An Unexpected Betrayal

Chapter One

Chapter One

Trinity wandered along the overgrown garden path, the broken pavers barely visible through the weeds and leaf litter. The path wound around a large tree trunk, the many branches having been removed the previous day and left in a pile to one side. Once she was past the tree she came to an abrupt stop, her gaze drawn to three stone statues that hadn’t been there yesterday afternoon.

Her steps were slow as she moved closer to them, stopping when she stood in front of the one in the middle. He had to be at least six foot, possibly a little taller. The statues on either side of him were a similar size. Tall and slim, wiry muscles showing beneath the clothes they wore. “How did you get here?” Her voice was soft as she placed a hand on his stone chest. It was cold beneath her hand, warming quicker than she would have expected at this hour of the morning. She drew her hand away, circling him. His long hair was tied at the nape of his neck and his clothes had a medieval look to them. There was a sword at his side, a slight point to his ears and his glare was fierce. Even without colour, and being made of stone, it was clear the warrior was angry.

“Who put you here? And what are you?” Images from different movies ran through her mind. “Are you meant to be an elf?” She examined the other two statues, finding them to be similar in appearance to the first one. “Warrior brothers?” She stopped in front of the middle one again, staring up into his face. Whoever had created him was extremely talented. He looked alive. Like he’d speak any second now.

“I didn’t think it’d take you long to find them, Trin.”

She spun to face her father. “Where did they come from?”

Rod’s skin was several shades darker than her own due to the amount of time he spent outdoors. His once dark brown hair, the same shade as hers that was scraped back into a ponytail, was now salt and pepper coloured, but his deep blue eyes remained the same colour as hers. He had a square jaw, currently covered in dark stubble, while she had her mother’s high cheekbones and narrower chin. He shrugged. “Someone probably saw the dozer and thought it was a good way to get rid of their rubbish.”

She waved a hand towards the statues. “These are not rubbish.” They were too beautiful to be discarded in a garden scheduled for dozing.

Rod shrugged again. “Who knows what they were thinking. People are incomprehensible most of the time. Why do you think I like working on gardens? Most times it’s just me, the dirt and the plants.”

She grinned. He didn’t dislike people as much as he frequently said he did. “What about the times you go to the pub after work? Where are the plants and dirt then?”

Rod held out a hand, palm up. “The dirt is permanently ground into the pores of my skin which is stained from the sap of plants. I take the plants and dirt with me wherever I go.”

She laughed softly, nodding her head in the direction of the statues. “What are you going to do with them?”

“What can I do other than doze them? Everything in this garden is to be dozed.”

“No.” Surely he didn’t mean that.

“You’re not keeping them, Trin.”

“You can’t destroy them.” She faced the middle statue, pressing her hand against his chest, over his heart. “Look at them.” Again the stone began to warm beneath her palm. “I want them.” She looked over her shoulder at her father. “All of them.”

He slowly shook his head. “Where would you put them? Our backyard isn’t much bigger than a postage stamp.”

“At least two of them would fit. The yard isn’t that small. Or I could put them down the side, near the sliding door into my bedroom.” Reluctantly lowering her hand, she took a step towards her father. “Come on, Dad. Please. It’d be a crime to destroy them.”

“I’m going to stop letting you visit me at work. You bring home too much junk.”

She grinned. “Visiting? Does that mean I don’t have to work with you these holidays after all?”

“Nice try,” Rod said. “How about you get some work done instead of trying to bring home more rubbish.”

“Like you don’t bring anything home?”

“Plants are different.”

“They’re also the reason why we have very little room in our backyard.” She paused a moment. “Can I have them?” When it looked like he’d speak, she spoke again. “Please.” She drew the word out.

Rod sighed heavily. “Only if you can find a way to get them home. If they’re not gone by the time the dozer reaches this part of the garden they’ll get cleared out along with everything else.” He pointed a finger at her in warning.

She threw herself at her father, hugging him tightly. “You’re the best.”

Rod returned her hug, muttering, “Only when you get your own way.”

“Of course.” Grinning, she let him go. “Do you know where Troy is?”

“Now don’t go hassling him. I don’t pay him so he can run around after you.”

Her grin didn’t falter. “Where is he?”

Rod sighed again, gesturing towards the house. “Out the front.”

“Thanks, Dad.” With a last glance at the statues, she ran towards the street, avoiding fallen branches and broken pavers as she skirted the house. She spotted Troy leaning against his ute, drinking coffee from his travel mug and talking on the phone. She perched on the tray of the ute while she waited for him to finish talking to a supplier about a delivery of plants that hadn’t arrived.

At twenty-four, he was seven years older than her. He’d been working for her father since he’d finished school at seventeen and was like a brother. A permanent fixture in her life for the past seven years. She’d once asked him why he didn’t do an easier job. Being a landscaper could be strenuous at times. He’d tugged on the plait she’d worn at that stage and told her that was half the reason. Being paid to stay fit. The other half was being outdoors. With his broad shoulders, sun bleached hair and green eyes he certainly looked fit.

She was about to ask him how much longer he’d be, when he said goodbye and slid his phone into a pocket of his well-worn jeans. She remained on the tray of the ute. “Morning.”

Troy looked her up and down as he had another mouthful of coffee. “What do you want?”

She hopped off the back of the ute. “Who says I want anything?” She couldn’t hold back a grin.

“Think I don’t know that look by now? You do know I have work to do.” He glanced upwards. “The sky might be clear right now, but an electrical storm has been forecast for Brisbane this arve.”

She barely suppressed a shudder at the thought of thunder and lightning. It didn’t matter how many times she tried to tell herself that she wasn’t a little kid anymore, and shouldn’t be frightened of them, she still felt an overwhelming fear each time there was an electrical storm. She’d been terrified of them long before a tree had been struck, only metres from her, when she was six. A memory she’d never been able to forget.

“Will you stop looking at me with those big blue eyes? Remind me to thank my parents for not giving me any siblings.”

“I need you to rescue something for me. Well, actually three things.”

Troy sighed heavily, putting his empty mug in the front of the ute. “You’re not going to let up until I say yes, are you?”

She grinned, his sigh having reminded her of her father’s sighs. “Nope. You might as well save yourself the hassle and give in now.”

“All right. Show me what you want ‘rescued’. You do know when normal people talk about rescuing things they’re usually referring to people or animals.”

“How boring of them.” She led the way around the house. “Not to mention how limiting.” She stepped over a rotting branch. “No wonder I’ve never aspired to be normal.”

“Like that wasn’t obvious,” Troy muttered. “Any-” He broke off as they rounded the tree, coming to an abrupt stop in front of the statues. “Where did they come from?”

Trinity shrugged. “No one knows. But I’m keeping them. Dad said I can have them if I can get them out of here. You’re going to help me rescue them.”

Troy slowly walked around the statues. “You know that might actually be the correct word to use for a change. The details on these statues are amazing. Look at the bow at the back of this one. Where are you going to put them? I don’t suppose you want to part with one. How about the one with the bow?”

She chuckled. “I should have known. They are gorgeous, aren’t they?”

Troy stopped in front of the one on the left, running a hand over the statue’s shoulder and down his arm. “Stunning. Why can’t I meet someone like him in real life?”

Trinity moved closer to the warrior in the middle. “I thought that for all of one second. But look at them. I bet they’d be arrogant, overbearing and complete chauvinists.”

“Probably only be interested in women too,” Troy said.

She ran a finger over the warrior’s lips and down to his chin. “More than likely. But they are elves or something. Look at their pointy ears. Aren’t elves meant to be more open minded?” Her finger continued downwards, stopping in the middle of his chest.

“Fae. They’re Fae warriors,” Troy said.

“That sounds more interesting than elves.” She pressed her hand against the statue’s chest, feeling the stone warm beneath her palm. “Is stone meant to warm so quickly?”

“What do you mean?”

“Rest a hand on your warrior.”

Troy did as she said. “I like the sound of that a little too much.”

“The sound of what?”

“My warrior.”

She laughed softly. “You’re not keeping him. They’re mine.”

“But you do want me to help you rescue them.”

“They belong together. Look at them.”

Troy frowned. “Stone doesn’t warm that quickly. And the day isn’t advanced enough that the sun would be making much of a difference.”

The sound of the dozer starting had Trinity spinning to face the direction of the house. “We have to move them now. Before Dad reaches here with the dozer.”

Troy wrapped his arms around the statue, moving it slightly. “I’m not going to be able to move them far like this.” He stepped back. “I’ll get the furniture trolley and some packing blankets. We don’t want to damage them.”

“I’ll wait here.” Trinity grinned. “I’ll lie down in front of them if I have to, but Dad isn’t destroying them.”

Troy stared at the statues a moment longer before he spoke softly. “It’d be a shame to destroy them.” He glanced over his shoulder before returning his gaze to Trinity. “Give me a few minutes.” He strode towards the street.