“That did not happen,” Shin said, his eyes sparkling.
Ramsey nodded. “It did.”
“Oh my god, that’s terrible,” I said.
Ramsey ran his hand through his brown curls and bit his lip. “Should I have told one of the ‘drunken relative falls into a cake’ stories?”
“Maybe you could tell one of those so I can get that image out of my head,” Kayin said, his nose wrinkling and his brow drawn down into a frown.
I smiled, poor Kayin.
“Well, the worst one…” Ramsey began.
We left the restaurant close to midnight, my belly full, my cheeks hurt from laughing, and I wanted to crawl into bed. Ramsey curled his arm around my waist as we rode in a taxi back to the hotel.
“Text me tomorrow and let me know what your plans are,” Ramsey said. “Maybe we can hang out.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I said. The taxi pulled up to the hotel. Ramsey leaned forward, and his eyes flicked down to my lips.
“Sapphire, we need to go now,” Kayin said his dark eyes focused on Ramsey.
Ramsey smiled and leaned back against the seat. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, hen.”
“Good night,” I said trying not to trip as I got out of the taxi.
Kayin took my arm as if he worried I would try and jump back into the taxi and go home with Ramsey.
“Have you finished all your school work?” Kayin asked as we got onto the elevator.
I glared at Shin, chuckling behind me.
“I have a French test, and a science test, then I am finished. You?” I said.
“I need to do the history paper and the math test,” Kayin said. “Maybe we could do our work together tomorrow.”
I rolled my eyes and squeezed Kayin’s arm. “That sounds good. After yoga and breakfast?”
“Yes, that’ll be good.”
“Your virtue is safe for one more day,” Shin teased as the doors opened and we got off on our floor.
“I’m not sure I like Ramsey,” Kayin said.
“Big Brother,” I said, hugging him. “Thank you for looking out for me.”
Kayin hugged me tight. “Thank you for being my family, Little Sister.”
“Always, no matter what.”
Kayin let go of me and I hugged Shin good night before heading into my room.
“Hey Miu,” I said.
Miu put down her manga. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, we went out for Korean food,” I said getting my things ready for bed. “You and Taliesin?”
“Hmm, yes,” she said before picking up her manga.
Okay, odd, normally Miu over shares. Oh well. It’s not any of my business.
Chapter Fourteen
Miniature dragons ran around me under Akasha’s turquoise sky. Shamash and Aya had healed my shoulder earlier, and now I played with the two small dragons while their mother hunted for fish in the river. The green-gray one ran up my back and hid in my hair. Its warm smoky breath tickled my ear. Her brother’s butt and tail wagged as he stalked around me, his brown scales doing nothing to hide him in the bright grass. A cricket chirped, and he jumped into the air, his wings flapping uselessly as he fell back down emitting a puff of smoke and fire. I laughed, careful to not dislodge the baby miniature dragons.
“Sapphire,” Aya said walking towards me a frown marring her face. “You need to go—he needs you.”
“What? Who?” I asked settling the baby dragon on the ground before standing up.
Aya kissed my forehead, her power comforting and insistent. “Wake-up.”
Gasping, I sat up in bed. Miu huffed in her sleep and sprawled out over her mattress. Red numbers glowed in the dark room: five-thirty. What kind of evil is up this early? Climbing out of bed I went into the hallway, the carpet cool on my bare feet. I pressed my ear to Gavin and Anali’s door and didn’t hear anything. Walking down the hallway I passed the elevator and turned the corner. Kayin stood juggling in black cotton pajama bottoms and dark red long sleeved top.
“Kayin, what’s going on?”
“Sasha, woke up at five and said he was going to the gym, and I couldn’t stop thinking about … things and so I came out here so I wouldn’t wake up Taliesin,” he said not stopping the five balls dancing in the air.
I guess two of my guys needed help this morning. “Go get dressed. We need to go help Sasha.”
Kayin caught the balls. “Five minutes?”
“We’ll meet at the elevator,” I said, walking back to my room.
I slept in black yoga pants and a long sleeved brown shirt with gold cheetah prints on it, good enough. I wrote Miu a note, grabbed my bag and the layers I would need for the dark, cold December morning.
Kayin waited for me. “So what’s going on?”
I pushed the button for the lobby. “I don’t know. I was dreaming in Akasha, and Aya told me he needed me and woke me up. You seem to need to talk, but I’m worried about Sasha, since he left the hotel. Did he say anything?”
Kayin shook his head. “No, I woke up hearing him moving around the room. He was going to the gym since he couldn’t sleep.”
“Feel like running?” I asked as we walked out the glass doors. The cold wet air stung my cheeks.
Kayin bounced a few times, warming up his legs. “You hate running.”
“I’m worried,” I said.
“Let’s go.”
We started to jog, I forced myself to let my muscles warm up before speeding up. It didn’t take long, or more likely I was impatient. “Okay,” I said and began to run.
Kayin ran beside me, our breath came out in foggy white puffs. My chest ached by the time I saw the school. The lungfuls of cold air were painful. We leapt up the stairs and burst into the gym. An early morning Zumba was starting in the dance studio to the right and on the left, Sasha.
“Oh,” I gasped. “I didn’t realize.”
Sasha danced—no not danced—flew, leapt, and flowed across the floor with passion, power, and grace. I’d never seen him move like this. Careful to be quiet, we went in. A blaring classical piece shut out any noise or thoughts. We took off our jackets and sat in the corner and watched. Sasha’s dance was filled with agony. Even without my empathy, his pain and anger were easy to recognize.
Kayin wrapped an arm around me as hot tears burned my cold cheeks.
The music faded. Sasha’s labored breathing echoed across the dance hall. His arms hung at his sides and his faced turned up toward the ceiling. I held my breath. He didn’t move. I stood up.
“Sasha.”
He turned, his eyes red and bloodshot. He rubbed his eyes with his bruised knuckles.
“Oh,” I ran over to him and hugged him. He stood still for a moment, his body tense. Sometimes you have to hold onto boys longer. Several minutes later he started to shake, and his emotions washed over me as he wrapped his arms around me. I held him, just being there, not saying anything until I felt him relax and let go of some of the anger and pain. Sasha took a deep breath.
I stepped back. “I’m sorry. Is your mom okay?”
“Da. I'm happy I got to see her. We talked for hours. He was waiting at the hotel.”
“What happened?” Kayin asked.
“He thought my mother would talk some sense into me,” Sasha said, his bitterness sharp. “When I was a child she always smoothed everything over.”
“And this time?” I asked.
Sasha smiled, his blue-gray eyes shining with tears. “She told me I was beautiful. That she was proud of me, and I should follow my heart.”
I smiled and blinked back tears. She was my new favorite person. “She’s right. You're amazing at silks.”
“And your father?” Kayin asked.
Sasha rubbed the back of his hand. “He disagreed.”
“Are you hurt?” Kayin asked.
I took Sasha’s hands and inspected them.
“No more than a hard training session with Shin,” Sasha said.
“What happened?”
Sasha shrugged. “He had been drinking and tried to hit me. It didn’t go well for him.”
“Is your mother okay?” Kayin asked.
“Yes, he never hits her, and he never beat me or anything. He was raised being hit as punishment and continued the practice with me.” Sasha shook his head. His red-streaked, honey-blond hair fell perfectly into place, of course. “Anyway, onto important things. Why are you two here so early?”
“To see you, to make sure you’re okay,” I said. “And I’m so glad we came. I’ve never seen you dance before—you're amazing.”
Kayin nodded. “Yes, you should add ballet to your act.”
I clapped. “I wonder if Taliesin could learn some moves?”
“What am I learning?” Taliesin said. Miu yawned and waved.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“We felt a disturbance in the Force,” Taliesin said.
Obviously, he hadn’t drunk any coffee yet.
“We both woke up and knew we needed to come here,” Miu said.
Sasha rolled his eyes. “Why all this fuss? I am fine.”
“You’re family,” I said. “We’re family, and we want to be here for you.”
Sasha froze for a moment. “Thank you.”
“So what does this mean?” Miu asked. “Us being a family?”
They all looked at me. Why in the hell would they look at me? I know nothing about being part of a family. “Um, well, I guess it means we plan on spending time together away from the circus.”
“Like going out to eat?” Kayin asked.
“Yes,” I said with more enthusiasm than necessary making the others jump a bit. I had no idea what I was talking about. “Last night we went out to dinner with Shin. He took us to a Korean place, and we talked. Maybe we should do that? We can each pick a place and share food we love or want to try and tell stories.” Oh god, that sounds like the dorkiest thing ever.
“I’ve never tasted Russian food,” Miu said.
“I’ve eaten borscht,” said Taliesin.
“London has to have a Russian restaurant,” Kayin added.
Sasha smiled. “They do, I found a few close by. I figured I’d go while I was here.”
“We can all go,” I said. “And instead of waiting for Gavin and Anali to plan outings we can each take a turn. I mean we're here for what? Another three or four weeks? And families go on outings and stuff together right?”
Taliesin smiled at me. “Yes, they do. My mom always dragged me places.”
“Mine too,” said Miu.
Kayin nodded. “I went places with my dad sometimes.”
Sasha grinned. “Can we go to lunch today?”
“Sounds good to me.” I needed to text Ramsey and tell him I couldn’t meet up.
The others all nodded.
“I need some coffee,” Taliesin said.
I looked at my watch. “They should have breakfast ready.”
“So,” said Miu. “Now that we are talking and sharing does this mean we can ask who you’ve been sneaking off with?”
Everyone froze.
“I didn’t realize there's anything to talk about,” I said putting on my jacket.
“Stop,” said Taliesin. “If she is going to be stubborn, then I need coffee before we talk.”
What? Rude!
“Yes,” Miu said with a grin. “Coffee is a must.”
Double rude!
* * *
Four sets of eyes stared at me. I guess the coffee had kicked in, and they felt ready for an important discussion. I still didn’t see the big deal. “What?” I asked taking a bite of beans on toast. So good—why didn’t Americans eat this?
They all looked at each other, obviously having some kind of silent communication. Brandon came in with a tray of pastries. Yes, distraction!
“Good morning, can I get you anything else?” he asked, setting the pastries on the buffet.
I walked over and grabbed two of the chocolate almond pastries. Score! “I’m fine thanks.”
Miu cleared her throat. “You should order some eggs. You have a lot of carbs going on, and you know how Anali is about our food.”
I pouted, but picked up the menu.
“The chef's special is eggs Benedict, with ham or steamed asparagus,” Brandon said, taking out his note pad.
“Steamed asparagus for me,” I said handing him the menu.
The others ordered, and I focused on my pastry.
“My grandmother asked me to check in and find out if her reading helped,” Brandon whispered as other performers came in.
“We’re fine,” I said. “Not sure how her reading fits into everything yet.”
“I’ll let her know, and thanks.” Brandon went to take other orders.
“Should we tell him about whatever sucked the magic out of the gnome?” Taliesin asked.
“No, I don’t think so. As far as I know he doesn’t even realize he has any Fae in him. I doubt if he even believes in mythical creatures.” I sighed. “How do I explain that?”
“Okay, enough of that. I want to hear about your new guy,” Miu said.
Their curiosity lapped and tugged on my shields. Damn, I shouldn’t have ordered eggs, now I'm forced to wait. “I’m not sure what to say. His name is Ramsey McDaniel, he plays the cello for the Water Nymphs, and he’s a selkie.”
“He was also nearby twice when you were in danger,” Taliesin said.
“What?” Sasha asked. “When?”
“When you helped me out at the antique store,” I said. “And at the gala.”
“What was he doing at the gala?” Miu asked.
“Performing,” I said taking a big bite of chocolate almond goodness so I wouldn’t have to say more.
“With the Water Nymphs?” Taliesin’s white eyebrow arched in amusement.
“It’s not his band. He was asked to join when the last cellist left. Anyway I’m not sure why he’s so interesting.”
“Maybe,” said Kayin, “because you keep going off with him and no one knows where you are.”
“I always text Gavin and let him know what’s going on. So what touristy things should we plan on doing?”
“The Tower of London,” said Sasha.
Miu sighed. “I want to see Buckingham Palace.”
“I don’t know, I’ll have to look at one of the guide books,” Kayin said.
“I’d like to go to the National Gallery or the Tate Museum,” Taliesin added.
I nodded. “Okay we should get a map and look over our schedule and make a plan.”
Brandon came back with a tray loaded with plates. He set the eggs Benedict down in front of me. The pale yellow sauce glistened with butter and lemon, and bright green asparagus tips peeked out from under the egg. I cut a bite, popped it into my mouth, and moaned. So rich and creamy. I focused on my breakfast instead of the curious, worried, slightly embarrassed emotions bouncing between my friends.
“So have you guys worked out already?” Michael asked, looking at all the food we were eating.
“Sasha did,” I said.
Michael ran a hand through his short brown hair as he sighed. You know the heartfelt adult sigh when faced with irritating teenagers. “By eleven, I expect to see you in the gym and doing at least an hour of yoga or strength conditioning.”
“Yes, Michael,” we said.
He rolled his eyes and joined his daughter at another table. Nyota waved at us.
“It’s almost eight,” said Sasha. “What should we do until it’s time to go?”
“Let’s watch a movie,” I said. “We can meet in our room in thirty minutes?” I still wanted to talk with Taliesin.
“That will give me time to shower,” Sasha said.
Miu grinned. “Thank goodness.”
* * *
“So what’s up?” Taliesin asked as we walked through Kensington Park.
I twisted my ring. How was I going to say this without sounding like an idiot? “Yesterday when I felt the anger coming from
Sasha’s parents during the performance I felt something else.”
Taliesin frowned. “What?”
“It took a while to figure out, but I finally did. I suppose I could talk to Anali, but she’s so sick. Maybe it’s not a big deal, but I’d never even thought about it before.”
Taliesin grabbed my hand. “Sapphire, you’re babbling. Calm down and tell me what you felt.”
“Okay, last night I felt a few people, not many, a few sick, evil people hoped you would fall.” I shook my head. “Not just fall but fall and hurt yourselves, and after what happened to that poor performer . . .” I tightened my grip on his hand.
“Sapphire, I know.”
“What do you mean you know?”
He smiled a sad smile at me. “It’s part of human nature. Think of all the horrid reality shows out there where people love seeing others humiliated and watching them fail.”
“But . . .” How could anyone want Taliesin hurt?
He pulled me close, and I wrapped my arms around him. His heart beat under my cheek, strong and steady. “I was ten when I realized there were people like that in the world.”
“What happened?” I asked not moving.
“It was the first year I was training with the San Francisco Center for the Circus Arts. I was watching their summer show, and one of the performers fell and broke his leg.” Taliesin shivered and his arms tightened around me. “My mom had me stay in the seat and ran up to help, while others got people out of the theater.
“The guy sitting next to me, there was something wrong. His eyes were glassy, and he was taking shallow breaths. I asked if he was okay and when he didn’t respond I touched his hand. He was excited about the accident. The sound of the bone, the scream of the performer, the sight of the bone sticking out of his thigh, and the blood pooling onto the stage. He loved it all.”
“Oh, God. Taliesin, that’s horrible.”
“It’s okay, Sapphire. It doesn’t upset me anymore.”
“How can it not?” I said not ready to let go of him yet. “I want to go and hurt those people.”
Taliesin chuckled. “I know what they're feeling isn’t about me. Did you know my mom sews all my costumes?”
Okay, off topic. “Your mom makes all our costumes.”
Heirs of Avalon Page 18
