Cursed

by Melody Personette

They all seemed in agreement... which was a miracle in and of itself.

  “Yes!” Angie insisted, grabbing her arm with both hands. “Come on. We’re having a girl’s night. The boys can take care of things for the rest of the day.”

  Before Mia had time to argue or try to get in a few more minutes of training, Angie was already dragging her off.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Suffice to say, Angie was less than happy when Mia told her about the time she and Rhett had spent together.

  Before Angie could start in on a Rhett-rant, Mia cut her off. “Anyways, how’s Kai?”

  The best way to get Angie to forget about what she’d been about to say was to bring up Kai. “Hm?” she asked, distracted. “Oh, he’s Okay. His family’s been hassling him a lot more lately. It’s like they’re trying to keep him pre-occupied and away from me, having him do all these odd jobs and stuff. And of course, he’s too nice to say no.”

  “That’s annoying.”

  “Yeah, but whenever I try to bring it up with him, he changes the subject or tells me he’s handling it.”

  Mia frowned. “That has to be a rough spot for him.”

  Angie deflated and let out a little sigh. “Yeah… Anyways, can we watch the movie now?”

  Mia nodded, not happy about the situation Kai was in, but happy that her distraction had worked. They had been trying to get together for a movie night for a while, but it kept getting pushed back because of everything going on. Mia knew she wouldn’t hear the last of her complaints about Rhett and how Mia shouldn’t even think about getting back together with him, but for tonight... Mia just wanted a few hours of Rhett-free talk. Her mom came home halfway through the movie and stopped in the hallway to watch some of it. “Ooh is this new?” she asked.

  Mia nodded. “Just came out on DVD a week ago.”

  “Let me change into some comfy clothes and then maybe you two can make some room for me on the couch? I could use some down time,” she said, pulling her sandals off.

  Mia hit the pause button on the remote and gave her mom a teasing smile. “Not going out to see Cillian tonight?”

  “Oh, you two are still seeing each other?” Angie squealed, perking up. “That is so cute!”

  Mia’s mom’s face turned pink. “Yes, we are... but he has some things he has to take care of this evening, so I’m all yours for the night.”

  “Alright,” Mia said. “But I’ve established a no boy talk rule for tonight. Angie has been hammering me with questions about... uh...” Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all from the knowing smile on her mom’s lips.

  “Rhett?”

  “Yes. And she won’t stop complaining about how Kai’s gone all the time right now,” Mia said, shooting Angie an annoyed look.

  Angie huffed, draping an arm over the back of the couch. “Stars forbid I want to see my boyfriend. He was supposed to hang out with us tonight.”

  “Well you know how his family is,” Mia’s mom said with a grimace. “Goblins can be very difficult.”

  “I’m aware,” Angie muttered, gesturing at the TV. “Hence my need to forget about him for an hour or two while watching a cheesy romance movie.”

  “I’ll be right back down and then you can unpause the movie. Give me like five minutes,” her mom said, already hurrying up the stairs.

  Her mom took less than five minutes to change into pajamas. She then came back down and plop down between the two of them. She insisted Mia fill her in on what happened in the movie so far, and then made her unpause the movie. Mia let herself relax next to her mother and bask in the present moment. They didn’t get a lot of those these days. Either her mom was at the bookstore or out with Cillian, or Mia was training or came home exhausted and passed out. They didn’t get a lot of time together. Not the way they used to. So it was nice to get to sit and watch a movie with her best friend and her mom. By the time the movie ended, Mia could barely keep her eyes open. She mumbled a goodnight to Angie and hugged her before her friend headed over to her house.

  Her mom asked if she could get her anything and Mia shook her head, curled up on the couch with a blanket. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a minute and then I’ll go upstairs to bed,” Mia murmured.

  “Alright, well, I love you. Try to get some rest,” her mom whispered.

  Mia could feel her hand on her hair and Mia smiled, relaxing against the couch. She gave a nod before passing out. At first her dreams consisted of just darkness. Black emptiness that Mia could not complain about. She would much rather have no dreams then be trapped in nightmares. But the darkness didn’t last long. Nightmares of the curse ravaging the town and killing everyone it touched plagued her subconscious. Angie, Rhett, Ryker... her mom, Cillian... everyone she knew and loved died before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  Mia gasped awake, her heart hammering in her chest. The nightmare hung on like a blanket over her head, suffocating her. It took her several minutes of quiet breathing and reminding herself again and again that everyone she knew and loved was still alive and that she still had time to stop the curse before she could move. Mia checked the time and groaned. It was seven-thirty. Too late to go back to bed but too early to be up. She laid there for a few more minutes before hauling herself to her feet. Might as well get up and do some training. Mia got ready for the day, threw on some clothes and grabbed some breakfast. After scarfing down a bowl of cereal, she found her sword where she’d left it by the front door and headed over to Rhett’s. They wouldn’t mind if she started early.

  Mia went through a few motions by herself. Her eyes closed, she swung her sword, practicing the techniques Ryker had taught her, when someone cleared their throat behind her.

  Mia’s eyes flew open and she spun around to find Rhett standing there in jogging pants and a t-shirt. He quirked an eyebrow at her, arms folded. “What are you doing up so early?”

  “I couldn’t sleep,” Mia said with a shrug. She went back to practicing her technique. “Figured I should get some training in.”

  “What a perfect waste of a morning. We should do something fun before Ryker wakes up,” Rhett decided.

  Mia gave him a look. “I didn’t come over here to do something fun. I came over here to train.”

  Rhett stepped forward and reached out, touching the flat part of her blade. Mia stopped moving her sword. “And I say we do something else. We can come back and train later. Let’s do something.”

  Mia knew she should stay and train but... Rhett had a point. Ryker would be up in an hour and then it would be training all the time. She had an opportunity to just be present and alive and there with him. No anger, no past mistakes. Just the two of them sitting on the porch steps watching the sunrise and basking in each other’s company. They should take advantage of this quiet time while it lasted before Ryker woke up and demanded they get to work.

  Or...

  Mia grinned and hopped up, startling Rhett. “We should go for a run,” she said.

  Rhett’s eyebrows shot up as he stared at her. “A run?”

  “Yeah. You run, don’t you?”

  “I know how to run,” he corrected. “But, no, I do not go for runs.”

  “Well that’s going to change. I’m taking you on a run. I want to be gone before he gets up so he can’t bother us. We can run to the falls and do some magic practice there.”

  Rhett leaned his head back. “You’re kidding, right? We can just take the car.”

  Mia scowled, planting her hands on her hips. “No way. Running will be good for us. It’ll wake me up.”

  “Not me. I don’t run, Mia.”

  “Please,” she begged, batting her lashes at him and grinning. “For me?”

  Rhett stared her in the eyes for about two seconds before caving like she knew he would. He scowled and groaned. “Fine. But just this once and only because we can do some magic training at the falls.”

  “Good. I’ll go get my tennis shoes on and meet you in front of my house.”

>   “As you wish,” he said teasingly as he got to his feet and headed inside.

  Mia grinned and ran for her house. She couldn’t believe she had convinced him to go for a run with her. It would be good for the two of them.

  Not wanting to wake her mother – both of them shouldn’t have be up at the crack of dawn – Mia snuck back into the house and threw on her tennis shoes. Grabbing a granola bar on the way out, Mia left her house to find Rhett waiting for her by her mailbox, looking less than happy about this sudden change in plans for the morning.

  She knew he had been expecting something low-key, but Mia wasn’t ready for low-key yet. Mia needed to run to clear her head and organize her thoughts.

  Mia unwrapped her granola bar and grinned at him as she walked over. For the first time since meeting him he was wearing actual sneakers. The whole ensemble looked out of place with his pointed Fae ears and unnatural beauty. She wondered if she looked weird in modern clothes now that she looked more like a Fae.

  “Ready to go?” she asked, finishing her granola bar in three bites.

  Rhett frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I thought eating before running was bad for you.”

  Mia shrugged. “I never had any problems with it. Maybe my Fae side was kicking in or something. Stop stalling.”

  Rhett scowled. “I am not stalling.”

  “You are. Come on,” she said, hitting him in the arm. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Without waiting for him, Mia took off at a brisk pace down the street. A minute later Rhett fell into step beside her. Even with him there at her side, running made her whole body relax and her mind go at ease. Mia had done this run so many times since moving to St. Croix Falls that she could get to the falls in her sleep. Rhett said nothing, but he managed to stay at her side for most of the run.

  Most people liked to chat while they jogged with friends, but Mia preferred the quiet. There was a... sort of peace in just being able to run in comfortable silence with someone. A mutual understanding that they were doing the same thing, going the same place and they were just happy to be in the same space as one another. Rhett seemed to understand that, and Mia appreciated that.

  Her thoughts churned as they ran out of the neighborhood and toward the path that led to the falls. She glanced at Rhett and found a small smile on his lips as well. Maybe he was enjoying the run more than he had thought he would.

  He was willing to get up at the break of dawn with her and go for a run. Mia’s heart swelled at the realization that the boy next to her would do anything to help her. Despite his past discretions, he had been there for her since then. Encouraged her, helped her in any way he could. She wasn’t sure he would ever understand how much she appreciated that.

  They turned into the parking lot and then onto the path toward the falls. Mia glanced at Rhett again, finding sweat beading his forehead. She couldn’t help but grin. “Hey,” she gasped out, smacking him in the chest. Step one to moving forward... open up to him again. Accept his friendship. “Race you to the falls.”

  Rhett’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

  “Why?” she taunted, turning around so she was running backward in front of him.

  His eyebrows shot up. “That’s wildly impressive Mia.”

  “Why thank you. Afraid I’m going to beat you?”

  Rhett smirked. “I’m confident enough in my abilities to know you probably will beat me. I haven’t run in a long time... I’ve let a lot of things slide.”

  “Then I guess you need to start getting back into shape for when the door to Faerie opens,” Mia teased.

  Rhett’s smirk widened, eyes dancing. “You think I’m not in shape?”

  Mia shrugged, turning back around, now in front of him. “Beat me in the race, and we’ll find out.”

  With that, she took on a burst of speed, shooting down the path.

  She heard an exaggerated groan behind her, making her grin widen and her pace quicken. No way was she letting him beat her to the lake. Mia zoomed past the picnic area and within a few minutes could hear the sound of crashing water on rocks. Her chest swelled with pride when she got to the edge of the lake and came to a stop. When she turned around, she saw Rhett coming up just a minute behind her. He had almost beat her.

  Rhett came to a stop in front of her, all out of breath. He leaned his hands on his knees. “Alright...” he gasped out. “You win. You’re the ultimate runner. I think you... proved that when you... beat Lilac.”

  Mia smirked, hands on hips as she let herself catch her breath too. “Why thank you. Thank you very much.”

  Rhett tilted his head up to smirk at her from beneath his thick lashes. “But,” he said, straightening. He shoved his hand over his forehead and through his hair, slicked back with sweat. “Calling me out of shape was not a smart move.”

  Mia grinned and wiggled her fingers in front of her. “Ooh, I’m so scared. What are you going to do?”

  Rhett’s eyes danced with laughter and mischief as he suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her. Mia let out a squeal of surprise when he lifted her up over his shoulder, an arm locked around her legs. “Ahh! Let me go. What are you doing?”

  “Proving I’m stronger than you,” Rhett said, laughing as he spun her around.

  Mia screamed, grabbing hold of his back as the world spun around her. “I’m going to throw up,” she shouted.

  “No you won’t.” With effortless strength, he pulled her from over his shoulder and held her in his arms.

  Mia kicked her legs to try and squirm out of his arms which were locked around her like iron, even as her arms wrapped around his neck. “Let me down right now. I get it. You aren’t out of shape.”

  “I don’t think you learned your lesson,” Rhett said, eyes dancing devilishly. “One does not simply get away with insulting a prince.”

  “Oh yeah?” Mia murmured, leaning forward so they were practically nose to nose. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I think we both need to cool down,” he murmured back.

  Before Mia realized what that meant, he went crashing into the lake. Mia shrieked as he threw her into the deep end. Literally. She splashed into the water, her whole body submerged. Even from under the water she could hear his laughter.

  Mia grinned and resisted the urge to jerk upward for air, reminding herself she was a Fae. She could stay under the water longer than a human. She ducked further down and caught sight of his feet. He wasn’t going to get away with this. Her grin widened as she kicked her feet, propelling herself toward him.

  His laughter had died out, and he called her name, a note of worry in his tone. Good. Mia grinned as she grabbed hold of his ankles with both hands and jerked. With a shout, Rhett went under. Shock filled his expression and then he opened his eyes and found her. He swam at her, reaching out for her. Mia kicked upward, surfacing and gasping in air as she laughed right before his hands gripped her waist and pulled her back under.

  Their eyes met under the water and something sparked between them. Rhett still had his hands on her hips, and Mia’s hands gripped his shoulders. Mia’s previous thoughts came back to her. About moving on. About not living in the past and she realized she needed to do that. Starting now. Rhett must have been thinking of the same thing because before she could reach for him, Rhett bridged the gap between them as if he couldn’t contain himself any longer. He cupped her cheek with one hand and pressed his lips to hers.

  They surfaced and gasped in air between kisses. Rhett didn’t protest as his lips moved against hers, hungry and devouring. In the back of Mia’s head, she told herself this was wrong. She was still mad at him... Or at least that was what she kept telling herself. It was easier to be angry at him then admit her complicated feelings for him. When did being angry just become an excuse to keep distance between the two of them? To keep herself from saying the L-word to him?

  But before Mia could figure out whether she
should keep going or stop, Rhett was the one who broke away first. Her eyebrows shot up as he pulled back, breathing in hair. His one hand was still on her neck and the other on her leg but for some reason he had stopped.

  “What is it?” Mia asked, breathing as hard as him.

  Rhett glanced away, back at the sky where the sun shown. “I don’t know...”

  Mia’s eyebrows furrowed, her hand sliding up to his shoulder. “You don’t know? I thought this is what you wanted?”

  Rhett shot her a glare that made Mia draw back. “You thought this is all I wanted? While this is enjoyable, this isn’t what I wanted. This isn’t what I want. I want... I want you to tell me the truth.”

  “What truth?”

  This time he fixed her with a knowing look. “You know what truth.”

  Her face fell and Mia let her hands fall to her sides. Well this didn’t go the way she had thought it would. Who would have thought Rhett would be the one to kill the mood. She glanced away, staring down at her hand floating on the surface of the water. “I’m not ready.”

  “Doesn’t seem like it to me. Why can’t you just admit the truth? You’re in love with me.”

  Mia wasn’t sure why, but she took a step back, needing space between herself and those words. She stepped back from him, still half-submerged in the lake. “I’m not,” she said, cringing inwardly. Even she knew that was a lie.

  He quirked an eyebrow at her and stepped toward her. “Come on Mia. We both know that’s a lie.”

  Anger replaced any apprehension or happiness she had felt just a few minutes ago. She splashed the water and scowled. “What do you want me to say? That I have feelings for you? That I’m still mad at you but I also can’t stop thinking about you? That... that I may have loved you in the past, but I don’t know what I feel now?”

  “If it’s the truth then yes,” Rhett said back, throwing his hands up.

  Mia scowled. “Then fine. Yes. I feel all of those things. Are you happy now? That’s the truth...”

  Rhett frowned, his hands sliding to her hips under the water. “I would be happier if you were happier.”