by Lainy Lane
“Don’t start with me!” she snaps at him.
“Why am I even here in the first place? You made me stay for what exactly?”
“I don’t know!” The truth slips out harsher than she intended it. She knows if it weren’t for the shadows she would see the hurt all over his face. She’s just cut him deep, she can feel it in the room. Without another word, Tristan gets up and leaves the house. Something tells Calandra to go after him, but she fights the urge. What can she say at this point? She’s done nothing but stomp all over him and use him since this whole ordeal started. Unfortunately for Tristan, the trend doesn’t seem like it’s going to let up anytime soon either.
In her distraction of Tristan’s breakdown, Calandra didn’t see Drake leave the room, but he returns with a cup of tea. Her first impulse is to say thanks, until she remembers that he is what caused the stress that made her need the drink in the first place. She gives a quick, timid smile instead.
“What does he want?” Jarreth asks.
“Like you don’t know,” Drake replies instantly.
“Um, I don’t!” Calandra chimes in, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Drake nods his head toward Jarreth, signaling for him to be the one to explain.
Calandra starts in on her drink to prepare for what may be coming.
“He’s here to prevent you from stopping him,” Jarreth says simply.
“Yeah, thanks for clearing that up, Jare!” Calandra rolls her eyes at him as she begins in on her tea.
“Kailen was the reason behind the downfall of Faerie, he was the human that Echo fell in love with that caused all of this to happen. Only he’s not exactly human anymore.”
“What does that even mean?”
“No one’s totally sure,” Drake jumps in. “He was human when he was here, when he fell in love with Echo. Then after the veil got closed and he was taken away from Echo, he went a little … crazy?”
“He’s completely ruthless, Calandra, he has no heart, and more than likely no soul. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a deal with the devil himself to be able to come back for revenge.” Jarreth takes the explanation down a slightly different path and causes it to make even less sense.
“Exactly how heartless is this man?” she asks before she downs the rest of her drink. “Like Drake heartless?”
“I would be hurt,” Drake insists, “if I had a heart that is.” He smiles mechanically.
“Worse,” Jarreth says.
Calandra holds her empty cup out to Drake, insisting he go refill it for her again. He rolls his eyes, but takes the cup and leaves the room anyway.
Jarreth puts his arm on her shoulder. “You okay?”
Calandra shrugs.
Drake returns and hands Calandra her cup.
“So are you guys figuring out a plan or forming some sort of spiritual connection over here?” he asks.
Calandra rolls her eyes. “Still butt hurt over the heartless comment are we?”
Jarreth clears his throat and they both stop talking. “Do you know exactly what Kailen plans to do?” he asks Drake.
Drake shrugs. “Not exactly, we’re not on the best of terms at the moment.”
“Oh really?” Jarreth seems unbelieving of this. “And why is that?”
Calandra almost chokes on her drink when she remembers the vision. “Because he didn’t take his side, he told him I was going to win.” She smiles.
Jarreth looks at her, confused. “He also was working with Kailen and trying to get you on his side, remember?”
Drake rolls his eyes. “Don’t let your head get all big, sweetie, it had nothing to do with you.”
“So what do we do?” Jarreth changes the subject quickly.
“Trust me,” Drake starts, “when Kailen is ready for you to act, you’ll know. He obviously doesn’t have a plan yet or he would’ve already acted on it.”
“So we do nothing?” Calandra asks.
“Precisely,” Drake replies, “don’t draw attention to yourself before it’s necessary. Figure it out when the time comes.”
Calandra gulps down the rest of her drink.
“You won’t be alone when he does decide to show up, Calandra, we’ll do this together, I promise.” Jarreth smiles reassuringly and Drake scoffs in the background.
Calandra knows it’s a promise that he can’t really make, but she allows herself to take solace in it regardless.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Return
You won’t have to face him alone. Calandra knew it was a promise he couldn’t truly make, but it doesn’t make her feel any better now that she stares at Kailen face to face. Jarreth had gone to town to pick up some things for the house since no one seemed to want Calandra to leave her house for reasons that hadn’t been fully disclosed to her, as usual.
Kailen’s eyes are dark midnight blue and opaque. His hair is copper and his skin is much paler than should be possible. He is dressed in all gray. They stand across from each other outside, just in front of the tree house. Calandra backed herself into the door when she saw him standing there after she stepped out to explore the land a bit. Her heart races faster than she knew was possible.
“I take it they filled you in on exactly who I am,” Kailen says coolly.
No one has filled her in on anything exactly since she’s been here. It’s all been a frustrating series of riddles and pieces that they’ve chosen to disclose. “For the most part.” Calandra decides to play it cool and pretend to know more than she actually does.
“And you know who you are then?”
“I’m Calandra.” So much for playing it cool, she had managed to say the dumbest thing possible. She knew that wasn’t what he meant by his statement, but her mind didn’t have time to stop her mouth from saying the words regardless.
“Yeah … I feel like there’s still some things you’re unaware of.” Kailen smiles coyly.
Calandra stares at him blankly, trying to decide what to say and hoping she doesn’t manage to make herself seem even more clueless than she already had. “Why should I trust you to tell me?”
“We both want the same thing, Calandra.”
“What’s that?” She vows to give Jarreth and Drake a nice chewing if she gets through this little show down. If they had explained everything to her, she wouldn’t have to make herself out to be a total dimwit right now.
“This,” Kailen motions his arms around him as he says it, “Faerie.”
Someone must have forgotten to tell him that Calandra hadn’t asked for any of this. Before she has a chance to even try to think of something to say, Kailen starts in again.
“You see, I couldn’t allow the same creatures that destroyed me and took away everything that I’d ever had that was good keep this beautiful world all to themselves. That wouldn’t be justice, now would it? I vowed to come back somehow and give them all exactly what they deserved. If you only knew everything I had to go to in order to make this happen.” His eyes gleam an odd color at her and it sets her nerves on fire.
“What are you exactly?”
“You’ll find out when everyone else does, I suppose. What I am will be plenty powerful enough to put every one of these horrid creatures out of their little fantasy world of being able to treat humans like they’re nothing and they don’t matter. What I am is enough to take the power away from them, and watch them starve without human interaction, watch them suffer as their life source drowns out of them slowly.”
“So, you want to replace evil with evil? That seems like the perfect plan.” Suddenly Calandra is completely sick of the games and she feels a new confidence wash over her. “What exactly are you here to discuss, Kailen?”
Calandra tries to let everything soak in, she tries to make some sense of it all. Something still doesn’t seem to add up all the way. She still can’t put her finger on why she’s so powerful. Why she has been so quick to adapt to the world. Why is she the one who will be able to fix everything? She still has no clu
e what the prophecy is, or how it is that she seems to have inherited much more Fae than human. There is still a piece to this puzzle that is missing. There is something no one is telling her. Maybe something that no one knows, but either way she knows she needs to figure this out before she can put an end to anything.
“Well, seeing as we’re both after the same thing, I thought that some lines should be drawn, so to speak.” He turns back to face her and stops walking around.
“No lines.” Calandra finally decides to pull strength from her powers and toughen up despite the confusion coursing through her mind.
“No? So what do you propose then? You know I’m not going to just stand by and watch you try and take over as if you deserve it.”
“You can’t correct a wrong with another wrong.” Did she just repeat one of her father’s corny parenting sayings? She must be going over the deep end completely. “Seeing as I have destiny on my side, I think I’ll be just fine either way.” She gives a snide smile after to add a nice sarcastic note to it.
“Destiny,” Kailen scoffs, “is that what they told you?”
“No, that’s what this told me.” She pulls her pink baby-doll tee off of her shoulder and exposes her dragonfly.
“Sorry to tell you, deary, but that means nothing.” His words are instant, but he can’t hide the stunned expression on his face.
Calandra rolls her eyes at his new way to refer to her. She knows that he’s just trying to get under her skin, unfortunately despite that knowledge, it’s working. Her temper is rising under her skin, she feels it starting toward its boiling point, and she feels very close to breaking down completely.
“Did you call them?” Kailen once again brings her back to the present moment and Calandra realizes they are surrounded by Sprites. He looks impressed, at least to a small extent.
Calandra isn’t sure if she had called them, she certainly hadn’t meant to if so, but to admit that would show yet another weakness and she has already managed to expose too many of those in this encounter. She nods in agreement instead.
“And what do you suppose they are going to do for you exactly?”
The Sprites gather around her, staying behind her just slightly. The soft buzzing of their wings is much more comforting than she could have ever expected it to be. Instead of answering his question, she is suddenly inspired to try another route. Since talking seems to be her weakness and give away too many of her faults, she decides to try a more intimidating way about things. She’s simply going to stare and look resolved with her Sprite supporters behind her.
“Oh, how nice of you to join us.” Kailen rolls his eyes as he says it.
Calandra turns around and is more than comforted to see Jarreth has returned. He takes a place next to Calandra and her confidence increases tenfold. “Kailen.” Jarreth says the name with even more hate than he uses when he says Drake’s name. This surprises Calandra.
“Jarreth.” Kailen returns the hatred.
There is a beyond awkward and uncomfortable stare off. Too many thoughts run through Calandra’s head and she feels her emotions threaten to come off balance again. She knows she can’t risk losing it. She feels much more in control with Jarreth by her side, but she’s still too much on edge to think that he’s enough to keep her in check completely.
“Kailen,” Calandra finds her voice and starts in, “what exactly did you come over here to tell me? Enough with the games, get it out so that you can leave.”
“Well,” Kailen smiles approvingly, “I thought you might want to know that I decided to play a little game.”
Of course he did. Faeries love games. It is something Calandra is still learning, and at the current moment, something she isn’t liking in the least.
“What kind of game?” She gives in, not knowing what other choice she really has in the matter.
“A game of hide and seek. I hid something that you want and now you have to seek it.” His smile is beyond wicked, it borders on the line of insane.
Calandra’s first instinct is to ask what he hid, but she knows she doesn’t need to ask. She already knows. Her very first vision comes into mind. Tristan. Because she hadn’t put him through enough already. Because he wasn’t upset with her enough. Because she didn’t suddenly need him now more than ever. Kailen must somehow know all of this. Jarreth automatically reaches out and takes her hand. The electric current pulses through her and gives her the strength she so desperately needs.
“Rules?” she asks simply.
“There are none,” Kailen says. Calandra doesn’t buy it for a second.
“I’m not ready to make my move just yet, Calandra. This is simply a little fun for me and to make sure you know exactly what I am capable of.”
“And for you to see that I can take you!” She manages to put much more confidence into her voice than she actually feels at the moment.
“If you say so.” Kailen starts to walk away, but turns back around. “Enjoy!” He smiles again. “I look forward to many more encounters, dearest.” He stands there looking menacing but doesn’t budge at all.
“You may go,” Jarreth says tightly.
Kailen’s smile widens. “And what if I’m not ready?”
Calandra is beyond sick of the twisted games here. Too many emotions are coursing through her as it is and now he wants to play some more. “Go!” She laces her voice with as much evil as she can muster up.
Kailen laughs.
Pulling from everything that boils within her at the moment, Calandra reaches into the deepest parts of her. She feels it building and yielding to whatever she wills for it to do. All at once she lifts her arm toward Kailen and holds her palm out toward him. Crimson sparks shoot out of her and Kailen is lifted into the air and thrown at least twenty feet back. He is taken aback completely. The Sprites leave their post by Calandra and head off toward Kailen. He leaves in a hurry with the Sprites seeing him off.
Jarreth looks proud. It’s a look she hasn’t seen on him yet and it very much suits him. “That was amazing,” he says. “How did you do it?”
Calandra shrugs as if it’s no big deal. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal at the moment. It doesn’t change anything. Her world is still currently beyond messed up and now she has to worry about finding Tristan.
“You already know where he is,” Jarreth says, sensing where her thoughts are taking her.
“Not really,” she says sadly.
“Calandra, you saw it in a vision. You can find the place I promise you. After what I just saw, you can apparently do much more than anyone knows or ever would’ve expected.”
This suddenly makes her feel better. She allows herself this small victory. Takes in the accomplishment that she has just made and feels proud of herself. The rest she can figure out in a minute, for now she wants to feel empowered.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Save You
Jarreth had been right, again. Calandra had a feeling that could get old fast. Once she focused on the vision and concentrated on the surroundings in it she had been able to lead them to the location easily. However, now that they stand outside of the cave and she knows what she will see once they walk inside, the accomplishment she felt from being able to lead them here suddenly dwindles down.
“Are you ready for this?” Jarreth asks softly.
She shrugs. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for this.”
“You’re not alone, remember that.” He smiles.
“Not at all.” Another voice comes from behind them, one that wasn’t supposed to be here.
“Drake.” Calandra rolls her eyes. She doesn’t have to turn around to see who was behind them, she knows that voice.
“Did you really think I would miss the show down?”
“Sorry to tell you but you already missed it,” she informs him with more pleasure than it should have brought her.
“I don’t care about the one with you and Kailen,” he says. “This one, on the other hand … well, I think it should be
rather interesting.”
Calandra looks to Jarreth hoping for more information, but his expression is blank as well. Great. Here she thought that having the vision had prepared her for what was to come, she hasn’t prepared for any surprises. She doesn’t want any surprises, not that she wanted any of this in the first place.
She turns back to the cave and tries to prepare herself to go inside. She has faced some sort of evil incarnate already today. A few days ago she would have thought that would been impossible for her, but she had done it and even over powered him in the end. Yet despite knowing she had overcome that, facing Tristan tied up in a dark, damp cave still seems beyond impossible. She remembers how cold Tristan was in the vision, she hadn’t been able to figure out at the time why he was acting that way. Different, that was the word he had chosen to describe her. Now she knows exactly what he meant by it, and she knows what Drake wants to see. There is going to be a show down. Tristan is finally going to give her exactly what she deserves. Her heart deflates in her chest.