Betrayals (Cainsville 4)

As long as I was stitching together a perfect fantasy scene with Gabriel, I figured I might as well make it worthwhile. So I kissed him.

I remembered my first vision of Gwynn and Matilda. And that kiss...Damn, that kiss. Magical and perfect, in a way one would only ever imagine a kiss from a fairy prince to be, even someone who had never, in her entire life, entertained such a frivolous fantasy. But it had been a kiss to remember, a kiss I couldn't pry out of my mind, as hard as I tried. Now, this kiss, with Gabriel? It knocked that one--and every other one I'd ever had--clear out of my memory, as if this was the only one that counted. And it was.

I began falling through endless memories, not of Gwynn or Gabriel, but of kelpies and lamiae and other fae, unrecognizable, the visions starting pleasant and turning dark, until I had no idea what I was seeing. Something was chasing me, and I ran as fast as I could, as if from Death itself. Then in the distance I heard a soft laugh, followed by a grunt, both as familiar as actual voices: Ricky and Gabriel. I stopped running and turned toward the sounds. Ricky's voice floated over.

"Sit. Scowl. Just try to be in a slightly better mood when she wakes up."

There! I changed direction, and it was like running downhill through a tunnel, the end blazing a lighted welcome, voices still flitting out, guiding me until...

My eyelids fluttered open. I was staring at...white.

A clatter sounded beside me. A hand gripped mine, the touch as familiar as that grunt, and I turned as he leaned over, and I smiled and said, "Gabriel."

--

Gabriel took me through the events of the night before. No, two nights before. It was now Wednesday morning. I'd lost Tuesday entirely. I also lost about half of his narrative, as I kept mentally fading and needing to ask him to repeat himself, which he did, with astonishing patience.

"A flood tunnel?" I said.

"Yes, and I don't know why it was open. Clearly such things should be sealed, because if you'd continued down it, who knows where you'd have ended up."

"But I didn't." I smiled at him. "You saved me."

He ducked the smile. "The platform saved you. Or whatever it was."

"So, we were in something like a cave? Lying on rock?"

"Concrete."

"Right, but it would have felt like..." The dream rippled back. Gabriel and I in the cavern, lying on the ledge and...My cheeks heated.

"Olivia?"

I shook it off. Obviously I'd been aware enough of my surroundings that the memories of Gwynn and the cavern had merged with Gabriel and the tunnel, and since Gwynn and Matilda used that as their secret make-out spot, I'd done some mental editing myself.

Another shake, and I looked at Gabriel and..."What are you wearing?" I said with a sudden laugh.

"You've been unconscious for a while," said a voice from the doorway. "Gabriel joined the Saints. He's even got the jacket right there."

Ricky pointed to his jacket, on the back of the bedside chair.

"Put it on," I said to Gabriel. "This I have to see."

"I'm afraid that would violate club rules," Gabriel said. "Ricky only lent it to me under extreme circumstances, to alleviate my hypothermia."

"Oh, I won't tell anyone," Ricky said. "Go on. Humor her. She's had a near-death experience. She deserves a treat."

When Gabriel ignored us both, Ricky leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry. I may have photographic evidence."

"What?" Gabriel said.

I pulled Ricky into a quick kiss. He added a second to my forehead before setting a mocha on my tray.

"Wow," I said, taking it. "Now that's timing."

He shrugged. "I had a hunch you'd wake up soon."

As I lifted the cup to my lips, he took it and replaced it with a glass of water.