by Casey Hays
“Whew,” Devan whispers. “Close one.”
I stifle my giggle. After a quick scan, Mr. Tomlinson, satisfied that the delinquents have scattered, adjusts his robe, runs a loving hand over the ceramic gnome gracing the edge of the porch, and disappears inside. A second later, the neighborhood is veiled in darkness save the one blue street lamp at the end of my yard, which is glaringly bright.
“He’s so weird.” Devan hops to her feet and runs a playful finger underneath Kane’s chin. “You two lovebirds don’t be too long. It’s girl time in fifteen. I’ve got plans.”
“So do I,” I counter. “Sleeping.” I have an early start tomorrow.
“Forget that. I saw your hands earlier. You’re getting a manicure.”
“Really?” The whine in my voice only fuels her mission.
“Yes, really.” She captures my key between her fingers—which is just a plain, old key again after Kane’s momentary and very temporary compelling of it—and she holds it up. “And if you insist on wearing this hideous thing all the time, then we’re going to spruce it up.” It thumps against my chest when she releases it. “No arguing.”
The minute she slips inside, Kane and I break into laughter.
“My key is not hideous,” I assure him.
“Especially not on you.”
Hands in his pockets he makes a move to close the space between us. I take a backwards step, teasing him with my eyes. He moves closer; I step back. Another step, and he sweeps me up by the waist and pins me against one of the tall, white pillars. And, oh darn… I’m trapped.
A laugh escapes me just before his lips find mine, and out of the dark, the slow burn of his eyes takes root. In the middle of that slow, melting kiss, he proves his quick finesse by sliding off my ring, smooth and slick. The real fun begins then. I smile against his mouth as he eases my camouflage just enough to bring my eyes to life… nothing more. His hands trail up the surface of the pillar to box me in on either side, and he slips into my head for a private conversation.
“I talked to my mom earlier.”
“Yeah?” I hook a couple of my fingers through his belt loop and lug him a little closer to nibble on his earlobe.
“She says it’s nearly impossible to compel anything long range.”
His words stall the moment before it’s even begun. My lips give off a tiny smack as they leave his ear. I lean back, concern flooding in.
“She says even if it were possible, something like that would use up every bit of energy and take days to recover.”
“Oh.”
A well of disappointment settles over me, not only because what we were hoping for is impossible, but because I would never ask him to do it even if he could. Leaving Kane powerless to camouflage himself is not ever an option. He toys with my ring where it graces his pinkie.
“The compelling effect will start to wear off the farther away you get.” His voice sweeps out of my head and falls from his tongue in a whisper. “Until you’re just… exposed.”
I drop my hands from his waist and slip right down the pillar to the porch. Kane studies me a second before dropping to a squat in front of me.
“Then there’s no point in trying,” I say.
“No.” He spreads his palms in seeming defeat, and I sink inside.
“I—I have to go on this trip, Kane.”
“I know.”
I squint at him, and with a tiny hesitancy, he poises my ring between his fingers and slides it onto mine, drowning out the fire.
“You know? Then… do you have a plan?”
He studies his hands a minute, then sinks into a sitting position with a heavy sigh.
“Yeah. And I hate it.” He peers at me sidelong with the most serious expression on his face, and then, he throws me the curviest curve ball he’s ever thrown. “You’ll have to take Rylin with you.”
I honestly think I misheard him. I lift my hands to ward off the small bit of shock impaling me, leaving Kane the perfect opportunity to casually insert his fingers between mine and fold them together, palm to palm.
“You—you’re serious?” I give his hands a little shake.
“Yeah.” With that, he tugs me into his lap. “I’m not okay with it, let’s get that straight right now. But… apparently, he’s not going to the disciplinary hearing. So he’s not a risk.”
I angle a suspicious eye at him. “You trust him?”
“Let’s not get carried away.” He might as well spit out the words they’re so full of venom. And there we go. “He’s always got an agenda. Don’t let him fool you.”
“Got it.” I nod overdramatically, bringing a smile out of him.
“I know how he feels about you, Jude.” He pauses to take a heavy breath. “Which, ironically, means he’ll keep you safe. That’s all I trust.”
“Okay,” I whisper, and it’s all seriousness now.
“And I trust you.”
Neither one of us blinks. My fingers tighten, curling against the back of his neck—no words needed—as I absorb his faith in me. And the definitiveness of it scares me. Because in the past couple of days, I’ve experienced the influence Rylin has over me, and as much as I don’t want to give in to it, it’s hard not to. His mantra is strong and beautiful, and I’m so going to need to keep my guard up. And how can I when we’re choosing to give him that kind of power over me?
It’s dangerous.
I search out Kane’s face in the pale blue light of the street lamp, gauging his understanding of the magnitude of the situation. He looks ghostly, all shadows and slanted crevices, and for a second, it almost doesn’t look like him at all. But then he shifts, a tiny flicker flashes through his dark eyes, and the odd sensation vanishes. His jaw tenses, relaxes.
“Just… think of this as our test.”
Great. I hate tests.
“What if he doesn’t want to help us?”
“I called him already. He couldn’t pack fast enough.”
“Wow. Okay.” I pierce him, a solid sigh escaping me. “And Frankie? How do I explain this to her?”
“You’re don’t. He’s gonna come clean with her first thing.”
“I didn’t know this was going to get so complicated.” Worry envelops me. “I never meant to involve her like this. I guess I never should have brought up a road trip. I wasn’t thinking about anything but meeting my brother.”
“I could still redirect her thoughts,” he shrugs. “Say the word, and I can make her forget as little or as much as you want.”
“No,” I shake my head. “We’ve decided, Kane. No more of that with Frankie.”
“Okay,” he nods. “Then we have to just let things play out.”
I swallow the thickness building up in my throat, and attempt a smile. “So you and your arch-rival have this thing all planned, then.”
A half-smile sneaks out of the shadows of one side of his face.
“I’d do anything for you, you know? Even play nice with a dude I hate.”
His words crack with emotion, and I understand fully the toll this is taking on him. I nuzzle into his chest, slinking my arms up under his pits for a tighter fit.
“I still wish it was you going with us,” I assure him.
“Not as much as I wish it was me.”
I keep my body completely still compressed against him as it hits me: Rylin is going to compel my ring. This bothers me. Because, well, there’s something very intimate about the whole compelling thing, you know? I know Dad was the first, and then Kane’s parents, but I don’t remember any of that. I associate every bit of my Fireblood reality with Kane, and I despise the idea of letting someone else into this realm. The fact that it will be Rylin, well, it just feels like the last twist of a knife to Kane’s gut.
I pull upright, bringing his eyes, his nose, his lips level with my own.
“I love you.”
Only a breath separates us. With a smile, he moves in, and my mouth floods with the taste of vanilla.
“And I love you,” he murm
urs.
The moment is so perfectly sweet… until the porch light flashes to life, and the old door creaks open.
“Okay, children, let’s wrap it up.”
Devan glares over us from just inside the doorway, arms crossed.
“Really, Dev?” I retort. “You sound like my mom.”
“Well, since your mom is MIA, then yeah, I’ll play the role.” She snaps her fingers once. “Now let’s go. This night’s not getting any younger.”
She at least has the decency to shut the door so we can smother ourselves in a proper goodbye. Still, it takes Kane a nice, long minute to pull himself free from me, mostly because I won’t let him go. Even after he mounts his Kawasaki and kick-starts the engine, I can’t keep myself from skipping down the steps and into his arms for one final kiss, making him promise that he’ll be here in the morning before I leave.
Suddenly, I’m dreading this trip as much as I’m looking forward to it.
It’s a terribly mixed-up feeling.
***
“Hold still, Jude.”
Devan, wearing an oversized Hello Kitty tee-shirt and matching slippers, sits cross-legged in the middle of my bed. A pillow covered with a tattered yellow towel serves as her makeshift salon table. To her right, an array of nail polish bottles adorns my nightstand, one color of which she now applies to my fingernails. And this, after she practically sanded them to death shaping them with an emery board. Wielding a thin nail polish brush as her current weapon of choice, she wrenches my pinkie finger for the tenth time at least. I wince… again.
“Are you almost done already?”
I dig my toes into the carpet where they’ve been dangling off the end of the bed for a good thirty minutes, hoping they won’t become her next victims. My right leg is falling asleep, the tingling sensation moving upward. I lift my foot to shake it out.
“I would have been done ages ago if you’d stop moving. This is my third attempt to get this one right.”
I lift up to have a look. “For the record, I don’t even like this color.”
She pauses, spine straightening, and throws me what could be the worst curse eye I’ve ever seen. “Now you tell me? Jude, this color matches your aura.”
“Aura?” I sigh and clamber up onto the end of the bed to roll onto my back and throw a pillow over my face. My maneuvering doesn’t lessen Devan’s tight grip on my pinkie one bit. She yanks on it a little too hard. “Ow! When did you start reading auras?”
My muffled question is answered with her muffled response.
“I don’t. But the magazine article I read said Fire Rose Red was your color based on your personality. So shut up already. We’re going with this color.”
The cool tip of the paintbrush presses into my nail again. I sigh, and raise the pillow just enough to catch sight of Frankie at my desk.
“A little help here, Frankie?”
“Busy.” She doesn’t even bother to look up.
The second I came in from the porch, Devan yanked my necklace free and tossed it to Frankie with a satisfied gleam in her eye. They had a plan, and no protesting could get it back. So for the past half hour, while I endured the torture of getting my nails all prettied up, Frankie labored over a painting of her own. Desk lamp pulled close, her pallet spread in front of her, she’s in one of her many elements.
I’ve mentioned what a fantastic artist Frankie is, which is the only reason I’m not worried about what I’m going to see when she’s finished.
I check in with Angelica, happily perched on the bookshelf. Kane fully compelled her earlier because, well, you never know what mischief three girls in pajamas will get into. And I’m not gonna lie, it’s so much harder to stay hidden now that I know what I am. I’ve experienced the freedom of shedding my humanity for the heat that lies beneath, and so any precaution used to keep me from slipping up is a good one. I twist my ruby over once.
Apparently, Kane and Rylin can’t both compel the ring at the same time. It only obeys one master—Kane’s crack at humor there. I did laugh, but the reality of what is going to happen really sunk in. Kane’s effects will wear off at some point tomorrow, and Rylin will take over.
I hate even thinking about it.
Luckily, I survive the application of Fire Rose Red to my other hand as well, and I have to admit, it’s prettier than I thought once it dries.
“I told you.”
Devan’s snarkiness could not be worse, but I’m too exhausted to fight back. She lights a cinnamon candle and sets it on the shelf next to Angelica, hoping it will cast out the smells of both the polish and paint. Eventually, it does, and I climb beneath the covers and curl my newly painted nails up under my chin.
It’s past two when Frankie shakes me awake and dangles my chain over my head.
“I figured you’d want this back before morning,” she whispers.
She shoves me over, and climbs into the bed, adjusting her pillow. I bump up against Devan, who expels a loud snore and rolls onto her side, back to us. It takes me a minute to focus, but when I do, my eyes land on the most beautiful sight.
Frankie has transformed my key, and a flush of goosebumps envelops me. I sit up, taking it from her, and I just stare at it.
She’s painted over the silver with a glossy white and added in thin black lines to represent the separation of piano keys. And over this, in an opaque fashion, she’s painted tiny musical notes and treble and bass clefs.
“It’s beautiful, Frankie.” I suck my lower lip between my teeth to keep from crying. I can’t look at her. “Thank you.”
“Sure.” She yawns and throws an arm over her face. “It was quite fun. Now let’s sleep. We have a long day of driving ahead of us.”
“Okay.”
I fasten the chain around my neck and lean across Devan to turn off the lamp. The candle flickers, and once my eyes adjust, I lift the key for one last look in the dim light.
“Jude?” Frankie whispers.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for today. I’m honored to be a part of your world.”
I smile and roll onto my side to throw an arm over her. “Sure.”
That right there makes all the risk worth it.
Frankie’s breathing evens out, and I snuggle down between my two favorite girls and close my eyes.
My life is going to change tomorrow. Again. But right now, with this key and its added special touch lying against my heart, things feel pretty perfect.
Eighteen
“Rylin McDowell is coming with us?”
I lean against the end of the bar, chomping on Lucky Charms while Frankie processes the news Kane just handed her. Propped against the counter, arms crossed, he shrugs.
“Yep.” He peeks over his left shoulder out the window, dipping his head to see through the slats in the blinds. “And here he is.”
The sound of a car door slamming hits my ears. I shove another spoonful of cereal into my mouth. Frankie’s frown deepens.
“This is going to make it difficult for Jude and me to be candid about our mission, don’t you think?” She hones in on Kane, habitually pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “What are we supposed to tell him?”
The bell rings. Without answering, Kane pushes away from the counter and leaves the room.
“This is a terrible idea.” Frankie shakes her head with disapproval. “We don’t need a ‘man’ to take this trip with us, if that’s what Kane is thinking. We’re perfectly capable. And Rylin? Why Rylin?”
“Just…” I lift my spoon. Milk drips off the end and splatters back into my bowl. “You’ll understand in a minute.”
She rears back, suspicion lighting her eyes, but she doesn’t say anything else. The guys enter the kitchen, Kane stiff and unsmiling. And Rylin? Well, I won’t waste time describing the look of victory that shines on his face like a beacon of champions. Clearly, he’s loving every minute of this, and I stifle the intense desire to roll my eyes.
“Well now, ladies.” Rylin tips his he
ad toward Frankie with a wink. “I hope both of you are well rested and ready for our big day.”
Frankie narrows in on him suspiciously.
“Where’s Devan?” Kane asks, resuming his stance near the kitchen window.
“Sound asleep.” I take my empty bowl to the sink, rinse it, and plant myself firmly next to him. “We didn’t let her in on the road trip plans. And she sleeps like a log.”
“Okay, good.” Kane flicks hard eyes toward Rylin. “You’re up.”
Confusion crosses Frankie’s face when Rylin saunters around the end of the bar and takes the stool next to her. He casually leans an elbow against the tiled top and smiles.
“We have this unspoken rule,” he begins. “Well, I suppose it’s probably written down somewhere by now, but I have yet to see the proof of that. At any rate, we don’t expose each other.”
Frankie’s confusion grows. “Excuse me?”
“Just get to the point, Rylin,” Kane growls. I slide my fingers into the crook of his elbow in an attempt to calm him.
“Right,” Rylin crinkles his nose, bending in close to Frankie. She leans away in perfect sync, so much so that their motions look rehearsed, which is semi-amusing. “Okay, lassie, watch closely.”
His irises flash, his skin flares up just a smidge with its white glow, and Frankie’s lips tighten about as quickly as her eyes widen.
“Oh,” she manages. Her stunned face slowly turns toward me. “Ohhhh…”
With a sigh, I step forward until just the expanse of the bar separates us.
“So here’s the deal. I need someone to come with us who can compel my ring and keep it compelled. And since Kane can’t…” I stab Rylin with my eyes to assure he understands my meaning. “… we have to go with a second choice.”
Frankie digests my words and swivels her head back toward Rylin, still dazed. But a smile creeps in.
“Wow. How many of you are there in Carson City?”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Rylin wags a finger dramatically. “You’re forgetting about the unspoken rule I mentioned.”
“Unspoken rules are considered more of a courtesy, wouldn’t you agree?” Frankie’s sarcasm laces her voice. Rylin chuckles.
