Axel raised an eyebrow at her. He moved on to Andrew who slurred his words.
“I don't understand anything. I don't get how these portals exist, I don't get why you are all here, and I definitely don't understand why Jane would willingly involve herself in any of this.”
Jane shut her eyes. "Andrew, there's so much that you don't know.”
"Not sure I want to know,” he said. Genevieve bit her lip. She looked to him but he refused to meet her eyes.
"And this is all very important, I'm sure, but I thought we were on a mission Axel,” said the other fairy.
Axel stood up and nodded his head. "Let's go," he said rummaging in a drawer until he found a set of keys.
"Who is this jerk?” Genevieve demanded.
"This is Tamus, the prince from beyond the hills. He’s going to help. We've got to go now." Axel headed towards the door and opened it a slit to peer outside. "I don't think you guys should stay here. He can come back.”
Genevieve threw her hands in the air. "Well, aren't you a genius! Why would we stay here after this? The real question is where are you going? Because if you say it's for a mission to help the homeland, then I'm coming with you.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, sweetheart," Tamus said.
Uh-oh. Jane walked to the window to take a look outside and make sure the coast was clear. She also wanted to stay away from getting caught in the crossfire.
Genevieve's voice rang loud and clear. "What makes you think you can stop me from going anywhere with my brother?”
Tamus gave a slight chuckle to which Genevieve put her hands on her hips and glared at her brother.
Axel ran his hand through his hair. "Gen, I need you here. It would be great if you can keep an eye on things while I'm gone.”
It was apparent that Genevieve was upset. Her pursed lips and deadly stare kept Jane looking out the window. Unfortunately, she found nothing of interest to keep her attention, and she gave a little jump when Axel came behind her to whisper in her ear, "Can I talk to you in private for a moment?”
Jane’s heart raced as his breath tickled her ear. She didn't know what he was feeling, but a deep warmth enveloped her. She gave a quick nod and followed him up the stairs. When they entered his room, she felt the same butterflies as when she’d first seen him sunbathing by the pool that past spring.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Jane said, “What did you want to talk about?" More likely than not, he would tell her something fairy related, perhaps something about keeping Andrew quiet about the existence of the homeland.
"I was so scared when I saw you today standing there, your eyes glazed over, and I had no idea if you would be OK.”
Jane’s eyes snapped up quicker than she would have liked, but she was even more surprised at the lustful expression Axel displayed. "Why are you so worried about me now? You’ve been trying to get rid of me, and now here you are. Go on your mission, go save the world, and let me live my life.”
"Who can understand you? You came to the homeland. What did you come for?”
"Axel, you had so many chances to listen to me. I was there. I was at your house, wearing your sister’s clothing. You pushed me away.”
He seemed to study her face. His gaze passed over her eyes, her nose, and rested on her lips. Jane turned to walk back out.
"Wait." In less than a second she felt his hands on her shoulders. Jane closed her eyes and took in a sharp breath.
"Wait? What am I waiting for?” she asked him. His hands ran down the side of her arms, and Jane was reminded of that day in the bath when she first let him touch her. Any second now she would give in. His lips would draw her back into his world, and she would bask in the pleasures he would bestow upon her.
Jane broke from his hold. She faced him again and asked the same question, "What am I waiting for?”
"I... I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm just real glad you're safe. My mission now is to make sure this all goes away for you. It will be like you never met me.”
She shook her head. “I won't ever forget how you made me feel. And I won't ever be the same again. But I would like to feel safe.”
“I'll do whatever it takes then. For now, go away from this neighborhood, away from the portal.” He reached over and put the strand of hair she’d been playing with behind her ear again.
18
Axel
It was hard not to touch her, Axel thought as he released the soft tendrils of fiery hair. It was impossible, actually. He struggled to bring his hand back to his side and fought with himself to keep from dragging her into his arms.
Jane. He’d thought he could keep away from her. He’d almost convinced himself that he was over her, telling himself that they were both better off by staying apart. But now look at him—one moment when he was worried for her safety and every single feeling he ever had for her came crashing over him. It hit him hard.
She was so irresistible. He’d had quite some time to study her features like never before as she sat immobile on the couch. The natural waves of her red hair, the deep blue of her eyes, the porcelain smoothness of her skin—only then could he fully appreciate her beauty.
And now as he stood before her, he drank in the intense look she gave him. Her eyes were darker, her lips fiercely pouty, her head held proudly high. Axel considered taking that one long step between them and putting an end to their verbal sparring, but instead he sat on the edge of the bed and watched as she left the room.
He'd made his decision. Why couldn't he stick with it? Axel was berating himself and his lack of willpower when he received a message from Genevieve downstairs: He’s gone.
Axel flew down the steps, barreling into the living room to find the front door open and everyone outside. “What happened?” he demanded, looking around for Tamus, all the while sending him messages that went unanswered.
“He said he was going to look around outside to see if that guy left any clues,” Andrew said.
“And you believed him?” Axel shouted. He turned to Genevieve. “Where were you?”
“I was in the bathroom, if you must know. I was stuck in one spot for a couple of hours remember? And Andrew didn’t know about what happened at the citadel.” She stood next to Andrew.
“You know,” Andrew said, “I thought maybe I should ask you to erase my memory so I could forget everything about portals and fairies—the little I know. But now I’m thinking not knowing is worse. Look what happened now. And that day that the man broke in… we had no idea what sort of creature we could be dealing with.”
“Creature?” Genevieve spit out.
“Is he from your world?” he asked. Genevieve and Axel looked at each other.
“No,” she admitted.
“There you go. There’s stuff going on that even you are unaware of. How can I protect myself, how can Jane, if we don’t know everything that’s going on?” Andrew pointed out. Again Axel looked to Genevieve. He didn’t need a message from her to know she wanted full transparency with Andrew.
After a couple more unsuccessful attempts at communicating with Tamus, Axel gave in and told them everything. Jane already knew most of it, and she wasn't even phased by his mention of other realms. He wondered if Lily had told her about that.
What was interesting was that Andrew seemed to take it all well. Most of the shock must have passed, and he even sported an expression of intense concentration.
"So what do we do?" Andrew asked leaning in towards Axel and Genevieve. Jane stood back.
Axel shook his head. "You need to stay safe and let us handle everything."
Genevieve linked her hand with Andrew’s. Again, Axel was impressed with how well the human was handling the situation. He let them have a private discussion and ambled over to check in with Jane. She held out her hand to stop him with an irritated look on her face and climbed into her car. She reversed and took off down the street and out of sight.
This was his entire fault. He’d been selfish in so many ways and
it had turned her life upside down. The best thing he could do for her now was to leave her alone forever. If she didn't return to this neighborhood or the portal, then she could escape whatever came next.
“I'm sorry, brother.” Genevieve came over and put her hand on his shoulder.
"You’re not the first to be dumped by her,” Andrew said. Axel gave him a scathing look. "What? It's true.”
Axel raged in silence. Tamus had disappeared to god-knows-where, Jane was gone forever, and his sister was in love with a pompous idiot. He jumped into his own car and was about to drive aimlessly around town looking for Tamus when he received a message from him with his location.
Axel pulled a U-turn and went to pick him up, hoping that this wasn't a trap. He saw Tamus across the street from where he stood at a red light. The citadel prince looked defeated which was a new look for Tamus. Axel pulled up next to him and rolled down the passenger window.
"So what was that about?" he asked Tamus through the open window.
"I could still smell him. I thought I could catch up to him. But the trail disappears right around there," Tamus said, resting his forearms on the door.
"What do you mean smell him?”
"It’s a witch's spell. The spell used to be much stronger, but it's been fading. That might be what happened here. Or he might have just vanished into thin air.”
Axel tried not to look as perplexed as he felt. "Vanished? Who can vanish?"
“Demons. And their scent also disappears right away, so that’s another point for the demon team.”
Axel dropped his forehead on to the steering wheel. Fucking incredible. Demons? "What realm do they come from?”
"The demon realm. But there is news in the witch realm that the demon realm has been destroyed.”
Axel quickly relayed all of this information to Genevieve.
"Come on. Get in. And you're going to tell me what you were doing in the witch realm.”
19
Jane
"You could at least tell me when you will be gone a few days," Leah admonished her as soon as Jane walked through the door.
“I left you a note,” Jane said as she walked to the spot by the fridge where she had placed the note. When she saw nothing was there, Jane reached into her pants pocket and produced said note.
"Shit."
Leah ran over to her. “I don't think I've ever heard you curse before. What’s wrong?” The concern on her face was apparent.
Jane sat herself down at the kitchen counter, covered her eyes with the palms of her hand, and mumbled, "So much.”
"Well you know you can tell me anything. Did Mark do anything to you? I called him and he said you took off. Then I was wondering if you had reunited with the mystery man. Oh, I'm so sorry! I also called your parents.”
Jane dropped her hands onto the counter with a thud. “You didn’t, Lee.”
Leah winced. “I did. But I was worried about you! I thought maybe you’d gone to see them?”
“I have to call them,” Jane said, running to her room to grab her cell phone. Besides the thousands of missed calls, she had a thousand more text messages. She swiped through to find her parents’ texts and saw the worst thing at the end of a long rant of messages.
Your dad and I are boarding the plane right now. I’ll try reaching you again when we land.
Based on the time difference and length of flight, Jane calculated that they would land in less than an hour. She threw herself on the bed, covering her eyes with her left arm. She tried to think, think, think. What could she tell her parents? How would she explain her erratic behavior?
Jane herself wondered if the truth was even a good enough explanation. She was so far removed from the person she was a few months ago that perhaps there was something wrong with her. She was so much more impulsive now. It scared her. Her first reaction when she read that message from her mom was to run away.
Leah knocked on her open door. “Can I help you in some way, Janie?”
Her friend must feel guilty for worrying her parents. Jane tried to comfort her. “Don’t worry about it. They’re on their way here, but it’s not your fault. I should have gone to see them months ago, anyway. Running away from your problems never works, Lee. Remember that. I’ll have to remember that in the future, too.”
“I’m here for whatever you need. Just let me know. If you want, they can stay here.” Leah looked around, probably assessing how two more adults would fit in the small apartment.
“No, they’ll want to stay at a hotel. But thanks. Sorry you’re getting dragged into this.”
“I just wish you hadn’t forced me to call Mark.” She elbowed Jane as she sat by her on the bed.
“Oh, no! Now I’m really sorry. But he’s actually a nice guy. If you weren’t mortal enemies, I think you’d get along.”
“Well, the weird thing is that he called me yesterday to discuss a property he’s selling. He was talking crazy… splitting commission. I don’t even know what to think of it.”
Jane laughed and put her arm around her friend. “Give him a chance. Maybe you guys could come to a mutual understanding that would benefit both your businesses.”
“Maybe,” Leah said, but she looked skeptical.
Jane stood up. “I’m going to the airport to meet them. I should shower,” she said, looking down at her wrinkled shirt. Her mother would flip out if she saw Jane that way. Her hair must look like a disaster. She’d managed to get all the flowers out, but she knew bits of leaves must be lost in her curls.
Jane parked at the airport and walked inside, wishing she had a bag packed and could fly away herself. She sat by the baggage claim her parents’ flight would be using. When she heard her sister’s voice, alarm bells went off in Jane’s head.
“So you are alive?” Emma said. Jane noticed her sister was attached to her cell phone. Was that all eighteen-year-olds did nowadays? She looked past her sister (who had much shorter blonde hair than the last time she’d seen her) and spotted her mom and dad. They were visibly frazzled, which was a very uncharacteristic look for them.
“Emma, slow down. Oh, Jane. How nice of you to show up after I’ve been calling for days with no answer from you.” Her mother looked as angry as she sounded. Her lips showed not one millimeter of a smile.
Jane went over to hug each one of them. “Hi, Dad,” she said, hoping at least he would keep a level head as usual.
“Jane, we have lots to talk about,” he said. Jane nodded and held on to her mother’s purse to help with the load.
After they secured all the luggage, she drove them to a hotel near the beach.
“Franny, let’s get settled in and take a dip in the ocean before we jump into any long and heavy conversations,” her father suggested to her mother as he tipped the valet driver.
Her mother nodded her head, walked over to Jane, and kissed her forehead. “Don’t disappear before dinner, please. Be back here at eight.”
“Sure,” Jane agreed, glad for the respite. The quiet car drive was torture, but it didn’t compare to what was to come.
Emma looked up from her phone long enough to shake her head and walk up the steps to the hotel lobby. When had she become such a brat? It had been a year since Jane had seen her family. Back then Emma had been so eager to hear about Jane’s life and seek advice on college and boys and such.
“Gordon, are you sure this place has our reservation?” Jane’s mother asked as the four of them passed a crowd of people waiting outside the restaurant.
“Yes, dear,” Jane’s father replied, giving Jane a wink. At least he wasn’t too miffed at her.
They were seated in no time at a table in a quiet corner of the upscale restaurant.
“Have you dined here yet?” her father asked.
Jane placed her napkin on her lap neatly. “No, first time.” She was waiting anxiously for the interrogation and scolding to begin.
“Emma will be going to Columbia,” her mother said abruptly.
“The unive
rsity,” Emma interjected.
“Well, that’s a relief. Probably not too safe to go to the country on your own,” Jane said. Her sister rolled her eyes. Tough crowd. “Congratulations.”
They ordered dinner, and Jane’s mother made sure to inform her on all the goings-on back in her hometown, to which Jane nodded and smiled. Maybe they wouldn’t bring up her disappearances. Maybe they would let it blow over by ignoring the whole situation.
As Jane ordered her third glass of wine and a cheesecake slice for dessert, she felt a vibration in her purse. Hoping she wasn’t being too rude, Jane unzipped the purse enough to see that a call was coming in. Her phone read the name Genevieve, but to Jane it was screaming out TROUBLE. She zipped her purse back up and finished the last of her second glass of wine, hoping the third one would come out soon. How long did it take to bring over that bottle? In fact, they should just set it down next to her.
Then she felt the vibration again.
“I’ll be right back,” Jane said apologetically, heading towards the restroom.
She squeezed her eyes shut as she answered the call. “Hi, Genevieve.”
“It’s Andrew. We need your help.”
Jane opened her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was piled artfully on top of her head (thanks to Leah), her makeup was perfect (again Leah), and her clothing reflected upper-middle class. Her high-end brand name purse dangled from her shoulder. The only thing off in the picture were the bags under her eyes.
“Jane,” Andrew said.
“I’ve given up on that drama, Andrew.” She saw her mouth say the words in the mirror.
“It’s Axel. He and Tamus went into a realm of witches, and they’re trapped.”
Jane’s heart skipped a beat.
“Is the portal broken? This happened before. He’ll have to wait until the Night of Eternal Dark,” she rattled off.
“Huh? I don’t think the portal is broken. They’re holding him for a trial. Wait,” he said, and then she heard rustling.
A Touch of Summer: Spellbound Series Book 2 (The Spellbound Series) Page 7