Ember (26 page)

I nodded. “So what’s in store for you now? Where are you going to go to school?”

“I start at Clemson for the fall semester. Already have an apartment lined up with some other guys going there. Should be fun.”

“Oh good,” I sighed with relief.

“Think higher of me, Cal. I didn’t just shrivel up and die after you left.”

“That’s only because you didn’t remember me enough to miss me,” I joked.

“That’s only partially true.” He pointed his fork at me. “It was weird. It was like I had a wall in my mind blocking memories of you, but occasionally a door would open and shed some light on you, and I’d miss you all over again. Now that I think about it I haven’t thought about you in about a month. If you hadn’t come back I’m not sure how much longer it would have taken …” his voice trailed off, and he looked out the window over my shoulder. He was beginning to completely forget me. I saw the sadness form in his eyes as he began to realize that.

“Well, I’ll try not to wait nine months the next time I come to visit. Seriously nine months?”

He nodded once with a chuckle and peered back at me. “I understand you have a life, Callie. What you’re doing is important. It’s weird, but I know you made the right decision.”

“Thanks, Cam.” It was clear to me, but it was good to have confirmation. Especially when I finally grasped how much I’d missed everything and everyone. I just have to learn that it’s okay to miss people. It just means I love them.

“So what about you? What’s Faylinn like?” he asked lightly.

I smiled and grabbed our empty plates to put them in the dishwasher. “Would it be completely cliché of me to tell you it’s magical?”

He laughed and grabbed our cups, following me. “Yes, but how else can you really describe a mystical fairytale land? But this place can’t be too magical if it’s stressing you out this much.”

“Huh?”

“I see the strain in your eyes that you’re failing to hiding. What’s eating at you, Cal? It’s not that bad, is it?”

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I have to find a ‘suitable partner’ in like a month, and my scope isn’t exactly that wide.”

“You have to find a suitable partner?”

“One who’s another Royal from one of the other kingdoms. Which is ridiculous for so many reasons, but mainly because I’m only eighteen. I shouldn’t have to worry about bonding with anyone right now, right?”

“Bonding. You have to get married?”

“I have one more moon cycle to decide who to bond with. Female heirs are not allowed to rule alone. I may or may not have just told my advisor where he can stick it before I came here.”

“Well, who cares what they rest of them think. It’s your life. Haven’t you had enough taken from you recently? Now they want the most intimate part of your life, too?”

“I don’t want to think about it, Cam. I’m hounded enough by Evan.”

“Evan sounds like a real jerk.”

I chuckled and leaned my back against the sink. “He’s a good advisor though. He’s been by my side from the moment I got there, trying to ease me into this. There aren’t a whole lot of them that are rejoicing and on my side. I mean, yes, they love that Favner is gone and that I’m not a vindictive witch of a Queen, but a lot of them think that because I’m human I’m tainted or something. I know there’s still a group of Favner lovers, but we can’t seem to smoke them all out.”

“Callie, I’m sure you are doing an amazing job. You’re too hard on yourself.” His hands eased around my waist, and I found myself back in my bedroom that day I tried to leave. Our eyes locked, and the air in my lungs fled from me. He stepped closer to me and I knew his intentions. Suddenly it felt so intimate, and I was hit with something I wasn’t expecting. His weren’t the hands I wanted wrapped around my waist. His lips weren’t the ones I wanted pressed to mine. The body I wanted against me wasn’t Cameron anymore.

I broke the eye contact, darting my eyes to the floor and swallowed, gaining the courage to actually stop this. “Cam?” I questioned, looking back up into his baby blues, the ones that I used to get lost in repeatedly. They were still so familiar, enveloping me in the comfort of their steadiness. But it wasn’t the same anymore.

At the sound of my voice, he dropped his hands. “Yeah?” His voice was hesitant, already preparing for what was coming.

I chuckled humorlessly, running my hands through my hair.
Of course.

He nodded with understanding before I even had to say anything. He knocked his head back toward the forest. “It’s one of them, isn’t it?” he asked, though his tone revealed he already knew the answer.

With my eyes staring off, I smiled confusedly at the unyielding revelation. “Yeah.”

“All right. Okay.” He backed away and nodded uncomfortably, taking in my answer. His eyes shifted to the floor to hide the emotion there from me. But I knew his movements and expressions all too well. I knew when he was embarrassed or disappointed merely by the position of his shoulders or the tilt of his head. He couldn’t hide from me. Didn’t he know that by now?

I touched his arm and moved my head down so he was forced to look at me. “Even if I didn’t, Cam, you know this wouldn’t work. We are from two different worlds now. You belong here. I belong there. There’s no middle ground anymore.”

He sighed. “I know. I just thought … I don’t know what I thought. I just … I guess I miss you more than I let on.”

I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. “Me too.”

“You’ll always be mine, Callie. They know that, right? I found you first.”

My teeth gritted away the tears. “I know, Cam. I know that.”

He nodded, satisfied, even though I think he knew the truth. I belonged somewhere else to someone else entirely. “I say we put aside all the faery royalty crap, and we have some fun. What do you miss most? Movies? Music? Food? What do you want to do?”

I smiled and wanted to cry at the same time because he was back to my Cameron.

“Let’s go see a matinee?” I suggested. “Something good you’ve been wanting to see.”

“
Backlash
it is.”

“Action flick?”

“It’s got some comedy, too,” he defended.

“All right. Let’s go,” I chuckled.

• • •

We got halfway across the theater parking lot when I recognized a familiar figure standing in line to get tickets. “Is that Matt?”

“Lia’s brother?” Cam followed my line of sight. “Yeah. I think it is. I didn’t know he was back yet.”

“You really haven’t kept up with Lia. He was supposed to be back months ago.”

Then I saw Lia in front of him turn around to face him. Her eyes wandered to us and I stopped walking, wondering how long it would take her to place me in her mind—if I was even lucky enough for her to remember me at all.

Lia’s eyes narrowed then widened. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Calliope?” she shrieked in surprise, stunned still.
That
didn’t take long.

Matt’s head flipped around at his sister’s outburst. We locked eyes, but no recognition passed his gaze. Not even a hint.

After a few dumbfounded moments, Lia maneuvered out of line and ran to me. She threw her arms around my neck, basically shoving Cameron out of the way.

I laughed and hugged her back. “Hey, Lia.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re back! What are you doing back? Are you here to stay? I can’t believe they let you leave.” She pulled back. “Jeez, you look different! I mean not in a bad way. I just see a definite change. But I’m your best friend. I should see a difference.”

I chuckled. “I missed everyone too much to stay away any longer.”

“Are you here to stay?” she asked anxiously. “Do you have to go back?”

“I’m just visiting. I’m heading back tomorrow morning.”

She nodded, mulling that over. “Why didn’t you come see me?” She frowned.

“The plan was actually to come see you after the movie. I just got here yesterday.”

“You’re only here for two days?”

“We’ve got a lot going on. I can’t be gone for longer than that.”

Matt finally came casually walking in our direction with their tickets in hand. Lia saw me looking behind her and turned her head over her shoulder. “Come see Calliope, Matt!” She turned back and said, “He just got home a few weeks ago.”

“No wonder I haven’t heard from him. Hey, man!” Cameron called, lifting his hand in a wave.

Matt walked up and held his hand out to Cameron with a wide smile. “Long time no see, bro!” They shook hands and pulled each other in for a man pat.

“It’s good to see you!” Cameron said excitedly. “Italy treated you well.”

Matt had bulked up a bit. His golden tan somehow made his blonde curls more blonde. “Thanks.” He smirked. It was always funny to see Lia and Matt next to one another. They looked nothing alike. “And who do we have here?” He looked at me, but I could tell he wasn’t saying it like an old friend. He honestly had no idea who I was.

Lia’s face dropped. She chuckled nervously. “It’s Calliope, Matt. You
know
Calliope.”

He looked clueless. His eyes wandered from me to Lia and then back to me, his smile gradually falling. “I’m sorry I—” He was trying to place me. I saw the wheels turning behind his eyes, but he was struggling. It had been too long since he’d last seen me.

“Matt,” Lia interjected, nudging him. “My best friend, Calliope. We all went to high school together. The four of us used to hang out all of the time.”

This wasn’t good. I wanted to cower away. This was going to raise too many questions if he couldn’t remember. Cameron remembered me. Lia remembered me instantly. Matt—I wasn’t sure if he’d ever figure out who I was.

Cameron put a hand on his shoulder. “Think real hard, man. You know, Cal.”

Matt shifted uncomfortably and smiled tensely, but he looked at me, running his eyes up and down me and into my eyes. We were making him feel mental. Poor guy. I wanted to tell him it was okay—he didn’t have to remember me. I wanted to lie and say we’d only hung out a few times and that I wouldn’t be offended if he couldn’t place me. He scratched his head and opened his mouth like he was about to apologize again, then closed it.

I needed to let him off the hook. “Matt, it’s okay if you don’t remember me. We didn’t—”

His eyes widened. “Callie Holbrook?”

Oh, thank the Fallen fae.

Lia and Cam heaved a sigh of relief.

He chortled. “Callie! Of course! How could I forget you?” He grabbed me for a giant bear hug, running his hand over my hair like I was a child. I had been like a little sister him.

He pulled back. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Really good. How was Italy?”

“Unbelievable.”

“Don’t get him started,” Lia groaned. “He could talk about it for hours, and we’ve got a movie to catch.”

“Yeah, yeah. Dang, you’ve grown up.” He looked me over again now that he knew who I was, and then his eyes grew wide as they landed just to the side of my face. Not only did his eyes grow wide, they looked alarmed.

Crap.
My stomach sank. I instantly put my hand to hair where I felt the peak of my ear.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I didn’t think we would see anyone. I didn’t think I would have to worry about my hair being messed with. I was screwed.

“What was
that
?”

I felt Cameron’s arm loop around my waist protectively. “Let’s go,” he whispered in my ear.

“C’mon, Matt,” Lia linked her arm in his. “The movie’s about to start.”

“No. What was that? What’s wrong with your ear, Calliope?”

Freak.
“I …” had nothing to say.

“See you two later,” Cameron said, speaking for me because I couldn’t open my mouth. He turned us back toward his jeep, but that didn’t keep me from hearing Lia and Matt.

“What’s the deal, Lia? What was that?” he hissed.

“What was what, Mattie?” Lia played the innocent card so well.

“Her ears. Did she have surgery?”

“I think you’re seeing stuff, brother.” Her voice shook. He may not have noticed, but I heard the unease.

“No, I know what I saw. She had a point. It stuck through her hair.”

I curled forward, feeling vomit twist in my stomach. He wasn’t going to let it go. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Stop it. No, she didn’t,” Lia denied, attempting a teasing tone. I could picture her shoving his shoulder, trying to play it off.

“Yes, she did,” he insisted adamantly. “And her eyes were all bright and stuff, too. What
is
she?” he hissed.

“We’ve got to get you out of here, Cal.” Cameron rushed us through the parking lot, and I lost it on the concrete just before he opened the passenger door of his jeep. “You okay?”

“Get me to Kai and Declan.” I wiped my mouth.

“Okay.” He helped me into the car and peeled out of the parking lot. His hand reached out and tugged on the glove box, taking out a napkin for me. “He’ll forget, right?”

I took the napkin from him gratefully to wipe my hand and lips. “Yeah, but I don’t know how long it will take. Freak! I have to leave. I have to leave right now.”

“Can’t your faery buddies do something about it?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t risk any more exposure.” I took a deep breath, my head falling back on the headrest.

“We should have just stayed at your house. It would have been the smart thing to do. I knew I shouldn’t take you out, but you just looked like you really needed a break. One human moment. This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not, Cam. I wanted this, too. I wasn’t thinking. I’ve just been so used to not needing to hide anymore. I was stupid. I wasn’t thinking at all. Now I just have to go. Lia will cover for me.”

Cameron nodded and accelerated the engine to my house.

Chapter Twenty-Three

M
y parents must have heard us storm into the house because they both came running from their bedroom.

“What happened?” Dad questioned.

“Matt saw my ears. I have to leave.”

“Matthew Sullivan? Lia’s brother?” Mom asked, clenching her hand to her heart.