by Morgan Wylie
“I do not understand all that happened back there in the mountain, but I do know that the old man had words for your ears alone.” Daegan stiffened at Hal’s perception. “I respect that and trust you to make the right decision for our futures and that of Alandria.” Hal smirked, knowing that Daegan hated it when someone put him in such a position.
Daegan took a deep breath. “No pressure or anything,” He said, giving Hal a little smile to try to keep the mood light even though what Hal and the Elder were asking of him, what the Hidden People were asking of him, was going to change everything they knew for the good or the bad.
Shifting back and forth on his saddle, Daegan could tell he was agitating Mayfield and tried to stay still. He had never been comfortable with the way that Maleina ran things. Could this be his chance to possibly do something about it for himself and others? Could he really do what needed to be done? Protect the Sol-lumieth—the girl—and help her along her journey to unleash her power for a better Alandria.
That didn’t sound too hard. He had played bodyguard before and if she was so powerful, she probably didn’t even really need him. He could be more of a guide. Turning to Hal, he nodded. “Let’s get home.”
Chapter Six
Hours later, after cleaning up and resting from their journey, they were summoned, as expected, to High Court. As he walked, Daegan remembered a time when, as young boys, they had all seemed more like a family. Hal, Daegan, and Rheina would run through the grounds, talk freely at meals, and be able to casually approach the adults. All that changed when they began training with the guard. Maleina had said that Halister and Daegan were now to become men and she expected them to behave as such. Every day thereafter, she grew more rigid and more suspicious of everyone, especially Daegan. He never could understand why. As the years went by it became clear to him that his uses were becoming more important to Maleina than he himself would ever be.
He met Halister in the foyer, waiting to be granted entrance. A servant retrieved them and led them into the High Court chamber, where they were announced.
Wren and Maleina entered from a doorway off to the side of their thrones. Maleina was as close to perfection as always, dressed flamboyantly with expensive fabrics in rich colors. Her long flaming red hair was braided and draped down below her shoulders. But in a flash, Daegan saw instead of hair, six snakes entwined, heads raised above her shoulders. He was seeing beyond the glamour he realized she had so carefully constructed. It almost broke his composure. There were three more, one encircling each wrist and the last one wrapped loosely around her neck. He blinked and they were gone. He looked at Hal, who appeared to see nothing unusual.
After formally greeting them, Wren quickly sat down, seeming a bit wobbly on his feet, holding a glass of his favorite drink. As usual, he looked the part of a royal, dressed in a dark blue expensive velvet jacket with tails and a gray ruffled blouse.
“Welcome back, dear ones. What news might you have discovered on your journey?” Maleina asked, her words drenched in slippery sweetness.
Daegan cleared his throat, gave a slight bow of his head, and, refocusing his mind from what he just saw, spoke. “We scoured the city looking for anything unusual and listening intently to all conversations and whisperings we could find. We heard firsthand the rumors of the Sol-lumieth. They say that it is coming from the mortal realm in the form of a human. It is rumored that the human may be vulnerable and unaware.” Daegan snuck a quick look at Hal, who stood relaxed but focused with his hands behind his back. Hal’s eyes spoke his agreement as to where Daegan was directing the conversation.
Hal looked back to Maleina. “If it is your wish, Mother, let us go to the mortal realm and find the human. If these whispers are true, we will bring this Sol-lumieth back to you.”
Hal looked quickly to Wren. “What do you think, Father?” Hal knew this would irritate Maleina, but he really wanted to know. As the years passed, he had watched his father withdraw into himself.
Maleina turned her gaze out a window, as if aloof to the present conversation. Wren looked at Hal with eyes of love and remorse. “You know me, son, I have no use for the whispers of Elves and Shifters,” he said softly with a smile as he took in the stature of these two young Ferrishyn warriors. “But you know your mother... she—” he started with a soft chuckle.
“It probably means nothing, especially if it IS human,” Maleina said loudly, cutting off her husband as if she’d heard nothing. Then with a calm voice, “But for the sake of our people we should look into it. It would be the wise thing to do.” Maleina rose, looking both in the eye, but folding her hands to her mouth as if thinking up a plan. “Halister, you will remain here as, Rheina’s debut party is tomorrow evening. Daegan, you will go retrieve the human. It is to be unharmed and brought here to us as swiftly as possible. This will be your responsibility until you return. This is my decision. Carry it out at first light.”
With that, she walked toward them both. Stopping at Daegan, she looked briefly into his eyes with her right hand on his arm. He felt a shock, but refused to register the sting on his face. Then moving to her left, she grazed Hal’s right cheek as she kissed his left. Without another word she left the chambers.
Wren rose from his seat. Approaching Daegan, he smiled. “Be safe.” He paused, looking down for a moment, then continued. “You are the best of our kind, Daegan. I’ve never known your equal.” Then leaning into Daegan’s right ear, he whispered, “If any of this foolishness proves true, let caution guide you, my lad. It will likely mean the end of us all.” Then smiling, he turned to Hal. “My son, your sister will be so happy you are here.” Patting his shoulder, he turned and left the chamber.
Hal turned to Daegan once they got outside. “Are you all right? You flinched when Mother touched you.”
Absently placing his hand on his shoulder, Daegan replied, “I’m fine. It was just a shock.” He shrugged and Hal left it.
“Well, that wasn’t exactly the outcome we were going for, was it? I was planning on going with you,” he added, sounding frustrated.
“No, that wasn’t what I thought she would say. It makes me wonder if she was suspicious of me for some reason. We will have to go with it, though, and come up with an alternative.”
“If she was suspicious of you, then why not send me instead?”
“She has her reasons, I’m sure,” Daegan practically growled as he turned to walk away. He was finished talking about it. Maleina knew he would never leave Halister; they were too close. She was using her own son as insurance that he would return. He was almost sure of it. When they were younger, some of the older Faeries would pick on Halister and beat him up. Daegan had been there but had been unable to help him, and she knew that he felt responsible. She preyed upon his guilt and made him swear an oath to always protect and serve Hal, unbeknownst to him. Hal himself would never have asked that of Daegan and Daegan knew Hal would be furious if he ever found out. Daegan had trained harder and given himself more to the guard than any other to make sure that he could keep his end of the oath. He had ever since and would continue to the best of his abilities. She knew that. Hal was like Daegan’s brother, but if Hal knew that was a burden that he bore, he would not allow him to be who he was, his warrior.
“I am NOT staying here! I’m going with you. What if you need help? We are in this together.” Hal’s volume was getting louder as his short fuse was about to ignite.
“You need to stay here to make this work—at least for now,” Daegan replied calmly but sternly. “I will send you word when you can find us, if you still want to.” Hal was not happy and was ready to fight about it, but before he could speak Daegan added, “I need you to keep up appearances here, keep Maleina distracted, and give her messages from me when I send them. I’ll send for you as soon as we re-enter Alandria and find shelter. Plus, it is important that at least one of us is here for Rheina and her party; she is your sister. The old man said as much,” he said, referring to Arileas. Daegan was pacing now with
his hands on top of his head as he did when he was lost in thought.
“I believe it is especially important for you to be the one here,” Daegan said, “though I am not sure why. I’m sure Maleina knows nothing of that and we should keep it that way. Give Rheina my love.” Daegan left abruptly, heading for his room to pack whatever essentials he might need for the journey. “Don’t do anything stupid!” he yelled over his shoulder to Hal, who was still standing where he left him brooding. He’d get over it; he always did. Daegan knew it would break Rheina’s heart if her brother missed her party and so did Hal; he wouldn’t miss it. She had always been like a little sister to Daegan, and he regretted not being able to be there for her, but she would understand.
It was a few days’ ride to the entrance to the mortal realm, and then however long it took him to locate this girl, which, by the way, he had no idea how to do. Daegan also couldn’t help noticing that the Elder had only spoken of her as a girl in his mind. Arileas apparently didn’t want that information widely known. So that helped eliminate a great number of the population in the mortal realm. Right. The Elder, Arileas, instructed him to ask The Orchids to show him the way. He unfortunately hadn’t told him how to do that. Time to figure it out.
Chapter Seven
The first several days at her new job went pretty smoothly. She met some nice people, served a nice old couple that lived in her building, didn’t break any dishes, didn’t mess up too many orders, and even made some decent tips.
I think I’m getting the hang of this, I might even like being a waitress, she thought with an upbeat smile. It was her last hour of work for the night, and as she was putting in an order with the kitchen, one of her coworkers approached her. I can’t remember her name, what is her name?... Maybe she won’t remember mine. “Hi,” Kaeleigh said.
“Hey. Kaeleigh, right?” she asked a bit hesitantly.
“Yep. I’m sorry, I don’t remember yours,” Kaeleigh stated sheepishly. Crap!
“It’s Alex, but don’t worry, you have a lot to remember your first week. I’ve been there myself,” she said with an understanding smile. “Do you know the gorgeous guy at table thirteen?”
Which one is table thirteen? I should remember this… I think it’s over by the… WOW, if that’s table thirteen, he IS gorgeous! “Over by the fireplace? Is that table thirteen?” she asked shyly, looking to the other waitress. Alex just nodded. “No. I don’t know who he is, but I wish I could say I do.” Kaeleigh ducked her head and blushed, realizing she had said that out loud. Oops!
“You may get your chance,” Alex said with an eyebrow raised. Kaeleigh looked at her, confused. “It’s one of my tables, but he asked for you. By name. You should go meet him, he’s been staring at you ever since he arrived.” She sounded a bit put off that he didn’t want her as his waitress. Kaeleigh was a bit surprised herself. Alex was early twenties, beautiful, tall, leggy, and blond. The kind of girl you think is every guy’s type, especially since she’d actually been hit on by almost every guy—single or otherwise—that she’d waited on tonight. It was pretty obvious that she knew it and played it to her benefit. Judging by the tips she counted out at the end of each night, she did benefit!
“Okay.” Kaeleigh drew the word out suspiciously. “It must be a mistake, though, I don’t think I’d forget someone like him.” Kaeleigh shrugged her shoulders, but curiously headed to table thirteen. She wasn’t superstitious, but heading to that table gave her a shaky feeling.
How does he know my name? I’m sure I’d remember that raven-black hair and those eyes...those deep-set chocolate eyes that look like they’re staring into my soul...eyes that are looking directly at me with a slight twinkle.
Just below those eyes was a set of full lips that caused her tongue to have a mind of its own, wetting her own like an excitable teenager. Those same lips lifted with a cocky, faint smirk that said he knew what she was thinking, and Kaeleigh quickly snapped out of her blatant ogling with a blush creeping up her neck. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and remembered she had a job to do.
“Welcome to Antonia’s, my name is Kaeleigh. I see you already have your beverage. Are you ready to order?” she said, trying to remember all she was supposed to say. It didn’t help that he stared openly at her with an amused look on his face.
“No, but thank you,” he said, looking directly at her with intense dark eyes that caught her off guard. His gaze softened, then smiling, he said, “I’ve been observing you for the last few days and it appears you are completely unaware of who you are.”
She was so taken aback by his bluntness and so confused by his smile that she just stared at him for a minute, not sure how to respond. What?! Is this guy for real?
Lost in her inner monologue, she almost missed him walking past her as he got up abruptly and left the restaurant. Kaeleigh had just barely tuned back in to reality in time to see the back of his head and his...well, his back—and all that entailed—walking out the front doors.
What a nice back it was! But why is it walking away?
In her confusion, or maybe out of shock, her feet seemed to have forgotten how to move because she stood firmly planted by the table holding her order pad, not really sure what to do next.
“That was incredibly bizarre!” Kaeleigh thought not only to herself, but also out loud, causing the couple at the next table to stare at her. Her cheeks blushed again and she turned to go check on the tables in her own section. Passing Alex on her way back, she just shrugged.
“So did you know tall, dark, and handsome? I know… so cliché, right? But he definitely was tall, dark, and handsome. AND he had that totally mysterious, badass vibe too!” Alex said a little too excitedly. “What did he want?” she asked in a teasingly sultry voice and raised eyebrows.
“No, I didn’t know him. He thought he knew me, but I think it was a mistake. He didn’t make much sense and then he just... left.” Kaeleigh shrugged as she kept heading to her tables. He was tall, dark, and very handsome and he asked for me... even if he was a little crazy, she thought as she held her head a bit higher. The rest of her shift went by quickly as she looked forward to meeting her friends for their movie night. Kaeleigh periodically thought about the strange guy at table thirteen and the odd sense she got from him that she couldn’t quite shake. She also couldn’t shake images of deep vats of chocolate in the form of his eyes, or of the blackest hair she had ever seen; shorn short on the sides of his head with a longer section on top. So soft looking it made her fingers twitch with desire to touch it and run them through it; his lightly tanned skin and broad, sculpted muscular shoulders. Not to mention how well his jeans fit as he walked out the door. She wondered if she would ever see him again.
✾✾✾
As she arrived back at her apartment, her inside lights already on made her smile. Her friends Chel and Finn were there waiting for her even though it was Saturday, not Tuesday. They had a standing hangout night every Tuesday, so this was a bonus. She also didn’t like coming home alone at night so this was one less night this week for that. Maybe I should get a cat. Although since Finn had somehow learned her unfounded fear that had developed after Chel moved out, he made her check in every night via text or phone so she wasn’t “alone” until she got settled.
Finn had become like a big brother; she felt safe with him. He wasn’t a big guy, but he carried himself strongly and was very protective. He could be intimidating with his usual scowl and almost always wore black. He had a light complexion and sharp angles, his hair a shaggy sandy-brown and eyes of hazel. Lately, Kaeleigh would notice him looking at her when he thought she couldn’t see him. He looked...conflicted was the only word she could come up with. Kaeleigh couldn’t help wondering if maybe his feelings for her were more than hers were for him. Or perhaps it was something else altogether. But if he ever acted on other feelings, she didn’t know what she would do. Sometimes, she pondered what it would be like to have those other feelings for him, but she just didn’t, at least not
right now. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him or worse, lose his friendship. Rolling her shoulders and shaking out her arms, she shook off those thoughts and headed excitedly into her apartment to spend time with her friends for a belated birthday.
“Surprise!” Chel and Finn yelled as she walked in the door.
“Hooray! But I knew you were going to be here so it’s not really a surprise,” Kaeleigh said, somewhat confused, but grinning anyway.
“Yes, but did you know there would be a spider web of streamers AND balloons that Chel seemed to find in every color imaginable? AND that she would hang them from every available square inch of your apartment?” Finn sarcastically replied as Chel just rolled her eyes at him.
“I had NO idea you would decorate and I L-O-V-E them!!!” she shouted as she looked around in awe then gave Chel the biggest hug she could without smothering her. Or maybe she smothered her just a little.
“Hey, what about me? I might think they’re silly but I did help,” Finn said with a sheepish grin.
“Yes, he did. He even took a breath from complaining for all of five minutes at one point.” Chel rolled her eyes.
Kaeleigh threw herself at Finn, almost knocking him over, and gave him a big hug too and a kiss on the cheek, which always embarrassed him even when it was just the three of them. “Thank you! THANK YOU, both of you! It means a lot to spend my birthday with you guys.”
“Well, go get out of those black clothes. I’m sure you’ve been dying to put your own clothes on all day. Then we have pizza, dessert, and movies!” Chel said as she ushered Kaeleigh toward her bedroom to change. Chel knew how much Kaeleigh needed color to relax. After all, they were best friends. She didn’t understand it, but she didn’t question it either. It was just a part of Kaeleigh. Accept it all or not at all. That was Chel’s motto.