Field of Innocence (Euphoria #1)

by Lainy Lane

  Calandra shrugs.

  “You’d do well to remember that’s not the case, not even close. Remember, Jarreth was not the only one that was in the picture with Hollyn, so if you really want some answers you just might have to come to me, whether you like it or not.”

  Drake walks over to the center of the field where a group of Sprites dance around a leftover rainbow tulip from the ball.

  “Wanna play?” His voice changes completely; it turns boyish and mischievous.

  Calandra is disturbed that her first instinct is to get excited and say yes. The desire doesn’t go away, it sits in her chest, burning through her with the intensity of a forest fire. Suddenly, a new thought distracts her from it, at least momentarily. “What makes you think it’s okay to mess with creatures like that?” she asks.

  Drake shrugs. “Why not?”

  Calandra scoffs, “Do you have any regard for feelings other than your own?”

  “Faerie!” Drake replies simply. “Besides, for your information, I was asking in regards to your feelings. Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy our time here a few weeks ago.” He smiles up at her mischievously as he says it.

  The burning desire comes back full force. Calandra can’t fight the smile from breaking through and she blushes along with it.

  Drake’s eyes seem to light up in response. “You don’t have to hide it from me, Calandra, I won’t judge.”

  Calandra sits on the grass across from him. “Somehow, I feel you’d be the first to judge me.”

  Drake looks surprised and nods his head. “Calandra, evil doesn’t judge, it only tempts, remember?” He taps her nose gently before turning his attention back to the Sprites playing between them. “Now, I asked you a question. Fun or no fun?”

  A million different answers run through Calandra’s mind, most of them the types of responses she should say, the ones that end in no. However, when her mouth opens, it betrays her and says the one that ends in yes. She instantly wants to take it back and say no, but it’s no use. Her brain, heart, and mind aren’t working in the same direction.

  Drake’s smile goes up a few notches in wickedness as he looks over at her. “I want you to try something,” he says, reaching his hand out to her.

  Calandra looks at him skeptical of what to do. Memories of the last experience here flash through her and it sends a mixture of temptation and guilt pulsing through her. After a few moments, she realizes that fighting the urge is pointless. She sighs before she gives in and reaches out to take his hand.

  He turns her hand over in his and faces her palm toward the ground. Holding her gaze, he lightly rubs his finger in small circles on her palm. A tickling sensation runs through her and mixes with the chill that his touch makes her feel. Just like that, he empties out her conscious. Drake holds her hand in midair for what seems like an eternity before he finally places it on the grass below them. “Close your eyes,” he tells her.

  Deep down, in the pit of her stomach, Calandra knows she should be questioning what Drake is doing. Or more likely, she should be running the other way. However, she ignores that instinct. Instead, she has an inclination to discover what he will show her. Her anticipation rises and she obliges his request and closes her eyes.

  “Listen to your surroundings,” he whispers into her ear. He is somehow suddenly behind her.

  Her breath catches somewhere between her stomach and her throat, and she has to steady herself again. After refocusing, she is able to concentrate on what she was asked to do. The feel of the grass against her skin sends tickles through her as she allows nature to fill her and course through her.

  “Remember how to focus that to do what you want it to?”

  Calandra nods. “What am I doing with it?”

  “Just let it go,” he says softly into her ear. “I don’t want you to try and direct it to anything in particular. Just let it go and see what happens.”

  Calandra doesn’t understand where he is going with this, but she does as he says anyways. She focuses on all of the feelings inside her and all at once lets them go through her hand. She lifts her hand up off the ground and feels it release through her fingers.

  She opens her eyes to find flowers covering the field; there are so many that not a single blade of grass shows anymore. The ones closest to her are multicolored, like the ones that were scattered during the ball. She turns around and notices that the flowers surrounding where Drake sits behind her are all black roses. A shudder runs through her when she recognizes the difference. Further out from where they sit, the flowers turn into a beautiful mixture of blue, purple, and pink lilies. The scene takes Calandra’s breath away until she realizes that the sprites are frozen in front of her. Her heart sinks. She thought she had done something beautiful this time in making the flowers, and somehow unknowingly, she also did something ugly.

  “Relax, Calandra,” Drake says as he comes back around her to sit in front of her again, bringing them face to face. “I did the Sprites, you did the rest.”

  Something lifts inside her with the relief that she wasn’t the one that caused their stand still. But it unsettles when it hits her that there is no need for them to be frozen. Drake simply did it for spite, for some sick pleasure. She lifts her hand toward the sprites and musters up the little bit of strength she needs to unfreeze them.

  Drake looks disappointed. “It doesn’t hurt them, you know?” he says simply.

  “That’s not the point, Drake. You don’t have the right to toy with creatures like that.”

  Drake rolls his eyes and gets up. He looks down at her once more, but his expression is unreadable, and he turns and walks away without another word. Calandra sighs in his absence. So much for her plan. She hadn’t managed to get any useful information out of him, Jarreth had been right … again.

  One of the Sprites lands on her shoulder. She must be forgiven from the last time she was here when she had been the one to toy with them. “Sorry,” she mumbles under her breath and lies down in the grass. A shadow appears over her and startles her upright again. Tristan stands behind her and looks timidly down at her.

  “Hey,” he says under his breath.

  “Hi, you spying on me?” she asks irritated as she lies back down on the ground.

  Tristan sighs and sits on the ground next to her, reminiscent of their time in the field in the mortal world and how far away they seem to be from those people now.

  “Not spying,” he says, “just checking up on you.”

  “I don’t need to be checked up on, Tristan.”

  “You sure about that?”

  Calandra sits up and glares at him. “Yes,” she says flatly.

  “Hmm.”

  “What? What could you possibly be getting at here?”

  “Just seems like you may need someone to be checking up on you and your interactions with Drake.”

  Calandra opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. She sighs and lies back down.

  They sit in silence for several long moments. Calandra’s eyes are closed and she refuses to give into Tristan.

  “You know he’s dangerous, right?” Tristan finally cuts into the silence.

  “Of course I do, Tristan.” Calandra keeps her eyes closed and rolls them to herself.

  “So why do you still let him influence you that way?”

  Calandra remains silent while she tries to find a way to respond to that. “I don’t know,” she finally says with a sigh.

  Truthfully, she doesn’t know. She knows that she shouldn’t do anything Drake tells her to, yet somehow something deep within her draws her to listen to him anyway. Maybe Drake was right earlier, maybe it is purely temptation. Temptation and darkness embodied, that is what Drake is after all. Then again, Jarreth could have been overreacting when he told her that.

  “You know bad company corrupts good character, right, Cal?”

  “No, Tristan, I don’t know and you certainly don’t know. Just stop with the guilt trip again, I’m not in the mood right now!
” She didn’t mean to snap, but snap is what she did. She can’t imagine going through another talk like what they had at the ball.

  Tristan stares at her in disbelief. “I guess this isn’t exactly easy for you. I mean, you wouldn’t want your new friends to think badly of you or anything,” he says firmly.

  “I’m sorry,” she says, “I didn’t mean to—”

  “I know, Calandra.” He scoots into her and holds his arm out.

  Calandra smiles and leans into him. She takes in his comfort as she has so many times before. She lets him hold her and tries to pretend for the moment that things are okay, normal even. Tristan traces circles along her back. “Calandra?”

  “Please don’t.” She looks down at the ground, unable to bring herself to look at him.

  He looks down at her with sadness in his eyes. It’s a disappointment that breaks her just a little bit more. “Are you really okay?” Tristan asks her, sincerity written all over his face.

  Calandra pulls herself away from him and is suddenly aware that she is using him in a way she shouldn’t be. She realizes that this interaction means more to Tristan than it does to her. He’s getting the idea that she’s changing back to who she used to be and she knows she’s not. As if she hasn’t put him through enough already.

  She shrugs. “I will be.”

  “You are strong,” he informs her.

  “No, Tristan, not really. I always fall apart and you put the pieces back together for me, remember?”

  “Maybe it’s time you learn how to put yourself back together, Cal. You’ve always known how to, you only think you need someone to fix it for you.”

  Calandra smiles, somehow reassured. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get him to let you go, I really did try.” She changes the subject, afraid to go down that road with him.

  “I guess I’m starting to get used to this place.” He shrugs.

  “It’s not exactly terrible.” She smiles.

  “Not at all.” Tristan’s eyes fill with a longing, a sense that he’s getting through to her finally.

  “So, I guess I’ll see you around.” She gets up and dusts herself off.

  “You’re leaving?” He looks up at her, confused.

  She nods. “It’s time to get back,” she says simply. “Are you staying here?”

  Tristan shrugs and doesn’t move to get up.

  “Bye Tristan,” she says, and without another word walks away and heads back to the clubhouse, hoping that Jarreth isn’t there at the moment. She would like some time alone tonight to just think.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Vision

  A familiar dense, gray fog rolls in. Everything clouds over and grows colder in its presence. The air feels thick around her and she can’t make anything out other than a few shadows. Her head feels like it’s being pressurized from the inside out. Her eyes close automatically against the feeling and it instantly clears out. She opens her eyes slowly to find that the fog is gone and simply a dense mist remains.

  The field lies in front of her. It’s early morning, the sun is still rising in the distance. The sky is tinged a euphoric mixture of pinks, oranges, and yellows. There are beads of dew on each blade of grass and the sunlight reflects against it to create a beautiful scene. Calandra could stand here and stare at it all day, until a shadow catches the corner of her eye.

  She looks in the direction of it and is shocked to see a man that seems oddly familiar standing in the field. He seems to be staring straight at her. Her body forgets how to breathe, or move, or think clearly, it simply freezes. They stare at each other for what seems like an eternity. A voice from behind her makes Calandra realize that it’s not her the man is staring at after all.

  “Long time no see.” The voice behind her is familiar, she knows she’s heard it before, but at the moment, her body is still unwilling to react from the shock of seeing this stranger here, much less turn to see who the voice belongs to.

  “I’m back for good!” the stranger replies to the person behind Calandra.

  “We’ll see,” the voice counters.

  “Oh ye of little faith.” The stranger seems more than a little surprised by the attitude coming from the voice.

  “You know that she is here now, or you wouldn’t have come back.”

  “I do.”

  “And you still think you have a chance? She was marked, as soon as she crossed over.”

  Calandra suddenly processes that they are discussing her. The realization also pushes through for her who the voice coming from behind her is.

  “No matter.” The stranger shrugs.

  “We’ll see,” Drake replies again.

  Her body finally wakes up from the shock that it’s been in and she is able to turn and verify that it is in fact Drake standing behind her. He is dressed in his all black attire as usual, and his eyes look darker than normal, much more purple than lavender.

  “She was born to stop you, Kailen, and you know that, so why do you insist on trying still?” Drake’s smile is sly and he has a smug confidence about him.

  “Prophecies aren’t always true you know?” Kailen responds.

  “More often than not,” Drake counters.

  “Maybe, but in case you haven’t noticed, this is a special situation, so I just may have a chance after all. Have you managed to get her on your side yet?”

  Calandra turns to look at Drake whose face has gone sheet white. His eyes are holding steady at their normal lavender color and Calandra waits for him to answer. Everything suddenly dissolves around her and she is surrounded by the tree house. Of course as soon as she finally starts to process things, the vision ends. Go figure.

  “Cal?” Jarreth is sitting next to her, his eyes are concerned as he leans in and inspects her.

  “I’m fine,” she assures him, “I could use some tea, though.” She doesn’t even mean to say the last part, it comes out on its own accord.

  Jarreth instantly jumps up and heads into the kitchen.

  “And after I get some, you’ll explain the vision?” he asks, sounding unsure.

  Calandra nods and Jarreth continues into the kitchen.

  ****

  Calandra’s surroundings have changed once more, only this time it was of her own accord. She now sits in Drake’s living room. She can’t keep the memories of her last visit here out of her head. Jarreth had insisted they come and discuss her vision with Drake after she explained what she had seen to him. Tristan had tried to leave when her and Jarreth arrived, but she begged him to stay. She knows deep down that it was wrong to do so, but some part of her needs him here for support.

  Drake sits on the left side of Calandra. His legs are crossed over each other and he is leaned into the couch, he looks utterly relaxed. Jarreth is on her right side, his entire body is tensed, as per his usual when he is around Drake. Tristan is off to the other side of the room in the small wooden chair, his expression is unreadable and his body is cloaked in shadows.

  “So you finally figured it out?” Drake chuckles.

  “Who is he and when is he coming?” Calandra asks.

  “Why do you assume that the vision is the future?” Drake smiles coyly.

  Calandra looks over to Jarreth, confused. She didn’t know she could have visions of the past, the only other one she had experienced was of the future. She once again made assumptions, which she was quickly learning she shouldn’t be making in this world as nothing seems to add up the way you think it will. How far in the past could it have been? For a quick moment, she wonders if it had taken place before she had even arrived. Then she remembers Drake’s line about her mark and is slightly relieved in knowing that it couldn’t have been that far back.

  “When?” Jarreth finally breaks the silence.

  “The ball.”

  “He was at the ball?” Calandra squeals.

  Drake nods. “I told you the mystery man didn’t look like good news, didn’t I?”

  “Who is he and how was I born to stop him?” Calandra can’
t quite figure out why she’s as shocked as she is, this is Drake after all. Sin and temptation, she reminds herself. “Stop him from what exactly?” Nothing makes sense and no one seems to be willing to cooperate and give her any help.

  “I didn’t see what difference it would make for you to know his name since you still wouldn’t have had a clue who he was.” Drake shrugs to belittle it even further.

  “What is he doing? What prophecy?” The questions come out little by little without making any sense.

  “Calandra,” Tristan’s voice seems to have a warning behind it, which finally sends Calandra over the edge completely.