Ember (27 page)

“Yeah,” Cameron answered, following me to my room.

Dad sighed. “It’ll take a day or two for him to forget. I think you’ll be safe, but it would be wise for you to leave soon.”

Tears welled up in my mom’s eyes. “But I just got you back.”

“I’ll come back, Mom, and I’ll be smarter about it next time, but I can’t stay.”

“You know she’s right, Melody,” Dad said sadly.

She nodded, bringing her hand to her mouth to hide her crying face. I grabbed my clothes from the top of my dresser and headed for the back door. “It’ll be okay, Mom.”

The four of us met Kai and Declan at the edge of the forest. The Keepers looked at me with concern, unable to decipher why we were leaving now. Their expressions were about to change when I filled them in on my slip up.

“I hope you got the answers you came for.” Dad reached for me.

“I think so. Thank you.” I held him tighter as if holding him tighter would make it hurt less to leave. “It’s been so hard not having you to turn to.”

“It will get easier,” Dad consoled. “I promise you. I love you, Calliope.”

“Love you back.”

Cam snatched me up when Dad let me go. “Don’t stay away for too long.”

“Don’t forget me completely,” I replied into his neck. I didn’t want to let him go yet. We didn’t get nearly enough time together.

“Not possible.” He pulled away.

After saying goodbye to my mom I darted into the forest, unable to see the three of them standing there watching me go.

Kai and Declan caught up to me as we soared through the trees. “Why the sudden departure?” Declan asked.

“Lia’s brother saw my ears.”

“We let you out of our sight for a couple hours and disaster strikes,” Kai groaned. “Why weren’t you more careful? You know what’s at stake.”

“I don’t need a lecture, Kai. I’m frustrated enough as it is, so could you please just shut your mouth and take me home?”

I saw him fall back. So I slowed and stopped to look back.

“Home?” he questioned.

“Yes,
home
. I live in Faylinn. Do I not?” I knew what he was trying to get at. I’d never actually referred to it as home before. I don’t know when the transition set in, but it did feel like my true home now.

“Yes, My Queen.” The sardonic edge was back, and I rolled my eyes before spinning away from him, shooting off my branch. I felt like I had aged ten years today, and my patience was nonexistent. Declan obviously knew better than to speak, so the three of us made our way back to Faylinn in a silence that had never existed before.

• • •

The sun was about to begin its decent behind the peak when we finally made it back. Dugal stepped out from behind an oak tree when he saw us approach. He bowed and greeted us individually.

“Declan, may I have a word with you?” he requested and searched for my approval.

I nodded.

Declan turned to Kai. “Will you manage to get Calliope back to the castle without speaking a word? We know anything else you say this evening will not go over well.”

“If she’s lucky,” Kai remarked snidely.

I didn’t wait for anyone else to speak, nor did I excuse myself as I continued to walk toward the village. Kai didn’t waste time as I had hoped he would and joined my stride.

“You know I only said what I said because we can only do so much from the forest. Beyond that, you are on your own out there,” Kai said with a soft firmness.

“Was that meant to be an apology?” I peered up at him.

He shook his head. “I’m not sorry for what I said. You made a stupid mistake that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. You lived as a faery, attended high school, and existed among humans for months and no one knew. Then you go home for two days and can’t seem to conceal your identity. You put yourself at risk, Calliope.”

“I get it, Kai.” I threw my hands up. I didn’t need a lecture. “I’m upset enough with myself. I barely got to spend any time with my family. Just let it go.”

We were walking past his home, and I was about to tell him I needed my space and to take the rest of the night off, when we saw Violet sitting with a few other girls in a flowerbed outside Lorelle’s cottage.

“You’re back!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and ran to Kai. He knelt down and snatched her up in his arms.

“Hey, sweet girl. What have you been doing?” Kai’s entire countenance changed when he was with Violet.

“Nettie, Clover, and I were making bouquets for Mama.” She scurried back to the other girls and swept up a bouquet of wild flowers, covering her entire face, burying her cheeks into the greenery. “I wish this was the whole world.” Her little lavender eyes peeked above the petals.

“Me too, Violet,” Kai softly said, chuckling. “Me too.”

Violet’s smiling eyes above the flowers, Kai’s solemn face as he peered down at his sister—my heart was melting in pools of warmth at me feet. He picked her up again and swung her around. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more,” she chuckled and threw her head back. Her bronze tendrils fanned out as he spun her around.

“You’re good for him.”

I jumped at the sound of Allura’s voice and turned. “What?”

“Kai. You’re good for him.” Allura watched me. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. She continued, “Not many people can handle Kai like you do. He’s …”

“A freaking pain in the butt?” I knew a few more choice words for him, but I kept them to myself.

Allura chuckled, but said, “Complicated.” She gazed back at Violet and Kai who were horsing around with each other. She had crawled on his back and was messing up his hair. “After our dad died, his fun-loving personality turned a little more snarky, but he means well. And you handle him very well. You’re the only one that can really keep him in his place.”

“That’s the Supremacy. I’ve tried to learn to control it.” I felt ashamed.

“It’s not,” she differed. “I see it in his eyes. He wants to do what will make you happy. He’s just scared.”

“Allura,” I groaned.

“No, I know what you’re going to say. What does it matter if I’m good for him? He belongs to another colony. It’s forbidden.” That wasn’t what I was going to say, but I won’t say it hadn’t crossed my mind. “You have the power to change things, Calliope,” she said gently.

“I’ve had a long day, Allura. I think I’m going to head home.”

“Just think about what I said.”

“And what exactly did you say?” Kai’s voice came from behind me, startling me. He sauntered up, folding his arms.

“Just talking about what an annoyance you are.” Allura smirked. With that one lift of her mouth, I saw Kai in her snarky smile.

Kai flicked Allura’s hair. “You’d miss me if I was gone.”

“Doubtful,” she shot back, swatting his hand and laughing.

“I will let you two sort out your differences and head to the castle. See ya.”

“Would you like to be graced with my presence?” Kai moved toward me.

“If I have to be graced with your presence for one more minute of today, I may shoot myself. So, thanks, but I’ll pass.”

Kai’s face went blank. The smirk wiped from his lips and any light mood was gone. I may have taken that one a little too far. It wasn’t as if I really meant it, but I didn’t recant or apologize. I bent my head and waved without looking back. What I really wanted to do was march up to him and smack him, then kiss him, but I didn’t do either. Obviously. Instead, I dragged myself in defeat back to the castle, grabbed something to eat, and took my spineless self to bed early. With the pale moonlight cascading across my room, I drifted off into a restless sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Four

S
omething warm pressed down over my mouth, cutting off my air supply, startling me awake. I pulled in a lung-full of air to scream before I saw Kai’s eyes glowing in the darkness and a finger pressed to his lips.

“I have to get you out of here,” he whispered urgently.

I kept my voice low at his level. “What? Why?”

“We’re being invaded.”

“What!” I hissed, shooting up in bed. “By who?”

Kai growled. “I think it’s Rymidon.”

I stopped short before replying. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Adair just gave us everyone back. He’s paired me up with Sakari. They wanted peace. We’ve been negotiating trades. And—”

“Adair must be playing with you.”

“But why? I don’t understand.”

“Calliope, I don’t know, and that’s not important right now. What’s important is that I get you out of here now. Get dressed.”

I leaped out of bed and went to my closet, pulling out a couple items of clothing. When he didn’t make an attempt to leave or shield his eyes I cleared my throat. “Some privacy please?”

He sighed heavily and turned around. “I’m not leaving you alone. They are making their way through Faylinn very swiftly. They’ll be here for you any minute.”

I slipped on a pair of black pants and a dark green wraparound tunic for warmth. “How are we going to get out of here?” I touched his arm so he would turn toward me.

“Through the window.” He unlatched the shutters and opened the glass. There was a loud clatter that could only have been the main doors being broken into. He swept me up in his arms before I could protest. “I’ll feel better knowing where you are. It’ll be safer than constantly having to check behind me for you.”

“You doubt my abilities to keep up?”

“I simply doubt my ability to stay in control if something were to happen to you.”

My heart sputtered, but he didn’t give me a chance to respond before he leaped out my window into the tree beyond the ledge. My eyes darted back to my room with the sound of my bedroom door rattling as if it was being rammed. But Kai didn’t give them the opportunity to see us. He shot off from tree to tree.

Now that I was outside, I wasn’t sure how I could have slept through all of the commotion. The still night air was bursting with screams of terror and distress. But Kai didn’t hesitate. He continued on through the trees.

“Kai! We have to go back! I can’t leave them behind unprotected!” I thrashed in his arms. “Please take me back!”

“It’s not safe, Calliope. End of discussion.” He held me more firmly, lessening my flailing, but only minimally.

“Don’t you boss me around! I’m
your
Queen. Don’t ever forget that.” I hated pulling that card, but it felt necessary in the moment.

Kai stopped, hidden in the branches far enough from Faylinn not to be seen, but not far enough that I couldn’t still hear their cries. He set me in front of him and held my shoulders tightly in his hands. “Don’t make me go back unless it is something that deep inside you know needs to be done. You know I can’t force you to leave, but I’m begging you, Calliope,
please
don’t make me take you back. I will fight you, but we both know who will win.” Kai’s shield was down. I saw the desperation in his eyes, heard the fear in his voice. “You are no use to Faylinn if you’re dead. And I can’t promise you that if I take you back you will be alive by the end of the day.”

My teeth clenched as I bit back the tears clogging my throat. I couldn’t tell him no. My fists tightened, digging my nails into my palms. The sound of my fae in danger still rang in my ears, tearing up my insides.

“Kai,” I choked. “You’re giving me an impossible choice. I have a duty to those of Faylinn. I swore to honor and protect them.”

His grip on me loosened, but he didn’t let my arms go. “I know.” He nodded. “But we’ve been ambushed. If we go back now, we will lose the fight. We have no plan against an attack of this magnitude. You have Keepers who will do their job the best they can. It’s not your responsibility to fight.”

I shook my head, feeling my stomach turn over on itself. I wanted to puke.

“The thought of you—” He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, taking a minute to calm his anger. “We will make a plan, okay? Just let me get you somewhere safe, and then we will figure it all out.”

“What about your family, Kai? Your mom. Your sisters. They are still there! And Declan? What about him?” The thought of these people I had grown to love suffering, shattered me from the inside out. I felt every part of me breaking down.

“My mom and sisters are safe. I made sure of that. And Declan is fine. He’s staying behind. Once it’s safe for him to get away, he’ll come find us.”

“I don’t like this, Kai. I don’t like it at all.” I unclenched my teeth “But … if you don’t get me out of here now, I’m going to change my mind and make you take me home.”

I was in his arms again in an instant. He grasped me closely against his chest. “Thank you,” he uttered. I felt the brush of his lips on my ear, but it was gone before the thought even finished crossing my mind. He soared though the branches and vines, leaping farther and faster than I thought possible. I shut my eyes and braced myself against his body.

His rhythmic leaps were steady, never jostling me. He never made me feel like I was weighing him down. His hold never wavered. I felt lighter in his arms. I peered up at his face, his jaw set, his bright eyes determined. The moonlight glistened through the leaves, spilling patches of light on his face as he surged forward. I knew he felt my gaze on him, but he kept his eyes focused on whatever lay ahead of us.

After fifteen minutes of traveling in silence, my eyes grew heavy.

“Sleep,” he murmured.

I wasn’t sure if I could, but I nodded into his chest and closed my eyes. Sleep found me more easily than I would have thought. It couldn’t have been more than a minute when it took me completely.

Chapter Twenty-Five

S
omeone said my name, stirring my dreams.

“Calliope,” he repeated softly.

I opened my eyes to see Kai’s face barely shone in the moonlight. He still held me, but we had stopped moving.

“We’re here. Will you be all right if I set you down?” he murmured, respectful of my just waking mind with his soft tone.