Second Chance Read online

  Carrick took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. This was not going to be an easy story to tell her. He eyed the gun lying across her legs and hoped to the gods he was able to dissuade her from using it on him.

  “You are from a land called Vyronas. Kieran and I are from there as well. It is in another dimension.”

  “Wait a minute,” Ava interrupted, holding up her hand. “Assuming I believe you, are you talking about another planet?”

  “No. Vyronas is what is called an AltVeritas. On the planet Earth, there exist many dimensions that house alternate worlds. Thousands of years ago, doorways between The First Dimension of Earth, where we are right now, and other AltVerita were discovered. People have crossed between these dimensions or alternate realities if that makes more sense to you, ever since.” Carrick paused.

  Ava raised an eyebrow as she was apparently skeptical, but she didn’t make a move for her gun. Carrick took that as a sign to continue.

  “There are similarities among the dimensions but there are great differences. For example, the First Dimension is technology driven. Most other AltVeritas, including Vyronas, are driven by magicks.”

  Ava interrupted. “Give me an example.”

  “Well, here on Earth, you may use a car or airplane to travel great distances. In Vyronas, we would use a magical spell to transfer our bodies between locations.”

  “A magical spell?” It was clear by her tone she did not believe a word he was saying.

  “Yes. We have an incantation called evanesce recreo which when said over an anchoring object to transfer our bodies to another place.”

  Carrick didn’t go into any more detail, because there was a lot more to magical laws that governed transference, but that was unimportant right now. He thought she might call “bullshit” and ask him to take a drink, but she sat patiently waiting for his next words.

  “All of our lands in Vyronas are governed by a ruling sovereign from an old and advanced lineage of magic. You come from the House of Clairmont, which rules the region of Kestevayne. Your parents were King and Queen and you are their only heir. Four years ago, your parents were assassinated and Kestevayne was overtaken. You were secreted away and sent to live here until such time that we were capable of getting your throne back. That time is now.”

  Ava was silent, staring at Carrick. He could almost see her mind whirring with questions. He knew what he was telling her must have sounded preposterous, and probably went against the grain of everything she knew. He only hoped the things she had seen so far—like the Erchras—would help to convince her of the truth of his words.

  “How come I have no memories of this supposed life? Of my parents or of Kestevayne?”

  Carrick and Kieran exchanged a dark look.

  “We felt it best to suppress the memories of your old life and build you a new life. We felt it would be easier on you not to remember. That is until it was time for you to come back.”

  Ava chewed on her lower lip as she sat silently, apparently brooding over what little information she had learned so far.

  When she didn’t say anything further, Kieran offered, “We have the power, right now, to bring your memory back. It will answer a lot of questions that you may have, and then we can fill you in on the rest.”

  Ava still said nothing.

  “That is, if you think that will help,” Kieran finished a bit lamely.

  Carrick could only imagine what Ava must be feeling right now. She had built a very nice life here and he was sure she would not want to leave it. She had to be reeling from this information. Being told she was a Princess, that she came from a magical world, that she was destined to rule a kingdom. He knew Ava well and she was probably feeling something close to panic. Once she had her memory back, it would help to calm the situation.

  “What if I don’t want to go back?” Ava asked suddenly.

  Carrick and Kieran gaped at her.

  “Why would you not want to go back, to your home?” Carrick asked, his tone laced with a tiny bit of anger.

  “This is my home,” Ava snapped. “This is what I know and love. Tell me…why would I want to leave?”

  “Because it is your duty,” Carrick growled with frustration. “You have a duty to your people. They are suffering under evil rule, and without you, they will continue to suffer.”

  “I’m truly sorry that this is happening, but I’m just not able to connect to what you are telling me.” Ava sighed. “I don’t feel like this is my problem.”

  None of this was going as Carrick had hoped. He heaved out of his chair with a snort of disgust. “You try to talk some sense into her, Kieran. I’m going to have a look around outside.” Carrick stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him.

  Ava looked at Kieran. “I’m sorry, truly I am. I’m not even sure I believe you. But even if I did, I don’t want to leave. This is what I know. It’s who I am.”

  “Ava, this is who you are, for right now,” Kieran explained. “But there is so much more to you that you don’t know. Aren’t you even the tiniest bit curious as to where you come from?”

  Of course she was a little bit curious. Be honest. You’re dying of curiosity. And that is what really scared her. What if she accepted her memories back and it prompted her to leave her life here? Could she give this all up? And what about Carrick? There was something about him that bothered her. He seemed to be wound up pretty tight and operating on a short fuse.

  Not answering Kieran’s last question, Ava instead asked, “I can’t figure out why Carrick seems to dislike me. Do we have some type of history together?”

  Kieran laughed out loud. A big, booming laugh. “Dislike you? No. Carrick certainly doesn’t dislike you.” Kieran was still laughing, shaking his head like that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard in his life.

  Ava didn’t see the humor. “Why is that so funny? Surely you can see he’s angry at me, though for the life of me I have no idea why.”

  Smiling, Kieran stood up from his chair and grabbed the bottle of Jack. He raised it in her direction, silently asking if she wanted another drink. Ava nodded. This night was getting weirder so maybe she just needed to get drunk. That would make all things better, right?

  Kieran poured two glasses and moved over to sit next to Ava on the couch. She noticed he sat on the side that didn’t have the shotgun pointed that way. Handing her one of the glasses, Kieran looked at her intently.

  “Ava, you and Carrick have quite a history together. You were in love and engaged to be married. Surely you can feel the attraction there?”

  Now it was Ava’s turn to gape. She and Carrick were in love? Were to be married? Yes, she had felt an immediate attraction to him the minute he touched her. Liar. It was more than attraction. Even despite her fear and terror over being chased by Mr. Gray, she had been thoroughly entranced by him. Hell, her thoughts were all over the place when she looked at him. But she thought that was because he was just an exceptionally, gorgeous guy. Yet, she didn’t feel that spark with Kieran, and he looked just like his brother.

  “But… but…he clearly doesn’t like me. All he does is sneer and snarl at me.”

  “You see it as anger, Ava, but I see a man who is just truly frustrated to be in the presence of the woman he loves but who doesn’t love him back.”

  Whoa! This was just too weird. Ava downed her second drink, but this time she didn’t gasp. Must be developing a taste for the sauce, Ava. They had loved each other. Were we lovers? The thought brought images to mind of her and Carrick writhing naked on a bed of satin. She was feeling hot and flushed, and she really didn’t think it was from the bourbon she had been drinking. She knew her cheeks were red and hoped Kieran didn’t notice.

  Ava stood up from the couch.

  “What are you going to do?” Kieran asked.

  “I’m going to talk to Carrick.”

  Ava walked out the door, motioning for Bing to stay inside. Stepping down her porch steps, she immediately saw Carrick standing near
the paddock, bathed in the glow of the barn light. One muscled leg perched on the bottom rail of the fence, both his strong arms resting on the top. His head was hanging down just a bit and his shoulders were slightly hunched.

  Ava thought he appeared to be in pain or maybe it could have been frustration. Her heart hurt for him just a bit, and she had no clue why. She didn’t know this man. Except, well, she supposedly did. Maybe there was a deeper connection that a few erased memories couldn’t hold down.

  Ava approached Carrick slowly, not sure what she was going to say. As she got closer, he lifted head and looked at her with those glorious, blue eyes. But he looked wary, as if a wild animal was approaching.

  Ava decided to keep her tone light as she walked closer. “So, your brother told me that you and I used to get down and dirty together, huh?”

  Carrick hissed through his teeth and muttered, “That son of a bitch”.

  Ava came to stand beside Carrick. “Well, if you were going to give me my memories back, I was going to find out sooner or later, right?”

  “I would have preferred to tell you myself,” Carrick said softly. “And it was a bit more than just getting down and dirty.”

  The tenderness in his voice almost had Ava’s knees buckling underneath her. In that moment, she knew that wherever she was from, whatever the nature of their relationship, that it was something that transcended any feeling she had ever known before.

  She tentatively reached out and touched his arm. He flinched but didn’t pull away. “Tell me then, what exactly did we mean to each other?”

  The heat she felt as she held onto his arm almost burned her palm. She looked into Carrick’s eyes and was overwhelmed by the range of emotions she saw. There was love and desire… but there was fear, and guilt, and anger. She saw it all and she had to know, yet Carrick said nothing.

  Don’t back down Ava. Make him tell you. “Tell me Carrick! What were we?”

  Carrick spun toward her so fast, she took an involuntary step backward. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and pulled her against him so their bodies were flush. Her breasts were mashed into his hard chest but he held his hips slightly away from hers so they weren’t touching there. She felt a tingling all over and her breath caught.

  Carrick leaned his head down close to her face, his lips almost touching hers. She thought he was going to kiss her. Oh, please God in heaven, let him kiss me. But after staring at her for several long seconds, the heat in his eyes died down. He released his hold on her, taking a step backwards.

  “If you want to know, let me reintegrate your memories, and you will have all the answers you need.”

  Ava’s heart was racing. But she also knew she would get no more from him. He had detached and there was a coolness that radiated from him. Ava felt a keen sense of loss when he let her go but she squared her shoulders to show her strength.

  “Okay lover, let’s go get this over with.” Ava pivoted on her foot and headed back toward the house.

  ***

  Carrick watched as Ava walked away from him. He took in every detail. The way her hair brushed across her back, the way her hips swayed as she walked. She always had a natural grace to the way she moved. The fact he had grown hard when she touched him reminded him that he would never be immune to her charms. It was simply the best day of his entire life, just seeing her again. But he knew that there would be nothing between them once her memories came back. With a heavy sigh, he followed her into the house.

  CHAPTER 5

  “So how does this work?” Ava asked.

  She was sitting back on the couch, having stored the shotgun back in its rightful spot. She knew she appeared to be calm but on the inside she was a raging mess. She kept her hands clasped tightly on her lap, afraid that their shaking would give her way. Bing was laying on the couch beside her in a show of moral support. He could always sense when she was upset.

  Kieran was standing across the living room, casually leaning up against the wall. Holding his third shot of bourbon in his hand, he looked remarkably at ease. Carrick, on the other hand, looked like he was attending his own funeral.

  Why was one brother calm, and the other anxious? Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Clearly, something bad had happened between Ava and Carrick before she left Vyronas, and that made her more apprehensive. Still, Ava was more than curious about her true life to let that thwart her at this point.

  Carrick cleared off the coffee table that sat in front of the couch. He moved directly in front of Ava and sat down on the coffee table, their knees almost touching.

  “Give me your hands.”

  Ava put her hands in Carrick’s and she felt the sparks from the contact. Looking at Carrick, she knew he felt them too as his eyes seemed to go a shade darker.

  “I’m going to channel some of my magic into you. It won’t hurt. I just want you to keep your mind open, and you will feel the memories come back.”

  “How long will it take?” Ava asked. She noticed that Carrick was trying to sooth her by rubbing his thumbs across the backs of her hands.

  “Not long. You won’t be reliving each memory. It will flood back to you but you may have certain memories that stand out to you. But fairly quickly, you will just have a sudden awareness of all that you used to know.”

  Ava took a deep breath and released it. Her voice trembled a little when she said, “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “Close your eyes and just relax.”

  Ava first looked over at Kieran, who nodded at her with encouragement, and then back to Carrick. She thought she saw sadness but then thought about it no more. Ava slowly closed her eyes.

  Like a raging tidal wave, Ava’s entire life came rushing at her. It hit and consumed her, and much like being hit by a wall of water, for a few seconds, Ava thought she was drowning. But then just as if she was rising from the depths of the ocean, she broke surface and brief memories hit her.

  Fishing with her father. Dropping a doll in the mud and crying. Learning how to ride her first horse. Eating dinner with her parents. Attending a dance at their palace.

  Then general awareness came. Five seconds ago, she knew nothing about the real Jaron and Selena Clairmont. But now, she knew with every fiber of her being that her parents were kind, loving and generous people. They absolutely doted on Ava, who was an only child. She had a very close relationship with them.

  It was crazy how Ava instantly had a whole new life. Ava knew, without a doubt, that she’d had a wonderful life in Kestevayne. She was well loved by the citizens and she, in turn, loved them. She cherished her role as the peoples’ Princess. She was honored to know one day she would rule her land, and hoped to be able to do it with as much love and character as her parents had.

  Ava realized that she knew magic. And she knew it well. Sovereign families had deep magic that was tied to their lineage. While not her only magical ability, Ava’s strongest magic centered around healing and she took great pleasure in ministering to the poor and sick. Her mother taught her most of what she knew about healing potions and remedies.

  And the horses. Wow! She was horse crazy there too. She had been riding horses since she could walk and spent all her free time among them. Her parents always joked that they should build a room for her in the barn to sleep at night.

  Oh, how she missed this life, she realized. Her real life. She now understood.

  Ava kept her eyes closed, savoring the memories as she thought about her life in Vyronas. These memories brought warmth to Ava’s heart and she was sure she had a grin plastered to her face while she was processing all this information.

  Then she thought of Carrick. And all her memories of him came rushing to her in a warm wave of love and security. Carrick was her childhood protector and friend. He was so handsome, and funny, and mischievous. He was generous and thoughtful. Strong and brave. She could go on and on.

  Carrick and Ava had indeed been madly in love. Anyone who knew them had no doubt they were soul mates. They had their parent
s’ blessing to marry and Ava knew that they would grow old together and that their love would never die. All the loneliness Ava had been thinking about earlier that night suddenly melted away. She felt secure, and complete, and at peace knowing she had Carrick. He was, without a doubt, her one true love.

  But Ava had a funny nagging feeling when thinking about Carrick. Her memories turned dark. Ava remembered running through tunnels under the palace with Carrick. Her parents were dead…murdered in their sleep. Kestevayne had been overtaken. Carrick and Ava had escaped, and were able to meet up with a few members of the Clairmont Conclave, who had also made their escape from the palace. The Conclave was a group of men and women who advised the sovereign rulers on most matters.

  Over the next several weeks, they were reunited with many people and soldiers loyal to Ava and her throne. Her supporters gathered in secret places that were hidden under cloaks of magic. They rallied and they planned. Weeks went by while strategies were made to go to war with the usurper and regain Kestevayne.

  Carrick and the Conclave worried constantly for Ava’s safety, for there was a price upon her head. If something were to happen to her, Kestevayne would be lost. The Conclave decided to move Ava to a place of safety until they could amass enough forces to overtake Kestevayne. This was a plan that Ava would not agree to, as she refused to be separated from Carrick or Vyronas. Carrick tried desperately to talk her into leaving, but she would have no part of it.

  Ava’s stomach churned as she focused on her last memory of Carrick and she could feel her closed eyes starting to leak tears.

  Finally, Carrick seemed to have relented. He promised her that she could remain by his side and she would not be forced to leave. They went on a walk through the forest to discuss their future plans. She remembered a soft breeze and the smell of honeysuckle in the trees as they walked hand in hand. Just being near Carrick made her feel secure and invincible.

  “I’m so glad you are not letting the Conclave send me away. You know my place is here with you.”