I narrowed my eyes at him but Cael seemed oblivious. What the hell did he think he was doing? Shayla opened her mouth to say something, probably something rude, but I stomped on her foot under the table. “So, what did I miss?” Cael asked. I could see the smile in his grey eyes. The jerk knew we were all ticked at him and he was enjoying it.
“Tons of fun,” I said coolly. “We hardly noticed you were gone.” Take that, d-bag.
“This is Cam’s older brother, Cael,” my mom made the introductions for the other parents at the table. “He saved my daughter a time or two.”
“After I basically saved myself,” I muttered darkly. I grabbed a roll and passed the basket to Kendall.
“Well, we are definitely interested in hearing what happened,” my dad said, beaming at Cael. I gaped. What the heck? My dad didn’t even know Cael. “Cael gave us a brief rundown of some of it but I’m sure Shayla and Cortland have an interesting take on it.”
“I’m sure we do,” Shayla said, tossing her hair.
“Wait. When did you talk to Cael?” I asked, interrupting before Shayla could start on the story.
“Last night,” my mom answered, looking at me strangely. “He called to check on everyone.”
“How sweet,” Kendall said. “Maybe he should tell you how he and Cortland met.”
“It’s one of those things that we’re going to look back on and laugh at in thirty years,” Cael said. “She pretty much attacked me.”
“I did not,” I broke in defensively. “It was after graduation. I was in the barn and someone got me with a two by four. Then the four musketeers showed up and helped me track down the dust trails. I had two possibilities and I mistakenly went after Cael’s.”
“And I’m looking for my brother, because I’m worried that he’s out there alone with all this Whisper nonsense going down. I step out of this bar and grill into an alley, and there’s this redhead, cell phone in hand, looking at me weirdly.”
“Because I wasn’t expecting a Guardian,” I said.
“And she just looks like an assassin-“
“I did not,” I said, mostly to myself. Everyone else was enthralled with Cael’s lively story.
“So I assume that she’s bent sent after me. I tackle her and am surprised to find she fights dirty.”
“I taught her how to fight,” my dad said proudly.
“And you did a fantastic job. But, as we can all see, Cort’s a dainty little thing so I quickly had her overpowered.”
I snorted. “It was not quickly. I put up a very good fight.”
“Stop interrupting,” my mom admonished me. She patted Cael’s arm. “It’s rude.”
My mouth dropped. My own mother just sided with him. Oh, this would not do. Cael smirked at me. I weighed the pros and cons of throwing the butter knife at him. Kendall saw me eyeing the butter knife and discreetly slid it just out of reach. Now it was just too much effort.
“So, I demand who sends her and she has this witty comeback. Just as I’m preparing to take her back for questioning she knees me and takes off like a rabbit. Cam chose that moment to join the fight and tackles her. Then he realizes who it is and starts apologizing and lets her go. I’m ticked and confused and she sits up, blood running from a broken nose and exchanges more witty banter, then stalks from the alley, head held high.”
“That’s my girl,” my dad said.
Forty minutes later, everyone was still seated around the table. It seemed like I was the only one not enjoying the stories. I just sat and glared, pushing my food around my plate and barely drinking my water. Cael seemed oblivious to it, laughing with my parents and my friends, all of whom I would no longer speak to.
“So then, the three of them plummet out of this tower and skid to a stop in the grass, all screaming bloody murder,” Monty laughed. “They had death grips on each other’s arms and their eyes were closed. They didn’t even realize that they were stopped.”
“The floor just slanted,” Kendall said defensively. “The floor was uneven, which was painful, and there were flames shooting out and knives and a swinging pendulum of death!”
Shayla and I were nodding. Then I remembered that I was irked. We’d laughed over training and my outfits and the multiple field trips and my outfits and now we were finally getting to the action. I wanted this to be done.
I pushed back from the table and headed for the kitchen, under the pretense that I needed more water. Everyone was having such an enjoyable time that they didn’t even notice that my glass was three quarters full. I opened the fridge to the sound of laughter from the dining room. Cael had probably said something witty. I made a face.
“Corty, are you okay?”
I turned to face my brother. “I’m having a wonderful time,” I said, plastering a fake smile to my face. “Doesn’t it show?”
“Showing up like this was a douche move. I’ll kick his ass later. But don’t let him ruin this for you. Everyone in there is like family to you. Sit back and enjoy it.”
“They’re your family too,” I reminded him, rummaging through the cabinets. I held up the bottle of Excedrin migraine victoriously. I tossed back two and chugged some water. I rolled my neck, getting in the zone. It’s just another battle, I told myself. You can do this. “Okay,” I said to Flynn. “Bring it.”
Of course I got involved in the serious portion of the evening. Our parents listened somberly as we spoke of our last battle. Everyone understood when I didn’t want to talk about my brief stay in the well. My mom reached across the table to pat my hand. I gave everyone a dim smile, which didn’t fool anyone, least of all my dad.
Soon everyone was leaving. I helped my mom clear off the table and load the dishwasher. Cael came in. “Need any help?”
“Nope, we’re all done,” my mom beamed at him.
“Perfect timing,” I said coldly. “Mom, I have a headache. I’m going to go to bed.”
“Okay, honey. You weren’t acting like yourself during dinner. Just rest. And take it easy tomorrow.”
I smiled at her. “You don’t have to tell me twice. Good night, Mom.”
“Night, dear.”
I pushed past Cael, not bothering to apologize. He didn’t even try to stop me. It took all of my willpower not to hit him or knock him to the ground. And they said I had no self-control.
I went to my room, closing and blocking the door after me. That should be enough to stop him. Flynn would be like a guard dog, attacking if Cael got too close to my sanctuary. I’d been totally lying about the headache, the Excedrin having knocked it right out of me. I sprawled on my bed on my stomach and grabbed the next magazine that I hadn’t had time to read through this whole ordeal. So looking cute is my weakness. Bite me.
Someone knocked on my door. My eyes narrowed as I put the magazine down. Anyone who wasn’t worried that I was angry would be saying something right now like, “Cort, it’s your mom. Are you okay?” The only one who would be using silence as a shield would be the one I didn’t want to see. Where was my bodyguard? The new one that would use the first one’s face to mop up the floor.
“Cortland,” Cael said softly. He knocked again. “Cort. Come on, I want to talk to you.”
“Never,” I hissed, going back to my magazine. I have the greatest ability to tune out everything that isn’t important to me. The persistent knocking and requests to open the door went in one ear and out the other while I patiently flipped through my magazine.
After a while I tuned back in. Something was missing. Right. There was no knocking. It was about time that he gave up. I was a little disappointed that he hadn’t lasted longer. But that meant that I had won. Take that.
I put my magazine down to flip on my lamp and then turn off my big bedroom lights. This way when I was tired I wouldn’t even have to move. I could just close my eyes and go to sleep. I turned back around from the light switch and almost dropped dead from a he
art attack right there. Cael was back on the roof outside of my window. “Cortland,” he knocked on the glass. “Open the window.”
I had to give the boy points for being sneaky. “I think not,” I said, loud enough for him to hear me. “Enjoy the roof.”
He nodded and then raised his hands. My window slid open and he stepped in, knocking some papers off my desk. “Can we talk now?” he asked, sounding a little tired.
“How about you talk about this,” I suggested, throwing the closest thing that came to hand. It just happened to be one of my shirts that I’d just piled on top of my dresser. “Or this.” I threw another one.
Let’s face it, t-shirts are not weapons of mass destruction. He wasn’t even bothering to duck or dodge or even flinch. He had the nerve to step closer. I had the nerve to step up my game.
I turned to my night stand and picked up the bottle of lotion I leave there and tossed it at him. He knocked that one out of the way before it hit him. I looked around desperately as he took a step closer. I was out of things within reach. But there was more in my room that I could use with a more nonconventional method.
With a flick of my wrist my brush was flying across the room and hitting Cael in the arm. “You can throw whatever you want at me, I’m not leaving,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him and pelted him with various make up containers from my vanity. “You already left,” I pointed out.
“And I was wrong. That’s why I’m back.”
“Who said I wanted you to come back?” I retorted, using my magic to hit the back of his head with my discarded magazine.
“I really hoped that we could talk this over in a mature, adult fashion,” he sighed, eyes darkening. Good, he was finally getting angry. Now if he would just leave and get it over with. “But obviously that’s impossible for you.”
My only response was to flip him off and throw my lamp at him. It didn’t do any damage, I’m sad to say. It bounced off his shoulder and dropped to the ground, cracking a little. I raised an eyebrow at him, sort of nonverbally asking, ‘Whatcha going to do about it?’
“That is it,” he ground out, leaping for me.
I shrieked and hurriedly unblocked my door, throwing it open and running out. Cael was after me in a flash. I bounded down the steps, not stopping when Flynn, Cam, and my parents looked up from the living room where they were watching television. “Leave me alone,” I yelled over my shoulder at him.
I threw open the front door, stepping out into the dusk, and slammed the door shut behind me, cutting off whatever he was saying to me or my family. My destination was the barn. I didn’t want to kill him, per se, maybe just maim him. At the very least I wanted him to regret that he’d ever crossed me. I heard the front door open behind me but he didn’t waste time shutting it. I was halfway there.
Then I stepped on a pointy rock or something and since I was barefoot, it really hurt. I stumbled a little and swore then got back to my mission. It was too late. Cael full out tackled me, knocking me to the ground.
“Ow,” I managed even though my lungs were being crushed. “Get off me, you jerk.”
“Are you going to listen to me?” I grimaced as he leaned down and I could feel my backbone start to snap.
“Ha,” I said, still trying to be a little rebel. “Do I ever?” He leaned down even more. “Ow. Yes. I’ll listen.”
Cael let me go, which was a big mistake on his part. I wasn’t even fully on my feet before I was trying to get away. It was a big mistake on my part assuming that he wouldn’t be ready for me to try something. He grabbed a leg and I fell to the ground, breath rushing out of my lungs at the impact. I used my other leg to kick at his face. He was ready for that one too, so I missed.
I struggled my way loose but this time when I got up I wasn’t trying to run for the barn. I didn’t need anything but my bare hands to unleash my anger. Cael was in some deep trouble and he didn’t even realize it.
Cael was on his feet too and he sighed when he saw the look on my face. “Why won’t you just listen to me?”
“Listen to me, Cupcake,” I said, striking at him. He dodged but did nothing to retaliate. “I tried to apologize before and all that happened was you taking off in the middle of the night without even saying good bye. I’m back to my original statement. When hell freezes over.” I decided I should remind him of what I’d said.
“I didn’t take off,” he said, grabbing my foot a split second before it connected with his ribs. He just let it drop. “I had something to do.”
“And it couldn’t wait until morning or when you’d said good bye to me?” I tried to backhand him but he stopped my hand.
“No.”
“Oh, well, in that case…” I threw a punch and it grazed his cheek bone. I was even more pissed that he wasn’t trying. He was just taking it. This wasn’t as satisfying if he wasn’t fighting back. “You’re the one who went all protective and propose-y and you follow me when I leave the room after fighting with you. Then I storm out and you don’t follow. Then I come back in and apologize and you leave? What the hell?”
“I thought you needed to be alone,” he said calmly.
I shoved him as hard as I could. “I had just been alone in a well,” I yelled at him. “I didn’t need to be alone. I needed someone to tell me I was okay.”
“You were okay.”
“No, I wasn’t,” I said, not yelling but not a normal tone of voice either. “If you know me like you think you do, you should have realized that it was all a little brave front that I was using until I had everything horrible stored away in some back compartment.”
He closed his eyes. “Cortland, I made a horrible mistake.”
“You think? And in what universe did you think that I would just let you breeze back in, sitting next to my parents and smiling and laughing with my friends? You ambushed me.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be an ambush. I called your parents because I needed to talk to them about something. Your mom invited me to dinner.”
“And you should have politely turned it down,” I said. I was done fighting with him. “You’re even worse than Burke.”
I went to breeze past him when he grabbed my arm. “You did not just say that.”
“Why not?” I asked, hating myself for letting tears well into my eyes. “Burke may have been an ass and he cheated on me constantly but he never broke my heart.” Melodramatic, I know, but give me a break.
“Cort,” he pulled me close. I hated myself even more for not struggling, just letting him wrap his arms around me. “When I left I was always planning on coming back. I just had some thinking to do.”
I finally gained the courage to push him away. “What kind of thinking?”
Cael dropped to his knees on the ground and for one panicked moment I was looking around for an assassin. Then I realized he was kneeling on one knee, holding out a little box. My eyes widened. “I know you said you wouldn’t marry me until Hell froze over but I did some research. There’s Hell, Michigan, which freezes in the winter and there’s some place called Hell in Russia that’s frozen seventy percent of the year. I didn’t check to see if today was one of those days but I decided I should take a gamble.”
My brain was still processing these things. “You left to buy me a ring.”
“Yep.”
“You called my parents to get permission.”
“Yep.”
“You were actually serious about this.”
“Yep.”
My legs got all wobbly so I sat down quickly. Wow. This was…sudden. But it felt right, somehow. “Cortland…” Cael said cautiously, moving closer to me, forgetting the ring. “Are you okay?”
“I think I’m having a heart attack,” I said with a shaky laugh. “You’re serious?” I looked into his cloudy eyes.
There was no lie in them. “I’m serious.”
“Well, then…” I paus
ed, wanting to remember this moment forever. The cool wind ruffling his hair, the first of the stars twinkling above.
This momentary pause made Cael a little nervous. “Cort, are you going to marry me?”
Before I could answer, Flynn emerged from the darkness, out of breath. “Guys, there’s something going on.”
“Clearly,” I said, tilting my head towards Cael. Add moment killer to his list of accomplishments.
Cael seemed to realize that something was seriously going on. “Flynn?” he asked.
“The portals are open.”
“How can you be sure?” I asked. “We were all there, we felt them close. One of us almost got left behind.” Me. Yeah, I wasn’t going to let that one go.
“I found something in your room,” he said. “Something that shouldn’t have been there.”
I didn’t pester him about getting to the point of jump him for going into my room without my permission. Instead I focused on what he was holding in his hands. “Impossible,” Cael said.
“Apparently not,” I said. “And apparently they’re trying to tell me something.” Carefully I reached out and picked up the crown Flynn was holding out to me. He also handed me a note. Wow. They really were trying to tell me something.
“A queen is meant to be on her throne,” I read out loud. I looked into the serious eyes of the two guys I knew I could trust the most. “Are they coming after me?”
###
About the author: Devon M. Thiele is from a very small town in Iowa, but has no problem finding inspiration for her characters. When she’s not writing, she is with her family, friends, or pets. Thanks to their support, she is free to chase her dreams.
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