Kaleidoscope (Faylinn Series) (13 page)

Cameron must have seen something in my eyes. He stepped towards me and cupped my face in his hands. I wanted to touch him back, but I didn’t want his hands to leave my face. “Callie, you’ve been my best friend for six years. Though this makes me question your sanity, I see that you believe what you’re telling me. I want to believe you.”

I felt hope and it pricked the back of my eyes, glazing them with moisture. He pressed his lips together and fixed me with a sympathetic gaze.

“You can’t expect me to take in all of this and automatically accept it, but I’m willing to try,” he said.

I nodded and reached one hand to rest on his waist to save me from my weak knees. “I know. . .okay.” I could live with that. I could live with even an ounce of hope that I had someone I could go to who never lied to me, who never kept anything from me, someone I could trust one hundred percent.

I swallowed down my emotions, reigning in my tears. He must have noticed my shaky emotional state and our very close proximity because he looked down at my hand on him and then went comical on me.

“Callie, this is cool. Own those pointy ears. You’re a faery!” He threw his hands in the air.

“Shut up,” I laughed.

“What else do you want me to say? My best friend is a faery. Who else can say that?”

“Nobody and neither can you,” I stressed.

“Like I would actually tell people. I’d rather not be sent to the loony bin with you.”

“I wouldn’t have to be sent to the loony bin if anyone caught sight of my fae features.”

The significance of my words flashed in his eyes and he nodded. “You’re right.” He looked at me in all seriousness. “You’d become someone’s science experiment.”

The thought made me cringe. To think of myself as anything but normal, human. And to think if my identity was put into the wrong hands that my own kind would turn against me and view me as a freak, merely
something
to experiment on. I would no longer be a
someone
, but an
it
.

He said firmly, “I won’t ever let that happen to you. You don’t have to worry, Cal. You know your secret is safe with me.”

I nodded and breathed through my consuming panic. I knew I could count on Cameron. It was touch and go for a moment, but I knew I loved him for a reason. “Thank you, Cam.”

His eyes drank in my appearance, studying all my new features. I couldn’t say I hadn’t done the same thing to myself. Every time I looked in the mirror I had to stare for a few moments before it clicked in my head that it was me, like a drastic new haircut you’re not used to. When his eyes met mine again he asked, “Now what? How long have you known?”

“That faeries exist or that I am one?”

“Both! How long have you kept this from me?” He was offended now. I hadn’t expected that emotion.

“Well. . .I’ve known about them for a little less than a month now. They’ve been telling me I’m one for about the same time, but I didn’t truly believe it until Saturday night when I saw these.” I gestured to my ears.

“Saturday? I was with you Saturday,” he realized.

“My hair was down. I didn’t notice them either.”

He shook his head. “You can’t hide those forever, Calliope. Someone will eventually see them.”

“I’m just going to have to be very careful. I was able to do it all day today. I’ll figure out how to do it every other day.”

Cameron looked unconvinced. He folded his arms across his chest, taking a strong stance. “I don’t like the sound of that. That wouldn’t last forever.
I
noticed them this morning. There’s no telling who else could.”

“I know,” I sighed in frustration, throwing my hands up. “But what am I supposed to do?”

“You’re a faery. Can’t you disguise yourself or something?”

“No,” I said, discouraged. “At least not yet. But if I did I would have to make myself invisible. You wouldn’t be able to see me unless I wanted you to and what’s the point in that? I wouldn’t be able to live a real life.”

“There are others,” he stated, deadpan.

It didn’t surprise me that Cameron trusted me enough to believe me, but it was unexpected how well he was taking it. He accepted it a lot better than I did, that’s for sure.

“I’ve met two so far, but supposedly there are thousands more.”

A blank stare crossed his face as if he’d just seen a pig fly and then he was back in problem solving mode. “Don’t they know anything you can do? Can’t they turn you back into a human?”

“They are faeries, Cameron. Not wizards.”

“But your dad. . .he looks human. Why can’t that be you?”

My dad.
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
He left the faery world to be human. I just needed to ask him how he did it.

“That’s it, Cam. You’re a genius! I don’t know why my dad and I hadn’t put that option together.” Surely we were smarter than that. But maybe he didn’t put two and two together because it wasn’t possible. My hope instantly dwindled back down.

“Let’s get you back. Your dad is going to wonder what’s taking you so long. I don’t want you to have to lie more than you already are.”

“My dad can wait. I want to help you.”

“I mean it, Cameron,” I said, walking back toward my car. “We’ll set up another time to talk about this. If you don’t make it to help your dad, he’s going to want to know why and I don’t want to be the reason you have to lie.”

He snagged my arm and turned me to him. “C’mere.” He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me to his chest and enveloped me in his warmth. “Take a breather okay? You’ve got yourself all wound up.”

I chuckled. “You try finding out you’re a faery and take it completely rationally.”

He laughed into my hair. “I’ll try that.”

When I got back home, all was quiet. It was a little after four and I hadn’t expected to see my mom, but after just getting my ears I wouldn’t have put it past my dad to be sitting at the kitchen table anxiously waiting for me to come home. Maybe he had thought better of it today and decided to give me more space. Since I couldn’t ask my dad about getting rid of the faery genes, I had to turn to the next best thing. I just hoped they were around.

W
hen I reached the small clearing that had become our mutual meeting ground, I saw Declan perched on a boulder, his gaze drifting back and forth, surveying the area. He was a still silhouette of muscle and dominance. After the conversations we had over the last few weeks, I knew better. He wasn’t all-intimidating or a threat. . .to me anyway.

“Declan?” He turned where he was standing and smiled gently down at me.

“You just can’t get enough of us, can you, princess?” Kai emerged from behind a tree, causing me to jump back.

“Must you always appear out of thin air?”

“I like to keep things interesting.” That impish grin formed on his striking face, but rather than irritating me it caught me off guard, causing my breath to catch.

I swallowed and gained back my composure before it became too noticeable that he had ruffled me. “Well, I guess it’s my turn to make things interesting.”

Declan’s face tilted, intrigued, while Kai cocked an eyebrow as if he didn’t believe I could possibly entertain him. I did what I did for Cam and pulled my hair back.

“I knew they’d come in,” Kai said smugly. “It was only a matter of time.” He leaped behind me, but I chose to ignore his whereabouts and turned to Declan for guidance. He hopped off the boulder and meandered gradually over as if measuring his steps one by one. His cautious strides evoked the nerves in my stomach to run wild.

“Declan,” I encouraged him to say something, anything. He was still too quiet for comfort.

“You’re finally starting to look like you should,” Kai spoke up over my shoulder, covering the silence. “You still look half naked without the wings, but you’re getting there.” He materialized in front of me. I controlled the urge to step back. Of course he’d be the first to check my back for my wings. “You’ll get there.” He moved away from me and dropped to the soil, propping his lean back up against a near tree trunk then pulled out some sort of flute, blowing into it, creating a flowing erratic melody.

When I looked back to Declan he didn’t look happy. I sort of expected him to be happy about this. I was becoming one of them. It was difficult to read his expression. Although he wasn’t happy, he didn’t look mad either. He looked. . .saddened. As if my turning into a faery was a negative thing.

“Declan?”

“Kai is right,” he agreed. “You’re starting to look like you should. They look as if that’s where they always belonged.”

Declan’s face didn’t look very convincing, unless looking like I should was a bad thing.

“When should I expect my wings?” I shifted my eyes between the two Keepers, steering the topic.

“Beats me.” Kai stopped his melody for only a second and shrugged, then instantly went back to playing that irksome flute.

“There’s no way of knowing,” Declan replied evenly.

“So they could just show up while I’m at school?”

“Well, I assume it will be a gradual thing like your ears,” Declan said. “How long did it take for your ears to become full size?”

“About a day.”

He nodded. “You’ll be able to feel a difference when your wings come in. It won’t be the same as your ears. You’ve always had ears. You’ve never had wings. I’m not sure you’ll be able to hide them as well as you’ve hidden those, though.”

“What about my dad?” I questioned. “Since he’s not a faery anymore, can’t I do what he did? Can’t I stop the process? Kill the faery inside of me?”

Declan looked pained when I asked my last question and I realized how morbid it sounded. “I don’t think so,” he said softly. His arms twitched at his side as if he contemplated reaching out to me, but thought better of it. “You’re in transition. You can’t stop the transformation from happening. If you tried, you’d die. Once it’s finished—most likely months from now, maybe longer—if you decide you don’t want this life, you could probably transform back into a human.” The look on his face revealed he hated that idea, but he was trying to remain neutral. “But, Calliope, everything is so unknown with you. It’s possible being half and half keeps you from transforming to one or the other at all. Even if you tried you might not survive the transformation. Would you really want to risk that?”

The flickering hope that burned like a fire inside of me was immediately extinguished as I shook my head. “There’s really no other way.”

Declan was silent now.

Kai got to his feet and walked to me, casually draping his arm around my shoulder. “Oh, it’s not so bad, princess. It’s actually kind of a thrill to be a faery. You’ll see.”

I did my best to ignore his closeness, the warmth of his sinewy body at my side. “How does Faylinn make decisions anyway? I thought Faylinn was a place,” I said.

I watched Declan look to Kai and his arm around me, sharing a stare that seemed meaningful somehow and then he found my eyes again. “It is, but it’s more than just a place. It’s the enchanting power over all the faeries. Faylinn makes us what we are. It’s like the all-mighty power. We answer to it.”

Kai gradually removed his arm as if finding himself and stepped far away from me. I fought against the initial void it left me with.

My eyes flickered to Kai but he wasn’t looking at me so I turned my attention back to Declan. “It talks?”

“No. No, it’s nothing like that,” he chuckled lightly. “It’s simply a state of being. It’s just there, like the wind and the air we breathe. You can’t see it, but you can feel it.”

“Are you guys a bunch of hippies?” It would make sense as to how they dressed, all natural and simple.

“A hippie?”

“Yeah, you know. . .love, peace and harmony.” I held up two peace signs.

“Well, of course we want all those things. Who wouldn’t?” Declan held up his fingers and Kai followed, trying to make sense of my hand gestures.

“What are you trying to do with your hands?” Kai asked. “Bunny ears?” He wiggled his fingers.

I shook my head. “Never mind. You two are hopeless.”

“Calliope, we’re from different worlds,” Declan said, dropping his hand. “Of course we’re not going to understand every little detail about one another. But that’s what we’re here for. We want to help make sense of our world to you, so you know what you are. Where you come from.”

“But I don’t want to be what you are. Doesn’t anyone see that?”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you life isn’t fair?” Kai sounded like he was scolding me. “Get over it, princess. You’re a faery.”

I wanted to scream, but I held it inside. I could be mature about this. But he was just so. . .so. . .

“Calliope,” Declan prompted before I punched Kai in the face. He had good timing. “I’m sorry this isn’t what you wanted. I understand that it’s hard to accept something that your whole life you’ve been told is a tale. But, I would like to help make it right. Help you understand that being a faery isn’t a curse.”

It was easy for him say. He hadn’t been told he was faery only a few weeks ago. But I kept my negativity to myself. He was right whether I wanted to admit it or not. It was time to start learning about faeries. It was time to stop wallowing in self-pity and accept what I was.

“Thank you, Declan.”

He shrugged. “It’s what I’m here for.”

“I told my best friend Cameron,” I blurted. I wasn’t sure why I felt like I needed to confess that, but there it was. Out in the open.

“Calliope.” Declan placed his hand over his face and sighed.

“Faery basics, princess,” Kai said. “You don’t reveal our species to humans. Has your dad taught you nothing?”

“No, he did,” I rushed on. “But Cameron saw my ears and I couldn’t hide them from him. He won’t tell anyone. I know it,” I tried to plead my case. “He’ll do everything he can to protect me.”

“Did you tell your dad that you told Cameron?” Declan asked.

“I haven’t gotten the chance yet, but I don’t think he’d be too happy with me if he knew.”

“How do you know Cameron can be trusted? Humans can never be trusted,” Kai emphasized every word.

“My mom is human and she’s trustworthy. Why do humans have to be deceitful? It’s not as if you faeries have been the most forthcoming.”