Kaleidoscope (Faylinn Series) (22 page)

He sighed. “Calliope—”

The branch suddenly shuddered slightly under our feet, clenching my stomach. When I looked up, Declan stood with an expression of relief fixed on his face.

“Thank the fallen fae. I lost track of Liam and Owen a mile back. I was sure they had found you.”

Declan’s eyes drifted between Kai and me, our bodies pressed firmly against each other. Kai released me and my knees wobbled beneath me. Declan jutted his hand out to steady me before I fell from the bough.

“You question my ability to protect her?” Kai’s tone was challenging.

“No, I simply know how good those two are at tracking rogue faeries and by some miracle we escaped them,” Declan amended, keeping my hand firmly in his.

When I caught my breath I said, “I didn’t think anyone liked Favner. Why would they return rogue faeries to him? Aren’t you all on the same team?”

“He has a handful of followers. Those who figure if you can’t beat him, join him,” Declan said.

“A bunch of worthless cowards,” Kai said vehemently, unable to hold still any longer.

“So, they could find me,” I said. “Favner could force me to come to Faylinn.”

Kai scowled, refusing to meet Declan or me in the eye. He kept his eyes fixed in the direction Liam and Owen disappeared.

“We won’t let that happen, Calliope,” Declan said, but his tone wasn’t as reassuring as I would have liked. “It’s why I’ve been around for the last five years. I’ve been able to keep you in hiding for that long and I will do it for as long as it takes.”

“But why? Why have you chosen me to protect?” I questioned, taking my hand away from Declan’s tight grip. That question seemed especially pertinent in this moment. “There must be others out there who could use the protection too.”

“Your father was a good friend of mine, a mentor,” he said with finality. “We can talk more about this later, Calliope. Right now what I’d really like is to get you in the safety of your home where they can’t bother you.”

Kai finally released his eyes from the search and said, “Good idea,” agreeing for once.

They escorted me back, walking a few steps behind me, conversing in hushed voices. It sounded important so I didn’t want to interrupt. We reached as far as they could go and Declan told me to keep safe.

“I don’t want you coming out to see us on your own anymore,” Declan said.

“But, how else will I get to see you?” I searched back and forth between the two towering figures. I suddenly felt very small and insignificant.

If I couldn’t go see them anymore did that mean I couldn’t come near the forest anymore?

“We can signal,” Declan assured. “If we need you we’ll use Kai’s flute. We’ll play a short melody for you to recognize it as us. And if you need us all you have to do is say our names. Our given names.”

“Your what?”

“A given name. They aren’t handed out lightly, but I know you will guard our names and only use them when necessary,” Declan said.

Kai answered my blank stare. “Every faery receives a given name when they are introduced into the world. If you know the given name you can have complete control over that faery. So, you can see how your given name falling into the wrong hands can be a very bad thing.”

“All you have to do is say the name and we will be summoned to you,” Declan said.

“You won’t have a choice?”

They shook their heads.

“I don’t want that kind of power,” I faltered.

“The time might come when you will want that kind of power, Calliope,” Declan said. “I know you won’t use it unless absolutely necessary and that is why I feel comfortable enough to share mine with you. You won’t abuse the power.”

“But what if something happens and for whatever reason I can’t say your names? What then?”

“You’ll always be able to find me,” Kai said from behind Declan. I looked back at him. There was no hint of arrogance in his eyes. They bore into mine with a genuine intensity.

“Kai will keep you just as safe as I would,” Declan said, interrupting my thoughts, but I could hear an uncomfortable undertone in his voice.

“I know.” I realized in that moment I trusted that they would take care of me. I trusted them with my life.

“No matter if you say my name and I’m in Faylinn, I will hear you. I will come as soon as I am capable.”

I acknowledged him with a nod.

“My given name is. . .” he leaned down and whispered in my ear. I knew that Kai could still hear him, but I could only assume he did it for further protection from anyone else around who could be listening. “Declan Alastair.”

When he spoke the name it made a significant impression. Without fully understanding the meaning, somewhere inside me I knew this was a precious honor.

Kai leaned down to me next, his quiet breath brushing my ear. “Kai Rodric.” He pulled away and said, “Now get inside.”

I looked between my two guardians, two men who I felt closer to now than ever.

“Bye,” I said and walked from the trees onto our grass. The lights inside my home beamed like a beacon, but it almost seemed more surreal to come back to my human life than to exist in the fae world now. I peered cautiously through the windows before deciding it was safe. No one was in sight. I closed the sliding glass door quietly behind me.

“You’re coming in awfully late tonight,” Dad’s voice came from the darkness in our living room.

I gasped. “Dad, why are you creeping in the dark?”

“I watched the sunset and never bothered to turn on the light,” he explained.

I moved toward the back of the couch and flipped on the light on the side table. “You really should warn a person before you just start talking from the darkness.”

“Why are you coming in so late tonight?” He leaned back in his recliner; his legs rested on the ottoman at his feet.

I peered at the clock on the wall. The hands indicated that it was nearly eight o’clock. “Kai and Declan were teaching me how to maneuver in the trees.” I kept Liam and Owen out of the equation. If Dad learned about them, he’d never let me set foot in the forest again. “I’m getting pretty good at it.”

“You’ve been out there for almost four hours, Calliope. I thought we had agreed you would be inside before sundown.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” It wouldn’t help my case if I told him during sundown that we were being chased by professional rogue fae hunters. “It won’t happen again.”

“You’re lucky Mom’s still not home.” Just as the words passed his lips, I heard the faint groan of the garage door opening. “I told her we hadn’t eaten yet. She’s bringing Chinese.”

“That sounds good.”

He motioned to my bedroom. “Go change. Put on some pajamas or something unless you want her asking why you have twigs in your hair and dirt on your face.”
I had dirt on my face?
I wiped my hand across my cheek and he smiled softly. “There’s no dirt on your face, but you really do have leaves in your hair.”

I raced from the room when I heard the side door creak open.

“Hello?” Mom’s voice echoed through the house.

“Hey, Melody,” Dad greeted as I closed my bedroom door.

• • •

I couldn’t sleep that night. My thoughts were swirling in a whirlwind and my room felt like it was a sweltering sauna. When I turned to check the time on my nightstand it blinked 2:37 am. I needed air. Heaving myself up from my bed, I went to the window and opened it. My wings fluttered, enjoying the breeze that rushed in almost as much as me. I took in a deep breath of the cool freshness.

The night was quiet with the exception of cricket chirps and leaf flutters. My eyes gazed down at the lining of the trees to the mystery of what could be lurking there now. The Keepers were probably out there scouting for whatever or whomever they were so worried about.

Once my body was satisfied I turned to go back to bed, but heard voices, hushed low voices.

“Lurking again?”

“You are one to talk.”

“We both know I wasn’t lurking. I’ve always been around.”

My eyes scanned the trees, but it was too dark to decipher their figures. I knew it was them. I didn’t need to see the bickering Keepers for confirmation.

“Well you can take a break for the night. Sit back, put up your feet up. You’ve been working
so
hard all day,” Kai’s tone was patronizing. Was it strange that I knew his voice?

“And why do you feel like you need to all of a sudden protect her around the clock?”

“It’s no secret to you who she is. She needs protecting.”

“Well for the last five years I think I’ve done a pretty good job.” Declan’s voice was frustrated.

The fact that they knew more about me than I knew about myself rattled me. Were there really still secrets that I was being shielded from? Did everyone think I was that fragile that I couldn’t handle the truth?

“Yeah, you have, but now Favner isn’t going to let her go. When he discovers and I mean when, that you didn’t get rid of her. . .” Kai trailed off, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what the end of his sentence was going to be.

“It doesn’t mean that you should be here.” I could barely hear Declan’s voice, but it was bitter.

“What is this really about, Declan?” There was a long pause. I almost thought Declan wasn’t going to answer. “What?” Kai repeated, more adamantly.

“You don’t get to swoop in here now,” Declan’s voice raised. “I’ve watched over her for years. Protected her. If anyone gets a chance to be with her it should be me, not you.”

I shivered, but not from the cold.

“If you wanted that chance you should have taken it. You’ve had how many years?”

“She didn’t have the Sight, Kai,” Declan contended. “If I’d shown myself to her she would have bolted away, screaming and crying. You remember how she reacted when she saw you for the first time. I didn’t want to frighten her.”

“And prowling in the shadows outside her bedroom window wasn’t supposed to frighten her?” I could hear the smirk in his voice. I could picture the look he would have, one eyebrow raised as he tilted his head patronizingly.

There was a thump and then a low curse under someone’s breath. It sounded an awful lot like a fist hitting a tree trunk.

“You don’t get to make the decisions around here,” Declan muttered.

There was a heavy sigh.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Kai said. “You are the favorite.”

“But you ignite something in her that I can’t,” Declan replied softly.

“Hatred?” Kai’s amusement was apparent in his tone.

“You and I both know it’s far from hatred.”

What did they know about what ignited inside of me?

They were silent for a few minutes, but I waited, too absorbed in the conversation to leave the window just yet. A gust of wind ripped through the trees. I wondered what they were doing. Had they always guarded my house so closely at night? Or were they on higher alert with the arrival of Liam and Owen? I sat down against the wall under my window, my head resting against the windowsill.

Declan broke the peace of the night. “It’s passion in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t.” Kai paused before he said, “You don’t really have to worry about me, you know.”

“It’s all up to Calliope in the end. She gets to decide what she wants. But we both know we may never get a chance. You know the law,” Declan said, subdued.

The realization set in, bile rose in the back in my throat. The law. It had been staring me in the face since the beginning, but it never clicked when Declan had mentioned it in terms for me. I would only be allowed to marry within my colony. Even if I wanted a future with Declan or. . .Kai, it would never be possible.

“Cameron still owns her heart. I think he always will.”

“That won’t matter when all is said and done.”

“You weren’t there that day he came,” Kai contested. “She sparkles around him, Declan.”

Someone sighed again.

“Then you better fight like hell because it doesn’t look like anyone’s going to give up anytime soon,” Declan’s deeper voice cut through the night.

“Don’t worry about me. She’s all yours.” Hearing Kai’s words sent an ache through my chest.
But why should I care?
“We could never work.”

“You know it won’t matter in the long run anyway. It’s a nice thought, but we both know an actual life with her is impossible.”

I couldn’t listen anymore. It was all enough information to drown me in anxiety. Declan was supposed to get rid of me. Bonding arrangements put us in chains. I could never be with either of them even if I wanted to. And Favner wanted me dead.
Why?
How did he even know about me?

“H
ow’s my favorite faery?” Cameron popped up next to me in the hallway on my way to Physics. After overhearing Declan and Kai’s conversation last night, I couldn’t fall back asleep for a couple of hours. The wheels in my head kept spinning. I couldn’t have gotten more than three hours of sleep.

“Can you
not
call me that in public?” I said, hushed.

“Oh, c’mon, Cal. It’ll only make people suspect something when you respond like that. Just be cool.” He nudged my shoulder to try and loosen me up. I guess it didn’t work. “Hey, are you okay?”

I let out an overwhelmed breath of air and rubbed my tired eyes. “I don’t know. I learned a couple new things last night that I’m trying to come to terms with. And with all the changes, I just don’t feel like myself anymore. I’m not Calliope anymore. I’m freak faery girl. That’s what they would call me if they knew what I was, isn’t it?”

“I’d come up with something much more clever than that.” Cameron winked.

I let myself chuckle a little and it made me yawn.

“You’ve done really well at hiding your wings,” he whispered to me. “I thought they’d be a lot more noticeable, but with the combination of those flowy shirts and your backpack, you’d never know unless you were looking for it.”

“The backpack kind of hurts sometimes. It rubs them raw.”

“So don’t wear the backpack. I honestly can’t see them,” he said reassuringly.

I shifted the backpack, “Where’s Isla?”

He shrugged. “Turns out she wasn’t cheating, just mad at me. We worked it out.”