Field of Innocence (Euphoria #1)

by Lainy Lane

  No boys are allowed at the house while I am gone. You may have girlfriends over, but no more than three at a time. No parties! No drinking! No making out with anyone! If you wouldn’t do it while I’m here, then don’t do it while I’m gone either! Call your grandmother if you need anything. I’ll call you once I’m settled in and have a few minutes.

  See you in a few months,

  Chase

  She drops the note out of her hand and watches as it flits back and forth a few times before landing back on the table where she had found it to begin with. She probably should feel relieved that she didn’t have to go through the normal apologizing routine. Instead, she feels hurt and betrayed as the information sinks in. Her father had left without saying good-bye. Worse than that, he hadn’t even attempted to apologize or seem the least bit regretful for the fight in the short and sweet note he had left for her.

  Without fully recognizing what she is even doing, she immediately gets her phone out of her purse and dials Tristan’s number.

  “Everything okay, Cal?” His voice is concerned when he answers.

  “He left.” Calandra’s answer is vague and she doesn’t clarify anything.

  “Who left?”

  “My dad. There’s a good-bye note on the table, he went to his business project.”

  “Really?” For some reason, Tristan sounds pretty shocked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you want me to come and get you?”

  “No,” Calandra replies, “I’m gonna go walk in the woods for a bit to clear my head. I’ll let you know what I’m gonna do when I get back.”

  “Okay, be careful please.”

  “I will,” she answers simply.

  Calandra hangs up without saying good-bye and immediately knows she will hear about that decision the next time she sees Tristan. He has a thing with people who hang up without saying goodbye and she’s never done it to him before. She shrugs her shoulders, tosses the phone on the table, and walks out the back door, heading for the woods.

  Chapter Five

  Secrets

  Calandra walks through the woods and down the path she knows so well, toward her sanctuary. This has all been far too much for her lately. She needs peace, and her favorite place to find it is the sanctuary. Serenity comes easily as she walks down the winding pathways; she knows the clearing is soon coming where she will enter her spot of belonging. She can see the flowers in her head already, smell the soft fragrance that always makes her feel lighter. Her anticipation builds as she walks. She knows exactly where to dodge thorns and branches that stick out, she could make this journey in her sleep.

  Her heart jumps when she sees the clearing. Ducking under the vines between the last trees to the opening, she enters her beautiful spot. Her breath catches as she feels all the stress of the world melt away from her. Nothing exists beyond the beauty of this place. She always feels better when she’s here; more powerful and like anything is possible. She walks over to her favorite spot and lays down, ready to relax, close her eyes, and shut out the world completely. A soft noise distracts her; a hum, or maybe a light buzz. Something blue catches her eye from somewhere to her back side. She turns to see what it is, and finds a beautiful blue and purple dragonfly.

  “Why hello,” she says quietly. “Would you like to join me?”

  As if it understands exactly what she said, the dragonfly flies over and softly perches on her left shoulder, angling its body towards her face. Its tiny feet tickle her shoulder as it sits there. Its soft buzz fills her ears and she finds it oddly soothing. She smiles as she slowly and smoothly lies down, careful not to scare away her new friend. Her cares and worries disappear as she closes her eyes and lets her haven wash over her. The soft buzz soothes her as she feels the sense of belonging encase her. Safe in the surroundings of this special place she relaxes her entire being; her mind, body, and soul.

  The dragonfly that’s on her shoulder now seems to buzz louder, which alarms Calandra. She sits up, careful to not move as fast as she wants to, to keep from frightening her little watcher. Something catches her eye despite the shock of the sunlight that pierces her eyesight momentarily; a spear of light. A white all-encompassing glowing orb heads away from her. It moves slightly away from her, and stops, as if it is waiting for her to follow. Calandra isn’t sure how she knows it wants her to follow it, but she can sense somehow that it is calling her toward it with its motions.

  Her watcher buzzes steadily in her ear, which somehow eases her nerves. Calandra takes the change in its noise as a safety assurance, so she carefully gets to her feet and cautiously follows after the light. The buzz from the dragonfly grows slightly and breaks Calandra from the daze of staring at the beam. She picks her feet up off the ground, and continues to walk after the light. It takes a conscience effort on her part to remind herself to take each step because she is so enveloped in the beauty of the illumination.

  She was obviously right in thinking it wanted her to follow, because as soon as she walks toward it, the orb moves further forward. They are going to the other side of the opening that Calandra calls her sanctuary, the side that she has never examined for some reason. There are a growing number of flowers as they reach the edge of the opening.

  Calandra is unsure of what made her think that the light was going to stop instead of go through the edge of the clearing and into whatever lies on the other side, but she gasps audibly when she sees it disappear into the trees. She basks in the comfort of the buzzing coming from her shoulder and takes a breath, walking through to the other side of the clearing. She hears water as soon as she breaks through. It is a soft babble, which she knows has to be coming from a creek.

  She notices a figure on the other side of the creek. It is a man. He is tall and slender, with long hair in a style that certainly isn’t from this century, or any other century that Calandra knows of. Somewhere deep down, Calandra knows that when you see a random guy in the woods the best idea is probably to run the other way. Somehow that thought never crosses her mind as being a real possibility. The buzz on her shoulder slowly grows louder and encourages her even more toward her next move.

  Calandra pulls the legs of her pants up slightly, so they won’t catch as she dodges tree limbs and obstacles in the path that leads to the creek. She gets to the creek and into it without any issues. However, as she stands in it, she realizes the incline to get back out of it isn’t going to be anywhere near as easy to tackle. The water rushes around her bare feet and splashes onto her legs. The air is crisp and smells clean. All the while, the man just stares at her, watching her every move with intrigue.

  At least Calandra hopes it’s intrigue and not some sort of fantastically disgusting creeper look. That’s when Calandra realizes that she is far enough into the woods that no one can hear her scream if she were to, for some reason, feel the need to do so. Her heart starts to race and for a half a second she considers whether or not she needs to turn around. She knows it’s too late now, even if it is the smarter idea.

  Just when she begins to think that turning around is in fact the best thing to do, the stranger cocks his head at her, and she catches a glimpse of his eyes. All her fears slip away instantly. She feels trapped in his sight, and even if she wanted to, she knows she can’t turn back now. She feels drawn in, no matter what her inhibitions tell her she should do.

  She grimaces as she walks over the stones at the bottom of the creek. They are all rather smooth, yet still slightly uncomfortable on her bare feet. She seems to cross the creek much faster than she should be able to, though she doesn’t pay much attention to the act of walking. She doesn’t take her eyes off of the stranger the entire time. She isn’t fully aware that she’s on the other side until he reaches out to help her up the embankment to where he is. She takes his hand and allows him to pull her up.

  The stranger is tall and lean. His hair is a dark shade of blond, with brown undertones in it. It comes down to just past his shoulders, where it lays quite untidily. There’s
a shorter layer that comes just past his ears, and side sweeping bangs that hang just past his eyebrows and cover his eyes slightly. The eyes that are partly hidden under those bangs are the most gorgeous things Calandra has ever seen. They are an amazing color of baby blue with a slight tinge of teal. They’re opaque, and seem to have a white tint to them. Calandra knows she could stare at them forever, if she were to allow herself to, so she immediately forces herself to look away and distracts herself by taking in his outfit.

  Calandra has never seen anything quite like what he’s wearing. It’s a bit out of the ordinary to say the very least. It’s a mix of leather, frills, ruffles, boots, and there’s even a little hint of glitter. Yet somehow, the odd mixture looks completely flawless on such a handsome person. The stranger is intriguing, mysterious, and beyond beautiful. Something about him draws her in and she can’t seem to take her eyes off of him. Calandra doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to make herself quit staring at him. That’s when she remembers that she still isn’t totally sure if this stranger is going to attack her or possibly something even worse. The thought makes her heart beat irrationally and she starts planning a possible route of escape, just in case she decides she does indeed need to run off somewhere.

  “I apologize for my rudeness,” the stranger says, and his voice is laced with honey. “I was just taken aback I guess. I’m Jarreth, it’s nice to meet you, Calandra.”

  Calandra stares even harder at him now. She hasn’t been able to make herself speak yet, and somehow he knows her name. This certainly isn’t working to calm her nerves any. She thinks harder on an escape plan, and starts to wonder if she should already be running away.

  “How do you know my name?” She finally makes herself ask.

  “I know much more about you than you think.” He holds his hand out toward her, as if to shake hers.

  Calandra simply stares at it, unwilling to take it. He must catch onto this because he decides to give up on the gesture. He now reaches out to her shoulder and she feels two of his fingers rest gently on her exposed skin. She tingles from where his touch is all the way down to her toes. The sensation is somehow warm and cool at the same time. Calandra looks over at his fingers as they touch her skin. The dragonfly, which she had all but forgotten was there, slowly walks over to Jarreth’s fingers and perches itself on them.

  “Like, for instance, why this creature has decided to show a favoritism to you.” Jarreth winks as he lifts his hand from her shoulder and the dragonfly leaves Calandra with it. He brings it just a few inches from his face and stares at it momentarily before he motions for it to fly on.

  Calandra finally takes her eyes off of Jarreth long enough to watch the dragonfly slowly but gracefully fly away. When she quits watching it, she realizes Jarreth is now staring at her. Calandra leans up against the tree behind her, placing her hands directly against it and behind her back. She lifts one leg onto the tree trunk so, if she does feel the need to bolt, she can easily propel herself into the run. She feels like she should be scared, yet something about his eyes won’t let her be.

  “And just what exactly do you know about me?” she asks.

  “I know everything your dad won’t tell you, plus some more,” he answers with a soft chuckle.

  Calandra stares at him blankly, her mouth open slightly. This meeting certainly isn’t getting any less awkward. “How could you possibly know that?”

  He ignores her question and continues as if she hasn’t said anything. “I also know that you feel like you’re destined for something more, something bigger and better. I know why you feel that, and I can show you.” Winking, he turns and walks a few feet away. When he realizes she isn’t following him, he stops and turns back to face her. Reaching out his hand, he asks with a smile, “Coming?”

  Something tells Calandra she should run now. Somewhere inside of her she knows that following some random stranger who appears to belong to another century, and knows things he shouldn’t know about you—things you don’t even know—probably isn’t the brightest of ideas. This remains true no matter how gorgeous his eyes may be. Unfortunately, even if she actually wanted to run, she still couldn’t have made herself. She is hooked by intrigue and curiosity now. Calandra keeps a cautious look on her face, pushes herself off of the tree, and walks over to him.

  Even though the thought crosses her mind and it is very tempting, she does make herself refuse his hand. Instead, she simply motions in front of him. “Lead the way,” she tells him instead.

  He smirks and reaches down, taking her hand in his anyways before he begins walking. The tingling goes back through her, about a thousand times stronger this time. Heat fills her hand where he’s holding her, but a cold chill fills the rest of her body. She tenses up from the feelings, but can’t make herself pull away from him, so she takes a breath and follows him instead.

  They walk through a winding trail along the creek before they come to a wall of ivy. Jarreth stops abruptly, and Calandra’s body fills with anxiety. As they stand there holding hands, Jarreth turns to her without letting go. “Are you ready?” he asks with an odd twinkle in his eye.

  Calandra shrugs, unsure of what she’s supposed to be ready for.

  Jarreth reaches out with his free hand and pulls part of the ivy wall back, creating an opening for them to walk through. “Ladies first, my dear,” he says as he lets go of her hand and motions for her to enter.

  Calandra looks at him cautiously before she walks through. She has to remind herself to breathe once she takes a look around. She thought her sanctuary was breathtaking, but this takes beauty to a whole other level. Plush grass fills the small opening and it is littered with beautiful pink and blue flowers. The flowers are long and cylinder shaped. They face upward, with an opening at the top, and have a small heart-shaped lid. The air is filled with a mixture of lily, pine, cedar, and something musky; it’s an intoxicating combination of fragrances.

  “This is the Field of Innocence,” Jarreth says, answering the question she hasn’t been able to form yet.

  Calandra turns and looks at him. “Which is …” She prods for more information as she continues to take in the scenery.

  “Just sit down and take it in for a minute.” He holds out a hand to assist her to the ground.

  Calandra stares cautiously at him momentarily, but she can’t make herself feel even the least bit threatened even though she tries. Sighing, she takes his hand and allows him to help her sit down. She crosses her legs in the grass and inhales deeply to take in the scent. Something fills her as she does; a sense of belonging, tranquility, and true happiness. She opens her eyes back up to see the air around her has filled with dragonflies.

  Suddenly she finds her thoughts swirling to visions of her mom and her great-grandmother. Her heart races momentarily, but a calm immediately rushes over her before her anxiety gets very high. Calandra looks up suspiciously at Jarreth, who smiles down at her. He nods knowingly before he slowly sits down beside her.

  “Would you really like to know what your father won’t tell you?” he asks sincerely, a tint of concern behind the words.

  Calandra nods instantly, unable to feel nervous about it, even though she suspects she probably should.

  Jarreth looks as if he is about to speak, but then stops. He takes in a quick breath before he takes Calandra’s hand in his. Her heart starts to race. “Are you sure, Cal? Please keep in mind that the truth isn’t always pretty.” His words take Calandra back to the night of her fight with her dad, just before she drove away from the house.

  “And lies are beautiful.” She repeats words similar to the ones she had said when her dad had spoken the all too similar line to her that night.

  “Sometimes, yes,” Jarreth replies.

  Calandra’s heart still beats all too fast and heat rises in her cheeks. She isn’t sure what he can possibly tell her to make her hate her father anymore than she already does at the moment. She is already beyond hurt that he left town without even saying good-bye. She t
akes one last deep breath to ready herself for whatever is about to come. She nods her head to indicate to Jarreth that she does indeed want the truth.

  “Please bear in mind, Cal, that your dad, in his own kind of way, thinks he is doing what is right … I guess.” Jarreth squeezes her hand as he says it.

  Calandra had forgotten that his hand was there, and suddenly being aware of it makes it feel awkward and wrong. She jerks away immediately and places her hands in her lap as she looks away from him. A sound comes out of Jarreth’s mouth, Calandra is pretty sure it’s a laugh of some sort, but she ignores it as he begins his story.

  “Did you know that dragonflies are the faeries of the mortal earth?” Jarreth asks as if this were common knowledge.

  Calandra shoots him a confused look and slightly shakes her head no, unsure of where this is supposed to be going.

  “Dragonflies are the only of the Fae that can freely roam the mortal earth, with the exception of a few special places that other faeries are allowed to be.”