Heir of Earth (Forgotten Gods) (29 page)

LeSheen cut through the countryside with a sweeping stride, dodging trees the second before we would’ve crashed into them and flying over wide ditches like they were no more than cracks on a sidewalk. Dayne swept limbs from our path that my eyes were too human to see. When we finally popped out of the woods, the familiar lights of Rose and Phin’s house blazed in the night.

LeSheen cantered right up to the door, barely winded from the wild night’s run. The front door hung open with lights blazing inside. Two large tire furrows where Phin’s truck normally parked told me they must’ve left in a hurry, and I hated to know that I was the reason for such alarm once again after the day they had had.

“They must be looking for me. We have to go back,” I said, suddenly aware that they probably thought I was dead.

“Why don’t I see if I can get Phin on his mobile first.” Dayne reached around me and grabbed a handful of white mane. I liked his idea better.

As if Dayne’s simple touch was a well-trained cue, LeSheen kneeled for us to dismount. I leapt from his towering back and ran into the house calling for Rose and Phin, knowing it was little use. When I came out of the little hallway at the back of the house, Dayne was lingering in the doorway with a pained expression on his face.

He teetered on the threshold, watching me with a wary look.

“What?” I was crushed when I realized he might not be staying with me.

He grimaced, “You have to me invite in.”

“Come in?” As soon as I spoke the words he blew past me so quickly it sent my hair flying. I looked at the little tin plate on the doorstep, piled high with bread to
keep the fairies out
. I wondered if I could ever convince Rose she was wrong.

“So the whole bread thing is just some stupid myth?”

“Oh no, it works wonders to lure young girls out of the safety of their homes after dark,” my eyes went wide and I gasped at his answer, spinning to face him as he had already crossed the entire length of Rose’s den. He wiped his smile away and disappeared into the hallway to call Phin, reappearing moments later to find me still staring at the plate of bread and thinking.

“Phin is in rare form.” Dayne’s eyes were wide and he shook his head as he reemerged into the kitchen. “They’re on their way back now.” He plopped down at the table, eyeing Rose’s herb collection.

“That’s it?” It seemed way too easy.

“Yeah, that’s it.” He lifted the lid off of Rose’s little teapot and peeked inside. “You will act a little woozy when they get here?” He instructed me, being sure I hadn’t completely forgotten we were the only ones in on our little secret.

“Sure,” I mumbled, amazed by how easily he was able to control the situation. “Do you always get everything you want?” I asked playfully as I walked to the stove and began heating water for tea. Carefully avoiding anything that might be hot—I’d shared enough freaky secrets for one night. I turned back to him after the burner flared to life and crossed my arms as I leaned against the counter.

“Pretty much,” he said with a wickedly seductive grin on his face that made him even more irresistible. I felt that same familiar feeling creep into me— like my body was no longer under my control. I stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, pulled towards him by some invisible force. He chuckled to himself and looked away. A tingle shot through me the instant his eyes left mine, waking me from the near trance his gaze had cast.

“How do you do that?” I asked in amazement, thinking of all the times before when I had been rendered speechless and dumb in his presence. Until then I had always thought it was my raging crush. Now I knew it was more.

“I can do anything I put my mind to,” he steepled his hands on the table before him and smiled in such a normal way I almost forgot how
un
normal the conversation was.

“So that thing with the bus?” I wrinkled my brow, not really ready to start tossing around terms like “freezing time”.

He nodded.

“I just think about it, really hard. Concentrate. It’s telekinetic.” He offered a bored shrug, looking around him, checking out the inside of Rose and Phin’s humble home. I was sure he was used to being surrounded by things much grander.

Telekinetic Powers.
I remembered that from Abigail’s letter to Phin.

“Show me.” I leaned back against the counter and re-crossed my arms in front of my chest.

He looked at me with a devilish grin and leaned casually back in his chair, arms folded loosely in front of his chest. His focus turned to the teakettle I had just set on the stove. He stared at it with the same intense glare that had just held me.

Immediately the teakettle cried out, steam pouring from the little metal mouth at the end of the spout. I jumped, and rushed to relieve it. After placing it safely on the hot pad, I turned back to him. He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Did you want some tea?” I asked sarcastically.

“Please.” With the grace of a professionally trained maitre-de, he took the tea tray from the counter and placed it on the table. He stood holding the back of my chair, waiting for me to sit down, the picture of gentlemanly ideals.

“Hey, any chance you have some of Rose’s bread around here?” He eagerly looked from the countertop to the shelves.

“Sure. She always brings home a loaf for the
fai
...um...” My voice trailed off as ten shades of red blushed hot on my cheeks. I looked to Dayne and bit my lips in an exaggerated way, not really sure if I had just totally stuck my foot in my mouth where Sidhe culture was concerned. He shook his head playfully.

“Well, she is right. We do have a sweet tooth.” He smothered the piece of bread I gave him with the honey meant for Rose’s tea before devouring it in two bites. When he finished, he held the delicate china teacup to his lips and blew at the hot liquid. He looked so ridiculous I burst out laughing.

“What?” He shrugged.

“It’s still a little surreal. That’s all. I can’t believe you are sitting here, drinking tea with me.” The words fell slowly, disbelievingly from my mouth. But it was real, all right.

“I’d do anything with you.” He frowned and looked at the clock on the wall. “But right now, we have to get you into bed. Rose and Phin should be home any minute. Let’s get you up stairs.”

He took me by the hand and began leading me to my room.

“How do you know where my room is?” He led me up the stairs and straight down the hall.

“I’m connected to you. Your heartbeat calls to me when you’re in danger. The night with Hannah, the day you fell, tonight,” he said all this so casually.

“Only when I’m in trouble?”

“No, other times too. When you’re happy. When you relax in a hot shower after a long day at the barn. Which should be right here.” He turned the knob to my bathroom and smiled to find he was right.

“But the thing I love the most, is feeling you sink into utter bliss when you sleep at night. Which should be right here.”

The room seemed to brighten the moment he stepped into its green and white walls.

“So, you hear me
call
. Do you actually hear my thoughts?” I tried to look busy as I carefully folded the quilt that decorated my bed and hoped it sounded as if this question were nothing but an afterthought. I was pretty sure I failed miserably.

His head snapped up, a grin played on his lips, which he licked and bit slowly as he watched my every move. He shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish look on his face.

I was horrified. It had been my dreams of him that had given me that peace he loved so much. I looked away, my hair falling forward to cover my face.

“No. But I always hoped you were thinking of me.” He sat down on my bed and ran his hand over the bedspread. Apparently Dayne had his own fantasies.

“Oh,” I tried to act all nonchalant as I walked over and sat down in the little corner chair. His presence made me feel awkward in my own room.

“Ok, so here’s the story. I found you walking down the road after the bus crash. You were a little disoriented and insisted on coming here. I brought you back and put you to bed. You just lay here and pretend to be asleep when Rose comes to check on you. Got it?”

“Sure. What about LeSheen? Phin’s bound to see him grazing in the yard.”

“I’ll handle that.” He pulled the bedspread back for me to slide in. I kicked off my shoes and slid between the sheets. He flicked the light off and began to close the door.

“Dayne? When will I see you again?”

Before I got the words out of my mouth the softest of kisses brushed against my forehead.

“Before you have a chance to miss me,” he whispered in the dark. The glow of headlights moved across my room, and I saw it was empty. A fit of excitement shot through my body. This was way too much. I beat my fists into the bedspread excitedly and stifled a scream in my pillow. Dayne snickered downstairs, and I immediately stopped, lying so still I didn’t dare breathe.

“What is going on here?” Phin’s voice rang through the house. He was angry and obviously very drunk. “What is that horse doing here? And what are you doing here?” Yep, he was drunk. The words slurred together.

“Phin, I know this must seem a little unbelievable, but let me explain,” Dayne’s voice was calming, soothing as he began to plead his case. Good thing Dayne could control people with his mind, because it didn’t sound like Phin was in a mood to be reasoned with.

“I’m waiting,” Phin’s voice was still sharp. The silence was broken by the thud of a heavy glass bottle landing on the counter.

“I got a call from a farmer a few counties over. Apparently LeSheen had shown up at his farm at some point this afternoon. I went to get him, and on the way back I saw the bus crash and found Faye walking down the road. She was so disoriented. She insisted on coming here, so I brought her. She seemed fine, so I put her to bed.”

“I don’t really know what to say to you right now.” The heavy clomp of Phin’s boots paced over the floor below. I could only imagine the fury brewing in him.

“It’s a lot. I know. I’ll leave.” Dayne’s chair push back and his steps made their way over to the door. There was a pause before the door shut. “Phin, the job’s still yours if you want it.”

“Humph.” Phin was being hard headed.

“Okay then, good night.” The door closed.

“I’m going to check on Faye,” Rose’s voice was hoarse and tired.

The staircase creaked and the quiet padding of socked feet progressed down the hallway. My door swung open, spilling light into the dark room. I did my best to look like I was completely passed out. Rose tiptoed over to the bed, knelt beside me and brushed my hair back. My act must have been convincing.

“Oh, Faye.” The tears of relief that washed down Rose’s face caused her voice to crack. She left a puddle of dampness on my cheek when she finally pulled away. I wanted to reach up and hug her neck, to tell her how much I loved her too, but I was afraid I might give something away if I did.

The door creaked shut. Her padded footsteps retreated down the hallway and disappeared.

After a hotly whispered conversation I couldn’t make out, they went to bed, exhausted by the day’s events.

Shortly after the house went quiet something pinged against my window. I threw the covers back and rushed, as quietly as I could, over to the window and threw it open.

He smiled up at me in the moonlight. The view from my window had never looked so good. I smiled back at him, leaning out into the soft glow of night.

“Can I come up?” He whispered. The breeze coming off the ocean blew his chocolate waves of hair over his face. I wrinkled my brow.

“Can you?” I couldn’t imagine how he would get in my room without Rose and Phin hearing.

“I can if you ask me.” Apparently, my fairy came with quirks.

“Come in?” I threw my hand into the air, feeling slightly ridiculous until a waft of air swept over me. He was in my room before I could turn around, the salty air mixing with the rich scent of him. I leaned closer, just as intoxicated by him as ever.

“I thought you’d never ask,” he teased through a broad smile that made my heart plummet to my toes. Being so close to him made me dizzy, especially when the glowing smile lingered, obviously loving the effect it had on me. “I brought you something.”

In his hand he held a single white rose, illuminated by moonlight. He brought the soft petals to my face, tracing along my cheekbone and down to my lips. He rested it there. The scent was heavenly.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the flower in my hand.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” He held his hand out to me.

“I can’t leave. What if they wake up?” I pulled my hand away and pointed to the door that led downstairs to Rose and Phin. He thought for a moment, disappeared, and reappeared before I had lowered the flower from my nose.

“Ok. Coast is clear.” He grabbed my hand.

“What did you do?” I asked, staring at him wide eyed in the shadow of billowing curtains.

“Just being sure they get a good night’s sleep.” He winked at me.

“You put a spell on Rose and Phin?” My mouth hung open.

“Not a spell. Just
encouragement
.” He wrapped his arms around me before I could protest.