by Charlie Hart
It’s so damn true. I love it, watching the way she doesn’t back down. Especially because North is used to getting everything exactly how he wants. Ever since we were kids, living in a group home, North always got the lion’s share.
North runs a hand through his hair and I can tell he’s conflicted. “Look,” I say. “You may be the leader of this motley crew, but I know you get the importance of cluing in Lark to her own life.” Arrow, Brecken, and Vaughn nod in agreement. We’re on one side, and North is on the other. All for one and one for all is hard when we are divided.
“Then why would Gaia have told us to keep the truth from her?” he asks.
“I don’t know, but Lark already knows she’s different. She knows more than you think,” Brecken says, speaking up.
His eyes meet Lark’s and I’m reminded that they spent time together and shared a kiss.
Her loyalty isn’t to me alone.
And maybe that’s for the best. Maybe we can all do our part to look after her however she wants. If she wants kisses, if she wants to be held, if she just wants a shoulder to lean on–we can be that for her.
We aren’t here to judge what she wants. We’re only here to give her what she needs.
I sigh, knowing North isn’t an asshole. Not like Brecken. No, North is upright and true and determined to get things right. That takes guts. I can respect that.
But damn, I’m not sure he has it in him to break his promise to Gaia.
I want to draw Lark close, and the only way to do that is to be honest with her. Hell, what do we have to lose?
“It’s gonna freak you out, raven,” I tell her.
Across from me, North sits down, leans forward with his elbows on his knees, nodding me to continue. “I don’t want you to leave, Lark. And the truth is, if you did, we’d follow you, just like you guessed.”
“And this story isn’t one that’s gonna make you feel comfortable,” Brecken adds. “Can you handle that?”
I look over at him, wondering what he knows about Lark, exactly.
She smiles softly. “Thanks for worrying, but I can guarantee it’s not gonna be as bad as what my mom told me last night.”
“Maybe,” Arrow says. “But that’s only because none of us in the room know the ending to this one.”
That piques Lark’s interest and I’m glad I’m the one sitting next to her on the couch because I want to be as close as possible to her for whatever happens next. If she tries to fly away, I will be there to catch her.
If she gets freaked out by the idea of what we are, the idea of what we can do, then I want to be the first one to reassure her that even though we can shift we’re not scary.
10
Lark
The mood in the room is so intense and I want to understand. I want to understand them. But it’s all so overwhelming. I press a hand to my forehead, collecting myself.
My whole life has been on this even keel trajectory. Training every day, working towards a show in Vegas. The one thing that I always wanted, and now I have it.
And at the same time, the rest of my life is chaos. I don’t understand why.
I suddenly have no idea where I came from. Or, where I’m going.
The idea that I had a sister makes my heart ache in ways I wasn’t expecting. And even though I never considered a sister... it takes my breath away.
And now I’m sitting in a suite in the Spades Royale Casino with five men so handsome and chiseled. Men who move with a grace that exceeds human understanding.
“Do you truly want to know?” Arrow asks.
“Yes,” I say. “Please.”
“Gaia is Mother Earth.” He says it so matter-of-factly, with so much seriousness, that my eyes widen, a smile breaking across my face. He can’t be serious.
“Okay,” I laugh. “You lost me, babe.” The word babe falls from my mouth so easily that I immediately regret it. It’s too comfortable for men I just met. Too familiar for these guys who are strangers.
But they are strangers I kissed. And I press my fingers to my lips as the truth hits me. I want to kiss the rest of them, too. My body thrums with desire just sitting here looking at them. And even that itself is insane. Wanting to kiss all of them. Yet, I do.
I watched them rehearse all day, my body burning with heat, with desire. I want them and even if it’s crazy, it’s the truth.
I felt it the moment we met. And I feel it now, stronger than ever.
“Help me understand,” I say. “I’m not scared of magic, but this? This seems more than magical.”
“It is,” North says. “Gaia sent us to you. She told us not to talk about her. And we’re loyal to her.”
“Sounds complicated,” I say, not really knowing where the truth begins and ends.
He shakes his head, looking at me with his steel-grey eyes. “This is stupid, she’s not gonna get it.”
“Try. Her mom’s a witch,” Brecken says.
I look at him, annoyed.
“What?” he asks. “I told you last night, one for all, all for one. You don’t get me without the rest. And vice-versa.”
“But it’s my story to tell.”
“Then tell it,” he presses.
“I don’t know what my mother being a witch has to do with anything,” I say matter-of-factly. Just thinking about her gets me tense. Last night when I got home from my taco date, she was seething–livid that I’d not called. I’m not calling her now either.
She’d gotten paranoid about the hawks perched outside again, telling me they were evil birds, not to be trusted. I shouted at her, louder than I ever have before, letting her know that she isn’t to be trusted either. I slammed my bedroom door, fell to the floor sobbing into my pillow.
Even after everything she kept from me, she still wanted to keep me locked in the house.
How dare she.
My fingers run through my long black hair, separating it into three parts, and I begin braiding to distract myself from their piercing eyes.
It doesn’t really work. My heart is beating hard, wait for them to tell me more. I’m not going to be the one to speak first.
But they are more patient than me. So, finally, I speak my thoughts aloud, “Okay, so Mother Earth sent you... but why you? How do you even know one another?”
The question itself seems so unbelievably ridiculous. Mother Earth. Sending men. To me.
“She... well, she’s our guardian,” Sawyer says. “Look, dove, maybe some people don’t need her help as much as we do, but we were alone, orphans, and she helped us understand what we are... who we are.”
“And what are you?” I ask.
“Have you noticed hawks outside your window?” Arrow asks.
I tense at that– how would they know? About where I live ... about my window. Fear snakes its way up my skin.
“Gaia sent us to you.”
“What does that have to do with hawks?” I ask, thinking about my mother’s warning. She said the hawks were bad.
But she said a lot of things.
“It was Gaia’s intent for us to be in your show, so we could surround you for however long she thought you needed our protection. Something is happening, though; something big. We don’t know what, but it’s growing–a force of nature.”
“We’ve spent our life watching, observing. We’re trained to see what others miss.”
“And what is missing?” I ask the question with tears burning in my eyes. “Because I need to understand... because... I’m missing something,” I say, wiping my eyes with one hand. “Maybe a lot of somethings. Parts of my story. And I just want to know. I just want to understand what I am. Who I am. Where I belong.”
Sawyer reaches for my hand and squeezes it. It’s such a simple gesture but it’s comforting to know he hears me, my fears, and my worries. He doesn’t let go.
Arrow clears his throat and runs a hand through his black hair, his dark night eyes on me. “Our natural habitats are compromised. The natural disasters sweeping our globe a
re moving at a pace Gaia doesn’t understand. There are changes in our ecosystem, and Gaia knows you are a piece of that. To the puzzle.”
I twist my lips, more lost than ever. “I have nothing to do with the natural disasters happening in the world.” I scoff at the ridiculousness. “You know how crazy that sounds right? I’m just a girl in a city. I do acrobatic tricks and fly across a stage hanging onto a trapeze. I don’t know anything about weather patterns.”
“You don’t have to understand things in order to belong to them.”
“What does that even mean?” My heart, though, clings to his words because something deep inside of me knows he isn’t lying, isn’t spinning stories. I look at the men who say they were sent to me and know I do belong to them.
At least I want to.
Maybe I’m just a lost girl, clinging to anything that offers me answers... but maybe, just maybe, it’s more than wanting them to wrap their arms around me. Maybe it’s more than wanting to press my skin against their skin, safe in their arms.
Because why would I feel this way about people I don’t know?
Unless.
Unless their story is true.
Unless there is a reason, a purpose.
A point.
“Did you hear about that storm in Alaska a few weeks ago?” Arrow asks. “The fires in California? The tsunami in Thailand? The hail the size of golf balls in Brazil? The world has gone to shit. And... Gaia is dying. And when she’s gone... what will be left?”
I press my fingertips to my forehead, feeling seriously overwhelmed for the first time all night. Which is saying something.
“It doesn’t matter, then. Does it? The world as we know it is ending, is that what you’re saying?”
I close my eyes; the pulse of everything around me feels off. What is real and what isn’t? I just want to go to the rehearsal space, to move my body and shake out all of this emotion I don’t quite understand.
“Yes. And we are sent here to watch over you, to make sure you are safe,” North answers.
“And what if I say no? What I resist your protection?”
“Is that what you want?” Arrow asks. “Do you want to deny what we told you?”
I press my hands to my heart, wanting to center myself, to find some clarity in the middle of a conversation that is making me buzz with confusion.
“How do you even know this Gaia lady?”
The guys look at one another, and the mood in the room shifts. I know they aren’t telling me everything.
“When we were little, she looked after us. Like a guardian angel.”
“I’m sorry if it’s more than you want to know,” Sawyer says softly. “You asked and we answered.”
“No, you’re right. I did ask.” I sigh, leaning into the thoughts running through my mind. “I just want to bury my head in the sand and ignore this information. It’s too much. I feel like my head’s going to explode. Do you understand that?”
Sawyer smiles. “You don’t have to understand everything or have answers for anything or even make any decisions right now. Hell, Gaia might show up tomorrow and tell us that we’re off the job. That by talking to you about all of this, we fucked it up.”
My eyes widen. “No, you can’t go if she comes for you.”
North smirks. “Not sure we’d have a choice, Lark.”
“No, listen,” I say. “If Gaia asks you to leave, you can’t.”
Vaughn coughs, making the first sound I’ve heard from him all night. “Why not, Lark?”
I look at him, his big blue eyes worried and his strength and size fill me with the peace I need. His question is simple, and I realize the answer is simple too.
“Because I would miss you.”
Vaughn nods as if knowing that would be my answer, and he strides across the living room, pulling me to stand and drawing me to him. All of it happens in what feels like a couple of seconds flat. It surprises me, his surety, his decision. It makes me want him so damn badly.
“Good,” he says. “Because I would miss you too.”
And then, Vaughn kisses me.
11
Vaughn
It’s strange when you get the thing you’ve wanted.
And even stranger when the thing ends up being even better than you could have possibly imagined.
I sat there, the whole time everyone was discussing Mother Earth and the end of the world as we know it and I couldn’t pay attention. I was focused on Lark’s lips. On how pink they were, how full they looked.
Damn, they are sweeter than I thought.
She sinks her body against mine and my big hand holds her cheek, pulling her closer to me still.
I don’t care who watches, who sees. I just care about the woman in my arms.
I fell for her the first moment I glimpsed her, and since that moment I’ve wished for the kind of courage that would let me take what I wanted.
When she spoke, though, when she looked at us, I could see she wanted what I wanted. We need the same thing.
There are too many damn unknowns swirling around us, so why not take hold of one thing that is true and pure and real and right in front of us?
I couldn’t wait.
And Lark couldn’t either.
Our mouths open, her tongue finds mine and my cock strains against my jeans, wanting more, wanting everything. Praying Lark wants it too. Feeling her fingers reach up into my hair, threading through the strands, pulling at me to take more; everything.
“Oh, Vaughn,” she murmurs between kisses. “Don’t stop,” she asks, and I run my hands over her back, her slender body and I lift her up. Her legs wrap around my waist and for a moment, it’s as if we’re floating, she and I, suspended in a kiss, held up by desire.
She pulls back, as if feeling the same thing, and we look down, and I see it isn’t just something I imagined. My feet are off the ground and we are lifted up. She tenses for a moment, taking it in, but I have spent my life with my feet off the ground, flying, watching, waiting for my moment.
This is it and I’m not scared.
“We’re floating,” she says with disbelief on her lips. “Of course we are, we can do crazy things on stage, why not here too?”
It seems to relax her, like she is more comfortable in air than with two feet on the ground.
“I want you, Lark,” I whisper in her ear. “All of you.”
“I want each and every one of you,” she says, her words so soft I can barely hear them.
But I do hear them.
My shoulders stiffen, and the spell is broken. My feet fall to the floor with a thud, and while I still hold her, I already feel myself letting go.
“What?” she asks. “Does that scare you?”
My jaw clenches, I’m not one to explain how I feel. If I try, it will all be a mess.
Truth is, I don’t want to share her.
“Did I mess it all up?” she asks, running a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry. I thought you were feeling the same.”
I look around then and notice that everyone is staring at us with shocked expressions. Shit, I don’t need an audience.
“What?” I ask, feeling ready to take my embarrassment out on someone. I thought she wanted me the way I wanted her. Completely. Then I look at Brecken, at Sawyer. I know they both probably think the same damn thing as me.
I’m such a fucking fool. Look at her, a fucking angel from heaven. Why would she want an oaf like me? I can lift things, I am the brawn in this operation, but she doesn’t need muscles. Damn, this woman already knows how to fly.
“I’m sorry,” she says again. “It’s not fair to ask this of you. To all be okay with me wanting more than...” She buries her face in her hands. “Now I sound crazy.”
But North moves closer, pulls her hands down, and shakes his head. “No, Lark. Not crazy. And our job is to give you what you need. All of what you need. However you need it.” His voice is clear and solid and without a doubt.
I start to turn away, not wanting to
think about the implications of what he is saying.
But then North pulls her to himself, kissing her hard. His hands are on her shoulders and her hands suddenly on his chest, giving into the kiss. I think it’s gonna last just a moment, but then it just keeps on going.
They go at one another; he grips her ass, and she wraps a hand around his neck and when they finally break apart, her lips are swollen, and her chest is moving up and down. I can see her fucking nipples through her top.
Does he want to share her?
And she wants to share all of us.
She pants for breath, shaking her head. “No. It’s too much to ask,” she says, her voice so small. “No one should have so much. I don’t deserve this.”
“Why not?” Arrow asks, stepping toward her. His question shocks me. This is Arrow–cautious and thoughtful Arrow. Arrow who spends his time analyzing instead of acting.
“Why not what?” Lark asks, and I look around, realizing the room is abuzz with pent up sexual energy.
“Why not get what you want?” Arrow asks, now right in front of her. “Why shouldn’t you have what you want?”
“It’s not just about me. It’s about all of you, too.”
“All of us?” Brecken asks.
Lark nods. “All of you. That’s what scares me… what I’m suggesting. It’s crazy and... selfish and....” Her shoulders fall as she licks her lips. Her body is screaming to all of us watching that she has an itch that needs scratching.
Arrow wraps an arm around her narrow waist, tilts up her chin, looking deep into her eyes. “Don’t fight it,” he says. “Take what you want. All for one.”
She sighs as Arrow’s mouth moves closer to her. “And one for all.”
12
Lark
We kiss for hours, ending up as a tangle of bodies on the floor, lips rubbed raw in the most delicious way.
Even though part of me is tempted to move against their bodies, another part still warns me of the danger my mother warned me about.
That is what happens when you spend your life living within the constraints of someone else’s rules. Doubt creeps in, like maybe I can’t make this choice on my own. Maybe I don’t know what is best.
