“I get it. I’m sorry. I was just—”
“Being a guy?” She raised an eyebrow, an action that so closely mirrored the look that I usually reserved for her that I laughed. She smiled back at me, but then her grin slowly melted away as she stared into my eyes.
Reaching over, I pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. “What would you know about guys?” I could see I’d annoyed her, but continued anyway. “I mean, you told me that I was the first boyfriend that you ever had.”
When Cali and I first met, I’d asked her about her dating history. It had pretty much been non-existent. Your options are light when you’re an immortal.
“You are, but remember, I once had the knowledge of the universe at my fingertips.” At first she smiled saucily in response to her own words, but her smile faded again. I assumed that she’d realized how much had changed.
I’d noticed that she hadn’t been speaking up the way she used to and didn’t have answers when I’d grown accustomed to her providing them. “You don’t remember any of it now, do you?” Curious, I waited for her answer, stroking her arm absentmindedly.
“No. As I said before, there is some knowledge that I gained, mostly what I needed to know to become a mortal. However, all of the knowledge of the history of our country, and most of the knowledge of the history of our family, is gone. Some things, some trivial things stayed with me, but…I don’t know how to live like this, Kellen. I’m trying, but I feel lost.” Tear tracks ran down her face and I ached to erase her pain, her fears. The confession must have cost her, the woman who prided herself on her own powers, her own abilities.
“How long have you known?” I pulled a tissue from the box on the hearth and offered it to her.
Cali took the tissue and stared at it for a moment, before I showed her how to wipe her tears. “Thanks.” She smiled. “Since Gabe said his protection spell. I would have been able to translate it easily before. I can remember being able to access centuries of information as a goddess, but not what any of that information is.”
The fire crackled cheerfully. It reminded me of the fire from Cali’s ceremony. I lay back down, looking at her. She lay down as well, staring into the depths of my eyes just as I did hers.
She snuggled further down into the cushions, yawning. “It’s probably going to take a little getting used to. For both of us.”
Touching her arm, I leaned into her. “You,” I said, losing myself in the depths of her eyes. “I could take a lifetime to get used to you.”
Those were the last words that I uttered before my lips met hers, before the world around me disappeared and I kissed Cali. This wasn’t the first time, but it could never be compared to the kisses that came before.
When my mouth met hers now, my world spun around me in wide disconcerting revolutions. I couldn’t think. I could only kiss her, kiss her lips raw as she sighed within my arms. Cali had become my muse; she was my greatest temptation, my everything, and I never wanted it to stop. She awoke in me so many emotions and sensations that I’d never truly experienced before, and as my lips sought hers I wanted everything from her.
“Cali—” Cutting off my own words, I kissed her even more deeply, my mouth melding against hers as I pushed her back against the cushions, moving myself to press along the length of her. I needed to be as close to her as possible, to feel the sensation of her skin against my own. The drive to connect with her wreaked havoc with my control, and my hand brushed at her side, slipping under the hem of her shirt. My hand opened over her smooth stomach.
She said my name on a sigh. “Kellen…”
“I love you.” The words escaped my lips as they grazed her neck, as I inhaled the cinnamon scent that was Cali.
“I love you.” Her words were muffled under my searching mouth.
“Should we—”
Who knew what I’d wanted to ask her? Okay, let’s face it, I knew what I wanted right then, though I hesitated. Never before had we been this close, had things gotten so heated between us. As much as I wanted to take this a step further, I’d never had a physical relationship. Cali hadn’t either. Whenever I’d envisioned making love to Cali before, we’d been married. Now, with our wedding postponed and the current state of our lives in suspension, I questioned myself. For me to consider taking it to the next level, I needed to understand what I was doing, to plan a few things.
My breath sounded heavy in the quiet of the darkened room. “Maybe we should find—” I’d been about to say someplace where we could be alone. Then my plans deflated.
“Hey, guys?” Gabe’s voice had the effect of dumping a gallon of cold water over my head. I inwardly cursed Gabe for his rotten timing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KELLEN—WALK
We each took a moment to calm our breathing. I ached for more time alone with her. I’d assumed that when Gabe left that he wanted to give us some time, some space. It never occurred to me that he’d be back so soon.
Gabe’s face fell when he glimpsed mine. I could have murdered him. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” he said, starting to back up.
“Nah, it’s okay.” Standing up, I let go of Cali’s hands. “Did you get hold of your mom?”
Gabe walked to the refrigerator and grabbed himself a soda. Popping the top, he took a long drink and set the can down on the counter. “I tried to call my parents, but I couldn’t get through,” Gabe said.
Cali didn’t say a word and remained on the pillows. I looked down at her, noting with satisfaction that her lips were swollen from my kisses, her eyes still hooded from the stolen moments that we’d just shared. How could I possibly stand there and make small talk with Gabe after that? I really did need a cold shower.
“I need some air, okay? I’m just gonna go outside for a few minutes.” I looked at Cali, who nodded. Though she would have gone with me if I’d asked, I wanted some time alone to clear my head. Walking past Gabe, I moved toward the door.
Gabe spoke up. “Be careful, man, and don’t go anywhere. I think we need to stick together.”
“I’m not going to go anywhere. I just need a few minutes, okay?” I said.
Opening the front door, I turned on the porch light, grabbed my coat before I stepped outside, and shut the door. Placing my elbows on the railing in front of me, I took a long, slow breath. The fresh air came as a relief, despite the cold. The temperature had probably gone down to about thirty degrees or so, but I didn’t care. I could think again. Inside, with Cali there, she’d made me forget everything. Like what I wanted for us.
What I wanted for us didn’t include me taking advantage of a woman who hadn’t been mortal for more than twenty-four hours. Cali had been such a storm of emotions throughout the day, throughout dinner. Getting to know Cali even better now, as unbelievable as that sounded, would risk everything. If we’d gotten married, the ending would have been different.
Touching my fingers to my lips, I could still remember the sensation of her mouth on my own. I’d never kissed her that way before, never been so rough. She made me feel so differently than anyone ever had; she made me feel. It was like I’d never lived before she came into my life.
Before I knew what had happened, I’d picked up the flashlight in front of the door and my feet started moving beneath me. In a short amount of time, I’d made it over the bridge and into the woods, exactly where I’d been told not to go. Though it didn’t seem difficult to end up in the woods in Maine.
Stopping, I looked at the path on which I stood and did an about-face. I shouldn’t have left the safety of the house. I had to go back there. Again my feet seemed to move of their own accord and I’d turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, away from the house.
But I have to go back….
No, you don’t, man, just a little further.
Yes, I do. This is a bad idea.
My thoughts warred with one another, but the need to continue overwhelmed any other emotion that I experienced within that mom
ent. I couldn’t stop walking.
The pounding of the ocean gave every indication of being close, so I couldn’t have been far away from the coast. Though nighttime had fallen, my eyes quickly adjusted with the help of the flashlight. I had to keep moving.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CALI—LOST BOY
Kellen’s kisses were still on my mind. Despite the fear that I felt for our safety, I blushed as I remembered his hands on my body. Though he’d asked for some time alone, I wanted to be with him more than anything in that moment. “I’m going to check on Kellen,” I said to Gabriel, who’d been reading a book on the couch.
“Stay close, C,” he said, not looking up.
I only half listened to him. I’d already started to think of Kellen’s lips, his warmth. Grabbing the handle of the door, I pressed down and pulled, but let the door swing all the way open in shock. I’d expected to see Kellen on the bridge, yet it was empty.
“Kellen,” I called. Please let him answer, please.
“Kellen!” Louder this time, panic edging into my voice. Behind me, I could hear Gabriel set down his book. I walked out onto the bridge, where nothing but the emptiness of the cold night met me. “Kellen!”
No one answered my cry.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
KELLEN—COMPASS HARBOR
Standing alone in the woods, I watched the ocean from between the trees. The sea always had a quality about it that both terrified and intrigued me at the same time. My Gran taught me from a young age to be very respectful of nature, to never take it for granted. It could strike you down in an instant. As I looked through the foliage in the direction of where I thought Frenchman Bay might feed into the Atlantic, I sensed that churning, sleeping power now.
The wind whipped across the bay and through the trees, where it howled like a specter. A path sign that read “Compass Harbor” had been staked into the ground ahead of me. An arrow on the sign led the way.
My body moved of its own accord now. No matter how much I tried to turn around, to run toward the relative safety of the house, the only thing I could do was move forward. The trail wound through the trees and along the ocean; it would be treacherous at best to continue. Though my flashlight illuminated part of the way, there were tree roots coming up out of the ground in every direction. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t watch where I walked. The path forked up ahead. I could only move forward to…somewhere, though I had no idea where. Where was I going?
“Kellen?”
Slowly, as if in a fog, I turned in the direction from which my name had been spoken. There ahead stood William, a lantern raised up high to illuminate his face.
William had to be the absolute last person that I wanted to see. He might have murdered Thomas, or at least done something with him. The only good thing about William’s being there was that the sound of my own name shook me and I found that I had complete control over myself once more. I could also feel the howling wind on my flesh in a way that I hadn’t when I’d been led into the woods. My entire body began to shake.
“W-ill-iiiaaamm. What’re y-ooouu—” My teeth chattered uncontrollably. There wasn’t a time when I ever remembered being this cold. Even in Faerie.
“I told you not to come out here.” He grumbled this as he rifled through his bag and pulled out a flannel blanket, tossing it at me. Begrudgingly, I opened the blanket and wrapped it around myself. Continuing to rifle through his bag, William took out a thermos, shoving it roughly in my direction. “Drink this.”
The thermos top easily unscrewed and I smelled its contents, cringing. “What is this stuff?” There was no way I was drinking whatever was in it.
“It’s a concoction that I carry with me when I’m in the woods. Basil, ginger, turmeric, garlic, cayenne, and a little vegetable juice. It’s used to prevent hypothermia.”
“I don’t have hypothermia.”
“No, but you will, wandering out here in the night, even with your coat on.”
The urge to tell him to shove his drink up his lying warlock butt tempted me. However, looking around, I realized that I had no idea where I’d ended up and even less of an idea how to get home from that point. There weren’t many options for me.
“Come on,” William said, turning and walking.
We headed back in the direction in which I’d come, but I felt curious about the fork in the path, the way in which I’d most likely been headed. “Whe-rrrr-rre d-does that o-other w-w-ay g-g-g-o?” I said, shivers taking me again.
William stopped walking and turned to look back at me. “The sea.” Then he resumed his pace and left me to keep up. “Drink it,” he said without looking back.
“No way.” I’d dump the stuff when he wasn’t paying attention.
“I said drink!” William yelled, again, not looking at me as he spoke.
Before I could respond to him, the cup flew up into my face and forced itself into my mouth of its own accord. I tried to fight it off, getting scalded by the hot liquid in the process, but not before a decent quantity of the drink slid down my throat, making me want to throw up.
Taking a swipe at the cup, I knocked it away from me, spitting on the ground. “Don’t ever try that with me again or else.” I didn’t yell, but instead kept my voice even as I spoke, resisting the urge to rub my tongue on my coat, anything to get that foul taste out of my mouth.
William stopped and met my eye then, his smile mocking me. “Or you’ll what?”
I’d thought about calling him out as the fraud I believed he was, but I wasn’t stupid enough to try anything. We were in the woods alone. He could kill me now if he wanted to. “Don’t make me think of something,” I said. Hopefully he wouldn’t call my bluff any time soon.
He laughed. “I believe that you ingested enough of it that you should be feeling better by now. Your speech already sounds normal,” William said as he turned and started walking again.
Dammit, he’s right. Though my stomach had battled an immediate wave of nausea when I’d first swallowed, I warmed up after that. It seemed to me that I could follow the thermos’s contents through my body as it extended to my limbs and even my fingers. Tentatively, I wiggled my toes and moved each of my fingers to test them out; each seemed to be in working order. However, I took the opportunity to flip William off while he walked with his back to me, just the same.
“What were you doing out here in the woods, anyway?” My voice sounded casual. Though I expected him to react defensively, he surprised me.
“I was out harvesting wintergreen. People are going to start getting sick this time of year and it’s good for sore throats. I prefer to search for it at night.”
“Huh.” I didn’t know what to think about that. It actually sounded plausible.
“My truck is just up here in the parking area,” William said, gesturing straight ahead.
“Parking area?”
“I’m not crazy enough to walk miles in the dark, like you.” William walked toward the only vehicle in the dark parking lot. He drove a truck, but I couldn’t see any more detail than that as our steps brought us closer.
“Miles? I didn’t think I’d been gone that long.”
William opened my door from the inside as he climbed in the driver’s seat and started up the ancient truck. “They do that to you, you know. Take you away from space and time. The Good People do.” Revving the engine, he put it in gear and drove out of the parking area.
“What Good People?” I asked, deciding to play dumb. Looking out the window, the woods seemed to call to me again. I looked away. Wrapping the blanket tighter around me, I waited, impatient for the interior of the vehicle to heat up.
“Do you know anything about the legends and folklore of this place?”
“Nope.”
William continued talking, breaking the silence of the cab. “The Native American tribe in this area believes there are little people around these parts.”
It felt like his bizarre drink had decided to fight its way out of my stoma
ch and I choked. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as I tried to get my coughing under control.
“You know who I mean, right? I mean the fey. You know, faerie folk.”
The concept of faeries in Maine made me feel slightly sick. Did they hold a grudge against us, too? Did they know we were here? I couldn’t let on, though.
“Faeries in Maine? Please,” I said, deliberately inflecting my tone with a note of derisiveness.
“No, it’s true. Take the Mihkomuwehs, for example. They’re the gnomes that live deep in the forest. They don’t bother with you too much if you don’t show them any disrespect. Then there are the river elves, the Wonakomehs. They’re usually pretty friendly, unless you’re a fisherman.”
“Yeah?” Where was he going with this?
“There are all kinds of spirits and beings that roam these woods. You’ll want to be careful out there and not go wandering off,” William said. “You’re lucky that I’m the one that found you first.”
What did that mean? How much did he know? Could they be here? Regardless, I couldn’t deny that someone or something had led me into the woods. Practically hypnotized me into going there. Was it William, the C.O.D., or both?
Neither of us spoke after that as we drove back to Gabe’s. William’s eyes stayed on the road and mine on the window. I stared into the dark, moonless night sky, with barely a star to brighten it. Though I supposed there wouldn’t be very many stars, as Cali wasn’t there to light them. Why didn’t Lugh light the stars in her absence?
When we reached the Stewarts’ house, I battled a strange mix of emotions—relief that I’d made it back to my temporary home, but also embarrassment at William having to haul me out of the woods. To my annoyance, William turned off the truck and got out with me when we arrived. I’d been hoping that he would just go on his way. However, he alighted with me and we walked toward the house. For the first time, I noticed a small plaque on the door, illuminated by the porch light. It read Alastrom.
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