by Box Set
I lean back against my pillows and examine the shapes and words. There are symbols that represent different people—Ryn drew a key for me when he set this spell up—and short lines of text next to each one. A message in a bubble at the top of the amber informs me that Honey is ‘following’ me, and so is the guy I chatted with outside the Seelie Queen’s throne room when I was avoiding Ryn. That’s a little creepy. How did he even find me?
I read a few of the messages.
Honey: Vacationing with my bf and his fam. Like, all 12 of them!
Flint: The Guild is stronger than ever before. Suck it, Unseelie Court!
Ryn to Opal: I thought the food rocked, actually.
Seriously? This is what people waste their spare time doing? I don’t get it. Couldn’t Flint get in trouble for telling the Unseelie Court to ‘suck it,’ or is that kind of thing allowed with social spells? And who is this Opal person Ryn’s talking to? Hmm. Wasn’t the dark-haired girl he was flirting with at the palace called Opal?
I don’t want to be involved in this silly stuff. On the other hand, I don’t exactly want to be left out. Which is completely ridiculous. I never used to worry about being left out. I just got on with my assignments and ignored Ryn and everyone else.
A knocking sound startles me, and I look up. Ryn is leaning in the doorway to my bedroom, rapping his knuckles against the door frame. The sight of him sends a thrill rocketing through my body.
Stupid thrill.
“You know you’re supposed to stand outside and knock, right?” I say to him.
“Yes, but I figured you wouldn’t let me in if you knew it was me. So I let myself in instead.”
I fake-laugh as I place my amber on the bedside table. “Why wouldn’t I let you in?”
“Because you’ve been avoiding me since yesterday morning? If I hadn’t caught your father for you last night, you’d have hidden in your room all evening. And if we hadn’t been forced to travel back together this morning, you definitely would have stayed away from me all day.”
“Well, you know, we don’t have to see each other every day.” Wow. Amazing contribution to the conversation, Violet.
“I suppose not,” Ryn says, “but since there’s this awkwardness between us, we should probably talk about it.”
Please, no.
“Why do I get the feeling our relationship is backwards?” Ryn asks as he wanders into my room, shrugs his jacket off, and hangs it over the back of my desk chair. “Isn’t it usually the girl who always wants to talk about feelings and the guy who bottles everything up inside?”
“I don’t bottle things up,” I shoot back. Well, there is an imaginary box I like to hide things in, but that’s different.
“Right. Of course not.”
I draw my knees up and wrap my arms around them. Filigree hops to the edge of the bed and flaps his wings until he achieves lift-off. He flies toward Ryn, who catches him easily.
“So, um, how’s your mom going with that murder investigation?” I ask.
He sighs. “Okay, since you clearly aren’t going to be the one to bring it up, I’ll say it. We kissed. It was pretty damn hot. Now I want to talk about it, but I can’t because you’re being all weird. That isn’t normal for you. You’re not like other girls, remember? You don’t get silly and upset and moody. You’re cooler than that.”
“Well, Ryn, I guess I can only be cool up to a certain point. There’s a line, and when you kissed me just to prove that you were right about something, you crossed it.” There, now he knows why I’m upset.
“Just to prove I was right?” He places a wriggling Filigree on the floor. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re going to tell me you don’t remember? Let me help you. We had the super-hot kiss, and then you ended it with, ‘I told you that you were missing out.’”
“Yeah, so? You were missing out. I wasn’t trying to prove a point; I was simply stating a fact. And that wasn’t where I planned to end it. Trust me, I could have stayed in the dark with you a whole lot longer if we hadn’t hit the wrong wall and landed in the middle of a partially demolished sitting room. Speaking of which, you haven’t asked me what happened after you bolted.”
I sigh. “What happened after I bolted?”
“Well, it turns out Mr. Faerie Sneak had just as much right to be in there as we did. So we both agreed to pretend we’d never seen each other, and then he ran off while I was left to clean up all the mess you and I made before Princess Olivia got back.”
“We made?”
“Yes, V.” Ryn looks at me like I should have figured this out already. “Shattered vases, burning cushions, overturned furniture—that was us.” He grins. “It was one seriously hot kiss, remember?”
Trying REALLY hard not to. But I’m obviously not trying hard enough because the memories aren’t going anywhere. So I take a deep breath and say, “Okay, fine. I’ll talk. The kiss was hot. Amazing. Incredible. You were right—clearly I was missing out by never having experienced a kiss from someone magical. And now I know, so thank you. Can we move on?”
He crosses his arms. “I still don’t get it. Why do you want to move on? It’s not like you kissed me simply because you were bored and had nothing else to do at the time.”
“Oh. Well, since you know so much about my motivations, maybe you’d like to tell me why I kissed you.”
Ryn throws his hands up. “Are you really not going to admit it?”
“Admit what?”
“You have feelings for me, Violet. Why is it so hard for you to say that?”
“Because it isn’t true.” I hug my knees tighter. “And because if it were true you’d only end up hurting me.”
“That’s ridiculous. If we have feelings for each other and we want to be together, why would I be stupid enough to hurt you?”
“Well, you probably wouldn’t do it intentionally, but after a while you’d get over whatever feelings you might have for me. I know you like the company of Undergrounders, and I can never be as exotic or exciting as the beings you’ll find down there.”
He walks forward and leans toward me with both hands on the bed as he says, “I don’t want to be with any Undergrounder, V. I want you.”
Those three words send shivers up and down my arms, but I can’t help wondering how many other girls he’s said the same thing to. I shift away from him. “You say that …”
“I mean that.”
“You think you mean it, Ryn, and you probably do right now, but it won’t last, and where will that leave me?”
“Violet. This … what I’m feeling …” He seems to be struggling for words. “It’s so much more than anything I’ve ever felt for anyone. It’s threatening to explode out of me. How can you tell me it won’t last?”
I shrug, shake my head, and look at my knees. “I don’t know. I only know one thing for sure, and it’s that you’ll break my heart.”
“No. I could never hurt you again, V. I mean it.” He steps back and tugs his hair. “What do I have to say to make you believe me?”
This conversation needs to end. I’m terrified that if it goes on much longer I’ll give in. And as much as I want to—and I really, really want to—I know instinctively that when Ryn breaks my heart it’ll be ten times worse than the pain I felt after Nate betrayed me. “There isn’t anything you can say, Ryn, or anything you can do. And it doesn’t matter, anyway, because I don’t feel that way about you.” Liar, liar. “Things were good when we were friends. Why can’t we just leave it at that?”
* * *
He lets out a humorless laugh. “You don’t feel that way about me? Now you’re just lying.”
“I am not.”
His expression is incredulous. “Yes, you are.”
How does he freaking know that? Is it written all over my face? Am I really that terrible a liar? “You have no idea what I’m feeling, Oryn.”
“I know exactly what you’re—”
“You don’t. End of conversation.”
<
br /> “YES I DO! Aren’t you listening to me? I know what you’re feeling! I feel what you’re feeling! You think you’re the only one in Creepy Hollow graced with a dose of extra special magic? Well, you’re not. I feel every single flipping thing everyone around me is feeling, which, when it comes to you, isn’t usually much. But guess what? That isn’t the case anymore. I knew you were panicking when we headed onto the dance floor after graduation because I felt it. I knew that the moment I whispered in your ear while we were dancing was the moment you realized just how much you wanted me because I felt the flood of emotions that suddenly came over you. I felt it again yesterday morning when I was lying next to you in bed, and again when I was kissing you. I know, Violet, so don’t lie to me.”
My mouth is hanging open in shock by the time he’s finished speaking. What he said is absurd. Completely, totally absurd. And yet it makes a horrible amount of sense. Ryn has always seemed extra intuitive. He knows when something is wrong, before I can even say anything. Is this how he guessed my real reason for wanting to get the top graduating prize? He was reading my emotions while questioning me? “What … what am I feeling now?”
He takes a deep breath. “Up until about a minute ago, it was mostly desire and fear mixed in together, but right now, shock is pretty much overshadowing everything else.”
No. Freaking. Way.
My voice is barely more than a whisper when I ask, “How long have you known you can do this?”
“A long time.”
“And you never told me.”
“I—”
“You’ve always known my secret, and yet you never bothered to tell me yours.” Thanks to his stupid ability, he should be feeling the anger boiling inside me right now.
“Violet, I—”
“Get out of my house.”
He grabs his jacket from the back of the chair. “Gladly. If you want to keep lying to yourself, go right ahead.”
Twenty-Five
I pull my shirt straight and run my hands through my hair before knocking on Councilor Starkweather’s office door. There was a letter from her on my kitchen table this morning requesting my presence at an interview this afternoon. I knew Tora was right when she said they’d offer me a job; I just didn’t think it would be this soon. Tora said it would be appropriate for me to wear a dress to my interview, but after my super-tight, super-puffy experiences at the Seelie Court, I’m done with dresses. Instead, I transformed a simple, long-sleeved T-shirt into a shirt with buttons and a collar to go with my pants—and I did a pretty good job.
Councilor Starkweather makes small talk about my visit to the Seelie Court for several minutes before arriving at the reason for this meeting. “The Council has discussed it, and we’d like to offer you a position here at the Creepy Hollow Guild.” She pauses, which probably means I’m supposed to say something.
“Okay. Thank you.”
She crosses her arms on top of her desk and leans forward. “You’re probably aware that we usually give graduates a longer break after graduation before offering them positions at the Guild, but with the recent attack … well, we need as many guardians as we can get, as soon as we can get them. I don’t want to alarm you, but the Seers have been receiving hints of a great battle in our future. No concrete visions yet and, as you know, these things can change, but we want the Guild to be fully prepared in the event of a major attack.”
“I see.” I could have predicted that, and I’m not a Seer. It’s obvious Zell is planning something, so it makes sense there’ll be a big showdown at some point. Guardians versus … well, whatever Zell calls his minions. And when it happens, I want to be there to kick his Unseelie ass. And Nate’s, if he dares to stand against the Guild.
“If you require some time to think about it,” Councilor Starkweather says, “I’ll give you three days. Here’s a copy of the contract.” She hands me a scroll. “Take a good look at it, and, if anything seems unclear, ask me.”
“Sure, okay.” I take the scroll from her and hope she dismisses me soon. I’m eager to get out of here.
My father is coming home tonight.
* * *
I clean the house. It isn’t exactly dirty, but I want it to be perfect when Dad gets here. The last time he left this home, he knew he was walking into the fight that would be used to fake his own death. Did he think he’d ever come back? Did he look around at everything and say goodbye? Did he somehow say goodbye to me and I never realized it?
I don’t know what time he’ll get here, so once I’ve finished tidying and darkness has begun to fall, I resort to pacing around and around the sitting room. I hear the wind picking up outside, the leaves brushing against one another in an angry dance. It’s uncharacteristically cool for a summer evening. I hope another magical storm isn’t on its way.
When I hear a knock, I just about fall over the furniture in my haste to get to the doorway portion of the wall. I swear, if this is anyone but Dad, I’m not hesitating to tell them to get lost. I swipe my hand across the wall—and there he his. He’s wearing a jacket with a hood concealing half his face, but I can still see it’s him.
“Don’t hug me or say my name until the door is closed,” he mutters. He slips quickly past me, and I can’t help glancing out into the darkness as I wave my hand to seal the doorway. Dad pushes his hood back and turns to me. “You never know who might be watching. It’s been years, but I still like to be careful.”
“Um, okay.” I can’t believe he’s really here. In our home. I can almost imagine that no time has passed since the last time we stood here together.
But time has passed. We’re different people now. And even though I’ve looked forward to this moment since I said goodbye to him at the Seelie Court, it’s a little weird now that he’s here.
“This feels rather surreal,” Dad says quietly, watching me.
I nod. “It does.” Then I laugh and step forward to put my arms around his neck. Of course this is weird, but the weirdness won’t last long.
We walk to the couch as Dad says, “Everything seems the same here except you. Whenever I think of you and imagine you at home, I see the little girl I left behind. But that’s not who you are anymore.”
“I wasn’t that little. I was fourteen.” We sit down. I tuck my legs beneath me, but Dad sits with his back a little too straight for him to be comfortable. Clearly this is weird for him too.
“But you’ve grown up a lot in almost four years,” he says. “And speaking of growing up, I haven’t forgotten that your birthday is only three days away.”
“Yeah, I think Tora and Raven are planning a—” My words are cut off by another knock against the tree. Dad stands quickly.
“Check who it is,” he says. “If it’s one of your friends, I can come back later.”
I cross the room without bothering to tell him I don’t exactly have friends. I create a peephole, look out, and groan. “It’s Ryn.” I swipe the doorway open. “Yes?”
“Your dad’s here tonight,” he says without really looking at me. “I came to hear what he has to say.”
“Okay, so what are you doing out here? Don’t you normally just let yourself in?”
“I thought I’d be polite and stand outside and knock this time.” He walks past me into the room.
“Okay, but politeness also requires that you wait outside until someone invites you in,” I call after him.
“Whatever.”
When I get back to the couch, Ryn is handing Dad a small vial. “What’s that?” I ask.
“Compulsion potion,” Ryn answers. “I know you’re having your happy reunion, but I thought we should check that he really is who he says he is.”
“Ryn!” I can’t believe his nerve.
“It’s okay, V,” Dad says, unscrewing the tiny lid. He tilts his head back and taps a few drops onto his tongue. He swallows and shudders. “Ugh, that stuff is disgusting when undiluted.”
Ryn touches Dad’s shoulder and says the short compulsion spell, followed by,
“You will tell the truth.” Then he takes a seat on the couch opposite us.
“Now that that’s out the way,” Dad says, “will you tell me what you meant the other night when you said you’re already involved with Marzell?”
“Okay.” I’m keen to hear Dad’s story, so I’ll make mine short. “Here’s the bottom line: Zell wants me because of my ability to find people.”
“But how did he find out you have this ability? You’ve kept it a secret, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but he has a spy in the Guild, and that spy somehow heard about a guardian with my skills. Zell didn’t actually find out it was me until Nate told him.”
“Nate?”
“Um, this halfling I was sort of dating. Zell managed to convince him to turn against me, and I didn’t realize it until it was too late.”
“I see.”
Great. Dad’s been home for five minutes and I’ve already managed to disappoint him with my poor choice in boyfriends. “Yeah, so, anyway … I’ve fought Zell a few times, and, obviously, I survived.”
Dad’s eyebrows rise. “You’ve actually fought him? That’s impressive.”
I shrug, as if fighting the Unseelie Prince was no big deal, but I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.
“This all seems like a horrible coincidence,” Dad says. “Zell threatened your life four years ago because of me, and now he’s after you again for a different reason. He probably has no idea you’re the same person.”
“Well, he knows my full name, so he probably does know who I am.”
“But he never knew my real name. We worked with code names for most of our assignments. I doubt he’d connect your name to me.”