by M. H. Soars
When Julian saw me approaching, he got up to give me a hug. “Hey Alexia, how’s the routine going? Did you nail the thirty fufutes?” he asked as he sat back down and I pulled up a chair next to him.
“It’s fouettés, and yes, Mrs. Winterborne was really happy with my performance.” Julian raised his hand for a high five and I promptly obliged, even though I thought he was being silly.
“How come you had a scowl on your face while you were walking here?”
His question took me by surprise. I couldn’t believe he’d noticed that. “Mrs. Winterborne said that I need to beef up my résumé by adding extracurricular activities to it. I kind of neglected them in Santa Fe, so I'll need to join the dance group at the new school, or bust.”
“That's it? Well, don’t worry about it. I know all the girls in the dance group, officially known as the Leopoldetes. I'll put in a good word for you. I’m sure they could use a dancer of your caliber. I don’t think anyone in that group is Juilliard material.”
The certainty in Julian’s voice melted my worries away. Of course he would know the girls in the dance group. Sometimes I forgot how popular he was. The waiter came out to take our orders. I got my usual latte macchiato, while Julian ordered a double espresso. Once the waiter went back inside the café, I noticed a little box on the table.
“What’s that? Did you go shopping before coming here?” I pointed to it.
Julian looked a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I got this for Sam while we were still dating, but I never had the opportunity to give it to her. I thought about returning it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I still want Sam to have it, and I was wondering if you could give it to her for me.”
He gave me his famous lost-puppy look, and I caved. I picked up the box and asked if I could open it. He nodded. It was a silver necklace with an intricate, Victorian pendant in the shape of a rose. The petals of the rose were made of a dark stone that I didn’t recognize. It was beautiful.
“Wow, Julian. This is gorgeous. But I doubt Sam will accept it, knowing it’s from you.”
He looked at me sadly. “I know. That's why I would really appreciate it if you told her it’s a gift from you.”
I closed the box and looked at him uncertainly. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
He covered my hand with his own and looked at me pleadingly. “Please, Alexia. Help me out here. I would love for Sam to have it, and she’ll probably throw it away if she knows it’s from me.”
That was true. Sam would never accept a gift knowing it was from Julian. The desperation in his voice made the decision for me. I was about to agree when someone called my name. Ethan was a few feet from our table, looking hurt. Julian quickly retrieved his hand from mine. How long had Ethan been watching us?
Julian quickly got up and went to his friend. Ethan didn’t take his eyes off me. I was glued to the chair, staring back at him. When had he come back, and why hadn’t he called me?
Julian looked from me to Ethan and quickly understood the situation. “So, Alexia. Thank you so much for doing this for me. I really appreciate it, but I gotta go.” He put a twenty dollar bill on the table and left.
After a moment of silence I asked Ethan, “Will you join me?” I pointed to the empty space next to my chair. I hoped that he would agree.
“I don’t know. Should I?”
“Yes, please Ethan.” I put as much pleading in my voice as I could. I needed to explain that the scene he had just witnessed was not what he thought it was.
He wheeled himself next to my chair and folded his hands on his lap. “So?”
I licked my lips nervously before I answered him. “I don’t know what you think you saw here, but Julian and I are just friends.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Oh, really? You two looked really cozy before I interrupted your moment. What's in that box? A token of your friendship?” he asked as he nodded toward the little box on the table.
I grabbed the box. “You've got it all wrong. This isn't for me. It’s for Sam. Julian asked me to give it to her.”
“So why didn’t he give it to her himself?” Ethan asked, but I could see that the tension was leaving his body.
“Because they had a fight. This is his way to try and make amends.” I failed to mention that they had broken up more than a month ago and that we had been spending time together since then. Ethan was already jealous, and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire. Once he calmed down, I would tell him the rest of the story.
“I missed you.” I said.
He stared at me, trying to figure it out if I was telling the truth. It hurt that he thought I could stab him in the back like that, but considering his previous experience I had to give him a break. He finally relaxed his stance and he reached for my hand. “I missed you, too.”
My heart lightened and I smiled. “When did you get back? Why didn’t you call me?”
“I got back an hour ago. I called you the moment my plane landed, but it went straight to your voice mail. I called your house, and Mia told me where I could find you.”
That surprised me. How had Mia known where Ethan could find me? I’d told everyone I was going to yoga class, and the studio was nowhere near here. Did they know about my ballet lessons? I couldn’t believe it. Had Sam opened her big mouth again? I was going to kill her.
Ethan noticed my consternation. “What's wrong?”
I waved my free hand. “It’s nothing. I’m glad she did.”
Ethan gave me a sad smile. “It’s too bad we only have one week left. When are you going back to Santa Fe?”
I bit my lower lip to stop myself from laughing. Ethan didn’t know I was staying in Santa Barbara. I had wanted to tell him in person. “What is it?” he asked, curious about my sudden delight.
“What if I told you that I’m not returning to Santa Fe? Would you consider that good or bad news?”
Ethan’s mouth fell open as he stared incredulously at me. It was priceless. Then he gave me the most wonderful of smiles. I had been right to tell him in person.
“Are you serious? You're not messing with me?”
“Of course I’m serious! I wouldn’t lie about that to you.” I was also grinning like an idiot. It totally caught me by surprise when Ethan let go of my hand to encircle my waist with one arm. He placed his other arm under my legs, pulling me onto his lap in a swift motion. I yelped.
“Sorry about that, but I can’t wait any longer to do this,” he said in a husky tone before he kissed me.
His kiss was demanding and urgent. It felt like he was a starving man and my mouth was all the sustenance he needed. I felt lightheaded as the butterflies in my stomach seemed to have multiplied by millions and were ready to break free. I placed my hands behind his neck and pulled him closer to me. My hands started to tingle, like sparks were leaving my fingers, and I heard Ethan sigh. We only broke our kiss when we heard the waiter clearing his throat behind us.
“Your coffee,” he said stiffly before he left. I looked at Ethan, and we both started to laugh. I hid my face against the curve of his neck, feeling myself go completely red, and he stroked my back.
“Would you believe me if I told you this is one of the best days of my life?” Ethan asked. I leaned back to face him and saw sincerity in his eyes. I nodded, and he hugged me.
I didn’t want this moment to end. He started to place little kisses on my neck, then my jaw, and I shivered. I put a finger on his lips before he trapped me again in a whirlwind kiss. If we kept going like that, the waiter would probably tell us to get a room.
“Do you wanna get out of here?” he asked me, a little bit out of breath.
“Yes, I think we should. But where can we go?” I didn’t want to go back to my place with all my cousins and uncle there, and I was sure Ethan didn’t want to go to his place, either.
“I know the perfect spot.” He gave me a quick peck on my lips before he let me get up from his lap. I put Sam’s gift in my purse and left without even touching my c
offee.
CHAPTER 16
Samantha
We were all watching TV in the game room when Sean came in and collapsed on the couch next to Matthew.
“What are you doing here, Sherlock? The point is to follow Alexia home, not the other way around,” Melanie pointed out as she aggressively attacked the X-box controller.
“I couldn’t take it anymore. Do you know what it feels like to watch someone make out for hours?” Sean replied, ignoring Melanie’s comment. He looked exasperated as he put his feet up on the coffee table. He didn’t even notice the looks we traded among ourselves. What did he mean, “making out?”
“Explain yourself, Sean,” Matthew said in a serious tone. Was he thinking the same thing I was. Had Alexia hooked up with Julian?
Sean rolled his eyes and raised his hands in the air. “Fine! But just so you know, I’m off PI duty for the next month. You know how Alexia always meets up with Julian after her ballet lessons at the café near the studio, right? They usually talk for half an hour before they part ways. Well, today something interesting happened.” He paused to build up the suspense, but after a quick glance at Matthew’s pissed off posture, he quickly continued, “Come on! Someone here must know.”
I shrugged and saw Melanie and Zach doing the same. However, I noticed Mia biting her lower lip, hiding her face behind her tablet. But instead of ratting her out, I let Sean continue his tale.
“Oh, very well. Ethan showed up, that was what happened. He must have called the house, and someone here told him where to find Alexia. Anyway, he looked pretty pissed when he saw Alexia and Julian together, but Julian quickly bailed. Alexia must have convinced Ethan that Julian was just a friend, because things got pretty hot afterward.” Sean wiggled his eyebrows up and down to emphasize his news.
I saw Matthew relax, and I felt myself doing the same. Melanie, however, didn’t think that Alexia and Ethan hooking up was good news. She paused the game she was playing against Zach and looked at all of us wide-eyed. “Guys, why are you acting so nonchalantly about this? Alexia is not supposed to hook up with anyone but the guy from the Prophecy. That deal with Thomas was bad enough.”
We all turned to look at her like she had sprouted a second head. Since when had she become one to follow rules? Had they brainwashed her while she was in Arcadia? She hadn’t seemed to mind Alexia dating Ethan earlier. What had changed?
She got up from the couch and started to pace the room, irritated. “I can’t believe you guys. Don’t you know anything about the Prophecy?”
“We all know about the Prophecy. When Alexia meets her Promised One, she’ll fall head over heels for him and forget Ethan exists. So what’s your concern?” Zach asked.
She stopped pacing and put her hands on her hips. “Are you kidding me?” She looked at me then. “Sam, didn’t you tell me that you’ve never seen Alexia so infatuated with a boy like she is with Ethan now?”
“So?” I didn’t know why Melanie was making such a big fuss about it.
“So? Don’t you guys know about the ritual?”
We looked at each other in confusion. “What ritual?” I said.
Understanding suddenly dawned on her face. “Oh. That's right. Gary hasn’t told us about that, has he? Still, even worse! It’s mind-boggling that they’ve kept such important information from us!”
Matthew raised his hand to stop his sister’s blabbering. “Melanie! Stop, take a deep breath, and rewind. What are you talking about?”
Melanie looked at her brother and decided to return to her seat on the couch next to Mia. “I was waiting for everybody to be together so I could tell you about my explorations at the Royal Library in Arcadia. I always knew they were keeping stuff from us, but after I learned to control my abilities, sneaking into the library was a piece of cake.”
“You're losing us again. You were talking about a ritual, now you're talking about libraries and abilities. Can you just get to the point?” Matthew asked irritated. She gave him the stink eye before she continued.
“I will get to the point if you let me. Anyway, any spare time I had after my training sessions I spent at the library, and did I find a bunch of stuff — including the original copy of the Prophecy text in full. It said that in order for the Prophecy to be fulfilled, the Promised Ones must complete the binding ceremony during a full moon ritual.”
“Binding ceremony? That sounds like witchcraft to me. Kind of medieval, too,” Sean commented.
“It pretty much is. The binding ceremony consists of the Promised consummating their love under the moonlight.” Melanie made quotation marks with her fingers around the word “love.”
Zach choked on the chips he was eating, and I had to pat him on his back.
“Does it say anywhere in the Prophecy that the Promised Ones must be virgins?” Mia asked. She looked at me, worried.
“Not exactly, but it’s implied. And if Alexia is so in love with Ethan, like Sam has led me to believe, how long do you think it will take until, well, they do it?” Melanie replied.
Mia shook her head. “If the Council has never bothered to share this particular detail of the Prophecy with us, it’s because being a virgin is not a requirement. Besides, how can they ensure that the guy remains a virgin if they haven’t located him yet?”
Melanie was about to protest when Matthew spoke instead. “I agree with Mia on this. Let’s focus our energy where it’s needed. I’m not concerned about Alexia and Ethan hooking up. As long as they're careful, it’s fine.”
Matthew’s comment made Sean giggle. “Oh yeah, because an unwanted pregnancy would for sure put a wedge on the whole Prophecy thing. Besides, I know for a fact that the ship sailed on the 'virgin' issue a while ago.”
All eyes in the room turn to look at Sean. “What do you mean?” Melanie’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, cartoon style.
“Oops! I wasn’t supposed to say that.” Sean looked sheepish as he collapsed against the couch.
“How did you know?” I blurted out before I could think things through, and I immediately regretted my words. Now everyone was aware that I was also in on Alexia’s secret.
“You knew!” Melanie pointed her finger at me accusatorily. “I can’t believe it. This is a disaster!”
“Stop worrying about it, Melanie. This isn’t a disaster. If being a virgin was that important to the Prophecy, one of Durgin’s operatives would have prevented Alexia from losing her virginity to Thomas at Junior Prom,” I added, feeling extremely annoyed by the direction of the conversation.
I had said too much again, and could feel Mia’s disapproving look on me. This was the Council’s fault. If they had already found the Prophecy guy, then Melanie wouldn’t be freaking out right now. I was beginning to hate that person already. Why couldn’t Alexia just be with whomever she wanted? Why did she have to be forced into a relationship because some stupid Prophecy said so?
“Let’s skip this part for now. How did you manage to sneak into the Arcadian Royal Library? Isn’t that place guarded, like, 24/7?” Zach asked, trying to divert Melanie’s attention.
I still wanted to know how Sean had found out about Alexia’s secret, but I didn’t want to continue the controversial conversation. I made a mental note to corner Sean later.
Melanie was still visibly rattled about Sean’s big revelation, but she couldn’t resist Zach’s prodding. With a wicked smile, she got up again. She moved toward the TV and stood in front of it, facing us. “Do you want to see a neat trick?” Then she disappeared into thin air.
“What the hell!” exclaimed Sean as everyone gasped. We heard Melanie laughing as she reappeared again.
“You should see your faces right now. I’ve been dying to show you that.”
“So, is your ability invisibility?” Matthew asked.
“Not only invisibility. I can shapeshift into pretty much any living thing I want to.” She suddenly became a black panther, which caused Sean to jump ten feet from the couch, far away from her. She continued
showing off her abilities by changing into a Pomeranian, then a snake, before she finally became Melanie again.
“Wow! That is pretty awesome,” Sean exclaimed after he recovered from his initial shock.
“I know!” replied Melanie excitedly as she went back to her seat. “I can also turn into another person, but that requires too much energy and makes me pretty weak afterward.”
“Wow, that is incredible.” Sean looked at Melanie in awe.
“What else did you find out in the library?” I was bewildered by Melanie’s abilities, but I was also curious about the rest.
“I found out what Gary’s ability is.” Melanie smiled slyly. Gary’s mysterious ability had been a source of much speculation among us. No wonder Melanie looked so smug to have uncovered the secret.
I involuntarily glanced in Matthew’s direction, and found him staring at me. Some emotion flashed in his eyes, but it was gone too fast for me to be able to discern what it was. I felt myself blush and quickly turned back to Melanie.
“Don’t leave us hanging. What is it?” Sean leaned forward and motioned with his hand, signaling for Melanie to continue.
“He has the Multiplicity gift. It’s a very rare ability among Arcadians and might have some pretty nasty side effects.”
“I’ve never heard of such an ability,” Zach said with a frown.
“It’s definitely not something they advertise, because the Council usually uses people with that ability as operatives. They make perfect spies, since they’re able to multiply themselves and be in different places at the same time.”
“Does Larry have the same ability?” Sean asked.