by A. J. Macey
“Maybe,” she laughed before letting out a huff. “Tell me we’re going to be done walking soon?” she whined, looking back for the millionth time to check on Mr. Stripes. He was wrapped around Torryn’s neck while Ruby trailed behind him with the others. We were walking slowly, so they didn’t have any trouble keeping up with us.
“I think it’s about time to find a spot to camp. We still have a half day’s walk… at least,” Kye pointed out.
“How can you tell when it all looks the same?” I asked, shaking my head.
“No, it doesn’t. Notice the trees are thinning out, plus these flowers here,” Kye pointed to a dark red flower that looked more like a weed. “They only grow on the Domnhal side of the forest, so now that we see these, we’re about halfway.”
“I bet you were the kid who liked to play with dirt and bugs,” I teased, shuddering at the thought. His answering grin confirmed my suspicion as he plucked a bloodred flower and tucked it into Aris’ hair.
“You bunking with me and Mr. Outdoors tonight?” Kye asked, gesturing to me. She giggled and nodded.
“I can join Drayce and Caspian tomorrow night,” she agreed, falling back a step and winking at me before launching herself on Kye’s back. He caught her with a winded grunt. “Onward, steed!” she cheered, wrapping herself around him.
“Sweets, I’m tired too,” he whined playfully but made no move to put her down. Within a few more moments of walking, she was fast asleep on his back, snoring softly into his shoulder. I couldn’t help but smile. I loved that she had all of us to help take care of her. It made this situation much easier to bear. I could never have accomplished what we have so far or prepared like Torryn did to protect her. We were a unit, and the more time we all spent together, the more I saw it clearly.
This will all work out—it has to.
November 23rd
Saturday Evening
Aris
“Look! I see lights!” Caspian called out, his voice so full of relief, I would have laughed if I didn’t feel the same.
“Yup, that’s Domnhal,” Kye confirmed. We all started walking a bit quicker, hurrying out of the trees.
“You hear that, Mr. Stripes? Real food and a bed!” I cheered, hugging my lemur a little tighter as I skipped ahead. I’d stepped out of my comfort zone more this weekend than I ever thought I would. Peeing in the woods was way harder than I had anticipated.
Domnhal was nothing like Crystal Borough or Divus. They both had an old-world quality to them, where Domnhal looked more like a modern city. The buildings and homes I could see from our vantage point were more uniform, all angles and neutral tones. That didn’t take away from its own brand of beauty, though. The landscaping in front of the businesses was full of bright flowers and lush greens. Even the houses had vivid window boxes. I gasped at a billboard that loomed over the city, the enchanted screen displaying products and business from the area, the products, and people literally coming out of the screen and moving through the air.
The roads here were smoother, carts moving around each other in perfect synchrony while witches laughed and talked as they went in and out of the restaurants nearby. The smells alone had my stomach protesting the lack of hot food we’d survived without for days.
“My parents live on the edge of town, so at least we don’t have to walk through a bunch of people all gross,” Kye said, directing our attention down the closest street. “Only about twenty more minutes, guys.”
“Does anyone need a break?” Torryn asked, checking in with each of us.
“No! We’re so close,” I begged, the others quickly agreeing.
“Alright, alright,” he laughed, following Kye’s lead through the long sidewalks. The sun started to set as we walked down the street, my stomach churning the closer we got.
What if they didn’t like me?
Would they hate that we were running, and I was putting Kye in danger?
Would they refuse to let us stay?
The worries swirled in my mind until I was a tightly wound bundle of anxiety, and from the looks of it, it wasn’t just me. Torryn especially seemed worried, and I had a feeling he was panicking about the age difference again. I needed a pep talk and fast before I embarrassed myself. If Kye’s parents loved him as he described, then they would accept and love everything about him, including us. I just needed to smile and be myself, and it would all be fine… right? Holy hellsticks, this is worse than facing the council!
“We made it; there’s home!” Kye’s excitement and easy grin were a nice change from his usual broodiness.
Hells bells and tarot tells… I can do this.
November 23rd
Saturday Evening
Aris
“Kyelerian! Gabriel, our son is here!” the woman who answered the door screeched so loudly, we all flinched and stepped back.
“Shh, Mom! Let us in first,” Kye begged, pushing her gently back so we could file inside. When the door was closed firmly behind us, he turned back to her with a strained smile. “Can I talk to you guys for a second?”
“Well, of course! Is something wrong?” she said worriedly, her green eyes wide and full of concern. I couldn’t help but smile. She was a stereotypical mom, wearing mom jeans and a comfy sweater, her long hair in a simple ponytail and her makeup natural. She was classically pretty and seemed so genuine. With her expressive face and open kindness, it was kind of a surprise Kye was the way he was.
“Lyra, what’s going on?” A slender man ran into the room, his long gray hair braided behind his back. His face was serious like Kye’s, but it lit up the moment he spotted his son. “Kyelerian! What a surprise!”
“I was just asking to talk to you and mom for a moment,” Kye urged, stopping them from fawning over him. It was endearing, and I felt a pang of jealousy at his wholesome family even though I had a feeling they’d have us feeling right at home as soon as they got a chance. They walked out of the room, leaving us alone to wait it out.
“Can we bribe them to let us stay if this goes south?” Xan whispered, groaning softly and rocking from foot to foot.
“Am I the only one who’s nervous they won’t like us or our relationship?” Caspian mumbled. I slid over to his side and hugged him.
“I was until I met them. They seem super open and nice; it’ll be alright,” I said firmly, as much to him as myself.
“Yeah, I’m probably the one who’ll get the side-eye,” Tor deadpanned. I frowned over at him, surprised to see him looking vulnerable and unsure.
“I’m with Angel. This is gonna be great!” Drayce said, his voice completely genuine.
The longer we waited, the more I began to doubt if they were truly accepting or not, but just as I started to panic, Lyra came in like a whirlwind, sweeping me into a hug and rambling about how happy she was.
“Oh, Aris! I’m so happy to meet you. You’re so beautiful! Oh, and tell me who is who? What a lucky girl having so many sweet boys looking out for her!” she gushed, patting Tor on the cheek when she said boy, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. “Let’s get you all cleaned up, and I’ll start some hot food! Kye told us all about it, and you could definitely use a night of rest.”
“He to—” Torryn started, his words stuttering in his panic, but I cut him off. If she accepted it, she accepted it.
“We would love to clean up. Thank you so much for your kindness, ma’am!” I said, giving her my sweetest smile. Her eyes sparkled as she turned to me, folding me in another hug before giving us directions to the guest rooms.
“We have two bathrooms, so it’s going to be a bit of a stretch getting us all done before dinner,” Kye said, frowning down at his bag.
“Well, Aris and I can double up,” Tor offered as if it was completely natural. The guys all looked at him like they were unsure if it was a joke, but with the challenge in his expression, they just nodded and busied themselves with their stuff. Tor gave me a wink before sending me into the bathroom alone. Clearly, staying with Kye’s parents wa
sn’t going to give me the opportunity to really tease my guys.
By the time we were freshly showered, the entire house smelled amazing. My stomach growled so loudly, it made Caspian jump. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand, pulling me after him.
“Come on, Cupcake. The familiars are getting spoiled down there alone, and I’m starving.”
He wasn’t kidding. The familiars were living like royalty. Lyra had set up a few comfy blankets in the back of the kitchen, next to a well-loved dog bed, where a little beagle named Nellie was propped on top of the lumpy cushion. Lyra had plates of their favorite foods lined up, and the familiars were all eating as if they’d never eaten before. Mr. Stripes’ cheeks were puffed out as he crammed in more. I laughed, drawing Lyra’s attention to where we stood in the doorway.
“You all look so much happier now!” Lyra said, her smile at full force. I glanced at the table, my eyes going wide as I took in the literal feast she’d prepared. There was enough food to feed us for days, but knowing how starving we all were, I had a feeling we’d take care of a decent amount.
“I feel a lot happier now that I’m clean. This looks so amazing, ma’am, thank you!” I said. She laughed nervously and waved off the compliment, ushering us into seats around the table.
“Call me, Lyra. Help yourselves now that we’re all here! It’s so nice to have a full house tonight. It gets far too quiet now that Kye’s off to school,” Lyra said happily, putting a huge dollop of potatoes on Kye’s plate. He looked uncomfortable but indulged his mom as she filled his plate, then hers, almost as if she didn’t even realize she was doing it. Gabriel looked amused, giving me a smile and shaking his head.
“Kye told us a little about you all, but I have a feeling there’s more to the story, so let’s hear it,” Gabriel finally said after we’d all fallen silent.
“Let’s leave it at, it’s best if you don’t have more details, but to summarize, as I said earlier, the council found something out about our group. They’re going to use us to get to it, and we can’t let that happen. Just trust me for now, and I’ll explain more when I can,” Kye explained, more patience in his voice than I’d ever heard. Something about being home seemed to have settled him, making me feel even worse about being on the run.
My eyes flickered back to Gabriel, gauging his reaction to Kye’s bluntness. His limited explanation made it sound like we were convicts. He finally stopped looking at Kye suspiciously and took a deep breath.
“Is this vague thing you’re mentioning illegal or harmful?”
“No.” Kye looked relieved, so apparently, this was his way of giving in. “It’s power-related and something that happened unexpectedly. We haven’t done anything to harm anyone or anything, and we don’t intend to.”
“What’s the next step?” Gabriel shot back. I felt like my head was on a swivel, moving back and forth as they volleyed questions and answers in quick succession.
“I can’t tell you, but we’ll be careful. More roughing it as we go because we want to stay under the radar until this blows over,” Torryn answered for Kye.
“Should we worry?” Lyra asked, her voice timid now, apparently out of her depth.
“You will anyway,” Kye deadpanned before grinning. “No, we can take care of ourselves. Trust me.”
“What do you need from us?” Gabriel asked, bringing it back to serious.
“Well, we may need a few more supplies,” Kye said, looking at Torryn, who nodded slightly.
“It’d be best if we stayed out of sight, though, so we understand if that’s not something you can help with,” Torryn conceded, looking uncomfortable. I had a feeling he hated asking for help.
“Nonsense, just give us a list, and we can go before bed tonight. There are a few hours left in the day,” Gabriel promised.
“We appreciate it. I’ll give you some coins with the list. It won't take me long to figure out what we need,” Torryn promised.
“It’s our pleasure. Friends of Kye’s are friends of ours,” Lyra promised, scooping up some more food and filling Xan’s plate when he apparently hadn't eaten enough to her liking. I held back a giggle at his confused look, but he had enough manners not to say anything.
“Now, tell me how you met!” Lyra demanded with a grin, a dreamy look in her eyes as she looked back and forth between me and Kye. Does she not know what the others are to me? “Don’t look so nervous. He told me you guys had an unconventional relationship. We’re happy if he is, but he did say his relationship was with just you?”
“Yes, Kye’s just with me, but I’m also dating the others,” I said proudly, not willing to hide what we had. Drayce and Torryn looked so proud of me, I felt my cheeks heating up.
“Lucky girl,” she teased, waving off my worry. “Sometimes, life takes us in different directions, and this just happens to be yours, honey. Now… details!”
“Well, I was getting a tour from Headmaster Tallis when he called over this tall, dark, and handsome guy to finish the tour. Kye was less than happy about it, but I won him over pretty quickly, I think,” I teased him, his sheepish grin adorable.
“I hope you were nice, Kyelerian?” she demanded, looking unamused. Apparently, she’d seen his broody side too.
“I was nice, promise,” he laughed, and she shook her head.
“You would have thought we were torturing him when we made him interact with other kids growing up. He’s not one for being social,” she explained, giving him a lovingly exasperated smile.
“Which kind of makes this whole thing kind of hilarious,” Gabriel pointed out, making Caspian bark out a laugh he quickly tried to hide behind a cough when Kye glared.
“In all honesty, we weren’t friends until we bonded over some hex mix. He was closed off, but there was something about him, I couldn’t resist,” I said, blowing Kye a kiss.
“Yeah, Sweets. It’s called magic,” he joked, taking a bite of food before we could force him to tell more.
“You guys are adorable together,” Lyra said on a sigh, looking so happy, she might burst. I grinned, loving the thought of having a real mom figure in my life. Like she read my line of thought, she turned to me. “What’s your family like?”
It was an innocent question, but I felt my smile dim, and her eyes clouded with worry.
“My dad is on the council in Ignis, and I’ve got two brothers and a sister back home. We’re a more formal family,” I explained, giving the best description I could find that wasn’t rude. She must have seen something on my face because her eyebrows drew down in concern.
“She’s being nice. They’re assholes,” Kye said, a protective glint in his eyes.
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry,” Lyra said, tears forming in her eyes, but I brushed her concern off.
“Don’t worry, I have a great family now. One that accepts me,” I said. Now, I was the emotional one as I realized yet again how lucky I was to have them in my life. We all had issues, but we fit together so perfectly.
“Well, on a lighter note, is Headmaster Tallis still as much of a suck-up as he used to be? I swear that man was the fakest witch I’d ever spoken to,” Gabriel grumbled as he took a swig of his Witches Brew… which I noticed he handled way better than we did.
“Tallis is a batty, disgusting, old man,” I grumbled, shuddering at the reminder of the man who was planning to do things to me that made my skin crawl. Gabriel’s eyes narrowed at my reaction, and he shook his head.
“That man needs to be fired,” he said, raising his glass to me.
I picked up my juice and clinked my cup to his. “Cheers to that,” I said firmly, taking a big drink and pushing Tallis out of my mind. I was away from him, and that was what mattered.
“The next time you guys come, we’ll have plenty to talk about,” Gabriel said, his voice making it clear he was letting this slide for now, but he wanted answers as soon as we had them.
“We will,” Kye promised, but his mom had clearly had enough. She stood and rushed to the kitchen counter, brin
ging over a huge chocolate cake. I was impressed she accomplished all of that while we showered, but I guess we were upstairs for a long time.
“Well, if we want time to get to the store, I say it’s time for dessert!” she explained with a nervous giggle, cutting the cake and passing out pieces whether we wanted one or not.
“You just won over Sweets and Caspian,” Kye laughed, watching as we both danced in our seats, digging into the chocolatey goodness before groaning in satisfaction.
“This might be the best cake I’ve ever had,” Cas said. He was in heaven.
“That’s quite a compliment coming from him,” Drayce teased, wiping a smudge of frosting off of Cas’ bottom lip before licking his finger clean. Caspian blushed furiously and looked down at his food while I held back my laughter. I loved that Drayce was the same as always, not willing to act differently for anyone.
“I have to agree,” I said, taking another bite and accepting the cup of milk Kye had gotten for me.
“Oh, you are too kind,” Lyra said, her bright smile back in place. We all fell silent as we devoured the cake, then got to work cleaning up the kitchen while Torryn hurried upstairs to get his list together. After he got back, we took the familiars out back to stretch their legs, thankful there was a privacy fence in the backyard, giving us some seclusion.
When I yawned for what felt like the tenth time, Torryn turned and studied me for a moment. “You need to head up to bed. Kye, you want to take her since it’s your house?”
“Yeah, I can handle that. You guys can share the guest rooms if that’s cool?”
Torryn nodded, kissing me gently before giving the others a chance to say goodnight. With one last wave, Kye led me upstairs. The room he took us to was obviously his childhood bedroom. Small trophies lined one shelf, the other was full of books. There was a small bed, but it was still bigger than mine at school, so we’d be fine. Personal items cluttered the dresser and desk, but the desk had rune stones covering the top, much messier than his room at school. I couldn’t hide my grin as I read the inscription on the trophies.