“Why didn’t you want to call the police last night?” Andrew asked.
“I can’t tell you. Ask Genevieve.” She avoided his eyes, hating to lie to anyone, especially him, whom she’d just about lied to every day since she’d returned from fairyland.
“I know she’s hiding secrets. She tells me she’s going to visit her parents, but she doesn’t take any clothes. She can’t call me while she’s there. She refuses to tell me where they live.”
“I’m sorry, Andrew,” she said, this time meeting his eyes because it was true. She was so sorry about everything. “Find someone else. Genevieve is no good for you.”
“And who is?” His eyes were full of adoration, and Jane shook her head.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.” She shoved the suitcase in the trunk and drove away.
10
Axel
Axel spent days debating on whether he should talk to Lili. He even discussed it with Genevieve, telling her everything their father had said.
“I don’t understand why you haven’t gone already. She’s our Aunt, Axel. She’ll help us. She’s helped you before.”
“She helped Jane,” he reminded his sister.
“To help find you. Do you want me to go?”
“No! The last thing I need is your recklessness ruining the only chance at getting that information.”
“Reckless! Ha! Just because I speak the truth and don’t hide behind a mask of bitterness doesn’t make me reckless.” She threw a piece of fruit at him. They sat at the family dining table though no one else had joined them. The younger ones were spending time with their father, who again was feeling extremely weak.
Axel considered what would happen in the next few weeks and decided it was time Genevieve stepped up to her role. “I need you back here for good. Give up Andrew, that house, and the human realm entirely. Darick is my number two on the field and out there, but you’re my number two here. I’m sorry to say it, but I will be king soon. Father will not be here much longer, and Mother will need your help. The village will take their strength in their grief from watching you.”
“So I’m supposed to be the strong one for everybody? Why me?” She whined, and Axel wished he could slap her into adulthood once and for all.
“I have to go out and fucking kill that tyrant, deal with his foolish son, and then run this kingdom. Trust me, you do not want my responsibilities.”
Her look was defiant, but she acquiesced. “I’ll come back, Axel, but not as your number two. That will be your wife when you choose one. I’ll help Mother, but I can’t promise you strength I don’t have.”
“I guess that will have to be enough for now. When are you going through to tell Andrew?”
Genevieve looked up at her brother, and she sent him the message, “Fuck you.” Then she left. An hour later, Darick sent Axel news that Genevieve had gone through the portal.
Enough fooling around, Axel said to himself as he made his way to Lili’s cottage. He’d be open with her, and hopefully she’d tell him all she knew.
When the old woman opened the door, she didn’t look surprised to see him. Now that he knew she was from another realm altogether, a mix of “fairy” (as Jane liked to call them) and “witch”, he wondered what capabilities her mind had. Were they greater than his?
“Halloo,” she greeted him. He tried to look more cheerful than he felt, but he thought he failed at it. He hadn’t felt any joy in so long. Not since…
“Halloo. Lili, I was wondering if we could talk.” Axel wanted to get right to the point.
“I see. Well, you can come in, if you wish, but I’m not feeling well today.” The woman went inside and Axel followed her in, his eyebrows furrowing in actual concern.
“Can’t one of your potions help you feel better?” He remembered the seduction spell on the pie that Nayla had given him.
“It’s more a matter of the heart. I am missing someone today, and there’s no spell for that.”
“If you were human, I could erase your memory,” he said.
“Yes, I suppose that would work. But I’m not human, am I?”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about, Lili. Tell me about your mother. Please.” He sat there patiently, waiting for the seconds to pass before she would either agree or throw him out.
“What happens when you miss someone terribly is that you are not your whole self. You miss them but you miss who you are with them as well. Take a look at you.” She finally sat down beside him at her small wooden table.
“I am fine.” He ignored the empty feeling in his chest.
“You are no more fine than I am right now. I am missing my mother, the life she and I should have had, and I miss Jane. She gave me a little light in my day, having someone to share my work with.”
The mention of her name was like a knife to his heart. He kept a straight face.
“I am sorry that my grandfather did not treat you and your mother the way he should have. I only learned the truth a few days ago, and I want to know more. I want to help you too if you’ll let me.”
“How will you help me?” she asked, a curious smile on her face.
“Maybe I could talk to my parents about you living in the tree, becoming part of the family.”
She shook her head. “I don't want to live up there. I’m glad I was never queen of this place.”
Axel considered her words. It was true. She was the older sibling. She should be queen now instead of his father. A shiver ran down his spine.
“What can I do for you, Lili?”
“I may ask you a favor one day.” She stood up and walked around the table. Axel’s eyes followed her as she continued to circle him.
“What are you doing?”
“Witchcraft,” she said. He narrowed his eyes. She then looked down and smiled at him. “I’m working out a knot in my leg.”
He let go of a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and rolled his eyes at his own stupid preconceptions. Lili wouldn’t hurt him or his family.
She spoke then, “My mother came from a land of witches…”
11
Jane
Moving in with Leah wasn’t everything they’d dreamt it would be back when they were 13-year-old girls. The two women realized they clashed at every turn, especially when Jane wanted to wash the dishes every time she used one and Leah preferred to accumulate first and then run the dishwasher. When Mark came to pick up Jane for their second date, it was practically World War III.
“There is no way he’s coming to this house,” Leah put her foot down. Jane crossed her arms and stared at her supposed friend in disbelief.
“Lee, he has to pick me up.”
“No, he doesn’t. You can’t meet him there? What happened to your 21st century feminist sensibilities? You don’t need a man to pick you up. You pick him up.”
Jane rolled her eyes and left the room. She went to the guest room—which was now her room—to call Mark and let him know she’d meet him at the restaurant.
“Hi, gorgeous,” Mark’s voice came through. Jane smiled at the phone.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said when she heard voices in the background.
“Yes, I’m at your old place. I have Andrew and Genevieve here telling me about the break-in. How come you didn’t mention it on the phone yesterday?” The day before she’d spoken to him again after about a week’s silence in which Jane wondered if he’d forgotten about her or was playing hard to get.
“I’ve been trying not to think about it. So, um, Genevieve is there?” She couldn’t help wondering if there was any news. Thoughts like these persisted in Jane’s mind and in her dreams. Every night, her subconscious brought out what she repressed during the day.
“Yes, I…. Hold on, Genevieve wants to talk to you,” he said. Jane protested, but before she had a chance to say NO, the phone was in the fairy’s hands.
“I’m walking away from them now,” Genevieve said.
“
Great,” Jane mumbled. “What’s new?”
“There’s nothing new. It’s the same old, same old. My dad is sick. The tyrant king is still on the throne. And like it or not, my brother needs you.”
“Excuse me?”
“I never saw much in you. Still don’t. But for some wacky reason you have men foaming at the mouth. Including my brother.”
“Genevieve”
“He misses you like crazy, and he’s driving everyone else crazy because of it. So here’s the deal. I’m leaving. Like, for good. With all the crazy shit going on over there, who knows how long the portal will remain open once I’m back through. Come with me.” There was a reluctance in her voice.
Jane felt her knees weaken. “Why wouldn’t he come see me if he misses me that badly?”
“He’s busy trying to run a kingdom and defeat another one? He’s got his pride after you refused to marry him?”
“Marry him? He told me he didn’t want to do the long-distance thing.”
“What the hell do you think that means? That he wants to hold hands and court you a few years? Boy, what a bunch of simple-minded lot you humans are. A man takes a human back to the homeland for one reason only. To warm his bed and have his children. And you, Jane, refused him that. He’s a proud man. Strong, arrogant at times, but stubbornly proud.”
Jane tried to focus on the words. Her mind was muddled. But nothing had changed, had it? She still didn’t want to give up her life, did she? Except she already had. She had a different job (which she didn’t care for like she did her last one), she’d left Andrew, and she’d moved out of her house. The one good thing that had occurred in the past few weeks was meeting Mark, and even that was so new that she was afraid to even think of it for fear of jinxing it.
“Look, I appreciate everything you’re telling me, and I know it comes from the love you have for Axel,” Jane told her, “but my life is here. And I can’t give it up.” It was forceful, decisive, and she wouldn’t waver.
“Bitch.”
The call ended.
“You’re the witch,” Jane yelled at her phone. Then she threw it on the bed and stomped to the shower. Halfway through shampooing her hair, she realized she never told Mark to meet her at the restaurant.
Jane hated the looks Leah kept throwing at her in the mirror, but she pretended to ignore them.
“So, I wonder what Kathy will be doing for her 2 month vacation. What do you think?” Jane was trying to apply mascara, but she stopped to point first at her breasts, then her thighs. Their friend Kathy had gone under the knife three times already—breasts, nose, breasts again.
“You’re not getting on my good side with gossip this time,” Leah frowned.
“I’ll run outside, I promise.” Jane pouted, and then took advantage and applied lipstick.
“He’s just a distraction to you from your mystery adventure man. You can’t really be falling for Mark.”
“My mystery adventure man was just a rebound from Andrew. Now that it’s out of my system, I’m looking for the real thing. I’m not sure why you can’t see the good in Mark because I find him to be a gentleman.”
Leah left the bathroom with an exaggerated laugh. Jane looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a low-cut shirt. It reminded her of the way Genevieve’s clothing from the other realm fit her. She sighed and turned off the light.
Jane sat across from Mark at dinner, admiring his easy smile. They talked of houses, which she grew bored with in no time, but then he brought up Leah.
“I’ve crushed her sales record every year for the past 5 years, you know,” he said, a smug look on his face.
“How modest of you.” Jane took a sip of wine. The conversation continued in that vein until he finally noticed she wasn’t interested.
“What if we go dancing?” he suggested.
“Dancing?” Thoughts of dancing around a bonfire laced with magic appeared before her eyes.
“Yeah, expensive drinks, lots of people, loud music?”
“You make it sound so appealing.” Jane hoped the sarcasm was apparent.
He looked at her expectantly, and she shrugged her shoulders. “OK.”
It was exactly what he’d described, and Jane found she was rather enjoying herself, even though a sleazy guy grabbed her behind before she could even tell who it was. She stayed extra close to Mark after that. He didn’t mind. They danced several songs, had a couple of drinks, and soon Jane didn’t even have to try to forget that conversation she’d had earlier with Genevieve.
At one point, Jane motioned to the restroom, and he walked her to the line of women waiting for the single stall. When she came out, he was still there and grinned as he reached for her hand. Then he pulled her to the wall and grabbed her face, kissing her with the fierceness that several days of anticipation and alcohol imbued him with.
The suddenness of the kiss pleased Jane. Her mind went blank as their lips touched. A few seconds later, though, an image began to form in her mind. She saw Axel, and just as she had been kissing Mark, she saw Axel in front of her kissing another woman. Impossible! He was home! She pushed Mark away and realized her eyes had been closed. What trick was this? She looked around, but didn’t see anyone familiar. No Axel.
“What’s wrong?” Mark asked, touching her cheek. She shook her head, smiled at him and pulled him in for another kiss. Jane waited for a vision, but nothing came. Instead she remembered all the times she kissed Axel and realized this kiss wasn’t even a shadow of that. She released Mark and asked him to take her home.
12
Axel
It was easily the most astonishing story he’d heard in his life. Axel left Lili’s cottage in a daze, wandering the narrow paths back to the trees surrounding the portal. His thoughts were interrupted by Nayla, who crossed in front of him and held out a plate.
“I have blueberry muffins for you, my prince,” she said sweetly. He looked at her big blue eyes and wondered how she could be so deceiving.
“I’d rather not eat poison today, thanks,” he said, moving around her.
“My prince, I would never!” she called to him. He turned and walked up close to her, leaving almost no room between them.
“But you did lace that pie with a seduction spell, didn’t you?” He feigned a wicked smile. She blushed and lowered her eyes.
“Well, I… You see…” she stammered.
He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face up to him. “I will not be made a fool of. I am master of myself and everyone here, trying to return peace to our kingdom. These games of yours are not cute.” He dropped his hand and walked away, not bothering to check her reaction.
Axel couldn’t understand women. To him, they were illogical creatures, whether human or not, and maybe he should be rid of them. But then he remembered how Jane’s face lit up when she first saw his land, how the voice in his head was the only good thing he had during his months of imprisonment… the feel of her round ass in his hands. Who was he kidding? The most he could hope for now was to erase his own memory of her.
If only that were possible. Dark thoughts invaded him, thoughts of powerful minds stronger than his fueled by blood. No, he could never condone exploiting humans for his own selfish reasons. But, what if there was a volunteer? He vanished the idea from his head, along with all memories of Jane, and continued toward the loudening sound of men’s voices. Soon he’d be sparring with his men, instructing them, and practicing for their march on the citadel.
Darick sent him a message. Hurry. Axel sped toward the portal, wondering what kind of attack the citadel king had devised this time. What if the portal was damaged? What if their weapons had been stolen? He unsheathed his sword, ready to defend his homeland.
He passed the last tree before the small clearing and saw his sister. There she stood, looking bored in her human clothes. There was no danger. He started to slip his sword back in its sheath and was about to unleash his annoyance at Darick and Genevieve.
But then Axel caught a m
ovement out of the corner of his eye. His head snapped to the portal, where right outside of that damned tree stood the last person he ever expected to see again. Blood pounded at his ears, his stomach lurched, and he lost touch with his mind powers like he had the first time he saw her.
Jane. Her hair was disheveled, much like how it had looked the last time they’d been in her bed. She was wearing her usual conservative garb, but he knew what she possessed underneath that button-down blouse and those skinny jeans. He imagined her without them, wearing only those sky-high heels and those red lips of hers. It was easy for him to jump back into conjuring these daydreams of her when she was standing right there in front of him.
But Axel found a split second when his higher brain function worked again. He narrowed his eyes and planted his feet firmly on the ground, noticing he could once again feel the earth rumble beneath him at will.
“What is she doing here?” he asked, shifting his gave to his sister, who had a wicked look on her face.
“Why do you sound like you’re mad at me?” Jane asked. She looked surprised at his first reaction to seeing her. It didn’t soften him though.
“This is how he is now. You broke him,” Genevieve said.
“She didn’t break me. I just have much bigger things to worry about, as you can see,” he waved his arms at the men that had gathered, some with guns and swords in hand. Jane looked around, and he dug his heels in deeper. She was the reason he hadn’t slept well in over a month. Maybe his sister was right. Maybe he was broken.
“I’ve come to help. And I’d like to talk to you.” Her voice dropped at the end as if she were nervous.
“As you can see,” he said, furrowing his brows, “I’ve got a lot going on at the moment, so it’ll have to wait.” He stalked off into the trees towards the training area without a glance back. He mentally sent a sharp order for his men to follow him, and they resumed practice.
A Touch of Summer: Spellbound Series Book 2 (The Spellbound Series) Page 4