by E. A. Weston
After the pain in my back dulls, I step out of the cold shower, stripping down. Turning, I see my scars are raised. They are red and angry-looking—a testament to the pain I am in. Walking through my apartment, I whisper words of magic, hoping against hope that my wings will spring out and the pain will go away. Nothing happens, though. Taking a seat on the sofa, I roll onto my stomach, closing my eyes. Pictures of Reagan swim before me. The feel of her hand on my back was like a balm to the worst blistering from the fire-bush.
Reagan. I wonder if she was the prophecy my mother spoke of? I know I feel a pull toward her, a pull that is hard to resist. I don’t know how Avery resisted for so long with Aurelia. A pull as strong at this can only mean one thing: She is my mate. But how can humans and fairies be mates? Where is Claudia when I need answers?
Groaning, I begin to chant the same words over and over. Words to remove my glamor and allow myself to become who I really am.
Killian, the Fairy Prince of Avalon.
Chapter 12
Sitting at my work table in the shop, I can’t seem to get Killian off my mind. I found that phone number for him, but I feel stupid calling him now, ever since Alex laughed her ass off at me. My hands work on the bracelet I am making. I got some more clients through that young girl. The bell above the door rings.
“I’ll be with you in a minute,” I call out, fixing the clasp to the end of the bracelet. Standing, I make my way over to the desk to find the person who came in. To my surprise, Killian is standing there, watching me.
“Hello, Reagan.” He smiles at me, relaxing against the counter.
“Oh, hi. How are you feeling?” What the hell am I saying? How is he feeling? Why do I care? Shaking my head, I walk over to him. “How can I help you?” I ask.
“I didn’t know you worked in here. How come I have never seen you before?” he asks, watching me round the counter.
“I only work part-time. Are you looking for something particular?” I ask, wondering why the hell a guy like him would want anything in a shop like this.
“Oh, yes. I am looking for a raw piece of Apatite. Two if you have any.” His words floor me. Maybe he does know about stones and stuff. I don’t know if that is weird or not. Nodding my head, I walk into the back room where Athena keeps all the raw, unpolished stones and dig through a box. Deciding to bring the box out into the store, I find about ten women looking around the shelves, all sneaking glances at Killian.
“Here, I have this box but I don’t which colors you want.”
Dropping the box onto the counter, I watch him dig through it. One of the women walks over to us, inquiring about blue stones. Her eyes dart to Killian as he removes two stones of the deepest blue you can imagine. They look like the ocean was captured and placed inside. He smiles at me as he holds them.
“These will do perfectly.” Holding them out to me, I take them, placing them into a bag for him.
“Anything else?” I ask as I ring him up. “Fifty dollars,” I say once I hit the buttons.
He reaches into his back pocket, making the sleeve of his t-shirt rise up a little, giving me a peek of some ink. Reaching over, I lift up the sleeve. “Wow, that is some tattoo. Alex would be impressed.” I smile at him.
“Thanks. It’s for my family,” he replies, handing me his credit card.
The woman standing there is watching us; her eyes are all glassy as she takes him in. Killian hasn’t even noticed her. His eyes hold mine as I swipe his card. “So, can we have a do-over?” he asks, taking his card back from me.
“What do you mean?” I ask and put the box onto the floor.
“For our date. It didn’t really go as I planned it yesterday,” he says, holding the stones in his hand, watching me.
“Oh. Well, I suppose so. Just text me,” I answer, catching the eye roll of the nosy woman. Killian agrees to text me, then leaves the store. Within two minutes of his leaving, the store is empty. Every woman has left without buying anything, of course. Returning the box of stones to the back room, I look through them again. Most of them look the same to me. I find one that’s broken and take it back to my desk. Putting it down, I stare at it for a while, trying to figure out why Killian would want a gemstone—actually two.
Walking to the bookshelf at the back of the store, I pull out one of Athena’s gemstone books. Making myself comfortable on the floor, I flick through to find the blue apatite stone. Reading about it, I find it comes in many colors, but blue is to aid in communication. Putting the book away, I dismiss it. I don’t get this stuff, anyway. Deciding I will use the broken bit for a bracelet, I get to work.
“Hey, Reagan,” Jake calls from the back door. Lifting my head, I smile and wave at him. I smell him before I see him. He was doing good for a while by staying away from that crap, but for some reason, he started smoking again.
“What are you doing here?” I ask over my shoulder. Jake just shrugs at me, shoving his hands into his pockets. I watch him shuffle his feet for a minute, then he leans on the counter.
“You wanna go get lunch or something? I’ll watch the store for a bit.” He scratches the few days’ growth on his chin. Not waiting to be asked twice, I dart out of the store and down to Alex. Once inside, I don’t see her.
“Hi, Mark, is Alex out back?” I ask her co-worker, starting to walk that way.
“No, she never came in today. Been on my own.” He shrugs at me.
He offers me a coffee, but I decline. I don’t like taking free stuff from anyone but Alex. Walking over to the diner, I seat myself in a booth, ordering a burger. That’s about all I can afford until Athena pays me on Friday. I text Alex, asking her where she is, but she never replies to me. Maybe she and Ryder are going at it. I watch funny videos on my phone to pass the time as I eat, keeping an eye out for anyone I might know. Savannah and her friends walk in. Not, people, I want to chitchat with. So I finish up fast then move towards the door.
“Hey, Casper.” She waves her fingers at me when I pass by her. Her eyes never leave mine. As soon as I am out of the door, she comes out, too. “Reagan, don’t bother trying to get with Killian. He’s taken,” she announces, folding her arms over her chest and making a sour face at me.
“Does he know that?” I ask before turning from her and walking back up to the store. When I get there, the door is locked. Pulling out my keys I open up and frown. Why the hell would Jake lock up knowing I was only down the street? I sit at my table and continue making my bracelet, adding the blue broken stone after chipping off a little bit more. By eight, I am done being bored, so I walk behind the counter to cash out. Opening the register, I find nothing. An empty drawer—no money!
Beginning to panic, I grab my phone and call Jake. No answer. Shit! Shit! Shit! What the hell did he do? Crossing the floor, I lock up the front door, then call Alex again.
“What the hell!” I yell out loud at no one. A knock on the glass makes me jump. Opening it, I glare at the idiot who can’t read.
“Killian?” He smiles at me. “I’m busy. Can I talk to you tomorrow?” I ask, trying to get rid of him so I can find Jake before he spends all of the money.
“I saw you closing up and thought I’d offer you a lift home.” His kindness calms me down a bit.
“I have to find Jake before he does something stupid, so I can’t.” I give him my best apologetic face then start to close the door. His foot stops it.
“I can help if you allow me.” His eyes are on mine. Allow me? Who is this guy? Reluctantly, I agree and let him inside the store. “So who are we looking for?” he asks, walking slowly beside me as I furiously type out text after text.
“Jake, I told you. Keep up, Killian,” I scold, not having any kind of patience to deal with him right now. He follows me out back, watching me lock up. “Hey, can we use your car?” I ask, crossing my fingers.
“Of course. Did you think I would make you walk around town?”
We walk around to the street and climb into his car. I tell him where to go and we take of
f. My leg is jiggling up and down as I chew my thumbnail. I don’t get Jake; I really don’t. Why did he do this? He took over two-hundred and fifty dollars from the register. How much weed do you need? Killian pulls to a stop outside of a run-down shithole. Opening my door, I feel his hand on my arm.
“This doesn’t look safe,” he says looking all around the neighborhood, his eyes darting all over the street.
“I know, Killian, that’s because it’s not, so stay here,” I warn, jumping out of the car. Walking around back, I pound on the side door. Once it’s opened, I am hit with a cloud of smoke, choking me.
“Hey, dude, is Jake in here?” I ask some stoner I never met before. His eyes are all bloodshot and he can barely keep them open.
“Nah, haven’t seen him for a few days. Try Buddy’s,” he tells me, closing the door. Fanning my face, I rush back around to Killian, who is eagerly waiting for me. Once I climb inside the car, Killian opens the windows as we drive, making me laugh.
“What, you don’t like the smell of fresh weed in the evening?” I joke with him as we drive over a few blocks to another hot box. Killian climbs out to go with me. Again, I am told he is not here. Now I don’t know where to look.
“I don’t know where else he could be,” I tell Killian. We get back into the car and he drives me home.
“Do you want to hang out for a while?” he asks, stopping outside of Athena’s house. His hand fidgets on the gear shifter while his eyes look over my face. I want to find Jake and kill him, is what I want to do.
“Okay, sure. Just let me change my clothes.” He nods at me.
Running into the house, I take the stairs two at a time, pulling off my shirt as I go. I quickly put on my good jeans and a clean black button down shirt. It’s a little small, but it will do. Slipping on my boots, I run back out to him. He is leaning against the hood of the car and opens my door for me.
“Thanks,” I say, smiling at him. I watch him round the hood and climb into the driver’s side. Starting the car, he takes off towards the freeway.
“So, what kind of car did you have before you sold it?” he asks, turning the radio down low. My heart sinks as I think about my baby. Sighing, I turn slightly in my seat so I can face him.
“I had a BMW 325i. Black on black.” Killian smirks at me. “What?” I ask, wondering what is so funny about that.
“You look cute when you pout.” He smiles and I feel the heat rise on my cheeks.
We pull into the town of Crestview. It is bigger than where we live and has far more going on. Climbing out of the car, we walk towards the main street. It is closed off for some kind of market. “Have you ever been here to the farmers market?” he asks, walking beside me. Looking around at all the stalls, I shake my head.
“No, I didn’t even know they had one.” I laugh at myself.
Over the last two years, I have had nothing on my mind except my parents. Killian smiles at me as we walk down the street. We stop at a jewelry stall and I look through the collection. The lady running it asks me about my bracelet. I forgot I slipped it on today.
“Oh, I made it today.” I smile at her, picking up a few loose charms. We walk on to the next stall. “Do you come here often?” I ask Killian, sounding like a cheesy pick-up line.
“No, I have been only twice before,” he replies, glancing at me.
Our hands are almost touching and I can feel the electricity sparking between us. My body starts to tingle again.
“Jesus Christ,” I complain as I shake my upper body to ward off the feeling. Killian scratches above his eyebrow and I catch a smirk on his handsome face again. Putting my hands into my pockets, we stop at an art stall. Both Killian and I look through some pictures.
“Oh, wow, look at this.” I grin as I hold up a picture of a purple fairy and wave it at him. His face pales a bit then he smiles at me, walking over to me to look at it.
“Do you like fairies?” he asks with a strained voice, his eyes staring at the picture.
“Yes, I do. My mom used to tell me stories when I was younger.” My own voice is wistful and full of longing—I took it for granted. Killian buys it for me while I protest the whole time.
“It’s a gift.” He smiles, holding the bag for me. His hand slips into mine and my step falters. I am stopped by a weird vision; a picture springs to mind, of Killian with longer hair and a tanned complexion.
“Everything okay?” he asks, watching me. We stand in the middle of the market looking at each other.
“Yes, fine, thank you.” Chewing my lower lip, we walk down the street. The sound of life all around, people laughing, kids chasing each other. It is way more fun than Faircrest. Killian pulls me over to the side out of the way of a couple of skateboarders. Our chests bump off one another and we stand there holding hands, chest to chest, both of wondering what the other is going to do. His free hand slides up my face and into my hair, cupping behind my head.
“I would like to kiss you, Reagan,” he whispers, leaning his face closer to mine. Swallowing hard, I give a slight nod, completely unsure of this but also wanting it so bad. His lips brush mine, barely a touch, causing the hair on my neck to spike up. He leans in, applying more pressure and my knees threaten to give out. Killian slides his tongue across my lower lip, sending shivers through me. He kisses me for a few more seconds then pulls away—way before I am ready to let him go. Biting my lower lip, I look at him. His lips are glistening and swollen.
He smiles down at me, rubbing his thumb against my cheekbone. “You are mine,” he whispers, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against mine.
His? What the fuck! Pulling back, I look at him, frowning slightly. I mean, it was a nice kiss, nothing magical, but still. His? What does that even mean? Killian steps back slowly, still holding my hand, and we walk a little further down the street.
“Oh, coffee,” I groan, pointing at a Starbucks, pulling Killian over with me. I order my coffee. “What would you like?” I ask over my shoulder to him.
“Nothing, thank you.” He smiles while shaking his head.
Turning around, I take my wallet out of my purse. Opening it, I frown and bite my lip. My last twenty dollars is gone. I know it was here earlier because I took my other twenty dollar bill to the diner with me. I can feel the heat rise on my face. Maybe I left it in my other jeans when I got changed. I am so embarrassed; the girl behind the counter crosses her arms and stares at me. Killian steps up beside me, resting his hand on the small of my back.
“You okay?” he asks, smiling at me. The girl tells him I can’t pay and need to step out of the line. I want to die right there on the spot. The bitch! She didn’t need to do that. Killian hands his credit card to her and orders a slice of cake, too.
“Um, thanks, I must have left my cash in my other jeans,” I say, looking at the floor.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replies, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “What do you want to do now?”
I can’t even look at him, I am so mortified. If my parents were still around, I would have money and a lovely home and—Jesus Christ, why are tears swimming in my eyes? Clearing my throat, I swipe at my eyes quickly before looking up at him.
“Anything you want. I am good.” I smile, watching him look over my face. Once my name is called, I grab my coffee and cake then we sit outside at one of the wrought iron tables. Killian watches me as I sip my coffee. “Aren’t you going to eat your cake?” I ask, sliding it towards him.
“No, I got it for you,” he says, sliding it back. Not one to argue about cake, I thank him and break off a bit. “I like your bracelet. May I?” he asks, reaching for it. Opening the clasp, I pull it off, handing it to him. I watch as he turns it over, examining it from every angle. “You used a blue apatite stone,” He smirks at me.
“Yeah, there was a broken bit at the end of the box,” I tell him, watching him hold it close to his eye. He hands it back to me. Reaching out, I try taking it but he wraps it around my wrist, closing it. Taking my wrist, he kisses
my pulse point, sending ripples up my arm and throughout my body. My whole body hums when he touches me. I don’t get it, but I like it. I feel peaceful—relaxed. I don’t know; it just feels incredible.
“We should get back. I have class in the morning.”
Standing, he holds out his hand for me. Placing mine in his, we walk back to the car.
“Killian, how old are you?” I figure I need to find out just in case this goes somewhere. He looks at me, putting his head down a bit.
“Twenty-five. You?” Okay, a little older than I thought but still in the same region.
“I’m twenty-one now.” I smile at him. He doesn’t seem to care how old I am. He just holds my hand a little firmer. “My birthday is coming up, though.” I ramble on, just in case he thinks I am too young but is waiting to tell me.
“What date?” he asks curiously, pulling me closer to him. His arm slides over my shoulders again. I don’t move it, though. It feels nice. I feel safe like this, wrapped in his strong arms.
“June twenty-first,” I reply happily. Killian tenses. I feel every muscle of his body tightens for a few minutes.
“Summer solstice,” he whispers, running his free hand over his face.
“Yeah, my mom said it was a special day to be born.” I shrug as we reach the car. Killian presses the alarm, making the car chirp. He opens the door for me but pulls me into him—his lips descend on mine again. We stand there kissing for a few minutes. Killian is ever the gentleman—no tongue, no roaming hands. Is he normal?
We drive back to the wonderful city of Faircrest. Killian holds my hand the whole time.
“Can I see you again?” he asks, glancing at me. I can’t work him out at all. He is such a gentleman yet hangs out with skanks like Savannah and works in a nightclub. We pull off the freeway and I nod over to him.
“Sure. You have my number,” I remind him.
Killian stops in front of Athena’s house and frowns. Following his gaze, I see the garden is full of crap. Clothes, shoes, boxes—my boxes! Climbing out of the car, I scramble into the garden and start picking up my stuff. What the hell is going on? I am trying to grab my underwear and shove them into boxes. Killian helps pick up some clothes and shoes when Athena steps outside and throws another box onto the lawn. I look at her as I stand up.
