by Brenda Drake
Pain shot up Daisy’s hand, and she kept her eyes on Andrei to give her strength. He clenched his jaw and groaned. She imagined he was feeling the same pain as her.
“Don’t let go!” she yelled.
“I can’t—” Andrei’s grip slipped. Before Daisy lost hold of it, Reese grabbed Andrei’s hand and held it to hers.
Dark smoke came out of the rod and swirled around them. A sulfur smell filled the air.
Daisy coughed. “What is that?”
“I don’t know,” Aster yelled over the howling wind, huddling with Miri. “That didn’t happen to us.”
The table shook violently. Daisy gripped Andrei’s hand tighter, and Reese squeezed, holding Daisy’s and Andrei’s hands together. Daisy jerked back, almost yanking her arm out of the socket. She was losing her hold.
“I can’t do it!” Her voice was lost in the apocalyptic noises swirling around them.
Before Daisy could let go, Aster’s hand covered hers, helping Daisy hold on.
Aster’s other arm wrapped around Daisy’s waist. “I have you!”
The smoke burned Daisy’s eyes. She wanted to let go. She wanted the pain burning up her arm to stop. Everything hurt—her fingers, her arms, her legs, even her scalp. Her gaze went to Andrei. He was pale. Too pale.
No. No. No. Is he dying?
“Andrei!”
His eyes fluttered open. He said something that she couldn’t hear over the wind.
“He asked if you can see the man,” Reese hollered.
“See who?” She wanted to let go and run to Andrei. To hold him.
“I believe he sees Death,” Reese said. “You know, from the tarot card. He came for me before—”
“Before what?”
“The end.”
The wind suddenly stilled. The last flashes of lightning shocked the sky. The black smoke rushed over the edges of the building and faded into the night. Pebbles flying through the air dropped to the roof.
Daisy gave Aster a sidelong glance. “Is it over?”
“The curse hasn’t left him,” Aster said. “We would have seen it travel down the rod.”
Just as Aster said that a bright glow formed between Andrei’s and Daisy’s hands. Andrei let out a howl. The pain had to be too much, and Daisy feared she was losing him.
“We have to stop!” Daisy yelled. “He’s dying.”
Aster squeezed Daisy’s side. “You can’t. He will die if you do let go. You will.”
The crystal against her palm grew hotter. So hot it was like holding a branding iron. An orange light escaped through their fingers shooting fiery beams of light in all directions across the roof. Her crystal exploded inside their hands, and they all let go. A bright flash shot down the rod causing it to ring like a tuning fork. The tarot cards floated around them, bursting into flames, flickering like lightning bugs in the night. Andrei collapsed backward into the lawn chair, and Daisy ran to him.
“Andrei.” Daisy shook his arm. “Oh no, please be all right. Please.”
She dropped to her knees, leaned her forehead against the armrest, and cried. A hand rested on her head, fingertips massaged her scalp. She looked up.
Andrei!
“You’re okay,” she said and sniffled. “We’re okay.”
He gave her a faint smile, his face still pale. “Yeah, that was unreal.”
Something white and translucent in the shape of a person glided over the roof to them. “What is that?” Aster said and clung to Reese.
He wrapped his arms around her. “A ghost?”
Daisy clamped onto Andrei’s arm, fear boiling in her chest. As the apparition thing inched closer, she recognized her. “Crina?”
“Daisy, you did it,” Crina said, her voice sounding as though it came across a tin can phone. “The curse is gone.”
It’s over. Daisy stood on shaky legs. “We did it? It’s gone. Forever?”
“Yes, forever.” Crina looked peaceful. “You’ve saved us all, Daisy.”
Aster pulled from Reese. “You should have burned in hell for the death and pain you caused.”
Daisy hadn’t seen Miri move until she was over Andrei, checking his condition.
Crina’s ghostly eyes went to Aster, and she placed a translucent hand over her heart. “I have repented. Those whom I’ve cursed have forgiven me. Accepted me into the afterlife with open arms. Please forgive me, Aster. My anger and hate consumed me, rotting my soul. Don’t let that happen to you. For those who keep love in their hearts and not hate, will live forever.”
Aster lowered her head.
“I have forgiven you,” Reese said, taking Aster’s hand. “I’m sure Aster will in time.”
“I will hope for that,” Crina said as she slowly vanished.
Miri helped Andrei to his feet. “We should get him downstairs. He needs food and rest.”
Daisy draped one of Andrei’s arms over her shoulder and wrapped her arm behind his back. “Can you walk?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’m feeling much better. Ghosts. Curses. That shit is going to mess with my mind for years.”
“I know,” Daisy said.
He kissed her temple. “I will say, though, you are one unique girl, Daisy Layne. Kind of a badass really.”
“It wasn’t just me.” She glanced over at Reese and Aster. “Without them, we’d have been toast. Literally.”
“Thank you,” Andrei directed at them.
She hobbled down the stairs with her arms around Andrei, her sore muscles screaming in protest. With much effort, they managed to get Andrei to his bed. Miri went to the kitchen to get some clean towels and warm water to clean their cuts and blistering palms.
Andrei pushed up into a seated position against his pillows. “Hey, you. Come here.” He patted the bed beside him.
She crawled in next to him and snuggled up to his side, her arm resting on his chest. His face had little marks on it from where the pebbles pelted his skin, matching the ones on her arms.
He brushed her hair away from her face. “I would like to kiss you, but I can hardly move.”
Daisy adjusted to her stomach to face him. “You don’t have to do anything. Just rest.” His lips were gently parted, breathing in and out, a storm swirling in his eyes. She pushed herself up and gave him a quick, soft kiss on his full lips. “Can you do something for me?”
“Anything.”
“I can’t leave you. There’s two-ish months before you start school. Attend Aster and Reese’s wedding with me,” she said, holding his gaze and turning on her best pleading eyes. “Be my plus one? And you can meet your father. It’ll just be a few days.”
His eyelids hooded his beautiful steel-blue eyes. He was tired, and she could hear it in his voice, too. “I would love to, but the fare’s too expensive.”
“Reese already bought you a ticket.” She kissed him again. “You wouldn’t want the money wasted, right?”
“When you put it that way,” he said, “I’d love to be your plus one. Orchestra doesn’t start until next week.”
Daisy nestled back into her place beside him and closed her eyes. Water ran in the kitchen. The noises of the city drifted through the open window. She wanted to turn out the light on the nightstand, but she was too tired to move. And she didn’t want to leave Andrei. She had a need to make sure his heart didn’t stop. She checked the time on her phone.
Midnight seemed forever away. She couldn’t wait until Andrei’s birthday was over. Until then, she wouldn’t know for sure that he’d escaped the curse.
Chapter Twenty
Andrei
Daisy looked damn hot in her bridesmaid dress. It was a champagne-colored chiffon dress. The beaded top hugged her body just right and showed a respectful amount of cleavage. Which drove him out of his mind.
The wedding was in an old chapel. The kind of place that forces you to whisper and tiptoe to your seat. Andrei tugged at the collar of his dress shirt. He rarely wore suits, and he’d only worn a tuxedo once in his life.
He was sweaty and nervous. His father was going to be at this wedding.
Daan Van Buren.
His father.
Andrei would meet him for the first time today. It was something he’d dreamed about since he was a boy. He may have tried to tell himself many times he was over it, but he wasn’t. Protect your heart. That’s what he learned when his mom died. Never did he think this day would come.
He turned in his seat each time the chapel door opened. Daan had texted Reese that there was a delay, and he would arrive late. To say Andrei was impatient would be an understatement. He wanted to yell at the people to stop coming in. Then he thought about how awkward it would be meeting in a chapel while a wedding was going on.
What should he do? Go up and introduce himself? Wait until the reception.
His gaze met Daisy’s eyes. She smiled at him and mouthed, “You’re okay.”
The pastor, or whatever he was, started the ceremony. Reese wore a wide smile, and Aster kept dabbing at her eyes with a lace hankie. Iris, her black walking boot decorated with rhinestones, stood closest to Aster. Next in line was Iris’ twin, Violet, and then Daisy, who was the farthest from the bride.
The chapel door opened, again. He kept his gaze on Daisy, not wanting to freak the people out behind him. They had already started giving him annoyed looks. His heart sank into his lap when Daisy nodded toward the back.
Andrei slowly turned. A man searched for a seat with a woman and a boy of about twelve. The man resembled Andrei in height and maybe the eyes, he couldn’t tell from the distance between them. He returned his attention to the front. His heart beat so hard he was sure everyone around him could hear it.
The rest of the ceremony, Andrei was hyperaware that his father was somewhere behind him. That soon he would meet the man he’d longed to know.
The ceremony ended, and the bride and groom rushed down the aisle with the bridal party following. Daisy was last, walking with one of Reese’s cousins. She stopped when she reached the pew Andrei was in and grabbed his hand, pulling him down the aisle with her.
Reese’s cousin looked lost. Daisy had gone off script. She wrapped her arm around Andrei’s, and the cousin finally gave up waiting for her.
“You’re such a rebel,” Andrei whispered to her.
Daisy smiled at all the faces watching them as they passed. “I like to live on the wild side.” She laughed.
They waited outside the doors.
“What are we doing?” Andrei asked. “Don’t you have to get in the reception line?”
“I hardly know anyone here,” she said. “They won’t miss me. Besides, I want to be with you when you meet your father. You ready?”
He rested his hand on the small of her back. “No. But let’s do it anyway.”
Daan, his wife, and son moved through the reception line. Daisy and Andrei waited off to the side until the family finished greeting the last member of the wedding party, which was Jan.
Andrei’s father recognized Daisy and came over.
“Good evening,” Daan said to her.
He looks like me. Andrei’s and his father’s eyes were the same shade of blue. The young boy at his father’s side had the same ones. They both resembled Andrei, except the father and son had lighter and straighter hair than Andrei.
Daisy placed her hand on Andrei’s forearm. “This is Andrei.”
Andrei reached his hand out. “Nice to meet you.”
There were tears in Daan’s eyes as he shook Andrei’s hand. “I am at a loss for words.”
The woman with short, stylish blond hair stepped forward, a warm smile on her face. “He has been full of emotions. My name is Edna. His wife.” There was a slight accent in her voice. Dutch, Andrei would say. She put her open palm on the boy’s back. “This is our son, Ivan. He is your half brother.”
Andrei shook Edna’s hand, then Ivan’s. “Good to meet you both.”
The boy lowered his head and stepped behind his mother. “He’s a little shy,” she said, “but he will warm up after a bit. We’ll leave you alone to talk.” She ushered the boy down the grassy hill in front of the chapel.
“I’m going to check in with my mom,” Daisy said. “Come find me when you’re ready?”
“Sure thing,” Andrei said.
“Nice seeing you again, Daan,” Daisy said and hurried off on a cloud of chiffon.
“I’m not certain what they told you,” Daan said, his eyes darting around, not sure where to focus, most likely scared to connect with Andrei. The man must’ve worried how Andrei would react to him.
Andrei took a cue from Daisy. She lived her life helping others and accepting others. He stepped over to Daan and hugged him. There was a brief pause before Daan wrapped his arms around Andrei and held him tight. Daan swallowed hard, obviously trying to hold back his emotions, which made Andrei’s eyes burn.
They released each other, and Andrei backed up a few steps.
“There’s so much to say.” Andrei loosened his bow tie. “We’ve missed so much, but we have plenty of time to make it up.”
“I would like that,” Daan said. “I have many memories to share about your mother. She was really something.”
“Yes, she was an amazing mother,” Andrei said. “You know, she never married. She’d framed the photo of you and her together and always had it displayed in our house.”
“I was a reckless kid when I was with your mother. Ioana was more mature than I was. Her leaving sobered me up. But it was too late. I’d lost her. Missed opportunities are the biggest regrets we carry in this world.” Daan rubbed the back of his neck. “I think you would like my wife and your brother. We’re your family, Andrei. We want to get to know you. I heard you were attending school in New York City.”
“Yes, I am,” Andrei said. “Classes start in a few months.”
Daan glanced at his wife and son talking to an older woman with a wide-brimmed yellow hat. “Maybe, we can come out. Spend some time with you.”
“I would like that.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Daisy
Andrei’s foot tapped to the music. With his undone bow tie draped around his neck and the top two buttons of his shirt unbuttoned, he looked more relaxed than he had earlier. Daan and Andrei hit it off, and Daisy was so happy that they had.
The music was fast, techno, and loud. Daisy’s dad danced with Violet, while her girlfriend, Dena, snapped photographs of everyone on the dance floor with an expensive camera. Iris and Wade were slow dancing, clunking around in her walking boot. By Gram’s exaggerated mouth movements and animated arms, Daisy could tell she was trying to have a conversation with an older couple, but the music was drowning her out.
Daisy’s mom was discussing the large flower arrangement by the three-tiered cake with Mrs. Van Buren. Aster danced with the two flower girls, who were Reese’s relatives. She was so beautiful in her Cinderella-like wedding dress. Leah and Jan sat close together at a table, content to watch everyone else dance.
Andrei snuggled up to Daisy and whispered in her ear, “What are you doing?” His breath tickled her ear and sent chills across her skin.
“People watching,” she said. “Or rather, family watching. How’s it going with your father?”
He glanced over to where he’d just left him, his wife, and son at their table. “Great. I really like them.”
“I’m glad.”
Reese approached them. “How are you two doing?”
“We’re good,” Andrei said.
Daisy smiled. “Yeah. Just taking it easy.”
Reese nodded, glancing at his new wife on the dance floor. “That’s good. I wanted to welcome you to the family, Andrei. It’s great to have another cousin. You’ve just inherited a large family.”
“Thanks, man.” Andrei grinned. “I’m happy to be a part of it.”
“I’m off to rescue my wife before she gets too tired.” Reese winked and crossed the dance floor to Aster.
Miri rushed over to the table, a d
rink in one hand and a deck of cards in the other.
Daisy straightened. “Why do you have those? Are you giving readings?”
“I ordered these for you from a small shop here,” Miri said, sitting down in the chair beside her.
Daisy eyed the cards and scooted to the edge of her chair away from Miri. “I don’t want those.”
“You have a gift, Daisy. You can’t change fates, but you can tell fortunes.” She placed the deck in Daisy’s hands. “I gave one to Aster. It’s your family’s heritage. One day, you may be ready to share it with others.”
Daisy stared at the box. It was yellow with colorful daisies on it. She ran her hand over them, the magic just under her skin sparking a little. The curse was gone. She didn’t have to be scared anymore. She was in control.
She looked over at Miri. “Thank you.”
“Now, go do what young people do. Youth is fleeting.” Miri patted her hand and darted off.
Andrei brought his mouth to Daisy’s ear. “Want to go for a walk?”
“Hmm…let’s see.” She tapped her finger against her lips and pretended to think. “Stay in a loud, hot room or go explore an enchanting castle with the hottest guy at the party?” She shot to her feet and reached her hand out to him. “Come on.”
He took her hand and she led him away from the table. Tons of flower arrangements and chiffon bows, all in varying shades of champagne, decorated the halls and staircases of the castle.
They strolled through the labyrinth of corridors and up a wide staircase. Just off the landing, a set of french doors opened up to a terrace. Daisy rested her hands on the banister and gazed out at the garden below. Twinkly lights covered the trees. Varying colors of flowers hid under the blanket of night.
“It’s so beautiful here. It’s like a fairy tale.” A cool breeze kissed her skin.
Andrei came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her neck and sparks shot throughout her body. “What are we? I have no idea what to call you.”
“Daisy works.”
He kissed behind her earlobe, and she shuddered. “You know what I mean.”