Fledgling
Page 20
Chapter Nineteen
They sat in the adjoining room to the café. 7The sun had already begun to set, so only a few brave souls were sitting t the tables, not quite managing to be completely replaced as they finished their drinks.; Their voices, all young, barely reached Austin’s ears, and she couldn’t pick out a word of any of the conversations.
“This is one of my favorite places to go when I have to get out of the shop, “ Kai said. He sat down in a low chair in the corner of the room and Austin took this opportunity to look around. Her eyes were drawn to the vivid, modern artwork hanging on the walls. For some reason, she was expecting old painting, not impressionist stylings obviously taken from the human world. The under the paintings were a pastel green, light and unassuming. The wooden floors and steps were run down, the paint chipping off. Business cards and torn flyers joined the bits of paint on the floor, since they were haphazardly taped and pinned to any wall space where they would fit. Flyers also hung there, advertising events in both Affelil and the human world.
She liked it here, too.
“Here you go,” a waiter sat down the drink hey had ordered just a few minutes ago. He was cute, his curly black hair mostly covered with a beanie and his eyes hidden behind thick framed glasses. She had always been attracted to guys like that in the human world.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, acting like she always did around waiters. Cute or not, she never liked talking to people while they were working. The only exception had been that Amelia girl, back in New York. The waiter smiled at her, said something back that she couldn’t quite make out, and walked away.
“He’s cute,” she said once the waiter had walked away. Kai raised his eyebrows at her and shook his head in a small, quick movement, “Oh right, you prefer guys like Mr. Tall Dark And Scary. Did you two break up?”
“We’re not breaking up, but maybe we weren’t together in the first place,” Kai sighed, holding his cup of steaming black coffee. Right when it seemed that he had forgotten about it, he took a sip, “That’s what started the fight. We shouldn’t even be fighting. I’m just about a hundred and he’s twice that. We’re too old to be acting like teenagers.”
“I’m pretty sure that everyone has relationship troubles,” Austin said, holding her apple cider with both hands. It warmed her and she was glad for the festive taste. Any more tea, no matter how good it was, would have made her go insane.
“I just, I want more than sex. I’ve known him for years, and I like him. I really like him,” Kai said. Despite how he claimed that this would not help him in the slightest, Austin could see how relived he was to get this off his chest
The door behind Kai opened, letting in more than the cold wind. Two men, one with fiery hair and one with a black trench coat, walked in, talking quietly amongst themselves. Austin raised her hand to wave, but caught herself. They looked busy.
“Don’t look now,” she whispered, looking, “But I think fate hates you.”
Kai whipped his head around, locked gazes with the man in the trench coat, and quickly looked back to his coffee. His grip tightened round the thin cup, and Austin prayed that he wouldn’t crush it.
“Relax,” she whispered, looking again. They were both walking over to their table, “Hi Aiden.”
“You’re with Kai again?” Aiden asked, his words turning into a sigh. She glared at him, and she couldn’t help but notice that his partner’s glare was harsher.
“Who are we to tell them who to make friends with?” Derrick scowled. He put a gloved hand on Kai’s shoulder and squeezed.
“I was just going to go show Austin around the city,” Kai began, giving Austin a pleading look. That liar! Still, she went along with it. She was a wing woman.
“It’s okay,” Aiden said before she could, “I’ll do that instead. You two have fun.”
He took her by the arm and nearly dragged her out of the coffee shop. She spilled cider on herself and laughed, “My god, I can’t believe we all just ran into each other.”
“If you must know,” Aiden let go of her, chuckling, “Derrick ran into me. He was looking for Kai, and he thought that he might be there.”
“So you decided to help him out of the goodness of your heart?” she asked. Aiden laughed, shaking his head. She knew that thought was too good to be true.
“I knew that if we found Kai, we’d find you,” Aiden said matter-of-factly, “And I wanted to be the one to show you around the city.”
She could understand that. He was her mentor as well as her best friend, after all. Austin elbowed him. They were sinking back into their old dynamic, and she was fine with that, “You’re terrible, Aiden Fer.”
“Inferno,” he corrected her, elbowing her back, “My last name is Inferno. That name isn’t too common in the human dimension, so I had to shorten it.”
Well, maybe she’d have to rethink the part about him being her best friend if she didn’t even know his real name. Then again, did she even know her own? She went by Austin Anderson, the name Aiden had given her, but her first name had been Austin Johnson. She would happily revert to that if it hadn’t been Dustin who named her.
She pushed that thought away and raised her eyebrows, “Mysterious. What else about you don’t I know?”
“Well,” Aiden thought for a minute, linking his arm through hers, “I’ve never had a girlfriend.”
“No way,” her laugh cut short when she realized he was being completely serious, “Aren’t you like, a hundred years old?”
“I’m only ninety seven, but yes. I’ve never liked anyone before. No girl, or boy for the matter, has intrigued me like you do,” he said. She elbowed him again, this time as hard as she could, “You care, but you’re not loyal. You’re fragile, but you’re not afraid to fight. You are wrong, but you’re brave. And you’re mine.”
“Oh quit it,” she snapped, “I’ve already told you that I don’t like you.”
It didn’t help that he just called her wrong. She didn’t like that word. It was too condemning.
“A dragon’s lifetime is a long time to not like somebody,” he replied and led her down yet another street. This one was a dead end, and a giant fountain took up most of the space. Austin strained her eyes to see.
Aiden stood on the fountain’s edge and brought something out of his pocket. He made a sudden movement with his hand and a light flickered in his palm. He had matches. Slowly, he lit each candle, strategically placed so that the water would not hit them, and the structure glowed to life.
Austin took a step forwards and stared at the water, alive and glimmering with light, “Wow.”
Aiden smiled, letting her have the moment. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was all part of some elaborate plan for her to fall for him. It wouldn’t work.
Her eyes sought out the shiny objects lying under the surface. It was a mix of human currency and Affelil coins, like the ones that Aiden had given her. There was one thing that did not belong—a necklace.
A milky white glass orb was held by a dragon figurine. The entire charm was barely bigger than a marble, and it hung from a thin chain. Even in the faint candle light, it glittered and even seemed to shine.
“Aiden,” she said, her voice urgent. She stared at it. This wasn’t possible, but yet, it was happening. She couldn’t fathom what it was doing here, or how she recognized it.
“You’re welcome,” Aiden said. She shook her head.
“Aiden,” Austin pointed at it, no doubt in her mind, “That’s my necklace.”
She reached into the freezing water and took the necklace, holding it by the end of the chain. It dangled from her fingers, heavier than it looked, and all Austin could do was stare.