The Vaga (15 page)

‘Where’s Phoebe?’ I ask, ignoring his territorial response.

His eyes blink back to me and they convey his real emotions. He was genuinely worried. ‘She went to the restroom.’

I nod and the silence between us widens.

‘Is she okay?’ I ask.

He cocks one eyebrow. ‘What do you think?’

I bristle at his words. Of course she’s not okay. Who would be okay with all of this? My shoulders slump. ‘Look, I can explain everything, but Phoebe can’t know about—’

‘Ellie!’ Phoebe yells out running towards us.

Crap balls
!

Julian gives me a we’ll-talk-later look and I brace myself for what I know is coming.

‘Where the hell did you go? And where is Sam?’ Phoebe says looking behind me.

‘Phoebs, I can explain.’

‘
Explain
?! Explain how you were supposed to help me and then disappeared with my
boyfriend
? That type of explaining?’ She puts her hands on her hips and throws icy daggers my way.

‘Do you want to listen or just yell, Phoebs, because I can go there if you want to?’ I square my shoulders.

She must see something in me that tells her to back off because she eyes me warily, then relaxes her stance a little. ‘Fine, but it better be good!’ She turns on her heel and walks over to the nearest park seat.

I follow her over and can feel Julian’s eyes boring into the back of my skull as he takes up the rear.

Phoebe sits down and fans her blonde locks away from her face. ‘Okay, I’m listening.’

I decide not to sit as I need to keep moving. I’ve only had a minute to think of some story to cover Sam and I hope it’s enough.

‘Sam got into a fight early this morning.’ She raises her eyebrows. ‘Apparently he was out for jog when he was mugged. He was embarrassed to tell you, so I took him to hospital.’

She eyes me suspiciously and folds her arms. ‘Mugged? Really? You think I’m that stupid?’

‘Uh…no, but I’m telling you the truth.’ My gaze falls to Julian and he rolls his eyes.

‘So my boyfriend was mugged and beaten, and instead of telling me, you decide to teleport him and his entire bed to the hospital?’ she asks.

‘Well, I wasn’t thinking properly and panicked and so…yeah, that’s what I did.’ I bite my lip and know that my excuse was completely lame.

Phoebe stands up and walks towards me. Leaning in slowly she says, ‘You better find a more plausible excuse than that
crap
because I’m not believing it, Cole.’

I swallow the lump in my throat and look to Magi for help. She gives me an idea. It’s not something I have ever done, and I would never normally use a spell on Phoebe, but this is serious and I have no other option.

I reach out and touch her arm, ‘Samanatha tara, bohema denatera.’

Phoebe eyes go blank before closing shut, and as she begins to stumble Julian steps forward and catches her.

‘What did you do?’ he asks as he cradles her in his arms.

‘I put her to sleep,’ I say, crossing my arms defensively.

‘I can see that. Why?’

‘I promised Sam I wouldn’t tell her.’

Bang up job on that one Ellie
!

He eyes me warily. ‘Care to tell me what that promise was about?’

I look around us to find the park somewhat deserted. Other than the café doing its normal busy trade, the parkland is all but empty. Everyone must be in class…

‘Damn it!’

‘What is it?’

‘My exam. I forgot all about it. So much for my scholarship now.’ I could kick myself for forgetting. It might seem strange to think of an exam when I have more important things going on, but I’ve worked really hard to get where I am, and now it could all be in jeopardy.

Julian moves closer to me, still holding the sleeping body of Phoebe easily within his arms. ‘Elena, there are more important issues right now.’

I scowl at him. ‘Yeah of course there are, Julian, you’re so right. Why hadn’t I thought of that?’ My hands go to my hips and his lip twitches.

He places Phoebe down onto the seat gently and then turns back to me, running his hand through his hair. ‘You need to calm down and talk to me.’

He’s right. I do have to tell him. It’s not just my life in danger here anymore.

‘Firstly, let’s start with
Hercules
back there. Who is he and what does he want?’

I stifle a choked laugh. ‘Are you serious?
That’s
what you want to talk about? Geez, Julian, if I wasn’t mistaken I’d think you were jealous?’

His face is unmoveable but the slightest twitch in his jaw lets me know that my words have hit their mark.

I laugh. ‘You’re really jealous? This is crazy. You don’t even know me. And where do you get off telling me who I should or shouldn’t hang out with?’

His eyes move past me again and then he shakes his head, relaxing his stance. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry. I just…’

‘What?’

He scratches his hair, turning his face away from me. ‘It’s nothing. Forget about it.’

Biting my lip, I ignore the urge to make him feel better. His feelings really aren’t my problem, and yet…they are. I watch him walk over to Phoebe and his body language tells me that he’s struggling with all this just as much as I am. Up until this morning I thought that my life was on the right track to normal. I’ve spent years trying to make it normal, while still remembering my promise to Isis and my loyalty to my family. But now as I look at him, I know that normal is not going to be easy, and in fact it’s probably next to impossible for someone like me.

I sit down next to Phoebe, making sure not to squish her head. Magi lays her head on my lap, watching Julian.

Julian kneels down before me. ‘Elena, look at me.’

I raise my face to his and it very nearly takes my breath away.

Blake has nothing on Julian, not even for a second, and I realise that without knowing him I am already in love with him. I let out a short, crazy laugh. Some people would classify this moment as a delusional episode.

‘What’s so funny?’ he asks, frowning.

I shake my head. ‘Nothing, and everything.’ I look down at my hands and he wraps his large hands around them with tenderness.

‘Elena, I know this is all a lot. I also know that while I’ve been able to get to know you over the years, even if it has been in a stalkerish-kind-of-way, that you haven’t been given the same opportunity.’ He smiles, and the warmth of his touch makes me feel safe.

It isn’t just the getting to know him part that freaks me out. It’s that when I’m around him I want him so badly. I thought wanting him in my dreams was bad enough, but now he’s here in physical form and the urges are just as strong, if not stronger. Is it normal to feel that so quickly? I wouldn’t know, because apart from feeling like this about Julian I haven’t even kissed a guy before.

Maybe Ama is right. Maybe I
am
a prude. A timid, frigid prude who thinks she’s in love with a man she doesn’t even know. And how do I know that it’s even real? I mean Isis could be making me feel these things. Maybe it’s not coming from me at all?

I hope there’s a nice little asylum close by to campus so Uncle Jo and Aunt Lily can visit me regularly
.

I push aside the disturbing thought that maybe I am in fact going insane and refocus on Julian’s words.

‘Thank you for being an understanding stalker.’

He laughs, and the deep timbre of his voice makes my heart sing.

I smile and Magi nuzzles me gently. She senses what I feel and apparently she’s okay with it, which also makes me feel slightly better. Though better isn’t the same as sane, is it?

‘I have an idea,’ he says raising his chin.

‘What?’ I ask, hoping he won’t tell me that we should have sex and get that out of the way too.

‘How about we take this time to get to know each other? What about twenty questions?’

‘Twenty questions? What is that?’

He pulls his hands away from mine and my heart skips a beat at the absence of his touch.

Sitting down on the grass he stretches out his legs and leans back on his arms, his muscles flexing along his forearm.

‘It’s where we take turns asking each other questions until we reach twenty. Maybe a bit lame, but it’s a start.’

He watches me, waiting for my answer.

Chewing the inside of my cheek, I think about it. Could it hurt? Probably not, but the thought of opening up to him seems slightly insane considering our history. And do we even have time for this right now? I scan the park for any danger lurking around.

‘Elena, we have time. We’re safe here for now,’ he says, sensing my unease.

‘How do you know? They could be out there right now.’

He frowns. ‘Trust me. I would know.’

‘Have you got some sort of threat radar going on?’ I scoff.

His aura intensifies. ‘Something like that.’

‘Oh, right,’ I reply, a little shocked that he has that ability. Maybe getting to know him would be beneficial? I mean, if he is the man who’ll be the father of my child, which still sounds irrational and utterly bizarre but I know it’s the truth, then surely getting to know him is the next logical step.

‘Okay, twenty questions,’ I say. ‘But if I don’t feel comfortable with the question then I’m not answering it.’ I fold my arms.

He smirks. ‘I wouldn’t expect anything less. Ladies first.’

I have so many questions for him that it seems impossible to know where to start.

He sits up and drapes his arm across his bended knee. ‘I’ll make this easier for you. How about we only ask questions that relate to who we are and what we like?’

‘Sounds fair. Okay then…well, I suppose the first question to ask you is, what’s your full name?’

He raises his eyes in surprise. ‘Really? That’s your first question?’

‘So now you get to dictate what I can ask?’

He puts his hand up. ‘Fine. Sorry.’ Clearing his throat he says, ‘My full name is Julian Atticus Cyprion Augustus.’

My back bristles at the mention of Augustus—the founder of the Puritan faith and the man who started the curse upon my family, and it must show on my face because Julian lowers his gaze to the ground.

We’re moving on remember
? I tell myself.

‘Okay, your turn.’

He raises his eyes and his face turns serious. ‘What happened with Sam in the room earlier?’

The question throws me a little.

‘I thought we were asking each other simple questions?’ I say as I look down onto Phoebe’s sleeping form.

He shrugs. ‘Well I already know those things about you.’

‘What? You couldn’t possibly know certain things about me. Sure you’ve been watching for a while…apparently…but that doesn’t mean you—’

‘You love nature and breathe it in whenever you get the chance. Your favourite colour is green, but purple and white also draw your attention. You love dogs but dislike cats,’ he looks at Magi, ‘which is weird seeing as you’re a witch and typically they love cats.’

My mouth opens but no words come out so he continues.

‘You love to run as it frees you from the world. You are healthy and like to eat mostly organic food, but sometimes you indulge in chocolate—peppermint being your favourite. You love your family and are fiercely protective of them, but you also resent the burden you carry and that is why you don’t sleep very well, preferring to read a book to take your mind off your worries. You have amazing abilities but don’t like to use them often, as if they somehow frighten you. And when no one is watching, you grab your necklace and speak to your mother.’

My chest constricts painfully and I feel my lip tremble.

He doesn’t know me. He’s never even spoken to me. And yet from what he’s just said he probably knows me better than anyone.

He raises himself off the ground and grabs my hands again. ‘You also worry that the only reason I’m here is because of Isis and her blood that binds us. But let me reassure you that before you even placed that vile into my mouth I felt you, Elena. Sounds corny and ridiculous, especially seeing as I tried to kill you, but it’s the truth.’

‘But how can you know all that?’ I whisper.

‘Watching somebody’s life has its perks,’ he says. ‘As hard and irrational as it is to believe, you and I are connected.’

We
are
connected, I know that. I haven’t been feeling all these things over all these years for nothing. But the reality of it all is very different, and if I’m being honest with myself…I’m scared. Scared of what it means to really love someone on an intimate level, scared of what it could mean not only for me, but for my family. And more importantly I’m scared of the child—my child—our child—and what our future holds.

I pull my hand back gently and confusion crosses his face. ‘Julian, you may know all that about me, but you’re forgetting one thing here.’

‘What’s that?’

My eyes find his. ‘I don’t know you at all.’

He sighs with resignation. ‘You’re right. You don’t.
But that is what I want to change. I can’t keep being that guy in the shadows any longer. I don’t want that anymore.’

I stare at him, not quite believing that this is real. My dreams told me that this would happen, but now that it’s before me my mind is reeling with uncertainty.

Does being with Julian betray my family? Does it trivialise my mum’s death? Is it possible that this is so wrong that it can never be?

‘Elena?’ Julian angles my chin towards him. ‘Please give me a chance. Get to know me, ask me questions, put a spell on me if you have to, but don’t reject all this until you’ve had a chance to know the real me.’

Something he says triggers a thought and I sit upright.

Could it be possible?

‘What is it? What are you thinking?’ he asks, cocking an eyebrow.

Asking him the amount of questions I have floating around in my brain would take days to answer, and I know that we don’t have that amount of time. I need to find out the answers quickly and I have an idea.

My heart beats a little faster. ‘You said I could cast a spell on you? Was that true?’

He cocks his head and moves back slightly. ‘Uh, I want to say yes, but now that your eyes are turning a bright green, I would have to say I’m not so sure now.’