“Under one condition.”
“And what’s that?”
“You have to promise to not bring up New Haven or anything about my mother again. They won’t find me.”
“How are you so sure of that? Won’t they have guards looking for you, pictures everywhere?” he asked.
I bit my lip and said, “I haven’t left the palace since I cut my hair until now. Without it I look like a normal Hunter.”
Ayden nodded. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it. Though, I would rather you wear a hat or scarf regardless. And we need to do something about your clothes.” He left my side and wandered out the door, returning with a simple gown. He handed it to me and I caressed every inch of the dress, marveling in its soft cotton and pastel colors. “It’s my mother’s. Fortunately, you both are small. It should fit you.”
I smiled up at him and muttered, “Thank you. It’s beautiful. But what about your mother?” I frowned as I remembered him telling me how sick she was. It seemed like forever ago, but it was merely days. “How is she feeling?”
“Better,” Ayden said. I noticed his voice no longer held a mournful edge. “The medication is working and she’s able to do things on her own again.”
“That’s really great to hear, Ayden.” I turned towards the window and watched the house I presumed to be his family’s. I’d only been inside once and he’d been in such a rush to get me out as soon as he’d noticed. I’d watched him talk to his sister in a way I hadn’t expected. At the time I guessed I assumed all Hunters were aggressive and mean, but after seeing him with her, I thought differently. I knew now that Ayden would never hurt me, and I clung to that. “Can I see her?”
He knew exactly what I meant. “I don’t think that’s such a great idea, Echo.”
“So am I never going to meet your family? If they are anything like you, I am sure I will love them.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” Ayden whispered. “What if they recognize you? My father is a drunk who will do anything for the extra money. What if he turns you in?”
“What if he doesn’t recognize me? What if he doesn’t turn me in?”
He sighed. “There’s that fiery attitude.” I watched him as he drove his fingers through his wild hair that still had remnants of the whipped cream, and sighed. “I think your eyes will give it away, but okay. If my mother asks, you’re a friend.”
“A friend? And how oddish are my eyes compared to yours, Ayden?”
Smiling, he pointed to the dress in my hands and I smirked. “Just put the dress on. I don’t bring other women over at all, so my mother will be quick to assume the best.”
“Which is what, may I ask?”
“That I’m giving her a grandchild.” Ayden chuckled and walked out the door, closing it in behind him.
I sat staring at the door a moment longer and tried not to smile. I lost, of course, but with Ayden it was expected. I was going to meet his family. Before excitement had time to take over, anxiety reared its evil head. What if they didn’t like me, or worse, saw right through me? Not that I had anything to prove to them, but if Ayden accepted me here, I wanted them to accept me, too.
I dressed quickly, darted into the bathroom to wash off the whipped cream from my face, and turned to the mirror on the wall. I wanted to ask him for a towel so that I could help myself to a shower, but I feared becoming a pest too quickly. I’d ask him later.
The dress fit me smugly, but not too close for discomfort. I tried to imagine a much older me in a dress like this, but I just couldn’t see it. I wondered if I looked all right, seeing as the dress unveiled curves not even I know about, and cringed at the thought. When did it ever matter what I wore? I sighed. It began to matter when I started falling for Ayden effortlessly and subconsciously, but willingly.
I walked out into the kitchen to meet him and Ayden’s eyes caught mine with a fixated glare. “Wow,” is all he said. He rubbed the back of his neck and visibly fought to look away.
I frowned. “How do I look?” When he gave me a once over, my stomach lurched. “Oh my gods. Say I look like your mother, Ayden, and I’ll scream.”
“My mother?” He shook his head and laughed. “No, definitely not my mother. You look…beautiful, and simply so. No pearls or glitter this time, it’s different. I like it.”
“I like different, too.” I stood across from him at the table and watched him watching me. We said nothing for a long moment, and then I finally motioned towards the door. “Did you eat anything? I’m sure your family is eating breakfast if you wish to join them.”
He scowled, but nodded in agreement. “Your excitement to meet my family is too much.”
“So, can we go?”
“Are you serious?”
I walked around the table to take his hand. Deadpanning him, I tried my best to hold back a smile. “This is the face of a very serious girl you wouldn’t want to upset.”
“And I would do anything to make her happy,” Ayden whispered. Catching me off guard, he pulled me close and kissed my lips. His lips still tasted of the whipped cream and I smiled.
“I suggest washing your face before it raises questions.” I smoothed a finger over his eyebrow. “Big questions.”
“Sure. I’ll meet you outside.” He kissed me again before moving to the bathroom.
I was met with murky clouds and a dimmed sun as soon as I stepped out the door. The air didn’t seem as stiff as it did the first time I was here, but breathing came easier. I crossed through the yard and went straight for the bleeding heart garden beside the house. The flowers’ pink petals looked a shade darker than the ones in New Haven and I quickly assumed them to be dying.
I jumped at the sound of an opening door as it screeched on its hinges. Across the yard an old man stepped off his veranda with a flashlight in his hand and made for his cellar at the side of his tattered house. I stared at him and held my breath, waiting patiently on a moment I knew would come all too soon with bated breath. But instead, when the old man caught me hidden in the garden, he smiled and continued on his way like he hadn’t noticed anything different. I heaved a sigh and slumped against house.
“Hey, are you okay?” Ayden stepped out of the cabin and called over to me. His hair was free of whipped cream and he strode across the yard to me. “Echo?”
I snapped out of my mental funk and nodded at him. “Yeah, of course. Let’s go.” He took my hand and led me up the stairs to the back door. My heart beat quickened erratically in my chest and I fought to keep my breathing under control. Gods, I was going to meet his family. I bit down on my lip till the point of pain as Ayden turned the knob and pushed the door open. He led me in and my first reaction to the house was warm. Pictures hung on the walls in the living room, making the place seem more personal than Ayden’s cabin. Though the furniture was outdated and the rugs long overused, the house was cozy and unexpectedly welcoming. I followed him through the house and to the kitchen. I hesitated at the sound of voices, but Ayden urged me forward with a tug on my hand.
A woman with pale green eyes and a smile worth a thousand words greeted us. “Ayden, honey,” she said. Her eyes hadn’t found mine yet, but when they did, her smile never faltered. “Oh, and who might this be? Francis, do you see this?”
Ayden groaned at my side, but never let my hand go. I didn’t know if he acknowledged the fact, but if we were playing the ‘friend’ card, it would have been best if he let me go. “Mother,” he groaned.
A man with a black mass of hair on his head, an untrimmed goatee, and a bulky figure faced us as he finished drying dishes at the sink. I panicked at his expressionless eyes and silently thanked the gods Ayden hadn’t let me go after all. “Who is this, Ayden?”
I spoke before Ayden had a chance to. From the look in their eyes, they hadn’t a clue who I was. I was immensely grateful. “Aleksandria. But you can call me Aly.”
“Do you have a last name?” Ayden’s father asked. Ayden tensed at my side and gripped my hand tighter.
“Esolen,” I said. “Aleksandria Esolen.”
“Hm. Never heard of you.”
“Oh, hush up, Francis. Ayden’s brought home a guest.” Ayden’s mother moved surprisingly fast as she stood and came to me. She gave me a hug even Ayden hadn’t anticipated and I let go of him to hug her. I was unsure, of course, but such kindness was so foreign I felt myself giving in to the moment. If only my own mother had been this way to me, I thought remorsefully. Maybe I wouldn’t have run away. I glanced at Ayden over his mother’s shoulder and took back the thought. Even though I ran for the sake of freedom, I ran for him, too. Regardless of the lies I’d grown up in, I would have found a way to him.
“Hi,” I said as she broke the embrace.
“Call me Carys, honey. Please, do sit. Are you hungry?” She smiled at me and I hesitantly smiled back.
Glancing at Ayden, I said, “No, actually. I’m quite full.” Ayden hid a smirk to the best of his ability, but I didn’t bother. I still had enough leftovers in my ear.
Carys sat me down on a chair at the table and took her time getting around the kitchen. “How about some tea then, huh?”
“Sure. I’d lo—”
“She a friend, Mother,” Ayden growled. It was only the second time he spoke up since we entered the kitchen.
“I know. I can’t offer her some tea?” Cays actually seemed disappointed.
“Not that kind of tea, no.” Ayden kicked off the wall he leaned against and sat in the chair beside me. “We’re not staying long; I just thought I could bring her by.”
Dishes clanged in the sink behind us as Ayden’s father continued the dishes. Between his parents, he seemed the colder of the two. Not that Carys was cold, but it was what my mind assumed they would be as Hunters. All the poison of New Haven was proving to be wrong.
“How long have you known each other?” she asked, crossing her arms in her lap.
“Awhile,” I said.
“Not long,” Ayden added.
I blushed and averted my eyes to the tabletop. I could feel Ayden’s heated glare on me as I said, “Five weeks, but it’s felt like forever.”
“Are you together?” she asked cheerfully.
“Mother,” Ayden groaned, slouching in his chair.
“Carys, stop interrogating the children,” Ayden’s father said from the sink. He turned to face me and his eyes seemed friendlier. “Call me Francis.”
I nodded and offered him a smile. Turning back to Carys, I murmured. “No, not quite.”
“We’re friends.” Ayden looked at his mother with annoyance, but I caught the compassion behind it.
“Friends,” I confirmed. It was a complete lie, of course. Neither Ayden nor I knew exactly what we were, but we were the furthest thing from ‘friends’. Last night and this morning proved that.
“Alright. Well, do you live here? I’ve never heard of an Esolen family in Shadow Hills or Loracre.”
“She’s from Radcliff,” Ayden said quickly, shooting me a look.
“So far?” Carys gasped. “What brings you all the way here?”
“Ayden,” I wanted to say. Instead, I settled for, “My father changes jobs a lot.”
“Oh?” Carys smiled at Ayden. “So, you have something in common with Ayden. We used to move around a lot, but finally settled down here in Shadow Hills. It’s not too bad, right?”
“Definitely not.”
I slouched back in my chair and Ayden and I sighed at the same moment. We stared at each other and seemed to think the same thing: we’re going to Hell. I didn’t think I could lie so much, but I had. I even managed with a straight face. How I did it was beyond me.
“So, where are you off to?” Ayden’s father, Francis, dried his hands with a small towel and met us at the table. When he came into the light over the table, I noticed his eyes were the lightest shade of purple. That was probably where Ayden got his peculiar irises from. I knew I got mine from my father as well. Maybe it was a Hunter thing.
I hated it the moment I thought it. I was half Hunter and the realization of that didn’t hurt nearly as much as my own mother lying to me. I was a bastard, and instead of my mother coming clean when she felt I was of age, she continued to lie on. If I hadn’t put the pieces together and hadn’t been so curious in the first place, I would have never known. I would have continued to live a lie—a life that did not belong to me.
Again, I felt myself asking, who am I? Where I belonged had become obvious the moment I kissed Ayden, but the fact that Echo never really existed still held true. It now became a harrowing burden that spoke legions.
“A hike,” Ayden finally said. It seemed he, too, was lost in his thoughts.
“A hike? In this weather? It’s been storming for the past three nights, Ayden. I don’t think that’s wise,” his mother said.
“We won’t be long.”
“And where do you live?” Francis asked suddenly.
Ayden answered for me. “She just moved here, Father. She wouldn’t know.”
Before he could question us further, the back door flung open and a young boy and girl trudged through dressed in dirt from head to toe. It reminded me of the day Shadow had first taken me to the market to practice with Ezily. We’d returned and mother had absolutely thrown a fit. Now, though, as the apparent twins walked up to the table, Carys smiled at them and looked at them with love.
“We caught one,” the young boy said, raising a dead fish at the end of the line for his mother to see.
“You did. Set it over on the counter and I’ll cook it up later,” Francis said. The boy smiled and did as instructed.
“I wasn’t so lucky this time,” the girl chirped in. “Storm’s got all the fishes running away from me.” Carys smiled and kissed her cheek. With that, the girl seemed content. No yelling, screaming, or threatening of baths. It was almost as if I stepped into a complete different world. The New Haven slogan popped into my mind and I cringed.
Two Worlds, Two Wars.
“Who are you?” the young girl asked, breaking me from a reverie.
“Oh, I’m Aly. What’s your name?”
“Misty Grey,” she mumbled with a smile. She was missing a couple of teeth still and didn’t look any older than twelve. Though, as I glanced down her neck, I noticed a tribal tattoo—intricate in every way—on her shoulder. I found it rather odd, but then all of them had the same tattoos, even Ayden. Hell, Ayden had a lot. I just never noticed them until now.
“Misty’s a very pretty name. It suits you.”
“Thanks. Ayden calls me Mis sometimes, but I prefer Princess because that’s what I want to be when I grow up.”
The smile faltered on my lips. She didn’t mean that. Obviously, she had no idea what she was talking about. “Oh? You want to know a secret, Misty?” She nodded and Carys, Ayden, and Francis watched me closely. “Being a Princess is so boring. What’s most important is finding, being, and keeping yourself. That’s the best part about growing up, relying on morals that never get old.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really.”
Beside me, Misty’s brother tugged on Ayden’s arm and Ayden dragged his gaze from me unwillingly. I heard the boy whisper, “Is that the witch? The one who casts spells?”
I frowned and watched them. “What?”
“Nothing,” Ayden said too quickly. “This is my younger brother Milo. He tends to speak his mind. Often.”
I smiled at Milo, but his lips didn’t as much as twitch. He stared me down as if I’d suddenly intruded upon his territory.
“Well, you’ve met the family, Aly. Family, you’ve met Aly. Now it’s time to go.” Ayden stood to his feet before either of us could get a word in and pulled me to my feet.
“But—”
“But we should go.”
“Be safe,” Carys called after us as Ayden hauled me out the back door. When we were out of the yard and walking down the dusty roads, he began to laugh.
“What could possibly be so funny? And did you
r brother call me a witch?”
He stopped laughing to say, “He did, but he misunderstood something I told him. It’s nothing, really.” He snickered again and I reached out and punched his shoulder. I thought it was a pretty solid punch, but when my knuckles cracked and he barely flinched, I knew I’d failed.
“I don’t find that funny,” I mumbled, rubbing my swollen knuckles. “But Misty is adorable, despite her interests to become a Princess. You have a nice family, Ayden.” I crossed my arms over my chest as we walked, noticing other people walking the streets. None of them seemed to notice who I was.
“Nice? I wouldn’t use that word, but thanks, I guess.” I could tell he wanted to say more, but suddenly decided against it. “Come on, it’s this way.” He took my hand in his again and my mind turned back to the night I first left with him. It had felt like this—safe. Only, this time I wasn’t scared and I had no doubts. I loved him and was crazy enough to follow him anywhere.
To the moon and back.
I suddenly remembered Isobeli and wanted to cry. We hadn’t talked in weeks, and now that I had left, I fearfully wondered if I would ever see her again. If I wanted to escape this life, I wanted her next to me every step of the way. My heart wept silently for her, but I allowed all thoughts to slip away as I delved deeper into the forest with Ayden.
“Where are we going?” I lamented, feeling thorns at my legs through the dress.
“Just over there.” He pointed through the trees. “Trust me, it’s not far. You’ll love it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, now close your eyes.” He stood behind me and covered my eyes with his hands.
Locked in darkness, I said, “This isn’t you going crazy and slaughtering me in the middle of the woods is it?”
His chuckle reverberated from his chest to mine and I smiled. “Tempting, but no. Just watch your step and don’t peek.”
“Funny. How do you suppose I watch my feet with your hands over my eyes?”
He was quiet for a second, and then I heard him give out a short laugh. “Good point. Okay, just keep walking and trust me. We’re almost there.”
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