Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy

by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

  I jerked open the door, slamming it behind me before she had a chance to say anything more.

  Cade eyed me warily as I stepped out into the courtyard.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said, my voice shaking a little as I sped past him.

  To my great relief, he quickly caught up to me without demanding to know why.

  * * *

  When we reached Kellston on the other side of the dolmarehn, most of the village was still asleep. I was grateful, for I didn’t think myself capable of handling their optimism at the moment. Since the visit with my mother had been cut short, I still had a few days to fill before I needed to return home, so Cade invited me to stay in his castle. I didn’t even have to think about my response. So for the next two days, Cade tried to help me coax my glamour out into the open.

  “Your natural magic should be able to flow free from your skin, like this,” Cade said, holding his palm flat and letting five golden flames dance from his fingertips.

  I gasped and stared at him with wide eyes. He merely grinned.

  “Most of the time I make the magic undetectable, but for educational purposes I took away that stricture.”

  I tried to follow his lead, listening carefully as he directed me on how to encourage my glamour to follow my instruction, but every time the exhilarating force would fill my arms only to stop at my fingertips.

  “Why won’t it work for me?” I cried, throwing my hands down as I plopped onto the ground.

  Speirling, who cropped grass only a few feet away, eyed me with curiosity before getting back to his lunch. The lingering bad mood that had followed me from the visit to Erintara didn’t help.

  Cade only shook his head, joining me in the middle of the field. “It will, Meghan. Trust me. When your magic’s ready, it will come fully awake and you won’t even realize what hit you.”

  The next morning, Cade escorted me back to the mortal world. Meeting my real mother had been a disaster, and although I told her I wanted to go home to my family, I yearned to live in Eilé. I regretted our angry parting, and I hoped someday I’d be able to patch things up with her, but she would have to understand I wouldn’t choose her over Cade.

  Cade turned to leave, and in the next moment I remembered how I had been putting off asking him to prom. I hooked a loose curl of my hair behind an ear. I hadn’t asked him the night my mother acknowledged me in front of her court because I feared he’d only feel sorry for me, and I’d come up with one excuse after another not to ask him during these past two days. Well, I was fresh out of excuses and to be honest, I was tired of being afraid; afraid of the Morrigan, afraid of my mother’s disappointment and disregard, afraid to tell Cade how I felt about him . . .

  “Um, Cade?”

  He paused before stepping into the cave, then turned and waited for me to continue.

  Ugh, I wasn’t good at this, not good at this at all . . .

  “Uh, well, this is my senior year in high school and prom is coming up, which is kind of a big deal. It’s this dance everyone goes to and-”

  “I know about prom,” he cut in.

  I chewed my lip again. Dang it. If he hadn’t interrupted me I might have asked by now.

  I took a deep breath and stared at the ground. “Well, I was wondering if you’d like to go with me. To prom.”

  There. I’d asked him. Now I just needed to wait for his response. My eyes weren’t on him, so I felt Cade take my fingers in his before I saw him move. I started a little from the gentle touch.

  “I would be honored to accompany you to prom, Meghan.”

  His voice was soft, and chicken that I was, I still couldn’t look him in the eye. I cleared my throat and pulled my hand out of his so I could use my fingers to hook my hair behind my ear again.

  “Great,” I said, “it’s on the first of May, a Saturday night.”

  Finally, I glanced at him. He stood back watching me, a small grin on his face. I grinned in return. No, I beamed. Cade said he’d go to prom with me!

  “Are you sure about this Meghan?”

  My smile vanished and a boulder the size of a house settled in my stomach.

  Cade’s tone took on a bitter note when he continued, “After all, you can do better than a Faelorehn bounty hunter with questionable parentage.”

  I merely stared at him, stunned. Had my mother spoken to him as well? Or had he heard our discussion? My cheeks turned pink, anger having a little to do with it.

  “Did Danua talk to you?” I asked in a harsh whisper.

  Cade flinched. “I accidentally overheard your conversation. I’m sorry Meghan. I didn’t mean to, your voices carried through the door.”

  Oh no. What had I said? Had I mentioned anything about my own feelings towards Cade? Sure, I’d just been complaining to myself about being afraid to tell him what he meant to me, but I didn’t want him to find out like this. Oh crap!

  I decided to ignore the voice in my head and took a deep breath. “I don’t care what Danua thinks of you.”

  I gazed up at him, met his eyes with my own, and crossed my arms. The boldness I sensed earlier started welling up again; the desire to banish all my fears. But unfortunately I wasn’t brave enough to finally tell him the truth. That I loved him.

  “She doesn’t know you Cade, but I do.”

  His laugh was harsh and grating, enough to make me take a step back. He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. He heaved a deep sigh and placed his hands on his hips, tilting his chin up to the treetops. The afternoon light got caught in his hair, turning the strands copper.

  “Oh Meghan, if you only truly knew me, you wouldn’t be so quick to defend me.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  I didn’t intend to sound snippy, but my response came out that way. I had too much on my mind, that was my problem. I had just met my birth mother for the first time, a mother who had given me up years ago and was now trying to tell me how to live my life without even making a minor attempt to get to know me. Besides, even though I didn’t want to admit it, what Cade said held some truth. I trusted him, was completely head over heels in love with him, but did I sincerely know him? Hadn’t he kept things from me? Wasn’t he still keeping things from me? So why did I jump so quickly to his defense? Because he was the first one to tell you about who you are, the little voice inside of me whispered, and because he’s the first boy to ever really care, isn’t he?

  Cade must have detected my distress because when he lowered his head once again and caught sight of the expression on my face, he grimaced.

  “I’m sorry Meghan. That was a stupid thing to say. Perhaps Danua’s words got to me more than I’d like to admit.”

  His smile seemed genuine this time, but a lingering sadness tainted his voice once again.

  He recaptured my hand and planted it with a kiss. “I look forward to prom, my lady.”

  Cade let go of my fingers and whistled for Fergus, and in the next moment the two of them were through the dolmarehn and on their way back to the Otherworld.

  I think I stood outside the cave for a good five minutes before Meridian reminded me we should head home.

  Yes, home, I thought. Home, to a mother and father and brothers who love me.

  * * *

  The rest of March and most of April flew by at warp speed. Everyone at school was obsessing over graduation, prom and the upcoming summer. I spent much of my time brooding over what I would do about Danua and how I was going to inform my family of my own plans. I’d turned it all over during the last several weeks and had come to a conclusion: on the day after graduation, I’d finally tell them I was Faelorehn and that I belonged in the Otherworld. I only hoped they would believe me and not try to cart me off to the psychiatric ward.

  On Saturday, exactly one week before prom, I woke to find Fergus sitting at my glass door. Feeling a pang of delight jolt through me, I threw on a robe and my sandals and pulled the door open.

  “Is Cade here?”

  I hadn
’t seen him or heard from him since returning from Danua’s court over a month ago. I had worried that she’d somehow gotten to him; convinced him to stay away from me or threatened him in some way. Hopefully, Fergus’s presence could be counted as a good sign and not a bad one.

  Clenching my teeth, I hurried after the wolfhound only to stop in front of the oak tree when he did. I furrowed my brow and reached around to the spot where Cade and I exchanged our letters. As I pulled the note free, Meridian swooped down from her perch, chittering happily as she playfully dive-bombed Fergus.

  The parchment I held in my hand wasn’t Cade’s customary, plain white sheet of paper, but a heavier piece of stationary rolled into a tube, tied with a sheer gold ribbon and sealed with a fancy logo resembling the Greek letter omega.

  I broke the seal, pausing only for a moment to admire it, and read the gilded letters, smiling by the time I reached the bottom. It was an invitation from the Dagda to join him and his fellow revelers this coming Friday for a Beltaine Eve celebration. And yes, Cade would be going as well. My birth mother may not have accepted me, but at least there were some people in the Otherworld who wished me well and enjoyed my company.

  After returning to my room, I quickly penned a reply to the Dagda and wrote a separate note to Cade, to remind him he promised to attend prom with me, then brought them both back to Fergus.

  After tying them securely to his collar, I patted him goodbye then showered and got dressed. Afterwards, I went upstairs to spend some time with my pesky brothers before Robyn and Tully came to get me so we could go shopping for prom dresses. It was looking like the beginning of a good day indeed.

  * * *

  “I still can’t believe Robyn’s met him and I haven’t,” Tully pouted as she plucked at the taffeta skirt of a magenta gown hanging on the clothing rack in front of her.

  Since Cade had agreed to go to prom with me, I finally caved and told all my friends about him, emphasizing that he was just a friend. Robyn had only snorted at me, but I ignored her.

  “Oh, it was only because she happened to be in the right place at the right time,” I answered Tully’s question.

  I grinned at Robyn and she returned the gesture. She had been a good friend, keeping my secret for so long.

  “I can’t wait to see what he looks like in a tux,” Robyn sighed dreamily as she picked up a turquoise dress and held it up to herself. “What do you say, Meg? Think I’ll be able to snag your boyfriend away from you if I wear this?”

  She twirled around and Tully and I snorted with laughter.

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” I insisted after I stopped giggling. “We’re just friends.”

  “Sure he isn’t, and sure you are,” Robyn teased as she continued her dance.

  Eventually we all found a dress, but I needed something for the Dagda’s Beltaine party as well. I couldn’t wear my prom dress since it was a bit too fancy, and I didn’t really have anything at home, so we stopped in one more store before leaving the mall.

  When I got back to my room I laid both garments out on my bed, admiring them each for different reasons. The prom dress was a teal green with a long skirt and spaghetti strap sleeves. The cocktail style dress I’d picked out for the Dagda’s party was black and white with a shorter skirt that flared out at the waist. Sighing, I hung them both up in my closet and went out to check the oak tree for a response from Cade.

  As I walked to the tree, I thought about my busy plans for the weekend. On Friday after school, I’d leave to go to Eilé, but my parents would think I was staying over at Robyn’s. From what I calculated, I had plenty of time the next morning to return home from the Dagda’s Beltaine party and get ready for my prom night.

  I grinned. I would be exhausted and probably not in the mood to mingle with my fellow classmates, pretending I harbored regrets about high school coming to an end, accepting false apologies and claims of ‘no hard feelings’ from those who had never been kind to me. But I didn’t care. Even if I knew the entire school had planned a prank to ridicule me, Meghan the weirdo, at my senior prom, I still wouldn’t give a damn. They could laugh and offer their false smiles and fake comradeship all they wanted. It didn’t matter because I would have Cade by my side. I smiled wistfully, imagining myself the inept heroine in some badly written stage musical. Once again, the very thought hardly fazed me.

  The knothole in the oak was empty, but by the next day I had a response. Cade told me to pack what I needed for an overnight stay at the Dagda’s and he would meet me Friday after school.

  I clutched the note close, then headed back to the house. I decided to walk around the front this time since I heard Logan and Bradley playing basketball in the driveway. I grinned when I spotted Aiden watching them with keen interest.

  I went and sat down on the retaining wall next to him, ruffling his dark hair with a free hand. He wiggled away with a smile, but made sure he didn’t move too far away so that he could still touch me. I sighed. This was Aiden’s method of finding comfort. He always had to be touching me. I didn’t mind. Our special way of consoling one another comforted me, too.

  Once Logan led Bradley by ten points, I stood up and went back inside, carrying Aiden with me. A twinge of sadness shot through my heart, making my well of magic warm a little. If I left to live in the Otherworld, who would take care of Aiden? I mean, I knew my parents would take care of him and love him, but we had a special bond. What would happen if I wasn’t there to offer the comfort he always sought from me? I shook my head, telling myself to worry about the future later.

  “Snow bird,” Aiden murmured in my ear.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see what had caught his attention, but didn’t notice anything.

  “What do you mean Aiden?” I asked.

  He pointed. “White.”

  I looked again. Perched up in the eucalyptus, in her usual spot, sat Meridian, napping in the late afternoon sun, but I didn’t see any other white birds.

  I shrugged. “Probably a dove.”

  “Perty,” he sighed as he clung tighter.

  Once inside, I set him down on the couch with the twins and went to help Mom with dinner. She had a dish towel thrown over her shoulder, humming some nameless tune as she stirred what I suspected to be cake batter.

  I leaned my elbows on the island and started flipping through a magazine. I often found it wise to wait and get instructions from her when it came to helping out with whatever culinary creation she was working on.

  “So,” she said, moving to the stove to check on dinner, “when do we get to meet this boy you’re taking to the prom?”

  I paused in my perusal of recipes and ads. I wondered when this conversation might come up. I took a deep breath and tried to sound casual.

  “Saturday night. He’s going to pick me up here after I come home from Robyn’s.”

  Mom tasted the sauce for the chicken.

  “Is he cute?”

  I felt myself flush a little. “Yes.” Very cute.

  “What did you say his name was again?”

  “Cade MacRoich.”

  Should I be nervous about this interrogation? These were the normal questions a mother might ask her daughter, right? I cringed at that. My birth mother wouldn’t care, but Mom, well, she did care. She stepped away from the stove and wiped her hands on the towel.

  “I don’t think you ever told us how you met him Meghan.”

  Oh, good, I was ready for this one. I took a deep breath, closed the magazine, and rolled my eyes, trying to act annoyed at being burdened with so many questions.

  “I met him in town one day when I was out with Tully and Robyn. We were at the bookstore and we both reached for the last copy of the same book, but he let me have it. We started talking and found out we had a lot in common.”

  There, that should suffice. I picked the magazine back up.

  “So are you guys an item then?”

  I blanched, rumpling the glossy pages between my fingers. “Uh, no, we’re just friends.�
� Meg the broken record.

  My mom stopped her stirring, put her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow at me.

  “I thought you said he was cute?”

  Yes, well, doesn’t mean he returns the sentiment. I found it rather ironic that my mom should be thinking along the same lines as Danua. Perhaps they were picking up on some vibe I was oblivious to. Maybe Cade did want to be my boyfriend. My nerves prickled at the thought. But if he did, why hadn’t he said anything? Why, when he kissed me that time he’d first taught me about my power, did he withdraw? Why hadn’t he tried to kiss me again? I ground my teeth and forced all those stray thoughts away.

  “Doesn’t mean we’re an item,” I grumbled at Mom, answering her question.

  She merely beamed at me. “Oh, I think it’s only a matter of time honey.”

  I released a long breath as the magazine provided refuge once more. I hoped she was right.

  -Sixteen-

  Beltaine

  On Friday morning, I woke early and packed my duffle bag with my party dress, shoes and change of clothes for the journey home in the morning. I was supposed to be going over to Robyn’s after school to stay the night, so I dragged it upstairs with my backpack.

  Thomas pulled in the driveway fifteen minutes later and I called a goodbye over my shoulder as I left the house. I was tempted to skip school and leave early to meet Cade, but I knew we would have plenty of time to make it to the Dagda’s party, and I didn’t want to risk getting caught skipping class, not on the day before prom when I had the kind of parents who wouldn’t think twice of banishing me to my room for the rest of the school year.

  I found Cade waiting in the parking lot for me after school, just as his note had said. I made my way to his black Trans Am, throwing my backpack and duffle bag in the back seat before Tully or the boys got a chance to find me. I glanced at Cade and he smiled, his gaze lingering.

  My heart skipped a beat as I recalled the conversation with my mom the night before. Talking so casually about being Cade’s girlfriend was easy when he wasn’t around. As soon as I caught him eyeing me like that however, I felt self-conscious once again.