by Mindy Hayes
At our lockers Cameron watched Isla and Lia with a bored look on his face as they were deep in some conversation, animations flying every which way. I smiled at him and was rewarded with a smile in return. Pulling back my hood, I shook off the droplets as I turned to my locker.
“Calliope,” Cameron hissed.
He never called me by my full name. That should have been my first clue.
When I looked back at him his eyes were afraid as he was desperately trying to be subtle and motion to his ears. It took me only a second, but that second could have meant everything. I flipped my hood back on and searched the hallway to see if anyone saw. Thankfully, everyone else seemed to be involved in their own worlds, racing to class, joking and talking with friends. My eyes drew back to our crowd and Lia gave me a look, raising her eyebrow. My stomach sank. Tell me she didn’t see them.
“Callie, you look like you’re searching for a stalker. What’s your deal?” she asked.
I was so worked up I couldn’t get myself composed enough to say anything to her. I swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to calm my wired nerves.
“Jake’s eyeing you, Lia,” Cam said, diverting her stare. She scanned the hallway and a slow smile grew on her lips with an eye roll.
“I’ll be right back,” she excused herself.
I thanked Cameron with my eyes and then Isla was dragging him away. “We should head to class,” she said. “Bye, Calliope.”
Cameron shook his head and gave me a you-are-so-lucky look. I couldn’t agree with him more. Screw being on time, I had to get to the bathroom to fix my hair.
Though the hood messed with my hair, it also protected my hair from the rain. I don’t know how I would have redone my hair to cover up my ears had it been soaking wet. It only took me a minute and then I heard the warning bell from the bathroom. Once I stepped out the door I nearly collided with Lia.
“Whoa, Callie, take it easy. What’s with you today?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.” What else could I say? My fae ears were poking through my hair. I didn’t want to frighten you or the rest of civilization.
“You’re not fine. I know when you’re fine and this is not fine.”
She was reading me too closely now. She couldn’t pass off my strange behavior as wallowing in self-pity anymore. I had to find an escape route.
“We’ll talk later. I’ve got to get to class.” I barely escaped and then set into a sprint to get to class. I couldn’t even worry about the fact that I knew she was watching me as I went. I made it there in record time. Hopefully, no one else noticed my super speed.
• • •
With the rain flooding the lawn, everyone was required to eat lunch inside. The four of us found an empty quad and sat against the wall.
“Let’s hang out after school today,” Lia said to me. “This rain has convinced me I want some rain boots and look how cute Isla’s are.”
I trailed her coveting gaze on Isla’s black and purple plaid rubber boots.
“Thanks, Lia,” Isla said, smiling broadly. “That’s really nice of you.”
I thought about the Keepers. Declan wasn’t going to be there today, but after last night, it began to eat at me that Kai could sense his strong effect on me. There was a part of me that wanted to surprise him and go out when I knew Declan wouldn’t be there. And I kind of didn’t want Declan to be there when I talked to Kai. There were a few questions I wanted answered.
“Maybe Saturday. I’ve got some stuff I need to do after school today.”
“You’re passing up a shopping outing? For what? What could be better?”
If only I could answer that honestly. She might give me a free pass if she knew the real answer. “Nothing’s better, just more pressing. I can’t keep procrastinating with my English Lit essay. Mrs. Harrison wants a five-page paper about Hamlet. I can barely write a paragraph.” Which wasn’t a complete lie, just not the full truth. The essay wasn’t due for another week.
“We never really hang out anymore,” she pouted.
“What are you talking about? We just. . .” I stumbled through my memory, but she was right. I couldn’t remember the last time we hung out. Every free chance I got I went to see Declan and Kai. “This weekend. It’s you and me.”
She pursed her lips and eyed me. “I’m holding you to that.”
“Deal.”
• • •
The rain had let up a little. It was more of a faint scattered sprinkle now, the clouds above a gray haze. I lifted my hood back over my head to shelter me from the mist as I walked out the sliding glass door.
The clearing was empty when I arrived. I gazed up into the limbs, searching for his figure in his usual spots, but he wasn’t there. My courage was starting to lessen. I had hoped to catch him off guard. I didn’t want to have to call out to him, asking for his presence. I just wanted him to be here.
When I turned to leave movement caught my eye. I shifted my gaze to the right, deeper into the trees. Behind the haven of nature Kai had his arms arched, an arrow headed straight for my chest. I heard the stretch of the string on the bow, ready to release the arrow. His shimmering eyes were focused and determined. My eyes widened in response, but I couldn’t even think to move, scared still.
“Calliope,” Kai said, startled.
There was a hitch in my breathing. That was the first time Kai had called me by my real name.
His stance relaxed as he lowered his weapon before holstering it in place on his back. “Do you realize I almost just killed you?” The alarm was apparent in his voice. “Why are you dressed in all dark colors, creeping around like you don’t belong here?”
I looked down at my dark grey hoodie and jeans and shrugged. “I wasn’t creeping around. Do you go around pointing arrows at every unfamiliar figure? What if I had been Cameron?”
“I waited to see your face. I wouldn’t kill just anybody.” He let out a heavy breath of air. “Soggy sludge, woman.”
“Excuse me?” I chuckled.
“What are you doing out here? You do remember that Declan’s not here, right?” He moved toward me, his dark green top soaked by the rain, shifted over his torso.
“I know. I came to talk to you actually.”
Kai blinked and composed himself. “Well you might as well make yourself useful while you’re here.” He looked up and then motioned for me to come to him. “The ground’s soaked.” When I didn’t move he said, “I wasn’t actually trying to kill you, you know. You can trust me.”
I thought about hesitating a little longer just to mess with him, but instead I walked over to him. He swept me off my feet before I could protest and landed in the tree next to us, setting me upright beside him on a limb thick enough to hold the both of us. He offered the seat closest to the trunk, so I could lean against it and I accepted it gratefully.
Kai pulled out some twigs that had been stripped of their leaves and handed one to me. “I might as well teach you how to make arrows. It’s one of the ways we survive.”
I sat quietly and as patiently as I could as he instructed me on how to shave the tips and trim them just right as to not cut off too much or not enough. I gazed up at him a few times without speaking. His brow creased in concentration as he paid extra attention to detail. It was strange the way we sat so silently, not provoking one another like usual. We hadn’t really been alone since the first time we saw one another. I tried to push away the nerves that were spreading through me at the thought of us being alone. There wasn’t a soul for miles.
“Kai,” I prompted cautiously. He hummed in response. “Is Declan’s father still around?”
Kai gave one shake of his head without meeting my eyes, not offering anything more.
“What happened to him?”
“I don’t know.”
If I was wise I would have just let Kai be and not bothered to ask him any further questions, but my need to know grew stronger. They seemed to know everything about me, while I knew nothing about them.
&nb
sp; “Does he not talk about him? Did you never know him?”
He sighed. “It’s none of my business to pry into Declan’s life if he doesn’t want to share. If he wants to talk, he’ll talk to me.”
What was it with guys? Human or fae they were all the same. They never asked each other questions about their lives. They saw it as prying or meddling rather than caring or concerned.
“How long have you known Declan?” I prodded.
“My whole life,” he said shortly, focusing on sharpening the tip of his branch as if his life depended on it. I suppose it did in the long run, but I knew he couldn’t be that interested in the twig.
I set down my arrow. I hadn’t been making much progress anyway. “And he’s never mentioned him? Did he die? Disappear?”
Kai set the twig in his lap with an irritated sigh. “Why are you so concerned? You don’t care about the fae in Faylinn. Why do you care about this?”
“What?” I set my eyes firmly on him. “Why wouldn’t I care? And who says I don’t care? I just don’t want to be bound like you.”
“And you think you get that choice?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“I’ve already made that choice. It doesn’t mean I don’t care. It just means I’m not ready to leave my life here.”
“How lucky for you,” he muttered.
How did we even get on this topic? How did this get turned on me? I wasn’t letting him off the hook this time. “So, you haven’t cared enough to ask about what happened to his dad?”
“He doesn’t know and neither do I.” His gaze intensified, but he lifted his arrow and began carving once more. “And I’m not the nosey type.”
I decided to ignore that last comment. I wasn’t being nosey. Wasn’t it important to understand your friend’s background? Who was I kidding? I knew what I was doing was wrong or I would have asked Declan himself, but my need to know outweighed my conscience. “When did he disappear?”
Kai exhaled and peered up at me. I could see he knew I wasn’t going to let up. “A little after Nyssa’s death,” he surrendered.
“Nyssa was Declan’s mother,” I clarified. “Do you think the same thing that happened to the other fae happened to him?”
“Probably,” Kai said gruffly and went back to his twig.
“Do you have any theories?”
Setting the arrow abruptly in his lap, he glared at me. “Do you ever stop asking questions?”
I met his stare, unwavering. There were moments when staring into his vibrant eyes that affected more than other times. This was one of those times, but I was determined to hold my ground, willing myself to be unaffected. “You’re going to accuse me of not caring about Faylinn and then criticize me for asking questions and being concerned about what has happened to them, what’s causing them to disappear? Pick an angle, Kai.”
“I simply don’t understand what makes you tick. You’re unpredictable.”
“Pot calling the kettle black.”
His head tilted, perplexed. “I’m sorry?”
“Never mind. You keep avoiding my questions,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, this is why Declan is in charge of teaching you and I’m not.”
“Fine. I’ll stop asking questions and leave you to making your arrows.” I got to my feet and dusted off my jeans. He was being testy today anyway, too ornery for my taste. “Thanks for the lesson on arrow crafting,” I muttered and turned to leave, staring over the edge, wishing I had an easier exit strategy.
“No, don’t go.” A low snarl rumbled in his throat and he glared down in his lap as if he was scolding himself for speaking up. “I have a theory,” he bit off the words like he didn’t know why they were coming out of his mouth. “But I don’t know how it would be possible.”
I sat back down without saying a word, afraid that if I encouraged him to explain he would stop.
“Did Declan teach you about the other kingdoms?”
I shook my head. “There are more of us?”
“Thousands more. They live all over the world in kingdoms like Faylinn. Faylinn is basically the homeland, but others branched off years and years ago.”
“Why?”
Kai shook his head, cutting me short. “We’re getting off track here, princess.”
Though I didn’t want to in that instant, I bit back my retort for insisting on calling me that. One has to pick her battles and this was one I probably lost on day one.
“Sorry. Okay. So what about the others?”
“Well when Favner took over he sealed off the passages to the other kingdoms. They can’t come in and we can’t go to them.”
“Do you know many faeries from the other kingdoms?”
He nodded. “Yeah. . .acquaintances, friends. We used to trade between the kingdoms, what supplies they had and we didn’t and vice versa. We didn’t have the same ideals, but we worked together.”
“So you think other kingdoms are breaking in and taking Faylinn’s fae?”
He shook his head. “I think as punishment for defying Favner he has banished whoever he pleases to another kingdom, sealed them off from their families, our people. He’s cut off the communication and has forced them to live a solitary life.”
“But you think they get to live?” I asked earnestly, hoping that was true.
“What’s a life without your family? Without those you love? Surrounded in a world where no one knows you,” he said intensely, completely unaware of how true his declaration was to me.
“And you wonder why I have such a hard time accepting the possibility of going to Faylinn?”
“But you wouldn’t be forced to live without your family. You could still visit them whenever you wanted.” He spoke rapidly, leaning into me, getting ahead of himself.
“I’m sorry, but are we talking about the same kingdom? Because unless I’m mistaken, Favner doesn’t really seem like the type to allow visitation rights.”
Kai opened his mouth, hope in his eyes that I’d never seen before and then it shut off as he bit down on his lips, gritting his teeth.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. He knew I was right and he could no longer criticize me for wanting to latch onto my human life, savoring every moment I could.
I made sure to get right back on track. I wouldn’t let him change the subject or leave me hanging this time. “So, why do you think that he banishes them and doesn’t kill them?”
“He’s not afraid to hide someone’s death. If one of our own dies he won’t hide that from the families. Whether he tells the truth about their death, that’s a different story. But when a faery disappears, it’s as if they’ve been erased, as if they haven’t existed in the first place and we’re simply supposed to accept their fate.”
“But why would the other kingdoms let Favner pawn off our fae to them? If you used to work together with them, why would they turn on you?”
Kai shrugged and went back to shaving his branch. “Like I said, it’s only a theory. I don’t know the logistics or how he’s getting away with it. I just have a gut feeling.”
I watched him; his dark wet curls falling over his eyes. In the misty light today his eyes reflected off deeper blue with subtle purple hints. It was unfair that any living creature could be so perfect. He looked up then and caught me staring. My cheeks flushed and I immediately reverted back to working on my pitiful looking arrow, not wanting to see the arrogance in his eyes. His low chuckle made his amusement apparent at my expense.
The lingering raindrops sporadically slipped from the canopy of leaves, lightly trickling down on us. “Why did he seal off the passages in the first place?” I asked through the stillness.
He sighed. “He said it was for our protection. But I think he did it for assurance. He knows no one in Faylinn can or will try to overpower him, but other leaders have the power. He wants to be sure that doesn’t happen. He knows he doesn’t deserve the right to be king. Rather he feels entitled to it, but I don’t believe he deserves it.”
“Maybe you should make
a change then.”
Kai laughed but there was no amusement in his tone this time. “Yeah. Maybe someday.”
Chapter Seventeen
I was finishing up some physics homework that I had definitely procrastinated on when there was a knock at the front door. I opened it to see Cameron with his shoulders slouched.
“Cam,” I said, taken aback. “What’s up?”
He wasn’t smiling and an immediate pang of concern pricked my heart. “Can I come in?”
“Of course.” I stepped aside and let him walk past me. He made himself comfortable in our family room; plopping on the couch I had all my homework on. He didn’t even seem to notice the mess surrounding him as he leaned forward, his hands folded over his knees. I sat next to him, moving the books and paperwork out of the way.
“I think Isla’s cheating on me,” he said calmly, but eerily calm.
“What? Why would you think that?”
“I saw her walking out of Garrick Jensen’s house yesterday. He hugged her way too long at her car before she got in.”
My blood boiled. Isla was not about to cheat on the one person she didn’t deserve. But I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. “She and Garrick have been friends since middle school haven’t they?”
He winced. “It was the look in her eye when I saw her walk out. She looked like she was trying to be cautious. And she ignored me all yesterday. When I’d see her in the hallway she’d start walking in the other direction, like she was trying to hide from me.”
“You need to talk to her, Cam,” I advised.
“She won’t answer my calls or text messages,” he said, exasperated.
That didn’t sound like a woman cheating. It sounded like a woman scorned. “Have you ever thought she might be mad at you for some reason and that she was venting to Garrick?”
He threw his hands up in the air and fell against the couch. “Then why didn’t she come to me? Why did she go running to him? If the problem is between us I should know about it.”
