Glimmer (Faylinn #4)

by Mindy Hayes

  “I don’t know where he would have hidden something like that. It could be anywhere. What’s documented on this scroll?”

  “From what Evan told me, it should detail all the powers our blood possesses, certain powers only a True Royal would or should know about. And, if in the wrong hands, the information could be life-threatening. It makes me wonder if they’re using our blood to try to access our powers.”

  My stomach churned. I was going to be sick. “This does not narrow down our possible enemies,” I said. “I’d imagine a considerable amount of beings in our world would kill to have our abilities if it were possible.”

  Calliope frowned. “That’s the bad news. There’s no way to know who wants our blood or for what purpose. Kai and I bounced around some ideas, trying to get in the mindset of the enemy. If they’ve attacked you and Oraelia, it’s only a matter of time before Faylinn and the others are hit. Are they creating an army? Is it possible our blood creates enhanced warriors? Ones with immeasurable strength and skill. Ones with heightened abilities and size.” A chill ran through my wings. “Or they could be creating monsters, for all we know. It may not give them our abilities at all, but have an aversion to our blood.”

  The chill seeped into my blood. “So we might not even be dealing with normal faeries, but rabid beasts.”

  Calliope nodded gravely. “As I witnessed in the Battle of Faylinn, our powers aren’t always sourced for good. We can be massively destructive. Our powers in the wrong hands…”

  “Could potentially be the end of our race as we know it.”

  “Well, that escalated quickly.”

  I snorted out laughter. “Just imagining worst-case scenarios to prepare myself.”

  “Well, how about we remain optimistic and narrow down our enemies. What about the elves? I know they have a vendetta against Rymidon. I met Guthron the night of the Oak’s awakening celebration and he was not pleasant. Quite frightening actually. Have you seen an elf in real life? Those teeth.” She shivered.

  I shook my head. “But Rymidon isn’t the only target. The elves have no reason to attack us all. While these casualties don’t add up to the Battle of Faylinn casualties, it’s too many.”

  “Which is exactly why we need to question everyone; every being in every domain. We can’t rule out a group simply because it doesn’t make sense.”

  “You are right. It’s as though you are Queen of Faylinn or something.”

  She smirked. “I’ve had a little practice.

  “I have lost my ability to think.” I swallowed, attempting to push down my unease. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Calliope. Instinct took over initially, a near excitement for the future of Rymidon and the possibilities, but I fear I’ve lost it. I miss my family. I miss Sakari.” At the mention of his name, her eyes grew sorrowful. “Being Queen of Rymidon has drained all of my optimism. How do you do it?”

  “Listen, Sarai.” Calliope placed her hands on top of mine. “You’re stronger, more determined, and smarter than I was when I was pulled into all of this. If I didn’t have Declan and Kai and Allura and … Sakari, I wouldn’t have made it out alive. I was thrown into this world practically blindfolded, bound, and gagged. I dealt with my fair share of enemies over the last year, but if I even had half the sense and heart that you do, I think Faylinn and I could’ve avoided a lot of pain and heartbreak. Forget your insecurities. You were born to rule. And you’re not alone. You have me and loyal Keepers and Prince Marcus, from what I understand.”

  I couldn’t stop the heat from rising to the surface of my cheeks. My eyes shied away from Calliope.

  “I knew it!”

  I shook my head and wanted to find a burrow to hide in.

  “Stop shaking your head. You guys are MFEO.”

  “MF-what?”

  “It’s a human thing, from one of my favorite movies. You’re meant for each other, so stop fighting it.”

  “We have been a little busy trying to save our kingdoms, Calliope. And he is still mourning Nerida. I doubt I have even crossed his mind in that way. Goodness, he just stormed into my castle and accused me of killing Oraelians. I doubt love or bonding are on his mind.”

  “Oh, stop. You two will get it figured out. Take it from a girl who was too stubborn to see a good thing in front of her the first time around … don’t waste a day. As cliché as it sounds, you never know when it’s going to be your last.”

  I knew she was speaking of Kai and all they had endured and nearly lost, but my thoughts wandered to Sakari. Before I could stop my mouth, I asked, “Do you regret him? Sakari, that is.”

  Calliope’s eyes squinted as she studied me. I overstepped. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

  “No, it’s okay,” she encouraged. “I just don’t understand the question.”

  “Do you regret getting close to him?”

  Calliope sighed heavily and licked her lips. “You know, I haven’t really spoken about him since The Battle or dwelled too long on him. Not because I never cared, but because I cared more than I expected to.” She pressed her lips tightly together, her teeth nibbling the insides. “At the risk of this coming out wrong, let me just say, I love Kai. I’ve always loved Kai. I was meant to be his, but if there was no Kai, I would’ve been lucky to have Sakari. So, to answer your question, no. I don’t regret getting close to him. Sakari helped me find an inner strength I’d yet to uncover, and I miss him every day. I loved him, Sarai. Maybe I wasn’t in love with him as he was with me, but he was one of the good ones, and I wish every day he was still here. Not for me, but for you.”

  “It’s probably for the better.” I blinked back tears and looked to the ceiling to gain my bearings. “Do not misinterpret me, Calliope. I do not say what I’m about to, to make you feel guilty, but for you to understand and feel no regret. I do not think Sakari would be happy in this life without you. He would never love another the way he loved you. I think he was grateful to have what he did with you. To be able to spend his last days with you as his wife. Not everyone in our world gets to be with the one they love or even find the one they want to spend their lives with, but Sakari did. That’s all any of us could really ask for, is it not?”

  “Believe me, Sarai,” Calliope said in a near whisper. “Sakari deserved so much more.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  LIA

  My feet had never known this kind of pain. There were blisters in places I didn’t know existed. After years of living in the forest, one would think my feet had experienced it all. Apparently not. All I wanted to do was soak my feet and go to bed. Who knew serving at a restaurant could be so painful and draining? Why did I let Cameron send in an application?

  Oh, right. Because it was the only job that agreed to pay me under the table.

  When I opened the front door, the only light in the apartment was the glow of the TV. Cameron sat on the couch next to a girl I’d never seen before. He paused whatever was on and smiled at me, sitting forward. “Hey, how was your first day?”

  I looked between the two of them. They were on my bed. I wanted to cry.

  “Fine.”

  I found myself inspecting his date. Her long brown hair and button nose. It was dark, but I could tell she wasn’t wearing a lot of make up. She was pretty. Really pretty. Not that I’d expected Cameron to date an ugly girl.

  “Lia, this is Gretchen. Gretchen, Lia.”

  She smiled and waved, but she wasn’t here to make friends. She stared back at me the same way she probably thought I was looking at her. As if I were competition. I wasn’t interested in competing. I just wanted to shower and go to sleep. The child in me threw her head back and cried, stomping her foot.

  This hadn’t been a problem before. If any of the guys had dates, they typically took them out or went to a party or took them back to their rooms. This was the first girl Cameron brought back to the apartment who I cared about, because, for once, I needed sleep, and it was being taken away.

  Cameron draped his arm along t
he back of the couch behind his date. Whatever he said her name was. “Lia, you can go to my room.” Did I have a choice? Was he kicking me out? Or was he trying to spare me from watching him make out with his date all night? Why couldn’t he go to his room? “You look tired,” he explained. “You can sleep on my bed, and I’ll come get you when Gretchen leaves.”

  “What are you guys watching?” Ryland came from the hall and walked into the kitchen.

  “Anonymous Alex,” Cameron answered.

  “Man! You’re watching it without me?” Ryland opened the fridge and grabbed a soda.

  Cameron’s eyes shifted from me to Ryland and then back. “You can watch it with us if you want. We just started it. You too, Lia. Unless you want to go to sleep.”

  Who was this nice Cameron, and what did he do with the old one? I knew we’d moved past our bitter banter, but this was still weird.

  “No thanks.” Number one, I didn’t want to watch him make out with his date all night. And two, while Ryland had never hit on me like Chase, I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. The love seat was the only seating option left. I was not sharing it with him. “I am tired. Just wake me when you want to go to bed.”

  “Yeah, if Lia isn’t watching, I’m not gonna crash your date. I’ve got some studying to do anyway.”

  “Suit yourselves.”

  Ryland lifted his soda in a cheers gesture and nodded at me before heading back to his room. I offered him a halfhearted smile. That was probably the most interaction we’d ever had.

  I walked in front of the TV. “Let me just grab my pajamas.” I felt both sets of eyes on me as I rifled through my bag by the couch. Hurrying out of the room, I offered a quick, “Night,” before dashing down the hall toward the bathroom.

  After sitting under the hot water for a good twenty minutes and changing into my pajama shorts and T-shirt, I closed myself in Cameron’s room. I didn’t even bother turning on the light before crawling into his bed. I almost forgot what a bed felt like. Heaven. It couldn’t have been more than a minute after my head hit his pillow that I was out.

  …

  I hadn’t slept that well in … I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept so well. I was cocooned in a cloud of softness and warmth. The couch was remarkably more comfortable than it had ever been. Breathing in deep, my body stretched out and my brain woke all the way up. Whatever was pressed to my back was not the couch I’d been sleeping on for months, but a solid, warm body. And it was curled around me, an arm slung over my waist. I jumped, elbowed his stomach, and heard a loud thud. I couldn’t help my reflex. There was a curse, and I looked over the edge of the bed at Cameron lying on the floor.

  “What the heck, Lia?” He peeked up at me out of one eye, wincing.

  “What the heck, Lia? What the heck, Cameron! Why were you in the bed with me?”

  “I’m sorry,” he groaned. He sat up, propped up on one elbow and rubbed the back of his head. “You looked so comfortable, and I tried sleeping on the couch, but it sucks. And Saturday is my one day to sleep in, and I didn’t want to be woken up by Chase or Ryland.”

  “And what do you think I’ve been doing for the last three months?”

  Cameron leveled me with an irritated stare. “Getting free room and board.”

  Right. Foot in mouth. I shouldn’t complain. I was grateful to have that couch. Even if I was woken up by one of the three of them or the sun that shone through blinds every morning. It was a safe, soft place to lay my head every night. Show some gratitude, Lia.

  “Sorry. I just didn’t expect to wake up in the same bed as you.”

  “No.” He sighed, sounding apologetic. “I should’ve slept on the couch. And I probably would’ve slept longer.” He looked over at the clock on his nightstand. 8:47 AM “You went to bed at like ten o’clock.”

  “What time did you come to bed?”

  “After two.”

  He stood up in only a pair of sweatpants. No shirt. Had I ever seen Cameron shirtless before? If I had, I wasn’t paying attention. Holy Hannah. Who knew he’d have toned muscles hiding underneath those clothes? He had a six-pack and the V. Oh gosh. Why couldn’t I stop staring? He was not the first man with a bare chest I’d seen. Stop staring, Lia!

  Gaining control of myself too late, my eyes flickered up to his after blatantly ogling, and by the smug expression on his face, he knew exactly what I’d been doing.

  Please don’t say something arrogant. Chase wouldn’t miss the opportunity. He’d have said something egotistical and cliché like, “Enjoying the view?”

  Cameron didn’t take joy in my misery. He turned to his dresser and grabbed a shirt from the top drawer and put it on.

  “Better?” he asked.

  I scowled. Why did he have to draw attention to the elephant in the room?

  “What?” He laughed. “You looked so uncomfortable. I figured you wanted me to put on a shirt. I can take it back off.” His fingers gripped the hem and lifted.

  “No,” I stopped him. “Shirt on is better.”

  His licked his lips and snorted.

  Flinging back the covers, I burst open Cameron’s bedroom door and regretted it instantly. Chase was walking out of the bathroom across the hall with a towel around his waist. He looked from me, standing in my wrinkled pajamas and hair that looked slept on, to Cameron in his pajamas and just woke-up-eyes, and back at me.

  Perfect.

  Chapter Eighteen

  CAMERON

  I should’ve walked out the door first, to make sure the coast was clear, but it hadn’t crossed my mind since we had nothing to hide.

  Until I saw Chase. A knowing smirk plastered across his face, except there was no knowing. Nothing had happened. So, I’d woken up before Lia with my arm across her waist and I hadn’t removed it. So, what? I had been comfortable. And maybe I’d been disappointed she’d thrown me on the floor. She’d ruined a perfectly comfortable position. It didn’t mean anything. And Chase needed to know that.

  Lia stiffened immediately.

  “No wonder you kept turning me down.” He chuckled under his breath as his eyes trailed up and down her body. I nearly punched him for that simple gesture.

  “Nothing happened,” I said from over her shoulder. I didn’t want Chase getting the wrong idea about Lia.

  “Sure, sure.” Chase’s grin grew wider.

  Lia groaned and stormed passed him, down the hallway.

  “I mean it, man. We were just talking.”

  Chase shrugged with an unconvinced look on his face, still smirking, and disappeared behind his bedroom door.

  I cautiously approached Lia to make sure she was okay. “Forget about him, Lia. You know he’s a jerk.”

  “I don’t care,” she said, clipped, as she rummaged through her bag, her shoulders tense. “I just have to be at work in an hour, and I am not going to be late for my second day. I’m supposed to open for the first time.”

  “You do care, or you wouldn’t have stomped down the hallway like you were on your way to murder someone. I’ll make sure he knows nothing happened.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He can think whatever he wants about me. People have thought worse. Maybe if Chase thinks we’re a thing, he’ll stop hitting on me.” She shouldered past me without looking me in the eye.

  I wanted to push it, but thought better of it and let her go. I shouldn’t care. Lia could take care of herself. Maybe not in all senses of the phrase—considering I got her that job, and she was still living with me for free—but when it came to holding her own against guys like Chase, she didn’t need me.

  Why was it, then, that I felt the need to protect her? Most likely because I could still hear Calliope’s voice every time I thought about backing off. Look out for her, Cam. And I probably would until Lia got back on her feet and left me for good. And I wasn’t about to dwell on the reason why that thought made my heart sink.

  Chapter Nineteen

  SARAI

  I waited for Marcus at our agreed ren
dezvous point so I could share with him what Calliope said about the scroll—with her permission, of course. Kayne, Galdinon, Brae, and Gallagher patrolled the perimeter to assure my safety. While I trusted my men, Marcus would be here soon with his Keepers and I’d feel much more secure with more numbers.

  I was not sure why we’d thought meeting halfway was the right decision rather than in one of our own kingdoms. Marcus didn’t seem to trust anyone, so he did not want any suspicion raised if he kept coming to Rymidon or if I showed up in Oraelia. It was only a matter of days before Rymidon learned of what was happening. I needed to tell them, but I didn’t want to burden anyone. The security had doubled. Precautions were being taken, but I would have to inform them eventually. Families deserved to mourn their loved ones properly, if I could just get firmer answers to give them before then.

  Wind whistled through limbs and leaves, giving the forest any eerily calm aura. The woodlands were a place I should feel the most at home, the most free. And yet, without being allowed in the forest all those years, it felt so foreign and unsettling.

  The last time I’d spent an extended amount of time in the forest was when I was little, with Sakari and Skye. The memory was so long ago it was fuzzy. Flashes of their beaming faces clogged my mind as they vaulted off tree trunks and flipped from branches, showing off the tricks I’d yet to learn as they taunted me, watching from the ground below.

  A strangled cry tore through my memory. My eyes darted to the distress call.

  “Run! Run!”

  That was all it took. I ran. As fast as my legs would carry me, with my heart beating out of my chest. I didn’t know who shouted or why, and I didn’t need to. Somehow I knew they didn’t want to say my name, so as not to draw attention to me. I didn’t know what direction I was headed, or if I was even capable of evading capture, but I ran as far as I could to get away.