Ember (24 page)

“One can never be sure. I’m not taking any chances,” Declan said.

Kai was silent, but when I looked him in the eyes, I could tell he agreed.

They gave me a minute of privacy while I concealed my wings under my shirt. I stepped from the forest onto our property, and it was as if my dad knew I was there. I heard the sliding door open, and he appeared.

“Melody!” he called inside.

His smile grew wide, and he moved forward with open arms. I started walking fast, but it wasn’t fast enough so I ran. He met me halfway on the grass where I threw my arms around his neck.

“Welcome back.” I heard the contentment in his voice buried in my hair.

“It’s so good to be back.”

He pulled away, took my face in his hands, and kissed my forehead.

“Calliope?” Mom’s voice sounded from the back door. I peered around Dad’s shoulder and smiled. “My baby girl’s back!” She ran and stole me from Dad, encompassing me in a death-grip hug. “Oh, my girl is finally home.”

“Hi, Mom. It’s good to see you, too.” She rocked me back and forth, squeezing me too tightly. “Mom, I can’t breathe.”

“I don’t care,” she retorted, but loosened up a little. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? How long have you been traveling? How long do you have? Are you alone?”

I peered behind me to the trees where Kai and Declan were waiting just beyond the line, remaining barely hidden.

“Kai and Declan are here, but they’ll stay in the forest. I could eat. Haven’t had a burger or pizza in quite some time.” I smiled.

“Oh, invite the boys in, too! Don’t make them wait outside like dogs. We’ll get take-out.”

“Mom,” I reproached. “They’re faeries. They can’t handle being in the house for that long.”

She frowned. “Right. I forgot. It’s been a little bit since we’ve talked about them. I can’t remember all the rules and restrictions.” Her eyes drifted over my shoulder to the grove of trees. “Can I meet them at least?”

She hadn’t met them yet? That couldn’t be right. I racked my brain and felt ridiculously mortified. She hadn’t. She saw Declan hovering in trees when I first left, but I never introduced her to him.

I knew they were watching so I motioned for them to come out. “Let’s meet them closer to the trees,” I said.

We got as close to the forest as we could manage so Kai and Declan weren’t visible to the rest of the world. With it being the middle of the summer Kai and Declan had worn their cut-offs today. Their weapons were strapped to their broad chests and waists.

“Kai, Declan. You know my dad.”

Declan came forward. “Finnian.” He smiled, and they grabbed one another in one of those manly hugs with hands pounding each other’s backs.

“It’s been too long, Declan.”

“Yes, it has.”

Kai reached out to Dad, and they interlocked wrists in the Root. “It’s an honor to see you again,” Kai said respectfully, and for some reason that did funny things to me.

Dad smiled and looked down at their wrist with wistful eyes. “Thank you.”

“And this is my mom, Melody.”

She stepped forward and reached out her hand. Kai took her wrist, which I know confused her, but she went with it and then repeated the Root with Declan.

“It’s good to finally meet you both. I’ve heard an awful lot about you.” She smiled warmly, though I could see apprehension in her eyes.

They looked to each other and then back at me. I could only shrug because I didn’t know what she knew about them aside from the fact that they protected me for all those years.

“Thank you for taking care of my Calliope,” she said. “I know you’ve sacrificed a great deal for our family. So, thank you.”

“We would do anything for Finnian and our kingdom,” Declan declared.

“Thank you, Declan,” Dad said appreciatively.

“Sir.” Declan bent his head. “Kai and I really must get back to our duties. You all have a wonderful evening. You won’t even know we’re here.”

“I know.” Mom chuckled. “You seem to do the invisibility thing very well.”

Kai and Declan’s eyes rose in amusement as they retreated into the forest.

“Thanks, guys.” I waved, and they bowed before we walked our separate ways.

Dad closed the sliding door behind us as we entered into the kitchen.

“I feel embarrassed that I called them boys. Those were
not
boys,” Mom stated. “And
those
were the two that you were seeing in the woods all of those months?” There was an edge to my mom’s words like she was on the verge of a lecture.

“What were you expecting exactly?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she sighed and leaned against the counter. “Younger guys. Not young men.”

“Is there much of a difference?”

“There’s a huge difference!” Her arms flew in the air, nearly whacking the cabinets behind her.

“Melody,” Dad chuckled. “Those two are some of the finest fae to come out of Faylinn. If you are worried about the safety of our daughter, those are exactly the two that you would want on our side.”

“It’s not that,” she receded. “Obviously, they could protect you. I’m not worried about their capabilities. I’m worried about my daughter becoming the youngest Queen
Mother
.”

“Mom!”

“Well!” she shot back.

“Oh my gosh,” I mumbled into my hands.

“They were
so
handsome, Calliope. Do not tell me nothing is happening between you and one of those two.”

“Nothing
is
happening. And if there was something happening, I wouldn’t be stupid about it.” I knew it wasn’t the honest truth, but nothing could happen. Whatever Kai and I had shared a week ago was a distant memory now.

“Well, I never had to worry about this with you before. You’ve never had a steady boyfriend. I don’t know your moral code.”

“My moral code? Are we really having this conversation?” I looked between my parents.

“Melody,” Dad chimed in. “Calliope is a grown woman. She’s smart. I think we can trust her to make good decisions. Can’t we, Calliope?”

“Yes!” Of course, yes. But I would have said anything to stop this conversation from continuing.

“See?” I think Dad would, too. The last thing any dad wants is to have “the talk” with his daughter. Especially considering he knew Kai and Declan personally, maybe even better than I did.

“And neither one of them are Royals so nothing could happen even if I wanted it to,” I muttered. “So, yeah,” I lamely added.

“Not Royal? So like your father and I?”

I nodded and shrugged.

“Something really needs to change in that place, Finnian,” she grumbled. “It was one thing for us. You had the option to leave. She has no choice but to stay, and now she’ll be forced to marry some other Royal. My baby will be forced into a loveless marriage.”

“It’s customary, Melody. I don’t know why you’re scolding me like
I
can do anything about it.” This was the last thing I felt like diving into. I came home to get away from all of that.

I put my head down over my folded arms on the countertop. Maybe if I couldn’t see them, I couldn’t hear them. Or at least tune them out.

“Well it’s a ridiculous custom that should have been changed years ago.”

“Pizza or burgers?” Dad said, nearly cutting her off.

I lifted my head and thanked him with my eyes. “Burgers.”

“All right,” Mom relented. “Let’s go hit up the drive-thru. Can’t have our big green-eyed faery running around in public now, can we?”

I smirked. “Can I change first?” Though my fae get-up was comfortable, I’d probably get a few funny looks from the rest of civilization. Plus, I really wanted to put on the bustier before we left so I didn’t have to hold down my wings myself for that long. Just thinking about it exhausted me. They hadn’t been restricted for so long.

“Go ahead.” Dad nodded his head back toward my room.

• • •

“Do you two mind if I go see Cameron when we’re finished?” I asked, shoving some French fries in my mouth. Yes, I missed this salty goodness. I really did.

“Are you sure you’re prepared for that?” Mom took a sip of her Coke.

“I don’t think I could do anything to prepare myself. It’s bound to hurt, no matter what, if he doesn’t remember me.”

“Yes it will, but just remember that eventually it won’t make a difference. You will live longer than anyone here. You’ll just learn to live without him sooner than later.”

“That wasn’t supposed to make me feel better, was it?” I eyed her next to me.

She frowned. “No. I’m merely giving you perspective. It will be hard now, but it’s only preparing for a long lifetime without us.”

Way to bring down the mood. I had thought about not living with them in the present, but my thought process hadn’t reached the future years. In fifty or sixty years my parents would be gone and probably so would everyone else. I would cross that bridge when I reached it. We still didn’t know how my time clock worked—not how much faster I aged than the average faery, nor how much slower than the average human.

“Calliope,” Dad interjected. “Even if he doesn’t remember you, missing him will get easier. It won’t go away, but you’ll learn to live with it. It won’t feel like a gaping wound forever.”

“I guess I’ll have to take my chances. It’s the only way I’ll know for sure if he remembers me or not.” I crumpled my wrappers and stood up to toss it in the trash.

Mom stood beside me, tugged me close to her. She kissed my forehead. “Good luck, darling girl.” Pulling back, she said, “Though you don’t look much like my little girl anymore. You’ve grown so much.”

I shrugged. “I’m still me.”

She smiled solemnly. “Yes, you are.”

• • •

I waited in the trees opposite his home since I couldn’t be sure of his recollection of me. I no longer looked like the Calliope who grew up down the street from him. Living in Faylinn had altered my appearance, not drastically, but enough to make a difference, enough for someone to notice I didn’t look totally human. Mom wasn’t exaggerating when she commented on my big eyes. When I looked in the mirror it was amazing to see the change they had made. It had been so subtle through the last few months, but now, immersed in the human world again, I saw the difference.

When I saw Cameron emerge from his house, he locked his front door and walked down the pathway to his black jeep parked in his driveway. I almost couldn’t say his name. I wanted to say his name, but it was caught in my throat by the tears clenching my vocal chords. It never occurred to me how emotional it would make me to see his face. His sandy blonde hair still draped across his forehead, he flicked his head back to get the hair out of his eyes.

He had almost reached his jeep; I couldn’t miss this opportunity. Before he disappeared into his car, I cleared my throat and called out his name. If he could hear me, then he could see me. But he didn’t turn. My shoulders sagged, deflated.

Maybe he just didn’t hear me. I repeated his name, but it came a little softer this time, a lump forming in the back of my throat. With his hand on the door handle of his jeep, he stopped. His hand paused before opening the door. So I said his name again a little louder, just because I could, and his face jerked toward me.

Cameron studied my face for a few moments, but no recognition set in. My heart sank to my stomach. Cameron couldn’t remember me. My best friend couldn’t remember me. I wanted to escape back into the trees, but I was stuck in place, caught in his apprehensive stare. Of course, I wasn’t invisible. They never said I would be invisible, simply nonexistent in his brain.

“Oh, Cameron,” I breathed, stepping far enough out of the camouflage so he could fully see me.

He dropped his hands to his sides and gradually began to walk toward me with a hesitant expression. I wanted to run and jump into his arms. I wanted to feel his familiarity and smell the scent of Cameron that used to bring me so much comfort—his soapy clean self.

“You don’t remember me.” I shook my head, tears pricking my eyes. He was still across the street, stopped at the bottom of his driveway. He looked like he was trying so desperately to place me in his thoughts, but I was probably only a faded memory, if that. It was probably better this way anyway. He could stop missing me. He had the luck of not knowing what he was missing.

“It’s okay if you don’t remember me.” I swallowed the knot. It didn’t matter what I said to him now. He would forget he ever saw me in the first place in a little while. “Just seeing your face one last time … made coming home complete.” A tear escaped down my face.

“Cal … Callie?” he whispered, testing my name on his lips.

I hadn’t heard that name in so long. The tears fell freely down my cheeks, and I grinned.

“Callie!” he shouted, and then his feet swiftly carried him across the way to me.

The weight lifted as his arms found me and clutched me tightly enough that I almost couldn’t breathe. I had been Faylinn’s Queen for like three months—in Faylinn time anyway—being answered to and looked up to. I had overseen thousands of other fae and formed decisions that would affect us for centuries. But it was in this moment, wrapped in Cameron’s arms, that I felt strong.

When he pulled back, his eyes drank me in, and he smiled.

“Hi,” I said for lack of anything better to say.

“Hi,” he replied. “I didn’t know how much I missed you until now.”

“You too.” I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand.

His fingertips touched my face as if he wanted to make sure I was real.

“You don’t know what a relief it is to know you can see me.”

Cameron’s face fell. “What? Why?”

“There was a strong possibility that because I’m fae and was no longer around you, that you’d completely forget me. It’s for our protection. You almost had me going.”

His baby blue eyes memorized my face. “It was strange at first. My mind felt like it was being blocked by something when I looked at you, but … I could never forget you, Cal. Ever.” Cameron pulled me into his arms once more, and I felt home.

Chapter Twenty-One