“Dinner,” mom’s voice floats up the stairs.
Exiting my room I run into the guys and we make our way down to dinner together. Noticing they keep sneaking glances at me.
“Ok guys, I’m a girl. Deal with it.” I laugh. “Enjoy me in this dress because it doesn’t happen often.”
As we enter the dining room, my dads stand and Evans kneels. Roman nods to him and he takes his place at the table. Uncle Wes is about to pray, he asks us to take each other’s hands. I’m seated between Callum and Anton. As soon as Callum and I touch hands, I feel the sparks again. Quickly snatching my hand back I mutter “Shit” under my breath.
“Language, Liauna.” Mom says. How did she hear me?
“What the hell is going on, first sparks with Evans, then Anton and now Callum?” I ask, looking at dad number two. “You said the sparks were only for soul mates. How is it that I have three?”
Roman looks at me and at the boys. “I have only know of one other Fae to have more than one soul mate, me. Mine are my late wife, Angelica and your mother Amelia. That’s why I was drawn to her in that bar and how you came to be.”
Everyone at the table is slack-jaw, just looking at their plates. No one says anything.
“Perhaps we should discuss this later, daughter.” Roman suggests.
“Uncle Wes, please pray so we can eat.” I reply.
Once grace is said, Rae kicks me under the table and mouths WTH? I just shrug and eat my food.
Too tired, sore and ready to read my book, I don’t want to worry about it now. Little conversations go on here and there but I don’t feel like talking. I need to sit and reflect to decide what I want to do next.
Out of nowhere the half creeper saying “Deezy” pops into my head. Wondering what that means, I throw out a question.
“Does Deezy mean anything to anyone?”
Roman and Evans nod. We wait for them to elaborate but they just continue eating.
“OK, can someone fill me in?” I ask with a sigh.
“Deezy was the king of the southern fae, he became mad with power and started many wars in the fae realm.” Evans says. “He soon vanished and no one has heard anything from or about him in two years.”
“So does anyone find it weird that Deezy hasn’t been seen in a few years, disappearing about the same time the creepers appeared?” I state.
Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy “Well Anton and I saw an almost creeper, he turned to us and said “Deezy” then he walked off.”
Anton nods in agreement.
“I don’t like this, Liauna,” Dad Roman says, ”We need to head to the fae realm and do some research on Deezy and this disease.” Looking at my parents, then to me his next words have me halting my fork in front of my face.
“We need to leave tonight.”
“Slow your roll, Roman.” I reply, “I told you I’d go with you in two weeks, not tonight. I have too much to do here before I can even think of leaving.”
“I don’t like this anymore then you sweetie, but maybe we can find a cure to this.” Mom says holding back tears. I see her blinking rapidly, trying to stop them from falling.
“As true as that is Mom, I can’t just up and leave you here.” I protest.
“Liauna, I don’t want you to leave, but this needs to stop.” She replies. “Think about it sweetheart.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to leave yet mom,” I tell her.
As soon as I finish what I can stomach, I excuse myself from the table and head for my balcony.
Sitting in my chair, I take a deep breath. In, one two. Out, three four. I need to chill out.
After a few minutes with my eyes closed, I open them to see Callum kneeling before me. He takes my hand.
“Liauna, I know this is a lot to take in and scary, but we need to stop this virus. When I met up with Evans and Anton, I was in a bad place. I had just watched everyone I ever loved, change and die. I can’t watch the same happen to you or the people you care about.” Callum pleads with me.
“Callum, I understand and I’m so sorry that happened but I don’t know if I’m strong enough. I feel like my whole world is shattering around me and I can’t breathe.” I tell him.
“I felt just as you do, I had to put my mother and brothers out of their misery. I wanted to die along with them. My mom always told me that when I feel like I can’t anymore, dust myself off, stand up tall and keep fighting. I’ll leave these words with you now. It is your choice, but I know you are stronger then you realize.” He replies kissing my hand.
With that he stands and walks through my room and closes the door behind him.
My mind reeling, poor ornery Callum. I can’t imagine going through what he had to. I make the decision to suck it up and keep fighting. I will not lose my guys, my family or home.
Collecting myself, I rise and head towards the living room. As I enter all of my guys stand. I motion for them to sit back down.
“Ok, dad number two. If we leave tonight, Anton and Callum, will you stay and protect my family and friends?” It’s hard for me to ask them to stay when I want to keep them with me. “I don’t want to go without you two, but I can’t go, knowing they aren’t protected.” I plead with them.
“Of course, my Princess, with my life” Callum and Anton reply together.
“We will be ok Liauna. This run you made today will last a while. With Callum and Anton here, we are covered well.” Dad number one reassures me.
“Evans, please help Liauna make preparation, then we will leave.” Roman commands.
Taking my hand, I ignore the sparks I feel as Evans leads us upstairs. I’m not sure what I even need to pack. Grabbing my bag I stuff it with new books, a few candy bars, a couple changes of clothes.
I run to the bathroom and grab a cup of water and a few rags remembering I have to clean my sword before we go. I get started by wiping black yuck off of it.
Out of nowhere Evans speaks “I don’t expect you to marry me you know, just because we are soul-mates. I wasn’t sure you were who I was searching for until I grabbed your hand and felt the sparks for myself. Also I don’t want you forced into anything you don’t want.” He continues as he sits on the bed next to me.
Evan’s hands me a small box and I gulp. It’s the size of a ring box. Setting down my rag and sword, I take it from him and open it. My fears were confirmed. Inside sits a beautiful ring. It has a huge princess cut sapphire set in the middle diamonds forming a perfect square. Just my style.
I look at Evans with more questions on my tongue. He smiles.
“This is your engagement ring, you don’t have to wear it until you are comfortable with us and if you decide if you want marry me or not.” He says.
Blinking back tears I didn’t know were about to fall, I look him in the eyes and thank him.
“I would like to talk about the whole Evans-Anton-Callum thing before we decide anything; it involves all of us, not just me.” I reply tucking the ring in a safe spot in my bag. “Honestly I don’t know what I want Evans, I haven’t had much time to get to know you or the others guys. We need to find out about this Deezy guy, stop the creepers and then maybe we can figure all the rest out.”
Squeezing my hand in reassurance, he lets me know that he’s ok with that.
“That’s a wonderful plan.” Evans replies. “If you’re ready we can head out.”
He takes my bag from the bed and slings it over his shoulder. I put the cover back on the sword and follow him down the stairs.
Mom, Dad, Rae and the guys are lined up by the door. Starting with mom I hug her, telling her I love her. I do the same to Dad and Rae.
I step up to hug Anton and he caresses my cheek and kisses me on the lips, sending sparks down my spine. Wow I wasn’t expecting that but I’m not complaining.
As we hug, he whispers in my ear just before I pull out of the embrace. “Be careful my Princess.” I stare into his emerald green eyes and all I can do is nod.
Next up is Callum. N
ot to be out done, Callum bends me backwards like you’d see in the movies and kisses me. I feel the same sparks down my spine, this time I’m expecting them. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to them but I like it. He lets me up and I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Couldn’t let Anton have all the fun, could I?” He chuckles.
Evans holds out a hand for me, I take it and we walk out the door. Turning, I wave goodbye one last time and then wipe away the tears I feel falling off my cheeks.
King Roman had pulled up a black SUV in front of the house so we load our bags in the back. I grab a couple of my books out before Evans closes the back and get in the car.
“Smart Princess.” He says with a smile. “It’s a few days journey to the realms portal.”
Great I’m going to be stuck in the car with a dad I don’t know and Evans, Mr. Perfect. At least he’s lightened up some. This is going to be so fun.
Once Evans slides in and Roman gets behind the wheel, I roll down my window and wave. I still can’t believe I’m leaving. I haven’t been away from my family for longer then a day since all this began. I roll the window up, then lay my head in Evans lap. I’m exhausted from the day. Closing my eyes I feel his fingers start to run through my hair and I’m out.
Roman slams on the brakes and I wake in a startle.
Wiping sleep from my eyes, I look out the window, more dead field all around. “Sorry, daughter, creepers in the road.” He calls to the back seat.
Evans exits the SUV and swiftly dispatches the creepers. Taking his seat again, we set off down the road again.
Since I’m awake, I’m curious how a fae fell in with a hybrid and shifter. So I ask Evans.
He dives into a tale starting with stepping through the portal. “I came out in the west of the United States, Northern California area. Knowing I had to head to Oklahoma because that’s where the princess was last located and headed east. Since I had no vehicle, I started to walk, only encountering a creeper here or there. As soon as I hit Arizona, I ran into a horde of creepers. In the middle was Anton, fighting with all he had but there were too many of them.”
Evans decided to help. “It was the most creepers I had seen in one place since I had been in this realm. After helping Anton, I figured it would help to have an ally in case we ran into more creepers. I told Anton of my mission, which was to find the princess and bring her home.”
“Anton decided to tag along for the adventure. We walked a few hundred miles a day, traveling by night since we could see in the dark and rested during the day after securing rooms. On our third night of walking we needed to replenish our supplies, so instead of avoiding towns, we headed in to one. It was our lucky night. We stumble upon a motorcycle dealership and that’s where we found Callum. He was sleeping in the corner of the showroom floor.”
Just as Evans finishes his story, Roman slows the car, we are in a ghost town, in front of a motel.
“We will stop here for the night.” Roman announced. “Evans help me secure two rooms, daughter please stay here.”
I start to protest but Evans gives me a silent pleading look, so I just wait. As I sit in the car and look around, I realize that Roman has stopped at some random motel. Murdery much? I shouldn’t be ungrateful. A bed will be much nicer than sleeping in this car, even with Evans’ lap as a pillow. I giggle to myself.
Ten minutes later the guys emerge, Evans from a room on the right and Roman from the room next to him.
“There were a couple random creepers, but we found a couple of adjoining rooms that seem to be clean and creeper free.” Evans smiles.
There it is again, that amazing smile. I smile in return and hop out of the SUV, grabbing my bag out of the back and follow Evans.
He leads me into the room on the right, I see two queen beds covered with the ugliest blankets I’ve ever seen. Burnt orange and neon green do not go together at all. What were these people thinking? I shrug and plop my bag into the chair that matches the comforter. Yuck.
Taking off my shoes, I slide into the sheets, glad I made the decision to change into a tee shirt and jeans. Evans does the same in the other bed. Roman appears in the doorway where the rooms adjoin.
“We will sleep for a few hours and then head out at first light.” He tells us. “Good night.”
With that he disappears back into his room.
Evans clicks off the light and I hear his light snores within minutes. It takes me a few more minutes and I’m out.
I wake to Evans shaking me, “Liauna, wake up it’s only a dream.”
“Evans, I’m up stop shaking me.” I tell him. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m having nightmares. I never remember much when I wake up. Maybe if you lay close by I’ll sleep? It worked when Anton and Callum did.”
“As you wish my Princess.” he says with a wicked looking grin on his beautifully perfect face.
I roll onto my left side. I can feel Evans behind me, even though he’s not touching me and within a couple minutes I’m sleeping again.
After what feels like minutes, I wake up to two faces looking down at me.
“Take a picture it will last you longer.” I grumble.
I stretch, remove the covers and slide my shoes on. Running a brush through my hair and brushing my teeth, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I’m grateful the guys already loaded our belongings in the SUV, which gives me a few minutes to myself. I check the mirror. I look acceptable.
Making sure my books are in my bag, I head out and hop in the SUV. Putting our seat belts on and we are off. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as we get back on the road. I take stock of the two men I didn’t really know. One claiming to be my father, King of the western fae, making me a princess. The second, a fae warrior and my fiancée since my birth, can you say awkward?
Reminiscing, I go back to the day I met my guys, when my world started spinning out of control. Grateful I found them, I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what I feel for them. They are all gorgeous, there’s no denying that. I just don’t want these sparks to be the only reason we get together.
Big, sweet Kyle, I still had loved him, I wasn’t in love with him, but I will not be told what I can or can’t do. He didn’t understand that, he tried telling me that he wouldn’t allow me to go on runs. I told him it wasn’t his right to say what I can or cannot do. That’s what broke us up.
I didn’t realize tears were trickling down my cheek until Evans takes my hand. I’m grateful for the small, supportive gesture and squeeze his hand in return. Who knew Evans was a softie?
I sneak a little peak at Evans through my lashes, he’s staring straight ahead. I think it’s unfair that he looks perfect all the time and I look hot mess all the time. He’s clean shaven, making me want to run a hand over his cheek and I notice that his blue eyes are starting to sparkle in the sunlight.
Even with Evans here, my heart aches for Anton and Callum. This is all so new to me, but the feelings are there. I can picture Callum’s ornery grin and amber eyes. Anton’s kissable full lips and emerald eyes. Shaking those thought away so I don’t cry again, I decide to read one of my books. I need to get out of my head for a little bit. Reaching down I pull one out of my bag and flip it open.
Just as I start really enjoying my book, I realize we are slowing down. I look up and see we are in a little town, no stoplights, only one main street.
Looking at Evans, ”What’s going on?” I ask.
He just shrugs.
“We’re in need of gas,” Roman says, “Also this maybe a good place to look for food and water.”
Roman stops the SUV, Evans and I grab our swords and flashlights and exit the vehicle.
“I’m going down the street to see if there’s gas,” Roman tells us. “Evans keep my daughter safe.” He adds rolling up his window.
“Like she needs the help,” he chuckles.
We start at the end of the block, carefully enter the first store. It’s a pharmacy, looking around it looks deserted but Evans and I a
re on high-alert. No creeper aroma that we can smell but their scent depends on how recently they were turned.
I grab some reusable bags I see hanging on a shelf, filling one with random things we can use for first aid. I also find Tylenol and throw that in the bag as well. Satisfied with what I’ve collected, I move to the next aisle. Finding protein bars, I stuff as many as I can into another bag, filling it to the brim. I am amazed that these are still here.
I head behind the pharmacy counter, I don’t know much about all the drugs still on the shelves. My mom gave me a crash course and told me which ones are painkillers and antibiotics, which are priceless to the faction so I search the shelves, shining light on them with my flashlight, till I have all the ones I recognize in my bags. I’m hoping we will be able to take this home after my visit to the fae realm.
“Liauna, are you ready? I have all the water I can carry. We will have to make a second trip,” Evans calls over the aisles.
I head to the front of the pharmacy when the odor hits me. Setting my bags down, I get my sword ready, Evans must have smelled it too, as he is right behind me, sword in hand.
There is a creeper just outside the shop. Looking at him, he is about 6 foot and recently turned. No real rot can be seen but you can see all the black veins which indicate the change. As he moves from the door, Evans and I sneak up to the windows to see if there are anymore hanging around. We don’t see any more from where we stand so Evans opens the door as quietly as possible and dispatches the creeper. He signals me with a ridiculous smile and thumbs up that it’s clear. I chuckle and pick up the bags. Seems Evans isn’t always uptight. I think I may be starting to like this new side to Evans, maybe.
Setting all the bags on the sidewalk, I go back in and help Evans collect water. We leave all our treasures there on the sidewalk, right in front of the door and continue on down the block. Most are little mom and pop stores, nothing we are really in need of.
Fate of the Fae Page 6