page)

"Dia, you must drink," she whispered. "Cernunnos is near, and he is in a foul state. This ridiculous refusal of nourishment is why you are in this state to begin with. If you do not drink, I have to call him. Do you understand?"

Oh, I understood, but I still turned my head to the side. Robin had told me no food or drink. Not happening, I was going home. Brónach lowered her head and whispered, "Please, Dianthe. Do not be a child about this. He will force the issue."

Let him try
, I thought hatefully. I was getting out of here as soon as I could. The boys would be so worried. What would they tell my mum and dad? I kept my head turned and closed my eyes again. I did not have the energy to argue with her. I needed to plot.

"As you wish," she sighed. Rising gracefully, Brónach quietly slipped out of the room. Once alone, I looked around me. Huh, they put me back in the room I was in before. Not the cell I was expecting. "Oh well," I whispered to myself. "Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage," but before I could finish my quote a very irate Lord of the Hunt stood before me.

Cernunnos watched me with a deeply thoughtful expression. Mighty arms crossed over his chest and his antlers nearly touching the ceiling they were so big today. Did they grow depending on his mood?
I wasn’t touching that one
, I thought. Then his deep sensual voice broke through my musings.

"Minds innocent and quiet take that for a hermitage. If I have freedom in my love and in my soul am free. Angels alone which soar above, enjoy such liberty," he finished softly. "Do you feel so trapped, Dianthe? Would you rather parish and let your soul be free? I understand this is a prison to you, but it is not a permanent one. You cannot starve yourself, would your Puck want you wasting away?"

He came closer to the bed and settled in the chair next to it. His eyes so deeply brown they nearly swallowed you in their depths. His hand reached out, lifted mine from the cover, and turned it palm up. It looked so delicate in his grasp. My normal golden tint wasn’t there. Instead, my skin looked pallid. The veins in my wrist stood out harshly against the paleness.

"Not even a week have you been in my care and you are fading. I do not want to lose you due to neglect. Dianthe, you will eat and drink. Do you understand?"

I opened my mouth to reply but my throat was so dry I could only croak in reply. Seeing the dilemma, his brows lowered.

"I am taking the decision out of your hands," he growled. He moved to sit on the bed and cupped my face in his hands. "You have indebted yourself unto me and I now claim that debt. Dianthe Mclearey, daughter of Belenus, mate to the Puck," Cernunnos intoned. Sound seemed to echo around us and the world narrowed down to just him and me. Energy rose in shimmering waves and all the fine hairs stood up on my body. My eyes widened as Cernunnos's pupils grew to encompass the brown. The darkness there turned into a swirling vortex sucking me into his power.

"To repay your debt I bind you into oath. For as long as you are tied to me, you will obey this edict," his voice deepened impossibly more before continuing. The sound vibrated through my body. His magic and power took hold and I felt my very soul being wrapped with his essence.

"Never shall you harm yourself in any way. Be it refusing food or drink. You will do whatever is needed to keep yourself whole and healthy. This is my will and it shall be done." Lightning ran like snakes down his arms and into me. I tried to scream, my mouth opened but no sound emerged. Back arching while power overloaded my senses, I still felt the tendrils of Cernunnos wrapping around my heart, mind, and soul. Even when Robin married us, it didn't touch this deep. The binding became a part of me and linked us together. Finally, the sensation of invasion eased and settled to a mild hum in the background of my mind. It didn’t hurt but I knew it was there.

Cernunnos eased me back against the headboard and helped me prop myself up. Lifting the cup that sat beside the bed, he held it to my lips. "Drink, Dianthe, the healer left this behind. He said it would help replenish you and get you back on your feet faster." Hesitantly, I took a sip. The thought to refuse was there but I couldn’t gather the will to turn my head. I needed to drink and I had to do what was necessary to do it. Even if it meant breaking the rules Robin had told me to obey over all else.

"Was that so hard, Dia," Cernunnos almost purred in satisfaction. I wasn’t sure of the ramifications of eating and drinking Fae food but I was going to find out.

"What will it do to me," I whispered. I desperately needed to understand what I had done. Cernunnos's arrogant features softened and he touched my cheek. A tear I did not even know I had in me rolled down my cheek.

"You will be fine," Cernunnos said as he caught the tear on one elegant finger. "I understand why you denied yourself nourishment. A normal mortal would be trapped here if they did it." The single drop glistened on his fingertip as he held it to the light. "Do not worry, my lady; you are not a normal mortal. The food will tie you to Fae but it will not hold you. However, the bond of debt between us will hold you to me," he finished before bringing the tear to his mouth. I watched in fascination as his tongue slipped from between his lips to taste the salty drop.

A shiver coursed through me and my belly tingled.
No
, I thought. No... No… No… No… I was not going to feel attraction for my kidnapper. What was wrong with me? Some sort of weird Stockholm syndrome? I mentally shook myself and began to question him.

"What do you mean I'm tied to you?" I asked. A golden brow arched when he looked down at me.

"Exactly that," Cernunnos smiled. Oh, man that was so scary. I've seen sharks that had kinder grins. "When you thanked me, you indebted yourself to me, Dia. That was a much worse mistake than eating Fae food." He leaned so close we were nose to nose. The brown had come back to his eyes but they still radiated power in their swirling chocolate depths.

"You are now tied to me as deeply as you are to the Puck. It is in a different way but all the same," he smirked. "It's for eternity," Cernunnos finished.

"What," I squealed and tried to shoot off the bed. I banged my forehead against his and fell back seeing stars. Damn it, that freaking hurt.

Rubbing the spot, I glared at him. The stupid horned bastard just looked at me bemused. Note to self—do not headbutt guys with horns. Their heads are extra hard. Cernunnos shimmered again and those antlers of his disappeared.

"Better," he asked.

"No," I grumbled. "If you want to make it better, send me home. Why are you doing this? I'm nothing to you." I tried to reason with him. "You already said it was not a just Hunt so you have no right to keep me. Shouldn’t you be a good little god and send me on my way. Robin will pick me up and we can all look back on this one day and have a good laugh."

Cernunnos's face darkened with anger and he crowded me back into the bed. He pushed me until I lay flat on my back with a muscled arm on either side of my head. He leaned down so close our lips were nearly touching and his breath grazed my cheek.

"Listen well, little godling," he purred. "I don’t care that you mated the Puck, godling, or wolf. It will inconvenience me to deal with them, that’s all. As of this moment, you belong to me." I whimpered. I know it's not brave but I was scared to death. "Don’t worry," he continued. "I'm not going to hurt you. You will regain your strength and then you will train with the Hunt, Dianthe. We will find you a mount and you will ride. Until this situation is resolved to my satisfaction, you belong to me—body and soul. I give you my word," he cupped my face again with one hand, lowering his body until we were flush together. “I will find the deceiver and deal with them. Until then," he paused, "welcome to the family." Cernunnos then shocked me even more when he kissed my forehead, soothing away the mark where we had bumped heads.

With more grace than I would ever have, Cernunnos stood and strolled out of the room. I sat there for a few moments, staring at the door he had just left through and wondering what the hell had just happened. It's silly how you can stare blindly at the walls for ages. But that’s what I did. I just sat on the bed looking blankly at the door Cernunnos walked through, my mind blessedly empty for several minutes.

It wasn’t until said door began to open that I snapped out of it. I sat up straighter in the bed with apprehension stringing my limbs tight. When a wiry nose poked around the corner followed by the wagging body of my new doggy pal, Caomhnóir, I visibly relaxed.

He looked around sheepishly before coming over to the bed and laying his great shaggy head on my lap. A paw joined his head and he whined. "It's okay, boy, I don’t blame you. I was being stupid." My fingers rubbed gently between his eyes and he closed them on a huff. "How did they find me when I passed out, boy?” It was a lucky thing I guess. Otherwise, I would have been a Dia snack for the local wildlife.

"He called the Hunt to you, Dia," Brónach's voice carried to me as she entered the room. "If he had not, I do not think we would have made it to you in time. He is a very loyal hound." She smiled sadly. "To you that is. The lord was not impressed the Cú tried to take you back to Earth. He did however, understand. That is why your guardian has not been punished."

Brónach played with the ends of her hair twirling it nervously around her fingers. The braids from the day I'd met her had been released and curls poured down her back in waves of browns and red. She truly was breathtaking.

For some reason she didn’t want to meet my gaze. Brónach kept her eyes averted and concentrated on her fingers, playing with a single curl of hair. I watched her for a moment before becoming fed up. "What is wrong," I demanded. She startled a moment then her liquid gaze met mine.

"I am so sorry, Dia. I failed you. You were put into my care and I did not even notice that your needs were not being met. You have treated me as a friend and this is how I repay you. I am deeply ashamed by this disgrace," Brónach finished her eyes once more down cast.

"What are you talking about?" I was totally confused now. "You didn’t do anything wrong. I was the numpty who didn’t eat or drink because I was afraid of being stuck in Faery. Look," I told her seriously reaching out and taking her hand in mine. Shyly she glanced at my face, a glimmer of hope sparkling in her eyes. "I'm stuck here by the sounds of things. For the short term anyway. What do you say we start over? Brónach, I'm Dia. I don’t have any friends here other than the dog," I raised a brow at Caomhnóir who took offense at being called a dog. He let out a snort before turning around laying down with his back to me.

"Okay, maybe not the Hound of the Hunt at the moment either," he huffed before I carried on, "Anyway, I'm in need of a friend and I was kinda hoping you would like the job?"

"You are offering me friendship, lady?" Brónach's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, I am. Do you want to be my friend?" Suddenly I felt like a seven-year-old trying to make friends at a new school. I guess some things were universal.

Brónach watched me intently for several moments. She took several deep breaths, closed her eyes, and swallowed deeply before opening them again. Wetness glistened in her liquid orbs.
Oh man
, I thought. Is she going to cry? What did I do wrong this time? I couldn’t win.

I was trying to think of a way to comfort her and make up for my faux pas when I was taken off guard when she launched herself at me. Brónach wrapped both arms around me and followed me down on the bed. We ended up in a tangle of limbs and hair. She was talking a mile a minute and in her native accent, it was hard to understand her. It was musical and harsh at the same time.

"Oh, Dianthe," she exclaimed. "You are such a treasure. I cannot recall the last time someone has offered me simple friendship with no ties. Thank you so much, my friend. I will not shame you, I promise," she laughed. I was further shocked when she grabbed my face and kissed me, pure joy shining in her eyes.

We never heard the door open but the loud "Ahem," caught both of our attention. "Well," Cernunnos rubbed a hand over his mouth to hide his grin. He was leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe with his legs crossed, one arm folded across his chest, and the other rubbing his chin as he watched us.

"This is unexpected but not unwelcomed." His grin turned into a full-blown smile. "Brónach, I can see that you have properly welcomed Dianthe into our family. I will leave you two girls to your amusements. Dia," he took on a serious expression, "rest today, tomorrow you begin training to ride with us. Brónach, I will put her into your care as the two of you have already formed a bond. Do you both understand?"

We nodded mutely and watched in amazement as the Lord of the Hunt laughed and walked out the door. Brónach and I stared at each other before giggles overtook us. "Oh my God," I gasped. "Did he think you and I were getting it on?"

Brónach laughed aloud, "Yes, indeed, Dia. He thought," she paused, "what is the expression? Oh yes, I was getting freaky with you." Her eyebrows waggled before throwing a sultry look my way.

"I don’t know you that well," I squealed.

"Not yet," she agreed. We kept straight faces for about two seconds before we cracked and collapsed on the bed laughing like schoolgirls. Caomhnóir just raised his head, looked at us is disgust, and curled up to sleep and let the pups play.

Chapter Seven

Dia

The next morning found me in the clearing with Brónach, waiting nervously while the Hunt milled about. They were cleaning tack and brushing down horses. Well the only reason I knew that much was because Brónach had explained to me the daily care for a horse. I didn’t need to know about collecting poo from the fields to use as fertilizer for crops. Nor did I want to hear how you had to brush them, clean their hooves, check every nook and cranny, and feed them every day.

Did no one notice I was a city girl? I don’t think I had ever touched a horse until Cernunnos grabbed me and tossed me up on his monster. I had never even had a goldfish for crying out loud. Seriously, they really couldn’t expect me to ride one of these things, could they?