Tit for Tat
Page 19
Lulu shook her head. “Perhaps you are suited for each other. You’re silly enough.”
“I love him, and he loves me.”
“Then I hope you find a way. Love is a powerful magic.” Lulu floated back to the couch.
Sticking around and waiting for Flynn seemed like a good idea until Derek realized he still didn’t know when Flynn would return. Queen Mab had to live in the palace he’d seen on the frozen plane. All Derek had to do was reach the portal, walk through it, and walk to the palace. Flynn had to be somewhere along the way.
He had snow boots in his trunk. He had gloves, a hat, and a scarf. An extra sweatshirt he could layer on. Enough for him to have protection from the frosty wind. He turned and grasped the door handle.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Lulu rushed between him and the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To the portal,” Derek said. “Can you lead me there?”
“No. I can’t be responsible for you in the other realm, and besides, you felt it on the wind, didn’t you?” Lulu fluttered in front of his face. “You saw it in the sky? There is a storm on the way, and you have no way to the portal or through it. You have no magic.”
Only Derek still had a magic candy cane. He pulled it from his pocket and showed it to Lulu. “I have this. Is it enough?”
Lulu buzzed around him, the sound of quick rustling bells trailing her as much as the glitter. She flew to the couch. “It might be. If you believe enough.”
It would have to work. Derek couldn’t wait for when Flynn might return. “I’m going out to find him.”
“Safe travels,” Lulu said.
Derek went outside. The temperature had dropped, and more snow fell from the sky. Derek hurried into his extra winter clothes, making sure the boots were snug. Then he popped the first piece of candy cane into his mouth.
The instant overwhelming flavor of peppermint coated Derek’s tongue and sharpened the cold air he breathed. The world felt wide and full of possibility. He could do anything. Go anywhere. But there was only one place he wanted to be—with Flynn. Trusting in the magic, Derek headed into the forest.
Chapter Twenty-Two
IF not for the trees, Flynn would have sworn he was still in the Winter feylands. Fresh snow coated the ground, and the clouds covered the moon. He pulled out his phone, but the charge had died sometime while he was away. He had no idea how many hours or days he had been gone. Derek would be worried.
Flynn would have to find him and apologize for his absence. Queen Mab had given her blessing, though, and that would make up for his time away. All they had to do was find a way for Flynn to survive the summers.
Flynn threaded his way through the woods, almost losing his way on the trail to the cabin. Derek’s car sat in the driveway. Hope lifted Flynn’s spirits. He wouldn’t have to find Derek because Derek had already come to him. Perhaps barely any time had passed.
“I’m back,” Flynn called as he opened the door. Though he had only the promise from Queen Mab that there was a way, he felt as joyous as the mortals’ depictions of Santa Claus. “Derek?”
Lulu rose into the air. “He’s not with you?”
Flynn’s throat tightened. “No. I thought he was here.”
“He went looking for you. He was on his way to the portal.”
“Why would he do that?” Flynn said.
“He said he had an answer,” Lulu replied. She shook her head. “I tried to tell him he should stay because of the storm.”
Flynn glanced out the door he still had open. More and more soft white snow covered the ground. “But how did he think he was going to find the portal? Or open it? He doesn’t have any magic.”
“He has the candy cane you gave him.”
Blazing iron. It was his fault Derek believed he had enough magic. Perhaps he did, but Flynn hadn’t seen him on the way. They should have crossed paths unless Derek had gotten lost in the feylands. Then Flynn might never find him.
No. Flynn would search both mortal and fairy worlds until he had Derek in his arms again. He wouldn’t give up hope on his love so easily. He stepped out into the winter night.
Winter was his element, just as Derek was his. A few tracks in the snow led into the woods, but the footprints were mostly filled. These were the oldest, but Flynn didn’t have much to follow. In the mortal world again, his magic was no longer boundless, but he would rather burn through it all in an instant than leave Derek to die lost in the woods.
Derek had eaten the candy cane. It was Flynn’s spell. If he had it still in his system, then Flynn might be able to reach out and trace it. Call like to like. He knelt on the ground, putting one hand on Derek’s footprint. Locating was never easy, but he had to find Derek. He believed he would.
The wind whispered muted promises. Flynn could barely hear or feel it in the course of the spell, but he could feel something, and that was enough to follow. He closed his eyes and continued, searching for when the whispers grew louder.
Which worked fairly well until he ran into a tree.
Flynn rubbed his sore nose, took a deep breath, and tried the spell again. The wind picked up around him, and one strain of it blew contrary to the rest. Snow from the ground kicked up. Derek’s footprints.
Flynn chased after them, following the trail as it headed for the portal, but it made a sudden shift. A turn in the woods. The path strayed and circled more and more. He ran.
And suddenly the footprints stopped. Flynn called upon the wind again, exhaustion burning his fraying nerves, but the wind only circled around him. He twisted in place.
Derek had huddled against one of the large trees. His knees were drawn up and his arms were looped around them, but his eyes were closed, and his lips were more blue than pink. Snow coated him; otherwise Flynn would think he was asleep.
Flynn knelt at his side. “Derek. Derek, wake up.”
Derek stirred, but only barely.
Flynn kissed him, infusing his hope Derek would survive into it. He needed Derek. He loved him.
Derek moaned, half in pain and half in pleasure, but his eyes opened. “Flynn,” he rasped. “I don’t remember a portal.”
“We’re in the woods in the mortal world,” Flynn said. “You got lost.”
“Oh. Sorry. The magic. I got sleepy again.”
“This is no place for you to rest. Let me carry you to the cabin.”
“You get to stay?” Derek asked.
Flynn was ready to cast aside his magic for a mortal life if Derek lived. “Yes. I get to stay. Can you walk?”
“Still sleepy. My legs are heavy.”
Flynn scooped Derek into his arms. His anxiety lessened as Derek clutched him. “Hold on tight,” he murmured. “And cover your face.”
“Mkay.”
Once he had a firm grip on Derek, and Derek obeyed his instruction, Flynn used a bit more magic to travel on the wind. He couldn’t go as fast as a car—too many trees in the way—but it was faster than walking. By the time he reached the cabin, he was ready to join Derek in sleep.
But Derek wasn’t safe yet.
Flynn brought him into the cabin and carried him into his bedroom. Once there, he stripped off Derek’s wet and snowy layers. He had so many extra layers. He’d tried. All to find Flynn.
Flynn hadn’t thought it possible to love him more, but he did.
Derek stayed drowsy, which made Flynn worry for him. He was cold to the touch, almost Flynn’s normal. Flynn tucked him into bed. He longed to press up against him but didn’t trust that Derek would get warmer with him under the blankets. So he climbed on top of the blankets and cuddled Derek.
At some point he fell asleep, because Derek had been turned away from him, and Flynn woke to a gentle kiss. Derek was kissing him! Flynn opened his eyes and held on to him tightly. He cupped the back of Derek’s head and kissed him with abandon, darting his tongue in when Derek gasped.
Eventually Derek pulled away. He laughed happily and brightly.
“You woke me
with a kiss,” Flynn said.
“Only fair. You woke me with one.” Derek ran his fingers through Flynn’s hair. “And you did say I could.”
“I did.” Flynn nuzzled Derek more.
Derek pushed him back so they looked into each other’s eyes. “I’m guessing, but did the queen say you could stay? Did she tell you how?”
“She said there was a way and wished me well. She wouldn’t tell me how,” Flynn said.
“I may have figured it out,” Derek replied. He sat up. “How much do you know about Earth?”
“I’m learning plenty.”
“I mean about its shape and seasons.”
Flynn blinked at him. Surely Derek didn’t need a lecture about the seasons in his own reality. “There are four seasons, and this world is round.”
“Exactly. It’s round, but it’s also tilted.” Derek imitated the shape of a sphere with his hands, holding one high and one low to imitate the poles, Flynn guessed. He then purposefully shifted the pretend ball so the back of his bottom hand was aimed more toward the wall behind Flynn. “Say the wall is the sun. When the Earth’s tilted this way, it’s winter here in Wisconsin and it’s summer in Australia, Southern Africa, South America—basically anywhere south of the equator. But when the poles are more like this—” Derek shifted his hands so the top of his back hand was aimed more at the wall. “—it’s summer in Wisconsin.”
Flynn sat up. “And winter in the other places?”
“Exactly!”
Flynn clasped Derek’s hands. “It will be winter there!”
Derek smiled more.
“Wait, but that’s not here. You won’t be near your family,” Flynn said.
“I’ll be able to contact them. You won’t be able to see yours often. We’re both giving up something to be together, and if it doesn’t work, we can try something else.” Derek held on to Flynn’s hands. “But this way we can be together, and you don’t have to worry about your magic.”
It was all Flynn wanted. He threw his arms around Derek and kissed him. One long, happy kiss turned into a passionate one, and he rolled them so Derek was on his back. He nibbled at Derek’s ear.
“There is one problem left,” Flynn murmured.
“What?” Derek said between gasps.
“I will have to find you a Christmas present.”
“I don’t know. It’s going to be pretty hard to find something I want more than what I have,” Derek said.
Flynn frowned. “What do you have?”
Derek smiled, and his amber eyes shone. “You.”
Epilogue
DEREK tugged his jacket closed against the chilly wind off the ocean. He stared over his computer screen and off into the vastness of the dark blue waves. Stars twinkled from above, and salt filled the air. This far out from Christchurch, there was little extra light. Winters were milder than the ones in Wisconsin, but they were winter enough for Flynn. Derek had floated the idea of South America for their next southern hemisphere trip. They had time to explore their options.
Flynn came out of their cabin with two cups of hot cocoa. Mounds of marshmallows threatened to spill from each. He kissed Derek as he handed him a mug. “Any luck with the project?”
“I finished a chunk. The rest can wait,” Derek said.
Over the last few years, Derek’s voice had deepened a little. He’d grown a beard to make him look older. Of the five years they’d been dating, Derek had really only aged four of them because of their short stays in the fairy realm. Flynn didn’t look as if he’d aged a day. Where he had passed for older than Derek, he now seemed the younger of them. Someday Derek would show more signs of age. He didn’t fear Flynn would love him any less, but he worried about how Flynn might handle the changes.
There was a lot more time before it became a concern. They’d made a promise to live in their present, whatever they looked like.
“How long can the project wait? A little or a long time?” Flynn took his seat in the other wooden lawn chair.
“Honeymoon long,” Derek said with a smile. “I told Javi I wouldn’t do any more until after. He thinks we’ll get the game out on time.”
Flynn popped a marshmallow in his mouth and set down his mug on the table between their chairs. Deciding his chair wasn’t good enough, he moved and straddled Derek’s lap. He grinned when Derek cupped his ass and dragged him down. “Honeymoon. I like that word.”
“I thought you might.” Derek nuzzled Flynn and kissed him. His lips were still cool to the touch, even as Derek fueled their kiss with more passion. He never tired of kissing Flynn.
Thank God they’d convinced his parents to get a hotel for their visit instead of staying at their house. Flynn was affectionate, and the upcoming ceremony turned them on frequently. They were getting married. Derek never imagined he’d find someone to spend his whole life with, certainly not by the time he was twenty-five.
Derek broke off the kiss and brushed back Flynn’s white-blond hair. “Is your family coming?”
“A few.” Flynn scooted closer so their crotches were touching. There were few topics that turned him off, Derek had learned. Saunas and citrus were pretty much it. “Most didn’t want to bother with more human glamours. I think they plan on celebrating during our next visit.”
“But your parents?”
“Yes,” Flynn said. He nipped at Derek’s lips. “And my father is eager to get the fudge recipe from you or your mother, so be careful of deals.”
Derek peppered tiny kisses down Flynn’s neck. “I will.”
Flynn hooked his fingers into the collar of Derek’s sweatshirt. “Do you think we could try outside tonight?”
It’d be chilly and their voices would carry on the wind, but there was nothing but the sound of ocean for miles. Derek rocked up into Flynn. “Yeah, I think we could try. But no complaining about grass stains on your knees.”
“Oh, we’ll see who’s getting the grass stains where,” Flynn teased.
Derek laughed. His world was more than he’d ever dared hope for, with family, a job he liked, and Flynn. He couldn’t think of anyone else who would make him feel so at home.
JS HARKER loves stories. She was one of those kids who always had a book in her hands and spent many hours adventuring with her siblings. These days she wanders into her imaginary worlds and conjures up tales of magic, passion, and happily-ever-afters. She currently lives in the part of the Midwest that makes Tatooine look interesting by comparison (not that she’s ever obsessively thought about becoming a Jedi or anything).
By JS Harker
DREAMSPUN BEYOND
#24 – Soul Bond
#34 – Tit for Tat
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Tit for Tat
© 2018 JS Harker.
Cover Art
© 2018 Aaron Anderson.
aaronbydesign55@gmail.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
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