Dixon

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Haven,” she said as to not scare her. Her sister didn’t like being snuck up on. “I need to speak with you.”

  Haven sat up and turned toward her with tears in her eyes. “He can’t make you.”

  How was it she already knew? The decision was just made. Her visions couldn’t have told her already. But by the look of despair on her sister’s sweet face Melody knew she was wrong.

  “It’s to be done.” Her voice was flat and void of emotion. Even to her own ears. “I have no choice.”

  “We all have choices. In the human—”

  “Stop, sister, the human world isn’t ready for us. Not full time. You’ve seen how different we are.” But in the back of her mind, she wondered if that were really true or just something Talbot planted in her head.

  “I’ve seen it.”

  Melody edged closer to her sister and sat next to her. She leaned in closer as if the plants would eavesdrop and tattle. “Seen what?” she asked in a hushed whisper.

  Tears slid down Haven’s cheeks and she shook her head. “You must leave this place for good. If you don’t, then Hanna and I have no chance.”

  “Chance?”

  “If you wed him, it will be the North’s doom, our doom. Uncle is a liar and a con man. Since Father and Mother passed he’s been designing how to get rid of us with the biggest payout. You’ll play into his hand.”

  “I already told him I would wed Sirk. He threatened to force your hand.”

  She laughed. “He cannot force me to marry that vile man. Sirk, that’s his name, has no hold over me ,and neither does Uncle. He thinks he has control, but I know the truth. I know what he hides between his sweet talk and smiles.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s all lies, sister. We’ll be nothing more than breeders with a royal family name that matters not any longer. Sirk has worse intentions. I feel it.”

  Melody sighed. Her sister’s visions were never wrong thus far. There was no denying the truth. “So, what do we do?”

  Her sister brightened as if she were waiting for Melody to get on board.

  “We will leave this place. You will go to the human world. There is someone there for you. He will be a challenge, but he is not human. And when you’re safe, I will bring Hanna.”

  She didn’t like the idea of leaving them alone—of separating. Their parents always told them they would be more powerful together. “But what will happen to you while I’m gone?”

  “Fear not, sister, I can handle Uncle, and Hanna already knows not to let anyone tell her lies. You see, we’ve been talking. Our powers are different than yours. We see what you cannot.”

  Of course, another reason why she hated Faerie. She was the oldest, yet the weakest. Not only that, she was the shortest and chubbiest. She hated her extra curves. Especially when she was next to her beautiful sisters. She felt like an ugly mutt. And to top it off healing was supposed to be a revered power, but she got treated as if it were a gift to find a husband. Her heart ached for love—real love. The kind that made her heart race and her palms sweat. She yearned for something she would never find if she stayed. But how could she leave? “I can’t leave you and Hanna to deal with the backlash.”

  Haven took her hands. “I’ve seen the future. We belong in the human world. I have a mate, and so do you. Hanna will when the time is right.” She squeezed in desperation. “If you do not leave, I will take Hanna and go, but you’re stronger than you think you are. It’s time for you to leave, first. You need to pave the wave for us.”

  “You know he’ll send the hunter.” She shuddered just thinking of the large man who was always there. Uncle said he was only guarding them, but she knew better. He was watching them. Keeping them locked away from happiness.

  “I will make sure he stays off your trail.” She stood suddenly and walked to the far side of the small section of flowers.

  When she lifted a rock, Melody raised a brow. “What are you doing?”

  “Shh,” was her sister’s reply.

  Melody lay her hands in her lap and twined her fingers together, ignoring how they shook with nerves. Haven had a plan. That wasn’t always a good thing and had backfired more times than she could remember. But when she pulled out a small pouch and sat in front of her again, she didn’t know what to think. “What’s in there?”

  Haven opened the pouch and pulled out three amulets. “Hanna made these. One for each of us to stay in constant contact, no matter where we are.”

  Hanna was gifted with spell crafting and apparently magical devices on top of other things that had yet to appear. Haven said Hanna was the youngest but the most gifted. She had yet to come into her powers fully, and it was only a matter of time.

  The amulet was oval and made of rose quartz. It looked like the average necklace any Fae woman would wear. She took the necklace from Haven’s outstretched hand and ran her thumb over the stone. “It’s really beautiful, but how is this going to help us?”

  “Have faith, sister. Only you can open the communication. You must think of us. Right now, think of Hanna.”

  Melody thoughts of her younger sister and smiled. Hanna was so full of life. She was in her late thirties, which was incredibly young in Faerie but an adult in the human world. Her sister was the odd ball of the three, with her mother’s striking curly red hair and bright green eyes. She was tall, pale, and lithe. Everything a man of Faerie would want. Already, she’d been offered many options to be wed, but that was one line Talbot had thankfully not crossed.

  “Mel, oh, wow, it works!”

  Melody jumped when she heard Hanna’s voice and looked down at the amulet. There she saw her sister’s face. The bright red corkscrew curls, bright even among the pink of the stone. “How—”

  “Don’t ask, it took a lot of manipulation. But this is how we will keep in touch. This is how you’ll tell us when it’s time to come.” She looked off to the side and whispered, “Haven told you of our plan?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Oh, stop. You hate it here just as bad as we do. There is more out there for us, but the only way we will truly live our lives is to leave. It’s what Ma would want. She would tell us to chance our futures. She would tell us that Faerie isn’t the same as it used to be, and it’s time to move on. She would certainly tell you to never wed a man as vile as Sirk.”

  “I don’t want to leave you.”

  “We’ll be fine. But you need to go soon. I feel it in my bones, Mel, there’s someone there for you—he needs you. Besides, Haven has a mate, too. Didn’t she tell you?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “No buts, her mate isn’t ready for her. You must be first. Everything must follow a certain path. You must do what mother did and pave the way for a new life. Only our lives won’t be here anymore. You are the key to all of our freedom.”

  “When do I go?” Normally, Melody never questioned her sisters. They were goddess touched and Haven could see into the future. She could see what was to come. So, what made her question her sister now? Just because he sister had visions didn’t mean she knew everything. If she’d had a vision about her marrying Sirk she would have come to her sooner. There had been a lot of talk about her decision, and it wasn’t the first time her uncle had talked to her about him.

  Fear. Fear of failing them. She wasn’t as gifted as them. Healing wouldn’t save them from their world. Or from their uncle.

  “Determination will save us, and you have it. You have the passion and the ability to be anything you want. Stop doubting yourself and be the leader,” Hanna said as if reading her mind.

  “I don’t know if I can.”

  Hanna ignored the self-doubt, as if it would go away if she didn’t acknowledge it. “You must go tonight. I will distract our lovely babysitter. He will be easy.” Hanna smiled and Melody wondered what that meant. She didn’t seem too concerned about the man who could easily hunt them down. He will a big brute of a Fae. When their parents were alive he loved them all. He taught them self-defense and p
rotected them from people like their uncle. Something changed though. As the years went by he changed into something they no longer recognized. He was domineering and they all knew his past was full of dark secrets he hid from everyone around him. Yet everyone was too terrified of him to ask the questions they all wanted answers to. Hanna was the only one who didn’t fear him, and Melody never questioned why. She would have now, but there wasn’t time. If she were to follow their plan, she had to find her way out of Faerie and into the human world.

  “I will go tonight,” she replied but she wasn’t as on board as her sisters. It seemed they had planned everything without her, which left her wondering what her role really was.

  ***

  Dixon was well and truly plastered. He loved the feeling of euphoria he got when he’d had just enough to drink. He sat at the bar as the other patrons had last call. Bac never made him leave until he was closing down—unless he fought, that was. It was a good night. No one pissed him off. It didn’t happen much of the late, but there was still a gnawing feeling in the pit of his gut. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was coming, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to like it or not.

  “It will happen when it happens, and you’ll get past it like you always do,” Bac said as he wiped down the counter. “Fate is mysterious, my friend.”

  He huffed. Right there was that Fate word again. She’d done nothing but send him challenge after challenge in his life. “Right.”

  “Maybe it ain’t a bad thing. Did ya ever think of that?”

  “No.” He never thought of the possibility of a good thing. Not when he’d been let down so many times. “I better get home.” He didn’t need the lecture again. For a beast who had suffered so much in his life, he didn’t understand how Bac could be so positive. If anything, he had a reason to be more jaded than Dixon.

  “All right, get out of here, but be safe. Drive like a sober human. I don’t need you gettin’ arrested.”

  Dixon smirked. He learned a long time ago how to avoid getting pulled over. After being arrested multiple times, the cops left him alone as long as he didn’t speed or swerve. “I’m not that plastered. I know my limits now.” And he did. He could drink any human under the table and still drive like he was sober. That’s how he managed every night. He stood up and swayed. Slamming his hand on the counter, he took a deep breath. Something was off. He’d not had that much to drink. The swaying always came later. But tonight, he felt on the edge of something, and the liquor affected him more than normal. “Maybe I’ll wait a few.”

  He couldn’t afford to do anything stupid, that much he knew for sure. There was a niggling at the back of his mind. His beast telling him to sober up. The lion hated the alcohol. It made it harder for him to be aware. But Dixon loved it. Only this time his stomach turned. He swallowed and groaned. Without a word, he strode to the men’s room and right to the toilet as the contents of his stomach made a second appearance. He vomited up everything he’d taken in and fell to the ground. Sweat covered his body and his throat burned. When he tasted the alcohol, he held his head over the toilet and purged out the liquor.

  Dixon panted for breath wondering why he was sick. He never got sick.

  “You all right?” Bac asked from somewhere in the distance.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he shook his head and then groaned when the movement sent a scorching path of pain to his head. “Oh ,gods.”

  Bac laughed. “This is what it’s like to be human. Drinking too much and then turning around and throwin’ it up. I see this all the time.”

  Dixon didn’t like being laughed at. Not even from his friend. His stomach ached and his head throbbed. It was the first time he’d ever gotten sick from drinking. Inside, his beast huffed in laughter. That was even worse. Even his lion thought it was funny he was sick.

  It wasn’t funny.

  When he went to stand white lights danced in front of his eyes and he fell back to the floor. “Shit,” he managed before he fell back and the darkness took over.

  Chapter 3

  Everyone was asleep except her sisters. Or so it seemed. Melody’s body shook with nerves. She’d never really been the type to sneak out, but this was different. She had to leave Faerie. A part of her mourned leaving the only home she’d ever known, but it was best for her and her sisters. They needed to be able to live their lives without Uncle hovering over them, controlling them. They were grown women and had a right to choose the path they took. No one should be able to say differently. But that wasn’t’ the Fae way. There was always a Patriarch of every family. Until he died, it was her father. She had no brothers, so that left Talbot. He didn’t have anyone’s best interests at heart—other than his own.

  She’d known for years there was something off about him. Each year since her parent’s passing he got worse with his demands. The Fae of the North were leaving one by one. No one came to them for council any longer. No one came to them in times of grief or celebration. Her parents had a good repour with the others, but that all fell away the day of their accident. She shook her head and zipped the duffel bag. It was one of the many things the humans used her kind had brought over. They thought of the best things.

  She packed everything she could fit in one bag and looked around her room. Lit by candles, walls bare, she realized it hadn’t been home—ever. It was just a room she slept in. There was nothing holding her back from starting over.

  Haven slipped into her room and shut the door. “Are you ready?”

  Melody took a deep breath. Was she ready? Probably not, but now was the only time she’d be able to slip away before Talbot announced the upcoming wedding to Sirk. She needed to be gone before that. “I suppose so.”

  “Don’t be scared. You’ll find the help you need, sister. Don’t shun him.”

  Why would she do that? Haven kept talking of her finding her mate. Of finding help, and he wasn’t human, but what was he, and why did her sister feel the need to keep reminding her that he needed her? “What if he shuns me?”

  Her sister’s eyes brightened. “Oh, he won’t in the end. He won’t be able to resist you. But he has his own demons. Ones he won’t face until he meets you.”

  Again, she was shocked with the depth of what Haven actually knew. “How do you know all this?”

  “It comes to me over time. It’s why I haven’t pushed for you to leave before now. He’s ready for you now.”

  “That means you’ve known about this for a while, and you’re just now telling me. Why didn’t you and Hanna include me in your plan?” That was the part that hurt the most. She didn’t understand why she was kept in the dark.

  “Because you can’t plan like us. You can’t pretend everything is normal even when it’s not. You feel guilty. You’re too sweet. And we love you for that, but Talbot would have learned of our plan had you known.”

  “I could have helped.”

  “You will be helping. You’re vital to our plan. Don’t take offense. We didn’t leave you out to be mean. You’re too honest. If you had been questioned, lying would have eaten at you.” Haven laughed. “Plus, you’re a terrible liar. It was best this way.”

  Melody didn’t agree, but what did she know? She was only the eldest of them. Lived the longest and dealt with far more than they did. She kept things from them all the time. She handled it on her own. There was no need to worry them if she could fix it. “I’m not a terrible liar.”

  “Here, you must take this with you. Hide it among your clothing except for a small bit.” Haven handed her several wads of money for the human world. “You’re going to need this to survive.”

  Melody took a few of the bills out of the roll and opened her bag, strategically placing the others hidden among her clothing. “This should help, but I won’t use it unless I have to.”

  “Use your glamour, too. Humans can’t know about us. They aren’t ready to know Supes exist. You’ve seen from our visits how close knit and secretive the Supes are.
How they work hard to keep their secrets. They won’t like it if you don’t do the same.”

  “I’m not stupid, Haven.” She didn’t need to be told what to do. It was irritating to think her younger kin didn’t think she was capable of figuring that out on her own. “We’ve always used glamour on our visits.”

  Her sister sighed. “I don’t think you’re stupid. Maybe I’m scared for you. It doesn’t matter how much I see, that isn’t always set in stone. Things change, and I won’t be there to help protect you.”

  “I’m scared too, but you’re right. We have to make a change in our lives, and it doesn’t include Faerie anymore. It’s time to move on. It’s what Mother and Father would want for us.” The more she thought of them, the more she realized the feeling of freedom was right at the tip of her fingers. That’s what her parents wanted for them. They wanted them to be happy and live their long lives.

  Haven smiled. “See, this is why it has to be you.” She hugged her sister.

  Melody wrapped her arms around Haven and squeezed her tight. “Hug Hanna for me.”

  The other woman pulled back and wiped away her tears. “I will. She’s rooting for you. Just like I am. You’ll find us our new home in the human world.”

  She hoped she didn’t let her sisters down. Failure wasn’t an option. Melody straightened her spine and grabbed her duffel bag. It was time to go. Hanna wouldn’t be able to distract Webb for long. If she even could. This was the part she worried most about. What if he caught on faster than they hoped? Then Hanna would suffer, too. She took a deep breath and followed Haven from the room. It was her sister who would open the portal and see her through to the other side, and for that she was grateful. She couldn’t do this part alone. She wasn’t sneaky, by any means.

  “Just stay behind me and follow my steps,” Haven whispered.

  Melody had no reason to respond. Instead she watched her sister’s path as they made their way down the corridor. When they reached the door, Haven stopped and as quietly as possible she turned the knob. In the silence the door opened with a squeak and Melody held her breath waiting for the sounds of footsteps, but none came. She let out her breath and followed Haven out into the brisk night. There was no moon and she sighed. The Fae weren’t like shifters. Their vision wasn’t enhanced. She squinted, doing her best to keep up with Haven, who’d broken out into a slow jog. Her breath caught as the cool breeze whirled around her. Dew from the trees coated her bare arms and she shivered by how cold it was. She kept her pace even and steady not used to running. Exercise wasn’t her idea of a good time, and it showed by her plump body. Not that she was lazy, but she much preferred reading in the library.