by Erin Danzer
Chapter Seventeen
Ronnie woke up at ten o’clock the next morning and couldn’t believe she slept so soundly. She reached for her phone and was surprised to see several missed calls from Andi and Shawn. A single text message from Gavin, CALL ME, brought back the events of last night and she took a shuddering breath as images flashed through her mind. She still didn’t know what to think or what was going on, but she could see now that Gavin had protected her – again. She scrolled through her contacts and wasn’t surprised to see he had added himself to her list. She hit send. He answered before the first ring finished.
“Good morning, Princess. How are you feeling?” he asked. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“Confused,” she admitted. “But I think I’m better.”
“Good.”
Ronnie hesitated, knowing what she needed to say but afraid that saying it would make it real. She told herself she was being silly, took a deep breath and spit it out. “Will you come over today and tell me what happened last night?” The words came out in a rush and she wondered if he even understood what she said.
“When?” he asked. She relaxed.
“Whenever,” she replied.
“Is now too soon? I’m standing outside your house.”
She shot up, pushing hair out of her face. “What? Why?”
“Well, I was coming over to check on you but you called me first.”
“Oh, okay. Okay, I’ll come down and let you in.” She moved to the edge of the bed and swung her feet onto the floor.
“Hey, Princess,” he said before she could end the call. She waited. “Get dressed first.”
She giggled and ended the call without answering his request. Apparently, she hadn’t been the only one nervous last night before everything that happened. She quickly changed into a pair of skinny jeans and a Dartmouth sweatshirt, leaving her feet bare as she ran down to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Morning breath was so gross. She refused to acknowledge that she was nervous about seeing Gavin again as she brushed her teeth and splashed her face with cold water. A squeak escaped when she saw her hair and wished she had remembered to brush it before bed. The curls that were left stuck out in every direction. She looked like she stuck her finger in a light socket. She needed to shower to tame it; even a hat wasn’t going to cover this mess. Sighing, she went downstairs and opened the door for Gavin to come inside. He somehow managed to suppress a grin when he saw her hair.
“Very interesting look,” he commented as he struggled not to smile. She rolled her eyes.
“Whatever. Make yourself at home. I have to take a shower so I can tame this mess before you start talking.”
He grinned, still eyeing her wild hair. “No, really, I can start talking now.”
She raised an eyebrow in a fair imitation of him. “No, it’s a distraction.”
He looked her up and down. Her heart picked up speed at the heat she saw in his eyes when they met hers again. “No, you’re a distraction. It doesn’t matter what your hair looks like.”
She blushed and opened her mouth to argue but nothing came out. Finally, she just let out an exasperated sigh, rolled her eyes and shook her head as she headed back upstairs. She already told Gavin to make himself comfortable, she didn’t need to say it again. After getting her robe out of her room, she went into the bathroom to take a quick shower, a very cold quick shower.
Half an hour later, Ronnie returned to the living room to find Gavin sitting on the loveseat with a bowl of cereal in his lap and Saturday morning cartoons on the TV. Her wet hair was braided and she wore the same jeans and sweatshirt she answered the door in. Gavin looked up as she entered the room. She smiled as she curled up in the opposite corner of the loveseat. She put her phone on the end table next to her and turned her attention to the television. Her favorite show was on.
Gavin turned off the television once the show ended and Ronnie shifted so she faced him. So many questions whirled in her mind that she didn’t know what she should say first so she waited for him to start. He set his empty bowl on the end table and leaned forward, steepling his fingers between his knees. When he looked up at her, she was surprised to see he was worried. She didn’t understand. If anything, she wondered if she should be worried. She couldn’t even imagine what he was going to tell her. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he sat up again, settled into the corner of the couch and turned so they faced each other. Ronnie pulled her knees up to her chest.
“Okay, I don’t even know what to tell you,” he admitted. “But there are certain things I can’t tell you; I have to tell you that first.” He shook his head and she marveled at how he was struggling. This wasn’t the same cocky guy she had known for almost a week.
“Start at the beginning,” she suggested.
“I don’t know where that is anymore.” He rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair, making it stick up like Ronnie’s had earlier. Ronnie sat on her hands to keep from leaning forward and smoothing his hair back into place.
“Okay, so start with when you got here, why you’re here.”
“Okay, but you have to understand I’m not one of the bad guys. We’re not even sure who the bad guys are, though it’s obvious now you’re one of the targets.”
Her heart jumped into her throat. “Targets? Bad guys? You better start explaining.”
“I’m not from here,” he blurted out. She nodded.
“I know that already.”
“No, I mean here, Earth. I’m not from Earth.”
She wrinkled her nose and cocked her head, completely confused. “How are you not from Earth? You look human.”
“Do I really?”
Ronnie studied him carefully and realized his slanted eyes were a little wide for his face and there was something about his ears that she couldn’t see because of his hair. She leaned forward and reached up to move his hair and gasped when she saw that his ear was pointed.
“What are you?” she whispered.
“I’m a half-breed, human and fairy.” His eyes pleaded with her to understand as she sat back in her corner again. A half-fairy, really? She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, but some part of her believed him. The way he defeated the shadows, the way he healed her by touching her, his pointed ears and slanted eyes. It all added up to reality.
“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly. He sighed, relief washing over his face.
“Thank the gods,” he murmured.
“So, where are you from?”
“A planet called Cira. It’s a lot like Earth and can support human life, but it’s also inhabited by elves and fairies and other magical creatures. I live in a country called Kalearnia.”
She stood up and started pacing. Despite the evidence, she wasn’t sure she believed him. Would it make her crazy if she listened to him and believed what he told her? She shook her head; she just didn’t know. Gavin reached out and grabbed her arm, immediately stopping her. She looked down and her eyes met his.
“Please sit down. I have a lot to tell you,” he requested. She nodded and sat back down, next to him this time because his hand was still on her arm. She drew one leg underneath her as she turned to face him. He took his hand off her arm and started talking.
“Cira is at the center of the Spiral, a network of planets that move through space and time acquiring new planets. Earth is the latest acquisition and thirteen people have been chosen to become Spiral Defenders, which is what I am.” He raised the sleeve of his black t-shirt to show her his tattoo again and her tattoo tingled between her shoulder blades. “This tattoo is what we’re given when we’re initiated as a Spiral Defender. And it’s just like it sounds; we defend the planets of the Spiral from outside forces and lately, from war within. The war keeps getting closer to Cira and once it reaches my planet, the Royal Castle in Kalearnia could crumble and all hope of keeping the Spiral intact would fall apart.”
“So what does that have to do with me?”
“
You’ve been chosen.” He looked like he wanted to say more but stopped himself. Ronnie frowned at him and he self consciously shrugged. “This is the part I can’t tell you about,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Why not?” she snapped. “If it has to do with me, I should be able to know about it.”
He looked pained as he said, “I’m sorry, Ronnie, if it was up to me, I would tell you everything, but it’s not so I can’t.”
“Then who is it up to?”
“The King and Queen of Kalearnia. They sent me on a specific mission to find you.”
“Why?” She glared at him when he refused to answer. This was so stupid! Of course there was a stupid King and Queen and a stupid decree that he had to live by! Why couldn’t he just disobey them and tell her anyway? She had a right to know! She crossed her arms and turned her back to him.
“This is so stupid,” she muttered. He sighed.
“I know,” he agreed and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and then immediately felt bad for it. Even though his story was fantastic, he had proven several times he wasn’t here to harm her. He ignored her reaction to his touch.
“Hey, how’s your arm?” he asked and she shrugged.
“It’s fine, still healed.”
“It doesn’t hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Good. I was worried it might still be infected.”
She turned around to face him again, confused by his concern. “How can you be so normal?” she blurted out. One corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile.
“Well, I am still half-human,” he reminded her. She rolled her eyes as he chuckled.
“Okay, so who is the fairy, your mom or dad?” she asked as she watched him relax.
“My dad, and he’s a Spiral Defender, too; one of the best, actually. He’s hardly home so I’m usually the man of the house, though my little brother is standing in my stead while I’m here.”
She tried to picture his family and couldn’t do it. The thought of male fairies never occurred to her, even after reading about them. Fairies and elves belonged in fairy tales and really good fiction books.
“Does your dad have wings?” she asked.
He nodded. “And both of my sisters; it’s a hit or miss thing with hybrids, what traits they take from each parent. I actually look a lot like my mom.”
“Do you have pictures?”
“I have something better, but I’m not sure I can share it with you yet.” He hesitated and worry crept into his features again. “So, are we okay? Do you believe me?”
“I don’t know if I believe you,” she admitted. “But we’re okay. Whatever you are, you’ve never tried to hurt me. But, you still have a lot of explaining to do.”
He nodded. “I know. And I will, whenever you want me to. I’ll tell you everything I can.”
She smiled. “I know you will.” Her phone rang and she jumped. She blushed as she recognized Shawn’s ringtone and glanced at Gavin before she answered, knowing the call would to go voicemail.
“What can I tell him?” she asked and groaned. “Oh shit, last night; what am I going to say about last night?”
“It was wonderful?” Gavin offered. She shook her head.
“No, not the date; what happened after dinner. We went to the park and I completely freaked out on him. He probably thinks I’m mental.”
“Why did you freak out?”
“The shadows. I think they were following me. In fact, after what happened with you, I know they were. And you said I’m a target.”
He grimly nodded. “Yeah, I think I know who it is, too, but nobody would believe me.”
“Who do you think it is?” Rick came to mind and she shuddered. After the way the shadows acted around him, she would believe he had some kind of connection to them.
“Lord Ulrich Goodyear, Commander of the Spiral Defenders. You know him as Rick.”
“I believe you,” she whispered. Gavin studied her. She tried not to tremble, but he saw it anyway.
“What happened?” he asked. She shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it—she couldn’t talk about it. It was too horrific. Gavin grabbed her shoulders.
“Ronnie, talk to me. Tell me what happened. Please.”
It was the pleading note in his voice that made her talk. Shakily, she told him about Tuesday night when Rick walked her home, how he looked so frightening and how the shadows came to him. Gavin nodded as she explained, looking as though this wasn’t something new. Ronnie shuddered as she finished and Gavin pulled her into his arms.
“He won’t do that to you again,” Gavin fiercely promised. Ronnie nodded, her head against his chest. His heart beat strongly in her ear. Ronnie became aware of how comfortable she was in Gavin’s arms as her fear left her and she sat up, embarrassed. Gavin studied her for a moment before letting her go, his face unreadable.
“Call your boyfriend back, set up another date for tonight,” he suggested as he stood up. She wondered where he was going. “And then call Andi and tell her all the good things that happened last night.”
“But what am I going to tell Shawn about last night? He must think I’m a freak.”
“Somehow, I don’t think he does.” He ran a hand through his hair again, messing it up even more, and Ronnie suppressed a giggle. “Tell him you’re afraid of the dark.”
“Afraid of the dark? I’ve never been afraid of the dark.”
“Well, you are now. It’s the simplest explanation and it gives him something he can protect you from.”
“And what, I should explain the shadows as bogeymen? Yeah, that’ll go over well. You might as well lock me up now.” Ronnie grimaced.
“Tell him the truth on that; tell him you can see spirits now and it’s made you afraid of the dark.”
“Are they really spirits?”
“They’re wraiths, spirits that have gone bad. But that’s for another time.” He glanced at the front door. “I have to go. And I better go out the back.”
“Okay.” She watched him walk through the house like he had been inside a million times and heard the back door open and close a moment later. Still staring after him, she jumped when the doorbell rang. She went to the door, peeked through the peephole, and grinned when she saw Shawn standing on the porch. It was time to ask for that second date.
