“Like I said, I’m not leaving you in the lurch.”
“He wants help taking down a group of super powerful beings,” Owen looked down at his hands. “Still want to help?”
“Wait. Are we talking about the Elders?” I definitely wanted to take them down, but I had no clue why Wyatt would have an issue with them. “The last time I checked the Dragos got along just fine with the Allures.”
"They have Troy," Owen explained.
"How you managed to get into this mess I'll never know." Jared shook his head.
“I have my ways.” Owen entwined his fingers with my own.
"Let’s get this heart to heart with dragon boy over with." Levi straightened and walked further out into the hallway.
"You don't have to talk with—" Owen started.
"I'm talking with him." I was done sitting on the sidelines of my own life.
Owen nodded. "It's up to you. It's your choice."
My choice. Those words were like a lifeline, and hearing them come from Owen made me even more grateful to have him in my life. “I want to meet with him.”
“Great, so let’s get this party started.” Jared grinned before leading the way back down the grand staircase.
“Daisy, you look better.” Georgina assessed me as soon as I reached the ground floor. She was standing in the foyer as if waiting for us. Maybe she’d been listening to us talk. Georgina wasn’t exactly the eavesdropping type, but she was concerned with the situation, and in all fairness, we were in her house.
“I feel much better.” I squeezed Owen’s hand, and he squeezed mine back.
“I am glad the shower was so helpful for you.” She gave me a knowing smile.
“Yes. It’s amazing what a hot shower can do.” I returned her smile. She was such an interesting woman. She was so intense on the outside, yet inside she cared deeply.
“Are you planning to talk more with that boy out there?” Georgina pointed to the front entryway.
“Yes.” Levi nodded. “We need to figure out why he wants our help.”
“Daisy, are you going with them or staying inside with me?” Georgina reached out a hand as if to escort me from the room.
“I’m going with them.”
“Ok. I’ll be in my sitting room if anyone needs me.” Georgina walked off without a second glance.
“So you came to my Grandma for help, huh?” Levi grinned.
“Yes, and it worked.” I owed a debt of gratitude to Georgina. She’d helped me without a second thought even though I was no longer human, and I’d be forever grateful.
“I’m glad.” Levi took a step toward where I waited with Owen. “From what Hailey told me, Owen was a mess.”
“When did you talk to Hailey?” Owen’s eyebrows furrowed.
“A few days ago. She told me to stay out of her way.” Levi walked over to the door.
“Same old Hailey.” Jared laughed.
“Where is she?” I didn’t know Hailey well, but I liked her. “I haven’t seen her.”
“With our uncle trying to find an herb that might help you.” Owen pulled me tight against his side.
“That could help me how?” That had my attention.
“To stop the change.” Owen ran his hand down my side.
I sighed. “I’ll take anything that will help in that way.”
“Well, it reversed on its own.” Owen led me toward the doorway. “That’s something.”
“Well, it didn’t reverse exactly.” I still hadn’t explained the experience with Sol. There was so much more we needed to talk about.
“What do you mean?”
“I haven’t had a chance to fill you in on a lot yet.” I thought of Sol and how I left things. I’d been so relieved to find Owen that I had pushed it from my mind. I hated how easy it was for me to do that sort of thing now.
“Do you want to tell me before or after we talk to Wyatt?”
I eyed Levi and Jared. They were also waiting for me to make the decision. “We should talk to Wyatt. He may know more about what I need to tell you anyway.” Maybe Wyatt was the mystery friend Sol had been talking about. I couldn’t imagine there was anyone else involved.
Levi opened the door, and we all filed out.
Wyatt grinned when he saw me. “Hey, you look a whole lot better than the last time I saw you.”
“I seem to be getting that comment a lot.”
“Take it as a compliment.” Then Wyatt’s expression darkened. “What happened to Sol?”
“I was hoping you knew something.” I knew he had to have been working with Sol.
“I never heard from him, and then Owen got the call that you surfaced.”
“You were the one he was working with?” I had no doubts, but I still didn’t understand why.
“Yes. As luck would have it he was hired by the Elders.”
“He hates them. I don’t know why, but my bet is it has to do with Arabella.” So much in life came down to relationships.
“It’s more than Arabella, but did he tell you about them?” Wyatt tilted his head slightly to the side.
“He didn’t get the chance. Abe showed up.” He also didn’t want to tell me about them.
“Abe? Is that what happened?”
“Yes. He tried to take me and Sol intervened.” I thought about the craziness in the meadow.
“And you managed to find your way here?” Wyatt asked with surprise.
“Ok, enough of this. Get to the point of what help you need.” Jared crossed his arms.
Wyatt glared at him. “Not until Daisy finishes with her story.” He nodded for me to continue. “How did you get here?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Since you said that, I’ll have to ask how it was possible.” Wyatt grinned.
“I latched onto a memory, fell, and then hitchhiked.”
“You hitchhiked?” Owen ignored the first two parts of the story. “Are you serious?”
“It was my only choice. Luckily my allure helped me out.”
“You wouldn’t need an allure to hitchhike,” Owen mumbled under his breath.
“It doesn’t really matter because I’m here.” I wrapped my arm across my chest. “Alive.”
“Yes. Alive.” Wyatt looked me over. “You’re an Allure. Yet you’re with Owen and seem to actually care about Sol. You haven’t fully transformed into an Allure yet.”
“I was getting closer but then Sol did something.”
“What did he do?” Wyatt frowned.
“I don’t know. He pulled my emotions back by going to my future or something?” I tried to remember his exact words.
“But it didn’t completely work?” Levi asked.
“No.” I admitted to the growing numbness I’d been trying to ignore. “And I’m afraid I’m going to lose what I gained.” But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.
“You’re not losing anything.” Owen pulled me back into his chest. “We’re going to try my uncle’s idea and find the herb. I’m sure it’s going to work.”
“You really think so?” I needed to believe in something. The alternative terrified me.
“I know so.” Owen exchanged a look with Wyatt that immediately made me nervous. If he wasn’t confident, how could I be?
“Who’s Sol?” Owen belatedly asked.
“A Seer,” Wyatt answered. “A powerful one I’ve known for years.”
“And what did he do to you exactly, Daisy?” Owen asked.
“I can’t quite explain it, but it was intense. He looked into my eyes. I saw some memories in blurry tones, and then I saw your eyes. Everything opened up from there.” I thought back over the experience. The intensity and my relief. I felt tears welling, but I fought them back. I was done crying.
“My eyes?” Owen’s expression softened.
“Yes. Your eyes brought me back.”
Wyatt pulled out a cell phone, glanced at the screen and replaced it in his pocket. “Sol needed to get her away from the other Allures to try anything. He contacted m
e to say he had Daisy and she wasn’t quite human, but that was it. It’s been radio silence since then.”
“Why did he need to get her alone?” Owen asked.
Wyatt sighed. “I think I’m going to have to let you in on a little secret.”
“What secret?” My body tensed. “Secrets are never good.”
“You can come out now,” Wyatt called.
We all exchanged looks before a tall and slender brunette walked out from the shadows beside the house. She walked toward the front steps slowly but with purpose, and the whole time her eyes were fixed on my face.
“Hi Daisy, I think we need to talk.” The girl held out her hand.
“Who are you?” I didn’t recognize her face, but something about her was so completely familiar.
“The name’s Taylor, and I think you have something that once belonged to me.”
Afterword
Owen and Daisy’s story concludes in Love (The Allure Chronicles #4), coming soon.
Keep reading for a preview of Forged in Stone (The Forged Chronicles #1), a New Adult Fantasy Romance by Alyssa Rose Ivy
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Forged in Stone Preview
The Forged Chronicles
Alyssa Rose Ivy
The son of darkness is all grown up...
James is a Guardian. He is tasked with protecting the most important person in his world. For eight years he has done his job without complaint, but he has grown tired of living under the shadow of a father who is responsible for the most unimaginable violence and destruction his world has ever known.
Ainsley is at a loss for what to do with her life. She hates her two dead end jobs and the family who betrayed her. She has resigned herself to living one day at a time, but she longs for an escape from her lonely life.
When Ainsley finds James in her bed, their two lives and worlds collide. They may have both found exactly what they need, but the darkness James has been running from his whole life has just caught up.
James
The dated rock music was giving me a headache. If not for the alcohol still left in my glass I would have been out of the bar already. Even the redhead hanging on my every word was getting to me. Did girls no longer believe in the chase?
“James?” she said my name with an exaggerated southern drawl that came across as almost fake. It probably was.
“Yes?” I blinked a few times trying to bring things back into focus. I had drunk far too much, but there was nothing I could do about that now.
“Are you even listening to me?” She tapped her fingers on the bar top between us.
“No.” I took in the faded blue paint on the walls. The place had seen better days, but it served my needs perfectly. No one thought anything of the quiet guy getting plastered at the bar. I blended in.
“I asked you if you wanted to take me home. I only live a few blocks from here.” She put her hand on my upper thigh.
I looked into her glazed over green eyes. “Probably not.”
“Oh.” Hurt marred her overly made-up face, and for a second I felt bad, but then it faded. She would be even more hurt when I left her in the morning. Besides, if she was half as drunk as I was, she had no idea what she was asking.
“I am doing you a favor.” I downed the rest of my beer. It was some crappy lager I had no plans to try again. I had chosen it as an alternative to the whiskey that had filled my glass earlier in the evening.
“Oh.” She stared at me blankly. She clearly liked that word.
“See you around.” I moved over a stool to make sure she got the less than subtle hint. I did not particularly enjoy being mean, but I had no time or energy to play nice.
Loud laughter got my attention. “Cold.”
I looked at the aging bartender chuckling in front of me before glancing down at the now vacant stool the redhead had been seated on. “Honesty.”
“You have to admit that was harsh.” He leaned on his elbows. “Do you usually treat pretty girls that way?”
“Would it have been better to have bedded her and never spoken to her again?”
He straightened up. “No, but there is an in-between. There is value in politeness.”
“And what value is that?” I pushed my empty beer glass toward the bartender. “Give me something stronger this time.”
“I can’t serve you more. We both know that.”
“And we both know you make exceptions.” I was drunk. There was no question about that, but I needed more to numb the emptiness. Otherwise there was no point in having made the trip into Charleston.
“I can’t serve you more booze, but I don’t mind listening.”
“Listening?” I raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like I want someone to listen?”
“You’re wasted before nine o’clock at night. You need someone to talk to.”
“Next time I will wait until later to get intoxicated.” I tossed down enough money to cover double my tab and stumbled out of the bar.
The cool night was a welcome change from the stifling heat of the overcrowded dive. It had been years since I lived in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, but one thing remained the same. They still insisted on pumping heat into buildings the second the temperature dropped south of sixty degrees. I doubted that most of the people at the bar could survive long where I came from.
The city portion of my walk should not have taken long, but it did. I guess that happens when you get pissed drunk. I knew Charleston well from the months I lived there in high school—and the few nights I spent there now. I spent most of my time in an altogether different place, a place that had stopped feeling like home years ago. A place that was literally another world.
I was far too exhausted to make it all the way back home, so I stopped at the one place I could in the city. I had no key, but I had another plan to get in. I went around back, taking one cursory look into the withering garden before starting my climb up the thick ivy that wound its way all the way up to the third story balcony.
The ivy swayed under my weight, but I made it onto the balcony without breaking my neck. I shook the doorknob with enough force to get it to budge. I pushed the door open, kicked off my boots, and tossed my shirt before collapsing on the queen sized bed. It was not my bed, but at the moment any bed would do.
Ainsley
I was living the life of a TV sitcom friend. You know the type: the boring one that serves no purpose except to make the main character seem more interesting. I worked not one, but two dead end jobs. I didn’t know which was worse, serving frozen yogurt or working as an office assistant at a law firm. Neither had anything to do with my career goals, but as my mom always said, beggars can’t be choosers. My art history degree had proved as useful as it sounded. I couldn’t manage to land a job working in a gallery, let alone a museum. I’d eventually have to go back to school to get a degree in something useful, but the thought of spending time in a classroom wasn’t something I could stomach. At twenty-two, I was just happy to be paying the bills without moving back in with my parents. It was more than most of my friends could say. Or at least most of the friends I still had.
I waited impatiently as a couple stared at the flavor listing above my head. They’d been in the frozen yogurt shop for twenty minutes already. We only offered a dozen flavors. The decision couldn’t have been that hard to make. “We close at nine.” I used the most polite voice possible, but as it was 8:56 I figured they needed a reminder.
“That means you don’t let new customers in after nine. We’re already here. You can’t kick us out.” The guy wrapped his arm around his date’s waist. “Don’t worry baby, there’s no rush.”
I bit my tongue. Who did this clown think he was? If I wasn’t certain the guy would report me and get me fired, I woul
d have given him a piece of my mind. Instead I started wiping up a sticky spot on the counter I’d overlooked earlier. Despite how boring the job was, it did pay decently, and I didn’t mind my boss.
“Can I try the vanilla again? I’m not sure I liked it.” The girl pointed at the hard yogurt in the case in front of her.
Seriously? Who tried vanilla twice? I mean everyone in the world knew what that flavor tasted like. I gritted my teeth. “Sure.” I picked up one of the small pink spoons and scooped a tiny amount. I handed it to her.
She tasted it. “I’m still not sure.”
I glanced at the neon colored clock by the door. It was two minutes after nine now. “I’m sorry, but I really have to close.”
“No you don’t. You’re going to let my girlfriend take her time and pick a flavor.” The guy puffed out his chest like that was supposed to intimidate me or something.
I sighed before glancing at the clock again. I was going to be late meeting my friends for drinks. Or really my friend Grace and her other friends. Saying it in the plural made it sound better.
“Is the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor good?” The girl batted her long eyelashes. I’d have bet a lot they were fake.
“If you like cookie dough, yes.”
She nodded as though I’d just shared some life altering secret. “Can I try that one too?”
I sighed again. “Sure.” I took out another pink spoon.
She tried it. “I changed my mind. I don’t want anything.” The girl turned toward the door.
“I agree. Horrible service here.” The guy followed her and slammed the door behind him.
I silently cursed them while I wiped down the rest of counter. There was a time in my life when I got along with everyone. That time had come and passed. Now I was lucky if I could handle being in the same room as someone who rubbed me the wrong way. It made working in the service industry dicey, especially when your customers were mostly tourists. I loved living in Charleston, but sometimes I wished I lived somewhere a little more off the beaten path.
Lost (The Allure Chronicles Book 3) Page 17
