A Faerie's Secret (Creepy Hollow Book 4) (35 page)

“I think I can help you out there,” I say, remembering the moment I realized Saber and Marlin were after the same thing. “As strange as it sounds, whatever Amon is planning, it has to do with a vision my mother had decades ago. The vision she was so traumatized by that she fled the Guild.”

“I see.” Chase rubs his chin. “Thank goodness she didn’t wake up before I found her.”

“Yeah.” I tell Chase everything else I remember, in case there’s any information that might mean something to him. He listens intently, his face betraying no emotion except when I tell him about being pinned down so Gaius could take my magic. He seems disturbed, so I move on quickly, glossing over the horror of that ordeal.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he says when I’m finished.

I shrug. “You know what they say about things that don’t kill you, right?”

“They leave you lying semi-conscious in a boat with a knife in your stomach?” he says, a teasing gleam appearing in his eye.

“Yes. I believe that’s exactly what they say.”

A grin curls one side of his mouth up, but then he looks down. “Sorry. I probably shouldn’t joke about something as serious as being stabbed. Or about losing your magic—
especially
not that.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, trying to sound nonchalant. “I’m fine now, so you can make light of it as much as you want. It’s better to laugh than get sucked down by despair, right?”

After considering my words for a moment, he says, “Yes. It is. I didn’t look at things that way for a long time, but I think you’re probably right.”

Teasingly, I say, “I’ve been known to be right on occasion.”

The smile he gives me does strange things to my knees. It’s stupid. It’s
so
stupid. Isn’t this what happened with Zed? I let myself get carried away with ridiculous
feelings
and the next thing—
wham!
I found rejection slammed in my face after a spontaneous, one-sided, most-awkward-of-all-time kiss. Would the same thing happen now? Would Chase tell me I’m too young? Would he say he doesn’t think of me like that? With the way he’s currently looking at me …

No. Don’t be silly. Gaius is still missing, your mother is still in an enchanted sleep, and you’ve still got an enormous amount of work to do before your nasty mentor will even think about letting you graduate. This is not the time for romance.

I clear my throat and force my gaze away from his. “Um, there’s something I’m curious about. I know I was fading in and out of consciousness after you caught me, but I definitely remember you saying something strange.”

“What’s that?”

“You told me that I’m supposed to be around for a long time still. That it wasn’t my time to leave the world. You sounded pretty certain. How did you know that?”

“Oh, you know.” He looks away. “It’s just one of those things you tell people when you want to reassure them.”

“Really? That’s all it was?” I thought it sounded like more.

“And …” He removes one hand from a pocket and rubs the back of his neck. “I know things.”

“You
know
things?”

“Yes.”

I pull my head back slightly and narrow my eyes. “Does this cryptic, mysterious act work for all the girls?”

With a grin that makes him look younger, almost boyish, he says, “Seems to be working for you.”

Flames ignite my cheeks as I attempt a look of indignation. I’d like to stammer out a denial, but I’m pretty certain my blush is already giving me away. I look to the side, shaking my head and trying hard not to laugh.

“I also wanted to tell you something,” he says.

I look back at him as my silly heart begins to soar.

“I’m going away for a week or two. Some business I need to attend to.”

My heart crashes back to the forest floor. “Oh. Are you going to be searching for Gaius?”

“No, I’ve got other people doing that. This is something that was planned a while ago. Something I can’t put off.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s unfortunate.” I twist my hands together. “I was going to ask you to come to—well—it doesn’t matter now.”

“Come to what?”

“My brother’s wedding—union ceremony—whatever you want to call it. He’s actually been married for over seven years now, but he and his wife never got to have the big celebration, so they’re finally doing that. I was going to ask you if, you know, you wanted to go with me. As my date. Not like a
date
date, but just … to accompany me. But you won’t be here, so don’t worry—”

“I’ll try to be back for it.”

I hesitate, wondering if he’s being serious. “Really?”

“Yes. I’d very much like to go with you. As your date.”

“Oh. Great. Well maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Hopefully.” He smiles again.

I say goodbye, he says goodbye, and then I disappear into the faerie paths with a bounce in my step.

CHAPTER

THIRTY

The weather couldn’t be more perfect. A warm afternoon sun hangs in a clear sky, illuminating the forest floor with shafts of golden light. The trees are dressed in an autumn palette of reds, oranges, golds and yellows more beautiful than anything I could ever paint. Leaves drift to the ground like confetti. Glass jars of glow-bugs hang from branches. At the center of the scene is a simple pavilion with slim branches woven into a domed canopy. Vines with tiny cream flowers twist around the structure, and petals of the same color are sprinkled over the ground. On one side of the pavilion, family and friends are seated on rows of simple wooden benches.

This wedding was pulled together in record time, and the organizers—Tilly and Raven—did a spectacular job. The scene isn’t
quite
as perfect as it could be, though. Mom isn’t awake yet, so she isn’t here, and Chase hasn’t returned from his ‘business’ so he isn’t around either. But Mom is safe, and Chase is still alive, and this glorious celebration is everything I’ve always wanted for my brother and Violet, so I’m brimming with happiness despite the two empty seats.

A hush falls over the gathering as Vi and Ryn’s friend Natesa rises from her chair and stands to one side. She begins singing, and her enchanting voice is the cue for the ceremony to begin. As per tradition, Vi and Ryn enter from opposite sides, with Vi appearing on the left of the gathering, and Ryn on the right. They walk slowly toward each other, their gazes locked, as if they exist in their own world oblivious to the rest of us.

Vi’s ivory lace dress is simple but elegant with a V-neckline, a strip of lace over each shoulder, and a lace train that isn’t too long. I can’t see her feet, but I know she’s barefoot. Raven presented at least twenty different shoe ideas, and Vi said she wasn’t interested in any of them. Her hair is loose with tiny flowers pinned into it, and she carries a simple bouquet of three roses.

Ryn meets her in front of the pavilion. They share a look filled with meaning. Realized dreams, old fears, shared hopes, and a lifetime of memories. They clasp hands and step beneath the canopy together where the Seelie Court officiant is standing. He talks about the bond of the union, the strong magical connection created when two people pledge their lives to one another. And even though this has all technically happened before when Vi and Ryn signed the union scroll at the Guild, it didn’t feel nearly as special or real then as it does now.

A tear slides down my cheek, and Filigree—mouse-shaped, standing on my shoulder and clutching my earlobe—attempts to wipe it away. I pat him affectionately as I watch the officiant produce the two rings that Vi and Ryn usually wear over their ring markings. If this union were being created for the first time, this would be the point in the ceremony where the two of them receive the gold tattoo-like markings encircling their ring fingers. But those markings are already there, so they simply place the rings on each other’s fingers. The officiant holds their hands together and speaks the final bonding charm.

The ceremony ends with a kiss and plenty of applause. Everyone stands and crowds around the couple. Laughter and good wishes and congratulations on the coming baby fill the clearing. The happy gathering of people slowly moves from the pavilion through the trees to where tables have been set up in a U shape. As the afternoon sun slides closer to the horizon, we take our places around the table. We eat and drink and share stories, and all the worries of recent days—Gaius missing, my Griffin Ability gone, Saber and Marlin on the loose—fade into the background.

* * *

After the first course is finished, I leave the table for a while and wander back to the pavilion. It’s so pretty there. I want to see it in the soft light of sunset as the glow-bugs in the jars become brighter. I lean against one of the legs holding the structure up and lift my gaze to the tree tops. Red-orange light filters through leaves of the same color, making the scene look warmer than it feels. As a shiver runs along my bare arms, I try to enjoy this last moment of peace before the hard work really begins.

Apparently I’m not trying hard enough, though. I can’t help picturing the pile of extra studying waiting at home and the extra training sessions scheduled for this coming week. Olive obviously decided that if a combination of disinterest and verbal abuse wouldn’t drive me out, perhaps overwork would. Her plan will fail, though. I’ve spent the past week pushing myself in every training session to be faster, stronger, more skilled. I’m determined to prove to Olive that I
am
cut out for this life and that I’m not going anywhere. She can shred me apart with her words and pile as much work on top of me as she wants, but she will not break me.

Gemma, Perry and Ned help me out wherever they can, pointing out useful textbooks in the library and volunteering for extra Fish Bowl time if I’m in need of an opponent. It was difficult at first to accept their help when I still don’t really believe we’ll be friends for long. But as each day passes, and they continue to laugh at whatever story Saskia digs up from my past, I wonder if perhaps these are the friends who will stick around.

“You look a bit cold, Miss Goldilocks.”

My stomach flips over at the sound of his voice, and I’m already smiling by the time I turn around. “You came,” I say.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” He walks toward me and shrugs his coat off as he steps beneath the flower-laden pavilion. It’s the coat he always wears, the black one that reaches just below the tops of his legs. The one he always looks so darn sexy in. Warmth rises to my cheeks as he places the coat over my shoulders. I look up. His face is close enough to kiss, if I stood on tiptoe and leaned closer. Then I notice the fading bruise on his cheekbone. “Did that happen while you were taking care of your ‘business’?” I ask, raising my hand and touching my fingertips to his skin.

“It did,” he says. A faint pink flush appears in his cheeks, and it makes me feel ridiculously warm inside knowing it’s my touch that’s causing that.

I lower my hand and ask, “Is it finished? Whatever it was you had to do?”

He nods and catches my hand before it reaches my side. His fingers slide between mine, and I suddenly find it harder to breathe. I look down at our intertwined fingers and can’t remember what it was we were talking about or what I was planning to say next. Holding hands isn’t supposed to be this big a deal, is it? It isn’t supposed to quicken my breath and speed up my heart and set my skin on fire.

Is it?

A spark of bright light appears above us, and then another and another. I look up and see the tiny flowers twisted around the domed canopy igniting, each one bursting alight with a tiny flame before fizzling out.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Chase asks.

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Fortunately, the small spontaneous fires stop moments after they began. I meet Chase’s gaze once more with a frown. “Strange.”

His grin tells me he knows something I don’t. “Strange, indeed,” he says. His eyes remain locked on mine as his expression turns serious. He looks down, then back up. “Is your heart still set on working for the Guild?”

He sounds almost hopeful, and I hate that my answer will smother that. “Yes. It isn’t quite what I thought it was, but I still want to work there. It’s still my dream to be a guardian.”

He nods slowly, but says nothing. I know what he’s thinking, though, because I’m thinking it too. How will anything ever work out between us if one of us is upholding the law and the other is continually breaking it?

“Tell me what you do,” I say. I think I’ve guessed correctly, but I want to hear it from him.

“I … help people.”

“But you work outside the law in order to do that.”

After a pause, he says, “Yes.”

“Why? If what you’re doing is good, then why don’t you work for the Guild?”

The smile he gives me is sad. “They wouldn’t have me.”

“Why not?”

He looks away. “If they knew my history …”

“If they knew my history they wouldn’t take me either.”

“I keep secrets from enough people already,” he says. “I don’t want to add anyone else to that list.”

That list.
His words wake something inside me, jolting me from warm dreams to cold reality. I’m silly to think I’m different or special, or that this could possibly work out. Not when I’m on that list like everyone else Chase keeps secrets from. I pull my hand out of his and step back. “We don’t just have the problem of me working for the law and you working outside it,” I say. “There’s the problem of all the secrets you’re keeping from me.”