Ember (16 page)

I’m not sure how long he held me before my embarrassing meltdown began to break through the fog in my brain, and I pulled away, humiliated for snotting all over him and losing it like a little girl with scraped knees.

“I’m sorry.” I patted Kai’s soaked chest, unable to meet his eyes. “Give your shirt to Evette so she can clean it for you. I’m sure she could have it done within the hour. It’s amazing the speed that woman possesses.”

“I can clean it myself,” he said softly, staying in place.

“You shouldn’t have to. I’m the one that made a mess of it.” I wiped my hands across my eyes and under my nose.

“It’s okay.” I could feel his eyes on me, which had never moved.

“It’s not, but thank you for trying to make me feel better about it.” I finally lifted my eyes to his.

“Will you be okay?” The tenderness in his eyes was killing me. I didn’t deserve compassion. I should be slapped. I’d feel better with that reaction.

“No, but I’ll have to be,” I answered honestly.

“I’ll check on you in a little bit.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t give me that crap, Calliope,” he murmured. I saw him lift his hand almost reflexively as if to comfort me. Just before he touched my cheek, he hesitated, coming back to himself and dropping it. “I’ll give you your space now, and I’ll be back later.” He stepped away from me.

I smiled weakly at his assertive tone. “Thank you, Kai.”

He nodded once before swiftly leaving the room. And our moment was gone. Like every other moment we’d ever shared. In the blink of an eye, it came and went.

Chapter Thirteen

I
should have cancelled my meeting with Evan again this morning. I needed more time. It was hard enough to drag myself out of bed, and now I had to hear Evan ramble on and on about kingdom rulings and trading, and business I could care less about currently. If it hadn’t been for Adelaide and Evette this morning I would have been satisfied to lie in bed all day.

“What you need now is a strong companion. Having someone at your side to support you and your decisions would make all the difference. Have you made a choice about any of the Royals yet, Your Grace?” Evan had picked the worst day to hound me about bonding. I was still recovering from my destruction of Raina and Brokk. Couldn’t he see it written all over my face? I was miserable.

“Evan,” I sighed. “I’ve already told you. Please just call me Calliope. Even Queen Calliope if you have to, but drop the Your Majesty, Grace, Highness … all of the above, please,” I nearly begged.

“My apologies, Calliope. I am still trying to adapt to your formalities. It may take me a little longer.”

“It’s fine.” I waved away his apology. My mind circled back to the question he had asked. Had I thought about who was best for my kingdom? Yeah, simple answer there. No. Every time I thought I was confident with my answer, a sinking feeling would set in the pit of my stomach. My gut instincts were telling me I needed to hold off.

“Calliope?” Evan prompted.

“No, Evan. I haven’t.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Will you please give me a minute?”

“But, Your—” he caught himself. “Calliope, I truly feel that there is more to discuss. There are only so many hours in a day and—”

“Evan,” I said sternly. “If you would like me to have a clear head when I make these decisions, I need a minute to myself.”

“Yes, Calliope.” He bowed at the waist and stepped out.

I felt the tears rise behind my eyes and choke my throat, but I swallowed them back. I couldn’t show weakness. I was Queen of Faylinn now. I couldn’t show them how petrified and inadequate I felt. But this was too much.
What did I get myself into?
I needed guidance. I needed my dad.

• • •

“Where are you headed off to?” Kai appeared by my side as I walked out of the atrium.

“I … I wanted to do a little more exploring. I thought I’d go see Allura.”

“You don’t think I know the kingdom well enough to guide you?” he challenged, back to being the Kai I knew.

I peered up at him. He really wasn’t the person I could talk to about bonding, but at least he’d get my mind off it. Most likely, he’d be obnoxious in the process, but a distraction was a distraction. “Do you want to be my guide?”

“Not particularly, but I’d like to at least be asked.”

“Exactly. Why would I ask you when I already know the answer?”

“It’s the thought that counts,” he mumbled, which earned a quiet chuckled from me.

“Kai, would you mind showing me more of the kingdom?” I asked, overly sweet.

“Since I have to tail you anyway I might as well.” He sighed.

I lifted my palms to him. “No need to do me any favors. I don’t need pity here.”

“Who said anything about favors? It’s merely convenience. Besides, Allura is at the Harvest Borough. She’s unavailable.” He pulled his flute from who knows where and began twirling it in his fingers.

“Lead the way then.”

We reached the front doors when he asked, “Where have you been so far?”

I named off the places where the Craftsmen and Weavers worked as well as the Harvest Borough.

“So she showed you the basics. Good. That leaves us with the adventure. I think you could use a little fun. Are you doing better today?”

My face dropped. Of course he had to bring it up. “I don’t really want to talk about that right now.”

“Okay,” he said softly. “Here we come, Novalora.”

“Where?”

“C’mon.” He knocked his head to the side with his crooked grin and vaulted toward the forest, kicking off of the first tree for momentum. Heads twisted in our direction as we passed, watching with curiosity as we dashed deeper into the trees.

I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up with his winding and unpredictable course until one second he was there and the next he vanished.

“Kai?” Silence answered me. I dropped down to the ground and scanned my surroundings. “Kai, I’m not laughing. This isn’t funny.”

He didn’t respond, and I was beginning to feel uneasy. He had taken such an indirect route I wasn’t sure I would be able to find my way back without him.

“Kai!”

“Ha!” His head jetted upside-down in front of my face.

It was a reflex. He probably regretted scaring the crap out of me when my fist met his face.

Kai grunted and fell to the soil, caught off guard. “Dang, Calliope.” He shifted to his knees.

“You scared me, you jerk!” I couldn’t help but laugh at the look of disbelief plastered across his face. It was priceless.

He grabbed his jaw as the side of his mouth turned up. “You pack a mean punch for such a little thing.”

“Told you I could handle myself.” It was hard not sounding a little smug.

“I can see that.” Kai chuckled warmly, and it was the most comforting sound I’d heard in weeks. “Well …” He adjusted his jaw. “We’re here.” He turned to face what appeared to be a wall of greenery, but he brushed aside some dangling vines and revealed a cave opening. “After you.” His arm fanned out in front of him, coaxing me to go inside.

“Yeah right. I may trust you, but not that much. You go first. I’ll follow.”

He gave me a y
ou’ve got to be kidding me
expression with a heavy sigh and eye roll, but conceded. “Fine. Follow me.”

I remained close behind him, still unsure of our surroundings. We didn’t venture very far when I saw light cascading from the other side indicating another opening. I heard birds chirping, a trickle of water, and quick fluttering wings. When we reached the mouth of the cave I gasped.

“This is Novalora, Land of the Pixies.”

A whole new realm resided behind those vines. A completely different world existed from Faylinn. I had thought nothing could be more enchanting than Faylinn, but this place was something else entirely. Miniature cottages dotted the trees dripping with oversized wisteria and bright moss. Pixie’s fluttered about, springing from giant wildflower to giant wildflower. Their wings spread out, dwarfing their dainty bodies.

“I have no words.”

Kai didn’t reply. When I looked over at him he was staring at me, wearing a genuine smile that buckled my knees. “I thought you might like it.”

I smiled back and scanned the unreal woodlands. Flowers the size of my head bloomed, and those red and white mushrooms sprouted to my height. I felt like a munchkin in Munchkinland, being towered by nature that I should normally tower over. “But I thought you hated pixies.”

“Shhh … I don’t hate pixies.” He looked around like a cornered animal, but they weren’t paying attention to us. “They’re harmless. It just tends to be annoying when they buzz around your ears or think they are helping do your job when they aren’t.”

I chuckled. “They are fascinating. Are their clothes made out of … flower petals?”

“I guess. I don’t really pay that close attention to their attire.” One landed on his shoulder. Her clear wings flickered rapidly. She started talking, but it was so fast, I couldn’t even begin to tell you what she said. There was no deciphering it.

“Am I supposed to understand her?”

Kai chuckled with a shake of his head, peering over at the pixie. “No. It’s supposed to sound like gibberish.”

I could have sworn she was scolding me, but her tone was too sweet to sound angry. She wagged her finger, flitted to his cheek, and kissed him, her tulip dress swinging like a bell. And then she was gone.

“Looks like someone has an admirer.”

“Ha! Yeah. I’ve got the pixies lining up. Who’s next?” he hollered into the woodlands.

They all went suddenly still, their attention set on him. Before he knew what was happening, they swarmed him, hovering around every inch of his body.

“Whoa! Hey now! Hey!” He shot back through the cave faster than I could follow because I was doubled over with laughter.

When I entered back into Faylinn I was still laughing, unable to control my amusement especially when I saw he was doing quite the little dance to shake them off.

“A little help?” he hollered to me.

“What’s the matter, Kai? Can’t handle a few little pixies?”

“Calliope!” I knew he wasn’t really in distress. I thought about letting him suffer for just a few more minutes. This could be entertainment for hours. But I decided to intervene instead.

I brushed the back of my hands across the pixies like I would to shoo away a bug, and they began to scatter.

When the last one had flown away he turned to me as I tried to stifle my laughter behind my fist.

“You think that was funny, don’t you?”

“Funny? That was downright hilarious!” I didn’t hide my satisfaction then, relishing the humor of the situation at his expense.

He spread his arms apart. “All right. Laugh it up. Enjoy this now because your moment will come, and I’ll laugh all the way home while you try and kick the trolls off your ankles.”

I stopped then, sobered by the thought. He laughed at my expression.

“You’re not serious, right? You wouldn’t let them attach to my ankles.”

“They wouldn’t hurt you. They just like pretty things.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but came up short when what he said registered. He thought I was pretty? “But…you said trolls were hideous; I don’t want those things touching me! Pixies are small and cute and harmless!”

“Relax.” He continued to chuckle at my terrified outburst. “Relax. I wouldn’t leave you. I might watch for a little bit for some good entertainment, but I wouldn’t leave you.”

“Punk.” I shoved his shoulder and began to walk away.

“Umm, My Queen, with all due respect …” I turned when he didn’t continue. “The kingdom is that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

“Whatever.” I rerouted in the direction that he pointed and endured his quiet chuckles all the way back to the village.

Just before we hit the meadow we were stopped. “What kinds of trouble are you two kids getting yourselves into?” I looked up to see Allura with her hands on her hips, perched on a tree limb coated in dark pink moss.

“Not enough,” Kai chuckled wryly.

“Kai was just showing me a little bit more of Faylinn since we didn’t get it all covered before and giving me a bit of entertainment in the process.”

“How thoughtful of him,” she mused.

“Not necessarily, since I basically had to drag him along.”

He scoffed, and I smirked at him.

“Well, then let’s ditch him and go have the real fun.” She stepped off the branch, landing gracefully in front of us.

I looked to Kai, though I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t need his permission. But I didn’t want to be rude either. He merely shrugged.

“Get along, little one.” Allura shooed him off with her hands. “We don’t need an entourage. Just simple ol’ girl time.”

“Thank you for sparing me. Declan will want to check on Calliope in a little while though. Where will you be going?”

“Maybe we don’t want anyone knowing where we are going,” Allura goaded.

“Unfortunately, sister, that’s not up for you to decide. Calliope’s safety comes first.”

“Fun crusher.” She made a face. “We’re just heading to Crystal Falls.”

“Just be on your guard, Allura. I know you can handle yourself, but Miss Delicate over here hasn’t been properly trained. And Declan will have my head if anything happens to her.”

“Hey,” I protested. “I thought we already established I’m not completely helpless.”

“Yes, do shine that death glare of yours. It’s sure to knock a predator right off its feet.”

“Oh, lay off, Kai. I’m sure she can hold her own. She seems feisty enough to me.” She eyed me up and down. “And what predators do you really think are going to swarm Crystal Falls in broad daylight? We’ll stay in the boundaries unless you fear another kingdom will invade our forest when they have one of their own.”

“Just don’t lose her or let her fall out of a tree.”

“Oh my gosh. Would you stop treating me like I’m not here? Or like I’m completely handicap? We’re fine, Kai. Just go,” I pressed.

Allura chuckled. He finally nodded, giving in.