by R. M. Walker
Tears slid down her face, and he reached out and caught one on his fingertip. He blinked and then held it out to her; a small blue crystal lay where her tear had been. Her heart missed a beat; that was no parlour trick.
“Lily, we want to help you understand what we are, what you are,” Matt said quietly. She blew out her breath, taking the tiny crystal in her fingers. It was as tangible as she was. There was no denying this.
“Let us help you,” Josh whispered.
“We won’t hurt you, ever,” Jake finished, equally quiet.
Some things seem impossible because we don’t understand it, but it doesn’t stop it from being true or real.
Drew’s words echoed in her head, and she nodded. She couldn’t deny it any longer. She wanted to understand exactly what they were.
“Okay,” she whispered. Their collective sigh of relief was almost covered by the shuffling noise as they surrounded her, pulling her into them, holding her tightly between them.
“You’re one of us, Lily May. We’ll always be here for you.”
The words echoed through her head. She didn’t know fully what they were, or what they could do. They were mistaken about her, though. She did know that much; there was nothing special about her. She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, or what would happen next. But their words wrapped around her, settling her deep inside; a sense of peace and belonging filled her. She was where she belonged; with them. She was finally home. No matter what they were.
Drew
Drew snarled as he shut the door. They were a complication he hadn’t anticipated. He hadn’t expected four hormonal teenage boys to be sniffing around her like bloodhounds. She was his, and he wasn’t about to let nearly eighteen years of patiently waiting go to waste because of a bunch of schoolboys.
He’d seen them drive towards the car just as Lily got in. He’d driven off quickly, not wanting to give them the chance to talk her out of his car. He’d been tempted to drive away with her then. Tell her everything and take her away with him. But they’d tailed him, and in this day and age kidnapping was not as easy as it had once been. With mobile phones, satellite tracking, and the internet, the world was too small a place to use methods that once would have worked. No, he’d have to win her trust, and with them hovering around her like bees around a honey pot, it wasn’t going to be easy.
He’d been watching her for years, waiting, making himself known enough times to frighten Lynda into moving on. He’d stopped Lily from putting down roots, from forming friendships that could interfere with his plans for her. He’d known about the visits to the doctors who had labelled it cryptogenic epilepsy because they couldn’t find a reason for the apparent seizures. He’d watched as Lynda tried different medications in a vain attempt to block Lily’s ability. Nothing the medical profession gave her worked, and in desperation she’d turned to the exact source she was trying to hide Lily from. Magic.
The pills Lynda gave her were effective to a point, but they were like plugging a hole in a bucket with cotton wool and then trying to fill it with water. They could only contain so much. And just as the water would eventually drip through, Lily’s abilities had spilled out, all hidden under the lie of epilepsy. Lynda had denied her the right to her heritage. It made him furious to think about it, but at the same time it played into his hand. Lily would be much easier to control when she found out her whole life was built upon a lie. That the one person she thought she could trust had lied about everything to her. Every foundation that woman built for Lily was about to be demolished, and he would make damn sure he was there to pick up the pieces that would be left.
It was ironic, really, how Lynda’s lies had aided his plans. Being epileptic was another reason why Lily was different from everyone around her, another reason why she found it difficult to fit in anywhere. And she never did fit in anywhere, never had close friends. Except for now. Now it seemed as if she’d caught the attentions of those boys. He would have to find another way to get close to her now that it wasn’t just her and Lynda as he had expected.
He’d seen her in town twice, the first time he’d watched her go into the optician’s. He’d deliberately placed himself so she would have to talk to him. Having her run headlong into him had been a stroke of luck he’d immediately seized upon. But the two boys she’d been with reacted instantly; he’d seen the animosity rolling off them as they’d taken a position behind her, warning him away from her. It was a clearly possessive manoeuvre, and one that told him that, on their part at least, she was theirs. He’d completely ignored them, not even acknowledging their presence. He wasn’t going to get into it with two snotty nosed kids in front of her. The more harmless she thought he was, the better it would be for the both of them.
It was pure chance that he saw her running down the road, clearly upset. He’d been on business in the town and was returning to his cottage when he’d spotted her. It was hell sent and he took the opportunity, using it to his advantage.
Lily was oblivious that the boys had followed them all the way to Trenance, but he’d seen the anger on their faces when she’d got into his car. He’d debated letting them see him reach out and touch her shoulder when they stopped behind the tractor, but he wouldn’t put it past them to ram their car into his, and he did like this car.
Although he wasn’t completely certain that they were just schoolkids. Her question had thrown him for a second. It was a question that was a hundred miles from what he expected her to say. He guessed it was somehow linked to arguing with the boys, which led him to suspect that they’d said something to her, or she’d seen something around them that she’d found hard to believe. And judging by her headlong flight down the road, with tears pouring down her face, he figured it frightened her as well. It meant he would have to do some digging around to find out more about them. But until he knew what he was dealing with, his best defence was ignoring them.
He wasn’t here for them, he was here for Lily. It was Lily he had to win over. Except he wasn’t certain that he was winning her over. At one point she relaxed completely with him, but when those idiot boys honked the Land Rover horn, he’d seen fear in her eyes; and he’d realised that he was the one that had frightened her. He’d moved too quickly, asking her to go in with him. And he could kick himself for telling her he lived in Wick. But either she didn’t know exactly where in Glastonbury she was born, or she didn’t know Wick was in Glastonbury. Whatever the reason, she hadn’t made the connection, and he’d sighed in relief. He would have to build her trust slowly and carefully, without revealing anything about who he was. He wasn’t going to let anything, or anyone, ruin this for him. He’d waited too long and sacrificed too much for her.
He’d messed up with her mother, he wouldn’t mess up with her.
To be continued...
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading this is book.
If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review on Goodreads and on the site where you purchased it.
Thank you for supporting independent authors.
Lily’s story will continue in the next book: Denial.
I would like to thank Jennifer Leigh Jones and Rebecca Stewart for their hard work, unfailing support, and immense patience for putting up with me. I would still be floundering in a sea of confusion without them.
There are a lot of people I also want to thank, and a lot of you know who you are. I couldn’t have done this without all of you and countless others.
Much love.
About the Author
RM Walker lives in the wilds of South West England, with her husband, two children and a cat who thinks it’s a panther. They think he might be right.
RM Walker has spent her entire life dreaming up tales of fairies, witchcraft, magic, and romance when she should have been concentrating on other things. Having a head full of fantasy, she decided to turn her dreams into stories for others to read and she hopes that you will enjoy them as much as she loves
spinning them.
You can find RM Walker online and she promises not to bite. She can’t say the same for her cat though.
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