by Lizzy Ford
His words made her feel ill again. Summer bit her lip, studying him. The boy she felt so comfortable with, who’d helped her over and over again, would become the very person the Light warned her against. Her mouth felt dry, even as her body screamed to be closer to him.
“The … duty has fallen upon those in my family. Generation after generation.” He turned away, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s a curse that befell us long ago. My brother will be the Master of Light. Our mother is the Mistress of Fire and Night now and our aunt the Light Master. When the children of the Dark Master or Mistress reach eighteen, one will become Light and the other Dark.”
She couldn’t speak for a moment. Decker said nothing further. She wondered again what he’d done to earn his place in the Dark but feared what the answer would be. When she found her voice, she spoke.
“Your mother, the Mistress of … Dark married someone from the Light. So we can be together, even if we are not the same.” Her words sounded clunky.
“We belong together. At least, I feel we belong together. But Summer, I can’t ask you to be with me if you’re afraid or if what I am will drive you away.” The note of anguish in his voice told her as much as his touch did.
“I want to be with you, Decker,” she said. “I can’t promise not to be afraid, because I still don’t understand all of this. But I can promise you I feel what’s between us, and I want that more than anything in my life. I’ve never been as happy as I am when we’re dancing. You feel like my home. I’ve never had a home.” The emotional words were out before she could stop them, like the tears that sprang up in her eyes.
Decker faced her, worried. He took her in his arms again and squeezed her against him. Summer drew deep breaths, wishing she’d been able to contain her emotions better. His magick filled her, calmed her. She wiped her face and pressed her cheek to his chest, content.
“You want to see something cool?” he asked.
“Yes!”
He took her hand and led her off the road, into the forest, along a narrow deer path. Summer thought of his words and his parents. She could be with him and not lose her soul, if his father could be with his soul-collecting mother. The revelation that Light and Dark could live in harmony relieved the remaining worry she had.
Except the part about him collecting souls. And what he’d done to be exiled to the Dark. She pushed those thoughts from her mind, not wanting to deal with anything that shadowed her newfound joy.
Decker followed the trail for a good fifteen minutes before it ended suddenly at a ravine. Before they reached the cliff, he stepped into the surrounding forest. Summer followed, grimacing as thorns caught the skin of her foot. She’d worn sandals today, and shrubs battered her feet as she made her way through the forest.
A large, flat rock rose from the forest, and Decker stepped onto it. He offered his hand again and they walked to the top of the sloping rock. When they reached the top, she gasped.
The rock jutted partially out over the valley, a wide swath of pine trees broken up by a narrow river below. The other wall of the ravine was half a mile away, a rocky wall capped with more trees.
“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed.
“At night, it looks like the moon rises and sets out of the valley,” Decker said quietly. “This is called Miner’s Drop.”
She inched closer to the edge of the rock, stunned by the raw beauty of the new world. Decker wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned back, her head resting against his chest. The trees and cerulean sky became backdrops to the heat and magick between them. She closed her eyes, safe and content.
“I’ll bring you up here one night,” he said, his voice lower, huskier.
Biji’s obsession with sex came back to her, and Summer was grateful he couldn’t see her blushing. Being in his arms was magickal. Being in his arms without clothes? It would be pure bliss!
“Can I kiss you?” he asked.
“You don’t have to ask,” she said, turning in his arms. “That’s what people do when they date, isn’t it?”
“You’re so sweet. I don’t want to mess this up,” he said.
Summer rose to her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips in response. Decker’s arms tightened around her, and his kiss grew deep, hungry. Summer opened her mouth timidly when he flicked his tongue between her lips.
He even tasted like heaven! She relaxed and let the magick and fire pulse through her with each of his kisses. Her own magick rose within her, even if it wasn’t yet able to free itself. She sensed it would soon; its response to him was primal, uncontrollable.
Decker pulled away finally.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Yeah,” he said just as quietly. “This could get intense quick.”
She rested against him, listening to the sounds of the forest and their uneven breathing. Each kiss made her want more, while each touch made her feel more and more a part of him. He smoothed her hair with one hand.
“I don’t ever want this to end,” she breathed.
“Me neither.”
They stayed on the rock for hours, talking and kissing, laughing and cuddling. Only when it was time for dinner did Decker lead her out of the forest towards the house. The table was already filled when they slipped in for dinner, and there were no two seats next to each other. Summer went to sit by Biji while Decker took up a seat on the other end next to his brother. Summer’s whole body brimmed with happiness after her day. Despite being ravenous, she barely tasted her meal.
Afterwards, Decker walked her to her room and kissed her goodnight. He was replaced in her doorway by Biji, who looked stunned by the exchange. Summer grinned.
“Wow, really?” Biji asked, closing the door behind her. “Have you done it yet?”
“No, Biji!” Summer laughed. She twirled in the middle of her room, overwhelmed with her day.
“I had to take Tarzan out while you were making out with my man,” Biji said with faux anger.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Biji. I was just … I don’t know where the time went.”
“If you were with him, it was worth it. But I noticed Tarzan didn’t want to eat. Is he okay?”
Summer turned to her fawn and sat on the bed beside it. He looked calm and quiet, as usual. She checked his leg then retrieved the bottle from the dresser.
“Is this the same milk from this morning? It’s probably too old,” she said, opening it to sniff.
The scent made her gag. It wasn’t rotten milk; someone had put something else in the bottle.
“What is this?” she asked, holding it away.
Biji took it and sniffed, making a face. “It’s a spell.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, this is probably poison.”
Summer stared at her, stunned.
“I bet it was that bitch Dawn. My friend Ana said Beck threatened to leave her over what she did to you.”
Crossing to her fawn, Summer wrapped her arms around it and studied it more closely, looking for signs of illness. Its long tongue flickered out against her arm and its ears twitched.
“But why hurt Tarzan?” Summer asked, distressed. “He’s just a baby.”
“Some people try to hurt things you love to get to you,” Biji said, a shadow crossing her face. “I’ll go get him some milk.”
Summer nuzzled the soft fur on Tarzan’s neck, disturbed that someone would try to poison such a sweet, defenseless creature. She’d thought Dawn mean, but to kill something was beyond mean. Tarzan was her first friend here, and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to him!
Biji returned a few minutes later with fresh milk. The bottle still dripped water from where she’d washed it. Summer shifted away from Tarzan and took the bottle. He accepted it without question.
“I can’t believe it,” Summer murmured again, stroking the fawn’s body.
“I can’t believe you and Decker,” Biji said. She sat on the bed across from Summer and folded her legs beneath her. “Tell me!”
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“There’s nothing to tell. After last night at the dance, I talked to him. And we just kinda decided we liked each other.”
“Boring!” Biji said. “I can’t believe that video or how Dawn tried to humiliate you. Even Beck was a jerk.”
“You didn’t watch the video, did you?” Summer asked, looking at her friend.
“Well …” Biji rolled her eyes. “No, of course not. Wait, did you find the camera?”
“I gave it to Amber already,” Summer said. “You really think Dawn would try to hurt Tarzan?”
“I don’t know. But I can’t think of anyone else who would.”
“My poor Tarzan.”
“When you’re out with you-know-who, I’ll watch him for you.”
“Maybe I can take him with me, too,” Summer said, considering. “I mean, if we stay around here, I can do that.”
“That’s a great idea. Then I can deer-sit when you’re gone. But you’re avoiding the subject, Summer!” Biji exclaimed. “Tell me all about him!”
Summer’s troubled thoughts slid away as she told Biji about Decker. They talked long into the evening, until both were too tired to talk more. For the first time since arriving, Summer locked the door to her room, just in case someone tried to do something to Tarzan while she slept.
Chapter Eleven
The next few days passed as if they were a dream. Summer spent every moment she could with Decker, even sneaking kisses between classes and touching each other briefly in the halls as they passed. She kept Tarzan close to her. When Biji wasn’t available to watch the fawn, Summer took him to her classes.
A week after the dance, she rested with Decker on a blanket on the rock overlooking the valley. Her gaze was on the full moon above. Just as Decker said, it had seemed to rise out of the valley and lingered over the edges of Miner’s Drop, huge and bright. They lay on their sides, her body pressed against his. The fawn dozed on a pillow Summer brought for him.
“I thought you’d like it,” Decker said softly.
Summer snuggled closer to him. “It’s beautiful. I didn’t think you wanted me in the forest after dark, though.”
“If you’re with me, it’s okay.”
She rolled onto her back, gazing up at Decker. His face was a mix of light and shadows in the bright moonlight. He kissed her tenderly, running his fingers down her face and neck, pausing at her amulets. The one containing her soul glowed faintly while the protection amulet was dark.
“I’m glad Sam gave this to you,” he said. He rested his hand on her stomach. Everywhere he touched her, fire lit up her blood. Sometimes, she could barely breathe, she was so warm.
“Do you know why he did?” she asked.
“Not exactly. Some secrets I don’t get to learn for another week,” he said. “But if Sam thought you were in danger, I’m happy he’s protecting you.”
“A week,” she murmured. “My birthday is the day after yours. I still can’t use my magick.”
Decker released more of his own into her, tickling her. She giggled in response.
“You have to find the key,” he said.
She met his gaze. “I might know what it is.”
Even touching, the tension between them grew thicker. Her body burned for him in a way she’d never wanted anyone else. She didn’t understand the changes her body went under when he was around, but they only happened for him. She guessed he was also the only one who could sate them. Decker stroked her cheek, holding her gaze.
“Would you, um, stay with me this weekend?” he whispered. “Overnight. My family has a cabin near here. We can go there tomorrow for the weekend.”
Summer’s breath caught and her blood pounded in her ears. Her body screamed for her to agree, while she wondered if he’d hate her once he saw her naked. The taunts of Dawn and her friends had only gotten worse the past week.
“Yes,” she managed. “Yes, Decker, I will.”
He kissed her again, and she clung to him, almost sighing when his body met the length of hers. Her magick was at a shout, her need twice as loud. Something hard and long pressed against her thigh, and she shifted away.
“Sorry,” he said, leaning back. “That’s …” Even in the night, he turned red.
It took Summer a minute to register why he was embarrassed. She laughed.
“You have that effect on me,” he said sheepishly. “I’ve been trying to hide it.”
“I do that to you?” she asked, grinning. She reached up to touch his face. His jaw line was rough from not shaving for a couple of days. The shading of his stubble gave him a more rugged, dangerous appearance.
“Yeah.”
“Wow.” She cuddled against him again, beaming with the knowledge she had such an effect on such an incredible guy.
Out of respect for him, Summer didn’t mention to Biji later how turned on he was when she told her friend about the invite to the cabin. Biji’s jaw dropped.
“Summer, you know what this means?” she exclaimed.
“Pretty sure I do,” Summer said, laughing. “It means I beat you to it, right?”
Biji grinned. “You have to shave your legs. Don’t forget that. I’ll stay in your room this weekend with Tarzan. So, are you going to let him undress you or just rip off your clothes?”
Summer contemplated the question. They’d gotten hot and heavy before, and it’d been awkward to maneuver her clothing. Even the bent fasteners of her old bra got stuck whenever she tried to remove it.
“What if you try to take off your pants and trip?” Biji asked, pensive.
“That’d be awful.”
“Where are your clothes?”
Summer rolled off her bed and crossed to the closet, throwing it open. She’d kept it closed since the camera incident, just in case. She didn’t have much clothing and frowned at her choices.
“This is pretty.” Biji pulled out a worn jean skirt. “I think you should wear a skirt, so you don’t trip.”
“Good idea,” Summer agreed and laid it out on the bed. “If I wear a tank, I don’t have to worry about unfastening a bra.”
“Ooooh, yeah, I agree.”
“So that’s taken care of. Should I bring a shirt to sleep in?”
“Everyone knows you sleep naked. I wouldn’t bother.”
“Biji!” Summer murmured. “I stopped doing that because of the video. I don’t even get dressed in my room anymore. I go in the bathroom.”
“Naked is sexier,” Biji advised. “Do you have condoms?”
“No. I figured he’d have some.”
“Be back in a minute.”
Summer watched her go and looked at Tarzan. The fawn was still limping, two weeks after its attack, and he hadn’t grown much at all. She worried about him. As soon as her stipend kicked in, she’d find a way to take him to the vet. He chewed on the sweatshirt she left on the bed. She pried it out of his mouth.
“I’ve got all kinds of stuff for you,” Biji said, returning with her bag. She kicked the door closed behind her and dumped it. She lifted a blue square. “Condom.”
“Why do you have these?” Summer asked, amused.
“You never know. I buy them at a discount online and sell them for profit to people like Dawn.”
“So she and Beck are doing it?”
“Like every night, according to Ana.”
“I heard the first time hurts,” Summer said, sitting to sift through Biji’s belongings.
“I heard that, too. You have to tell me how much. Take mouthwash, too. And this.”
Summer took the travel bag of hairspray, scrunchies, and butterfly hair barrettes from her. Biji piled four condoms on top of the travel bag, a pink bottle of perfume, make-up removal pads, and an eye shadow compact with six earthy colors.
“That should get you through the weekend,” Biji said, looking over the pile. She returned the rest of her belongings into her bag.
Summer fingered the delicate perfume bottle. Biji’s belongings were lightly used but always looked new and expensiv
e. Summer had nothing nearly as new or nice as her friend’s.
“Thank you, Biji,” she said. “I really wish I wasn’t such a loser. I mean, people have to help me with everything.”
“Whatever. We’re friends. You let me play with your Tarzan. He’s more valuable than all the stuff in my bag. Now, let’s pick what you’ll wear Sunday.”
They returned to her closet and debated over her Sunday outfit before choosing jeans and another tank.
“I think I’ll take off all my clothes before we lay down,” Summer said. “I mean, that way, nothing bad happens.”
“I think that’s best,” Biji agreed. “The skirt and tank will make it easier but you want this to be perfect. I mean, it’s your first time, and with Decker.” His name came out a half-sigh.
“I know.” Summer chewed her lip. “I do want it to be perfect. He’s so—”
“Handsome and tall and strong and perfect.”
“Exactly.”
Biji giggled, and Summer smiled again.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay alone with Tarzan?” she asked, glancing at her ward.
“Yep. I know what to feed him and not to leave him alone. We’ll have fun. I’ll take him in the yard and bring him berries.”
“Thank you so much, Biji!” Summer hugged her.
“You’re my friend. It’s what friends do.”
“I’ve gotta pack!” Summer exclaimed. “I don’t want to forget anything, like a toothbrush.”
“Blech!”
Summer went to the bathroom and packed her small travel bag. Biji cooed to Tarzan in the bedroom. Closing her medicine cabinet, Summer stopped to look at herself. She rarely paid attention, and most mornings, the fog from the shower kept her from seeing herself clearly.
Her dark eyes sparkled. She couldn’t stop smiling, and the upturn of her lips made her face glow. Her cheeks were pink.
She’d never seen herself happy before. This place—and Decker, Tarzan, Biji—had changed her life in just over two weeks. She looked as cute as Biji claimed she was.
Her newfound confidence lasted through the night, and she met Decker in the dining area for breakfast the next morning. Afterwards, she kissed Tarzan goodbye and hugged Biji then gathered her backpack and joined Decker in the shuttle that ran to the beach on the weekends. Nervous, excited, Summer sat as close to him as possible, calmed by the magick that flowed into her. He squeezed her thigh with a small smile. They were quiet during the short ride to the beach drop-off point.