by Sarah Reeves
She entered the living room just in time to see Kieran throw his hands up in victory. He looked up at her, eyes alight with laughter and mischief. Alex made herself answer his grin. His smile altered as he took in the look in Alex’s eyes, but he turned back to Jennifer, who hadn’t noticed anything yet.
“Told you I would win,” he crowed. “I am the champion.”
“There’s a fine line between being a champion and being lucky.” Alex sat down on Kieran’s right side and shoved his shoulder. She still couldn’t quite shake the anger she was feeling. Jennifer looked up then, and her face changed as she took in the tension coming off of Alex.
“I, ah, I think that it’s time for bed, little girl,” Jennifer saud, turning to Teagan. “It’s late.” She picked up Alex’s little sister and turned her upside down. She carried her out of the room, squealing happily. In the sudden quiet, Kieran turned to his Companion.
“Okay, spill. What’s wrong?” His voice was concerned. “Why are you mad?”
“It’s nothing.” Alex blew out a frustrated breath. “No, it’s not. It’s Oliver. For some reason, he’s mad at me because of the connection that you and I have.”
“Why would he be mad about that? We explained why we have the relationship that we do, and how it came about. There’s no reason for him to freak out.”
Alex linked her fingers together. “He’s mad because he knows that I have… feelings for you, and before I left for the Fire Realm, there was a small something between us. But he called things off, because of the danger we were both in, and because I was leaving. And that sucked a little bit at the time, but I understood. Now he sees the way you and I are together, and he gets mad because I didn’t wait around for him to decide that it was a good time to move forward into a deeper relationship with him.”
Kieran frowned. “Uh huh. You have feelings for me?”
“Seriously?” Despite her mood, Alex laughed. “We’ve been over this.” She sighed. “It’s just, we’ve been friends for years; I’m pretty sure we’ve been friends for longer than we haven’t been. And now, I feel like that’s being ruined, all because he thinks he’s got some kind of claim over my feelings.”
“That might not be it, though.” Kieran laid a hand on Alex’s knee. “He could just be regretting his decision to keep things from moving forward with you, and now he sees that it’s too late for him to turn back.”
“How are you princely even here?” Alex laughed again. “It’s weird. Aren’t you supposed to gain the wisdom of a monarch after you ascend to the throne, not before?”
“It’s not princely wisdom,” answered Kieran sagely. “It’s manly wisdom. I know that’s how I would be thinking, if it were me. Men aren’t that complicated. We’re not!” He insisted when Alex snorted. “I promise you we’re not.” He lifted his hand from her knee to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “Now, if we could get back to the ‘feelings for me’ bit…”
Alex shoved him to the floor at the same time that Jennifer came back into the room. Sensing the lighter mood, Alex’s mother began to gather up the cards that lay on the carpet. “There is one spare bedroom, and for some reason, the owner saw fit to put a loveseat in there with the bed. You two can sleep in there for the night.” She looked at her daughter warningly. “I’m sure I don’t have to set any rules, given that you’re both responsible, right?” Alex flushed and nodded. Kieran looked away, lifting a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “Good. How long are you two going to be able to stay?”
“I think we can stay through tomorrow, then we have to get back.” Kieran stood up, helping his Companion to her feet. “Tomorrow morning, I would like to teach Alex to put a protective barrier around the house, so she can monitor you while she’s back in the Realm. It’ll alert her if anyone tries to take down the barrier. It’s tied to her power, so it’ll be strong.” He glanced over at Alex. “It’ll always be strong.”
“I’d appreciate that,” answered Jennifer. “Now though, you two need to get some sleep. Come on.” She led them out of the living room, down a short hallway, and through a door on the left side. “Here’s your room.” She held up an arm to stop Alex from entering the room after Kieran. “Come talk to me,” she said. Alex followed her down to another room. When they got inside, Jennifer turned to face her daughter. “What’s going on?”
“You and Kieran both,” said Alex with a sigh. “Oliver’s just mad because something almost happened between us but didn’t, and now there’s something deeper between Kieran and I.” She shrugged, running a hand through her hair. “I didn’t think he was even capable of jealousy. We had a fight, and now I don’t think he’s even going to speak to me. And it’s stupid, Mom, it’s so stupid. Why can’t he just accept that I can have a connection with another person? It’s not like I’m replacing him as my friend, he’s gotta know that would never happen. There’s nobody out there stupid enough to put up with me as long as he has.” Alex stopped talking with an exasperated sigh.
Jennifer watched her daughter for another moment before wrapping her in a hug. “Oliver hasn’t stopped talking to you for good. You guys have had fights before, and this is just another one of those. And if he can’t accept that you’re not his, and haven’t been, then that’s his loss. But I don’t think he would be stupid enough to let something like this stand in the way of a friendship that has been there since you two were in kindergarten.” She let go, and stepped back. “Now go to bed. You need to get some sleep.” She gently shooed her daughter from the room, closing the door softly behind her.
Alex walked back to the bedroom where Kieran was already lounging on the loveseat. He looked up as she walked in and shut the door. He’d turned on a lamp that stood next to the bed.
“Everything okay?” he asked. “She didn’t tell you to put me in a straightjacket, did she? Because that’s just poor sportsmanship, and I won’t play cards with her again.”
Alex laughed, walking over to the bed and flopping down. A second later, Kieran’s weight made the mattress sink as he sat on the edge of it. She scooted over, inviting him to stretch out next to her. They laid back against the headboard, shoulders and feet touching lightly. “Thank you,” said Alex, nudging his foot with hers. “You have no idea how scared I was for them. And you… you gave me a way to come back and protect them. You don’t know what that means to me, they are- they’re everything to me. My whole world.” Alex closed her eyes as she felt them burn. “Thank you.”
Kieran said nothing, but his hand found Alex’s and held it. She looked down at their joined hands. His were rough from years of training, and strong. Alex could feel the callouses rub against the newer ones that were taking shape on her own hand as he squeezed. She scooted down slightly, so she could lean her head on his shoulder. She felt Kieran tense in surprise, then felt the weight of his head as he placed it hesitantly on top of hers. Her head rose and fell as he took a breath.
“Relax,” Alex said with amusement.
“I am relaxed.” Kieran’s breath ruffled her hair when he spoke. “I’m totally relaxed. It’s you who needs to relax.” His laughter shook them both. “I don’t know what it is about you that makes me so jumpy, Companion.”
“You know,” Alex sat up and looked at her partner. “You still haven’t given me a nickname. I’m disappointed, Douche.”
“Ouch.” Kieran put his hand to his chest, grey eyes laughing at her. “You haven’t called me that in a long time. I'd almost forgotten that’s the nickname you gave me.” He deliberated for a moment. “I shall call you… I don’t know yet. I still need to think about it.” He laughed again at Alex’s expression. “Is it that important to you?”
Alex shook her head, pushing a hand through her hair. “No, I’m just sad for your creativity levels,” she answered, then gave a small shriek when Kieran shoved her lightly. Her arms pinwheeled for a moment until she got her balance back. “What was that?” She asked indignantly.
“My creativity is not suffering,” said Kieran. “It is perf
ectly healthy, thank you very much. Things like this take time, take inspiration. You just have no vision.”
“Maybe not.” Alex turned and leaned against him again. “But I came up with your nickname quickly enough. I don’t see why it has to take so long to figure one out for me. I’m not a very complicated person.”
“Oh, but you are.” Kieran’s arm came around her shoulders. “You’re extremely complicated. I’ll never be able to completely figure you out.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t know if the thought of such a puzzle makes me excited or apprehensive. Of course, I feel both of those a lot when I get to be around you. It’s a wonder I didn’t know before now that you’d be difficult to define.”
Alex said nothing, instead reaching over to turn off the lamp on the bedside table. She pulled Kieran with her until they were both lying down, snuggled together with her outer leg on top of his. They breathed together, her head pillowed on his arm, until they were both lost to their dreams.
Chapter Nineteen
They had fallen asleep wrapped in each other, but they sure as hell didn’t wake up that way. Alex opened her eyes to a jolting and somewhat terrifying view of the sunlit floor next to the bed, having been pushed to the very edge of the mattress. She reeled back, only to realize she couldn’t move very far. Kieran had somehow managed to rotate so he was horizontal on the bed, and his feet were firmly planted against Alex’s spine. Alex regarded her Companion with narrowed eyes, still too groggy to be amused at the way his mouth hung open, drooling slightly while he slept on, unaware of the position he’d forced Alex into.
“Hey.” Alex pushed at Kieran’s legs, but he only grunted and turned, stretching while he did so and making the girl grab at the headboard to keep herself upright. “Screw this,” she muttered. She grabbed his feet and lifted them, swinging them around and up toward his face until he was sleeping in an L shape. “Gods, you’re heavy.” Once his legs were out of the way, she sat against the headboard. Now she did smile, taking in the way Kieran’s ginger hair fell over his brow. He looked child-like, sleeping with such abandon. His eyelids twitched every now and again while he dreamed. Alex got the sudden and ridiculous urge to brush his hair from his forehead, and tamped it down. Where had all these tender feelings come from all of the sudden? She didn’t want them. Her and Kieran were Companions, she’d made that perfectly clear to him. Except now he also knew that she had feelings for him. He’d known that before, but she hadn’t said the words out loud until the night before.
Now that she’d said those words, acknowledged their meaning, it felt like a block in her mind had been taken away, and now the thoughts in her head she’d pushed aside since the Discovering were more insistent, shoving their way to the forefront of her mind. It was both a relief and an annoyance to her. It felt good to admit how she felt, but at the same time, Kieran knew now. What he would do with that knowledge was what made her uneasy.
As if he could feel her eyes on him, Kieran stirred. One eyelid lifted to let him look at his Companion in a sleepy haze. His normally storm gray eyes had lightened to the color of the fog Alex often saw blanketing the mountains of her home just before the sun burned it all away. He studied her for a moment before sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his face.
“Do you always stare at people while they’re sleeping?” His voice, husky and warm, was like a punch to the already chaotic emotions swirling in Alex. His groggy grin only added to the turmoil. “Hey,” he waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you okay?”
Alex jerked, blinking. “Shut up,” she said as a way to recover her countenance. “You were the one who nearly shoved me off the bed. How do you manage to turn yourself ninety degrees without noticing?”
Kieran rolled off the bed, stretching his arms up as soon as his feet hit the floor. He let out a sigh as he worked out the kinks he’d gotten overnight. “That’s not answering my question,” he replied. “I’m starting to think I should insist that we get separate rooms next time we travel anywhere. Not sure I want my creepy Companion watching me while I sleep.” He grinned at her, straightening his shirt. “I feel violated.”
“I was watching you because I thought you might’ve slipped into a coma.” Alex slid off the mattress too. She yawned, then began to make the bed. Years of manners being ingrained in her by her mother insisted on it. “I had to move your legs to keep from falling in the floor. You’re heavy, by the way.”
“You could have just gone and laid on the loveseat,” Kieran retorted, taking the other side of the blanket and helping Alex replace it on the bed.
“Next time I’ll just sit on you,” Alex muttered, giving the comforter one last jerk.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She smiled sweetly at Kieran, then left the room with him close behind. They bickered amicably all the way into the kitchen, where they encountered Jennifer, standing at the stove. Alex’s stomach contracted at the smell of breakfast, protesting very loudly the fact that it was as of yet empty. “That is incredible timing,” she commented, sitting at the table at the same time that Jennifer slid a plate of food in front of her. Sausage, biscuits and gravy, and a slice of cantaloupe made her grin. “You have no idea how much I missed human food, Mom. This is heavenly.” She glanced up at the sound of Oliver entering the kitchen, then looked down again to dig into her breakfast. Suddenly, her food didn’t seem as divine.
Oliver didn’t comment on Kieran’s place next to his Companion. Instead, he sat across from them and murmured his thanks to Jennifer as she handed him his plate.
Jennifer looked between the trio, but didn’t say anything about it. “I’m glad you missed my cooking enough to call it heavenly,” she said in answer to Alex’s description. “I remember you sometimes weren’t as keen on it when you were younger.”
“That’s because you were obsessed with trying to get me to like eggs again.” Alex elbowed Kieran when he snorted. “It’s true,” she insisted. “I loved eggs up until I was about nine years old. I had them every day for breakfast, along with a biscuit. But after I turned nine, I started hating them to the point where I couldn’t even stomach them. For the next, like, six months or so, Mom would try to make them in all kinds of ways to trick me into eating them again. She even tried to mix them with grape jelly one morning.”
Jennifer laughed along with her daughter, bright and carefree. “It was only because you were such a weird kid; you would eat the most disgusting things, so I figured if I did the same thing to your eggs, you’d eat them, too. But you just weren’t having it.”
“I wasn’t that weird.” The light mood from her mother swept Alex along with it. “At least, I don’t think so. I thought I was perfectly normal.”
“You would, too.” Jennifer turned to Kieran with a smile turned abruptly mischievous. “You know she would eat sandwiches with peanut butter, jelly, and bologna?”
“What’s bologna?” Asked Kieran, grinning too.
“It’s not something that belongs on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that’s for sure.” Laughter echoed in the kitchen, greeting Teagan, who looked as though she had just rolled out of bed. She didn’t say anything, only went to Alex and lifted her arms. Alex obliged her, and lifted the sleepy girl onto her lap.
“Okay, maybe I was a little weird.” Her mood faltered just slightly as Oliver, finished with his food, got up and left after putting his plate in the sink. “But you let me be that way, so it’s partly your fault, too.”
“Maybe so.” Jennifer slapped at Kieran, who stood and began to wash the dishes. “You sit down, you’re a guest. You don’t need to be doing any chores. It’s your Companion that needs to do them.”
Taking the hint, Alex set her little sister down and rose. “Lord forbid a prince washes a plate,” she joked.
Jennifer made a strangled sound. “Excuse me? Prince?”
“It’s no big deal, ma’am.” Kieran’s tone was embarrassed. “I’m just Alex’s Companion here.” He took a plate, despite the protests from Jennifer, and d
ried the plates that Alex washed. “There’s no need to treat me any differently than you have been.”
Jennifer was hesitant, but she nodded and let him help clean the kitchen. Teagan cleared the table, and the little family headed outside when it was done. Alex was already wondering how they were going to set up the protection Kieran had promised.
Outside, the Florida morning promised a gorgeous day. Early fall didn’t diminish the heat and sultry humidity that made Alex feel like a warm, wet blanket was wrapped around her. The sun had crested the buildings that dotted the horizon, but the majority of the sky was gray with cloud cover. Alex hoped it would rain. She missed having a good knock down, drag out kind of storm. As if in answer to her thoughts, thunder rumbled in the distance.
Kieran looked at the sky, concerned. “Let’s get this done quickly; we don’t want to be flying when this storm hits.” He faced Alex and her family. Oliver slipped out of the front door, watching silently as Kieran directed Jennifer and Teagan to step onto the front porch with the other man. He then reached for Alex’s hand. “They need to be near the house, so we can make the perimeter of the barrier as close to the house as we can. We don’t want any accidents in case your family gets visitors that they actually want to talk to.”
“The only other person that they would get visits from would be the pizza man,” said Alex.
“Who?” Before Alex could answer, Kieran shook his head. “Never mind, don’t tell me. Let’s get started.” Ever the prince, he took control, teaching Alex to manifest her power, one after the other, and stretch it into a membrane that wrapped around the house. He taught his Companion to think of her family, project their images onto the membrane. Alex watched with a detached kind of surrealism as each image melted into the barrier. Teagan, Jennifer, and finally Oliver. With each of the three powers, the layer of power that blanketed the house was a weird purple-gray color. Even as she finished it, though, it became more and more transparent, until it was completely gone.