by Mindy Hayes
Chapter Seventeen
I was finishing up some physics homework that I’d definitely procrastinated when there was a knock at the front door. I opened it to see Cameron with his shoulders slouched.
“Cam,” I said, taken aback. “What’s up?”
He wasn’t smiling and an immediate pang of concern pricked my heart. “Can I come in?”
“Of course.” I stepped aside and let him walk passed me. He made himself comfortable in our family room; plopping on the couch I had all my homework on. He didn’t even seem to notice the mess surrounding him as he leaned forward, his hands folded over his knees. I sat next to him, moving the books and paperwork out of the way.
“I think Isla’s cheating on me,” he said calmly, but eerily calm.
“What? Why would you think that?”
“I saw her walking out of Garrick Jensen’s house yesterday. He hugged her way too long at her car before she got in.”
My blood boiled. Isla was not about to cheat on the one person she didn’t deserve. But I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. “She and Garrick have been friends since middle school, haven’t they?”
He winced. “It was the look in her eye when I saw her walk out. She looked like she was trying to be cautious. And she ignored me all day yesterday. Whenever I saw her in the hallway she’d start walking in the other direction, like she was trying to hide from me.”
“You need to talk to her, Cam,” I advised.
“She won’t answer my calls or text messages,” he said, exasperated.
That didn’t sound like a woman cheating. It sounded like a woman scorned. “Have you ever thought she might be mad at you for some reason and that she was venting to Garrick?”
He threw his hands up in the air and fell against the couch. “Then why didn’t she come to me? Why did she go running to him? If the problem is between us I should be the first one to know about it.”
“Because she’s a girl, Cam. She’s probably hoping you’ll figure it out on your own.”
He sighed. “Mind games, Cal. I hate them. Why can’t girls just say what they mean? Why can’t they all be like you?” I blinked. I didn’t know how I was supposed to take that. “You make it so easy. You tell me up front when you think I’m being a jerk and I tell you when you’re being a drama queen. We keep each other in check.”
“Because that’s what friends do. We’re not afraid to hurt each other’s feelings. We do it for the benefit of one another. We trust each other enough to tell one another those things.”
“So, why can’t she trust me?” He looked at me with his ocean eyes, so earnest and defeated. I wanted to curl him up in my arms and kiss away his frustrations.
I sighed and leaned against the couch beside him. “Cam, it’s probably not because she doesn’t trust you. She’s just mad that you can’t figure it out on your own. A lot of girls do that. We think guys should just be able to get it. But guys are idiots, no offense.”
“None taken.” He draped his arm over my shoulders, tugging me to his side.
“You just need to find a way to confront her. Go over to her house if you have to and talk to her. But maybe give her some space to cool down. Wait, no. The longer you wait the more upset she’ll probably get. Just go see her now. I don’t know why you didn’t do that in the first place.”
“Because I knew you’d know what to say.” The weight of his eyes peering down at me was palpable.
A deep breath escaped me. I couldn’t keep our eye contact. He was so blind. If I wasn’t careful I would let my feelings show, so I kept my gaze down in my lap and picked at my fingernails.
“It’s probably all a misunderstanding. You just need to have a one on one conversation with her.”
He nodded, his head now resting on mine. “Thanks, Callie. You’re so wise.”
I chuckled sardonically. “Yeah, right.”
He shifted and put his fingers under my chin, giving me no choice but to look at him.
“What?” he asked.
“What?”
“You just sounded off.” He peered at me, searching my eyes.
I swallowed. Please don’t look at me like that. That look wasn’t fair. He didn’t mean it. Not in the way I wanted him to. “No I didn’t.”
His thoughtful gaze remained. The touch of his fingers on my chin did things to me that I didn’t want to feel anymore. “You don’t talk to me anymore.” His voice was quiet.
I rolled my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
He dropped his hand, but kept his probing stare. “You don’t. I feel like you hide stuff from me sometimes.”
Don’t let yourself be so transparent, Calliope. Don’t let him know the biggest secret you’ve kept from him for years. He’s not yours. He never will be. You’ve accepted that. Haven’t you?
I shifted my eyes to get their uncaring blinders back up, to show him indifference toward his feelings for his girlfriend, to show indifference toward his feelings for me.
“Do you not recall my latest deep dark secret that only you know about?”
He faintly chortled in response. “Right. Does your change have to do with that? Is there something else you haven’t told me?”
That I love you. Why was it easier to tell him I was a freaking faery than to tell him about how I felt?
I shook my head because I couldn’t form a response believable enough.
By the look in his eyes I knew he didn’t believe me, but he also wasn’t going to force it out of me, which I was grateful for. “I’m going to go talk to Isla now.” He stood up.
“Good idea.” I followed him to the entryway.
If I had been a backstabbing, double-crossing wench, I could have easily turned that situation in my favor. But, of course, lucky me, I have morals. And I love Cameron too much to screw him over like that.
“What are you doing today?” He opened the front door.
“Well, I’m going to finish this physics homework and then I’m headed out for a quick round of Faery 101.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Have you ever thought about what a surreal life you have?”
I smirked and laughed, but not because I found him humorous. “Every day.”
He unexpectedly pulled me in for a hug. “Your life feels so foreign to me now.” There was something off about his usual carefree tone. “I don’t like it.”
“You know me better than anyone else,” I assured.
He squeezed me tightly and nodded into my neck. “But everything’s changing,” he murmured so softly I wasn’t sure if he actually said it and slowly pulled away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” The sadness was gone from his voice. Maybe it had never been there to begin with.
“Okay.”
I watched his back as he walked away from me.
The sunlight was at its peak, high above the canopy of trees. I squinted and moved across the small clearing to get under better shade. Declan and Kai had situated themselves among the large rooted tree, sharpening their daggers and creating sturdier sheaths. They hadn’t really spoken much since I had arrived. Normally, they were balls of energy, waiting to be released.
“You guys are awfully quiet today,” I mused.
Declan looked up at me. “Why don’t you give your wings a breather? You know you’re safe out here, Calliope.”
“Your clothes must be suffocating them,” Kai muttered and bit down on the handle of his bone carved knife as he reformed the sheath in his hands.
“I release them in the comfort of my bedroom, thank you very much,” I snapped at Kai. “They get plenty of free time at night.” I felt like we were talking about a pet I was neglecting.
“Don’t they get uncomfortable?” Kai asked.
Of course they did, but I didn’t want to tell him that. “They are fine.”
“That can’t possibly be true.”
“I should be applying for colleges soon,” I announced to steer the topic away from my wings.
“College?” Declan asked abruptly. “When? Where will you go?”
“Wherever I’m accepted.”
“But when?” Declan pressed.
“After I graduate in June. The semester will start at the beginning of September. That’s sort of how college works.”
Declan and Kai looked at one another. They didn’t speak, but their eyes were fighting.
I looked away from them and concentrated on leaping between the scattered rocks and boulders. “It’s not as if I’ll be that far away. I’ll come home every month or so or when I have time. You both knew I planned on living out my life away from Faylinn. I haven’t made it a secret that I don’t want to go to Faylinn. I’ve been safe so far. No one has discovered me and I think I’ll be able to keep it up. Besides, you guys will probably be so busy guarding Faylinn since you won’t have to worry about me that you won’t even notice when I’m gone. Think of what a relief it will be to not have to come see me every day.”
I realized after a minute that I was talking to myself. They were silent. They were never silent. I peered across the clearing to where I’d left them. Both Kai and Declan were frozen in place, their heads slanted to the side as if they were lost in thought, their faces anxious. But they weren’t looking at me. They weren’t paying attention to me at all.
Declan’s head snapped to the west. I followed his gaze, but didn’t see anything, only the thriving world of the woodlands, sprung to life.
“Liam… Owen,” Kai whispered barely above the breeze. At least I think that’s what he said.
Declan nodded once. “They’re back.” He looked to me. “Up. You need to hide, Calliope. Time to use your fae abilities. Jump.”
“But I…” I faltered.
“Now, Calliope,” he urged, fear crystal clear in his deep oceanic eyes. “Go.”
I didn’t think. I leaped. In less than a second I found myself balancing on a slim limb high up in the branches, I shifted uneasily trying to keep from falling. Then Kai was at my side, taking my hand in his, catching me. He knocked his head to the side, directing me to follow him, but he didn’t let go of my hand, keeping a secure grip on me.
We leaped high above the wild ground through the full branches, dodging inconveniently placed vines and boughs. Kai lead the way, guiding my every move. It felt indescribable, the way my body knew how to glide soundlessly. I thought I needed more training to become as stealth-like as Declan and Kai, but it was as if my body knew this was the time to perform. Our rhythm was exact as we soared. When his foot landed, mine landed. When he flew higher, I was right behind him.
My hand felt warm and secure in his grasp. I found myself liking the feel of our hands intertwined, knowing he would never let me go. Unexpectedly, I realized I didn’t want him to let me go.
When we were at a distance that Kai felt was safe he stopped and let my hand drop, my security fading away. The branch was wide enough for us both to stand on as he paced back and forth and breathed heavily, his breath more relieved than exhausted.
I was the first to break the silence, but I kept my voice quiet even though we were miles from where we had started. “What was that all about?”
He let out a breath of air as if he’d been holding it the whole way. “Favner’s Keepers. Liam and Owen.”
“The ones that came close to us before?” He nodded. “How do you know it was them?”
His jaw clenched before he spoke. “They have a certain… stench.”
“What? Why?” I stepped closer to the trunk, feeling uneasy about balancing on the thinner end of the branch.
“Their preference for raw meat,” he said, hushed. He kept alert, scanning the forest floor below us and beyond.
I shuddered. “And you smelled that?” I uttered, breathless.
“As Keepers our senses have to be heightened,” he replied automatically, stating facts.
Kai went eerily still and his ears perked up in the direction we’d come from. He was motionless. There was a crunch that sprang up from the forest floor no more than forty feet away and I was instantly in the shelter of Kai’s steady arms. He placed a hand over my mouth. As if I was going to breathe a word.
A gruff voice came from somewhere below us. “Someone’s been in these parts of the forest. I knew I sensed it before. It’s stronger than last time.”
I let my eyes drift to two figures beneath, their backs toward us. One of them was all muscle with black wavy hair sweeping the tops of his shoulders. He looked as if he could bench-press a cow. His arms arched out, too hulk-like to rest by his sides. His head scoured the lands from left to right. For all I knew they could smell us.
“Favner won’t be pleased when he finds out. Who do you think is foolish enough to try and escape?” the thinner of the two said. He kept his hair pulled back in a long blonde ponytail that fell down his sculpted back. He wasn’t as large, but he looked as if he could definitely hold his own in a fight.
“I don’t know, Owen. But we will find out. They won’t get past us for long.”
The hulk that I’m assuming was Liam, lifted his head to the trees, his eyes scanned from one branch to the next. If he turned even a couple feet we would be spotted.
I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, but didn’t breathe a sound.
Though I was scared for my life, I was highly aware of Kai’s uncovered warm body pressed to mine, the firm ripple of his contours forming to my back. His chest rose up and down at the same time as mine. I felt the stable cadence of his heartbeats thump against me. His grip around my waist never loosened, his fingers clutching my hip like a lifeline.
“They must have gone further east.” Liam began walking away. When the other didn’t follow, still surveying the limbs up high, convinced we were near, Liam bellowed, “Come, Owen.”
I barely heard their movements through the leafy groundcover as they trudged away. My heart pounded rapidly in my chest, my breath pumping swiftly through my lungs.
Kai’s voice brushed my ear as he lifted his hand from my mouth. “They’re gone.” But neither of us made a move to separate. He rested his hand on my shoulder and then gradually let his fingers trail down my arm. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath, thankful to be out of danger and completely taken aback by the way his touch affected my body. My head fell back in relief against the curve of his shoulder with my eyes shut. I felt him go still, but then he let out a slow breath, relaxing.
His finger lingered at my wrist, barely grazing the skin as if he wanted to take my hand once more, but was holding himself back. I felt him breath in and out against my back, the warmth stroking my neck. “Are you okay?”
About what exactly? Your closeness or the fact that we just barely escaped death? I took a deep breath, hoping that would give my voice a chance to collect itself. “I think so.”
He sighed. “Calliope—”
The branch suddenly shuddered slightly under our feet, clenching my stomach. When I looked up, Declan stood with an expression of relief fixed on his face.
“Thank the Fallen Fae. I lost track of Liam and Owen a mile back. I was sure they had found you.”
Declan’s eyes drifted between Kai and me, our bodies pressed firmly against each other. Kai released me and my knees wobbled beneath me. Declan jutted his hand out to steady me before I fell from the bough.
“You question my ability to protect her?” Kai’s tone was challenging.
“No, I simply know how good those two are at tracking rogue faeries and by some miracle we escaped them,” Declan amended, keeping my hand firmly in his.
When I caught my breath I said, “I didn’t think anyone liked Favner. Why would they return rogue faeries to him? Aren’t you all on the same team?”
“He has a handful of followers. Those who figure if you can’t beat him, join him,” Declan said.
“A bunch of worthless cowards,” Kai said vehemently, unable to hold still any longer.
“So, they could find me,” I said. “Favner could force me to come to
Faylinn.”
Kai scowled, refusing to meet Declan or me in the eye. He kept his eyes fixed in the direction Liam and Owen disappeared.
“We won’t let that happen, Calliope,” Declan said, but his tone wasn’t as reassuring as I would have liked. “It’s why I’ve been around for the last five years. I’ve been able to keep you in hiding for that long and I will do it for as long as it takes. If that is what you want.”
“But why? Why have you chosen me to protect?” I questioned, taking my hand away from Declan’s tight grip. That question seemed especially pertinent in this moment. “There must be others out there who could use the protection too.”
“Your father was a good friend of mine, a mentor,” he said with finality. “We can talk more about this later, Calliope. Right now what I’d really like is to get you in the safety of your home where they can’t get to you.”
Kai finally released his eyes from the search and said, “Good idea,” agreeing for once.
They escorted me back, walking a few steps behind me, conversing in hushed voices. It sounded important so I didn’t want to interrupt. We reached as far as they could go and Declan told me to keep safe.
“I don’t want you coming out to see us on your own anymore,” Declan said.
“But, how else will I get to see you?” I searched back and forth between the two towering figures. I suddenly felt very small and insignificant.
If I couldn’t go see them anymore did that mean I couldn’t come near the forest anymore?
“We can signal,” Declan assured. “If we need you we’ll use Kai’s flute. We’ll play a short melody for you to recognize it as us. And if you need us all you have to do is say our names. Our given names.”
“Your what?”
“A given name. They aren’t handed out lightly, but I know you will guard our names and only use them when necessary,” Declan said.
Kai answered my blank stare. “Every faery receives a given name when they are introduced into the world. If you know the given name you can have complete control over that faery. So, you can see how your given name falling into the wrong hands can be a very bad thing.”
“All you have to do is say the name and we will be summoned to you,” Declan said.
“You won’t have a choice?”
They shook their heads.
“I don’t want that kind of power,” I faltered.
“The time might come when you will want that kind of power, Calliope,” Declan said. “I know you won’t use it unless absolutely necessary and that is why I feel comfortable enough to share mine with you. You won’t abuse the power.”
“But what if something happens and for whatever reason I can’t say your names? What then?”
“You’ll always be able to find me,” Kai said from behind Declan. I looked back at him. There was no hint of arrogance in his eyes. They bore into mine with a genuine intensity.
“Kai will keep you just as safe as I would,” Declan said, interrupting my thoughts, but I could hear an uncomfortable undertone in his voice.
“I know.” I realized in that moment I trusted that they would take care of me. I trusted them with my life.
“No matter if you say my name and I’m in Faylinn, I will hear you. I will come as fast as I am capable.”
I acknowledged him with a nod.
“My given name is…” he leaned down and whispered in my ear. I knew that Kai could still hear him, but I could only assume he did it for further protection from anyone else around who could be listening. “Declan Alastair.”
When he spoke the name it made a significant impression. Without fully understanding the meaning, somewhere inside me I knew this was a precious honor.
Kai leaned down to me next, his quiet breath brushing my ear. “Kai Rodric.” He pulled away and said, “Now get inside.” He nodded to my house.
I looked between my two guardians, two men who I felt closer to now than ever.
“Bye,” I said and walked from the trees onto our grass. The lights inside my home beamed like a beacon, but it almost seemed more surreal to come back to my human life than to exist in the fae world now. I peered cautiously through the windows before deciding it was safe. No one was in sight. I closed the sliding glass door quietly behind me.
“You’re coming in awfully late tonight,” Dad’s voice came from the darkness in our living room.
I gasped. “Dad, why are you creeping in the dark?”
“I watched the sunset and never bothered to turn on the light,” he explained.
I moved toward the back of the couch and flipped on the light on the side table. “You really should warn a person before you just start talking from the darkness.”
“Why are you coming in so late tonight?” He leaned back in his recliner; his legs rested on the ottoman at his feet.
I peered at the clock on the wall. The hands indicated that it was nearly eight o’clock. “Kai and Declan were teaching me how to maneuver in the trees.” I kept Liam and Owen out of the equation. If Dad learned about them, he’d never let me set foot in the forest again. “I’m getting pretty good at it.”
“You’ve been out there for almost four hours, Calliope. I thought we had agreed you would be inside before sundown.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” It wouldn’t help my case if I told him during sundown that we were being chased by professional rogue fae hunters. “It won’t happen again.”
“You’re lucky Mom’s still not home.” Just as the words passed his lips, I heard the faint groan of the garage door opening. “I told her we hadn’t eaten yet. She’s bringing Chinese.”
“That sounds good.”
He motioned to my bedroom. “Go change. Put on some pajamas or something, unless you want her asking why you have twigs in your hair and dirt on your face.” I had dirt on my face? I wiped my hand across my cheek and he smiled softly. “There’s no dirt on your face, but you really do have leaves in your hair.”
I raced from the room when I heard the side door creak open.
“Hello?” Mom’s voice echoed through the house.
“Hey, Melody,” Dad greeted as I closed my bedroom door.
I couldn’t sleep that night. My thoughts were swirling in a whirlwind and my room felt like it was a sweltering sauna. When I turned to check the time on my nightstand it blinked 2:37 am. I needed air. Heaving myself up from my bed, I went to the window and opened it. My wings fluttered, enjoying the breeze that rushed in almost as much as me. I took in a deep breath of the cool freshness.
The night was quiet with the exception of cricket chirps and leaf flutters. My eyes gazed down at the lining of the trees to the mystery of what could be lurking there now. The Keepers were probably out there scouting for whatever or whomever they were so worried about.
Once my body was satisfied I turned to go back to bed, but then I heard voices, hushed low voices.
“Lurking again?”
“You are one to talk.”
“We both know I wasn’t lurking. I’ve always been around.”
My eyes scanned the trees, but it was too dark to decipher their figures. I knew it was them. I didn’t need to see the bickering Keepers for confirmation.
“Well, you can take a break for the night. Sit back, put up your feet up. You’ve been working so hard all day,” Kai’s tone was patronizing. Was it strange that I knew his voice?
“And why do you feel like you need to all of a sudden protect her around the clock?”
“It’s no secret to you who she is. She needs protecting.”
“Well, for the last five years I think I’ve done a pretty good job.” Declan’s voice was frustrated.
The fact that they knew more about me than I knew about myself rattled me. Were there really still secrets that I was being shielded from? Did everyone think I was that fragile that I couldn’t handle the truth?
“Yeah, you have, but now Favner isn’t going to let her go. When he discovers and I mean when
, that you didn’t get rid of her…” Kai trailed off, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what the end of his sentence was going to be.
“It doesn’t mean that you should be here.” I could barely hear Declan’s voice, but it was bitter.
“What is this really about, Declan?” There was a long pause. I almost thought Declan wasn’t going to answer. “What?” Kai repeated, more adamantly.
“You don’t get to swoop in here now,” Declan’s voice raised. “I’ve watched over her for years. Protected her. If anyone gets a chance to be with her it should be me, not you.”
I shivered, but not from the cold.
“If you wanted that chance you should have taken it. You’ve had how many years?”
“She didn’t have the Sight, Kai,” Declan contended. “If I’d shown myself to her she would have bolted away, screaming and crying. You remember how she reacted when she saw you for the first time. I didn’t want to frighten her.”
“And prowling in the shadows outside her bedroom window wasn’t supposed to frighten her?” I could hear the smirk in his voice. I could picture the look he would have—one eyebrow raised as he tilted his head patronizingly.
There was a thump and then a low curse under someone’s breath. It sounded an awful lot like a fist hitting a tree trunk.
“You don’t get to make the decisions around here,” Declan muttered.
There was a heavy sigh.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Kai said. “You are the favorite.”
“But you ignite something in her that I can’t,” Declan replied softly.
“Hatred?” Kai’s amusement was apparent in his tone.
“You and I both know it’s far from hatred.”
What did they know about what ignited inside of me?
They were silent for a few minutes, but I waited, too absorbed in the conversation to leave the window just yet. A gust of wind ripped through the trees. I wondered what they were doing. Had they always guarded my house so closely at night? Or were they on higher alert with the arrival of Liam and Owen? I sat down against the wall under my window, my head resting against the windowsill.
Declan broke the peace of the night. “It’s passion, in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.” Kai paused before he said, “You don’t really have to worry about me, you know.”
“It’s all up to Calliope in the end. She gets to decide what she wants. But we both know we may never get a chance. You know the law,” Declan said, subdued.
The realization set in, bile rose in the back in my throat. The law. It had been staring me in the face since the beginning, but it never clicked when Declan had mentioned it in terms for me. I would only be allowed to marry within my colony. Even if I wanted a future with Declan or… Kai, it would never be possible.
“Cameron still owns her heart. I think he always will.”
“That won’t matter when all is said and done.”
“You weren’t there that day he came,” Kai contested. “She sparkles around him, Declan.”
Someone sighed again.
“Then you better fight like hell because it doesn’t look like anyone’s going to give up anytime soon,” Declan’s deeper voice cut through the night.
“Don’t worry about me. She’s all yours.” Hearing Kai’s words sent an ache through my chest. But why should I care? “We could never work.”
“You know it won’t matter in the long run anyway. It’s a nice thought, but we both know an actual life with her is impossible.”
I couldn’t listen anymore. It was all enough information to drown me in anxiety. Declan was supposed to get rid of me. Bonding arrangements put us in chains. I could never be with either of them even if I wanted to. And Favner wanted me dead. Why? How did he even know about me?
