Perfidious

by P. T. McKenzie

  I stuck out my tongue. He looked at me wide-eyed.

  “You shouldn’t avoid someone who can kick your ass.”

  Some of the tension melted from his body. His muscular arms lifted him up, and he showed me his normal, charming grin.

  “I’ll get you back one of these days,” Greyson joked as we caught up to the others.

  “Hey, Greyson.” Noah tried to hold in his snicker. “Have a nice trip?”

  Everyone burst into laughter.

  I watched Kalvin and Noah tease Greyson, trying to ignore the thoughts running through my head. But it was hard. The memory of Greyson half asleep, trying to make sure I was warm, played over and over again in my head.

  I wanted it to stop.

  I didn’t want to get my hopes up that Greyson might have feelings for me. Greyson couldn’t like me. We were just friends, like Kalvin and me. He was probably just embarrassed because I was a girl.

  Did he have much experience with girls?

  A lot of girls swooned over him at school, but did he really date any of them? I couldn’t remember him ever having a girlfriend. A smile rose to my lips. Then, I shook it off.

  No.

  I wasn’t allowed to think like that. There were other more important things to worry about, like all the stuff with the king’s heir. I didn’t need to worry about boys. I needed to stay focused.

  We reached the camp about an hour later, passing a large fence on our way through the gate. Inside the fence, there were three different buildings: two with bunks, the other smaller and meant for storage. We checked the buildings before settling down. Noah and Greyson checked on the storage building while Kalvin and I checked out the bunk houses.

  The first one seemed to be good, but I kept getting a strange feeling. “Kalvin, do you feel that?”

  Kalvin’s orange eyes scanned the room.

  He nodded as we walked towards the second building. We opened the door, finding the room much darker than it should have been. I couldn’t see anything inside. The only light came from the door, but the shadows seemed too dark and too thick to be natural.

  Kalvin and I barely had time to move before a dagger shot out of the darkness. I watched in slow motion as the dagger grazed Kalvin’s cheek, slicing through his dragon skin. We both jumped back and waited for whoever—or whatever—was hiding to make the next move.

  A female voice came from inside. “That was a warning shot. Who are you and why are you here?”

  I scanned the surroundings, not sure if others were around. “It doesn’t matter who we are. This is his father’s camp. Who are you and why are you here?”

  The darkness in the building started to dim as a girl took form, stepping into the light. Her skin was light brown, and her hair was dark black.

  “Name’s Keira. I found this place abandoned.” Keira licked her lips as her eyes darted nervously between the two of us. “I’ve been staying here for a couple weeks while things cool down in my village. I didn’t mean to trespass.” She held her hands up as she slowly walked down the steps of the cabin, weapons strapped to her sides. “I mean you no harm. I know I’m outnumbered, and I will see myself out.”

  “You said your name is Keira?” Greyson asked, coming up behind me and putting away his weapon.

  She nodded.

  “We have come here for the same reason. There are some things back home that we wanted to get away from. Since we are in the same boat, I don’t mind sharing the camp. It is plenty big enough.” Greyson straightened out of his defensive stance and started to approach her. He looked her straight in the eyes and took slow long strides.

  I grabbed his arm as he passed by me.

  “What are you doing? That’s not your decision,” I whispered harshly.

  “Nothing good is gonna come from kicking her out,” Greyson whispered back.

  “And what do we do if we have her stay?” Kalvin asked.

  “I don’t know! But she’s in the same situation as we are. Why can’t we let her stay?” Greyson countered, pointing over to her.

  Keira tapped her foot, her hands still in the air. She was definitely showing she meant no harm and wasn’t making a move to stay. Maybe we could coexist with her.

  I let go of Greyson. He turned towards Keira. Her posture straightened as she waited for us to speak.

  “Do ya have anywhere else to go?” Kalvin asked.

  Keira huffed. “Pff, of course I don’t. I wouldn’t be in the middle of nowhere if I did.”

  “Would ya like to stay?” Kalvin asked.

  She opened her mouth to speak but closed it as her eyes softened. She nodded.

  Kalvin glanced at me. “Fine. We’ll have to figure out sleeping arrangements.”

  Keira’s eyes scanned all of us as she lowered her hands. She was obviously very distrusting of the situation.

  As was I.

  Greyson held out his hand. “My name’s Greyson. That’s Elisia, Noah, and Kalvin.”

  Keira’s shoulders relaxed as she hesitantly shook Greyson’s hand.

  Noah joined Greyson and Keira. “What are you? You look so human. You’re a half-breed, right?”

  “I’m a shadow, and I know you’re human. No one—pureblood or half-breed—would be so bold to ask a question like that.”

  Keira quickly turned around and went back into the cabin.

  There was something about her I didn’t trust. It wasn’t like we knew anything about her.

  I wanted to tell Greyson that he was wrong, that it was a bad idea, but my gut said to stay quiet and see what she was up to. Who knows, maybe she’d make a good ally? But I couldn’t just give her the benefit of the doubt with so much on the line.

  What would she do if she found out who Greyson really was?

  26

  We went to work settling at the camp. I checked the firewood and went to get more. I returned to find Noah preparing dinner while taking inventory of what we had brought along with what was left in the storage room.

  I looked around the camp and saw Kalvin. He glanced at me briefly before looking back to Keira.

  “Hey,” I said sitting down next to him. “Something up?”

  “Just strange to see a shadow all by herself. Usually they’re a pack species.” Kalvin turned to me and shook his head. He was still frowning and ran his hand down his face. “Sorry. No, nothing’s up. Did you need something?”

  “Do you know where Greyson is? I don’t see him.”

  “Well, he was here earlier. He might have gone to check out the surroundings. I think I saw him heading out the gate.” He glanced back at Keira.

  I thanked him and followed the direction Kalvin said that Greyson had gone. Buzzing insects and chirping birds were the only noises around me. The air was still. Voices echoed from the camp, gradually fading as I ventured further away.

  A twig snapped.

  The handle of my blade was in my palm. Turning around, I started to pull it out.

  “Woah!” Greyson raised his hands in a mocking gesture, eyeing my blade coming out of its sheath. “Friend, not foe.”

  “You shouldn’t sneak up on me like that.” My voice was more upset than I meant for it to sound.

  “And you shouldn’t be so strict all the time.” He frowned, dropping his hands. “You really need to loosen up.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, looking away from the pain in his eyes.

  “Something’s stressing you out. Noah said it looked like you were having a nightmare last night.” He reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me close. “Come with me.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  I narrowed my eyes at Greyson but nodded.

  “Then hold on.”

  Greyson shifted, his hands gripping my waist, and then his red wings caught air. My feet flew off the ground.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck as we twisted and turned through the trees, the air thick with the promise of rain. We erupted through the canopy and finally slowe
d down. My feet found a large branch that was trying to stretch away from the tree and into the sky.

  Once firmly on the branch, Greyson released me and moved to sit down next to me. His wings contracted, and he looked off into the distance. His shoulders were tight, and his back was hunched as he gripped the branch underneath us.

  I stayed quiet. It confused me why he would have brought me up there. He wasn’t saying anything, and the silence started to feel awkward.

  His voice was gentle and low. “What are you so stressed about?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “Look, I get it, your father was wrong to treat you the way he did. But before all of this, at school, you seemed so lost in your thoughts, but you also didn’t seem stressed or sad. Now, you seem so closed off and tense. You don’t seem like yourself, Elisia.” Greyson glanced at me for a second. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you at school and I really don’t know you now. It just seems like something’s wrong, and I don’t want you to keep it all bottled up inside. That’s all.” He tightened his grip on his legs and turned his head farther away from me.

  I didn’t mean to change the subject, but I suddenly needed to know. “Why are you doing this? Why are you dropping your normal life to help a world you didn’t even know existed two weeks ago?”

  His head snapped back to me, his green eyes wide, and his mouth open. “Why am I…” His face softened while he processed my question. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I think, in the beginning, I was just swept up in the discovery of what I was and where I came from. You have no idea how it feels to not know your heritage. I knew I belonged in Perfidious, and when you decided to leave Coalfell, I just had this feeling that if I didn’t follow you, I’d lose it all.”

  “But you don’t have to put a target on your back to be in Perfidious. Being the king’s heir puts your life in danger.” My voice felt fragile but thankfully sounded strong.

  “Someone once told me that being in this world would be risky for any half-breed. By doing this, by fighting the Council, I’d be helping make it a better world, one I could feel proud of being a part of. Plus, who knows if it will even come down to a fight. I can be quite charming.” There was a gleam in his eyes as he slowly leaned toward me.

  I laughed. “Oh yeah. So charming you had the whole cheerleading squad chasing after you.”

  He sighed dramatically. “Yup. But the one person I had an interest in never really showed much interest in me. I mean, Noah had to threaten me for me to even talk to her.”

  He glanced over at me.

  I looked away from him. “Really? What happened there?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You’ve got all these questions, but you never answered mine.”

  “And what question was that?”

  I turned to face him. His face was inches from mine. My breath caught, and my chest felt tight. I smelled his scent, somewhere in the middle of fried rice and toasted marshmallows, but in a good way.

  “What’s wrong?” His eyes were unmoving as he rested his hand on my shoulder.

  I had to look away to speak.

  I sighed. “I think it's a mix of dealing with Erlan and these dreams…it's all messing with my head.”

  Greyson’s hand softly touched my chin and turned my head towards him. “It’s all going to be okay. Things might seem difficult right now, but that’s why we left. We’re letting things cool down before returning.”

  “I guess,” I whispered.

  Greyson’s eyes flickered to my lips, and he moved his hand to my cheek. If he moved any closer, his lips would collide with mine.

  My heartbeat spiked as I quickly turned my entire body around. Heat rose to my cheeks and replaced the warmth from his hand. I looked back at him. I was sure my face looked more shocked than I felt.

  “Um. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…Did you not want to…” He wouldn’t look me in the eyes. “Should we…”

  “We should head back.” I spoke quickly. “They’re probably wondering where we are.”

  My voice didn’t sound strong anymore, and my mind wasn’t processing everything that just happened.

  Thankfully, Greyson nodded and expanded his wings. He lifted us into the air, and it only took a matter of seconds for us to land in the middle of the camp. He gently set us down as everyone looked. I couldn’t take how awkward everything felt, so I walked straight to the cabin I’d be sleeping in.

  “Elisia!” Greyson pleaded from behind me.

  I turned around and half-heartedly tried to look like everything was fine, but I didn’t care if it really looked that way.

  “We’ll talk later, okay?” I turned and entered the cabin.

  Alone at last, I started pacing. Greyson tried to kiss me. What the hell?

  Greyson tried to kiss me.

  He really had feelings for me. Did I have feelings for him?

  I mean I liked him, but I didn’t know if I liked him like that. I probably should have guessed from how overly sweet he’d been to me the last couple of weeks. He even invited me to the pool party. I should have questioned it then, but I was so used to having a flirty guy as my best friend that I didn’t think anything of his actions.

  My hand absentmindedly raised to my lips, and my fingers traced their curves. They felt foreign.

  Could I have feelings for him?

  He was hot and caring, but what did I really know about him…

  Wait. Scratch that.

  I know more about him than anyone at school now. My hand fisted in my hair as I sat down on the bed and pulled my knees up to rest my forehead on. I was never good at that kind of stuff. I’d never had guys going after me. It was hard for me to believe that anyone could see me as more than a friend.

  I almost didn’t realize that someone had come into the cabin. The person didn’t say a single word as he plopped down next to me. His rough hand rubbed circles on my shoulder blade.

  I knew exactly who it was.

  “Why’d you come in here?” I asked Kalvin, my voice muffled by my arms.

  His hand gripped my shoulder and pulled me closer until I was leaning against him. He continued to rub my shoulder comfortingly. “Ya didn’t seem okay. Did somethin’ happen?”

  “Yeah,” I said, not that I wanted to admit it. “I’m just confused and needed some time alone.”

  “Did I not give ya enough time?” He pulled away slightly and looked down at me. “I tried to make sure ya had some time, but I thought if something happened, and I left ya alone with your thoughts for too long, ya’d go crazy.”

  I chuckled and pushed myself up, sitting with my feet over the edge. I took a deep breath before my voice lost all of its humor.

  “Greyson tried to kiss me.”

  There was silence for a long time, and it made me nervous. I looked at Kalvin. He had the same expression that he had that morning, but I still couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His body tightened.

  “Do I need to kill him?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No. I…I saw him lean in to kiss me, and I freaked out. I never thought he’d like me. Why me? There are a ton of girls that like him at school. He’s popular and could have any girl he wanted.”

  “And how do ya feel about him?”

  I rested my head back against his chest. Being so close to him brought me comfort.

  “I don’t know. I feel like I have too much going on to worry about someone having feelings for me. I feel stupid, and I feel like I should have seen it coming, but I didn’t.”

  Kalvin’s chest vibrated.

  I leaned back. “Why are you laughing?”

  He coughed to hide his laughter. “Elisia, ya haven’t noticed at all? It’s not like Greyson tried to keep it a secret. He made it very obvious.” He said the last part through his teeth.

  I lifted my hands in defeat. “It’s not like I have all these guys flirting with me or confessing their feelings for me. The only person I’ve ever known to flirt with me is you. But I’m pretty sure flirting with girls is, like, your hobby.”


  Kalvin’s shoulders fell slightly. “What makes you think that? Maybe all I see is you.” There was no humor in his voice.

  I giggled at his comment. There was no way he was serious. How many girls had he said that line to? But somehow his flirty attitude relaxed me.

  “Oh please.” I nudged him. “I’ve seen you in the market. All the girls flock around you.”

  He hesitantly opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and looked away from me. “Here is my sage advice. If things are too complicated for ya right now to worry about him in that way, just tell him ya can’t deal with his feelings and he needs to leave ya alone.” Kalvin looked back at me and shook his head. “I mean, to let ya deal with it in your own time. Otherwise, tell him you’re not interested.”

  “Okay, but do me a favor? Keep him distracted so I don’t have to deal with it tonight. I just need time to myself right now.”

  Kalvin nodded, the corners of his lips curling up. “Yup. I don’t mind keepin’ him away from ya.”

  27

  Kalvin fulfilled his promise and kept Greyson busy for the rest of the night. I didn’t mean to avoid him, but it made it easier to think about how I felt. Whenever Kalvin saw me thinking too hard, he’d wink at me. It made me roll my eyes and smile every time.

  After dinner, everyone dispersed. I didn’t pay attention to where they went. I just stared into the fire. watching it shift and crackle. It was comforting. I almost didn’t want to put it out, but we didn’t want to risk starting a forest fire by leaving it burning.

  I grabbed the pail of water next to me. The light from the fire darkened unnaturally before I could splash it with water. I set the bucket back down. Keira appeared at the other side of the fire. I had never met a shadow before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from her.

  Her dark features—black hair, dark chocolate brown eyes, and mocha skin—made her seem like she was indeed covered by shadows. Long silhouettes around me were moving like waves in water. She controlled them, manipulated them.

  “So, I’ve gathered this much since you’ve arrived.” Keira started to walk around the fire. “The two half-breeds are annoying…You’re a mess that doesn’t know what she wants…The human isn’t as stupid as I thought, which was surprising…Then, there is the fact that Greyson is part fairy. He healed a cut the human got earlier, but I also know Greyson can shapeshift. Oh, and let’s not forget the human part of him—the Anchor proves that. That means you all ran away, from wherever you came from, because he’s the freakin’ king’s heir.” Keira arched her eyebrow. “How’d I do?”