Silent Orchids (The Age of Alandria: Book One) (8 page)

Absently placing his hand on his shoulder, Daegan replied, “I’m fine. It was just a shock.” He shrugged and Hal left it.

“Well, that wasn’t exactly the outcome we were going for, was it? I was planning on going with you,” he added, sounding frustrated.   

“No, that wasn’t what I thought she would say. It makes me wonder if she was suspicious of me for some reason. We will have to go with it, though, and come up with an alternative.”

“If she was suspicious of you, then why not send me instead?”

“She has her reasons, I’m sure,” Daegan practically growled as he turned to walk away. He was finished talking about it. Maleina knew he would never leave Halister; they were too close. She was using her own son as insurance that he would return. He was almost sure of it. When they were younger, some of the older Faeries would pick on Halister and beat him up. Daegan had been there but had been unable to help him, and she knew that he felt responsible. She preyed upon his guilt and made him swear an oath to always protect and serve Hal, unbeknownst to him. Hal himself would never have asked that of Daegan and Daegan knew Hal would be furious if he ever found out. Daegan had trained harder and given himself more to the guard than any other to make sure that he could keep his end of the oath. He had ever since and would continue to the best of his abilities. She knew that. Hal was like Daegan’s brother, but if Hal knew that was a burden that he bore, he would not allow him to be who he was, his warrior.  

“I am NOT staying here! I’m going with you. What if you need help? We are in this together.”  Hal’s volume was getting louder as his short fuse was about to ignite.  

“You need to stay here to make this work—at least for now,” Daegan replied calmly but sternly. “I will send you word when you can find us, if you still want to.” Hal was not happy and was ready to fight about it, but before he could speak Daegan added, “I need you to keep up appearances here, keep Maleina distracted, and give her messages from me when I send them. I’ll send for you as soon as we re-enter Alandria and find shelter. Plus, it is important that at least one of us is here for Rheina and her party; she is your sister. The old man said as much,” he said, referring to Arileas. Daegan was pacing now with his hands on top of his head as he did when he was lost in thought.

“I believe it is especially important for
you
to be the one here,” Daegan said, “though I am not sure why. I’m sure Maleina knows nothing of that and we should keep it that way. Give Rheina my love.” Daegan left abruptly, heading for his room to pack whatever essentials he might need for the journey. “Don’t do anything stupid!” he yelled over his shoulder to Hal, who was still standing where he left him brooding. He’d get over it; he always did. Daegan knew it would break Rheina’s heart if her brother missed her party and so did Hal; he wouldn’t miss it. She had always been like a little sister to Daegan, and he regretted not being able to be there for her, but she would understand.

It was a few days’ ride to the entrance to the mortal realm, and then however long it took him to locate this girl, which, by the way, he had no idea how to do. Daegan also couldn’t help noticing that the Elder had only spoken of her as a
girl
in his mind. Arileas apparently didn’t want that information widely known. So that helped eliminate a great number of the population in the mortal realm.
Right
. The Elder, Arileas, instructed him to ask The Orchids to show him the way. He unfortunately hadn’t told him
how
to do that. Time to figure it out.

Chapter Seven

The first several days at her new job went pretty smoothly. She met some nice people, served a nice old couple that lived in her building, didn’t break any dishes, didn’t mess up too many orders, and even made some decent tips.

I think I’m getting the hang of this, I might even like being a waitress
, she thought with an upbeat smile. It was her last hour of work for the night, and as she was putting in an order with the kitchen, one of her coworkers approached her.
I can’t remember her name, what is her name?... Maybe she won’t remember mine
. “Hi,” Kaeleigh said.

“Hey. Kaeleigh, right?” she asked a bit hesitantly.

“Yep. I’m sorry, I don’t remember yours,” Kaeleigh stated sheepishly.
Crap!

“It’s Alex, but don’t worry, you have a lot to remember your first week. I’ve been there myself,” she said with an understanding smile. “Do you know the gorgeous guy at table thirteen?”

Which one is table thirteen? I should remember this… I think it’s over by the… WOW, if that’s table thirteen, he IS gorgeous!
“Over by the fireplace? Is that table thirteen?” she asked shyly, looking to the other waitress. Alex just nodded. “No. I don’t know who he is, but I wish I could say I do.” Kaeleigh ducked her head and blushed, realizing she had said that out loud.
Oops!

“You may get your chance,” Alex said with an eyebrow raised. Kaeleigh looked at her, confused. “It’s one of my tables, but he asked for
you
. By name. You should go meet him, he’s been staring at you ever since he arrived.” She sounded a bit put off that he didn’t want her as his waitress. Kaeleigh was a bit surprised herself. Alex was early twenties, beautiful, tall, leggy, and blond. The kind of girl you think is every guy’s type, especially since she’d actually been hit on by almost every guy—single or otherwise—that she’d waited on tonight. It was pretty obvious that she knew it and played it to her benefit. Judging by the tips she counted out at the end of each night, she did benefit!

“Okay.” Kaeleigh drew the word out suspiciously. “It must be a mistake, though, I don’t think I’d forget someone like
him
.” Kaeleigh shrugged her shoulders, but curiously headed to table thirteen. She wasn’t superstitious, but heading to that table gave her a shaky feeling.

How does he know my name? I’m sure I’d remember that raven-black hair and those eyes...those deep-set chocolate eyes that look like they’re staring into my soul...eyes that are looking directly at me with a slight twinkle.
 

Just below those eyes was a set of full lips that caused her tongue to have a mind of its own, wetting her own like an excitable teenager. Those same lips lifted with a cocky, faint smirk that said he knew what she was thinking, and Kaeleigh quickly snapped out of her blatant ogling with a blush creeping up her neck. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and remembered she had a job to do. 

“Welcome to Antonia’s, my name is Kaeleigh. I see you already have your beverage. Are you ready to order?” she said, trying to remember all she was supposed to say. It didn’t help that he stared openly at her with an amused look on his face.  

“No, but thank you,” he said, looking directly at her with intense dark eyes that caught her off guard. His gaze softened, then smiling, he said, “I’ve been observing you for the last few days and it appears you are completely unaware of who you are.”

She was so taken aback by his bluntness and so confused by his smile that she just stared at him for a minute, not sure how to respond.
What?! Is this guy for real?

Lost in her inner monologue, she almost missed him walking past her as he got up abruptly and left the restaurant. Kaeleigh had just barely tuned back in to reality in time to see the back of his head and his...well, his back—and all that entailed—walking out the front doors. 

What a nice back it was!
But why is it walking away?
 

In her confusion, or maybe out of shock, her feet seemed to have forgotten how to move because she stood firmly planted by the table holding her order pad, not really sure what to do next. 

“That was incredibly bizarre!” Kaeleigh thought not only to herself, but also out loud, causing the couple at the next table to stare at her. Her cheeks blushed again and she turned to go check on the tables in her own section. Passing Alex on her way back, she just shrugged.

“So did you know tall, dark, and handsome? I know… so cliché, right? But he definitely was tall, dark, and handsome. AND he had that totally mysterious, badass vibe too!” Alex said a little too excitedly. “What did he want?” she asked in a teasingly sultry voice and raised eyebrows.

“No, I didn’t know him. He thought he knew me, but I think it was a mistake. He didn’t make much sense and then he just... left.” Kaeleigh shrugged as she kept heading to her tables. 
He was tall, dark, and very handsome and he asked for me... even if he was a little crazy
, she thought as she held her head a bit higher. The rest of her shift went by quickly as she looked forward to meeting her friends for their movie night. Kaeleigh periodically thought about the strange guy at table thirteen and the odd sense she got from him that she couldn’t quite shake. She also couldn’t shake images of deep vats of chocolate in the form of his eyes, or of the blackest hair she had ever seen; shorn short on the sides of his head with a longer section on top. So soft looking it made her fingers twitch with desire to touch it and run them through it; his lightly tanned skin and broad, sculpted muscular shoulders. Not to mention how well his jeans fit as he walked out the door. She wondered if she would ever see him again.

✾✾✾

As she arrived back at her apartment, her inside lights already on made her smile. Her friends Chel and Finn were there waiting for her even though it was Saturday, not Tuesday. They had a standing hangout night every Tuesday, so this was a bonus. She also didn’t like coming home alone at night so this was one less night this week for that.
Maybe I should get a cat
. Although since Finn had somehow learned her unfounded fear that had developed after Chel moved out, he made her check in every night via text or phone so she wasn’t “alone” until she got settled. 

Finn had become like a big brother; she felt safe with him. He wasn’t a big guy, but he carried himself strongly and was very protective. He could be intimidating with his usual scowl and almost always wore black. He had a light complexion and sharp angles, his hair a shaggy sandy-brown and eyes of hazel. Lately, Kaeleigh would notice him looking at her when he thought she couldn’t see him. He looked...conflicted was the only word she could come up with. Kaeleigh couldn’t help wondering if maybe his feelings for her were more than hers were for him. Or perhaps it was something else altogether. But if he ever acted on
other
feelings, she didn’t know what she would do. Sometimes, she pondered what it would be like to have those
other
feelings for him, but she just didn’t, at least not right now. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him or worse, lose his friendship. Rolling her shoulders and shaking out her arms, she shook off those thoughts and headed excitedly into her apartment to spend time with her friends for a belated birthday.

“Surprise!” Chel and Finn yelled as she walked in the door.

“Hooray! But I knew you were going to be here so it’s not really a surprise,” Kaeleigh said, somewhat confused, but grinning anyway.

“Yes, but did you know there would be a spider web of streamers AND balloons that Chel seemed to find in every color imaginable? AND that she would hang them from every available square inch of your apartment?” Finn sarcastically replied as Chel just rolled her eyes at him.

“I had
NO
idea you would decorate and I L-O-V-E them!!!” she shouted as she looked around in awe then gave Chel the biggest hug she could without smothering her. Or maybe she smothered her just a little.  

“Hey, what about me? I might think they’re silly but I did help,” Finn said with a sheepish grin.

“Yes, he did. He even took a breath from complaining for all of five minutes at one point.” Chel rolled her eyes.

Kaeleigh threw herself at Finn, almost knocking him over, and gave him a big hug too and a kiss on the cheek, which always embarrassed him even when it was just the three of them. “Thank you! THANK YOU, both of you! It means a lot to spend my birthday with you guys.”

“Well, go get out of those black clothes. I’m sure you’ve been dying to put your own clothes on all day. Then we have pizza, dessert, and movies!” Chel said as she ushered Kaeleigh toward her bedroom to change. Chel knew how much Kaeleigh needed color to relax. After all, they were best friends. She didn’t understand it, but she didn’t question it either. It was just a part of Kaeleigh. Accept it all or not at all. That was Chel’s motto. 

“That’s so much better!” Kaeleigh said, sighing practically in euphoria as she came out of her room wearing her favorite faded blue jeans and fitted yellow T-shirt with a big orange and white star on the front. She had let her hair down from the tight ponytail it was trapped in all day, and had bare feet. “Pizza sounds so good, I’m starving! Ooooh! and look at the cupcakes with purple frosting...Yumm!! They match the new strips in my hair, Chel, way to coordinate!” She winked as she squealed, bouncing up and down trying to swat at the balloons like a little kid. She loved fun, lighthearted celebrations like this. Even though she was eighteen now, she didn’t see any reason to suddenly become all sophisticated, responsible, and serious, at least not completely.

“Chel, get the movies, I’ll get the pizza and plates, Kae, you can get the purple cupcakes,” Finn delegated as they headed toward the TV.

“Let’s get this party started! What movies do we have?” asked Kaeleigh as she did a little happy dance, excited to be with her friends and let the events of the day roll off her.

“We have an eclectic mix, including the original
Footloose
with Kevin Bacon—an oldie but always a goody;
Star Trek
—‘to boldly go where no man has gone before,’ but the Chris Pine version of course;
27 Dresses
—kinda girly; and
The Royal Tenenbaums
—artsy fartsy picked by none other than our resident emo over there,” Chel said, rolling her eyes toward Finn sitting on the couch. “We’re practically a movie store, take your pick!” Chel said dramatically as she introduced each movie title with a “Vanna” flourish.