“Oh Bee,” Fae said. “You look like a movie star!”
I did. A very pale movie star, but a movie star indeed.
“Can I take some afters?” Fae picked up her camera.
I smiled. “Sure. This is probably the best B-and-A Instagram you’ll ever post huh?”
I opened Fae’s bedroom door and made my way slowly down the stairs. Fae had declined my request to wear my Doc boots and instead insisted I wear heels. I nearly argued the issue with her until I saw them. They looked like glass slippers—eat your heart out, Cinderella. While they were amazing, I had no idea how I’d run in them, or even walk.
I clung to the handrail as I placed each foot carefully on the step below, one after the other. Voices drifted from the living room. I sensed Cendrine, Sunder, Hyssop, my mother and more.
I threw out my feelers for Caleb’s pure green aura, but it wasn’t there. I felt a quartz-like being and one who shone pale amber. There were others too, but they were further away. Perhaps even outside. The more I tried to feel out, the more I sensed, but none of them meant us any harm. I felt a soft shimmer through my aura as I grazed against the others. They were not of this world.
“My witches are ready and waiting,” said a woman with a thick cockney accent. “They are hidden throughout the forest. Any signs of Skadhavar, they will let me know.”
“Fantastic,” came Cendrine’s familiar voice. “And your men, Claudios?”
“I have positioned them at the entrance of the vortex—both in this realm and ours. If the Master tries to enter we should know.”
My shoe hit the bottom step with a loud thud, announcing my entrance.
Everyone looked up as I walked into the room.
“Ah, finally Bia—” Sunder stopped talking when he saw me. His mouth hung open.
Chapter Thirty
“Oh Bee,” my mom said from the table, rising to take me in. “You look stunning!”
“She does.” Hyssop smiled up at my mother as if to commend her on her genetic contribution. “She really does.”
“Bee!” Cendrine said, her red lips in a wide smile. “You look lovely, my dear, as always.”
I looked at Sunder.
He swallowed, then opened his mouth to speak, but Hyssop beat him to it.
“That date of yours is one lucky boy.” He chuckled. “He’d better make this courtship official before someone else snaps you up!” He laughed again.
My eyes darted back to Sunder. His jaw was set hard, his aura tense.
At the table sat the two people I’d heard from the stairs. I looked at each of them in turn and smiled. One of them was a man with straight, blond hair that trailed down to his ribs. He stood, towering above me.
“Hello Bianca!” he said in a French accent heavier than Cendrine’s. “I am Claudios.” He held out his hand. I offered him mine but instead of shaking it, he took it in his and bent down to kiss it. His hair fell forward, revealing two pointed ears. “It is such an honor to meet you,” he said, offering a small bow.
The other guest had risen too, a short woman with light-orange hair the color of her aura. She waddled over to me with a look of awe on her face. “It’s truly a privilege to meet you,” she said, in a thick cockney accent. “Truly a privilege, my queen.”
My brows creased in confusion. “Queen?” I said looking from her to Sunder, then Cendrine.
But before anyone could explain, there was a clattering down the stairs and Fae emerged.
“All ready!” she called.
She wore a luminous emerald gown that made her red hair glow. Her eyes were rimmed with gold and her face was even more flawless than ever. She looked stunning.
There was a rumble of compliments from the table.
“Fae, how did you manage to do all of that in less than ten minutes?” I said at her side. “It took you hours to work this magic on me!”
Fae smiled. “Well, you know how most of my make-up videos look sped up?”
I nodded.
“They’re not,” she said with a wink.
There was a chirp from Fae’s purse. She unzipped it and pulled out her phone. “Oh, the boys are here! They’re wondering why no one is home!” Fae giggled. “Great work on the absent home spell, Hyssop!”
Hyssop smiled and blushed.
My mother placed a hand on his arm.
“Okay! Bye guys!” Fae sang. “I guess we’ll see you all there. You know, standing guard. Come on Bee, let’s go.” She pulled me gently out of the room.
“Just a minute,” came a voice from our backs. It was Hyssop. “Don’t you think we should meet these boys first?” He looked around the table. “Cendrine? Veronica? I mean, for safety reasons.”
My mother beamed at Hyssop. “You’re right, Hyssop,” she said. “It’s probably a good idea.”
Seriously? This guy had been in our lives for a week and already he was acting like some kind of father figure?
“I agree,” Cendrine added.
“As do I,” said Sunder, sending me a cool smile.
“But Cendrine!” Fae replied petulantly. “We’ve known these boys our whole lives. You know Caleb’s family, they own the bookstore. Mrs. Gillis orders books for you each month! And Kyle’s dad is Dr. Cohen, and David’s parents run the Chinese restaurant.”
“Wait, Fae, how many dates do you have?” I asked.
She shot me a look that read Shut up.
Cendrine said nothing but simply raised her eyebrows, her Gwen-Stefani-red lips thin and serious.
Fae let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine!” She threw a glare at Hyssop and Sunder as she left the room. Cendrine moved into the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of something from the refrigerator.
“Everyone,” Fae said into the room. “This is David and Kyle, they will be my dates for this evening.”
There was a murmur of hellos from around the table.
Claudios smiled, while Genniver looked from boy to boy, then back to Fae, confused.
“What? Only two?” Hyssop chuckled.
“Scott was gonna come too,” Kyle said to Fae. He turned and addressed the whole room. “But last minute he got a text from Sarah in his chem lab. Apparently her date came down with the squirts, so he stepped in last minute.”
The group fell quiet for a moment.
“A true gentleman knows when he’s needed,” Hyssop added, breaking the silence.
Caleb came through the doorway and stopped. He stood there nervously, looking around the room at the odd collection of people. He clearly wasn’t expecting so many adults. His usually calm, forest-green aura pulsed frantically.
Then he found me. His eyes took me in, his face in a state of wonder. “Bianca, you look beautiful. Absolutely… ” He shook his head. “Wow!”
I laughed. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a step up from jeans and sneakers huh?”
“I mean you always look beautiful. But I mean tonight, even more.” His cheeks flooded with pink.
I smiled at his comment. Beautiful? Did he really mean that? Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. “Thanks,” I managed. “So do you. Well, not beautiful, handsome. Very handsome.” Now it was my turn to blush, though I was wearing so much concealer, I was pretty confident that no one would notice. “I like your suit.”
He wore a dull mauve suit with a wide collar and bell-bottom flares. It looked like something someone’s Grandad would wear, but he pulled it off perfectly.
He laughed. “Thanks! Found this in my dad’s closet. Totally vintage.” He smiled. “Um, this is for you,” Caleb said, handing me a small package.
“Oh wow,” I said. “Thank you.” The paper was dull silver, wrapped with a pink ribbon.
“It matches your dress!” Fae said, “How perfect!”
I folded back the paper and found a small cassette tape and an old Walkman. I turned the
cassette over in my hands, feeling the cool smooth plastic.
“We were talking about music the other day,” Caleb said. “So I thought I’d make you a mixtape.” He smiled. “Just a few of my favorites.”
“Thanks,” I said, looking down at the Walkman. “I haven’t seen one of these in years.”
“Most people prefer Spotify playlists now. But it just seems too easy. Click, drag, done. With a mixtape it takes time. You have to record each song onto the tape in real time.”
I studied the tracks. Nirvana, P.J Harvey, David Bowie, T-Rex, The White Stripes, Patti Smith… I looked up at Caleb. “No one’s ever made me a mixtape before.”
He smiled. “Hope you like it.”
I flipped the tape over in my hand. The cover was hand-drawn. Finely detailed ink illustrations filled the front rectangle. But the image was cut off. I opened the tape and slid it out.
“Oh, that’s just a little doodle I did,” Caleb mumbled awkwardly. “Nothing special…I just didn’t want to leave it blank, you know?”
The cover unfolded into a large panoramic image of a forest. Wildflowers bloomed and vines crept across the bottom. Butterflies fluttered in the air amongst clouds. Trees filled the scene. But right in the middle of the forest was me. My pale skin, white as snow against the vibrant colors of the forest. My hair blowing wildly behind me.
This was the nicest thing anyone had ever made for me. Tears prickled my eyes. He liked me. He genuinely liked me.
“Thank you,” I said, looking up at him. “It’s so beautiful. You’re a really good artist.”
He shrugged and smiled. “Here, let me help you put this on,” he said. I’d been so overcome by the mixtape that I’d completely forgotten the rest of the gift. There was another box on the table. Caleb picked it up and opened it, revealing a beautiful white satin corsage, with tiny silver anthers in the middle.
“Wow,” I said.
Kyle and David looked at each other awkwardly. Kyle turned to Fae and muttered something apologetic.
Fae giggled and shrugged.
“Where should I pin it?” Caleb asked.
“Um, here,” I said, pointing just below the strap of my dress. He fumbled with the pin, his warm fingers brushing against the soft fleshiness of my cleavage. His aura bloomed into a lustful red, imbuing my own. His bangs fell over his eyes again. I wanted to brush them back for him. Inhale his pheromones. Press my lips against his...
He looked up at me with a smile. I smiled back. In that short moment, it felt like we both knew what each other was thinking.
A jolt of icy blue grazed against my aura. I shot Sunder a look. His blue aura surged with phosphorescent green: Envy.
I introduced Caleb to the other guests at the table. They all smiled kindly except for Sunder, who grunted his hello. Then finally I introduced Caleb to my mom.
Caleb smiled. “Oh hello, Mrs. Taylor.” He gave a little wave.
“Hello, Caleb, I remember you from preschool. You used to eat the sand out of the sandpit.”
“Mom!” I snapped.
Caleb laughed again. “Yeah, I think I remember Bianca telling me that it was chocolate pudding.”
I turned to him. “Really?”
“Yep,” he said smiling. “You told me if you ate a huge mouthful and chewed it for a long time, it would turn to chocolate pudding in your mouth. It didn’t work the first time, so I kept trying. And trying.”
“Oh no!” I covered my mouth with my hands.
“Well, I’m sure it all came out the other end!” my mom said, with a laugh.
“Oh my god Mom, stop!” I hissed. Why was she trying to embarrass me?
Caleb laughed. “Don’t worry Mrs. Taylor,” he said. “I don’t let pretty girls trick me into eating sand anymore.”
I didn’t remember Caleb from preschool. I couldn’t remember much of anything from my childhood, other than Sheena and her taunts. And Fae, coming to my rescue.
“Who would like some wine to honor this special evening?” Cendrine walked into the room holding a tray filled with glasses and a fancy looking bottle.
“Wine?” said Kyle. “Heck yeah!”
“But Cendrine, aren’t they underage?” Sunder spat.
“Ahk!” she tutted back. “In my day, children drank wine from birth. Just a little does no harm!” She passed the bottle to Claudios who began twisting at the cork. “Besides, this is elderwine. Very low alcohol.”
“I’ve never heard of elderwine before,” David said. “Where did you buy it?”
Cendrine’s eyes darted sideways. “Ahhh,” she said, momentarily stumped. “Whole Foods.”
There was a loud pop as the cork flew through the air, hit the ceiling, then fell onto the scorched patch where Fae had dropped her fireball.
Caleb bent down to pick it up. “Oh wow. What happened there? Did you drop a roasting pan or something?”
Cendrine looked confused. She clearly hadn’t yet noticed the missing drapes either, or their hastily procured replacement.
Hyssop passed me a glass.
“So what are we toasting to?” Claudios asked.
There was plenty we could be toasting to. To cute boys who make mixtapes for girls they think are beautiful. To prom night and makeovers and pretty dresses. And of course to destroying the Skadhavar and killing the Master before she turns the town to darkness.
“To our queen!” Genniver sang to the room, thrusting her glass up in my direction. Cendrine patted her on elbow gently, shaking her head.
“To us!” Fae said louder.
“To us!” we all chorused, then drank in unison.
The wine was sweet and tangy. I took a sip and warmth flowed down my throat. It tingled and tickled.
“What a lovely drop!” Hyssop said.
“Indeed!” Genniver added. “I’ve tried to find some at the Agora market. No luck. I might have resort to enchanting some ivy wine.”
Cendrine shook her head again.
“It really is quite lovely, Cendrine. Thank you,” my mother added.
But Cendrine was making her way around the table to see what Caleb had meant about the floor.
“Right!” Fae slammed her glass onto the table. “Time to go!”
“Now Fae,” my mom said quietly. “Remember what we talked about. Stay grounded. Remember to breathe.”
“Thanks, Veronica. I’ve got this.” She smiled.
Seriously? Why was my mother so supportive of Fae and her glow? She wasn’t the one who had to somehow kill a trillion Skadhavar tonight, plus their maker. That chestnut was all on me. She hadn’t even asked me how I felt about all of this. All she cared about was Fae—and Hyssop, who seemed to think he was my new dad. I took a slow breath.
“Come on Kyle, David,” Fae called. “The limo’s waiting.”
The two boys downed their wine, waved sheepishly goodbye, and followed their date out the door.
“Now what’s all this about her having two fellas?” Genniver was asking the others. “And why is our queen with this young boy when the prophecy clearly said she’d be with—”
“Have fun!” my mom said, cutting Genniver off.
Why did the crazy woman keep calling me a queen? And what was this prophecy? I eyed my mom suspiciously. Was there more she wasn’t telling me? Did I even know her at all anymore?
“Ready?” Caleb said at my side.
I nodded. “You bet.”
Just as I made to leave the room, Sunder caught my hand lightly. “Bianca, I need to speak with you, it won’t take a minute.”
Caleb had turned to see where I was. I signaled “one minute.” He nodded and walked out the front door.
Sunder looked around the room at the others. Cendrine was examining the floor closely, running a hand over the scorch marks.
Hyssop was at her side. “Looks like
a hex spell gone amiss. Perhaps a reversal charm?”
“Let’s talk in here,” Sunder said, gesturing to the office room off the hall.
I followed him in.
“Bianca, about tonight. I’m going to need you to be completely focused on my aura. Now that you are unable to sense the Skadhavar approaching, you will need to stay alert, ready for any messages I may send you.”
Was he trying to say “Don’t let that boy distract you?”
“I know it is an exciting night, but it is also a dangerous night. I need you to be one hundred percent focused on saving the town. Not on having fun.”
Yes I do believe he was. “Okay. I get it. Save the town. Don’t have fun. Anything else?”
Sunder looked down. “Actually yes, there is.” He sighed and his aura softened. “Bianca, what you said, when I was shot. When you thought I was dying…”
I looked away, my face twitching with embarrassment. “Look,” I said. “I was upset. It just came out. If it makes you uncomfortable just forget I said it, okay?”
“No Bianca, I need to tell you that I...” He looked into my eyes. “I care for you. A lot.”
He was telling me this now? When I was about to go on a date with a human boy. A very handsome human boy who had given me a corsage and a mixtape.
“You do?”
Sunder placed a hand on my arm. “I do.” His other hand found my face. His ice-blue eyes stared into mine. In the heels, our height difference was less. I would hardly even have to reach up to kiss him. It would be easy. In a flash I could taste his lips. “But it’s very complicated,” he said, pulling away.
“Is it, really?”
“Yes. Because of my age.”
“Um, you’re not a day over twenty-one, remember?”
He raised his eyebrows and went on. “Because we must work together. Because of my relationship with your parents. Because of—”
“The fact that my date is waiting outside in the limo for me?”
He looked at me, dumbfounded.
“Would we even be having this conversation if it weren’t for Caleb? If he hadn’t turned up here like a gentleman, clearly crushing on me, would you still have told me how you feel about me?”
Bianca De Lumière : High Suspense Urban Fantasy Romance (The Re'em Prophecy Book 1) Page 18