Bloodlines

by Trisha Lynn

  Chapter Forty

  The next day Adeila was sore in places she'd never even realized she could be sore in. She felt like she'd been hit by a Mack truck. After hobbling to most of her classes, the soreness eased by mid-morning. Sorryn informed her that if she'd been human she'd likely have been sore for another day, but since the Fae heal much faster than humans, she was lucky. Well, she hadn't felt lucky one bit. She felt even less lucky when she was reminded of the big plans they all had for that day by Marissa. Again.

  The morning ride to school had been non-stop excitement from her friend and she'd tried to rally, but just couldn’t bring herself to get into the spirit. She had a sinking feeling that the club on Saturday night would be the same way. Adeila was just plain dreading the next few days. Friday was her birthday and she could legally enter the club as an eighteen year old on Saturday. How her friends were going to get in was beyond her, except Erik as he had turned eighteen over the summer. 

  At the end of the day, all of them had a game plan. Loki volunteered to drive and would pick up Adeila, “because she was closest to his house”. Ha! Then they'd grab Marissa and Erik. Then Sorryn and Saibol would meet them at Castaway's Burgers in town, and then from there, they'd figure out their next moves.

  It was such a normal teenage thing to do and she couldn't help but feel good about it. Well, somewhat good. She wasn't sure how she felt about Loki and Erik being in the same vehicle again, but the substance of it all was such a normal thing. Friends hanging out, getting burgers at a local diner. It was probably going to be weird and awkward, but she couldn't help but smile as she made her way down the stairs to await Loki's arrival. She'd wanted nothing but normal when she'd come back to the human realm, and this was normal. Well, other than the fact that four out of the six of them were Fae. And three of them were trained warriors who fought for her parent’s kingdom, and retrieved wrong-doing Fae who sought to do harm to the human realm. Yeah, perfectly normal. Nothing weird there. Ugh!

  She'd worn simple, dark, skinny jeans and her favorite heeled leather boots. She'd chosen a light pink tank top under a dark gray long sleeve and a thin brown jacket. She'd thrown on some mascara to make the blue of her eyes pop, some lip gloss, and her favorite perfume, but she hadn't fussed at all with her appearance. She'd leave that for Saturday night when they went to Rage. Just the thought of the club sent a small shimmer of panic through her. She figured it was just the Fae in her not handling the thought of the large crowd very well. She should be ecstatic going to her first eighteen plus club, but she really wasn't.

  When the sound of a loud engine filled her ears, she bolted to the bottom step. She'd left her human parents a note on the fridge stating her whereabouts but honestly since she'd been home she'd only spent about ten minutes in their presence. She still didn't know how to ask them about her adoption and to tell them she was leaving. She figured she had plenty of time to figure all of that out.

  Adeila was just putting everything off right now. Her adopted parents, Erik, her feelings about the Fae realm, her magic; all of it she just pushed aside in her quest to be normal. To try to be as normal as possible while here in the human realm in this moment. She'd see how far that got her.

  As she walked to the truck, though, everything crashed into her at Loki's stern look. She felt like a naughty little kid instantly, and had no idea what she'd done.

  “This really probably isn't the best idea.”

  “Well, at least we're all together right?” She tried sending him a small childish smile and peaked at him from below her lashes.

  He made a face and sighed. Clearly she was right. He may not like it, but he knew it. She decided not to gloat in that fact; instead she watched out the window and tried not to feel the very small cab of the truck fill with their energy and magic pressing into each other. Questions fluttered her mind but she stamped them all back. She'd have plenty of time to ask him, now didn't need to be it. As soon as she'd ask they'd be at Marissa's house anyway.

  “Have you spoken to your human family yet?”

  She shook her head.

  “Marissa?”

  She turned to him. “No, I haven't said anything to them yet.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You need to, you know.”

  They pulled into Marissa's drive. “You also really need some formal training, we need to make time for that, Adeila. This is no joke. I know you did some yesterday, but I mean every day.”

  She opened her mouth for a nasty retort about how he'd run out on her “training” session, but snapped her mouth shut as the door swung open. Adeila scrambled into the back seat, and Marissa hopped into the front bringing with her a very strong smell of really expensive perfume.

  “Hi, guys! Aren't you excited?” Marissa's blonde head bobbed up and down and her butt hopped in excitement.

  Loki's eyes met Adeila's in the rear view mirror and she could see how unimpressed he was with all of this. She couldn't help the tiny smile that crept over her face as she answered Marissa with a small sound of semi forced glee.

  .~.

  Erik had been drinking. She could smell it as soon as he got in beside her. She tried ducking out of his way as he planted a kiss on her, which smelled repulsively like vodka. Loki's eyes met hers in the rear view mirror moments later as Erik leaned into her to pull her into another kiss. Loki's eyes began turning from their vibrant golden to a darker green hue.

  She could taste the alcohol on Erik's lips and she tried not to push him away too hard in disgust, but damn if it wasn't just plain gross. The smell was so strong to her sensitive nose. She knew Loki must be angry about Erik's intoxication, and she could feel his powerful energy drifting throughout the cab of the truck, she was surprised you couldn't see it. It was like a fine mist enveloping her, she had to focus hard not to sink into it and not to return the favor by pushing her magical energy out to meet it.  Instead she focused on Erik. “Have you been drinking?”

  He sloppily grinned at her. “Erm, yup. Got into a fight with Mum and Dad and well, I knew this was gonna be awkward... sooo... I wanted to take the edge off.” He gave a little laugh that ended on a very wet, gross burp. “And I might have had a little too much.”

  Marissa swiveled herself so she was facing them, incredibly unsafe, but Adeila would take all the help she could get.

  “That was very stupid of you Erik! What were you thinking?”

  He made a face at her, then opened his mouth to speak, but then turned his eyes to Adeila, and closed his mouth. A look passed between Marissa and Erik, and Marissa turned back facing the front in her seat.

  What the frick was that all about? Adeila was sorely confused as to what that strange look was that passed between her best friend and her...boyfriend.

  Erik turned his attention back to Adeila and lowered his voice. “I'm really sorry, Adi. I should not have drank.”

  “If he is under the weather, should we return Erik to his house?” Loki's eyes sought hers in the rear view mirror again, but it was Erik who piped up.

  “I'm fine, Staghorne. Let's do this!”

  Loki's eyes narrowed, and finally Adeila met them in the mirror. She shook her head once, but she knew that Loki was mad well before she even saw the color in them.

  .~.

  Marissa was trying her best to make the situation one of merriment and welcome for Saibol and Sorryn, but it was obvious to Adeila that they could smell the reek of alcohol on Erik, and guessing from the looks they passed from each other and Loki, it was incredibly clear to her that this was not going to go well. Erik wasn't so drunk that he was stumbling into the restaurant, but he was drunk enough that he was being a loud mouth, and kind of annoying. He kept touching her, running his hands over her back, and thigh when they sat next to each other in the booth. The booths were large, but she was sandwiched between Erik and Sorryn since they were both tall, muscled guys, well, more so in Sorryn's case for sure, but still. Any other time she would have marveled in the enjoyment of being in such close confinem
ents with two hot guys, but instead she was really ready for the night to be over already. And she was hoping fervently that the night was not concluded by any of her warriors punching her boyfriend, soon to be ex-boyfriend, in his smart mouth.

  “So Loki, where are you from anyway? You got like an accent or something.” Then Erik looked around at the other Fae. “You know, you all kind of talk weird.”

  “Erik!” Marissa and Adeila both said together, but clearly not rebuked, Erik just shrugged.

  Marissa touched Loki's arm. “Don't mind him.”

  Loki, ever the outward voice of reason and calm, even if the coloring of his eyes proved different to her. His outer appearance was one of a calm lake in mid-summer, even if his eyes flashed with the silvery gray storm clouds and green of annoyance.

  “I am from North Dakota, originally. I am about seventy-five percent Sioux and grew up on the Red Rock reservation. We, as you can imagine, did not have much in the way of technology or modern upbringing. I was schooled by tutors that volunteered to teach very small groups of kids on the reservation. I mostly learned from my Great-Aunt who had moved back to reservation from Chicago when I was ten. She taught me much of the world.”

  Adeila looked at him closely. It was so believable and she wondered if he'd just made it up or if he'd dwelt on that kind of story and possibly even used it before. It was a darn good one. He was dark in skin coloring and hair. His golden eyes were unusual and exotic much like the Native American people themselves. It was a good cover up. It would explain not only his looks, but his odd speech sometimes. Although she thought he was pretty well up with his lingo, but she was also used to him at this point, and she remembered in the beginning she found his speech a little odd herself, so she understood Erik's questioning, not that she agreed with the way he asked it. It was also interesting how she had told Marissa that her real parents were from South Dakota, this story just went along wonderfully with the fact that she had told Marissa that Loki knew her real parents and had helped her set up the meeting with them. Just one state away. It wasn't exactly unbelievable. Maybe he'd overheard her conversation somehow?

  Erik could only nod, as that clearly placated his questioning. He turned to her and rubbed her thigh beneath the table. She gritted her teeth in annoyance but said nothing. She would not make any kind of scene in public but the action annoyed her. She really needed to break things off with him soon.

  Since coming back from Faerie she'd just drifted away from her obsession with Erik. As much as she'd always wanted him, knowing without a doubt that now she could never have him, had her looking at him a little differently, at least that's what she told herself. Although she still found him incredibly attractive, she wasn't attracted to him. She liked him but didn't like him that way any longer. She had no idea how long that had been happening, but she had a sneaking feeling that she'd been growing out of the Erik thing before she'd even gone to Faerie. Since being there and knowing what kind of future she most likely would have, had made her see him differently.

  She remembered Loki telling her on their journey to Faerie to forget about her human boyfriend he was no match for a Faerie Princess. She certainly didn't think of herself as higher in stature then Erik in any way, it's just that knowing that your future may be in a whole different realm, surrounded by people like yourself, in the magical sense... Well, it made her re-assess some things in her life. Erik being one of them.

  The trip to Faerie made her broaden her spectrum, open her mind. She saw Erik as someone unattainable, unmatched for her. She needed to let him go, once and for all. For both of them.

  Shockingly, the rest of their dinner went fairly uneventful. Erik seemed to sober up some, as the conversation and food went around and he didn't make any more inappropriate conversations towards the Fae and he'd kept his touching of her fairly manageable.

  She did notice something, however. Every so often she'd catch Marissa looking at the two of them, particularly Erik. In an almost jealous, bitchy kind of way. Adeila sincerely hoped that she was mistaken. It was Marissa's idea to come out, and she hoped that Marissa wasn't mad that she hadn't sat with her. Not that she really made it seem that way, but... Well, something was off. Adeila had thought that Marissa would be tickled to death that she'd gotten to sit next to Loki and that he seemed to be flirting and paying attention to her when he wasn't gazing at her and Erik as well, but even still, Marissa stole glances at them often enough even when the conversation wasn't directed to them. It was a little eerie how both of them made it seem like they were interested in each other but instead kept glancing at her and Erik. Loki, she understood, but Marissa she did not. Something was really off. Something Adeila just wasn't seeing.