by Elle Scott
“Okay, Mom. We’re going to hers.” Summer threw a thumb in Imogen’s direction, who smiled with her lips hidden inside her mouth.
Sadie didn’t know if Summer was lying. It was hard to tell these days with the amount of fib-telling practice she’d had. But honestly, Sadie didn’t care to press the matter. She was done playing her sister’s keeper. And she was done pretending to be something she wasn’t.
“Just don’t drink anything alcoholic. The last thing I need is to babysit your grounded ass for another three months.” Sadie slammed the door on her shocked sister’s face.
Turning around and seeing the mess on her floor, Sadie sighed. It pained her to ignore it, but the cleanup would have to wait. Something was missing from her outfit.
Standing in front of her mirror, Sadie tugged at the hair-tie that held the top-knot on her head. Her long blond tendrils—wavy from the bun—fell over her shoulders and half-way down her back. Sadie smiled, knowing exactly what she needed.
She lunged across her room and pulled her drapes open. The windowsill was adorned with a random collection of trinkets. From pretty rocks to painted feathers to handwritten notes. Sadie crouched, running her fingers along a few feathers until she found the one she was after. It was white and brown, the ends tipped in rose gold. Perfect. Blindly, she pulled thin strands of hair from above her ears and tied them at the back, tucking the feather in.
As she stood, she grabbed her tarot cards from her bedside table. Damien wasn’t just going to get the real her, he was going to get all of her. The quirky and the kind.
Sadie
Jimmy’s Italian Restaurant wasn’t busy. But it seemed to be the night of high school dates. A few couples sat in booths, hands gripping, eyes swooning, lips locking. Sadie let Damien lead the way to the counter and was surprised to see Sebastian standing at the till. Why, of all people, would Sebastian Weir, grandson of the mayor, need a job?
He stood there, palm pressed against the bench as though it held his whole body weight. He didn’t bother to look at them as he asked what they wanted to order. His tone and expression oozed boredom, like he’d rather be anywhere else but there.
With his head hanging low, Sadie realized how much his hair had grown recently. Actually, she couldn’t remember the last time he’d caked his hair in gel to slick it back. A signature look—all but forgotten. She noted to herself that this new tousled look suited him.
Sebastian tapped at the screen. “Any drinks? Milk?”
“Milk?” Damien balked.
“Isn’t that what boring people drink?” Sebastian reached for a table number and placed it in front of him, eyes still anywhere but on them.
Sadie gawked at Damien, waiting for him to react to Sebastian’s taunt. His face was more confused than annoyed though and it was the most endearing thing to see.
“Water’s fine,” she said.
Sebastian sniffed with indifference and tapped the screen. “Dutch or Chivalry?”
“Beg pardon?”
Sebastian looked up then, speaking slowly as if Damien was hard of hearing. “Will. You. Be. Paying. For. Her?”
“Oh no.” Sadie whipped out her dad’s credit card. “Dutch please.”
Sebastian’s eyes floated casually to Sadie and his lips twitched slightly into something that resembled a smirk.
After they paid and Sebastian jabbed a finger at their table’s direction, they sat down.
Damien scowled in a hushed tone, “What a dick.”
Sadie looked over at Sebastian as he served the next customer. His eyes stared at the screen, and he spoke with a sharp tone and bored face. She shrugged. “He’s harmless. All bark, no bite.”
She tried not to laugh at the pun, considering he was a wolf and all.
“You’re only saying that because he saved your life,” Damien said it like it was an accusation.
Sadie swung her head back to Damien. “And that’s a bad thing?”
“No!” Damien said quickly, reaching his arm out and hovering his hand just above hers. “I didn’t mean that. It’s a great thing, a more than great thing. Having you alive is definitely a great thing.”
His stuttering made her smile. There he was, the Damien she knew.
Sadie flung her hair over shoulder and run her teeth over her bottom lip. A sensual look flitted to her eyes. She caught herself then, being the thing she’d promised herself she wouldn’t be—someone that wasn’t herself. She took a quick breath.
No need to flirt, Sadie Sloan. Just be yourself.
“Do you want a tarot reading?” She dug her hand into her bag and pulled out her cards.
Damien stared at her hands as she began shuffling. The backs of the cards were swirls of pastel pink and blue with the tree of life embossed in gold foil. She loved those cards.
When Sadie realized he was staring, she stopped. “Orrr not?”
Damien smiled and looked down at his hands. His hair fell forward, covering his face like a mask. He peered at her through dark tendrils. The vision caught Sadie off guard. What a pair they were. She knew this side to Damien well, it was all he’d shown anyone—until he became a Guardian. It was a weird feeling. Knowing that she could render him vulnerable, revert him to the person he was before he had the confidence that came with being a Guardian. But also, it made her realize, she wasn’t the only one who was afraid of being their true self. Where he hid behind his hair, she hid behind her overly friendly smile.
“I mean.” He squeezed his hands together, kneading his fingers anxiously. “I don’t believe in that sort of thing, but sure. If you want.”
Sadie smiled. Not a fake smile either. It was wide and genuine. “Okay then.” She pushed the cards to him. “You’re supposed to shuffle them.”
A brightness lit his eyes. He took the cards happily and began to shuffle. His long slender fingers flicked the cards with ease, fanning them fast. Wide arms, then close hands. It all looked so effortless. Sadie wondered what his hands would feel like running through her hair.
“I play canasta a lot. I’ve been in a tournament a few times. In Seattle,” He said, passing them back. As an afterthought, he added, “You just looked surprised at my shuffling. So, that’s why. Practice.”
Sadie bit her lip to stop herself from laughing and placed the deck on the table. As she turned three cards over in a row, she said, “Under all that muscle, you’re still a nerd.”
“A nerd?” He snapped his shoulders back and sat upright, brows pressing down to his eyes.
“It’s okay,” Sadie said softly. “I never said it was a bad thing.”
Damien nodded once and jutted his chin out defensively. Sadie kept her face even as she watched his gentle side slip away. He slid his jacket off and hung it over the back of his chair, his eyes darting to his bulging bicep as he moved. His dark spiral tattoo peeked out from under the sleeve.
He leaned across the table, and with a glint in his eyes, he said, “I can be whatever you want me to be.”
Sadie recoiled. She didn’t want to flirt. Didn’t he know that? Didn’t he want the same thing as her? To get to know each other.
“Drinks,” Sebastian announced at the side of the table.
Sadie sat back, surprised by his sudden appearance. Sebastian slammed the bottle of water onto the table and drops of liquid spilled out over the top and ran down the side of the glass. His eyes drifted to the tarot cards, then up to Sadie’s disenchanted expression. He looked back to the cards once more and picked up one from the top of the pile. Sadie watched his eyes dart over the card—his mouth twitched slightly, as though teasing a smile. Without saying a word, he placed it back where he found it and headed back to the cafe counter.
Sadie turned back to Damien. “Just be yourself.”
She peered down to the cards and changed the subject. “So, I’ve done a three-card spread. One for your past, one for your present, and one for your future.”
“Tell me, oh wise mage, what does it say?”
Sadie didn’t
like the mocking tone to his voice, but she didn’t show it. The first card, for his past, showed a person sitting alone in a field of dandelions. “This card is The Hermit. It shows you in solitude. Someone who gains strength from being alone. There’s always a time for isolation, so it’s not a bad card at all.” She didn’t look up as she moved onto the next card. “The card for you as you are right now is the six of wands. It means you’ve just come off a victory. You’re reaping the rewards.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Sadie glanced up to see his chest rise. He raised his eyebrows. “You know this whole thing is baloney, but I’ll take it.”
A sharp smile flew quickly across Sadie’s face. If he wasn’t careful, Damien would see the snark she reserved for her sister. Turning back to the cards, her fingers slid over the last card. Another lone figure, but this time its head was bowed and its arms were open wide, welcoming its fate. The Death card.
“And I rest my case. Death?” Damien jeered. “Am I going to die?”
“The death card doesn’t mean literal death,” Sadie said a little too defensively for the nice girl image she tried so hard to uphold. “It means change. A new path. Releasing something important to you and starting afresh completely.”
Smooth fingernails grazed across Sadie’s hand. Damien placed his palm down and leaned forward. “Sadie Sloan, I gotta say it. You’re gorgeous when you’re cranky.”
A crash came from across the room, followed by a “shit!” Sebastian poked his head up from behind the counter, eyes straight on Sadie. He winced and stood back up, holding a broken mug, and scrambled into the back kitchen.
Sadie slid her hand from beneath Damien’s and gathered her cards from the table, placing his spread on the bottom of the deck. As she moved them back to her bag, curiosity got the better of her. She lifted the card from the top, the one Sebastian had taken.
In front of a sunrise, colored orange and pink, two people embraced. The Lovers card.
The kitchen door swung open and Sadie glanced up. Sebastian walked through, holding two bowls of spaghetti bolognaise.
As he placed their meals in front of them, he glanced at her hands and his mouth jerked open—not a gasp, not a smile, just slightly open like he’d been caught with his hand deep in the cookie jar. She was still holding the tarot card.
“Enjoy your meal, Itsy,” he said before rushing away.
For some unforeseen reason, her heart skipped a beat.
After dinner, they stood on the sidewalk of the well-lit main street of Cedar Falls. The sun had set in the time it took them to eat. Sadie shivered at the chilled air and gazed at the night sky half covered in clouds. A part of the sky, right above the mountain ledge that over-looked the town, was clear. Twinkling stars shone above as though an invitation.
“You wanna go for a walk to the lake?” Damien asked, threading his arms through his jacket.
“Don’t know if we should…”
“I’ll protect you, besides there’s been no attacks since Leila and Riley became Imprints.” He took her hand, a gentle smile beaming down at her.
She didn’t mean they shouldn’t because of the attacks. Those were Cap and his minions and they were all gone now. The town had lifted its caution and life went back to normal, as though all those people didn’t just die.
What she meant was, she wasn’t sure if they should continue their date… if they were compatible.
“Come on,” he said, tugging at her arm. “You’ll be safe, I promise.”
There was something kind in his eyes that made her step with him. He wasn’t a bad person, far from it. Maybe she just needed to see how things went a little more. Maybe she just needed to dig a little bit deeper and wait for his real self to re-appear.
They walked down the path, hand-in-hand, until they reached the turn-off for the lake. The dim light from the street lamps casted a yellow tint over Damien’s face. He stood a whole foot above her and as he looked down at her, shadows deepened his features.
“Oh,” he said, peering over her head. “You got something…” He whipped the feather from her hair and tossed it away.
Sadie opened her mouth to tell him that it was hers—
“You know, I’ve had a few dates in the last three months. And I have to say, this is one of my favorites.”
“Um, thanks?” Sadie wriggled her hand free. She looked back to the path behind them, but in the darkness, the feather had disappeared.
Damien peered at her sideways, and when he realized what he’d said, he swung an arm around her shoulders. “No, no. Don’t get all defensive again. It’s a compliment. It means I like you.”
She stared at his hand as it hung over her shoulder, precariously close to her breast. He danced too quickly between personalities, she was having a hard time keeping up. As their feet hit to the dewy grass that surrounded the lake, Sadie ducked out from under his hold and ran to the edge.
Damien stepped beside her and pointed to the right side, where the path led up to the mountain ledge. “Check out the ice, it’s melting.”
Sure enough, water laid upon the solid ice, long cracks zigzagging through.
“The swallows will come back soon,” Sadie mused, a smile rising. She loved the sound of a swallow’s song. It reminded her of picnics and friendship and spring.
“You like swallows?” Damien nodded to himself, his hands clasped in front of him. Sadie didn’t know whether his nod was for storing the information away for future need, or if he was teasing her.
“What’s your favorite animal?” she asked, hoping to bring out his nerdy side again.
A crease formed between his eyes and he looked down at her with a grin. “Do you even have to ask?”
His eyes flashed yellow for a second before returning to their normal gray-blue.
“Eagle,” Sadie stated, trying not to freak out at his almost half-shift. “Of course.”
She loved being the only human in their clan, like she was privy to a secret she didn’t have to live. But she tried to stay away from their shifts. The whole thing brought her back to Cap’s devilish eyes as he ran for her, intent to kill. Luckily, Damien’s Guardian wasn’t a land predator with fangs or claws. She could deal with talons.
“Can I be truthful?” Damien said, snapping Sadie out of her memory.
“Mmm?” she replied, glancing up.
He was smiling, the edges of his eyes wrinkled yet soft. He lifted a hand and gently ran his fingers along her cheek bone. “I want to kiss you.”
Sadie coughed, almost choking on her own saliva. Kiss? She hadn’t even thought about kissing. She made a few noises in the back of her throat that, if a few octaves higher, would sound like a frog’s mating call. Then, she laughed.
Frowning, Damien stepped back. “It wasn’t meant to be a joke. I didn’t think I repulsed you.”
He turned around and shoving his hands in his pockets, he began walking back towards the street.
Guilt gripped Sadie. She hated when people felt bad, she particularly hated it when they felt bad because of something she’d said. It was why she was so nice and polite all the time. Conflict made her feel sick. She ran to catch up with him and clutched at his elbow. “Wait. I don’t think you’re repulsive.”
He stopped, standing tall as his neck arched back. Looking up at the sky, he said, “I thought you were different from the other girls. But not in the complete opposite way.”
“The other girls?” As soon as she said the words, she regretted them. She didn’t want to hear about his conquests. About his other dates. She just wanted to hear about him and who he was. She wanted to connect on a real level.
Damien slowly turned around. His eyes darted around Sadie’s face and he licked his lips before saying. “They’re superficial. They just want to date me because I’m a Guardian. Not that they know I’m a Guardian, but they see the effects of it. In my stature, in my attitude. I’m not who they want. They just want what they think I am.” He took a quick breath before cont
inuing. “Sadie, I like you. Really. A lot. I thought…” His words drifted into the cooling air and he rolled his eyes.
What he said was fair enough, but the words annoyed Sadie. He expected her to accept the real him, but he didn’t want to show her the real him. How was that supposed to work? She’d given total honesty the whole night and he gave her nothing. If she were to go on anything he’d been that night, she’d dump him in a heartbeat.
She bit her bottom lip, but there was no flirt in her eyes. She was simply trying to concoct a meaningful sentence that told him what she was thinking without hurting his feelings.
Finally, she said, “Can’t you just be yourself?”
His hands splayed from his neck to his feet. “This is me, a better me.”
“Yes.” She didn’t waste any time trying to think of a nicer way to say it. “But before, you were humble. Isn’t that better?”
Damien chortled, rolling his shoulders back. “Sades, confidence is everything.”
Straight-faced, she quipped, “So is humility.”
That word seemed to affect him. His face shifted from arrogant to defeated. “You’re right, sorry. I get carried away sometimes, it’s just a nice feeling being like this. I was scared before. Lame. I hated myself.” He absent-mindedly tugged at the ends of his shoulder-length hair, as though physically placing the mask over his face. “Why would I want to be something I hate?”
“You’ve always been nice. A little shy but…” Sadie grabbed his fist and gently guided it away from his hair—the black locks hung limply over his hanging head. “I mean, you’re hot now. Super hot, like I’ve had to force myself not to flirt like a mad woman.” She sighed and stepped closer, tucking his hair behind his ears so she could see his whole face. “But I want to be myself with you, and I want you to be yourself with me.”
As she was about to move her hands from behind his ears, he placed his own on top of them. He clasped them and brought her palms to his cheeks. Then, he moved his own to her face, cupping her petite jaw in his hands, stroking her cheek bone with his long slender fingers.
