Kaleidoscope (Faylinn Series) (21 page)

“Of course.” I stepped aside and let him walk past me. He made himself comfortable in our family room; plopping on the couch I had all my homework on. He didn’t even seem to notice the mess surrounding him as he leaned forward, his hands folded over his knees. I sat next to him, moving the books and paperwork out of the way.

“I think Isla’s cheating on me,” he said calmly, but eerily calm.

“What? Why would you think that?”

“I saw her walking out of Garrick Jensen’s house yesterday. He hugged her way too long at her car before she got in.”

My blood boiled. Isla was
not
about to cheat on the one person
she
didn’t deserve. But I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. “She and Garrick have been friends since middle school haven’t they?”

He winced. “It was the look in her eye when I saw her walk out. She looked like she was trying to be cautious. And she ignored me all yesterday. When I’d see her in the hallway she’d start walking in the other direction, like she was trying to hide from me.”

“You need to talk to her, Cam,” I advised.

“She won’t answer my calls or text messages,” he said, exasperated.

That didn’t sound like a woman cheating. It sounded like a woman scorned. “Have you ever thought she might be mad at you for some reason and that she was venting to Garrick?”

He threw his hands up in the air and fell against the couch. “Then why didn’t she come to me? Why did she go running to him? If the problem is between us I should know about it.”

“Because she’s a girl, Cam. She’s probably hoping you’ll figure it out on your own.”

He sighed. “Mind games, Cal. I
hate
them. Why can’t girls just say what they mean? Why can’t they all be like you?” I blinked. I didn’t know how I was supposed to take that. “You make it so easy. You tell me up front when you think I’m being a jerk and I tell you when you’re being a drama queen. We keep each other in check.”

“Because that’s what friends do. We’re not afraid to hurt each other’s feelings. We do it for the benefit of one another. We trust each other enough to tell one another those things.”

“So why can’t she trust me?” He looked at me with his ocean eyes, so earnest and defeated. I wanted to curl him up in my arms and kiss away his frustrations.

I sighed and leaned against the couch beside him. “Cam, it’s probably not because she doesn’t trust you. She’s just mad that you can’t figure it out on your own. A lot of girls do that. We think guys should just be able to get it. But guys are idiots, no offense.”

“None taken.” He draped his arm over my shoulders, tugging me to his side.

“You just need to find a way to confront her. Go over to her house if you have to and talk to her. But maybe give her some space to cool down. Wait, no. The longer you wait the more upset she’ll probably get. Just go see her now. I don’t know why you didn’t do that in the first place.”

“Because I knew you’d know what to say.” The weight of his eyes peering down on me was palpable.

A deep breath escaped me, but I couldn’t look back at him. He was so blind. If I wasn’t careful I would let my feelings show, so I kept my gaze down in my lap and picked at my fingernails.

“It’s probably all a misunderstanding. You just need to have a one on one conversation with her.”

He nodded, his head now resting on mine. “Thanks, Callie. You’re so wise.”

I chuckled sardonically. “Yeah, right.”

He shifted and put his fingers under my chin, giving me no choice but to look at him.

“What?” he asked.

“What?”

“You just sounded off.” He peered at me, searching my eyes.

I swallowed.
Please don’t look at me like that.
That look wasn’t fair. He didn’t mean it. Not in the way I wanted him to. “No I didn’t.”

His thoughtful gaze remained. The touch of his fingers on my chin did things to me that I didn’t want to feel anymore. “You don’t talk to me anymore.” His voice was quiet.

I rolled my eyes. “What are you talking about?”

He dropped his hand, but kept his probing stare. “You don’t. I feel like you hide stuff from me sometimes.”

Don’t let yourself be so transparent. Don’t let him know the biggest secret you’ve kept from him for years. He’s not yours. He never will be. You’ve accepted that. Haven’t you?

I shifted my eyes to get their uncaring blinders back up, to show him indifference to his feelings for his girlfriend, to show indifference to his feelings for me.

“Do you not recall my latest deep dark secret that only you know about?”

He faintly chortled in response. “Right. Does your change have to do with that? Is there something else you haven’t told me?”

That I love you.
Why was it easier to tell him I was a freaking faery than to tell him about how I felt?

I shook my head because I couldn’t form a response believable enough.

By the look in his eyes I knew he didn’t believe me, but he also wasn’t going to force it out of me, which I was grateful for. “I’m going to go talk to Isla now.” He stood up.

“Good idea.” I followed him to the entryway.

If I had been a backstabbing, double-crossing wench, I could have easily turned that situation in my favor. But, of course, lucky me, I have morals. And I love Cameron too much to screw him over like that.

“What are you doing today?” He opened the front door.

“Well, I’m going to finish this physics homework and then I’m headed out for a quick round of Faery 101.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Have you ever thought about what a surreal life you have?”

I smirked and laughed, but not because I found him humorous. “Every day.”

He unexpectedly pulled me in for a hug. “Your life feels so foreign to me now.” There was something off about his usual carefree tone. “I don’t like it.”

“You know me better than anyone else,” I assured.

He squeezed me tightly and nodded into my neck. “But everything’s changing,” he murmured so softly I wasn’t sure if he had actually said it and slowly pulled away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” The sadness was gone from his voice. Maybe it had never been there to begin with.

“Okay.”

I watched his back as he walked away from me.

• • •

The sunlight was at its peak, high above the canopy of trees. I squinted and moved across the small clearing to get under better shade. Declan and Kai had situated themselves among the large rooted tree, sharpening their daggers and creating sturdier sheaths. They hadn’t really spoken much since I had arrived. Normally, they were balls of energy, waiting to be released.

“You guys are awfully quiet today,” I mused.

Declan looked up at me. “Why don’t you give your wings a breather? You know you’re safe out here, Calliope.”

“Your clothes must be suffocating them,” Kai muttered and bit down on the handle of his bone carved knife as he reformed the sheath in his hands.

“I release them in the comfort of my bedroom, thank you very much,” I snapped at Kai. “They get plenty of free time at night.” I felt like we were talking about a pet I was neglecting.

“Don’t they get uncomfortable?” Kai asked.

Of course they did, but I didn’t want to tell him that. “They are fine.”

“That can’t possibly be true.”

“I should be applying for colleges soon,” I announced to steer the topic away from my wings.

“College?” Declan asked abruptly. “When? Where will you go?”

“Wherever I’m accepted.”

“But when?” Declan pressed.

“After I graduate in June. The semester will start at the beginning of September. That’s sort of how college works.”

Declan and Kai looked at one another. They didn’t speak, but their eyes were fighting.

I looked away from them and concentrated on leaping between the scattered rocks and boulders. “It’s not as if I’ll be that far away. I’ll come home every month or so or when I have time. You both knew I planned on living out my life away from Faylinn. I haven’t made it a secret that I don’t want to go to Faylinn. I’ve been safe so far. No one has discovered me and I think I’ll be able to keep it up. Besides, you guys will probably be so busy guarding Faylinn since you won’t have to worry about me that you won’t even notice when I’m gone. Think of what a relief it will be to not have to come see me every day.”

I realized after a minute that I was talking to myself. They were silent. They were never silent. I peered across the clearing to where I had left them. Both Kai and Declan were frozen in place, their heads slanted to the side as if they were lost in thought, their faces anxious. But they weren’t looking at me. They weren’t paying attention to me at all.

Declan’s head snapped to the west. I followed his gaze, but didn’t see anything, only the thriving world of the woodlands, sprung to life.

“Liam. . .Owen,” Kai whispered barely above the breeze. At least I think that’s what he said.

Declan nodded once. “They’re back.” He looked to me. “Up. You need to hide, Calliope. Time to use your fae abilities. Jump.”

“But I. . .” I faltered.

“Now, Calliope,” he urged, fear crystal clear in his deep oceanic eyes. “Go.”

I didn’t think I just leaped. In less than a second I found myself balancing on a slim limb high up in the branches, I shifted uneasily trying to keep from falling. Then Kai was at my side, taking my hand in his, catching me. He knocked his head to the side, directing me to follow him, but he didn’t let go of my hand, keeping a secure grip on me.

We leaped high above the wild ground through the full branches, dodging inconveniently placed vines and boughs. Kai lead the way, guiding my every move. It felt indescribable, the way my body knew how to glide soundlessly. I thought I needed more training to become as stealth-like as Declan and Kai, but it was as if my body knew this was the time to perform. Our rhythm was exact as we soared. When his foot landed, mine landed. When he flew higher, I was right behind him.

My hand felt warm and secure in his grasp. I found myself liking the feel of our hands intertwined, knowing he would never let me go. Unexpectedly, I realized I didn’t want him to let me go.

When we were at a distance that Kai felt was safe he stopped and let my hand drop, my security fading away. The branch was wide enough for us both to stand on as he paced back and forth and breathed heavily, his breath more relieved than exhausted.

I was the first to break the silence, but I kept my voice quiet even though we were miles from where we had started. “What was that all about?”

He let out a breath of air as if he’d been holding it the whole way. “Favner’s Keepers. Liam and Owen.”

“The ones that came close to us before?” He nodded. “How do you know it was them?”

His jaw clenched before he spoke. “They have a certain. . .stench.”

“What? Why?” I stepped closer to the trunk, feeling uneasy about balancing on the thinner end of the branch.

“Their preference for raw meat,” he said, hushed. He kept alert, scanning the forest floor below us and beyond.

I shuddered. “And you smelled that?” I uttered, breathless.

“As Keepers our senses have to be heightened,” he replied automatically, stating facts.

Kai went eerily still and his ears perked up in the direction we had come. He was motionless. There was a crunch that sprang up from the forest floor no more than forty feet away and I was instantly in the shelter of Kai’s steady arms. He placed a hand over my mouth.
As if I was going to breathe a word.

A gruff voice came from somewhere below us. “Someone’s been in these parts of the forest. I knew I sensed it before. It’s stronger than last time.”

I let my eyes drift to two figures beneath, their backs toward us. One of them was all muscle with black wavy hair sweeping the tops of his shoulders. He looked as if he could bench-press a cow. His arms arched out, too hulk-like to rest by his sides. His head scoured the lands from left to right. For all I knew they could smell us.

“Favner won’t be pleased when he finds out. Who do you think is foolish enough to try and escape?” the thinner of the two said. He kept his hair pulled back in a long blonde ponytail that fell down his sculpted back. He wasn’t as large, but he looked as if he could definitely hold his own in a fight.

“I don’t know, Owen. But we will find out. They won’t get past us for long.”

The hulk that I’m assuming was Liam, lifted his head to the trees, his eyes scanned from one branch to the next. If he turned even a couple feet we would be spotted.

I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, but didn’t breathe a sound.

Though I was scared for my life, I was highly aware of Kai’s uncovered warm body pressed to mine, the firm ripple of his contours forming to my back. His chest rose up and down at the same time as mine. I felt the stable cadence of his heartbeats thump against me. His grip around my waist never loosened, his fingers clutching my hip like a lifeline.

“They must have gone further east.” Liam began walking away. When the other didn’t follow, still surveying the limbs up high, convinced we were near, Liam bellowed, “Come, Owen.”

I barely heard their movements through the leafy groundcover as they trudged away. My heart pounded rapidly in my chest, my breath pumping swiftly through my lungs.

Kai’s voice brushed my ear as he lifted his hand from my mouth. “They’re gone.” But neither of us made a move to separate. He rested his hand on my shoulder and then gradually let his fingers trail down my arm. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath, thankful to be out of danger and completely taken aback by the way his touch affected my body. My head fell back in relief against the curve of his shoulder with my eyes shut. I felt him go still, but then he let out a slow breath, relaxing.

His finger lingered at my wrist, barely grazing the skin as if he wanted to take my hand once more, but was holding himself back. I felt him breath in and out against my back, the warmth stroking my neck. “Are you okay?”

About what exactly? Your closeness or the fact that we just barely escaped death?
I took a deep breath, hoping that would give my voice a chance to collect itself. “I think so.”