Sun Catch Her (Book 1: Three Rivers Deep series) COMPLETE

Chapter Forty-Three

As soon as Micah requested I close my eyes and hold on tight, I should have suspected something was up with this so-called errand we were running.

"What are we doing here?" I asked as we descended through the shadowy trees to the forest floor in front of the domed greenhouse.

Under the portico, Micah made as if to set me down, but then he thought better of it when leftover tensions from last night made me cling to him with an iron grip.

"You don't have to get down unless you want to," he told me. Good, because I didn't want to.

He reached for the door, and I made a small noise, burying my face in the bronze overcoat of his guardian uniform which he had thrown on before we left. Peeking around the collar, I noted that the broken panes of glass must have been quickly replaced to maintain the proper atmosphere for the plants. The hum of the bees made me cringe when the door opened, and I inhaled sharply, the warm smell of earth and moss settling in the bottom of my lungs.

"I really don't want to be here, Micah," I mumbled, my attention going to the rusted handprint I'd left on a steel beam, the only evidence last night had happened. That, and the scar on my back.

A trickling of unheard water reached out to brush my souls before I spotted him; Alex was here, but he wasn't standing on the physical plane.

"Alex," I called out, suddenly forgetting I wanted to leave. Focusing on the spot I knew he would appear, I watched his hand slip through and push thin air aside, the cloaking veil of reality that separated our two planes of existence parting for him.

"Alex," I said again, and Micah set me on my feet when my squirming made it apparent I wanted down. I hurried up the brick path toward the other, my concern at not seeing him all week crashing down on me.

"Eos? What do you have on?" Alex asked with his attention on my dress, his expression opening wide—in alarm.

A mocking, feminine chuckle filled the air. I froze in my tracks, the champagne material billowing forward around my legs.

"Why look at that, dear cousin. He clothes his charge in substance from the heavens. And what have you given her lately, hmm Alexander? Your polyester suit jacket?"

Bettihemae slipped through the fabric of reality to stand abreast with Alex, her height, bunches of chestnut hair, and sapphire sundress making for a lofty, blue entrance. Next to her extravagance, his tired dress pants and dark shirt coupled with a weary demeanor made it seem like he was attending somebody's funeral.

The she-devvi stumbled forward a step. Water heavily beaded her face to make it look as if she was perspiring. She blinked at me with those glittery aqua eyes, one side of her mouth twisting up into a devilish smirk. "Hi there, Aurora."

Oh hell no!

The room pitched into a swirl of color, and all I could suddenly see was the exit.

"Whoa there, hot foot." Micah caught me about the waist, nearby flowers swaying in the leftover breeze of my hasty retreat. "Wow, you've gotten fast." He looked to the moving plants and then at me when I threw my arms around his shoulders.

Bettihemae smiled sweetly. "Well, well. Apparently, you can teach a half breed her place in a full blood world."

Alex ordered her to keep silent, his tone harsh. Puffing out her cheeks, she simply blinked at him. It was then I realized her hands were bound behind her back.

The water male turned from his cousin, his expression switching to one of concern as he took the two of us in. He started toward us up the path. "Are you sure it is wise to enhance her aura like that?" he asked, gesturing at my dress.