Lust

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “None of us are. Not Hugh, or Roland, or Louie. We’re a product of what we’ve become.”

  “Heartless.”

  “No. Heartless isn’t the right word.” Violet locked her eyes with mine. “We have hearts.”

  “Then how would you describe it?”

  “Frozen. Our hearts are frozen.”

  “No. That doesn’t work.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because a frozen heart can be thawed. What you are can’t be fixed,” I nearly whispered.

  “Very true.” She seemed unmoved by my words.

  “But that doesn’t bother you.” The lack of feeling was still something I couldn’t truly comprehend. How did you respond to anything or anyone without it?

  “Sometimes it does, but it’s less than you would think.”

  “Right now, does it?”

  “My own condition doesn’t, but yours does. I care about you as much as it’s possible for me to care.”

  I believed her. Maybe I was naïve, but I needed to believe her to motivate myself to go along with whatever crazy plan she had. “And I appreciate that.”

  “But, Daisy?” She stopped right in front of the door.

  “Yes?”

  “When we’re with the Elders, you might not believe that’s true anymore, but remember it is. It will always be true.”

  “How do you know? How do you know it will always be true?”

  “Because I do.” She held open the door. “Let’s get those cookies. It might help to get something in your stomach first.”

  “Unless that makes me sick.”

  “True. I guess you should make sure to enjoy them going down. It will make up for anything bad you experience with it coming back up.”

  “What’s coming back up?” Owen stood just inside the doorway.

  “Nothing.” I didn’t want to put the visual of me vomiting cookies into his head.

  “Did you two discuss everything necessary?” Owen looked between us.

  “Pretty much. Now it’s time for a snack before we get ready for our trip.” I glanced toward the kitchen. The cookies smelled heavenly.

  “To Energo?” Owen asked.

  “Eventually.” Violet started toward the kitchen. “But we’ve discussed it, and we’re going to go in a roundabout way and make a stop. Make our entrance less conspicuous.”

  “What place are we making a stop at?”

  “My home.” Violet handed me a cookie.

  9

  Owen

  “You expect us to walk through a tree to fairy land?” Levi spat out as we sat around the kitchen table.

  “First of all, it isn’t fairyland; second of all, I don’t expect you to do anything. You’re not invited.” Violet took a small bite of her cookie.

  “You can’t tell me I’m not invited. I’m the king.” Levi slammed his fist into the table.

  Violet turned to Levi. “Yes, I realize you are the king here, but that doesn’t mean anything where we’re going.”

  “Unless someone else is given a territory, it’s mine.” Levi clenched his fist.

  Violet rolled her eyes. “As I was saying, you will not be joining us.”

  “You can’t tell me what to—”

  “Who is going with you, Violet?” Georgina interrupted.

  Violet smiled at Georgina. “Daisy has requested that Owen accompany us. Given the circumstances, I agree that he should come.”

  “Given the circumstances, I can come too.” Levi glowered.

  I needed to calm him down. “Levi, we have this. You need to take care of things here, and Allie and the kids need you.”

  “Let me send someone else with you then.” He was worried. It took a lot to make him worried.

  “No.” Hugh shook his head. “It’s bad enough that Romeo is coming.”

  “Don’t call him that.” Daisy set down her half eaten cookie. “The name implies we’re star crossed lovers destined for a tragic end. That’s not us.”

  Mayanne grinned. “Now there’s the confidence we’ve all been waiting for.”

  Daisy picked at her cookie, creating a pile of crumbs. “How soon do we leave?”

  Violet wiped her mouth with a napkin. “As soon as you’re ready.”

  “We’re ready.” Daisy pushed back her chair.

  “I can prepare bags for everyone.” Georgina stood.

  “I will make sure they both have everything they need.” Violet nodded at Georgina. “I assure you they will be well attired.”

  “I’m not stealing more clothes.” Daisy shook her head. “I know that’s what you did in Colorado.” Her voice was low, and there was no question she felt ashamed she even had the ability to do that.

  “You really are a fighter.” Violet’s eyes gleamed with pride, as though Daisy’s strength had something to do with her. “Too bad you don’t want to become one of us.”

  “Here, at least change into the slacks Allie sent over.” Georgina stood. “I have those in the car. A girl should always dress her best, but she should also make sure to have alternatives.”

  “And there you have it. Expert advice.” Levi grinned.

  Georgina tried to hide a smile. “Leviathan please get my bag from the car.”

  “Of course.” He walked outside.

  Levi returned a moment later with the bag, and Daisy hurried off to change.

  Violet pulled me to the side. “You need to keep yourself reined in over the next few days. We know you care about her, but that doesn’t mean you should argue with me every chance you get. We need to work together to both get what we want.”

  “And what is it that you want?” I still didn’t believe her motivations were as innocent as she pretended.

  “It’s mine to know.”

  I shook my head. “No, it’s not. That’s not good enough. We could be walking into a trap for all I know.”

  “You’re not.” She looked toward the doorway, probably checking for Daisy.

  “And you expect me to take your word for it, just like that?”

  “What other choice do you have?” Her eyes twinkled.

  “Just level with me. What do you want from all this?”

  “All you need to know is that it involves Daisy being happy and healthy. I do not wish her ill. I’d like to get her exactly what she wants, but if that’s not an option, then I will take her under my wing and teach her everything she needs to know to become an Allure.”

  “Is that really your job?”

  “Would you prefer Roland do it? Because he’d be the more natural one?”

  “No. I don’t want him near her.” I clenched my teeth.

  “It’s not the kind of attraction Hugh made it sound like. It’s the essence he’s attracted to.” Violet stood and stretched.

  “Which means you kept him away because you’re afraid of what he’ll do.”

  “I’m afraid of what he’ll try to stop us from doing.” She rolled her shoulders.

  “But if you get the essence back, can’t you give it to someone else?”

  “If we found the right person.” Hugh pushed back his chair. “That isn’t exactly easy.”

  “It’s that hard?” I wasn’t asking a question.

  “Yes. Very. It might take decades. Possibly a century since it’s a whole essence.”

  “And he doesn’t want to wait that long.”

  “He’s been unhappy for a while now. He’s craving the companionship.”

  “Then he should make his own.”

  “And he will, but he wants his maker.”

  “She isn’t his maker.”

  “No, she’s not, but she feels like her. She also kind of looks like her.”

  “Now you mention that.” I shook my head.

  “Not in features exactly, just expressions. The way she holds herself. Maybe I have it wrong, maybe Daisy’s changed to adapt to the essence.” Violet held up her arms. “What do I know anyway?”

  “No matter what happens we keep Daisy safe.” That was the
bottom line.

  Violet glanced over her shoulder. “She wanted me to promise the same thing about you.”

  “And did you?”

  “Well, her exact words were about worrying that you’d be hurt. I told her the truth. I told her if we failed, you’d be hurt.”

  “We’re not going to fail. That’s not an option at all.” I stood. I couldn’t sit around a moment more.

  Hugh smirked. “Not an option, but a possibility. Failure is always a possibility, even for the strongest, and you aren’t the strongest.”

  “Do you want to antagonize me?” I moved toward him.

  “It’s the truth. Although Daisy is one of the strongest beings I’ve ever met.”

  “She is.” We agreed on something.

  “Speaking of which.” Violet gestured to the doorway.

  I turned to see Daisy walk in wearing jeans and a fitted t-shirt. She looked perfect. She looked beautiful dressed up, but there was something about simple casual clothes that brought out her inner beauty even more. “Sorry about that. I had to talk to Mayanne a little bit more.”

  “It’s fine. We’ve had a lovely chat.” Violet picked up another cookie. “Still hungry?”

  “Nope.” Daisy shook her head. “Let’s do this.”

  “Are you leaving?” Georgina and Levi strolled back into the room. They’d disappeared earlier, and I hadn’t asked questions.

  “Yes. There’s no reason to hold off any longer,” Daisy replied.

  Georgina pulled her into a hug. “Best of luck on your journey.”

  Daisy stepped back in surprise. “Thank you.”

  Georgina nodded. “My bet is on you.”

  Daisy’s eyes widened slightly. “I didn’t take you as someone who bets.”

  “Everyone is entitled to her secrets.” Georgina winked.

  “Take care of Owen for me.” Levi held out his hand to her.

  “Of course.” She accepted his hand and shook it. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

  “I know. He’s in good hands.”

  I put an arm around her. “And I won’t let anything happen to you either.”

  “Good.” Mayanne smiled. “Daisy’s a friend of mine. I’m protective of my friends.”

  “As you should be.” Violet moved toward the doorway. Hugh pushed past her without a word.

  “Where’s Hugh going?” Daisy asked.

  “Waiting outside. Goodbyes aren’t his thing.”

  “Even when they are with people he doesn’t care about?” Levi asked skeptically.

  “What makes you think he doesn’t care about any of you?” Violet teased.

  “Be safe.” Georgina spoke softly.

  “We will do our best. Thanks for the hospitality.” Violet turned back around.

  “Thanks for the help, Levi.” Hopefully I’d be able to repay him eventually.

  “Anytime, man.”

  My relationship with Levi was complicated, but the bottom line was we were good friends. I knew Levi had my back when it counted.

  “Just do me a favor. Come back when you’re all done.”

  “I plan on it.” I caught up with Daisy and Violet outside.

  Hugh was already seated in the driver’s seat of the SUV. Daisy and I slipped into the backseat.

  “How did the goodbyes go?” Hugh slowly backed out of the drive.

  “They went fine. I’m not sure why you hid out here.” Daisy buckled her seatbelt.

  “I had more important things to do.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah. We’ve got directions in the GPS.” He pointed to the screen.

  “You guys need directions?” Daisy leaned forward toward the front.

  “No, but it seemed like something I should do.”

  Daisy shook her head. “You guys are weird.”

  Hugh looked at us in the rearview mirror. “Like you should talk?”

  “How far are we driving?” They wanted to be secretive? Fine. They could at least tell us that.

  “We need to get to Charleston.”

  “Charleston, South Carolina or West Virginia?” That would make a big difference in the driving time.

  “South Carolina.”

  “So that’s about 750 miles from here.”

  “Good guess.”

  “It’s not a guess.” I knew distances. I needed to know exactly how long it would take to get to any place in Levi’s territory. So much of my life had been dedicated to preparing to be his advisor, yet I hadn’t realized it at the time. I’d honestly been surprised when he’d appointed me. I was his friend, but politically there were better Pterons for the position. My family held no power. Or they didn’t before. With Hailey and I both advisors now we were positioning ourselves to be one of the strongest families. I pushed the thought from my head. We weren’t positioning ourselves to be anything. We were friends with the king and queen and that helped us get jobs. I’d abandoned my job. Hopefully Hailey didn’t do the same thing because I wasn’t sure what that would mean for the Kaye family’s reputation.

  Hugh drove us down the quiet country roads, past a large pond with an old covered bridge.

  “I had a bridge like that near my house growing up.” Daisy looked wistfully out the window.

  “Did you also play with puppies and kittens?” Hugh laughed.

  “Stop it, Hugh.” Violet pushed his arm. “Cut Daisy a break.”

  “You are no fun.”

  “I’m not concerned with whether I’m fun.”

  Hugh shrugged. “Whatever.”

  I followed Daisy’s lead and gazed out the window. I’d spent my whole life in Louisiana, yet I knew so little of the state outside New Orleans. It’s funny how you can be so close to something, yet know it so little. Eventually the countryside was replaced with the interstate. We had a long trip ahead of us.

  Daisy sighed, and I looked over. “Is everything okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She smiled lightly. “At least we have a plan.”

  “A plan that has to work.” It was hard to have confidence in a plan you still didn’t know that much about.

  “It doesn’t have to work,” Hugh shot back.

  “It does.” I wasn’t in the mood to argue with him. I wasn’t in the mood to do anything but find a way to stop the change.

  * * *

  We stopped once for gas and food, but otherwise we drove straight through to Charleston. I spent the ride trying to figure out where we were really going, and trying to come up with every possible escape plan. I didn’t want to trust the Allures, but we didn’t have another choice. All I could do was take the word of Mayanne and Georgina. They had no reason to trick me, and I hoped they didn’t have a hidden agenda.

  “I haven’t been here in years.” Daisy looked out her window. She’d spent nearly the whole trip that way. I left her to her own thoughts. She’d have told me if she were interested in talking.

  “To Charleston?” Violet asked.

  “Yeah. I didn’t grow up all that far from here, but since starting college I missed all the family trips.” She put a hand on her stomach.

  I cringed. I couldn’t stand to see her in discomfort, and she was still feeling sick.

  “We don’t come all that often either.” Hugh sounded surprisingly nice.

  “Isn’t this how you get to your home?”

  “Yes, but we don’t go home often. We find plenty of substitutes elsewhere.”

  “Like abandoned amusement parks.” Daisy smiled.

  “Yes.”

  “Abandoned amusement parks?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes. They were staying at the old amusement park in New Orleans. The one that closed after Katrina.”

  “Oh… interesting.” They had the ability to stay anywhere in the world they wanted, the finest hotels or homes, yet they choose an abandoned amusement park that had been under several feet of water?

  Violet turned in her seat. “Don’t judge it until you’ve seen it.”

  “It was pre
tty cool. Different, but cool.” Daisy stretched. “I was skeptical at first, but they had a nice set up.”

  “By skeptical she means she expected us to kill her.” Hugh laughed.

  “How are you laughing?” Daisy pouted. “It was a completely reasonable thing to worry about considering the circumstances.”

  I loved that Daisy could see the potential in the abandoned park. Not many people could. It’s not like she was an eternal optimist. She wasn’t, but she could understand why people saw beauty in another person’s trash.

  “This home isn’t like the amusement park though, is it?” Daisy rested her hand between us. “Not because I care, but…”

  Violet turned back around. “You’ll see for yourself in a few minutes.”

  “We’re that close?” Daisy leaned forward.

  “Weren’t you the one who was in a hurry?” Hugh asked.

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to face whatever is about to come my way.”

  Hugh continued down the two lane road lined with a mix of old and new buildings. It was one of those areas that had been built over time. He suddenly slowed and turned onto a dirt road. I was glad he’d chosen an SUV. “Angel Oak?” I noted the sign. “I should have known.”

  “Tell anyone about it and you’re dead, bird.” Hugh didn’t mince words.

  “I can understand secrets. Pterons have more than a few of our own.”

  “What’s Angel Oak?” Daisy asked over the noise from the uneven road below us.

  “It’s one of the oldest trees east of the Missisippi.”

  “Why’s it called Angel Oak?” Daisy looked out at the dark night.

  “Originally it comes from the name of some of the people who owned the land, but the angel name also works because people have reported seeing the ghosts of dead slaves here.” Violet opened her window. “Now that’s a time I’d never want to go back to.”

  “You were around before the civil war?” Daisy’s eyed widened. “That’s crazy.”

  “I was around long before that.”

  “Wow.” Daisy leaned back against the seat.

  “You’re not that old, Violet.” Hugh patted her leg.

  “Yeah, not that old.”

  “No matter how hold you are, you look good for your age.” I thought I’d break some of the tension.