by Amy Sparling
“Need some help?” I ask, feeling guilty that I didn’t bring anything.
“Just your company,” he says, tossing me a smile.
The park covers five hundred acres, according to a sign on the side of the first trail. There’s trees dotted around with shade to break up the hot summer heat, and the trails are mostly gravel and dirt. The terrain slopes gently up and down, but it won’t be like mountain climbing or anything, so that’s good.
We take off on the Parrot Trail, which is marked by handmade wooden signs. “I don’t think Alexo is in charge of the clan,” Theo says as soon as we start on the trail.
I look over at him. “Why do you think that?” I ask. “He seems pretty in charge to me.”
“I think someone else is pulling his strings,” Theo says, glancing at me before stepping up on a huge rock that blocks our path. I step up too, and follow along beside him, trying not to sound out of breath because this hike is already kicking my ass.
“So, who is really in charge?” I ask.
Theo shrugs. “I don’t think we’ve met him. It’s not someone at the house.”
“Does Rosewater have other houses?”
“Oh yeah,” Theo says with a chuckle. “Most of them are like this one, a rental. And that alone tells me something is weird here. The other two clans are ancient and rich, and we have our own properties. We wouldn’t rent something, we’d own it. That way we know every inch of the place and no landlord can suddenly decide to take it back. That way it’s ours.”
“Theo?” I ask.
“Yeah?” he says, slowing his pace as we reach a rocky part of the trail.
“You keep saying ‘we’, as if you’re not a part of this clan.”
“I’m not, Cara.” He exhales and faces forward. “I’m from Embrook.”
“Well, I know, but…you switched over to Rosewater.”
“Under false pretenses.”
I stop walking. Luckily my abrupt halt happens to be under a large shade tree, so I don’t have to squint at Theo. “Babe, you’re scaring me. I don’t understand any of this shit, but I do know that I am a member of Rosewater and you should be too if we want to be together.”
Theo puts a hand on my cheek, and then thankfully lowers it a few seconds later. It’s so hot outside I’m not all about physical contact right now.
“I’m in Rosewater for a mission, love. As soon as it’s over, I plan to take you back to Embrook with me.”
I lift an eyebrow. “But you said Rosewater was the nicest clan to the humans.”
He tilts his head and bites on his bottom lip. “They definitely are. But you’d be under my protection, so you’ll be fine.”
I look down at my toes. The formerly white soles of my shoes are now singed with dirt. “You keep talking about a mission, but in my mind the only mission that matters is you helping me and Riley get rid of these bracelets.”
“Love, that is first and foremost my most important mission.” He smiles softly. “But before I met you, I temporarily left Embrook and joined Rosewater so that I could fulfill another mission. I need to find out who is really in charge of this clan and get to the bottom of their motives.” He sets the picnic basket down and leans his back against the tree. “When that’s over, we will either have disbanded Rosewater permanently, or we’ll be at war with them.” He shrugs. “Regardless, I will go back to Embrook. It’s where I was sired, and it’s where I’ll die. The Embrook clan is my home.”
Something cracks apart inside of me. This other clan I don’t know anything about might be Theo’s home, but Theo is my home. “So I guess meeting me was epically bad timing in your life,” I say with a snort of laughter that chills me to the core. I don’t want to be a part of another clan. I didn’t want to be a part of a clan at all.
“You could say that,” Theo says, his lips stretching into a smile. “The only reason I’m alive today is because I took on the mission to discover the secrets behind the Rosewater clan. I never meant to fall in love, and I certainly didn’t think it’d be with a human.”
I frown and look away, but Theo steps in front of me, his hands resting on my hips. “Cara, you are the best part of my life. I have learned that falling in love when you don’t expect it is the greatest thing that could ever happen to anyone.”
“Really? Because it seems like I’m fucking up your weird secret mission.”
“Impossible,” he says, pulling me closer to him. “This mission was fucked up from the start.”
I roll my eyes and I can’t help but smile. It’s so hard being serious around Theo, especially when he stands so close to me, his hands roaming up and down my back. All I want to do is lean in close to his chest, close my eyes and let the whole world fall away.
Instead, I force myself to start walking down the trail again. “So, in addition to fixing me and Riley, you’re trying to find the real boss of the Rosewater clan.”
“That’s correct,” Theo says, falling into step beside me.
“So why do you think it’d lead to war?”
“Rosewater is a baby clan,” he explains. “Immortality is centuries old, and the original clans are tightly woven allies. Rosewater appeared out of nowhere almost two hundred years ago, and that’s the thing—no one knows how they came to be. None of the elder immortals in the other clans have ever heard of Alexo, or anyone else in the clan for that matter. He appears to be a few centuries old, but we don’t know him.”
He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I don’t know all the details. The elders in my clan have been studying Alexo for decades, always trying to infiltrate his clan and figure out what the hell they’re up to. If anyone’s at risk of exposing immortality to the world, it would be the Rosewater clan. We needed someone to find out who’s really in charge. I volunteered, and maybe it’s because I’m the youngest member, they agreed. We had a very public—” He looks at me, “And fake, of course—excommunication of my membership with Embrook. We spread the rumors that I’m hard working and I just didn’t believe in their ways of doing things, and that I wanted a clan I could believe in. I was supposed to charm my way into Rosewater.”
Theo steps on top of a fallen tree trunk and then drops to the other side. “Ironically, Alexo sought me out. I joined a few months ago, and got to work. Then I met you.” He bumps into me with his shoulder while we walk. “I wish I could say you distracted me from my mission, but really, I was getting nowhere with it. I believe my elders and if they think someone else is secretly running the clan, then they’re right.”
He sighs. I step on a flat piece of rock and it wobbles, throwing me off my balance and sending me flailing. Theo steadies me with his quick reflexes and then smacks a quick kiss on the top of my head. “I have no idea how to find the real head of the Rosewater clan. That’s why I’m focusing on fixing you and Riley first.” He flashes me a smile, but I can tell he’s upset about his first mission.
“Okay…so if someone else really is in charge…” I say, pondering the new information he’s just revealed. “Why is that a bad thing? Rosewater seems nice. I mean, all of you immortals have to take a human life to prolong yours, and you’ve said the other clans aren’t so nice to their lifebloods like Rosewater is. We live in luxury. I mean—they lied to us which is literally ruining my life, but at least they aren’t mean. So why are they considered bad by the other clans if they’re the nice ones?”
“That’s exactly why,” Theo says. “They’re kind and humane, and so far, all of the clan’s business transactions have been fairly by the book. Rosewater doesn’t cheat, or steal.” He meets my eyes. “And that’s why they can’t be trusted. No immortals act like that. They are ruthless. Not kind.”
I follow Theo as he branches off the trail and into a grassy meadow between tall pine trees. “So…because they’re good people, they’re bad people?”
“No one uses their immortality like that, Cara.” Theo sets the picnic basket on the grass and turns to me. “My mission is to find out who’s in
control and what we should do to stop it. The elder clans are not a fan of this new clan who appeared out of nowhere and started conducting international business that makes them billionaires. That’s just not how things work. No one uses their immortality that way. They’re hiding something.”
“Okay,” I say resolutely. “I am loyal to you, not the clan, so I’ll help you any way I can.”
“That’s sweet of you, love, but this is dangerous. I’d prefer knowing you’re safe at the mansion until I finish my mission and take you home with me.”
I roll my eyes. On top of the picnic basket is a folded blanket, so I take it out and spread it down for us. “Let’s have lunch first, and then we can talk more about secret immortal missions and the risks they pose by letting me help you.”
Theo chuckles. “We can talk all you want, but I’m keeping you safe and there’s no way around that, love.”
Chapter 15
Theo and I spend the rest of the day together. After our picnic lunch, we head back to the car and drive an hour away, only stopping when we find an outdoor outlet mall. The whole place is set up to be enjoyed outside. It’s built on a manmade Riverwalk, and there’s water taxis (which are just boats) that take you down from store to store. Theo and I spend the day as tourists, hands interlocked while we browse the shops, eat snow cones, and pretend to be normal people doing normal things. I need these bits of normalcy to cling to each day, because every new bit of information I learn from Theo makes me long for my old life, where things were black and white and magic stones didn’t exist.
It's six in the evening by the time I realize I haven’t heard from Riley all day. I send her a text, but she doesn’t reply. Theo tells me I worry too much because Riley is pretty strong and can handle herself, but I ask if we can go home anyway.
“Of course,” Theo says, squeezing my hand. We’ve reached the end of the strip of stores at this enchanting outdoor mall, and it only makes sense that we head home now.
Ever since we left the park, we haven’t talked about the clans or the mission or the fact that this bracelet is still on my wrist, sucking the life from me. As much as I care for Theo, it feels like my relationship with him consists of talking about terrible things I never knew, and then pretending things are fine.
Something has to change soon, because I can’t keep living like this.
As soon as we drive up to the gates at the beginning of the property, it’s obvious something is going on. It’s dusk, and the sun is orange-red in the horizon, but the house is lit up. Every spotlight in the yard is turned on, loud music thumps through the night, and the driveway is filled with limos and town cars.
“What the hell is this?” I ask as Theo navigates around the limousines toward the garage.
“Just another party, I’d say.”
“Does this happen a lot?” I gaze out the window while a chauffeur opens the door for a leggy woman in a golden mini-dress.
“More often than I prefer,” Theo says with a sarcastic snort. “Alexo loves parties.”
The music is louder this close to the house. I send Riley another text, this time asking where she is. If it were me left alone today, I’d probably be hiding out in my room while this party rages on, but knowing Riley, she’s probably in the thick of it, having the time of her life.
“Can we just sneak up to my room?” I ask while we’re still safely hidden in the garage from the crowd outside. Theo frowns and clicks the lock button on the Camaro’s key fob.
“I’m afraid not, love. We should at least make an appearance first.”
I heave a sigh, even though I knew he’d probably say that. “I’m totally not dressed for a party,” I say, gazing down at my shorts and sneakers.
“No one cares,” Theo says, coming over to my side of the car. He slides his hand in my back pocket, but it’s too small so it feels like only two of his fingers actually go inside it. “You want to go upstairs and change really quick?”
I shake my head. “What’s the point? I’m not here to impress anyone but you, and you’re already impressed.” I poke him in the chest. His phone rings, and he exhales. Peering at the phone from his pocket, he frowns. “Go on to the party and I’ll catch up with you.”
I want to whine and ask if I can stay, but I also want to keep my boyfriend and not lose him because I’m acting like a child. I know that look on his face—someone from his old clan is calling him. He always seems frustrated when they call him, so I’m not going to add to it. I smile sweetly. “See you out there!”
Most of the party is on the back porch and swimming pool area, but people spill into the gardens as well. There’s a stage set up to the left of the pool, where a real life DJ spins records or does whatever it is DJ’s do. He’s kind of cute, all tattooed and grunge-rock.
Beautiful women in gorgeous dresses are everywhere, so much so that it’s kind of easy to ignore them. I don’t recognize anyone immediately, except for Alexo who is talking to three very uptight looking men in suits across the yard. I make my way toward the pool, and my intuition is right.
Riley is here, sitting on the edge wearing her purple striped bikini with her feet dangling in the water. She’s smiling at someone—Kyle—who emerges from the deep end of the pool, a tiny silver trinket in his fingers. “Found it!” he calls out, swimming over to her.
“You’re my hero!” Riley says in this high-pitched playful voice. Kyle hands her the trinket, which I see now is an earring, and she loops it back into her ear.
I walk up to her. “You’re not supposed to wear jewelry in a pool, you know.”
She startles when she hears my voice, and then she turns to me, eyes sparkling and smile wide. “Cara!” she sings, throwing her wet hands around my legs in a poolside hug. “You’re here!”
“I’m here.” It doesn’t take a genius to realize that Riley is just a little bit drunk. “So, what’s going on?” I ask, bending down and sitting on the edge of the pool. I get to work taking off my shoes so I can let my feet hang in the water next to Riley.
“We’re having a party,” she says.
“I can see that,” I say sarcastically. “But why?”
She shrugs. “Who knows?”
“Random party,” Kyle says while he treads water in front of us. “I didn’t know about it, either, so don’t feel bad.”
“Who are all these people?” I ask him as I shove my socks into my shoes.
He gazes around and then wipes some water off his face. “Hell if I know. That chick over there in the white dress is a famous country singer.”
Riley and I look in her direction, and find the girl in question standing with three handsome guys who are all vying for her attention. She looks bored and keeps gazing off into the distance as if she’ll find something more interesting out there.
The pool water is cool and refreshing as I let my tired feet sink into it. We did a lot of walking today, so sitting down feels wonderful. I notice all the other girls from the mansion are also here in the pool. Well, all of them except Jayla, which is kind of weird. Olivia and Nia sit next to each other on the pool steps, sipping fruity frozen drinks. They seem bored without their leader Jayla here. Bethany is flirting with a guy who looks like that professional basketball player from Houston who just got drafted out of college. I don’t know much about sports, but I remember him because he was all over the news and he has this really cute dimple in his left cheek.
Kyle and Riley get into an argument over who is the better swimmer, and I gaze back toward the house, to where I can barely see the side of the garage. Theo is there, talking on the phone and pacing back and forth. His expression is stern, but not mad. Russell branches off from a group of people and walks over to Theo. He gets off the phone and shakes Russell’s hand and they talk for a bit. Russell is the tall army guy of the group, the one Jayla really likes. Although now that she’s gone, her squid-like attachment to him has been replaced by two other women who are now inserting themselves into Theo and Russell’s conversation.
Still, I can’t help but feel a little weirded out by the whole thing. I keep my attention on the pool in front of me, occasionally nodding along with Riley as she talks about how great her swimming skills are. But deep down I’m judging my knees, how they’re knobby and boring. My legs aren’t long and sleek like some of the women here. My hair is blonde and stringy, not golden, silky, and long like a model’s hair. Compared to the women here, I am just plain. I’m basically a kid compared to them. What does Theo even see in me? Before I was here, did he flirt with the women at these parties? Did he take them back to his room at the end of the night like I know the other guys will do?
“I need a drink,” I say, pushing myself up from the edge of the pool. Riley barely notices me leave because she’s too busy in a splash war with Kyle.
Feeling nervous and inadequate, I make my way up to the back patio where the kitchen staff is ready to serve drinks, only when I get here, I don’t want alcohol. I just need some fresh air.
I walk over to the far side of the porch, out of the way from the rest of the guests. The sun is nearly gone now, leaving only traces of color in its wake. I lean against the railing and close my eyes and try not to question everything about everything. I’ve given my mortality to the clan, and my heart to a guy who is entirely too handsome for me. Maybe it’ll be fine if Theo never finds a way to save me from the bracelet. Then I could die tragically and he could go on with his unending life.
I sigh, knowing I’m being dramatic. But emotions are painful for me now, now that life is all messed up and crazy. As much as I care for Theo—as much as I’m pretty sure I love him—I know I’m just a nobody. I’m not good enough for Theo, not by a long shot.