Authors: J. F. Jenkins
Appointed (12 page)
After many observations, he'd concluded that quiet dinners were better than fancy ones; a fun, simple, and intimate activity was better than something showy; and smaller, heartfelt gifts were better than shiny balloons and hundreds of roses. He was going to make dinner himself and then take Cheyenne to the gazebo where he'd first asked her out. Cheyenne would like that.
Zes worked on the final touches of a blue rose he'd made for her out of glass. One of his favorite hobbies was making glass sculptures with his magic. Her favorite color was blue, and she said she didn't have a favorite flower, but roses were supposed to be the most romantic. Blue roses were a symbol of prosperity, something he wished for their relationship and for her to have a lot of.
Things had been a little weird ever since her last bite from Denver. Nothing was necessarily bad, but they weren't quite right either. She was doing what she'd done when he'd first met her: keeping to herself and avoiding everyone. For a little while, he had let her have the space. They'd spent a lot of time with each other over break, and he figured she needed some time to herself for recharging. Some of his classes were hard anyway, so it gave him an excuse to get ahead as much as possible before senioritis kicked in. Zes wanted to spend his last semester soaking in as much time with Cheyenne as possible. Hopefully their Valentine date would put everything back on track.
“I wonder what she's doing now,” he said aloud. He'd hardly seen her at all today. His fingers touched the obsidian mirror pendant on his neck, and he thought about using it for the first time.
No, that's creepy.
He shook his head.
Or maybe it's sweet? Just to see if she's okay?
If she's in the shower or something, I won't look.
He nodded; that seemed like a good enough rule.
So how does it work?
He decided to start by focusing on Cheyenne. The magic inside the pendant hummed to life, and the glass became warm. When he gazed into it, he saw an image of Cheyenne locking lips with Denver.
It was just their profiles. Then the angle shifted, and he could see them kissing against a tree in the forest outside the school. They wore their winter jackets. She had on her cute pink hat. Denver's green eyes were fixed on her, a confident smirk on his lips as he moved in to kiss her again. Her eyes closed, and her mouth opened slightly in invitation.
Zes closed his eyes, hoping maybe they were playing tricks on him. When he opened them again, he saw Denver hovering over her neck as if he was going to bite it.
“This isn't happening,” Zes said. “This can't be happening.” His heart ached and his stomach twisted into tight, painful, knots. He sat there for a long time and stared at the evidence before him.
No wonder she's been distant and strange. Wait, don't jump the gun.
Give her the benefit of the doubt.
But that was hard to do when he noticed the way Cheyenne was looking into Denver's eyes.
Maybe he's manipulating her again.
I have to get there and stop this. Anj said I could use this thing to travel, so maybeâ¦
“Please,” he whispered. “Please take me to her.”
Zes closed his eyes and felt his body become light, as if he was floating. Briefly, he opened them and watched his fingers turn into sand. There was a loud whoosh like the wind, and then he felt himself become solid. The cold winter air blew over him. Somehow he'd reappeared right by Cheyenne's bag, fifteen feet away from her and Denver.
“Hello?” Cheyenne asked, mid-giggle. She turned her head, and her blue eyes went wide when she caught sight of him.
“Hey,” Zes said. “What's up? Busy?”
“Yes.” Denver sneered.
Cheyenne pushed away from Denver, walking toward Zes slowly. “I⦠What are you⦠How did youâ¦?”
“I can't believe this,” Zes whispered, reality finally sinking in.
“I swear we've only kissed, nothing more,” she pleaded.
Denver rolled his eyes. “Figures.”
“Get lost,” Zes snapped at him. He wanted to rip Denver's head off his shoulders.
“Make me,” Denver said, strutting forward. He brushed past Cheyenne and got right up in Zes's face.
Rage filled Zes, and he began to lose control over his magic. At that moment in time, he didn't care. He let the power of the earth fill him, muscles becoming harder, stronger, and energy flowing through his veins. He punched Denver hard in the jaw. The guy flew back several feet and into the tree he'd been kissing Cheyenne under. The ground shook slightly underneath him.
“Do I gotta hit you again? Or do you get the picture?” Zes shouted at him.
Cheyenne shook her head. “Please don't fight.”
Slowly, Denver picked himself up off the forest floor. He ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away blood. “Sure thing, princess, but only for you.”
Zes waited until Denver was gone from sight. He used the time to recollect himself so he didn't lash out at Cheyenne too much. “Just kissing, huh? He sure sounds disappointed by that.”
“I don't know what to say,” she whispered.
“Just this one time?” Zes asked, needing to know although he probably wasn't going to like what she said. Even if it was just the one time, why had it happened to begin with? That was the real question he wanted answered. But he'd take this one thing at a time.
She shook her head. “It's happened three times. I want to tell you he brainwashed me into it, made me do it, but I⦠can't. It's been killing me, because you deserve better. I should have said no, but I had to know. I can't help it. Heâ”
“Shut up,” Zes said, fists clenched.
“I love you. It's not your fault. Iâ”
“I said. Shut. Up.” He glared at her, the magic inside of him surging once more with his growing anger.
Rather than stick around and watch her cry, he grabbed hold of the pendant and thought about the mirror inside of his bedroom. The magic worked faster this time. Within seconds, he was transported from the cold of the forest to the warmth of his bedroom, though he didn't feel much of a temperature change because of all the adrenaline pumping through him. Anger filled him, but when that passed, he was nothing but an empty shell.
He needed to sit down and process everything. Soon his knees gave out, and he was on his bedroom floor, staring blankly in front of him as he replayed the entire scene.
What did she just have to know? How many times have they gone off to make out? Only three? Why? Why do this?
He snapped out of his daze when he heard the front door open, his brother's heavy footsteps, and the jingling of Guy's tags. Taking in a deep breath, Zes collected himself, determined not to have a breakdown.
“Are you home?” Anj called from the den.
“Y-yeah,” Zes croaked out. He coughed then tried again with more confidence. “Yeah, I'm in my room.”
He'd been hoping Anj wouldn't come back to see him, but he didn't get so lucky.
Anj stood in the doorway and leaned against the frame. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing,” Zes said, probably a little too quickly. He'd have to tell his brother eventually about what had happened. Sooner rather than later even, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He needed a little more time to process the whole thing. Unfortunately, or maybe it was a godsend, Anj was being observant for a change.
“What's wrong?” he asked, his tone firm, suggesting Zes better not try to lie. Yet there was a gentleness to it, as well. The bottom line was, Anj wouldn't be dropping it until Zes spilled his guts. That was new for his brother. In the past, Anj always waited until Zes felt ready. He'd gotten a lot pushier with some things.
Zes bit down hard on his lip, determined to keep himself together. “Pretty sure Cheyenne and I are broken up.” He waited to see if Anj would say anything, and when his brother remained silent, he continued. “She's been seeing Denver behind my back.”
His brother walked over and put a hand on his knee. Guy also padded over and nuzzled Zes with his wet nose.
“That sucks,” Anj said, but didn't say anything more. Which was fine, because Zes didn't want any words of wisdom or obligatory words of comfort. He didn't want to hear about how he was better than her. He already knew he was, because even if she didn't think so, at least he would have been upfront instead of cheating.
With a sigh, Zes nodded and went about telling his brother the whole story of how he'd found out. “Is it normal to feel numb?”
“Usually there's a period of time when you do. That's before everything else settles in. It's the moment when you can't quite believe if it actually happened or if you're dreaming. Because it happens fast, and then you're left alone,” Anj said. “From the expert of breakups, it's perfectly normal. I'd say maybe you could get back together again after this, but I'm not sure if you'd want to. It's disappointing to me too, because I thought she would be better than that and had better taste. Unfortunately, he's good at being appealing until he gets what he wants. I figured she'd be smarter than that, but⦠it must be a girl thing.”
Zes frowned, wondering what exactly Anj wasn't saying. “Did Jewl fall prey to his charms too?”
“Not romantically, but in a way, yes. It's a story for her to tell you herself. The point I'm trying to make is, you need to decide how much you want to forgive. And take your time figuring it out. Either way, I have your back. You have every right to kick her to the curb, so to speak,” Anj said with a small shrug.
“I don't know what I want,” Zes said honestly. “I gave her everything.” And that was the part that killed him the most. They'd rushed their romance, and now he had to deal with the consequences. He'd always hoped to only know one woman intimately. Wasn't that everyone's dream? He shook his head and blinked back tears.
“I'm an idiot,” he said.
“You're not an idiot for falling in love with a girl and having a relationship with her,” Anj said.
Zes shook his head. “And you're not listening. I gave her
everything.
”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.” Zes rolled his eyes.
Anj shifted from where he was kneeling, his hand never letting go of Zes. “And how long has
that
been going on?”
“Chr-Christmas.”
“Wow, merry Christmas! And you didn't mention this earlier why?”
“You never said anything about you and Jewl,” Zes said. “So I didn't think it was something we needed to talk about. Plus, I didn't want to be one of those guys. You know, brag, or whatever? I figured that's why you've never said anything.”
A small smile formed on his brother's lips. “I haven't mentioned anything because there isn't anything to mention. We haven't, I mean, I'm still a⦔ Anj waved a hand and let go of Zes. Not for long though, because he put it back on Zes's knee.
“Oh,” Zes said.
“Yeah. Oh. Don't worry, I'm not going to lecture you. If left to my own devices, things would probably be different for me. Our circumstances are different. With what happened to you⦠I'm not even going to pretend I understand what's been happening between you and Cheyenne. You're always going to be connected by a number of experiences,” Anj said. His eyes took on the soft blue glow that always appeared when he used his magic to see, and he made eye contact with Zes. “Did she⦠with Denver?”
Zes shook his head. “They've just been sucking face. He's been sucking other things out of her too, because her neck isn't getting better again.”
“Then maybe there's hope.”
“I haven't decided yet if I want there to be or not. Let's not talk about that.”
“Right, of course. Would you prefer to stop talking, period? Or something else?”
“I don't know.” Zes sighed. “I think I need to lie down.” Hopefully it would stop his head from spinning and his heart from hurting so badly.
Fat chance, but it's worth a shot.
There was a lot he could talk about still. If he knew his brother, Anj probably had a million questions on his mind as well, most of which Zes wouldn't want to answer right then. The wave of sadness washing over him made him want to sleep even though he wasn't physically tired.
Anj squeezed his shoulder. “Then I will let you rest.”
“You don't have to go.”
I don't want to talk, but I don't want to be alone.
“Come on.” Anj helped him stand.
It may have been childish, but Zes liked that his brother was taking time to care for him. Anj had done the same thing when he'd been released from the hospital wing after Lucien's attack. He cared, and he was actually showing it. They walked to the bed together, and Anj helped him settle under the covers before also lying down. Both of them stared up at the ceiling.
Zes welcomed the numbness growing inside of him.
No more thinking.
It was easier to just be empty for the time being.
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“I'm worried about him,” Anj said, and was grateful for Jewl's strength. He needed as much of it as possible.
“It's been three days. Of course he's going to take it hard. First love isn't the easiest thing to get over. I seem to remember you didn't eat for a week after our first breakup,” Jewl said as she squeezed his hand.
“I ate, but alone in my room. My point is, I don't know how to help him. At first I thought he wanted to talk to me about things, like he was finally going to open up to me. Now he's more closed off than ever.”
“Give him time. He's going through a lot right now and needs to recover. They both do. Chey's been bawling her eyes out. It's kind of getting annoying because the sound carries down the hall. Even Halyn is getting fed up with it, and I didn't think that was possible.”
“Good. I'm glad she's miserable,” Anj said, and clenched his free fist as well as Jewl's hand.
She breathed sharply. “Relax your grip. You're going to break my hand. And no, I don't have much sympathy for her since she made her own bed. Plus Iâ”
“Saw it coming, yeah. So you've said. I can't believe he was dumb enough to sleep with her. They've known each other for all of a couple of months? I just⦠he's not supposed to be the reckless one. That's my job.”
“Jealous?” Jewl teased.
“A tiny bit.”
She touched his cheek. “Sorry, honey, that's not changing any time soon. Something tells me you'll live. Besides, you like that I'm hard to get. If there wasn't a challenge, you'd be bored.”
“Sometimes, yeah. The bottom line is, I love you and respect your wishes. Deep down, I know your reasons are right, and this whole situation proves it. But it's not easy. I can't help how I'm wired, and it's hard to not be a little jealous.”
“He's always been more passionate than you,” Jewl said softly.
“So that's the hang-up?” he teased.
She snorted and completely dodged his question. “Don't worry about not doing enough for him. Just keep being there when he needs you, and it'll patch itself up over time. That's what he needs most.”
Anj nodded. “The thing I hate is, when he needs me the most, I never seem to be able to do anything but watch and wait.”
“Can you look at me for a moment?” she asked, touching his cheek.
Anj turned on his sight spell and gazed into her eyes. All the hard emotions he felt on the inside melted away. She was so good at making him so vulnerable.
“I know you might not believe me, but you do a great job at being the best brother possible for him. No, you're not perfect. Sibling rivalries happen. But don't think you're failing. Sometimes all people need is to know they aren't alone. It's definitely helped me through a lot.” She kissed his lips, and he was glad they had made up. He didn't know how he'd have survived all of this without her.
As he stared into her beautiful, pale eyes, his eyesight began to fritz like static. For a moment, he thought maybe his magic was running out. Instead of the picture going to black, however, he saw Kale and his father.
“Not now,” Anj whispered.
“What's wrong?” Jewl asked, her voice sounding far away. Before he could answer, he was overtaken by his vision.
“Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice, Ilo. I saw a window of opportunity, and I had to take it,” Kale said, and waved for Anj's father to follow him down a park path.
Anj's father did so, sticking his hands into his pockets. “Your message confirmed everything I'd been fearing for a while now. The Fate massacre and my boys' conception has always been a little too much of a coincidence to me. Francis predicted their birth, didn't she?”
“She places the strings of life onto the loom, so to speak, yes,” Kale said.
“And Neil measures their length, and you execute. Those are your specialties. I remember. What I'm saying is, she predicted their birth so Neil could orchestrate the massacre, guaranteeing that the next in my line would get the powers of the ninety-nine slain,” Ilo said in a hushed voice.
“You're fast.”
“I'm more than just good looks. What I want to know is why?”
“Because the Divine have made a deal with the Devil.”
Ilo frowned. “Why would they do something like that?”
“Power. They want to be the gods and goddesses of the Earth again. Worshiped like they were in the ancient days. At least some of them do. Others, not so much. They're split in two. The demons have convinced Neil to be on their side, though, along with a few other members of the Greek Divine. One of the demons has been chosen to rise to power and bridge the gap between the Divine and the spiritual balance in place.” Kale made eye contact with Ilo. “I don't even want to think about what they're going to do to your family. You need to be careful. Neil is not happy with you.”
“Of course he's not.”
“You might be the one-hundredth Fate,” Kale said.
Anj's father didn't bat an eye at the news. Granted, Anj didn't know quite what that meant, not exactly, but through his past dreams, he didn't think it was a good thing. Not with how Kale spoke of it. He knew that when a Fate gained power, another lost the ability. The energy of the Fatehood was like a constant cycle.
Ninety-nine Fates died when I was created. I was born with the power of ninety-nine inside of me. One hundred would be how I became unlocked, so if my father was the one hundredthâ¦
Anj shook his head, tears welling in his eyes.
“I'm not scared of Neil or his political games,” Ilo said firmly. “And if he wants to kill me and spark my son's powers, then so be it. I'll gladly give my strength to Anj because I know he won't use it for evil.”
The image faded to black.
“Anj, are you all right?” Jewl asked, shaking his arm. The urgency in her voice and the roughness in her grasp snapped him out of the trance quickly, not giving him the time to linger over what he'd just seen.
He closed his eyes and scowled when he felt tears trail down his cheeks. Instantly, he wiped them away. “I'm fine.”
She smacked his arm. “You're such a bad liar. Did you have another of those daydreams?”
“Yes,” he said, and wanted badly to elaborate on what he'd seen. But who was watching him? He could tell Jewl about his dreams, but Anj had a sneaking suspicion the Elders didn't know what he saw during these waking visions. If they were responsible for his father's death, then Anj didn't want them to know how informed he actually was. Not until he had more answers at least.
But I'm going to need her help.
Forcing a smile, Anj grabbed Jewl's hands, kissed them, and then kissed her cheek before leaning into her ear and whispering, “I know why my father died. But act happy because I don't know who is watching.”
Her hands tensed up, but a laugh was what left her mouth. “Flattery will get you everywhere, dear. Do tell me more.”
“With pleasure.” He practically purred and leaned in, as though he were going to whisper more sweet nothings into her ear. Instead, he told her the bare details of the dream, every so often placing a kiss on her earlobes. Jewl had always been a good actress, so she played along nicely, giggling and letting out soft moans every so often.
She giggled one more time and then pulled away from him, holding his face in her hands. “I'll think about it. But just because I'm Divine doesn't mean you can take advantage of me. Unlike my mother, I still have morals.”
“Divine you are but not only by blood. I will be more than happy with whatever you give me.” He smirked.
Thank you
was what he wanted to say. This was her roundabout way of saying she'd help him. Asking her to use her connections to the Divine was a lot, and it meant a lot that she would consider it for him. Jewl hated her mother along with being Divine.
“I owe it to you after everything that's happened,” she whispered.
Anj shook his head. “No, you don't.”
But he understood exactly what she was feeling. Their love might have righted all past wrongs, but the desire to atone, to go above and beyond to make each other's lives better, was exactly what he felt too.
She
is
the one.
