Some Like it Hexed, page 2
Thorne eyed the two fae guards, and I could see the distrust float between them. Thorne thumbed at the second fae guard, glancing over at me. “Is this the one you roughed up in the car? Damn girl. Maybe you have a little witch in you after all.”
The first guard put his hand on the second’s chest and gave him a look. Willa was still staring at her Aunt Liza in disbelief, but that only lasted until Shade cleared his throat and began to talk. “We came…”
Willa shook her head and put up her hands, casting an angered glare in Shade's direction. “Hold up. Wait one second. I know that the witches believe they owe no one any type of explanation, but you and I had an understanding. No one was supposed to go to the fae realm except for me. What made you think you had the right…”
Willa’s aunt put up her hand, and immediately Willa fell quiet. I wasn’t used to seeing her caged so easily. The dynamic between her and her aunt brought up a lot of questions in my mind.
“They didn’t cross into the fae realm. In fact, it was I who came to them to ask permission to cross realms.”
As her aunt talked, a simmering type of energy ran up my arm. It was different than before, leaving a fiery sensation on my skin. I rubbed my hand up and down my arm, trying to ignore the feeling.
Willa furrowed her brow. “What? Why?”
Liza gracefully glided over to the couch, looked at it curiously for a moment, and took a seat on the edge of the cushion. Pretentious wasn’t really a good description of how she was behaving. Her actions were closer to careful than anything else. It wasn’t like I blamed her. Between Bean and Hobbles, the place had enough fur to knit sweaters for the entire fae realm. Every time I turned around, one of them was rubbing themselves across the furniture. I knew Bean did it because he had itchy skin and didn’t think twice about relieving the itch on anything he came across. Mr. Hobbles, on the other hand, was a jerk, and I didn’t put it past him to spread his fur just because he knew Willa had to sleep there.
Aunt Liza placed her patient hands in her lap and looked up at everyone. “When I crossed over and met with Shade, I was told about the things that have happened here with you. I was told that my men got here in time, but unfortunately, the witches were mistaken. However, I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing.”
Her eyes shifted to me. “We have learned of the King Collector, as well as the dangers that we were not aware had been released.”
Willa nodded. “From what Callie told us, there are creatures I’ve never heard of. I know I’ve been gone a while, but whatever is out there, it’s not something I believe takes a stroll down Main Street daily.”
Liza shook her head. “No, but there are realms even the fae have not experienced. This creature could be from anywhere. There have been historical writings of creatures in dark robes roaming the Forests of Elm, but none that we’ve ever physically seen.”
Listening, I noticed Willa wring her hands at the sound of the Forests of Elm. She swallowed hard, and it was visibly noticeable that her mind had wandered off to another event and back again. It was curious, and I made a mental note to ask her about it later. Eventually, Willa shook the haze from her eyes and began to pace back and forth. “So, is that why you crossed over? I mean, you could have sent one of the guards to talk with us about that. With my father missing…well, I figured you’d be pretty busy.”
Liza sighed and stood, walking over to the fireplace mantel. She scanned the photos of my family and me and then turned back to Willa. The smile on her face was gone, and that searing tingle spun up my arm. Without control, I hissed, grabbing my arm. Everyone looked over at me. Slowly, I let go of my arm and smiled, trying not to turn the conversation to me. “I’m fine.”
Everyone but Shade turned back to Willa. He, however, narrowed his eyes at me and scrunched his forehead as if he were trying to speak to me telepathically.
Was that a thing?
If it were, I wasn’t in on it. I lightly shook my head and turned back, trying to ignore the heat surging up the back of my neck, just knowing Shade was staring at me.
“I’ve taken over as queen regent while your father is missing. You were, naturally, the next in line of power, but we knew your instructions were specific. Then, when we had attempted to come to get you…that didn’t turn out as we hoped.” Aunt Liza glanced over at her guards, but they stood tall, their eyes straight ahead, ignoring the snickering from Thorne.
“Right,” Willa replied. “I understand. But it's been thousands of years since you’ve crossed realms. Why not just send your guards again. Maybe this time tell them not to dress in strange San Francisco tourist outfits.”
Liza nodded. “Understood. I had planned to make the trip in person anyway. I haven’t seen you in so long—my sweet sister’s daughter. And I wanted the news of the kidnapping of your father to come from me. I had planned to speak to the emissary between realms to organize that visit for me, but then something else happened, and I couldn’t wait.”
Willa unfolded her hands, and I could see her shoulders straighten. “What happened? Did you find my father?”
“No,” she sighed. “The Stone of Stars was stolen the night before last.”
Willa’s mouth dropped open, and she put her hand back, feeling around for the chair before her legs gave way, and she plopped down. “That’s…that’s…”
“A disaster,” Liza replied, “and that’s putting it lightly.”
Willa nodded, her eyes shifted down, her mind obviously roaming around the words her aunt had just spoken. She blinked her eyes several times, and she breathed deeply. “What do you need from me?”
Liza placed her hands together again, and the smile returned to her face. “We need you in the fae realm. You have always been so loved, and with your return, I believe we can keep the fae calm when this eventually gets out.”
“Who knows?”
Liza pressed her lips together. “The main heads of state know. Now the witches know, but that's it. Even the staff in the fae castle were kept in the dark. I put a replica in its place, so the guards didn’t notice.”
“They haven’t seen me in…a very long time. I was a little girl mourning the death of her mother,” Willa replied. “I’m not sure how much I can help in that aspect.”
“I believe you’re wrong,” Liza replied. “And plus, I really need your help finding your father and the stone.”
Shade crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you believe it’s the same person involved?”
Liza looked over her shoulder at Shade. “I have no idea. Whoever this is, they leave no clues behind. Not a single hair or magical trace. I won’t rule it out.”
Willa pursed her lips. “Right. Okay. I guess I can’t say no to that.”
Liza turned toward me and nodded. “Callie, having you there will be a huge help as well.”
Slightly thrown off, I pointed at myself. “Me? Um, okay. But what is this stone? Why does it seem even worse than Willa’s father missing?”
“Because the stone is everything to the fae,” Shade replied. “It’s the past, present, and future.”
I blinked at him. “Riiiight. That’s not really clear to me. Talk to me like I’m a human that just found out that there really is magic and my best friend is a fae.”
Liza smiled. “The stone is a beacon for the fae. It is the singular point from which our world and our magic came from. It was much larger, obviously, at the beginning of our world, but it's relatively small now. There’s only one other small piece of that stone remaining, and we have to keep it out of the hands of whoever took the larger stone.”
I nodded. “Okay. I see that this stone is definitely important, but what does that have to do with me?”
Liza’s eyes shifted down, and I followed her gaze to the bracelet on my wrist. I turned my hand over, palm up, and found a glistening purple and blue stone shimmering and flickering on my wrist.
Well…shit.
3
Callie
* * *
“The witches need to be there, too,” Shade said, breaking me from my trance.
I was still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I had a piece of a stone on my wrist that created the entirety of the fae realm. I could only assume that had something to do with the tingling sensation constantly running up and down my arms. Either way, the power of it was overwhelming.
Shade's voice was a nice break of thought. “We have a right to be there.”
Liza turned toward Shade, and that smile that had initially felt so warm and comforting suddenly felt more condescending and fake as each moment passed. A bit of irritation surged in my chest at the way she was snidely glaring at Shade, but I did my best to keep the bitch expression off of my face.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she replied.
Shade put out his hand, catching Thorne over the chest before he could speak. Shade's eyes stayed glued to Liza's, and his expression was still and unmoving. “While I appreciate the rarity of witches in the fae realm, there is more at stake here than just your king."
"And bringing your kind to our realm isn't going to help that situation," she replied with a steady tone.
Thorne opened his mouth to speak, and Shade threw him a furious look. Thorne immediately backed up, but his stance was anything but friendly. Shade's hands twitched at his sides. "Our kind?"
"You heard the queen," one of the guards barked angrily.
Sparks began to simmer at the tips of Thorne's fingers, and the two guards reached behind their backs. Suddenly everything became very still. Visions of a shoot-out with bullets and magic raced through my head. My eyes immediately shot over to Willa, pleading with her to say something to calm the situation.
She got the hint pretty quickly. "Aunt Liza, Shade was there when Callie was abducted, he and his men put their lives on the line to save her, and they have been helping to track this being down. Shade would be an asset to us in the search for both my father and the stone. He is not a threat to us. His brother, the king of the witches, has been abducted, too."
Willa's aunt pursed her lips and put her hands up, glancing at her guards. They glared at Thorne for a moment and then relaxed, pulling their hands back in front of them. Shade glanced at Thorne, and he pulled his magic back into himself.
Liza looked Shade up and down for several moments. "Since my niece is very insistent on your coming with us, I will allow it."
Shade nodded.
"But," Liza continued, "just you. It's going to be hard enough hiding a human much less more than one witch in the fae realm."
"Hide us?" I asked.
Willa glanced over. "Technically, humans aren't supposed to know about magic. And witches haven't crossed into our realms in thousands of years. You'll have a spell over you to help you blend in with our people a bit better. The bracelet will help you a lot, but Shade will need some work. Fae can smell a witch a mile away."
Liza sneered and then stood up. "I will allow you to get your affairs in order. Whatever you have here in this world, put it on hold. You may be in the fae realm for a while."
I didn't like the sound of that at all. Sure, visiting sounded exciting, but for an unknown amount of time? I would just have to deal with it. I needed to help Willa find her father. And I needed Shade to find his brother. Everything would be pointless if those two things didn't happen. I would just have to figure out the bracelet issue later.
Liza put out her hand to the guard, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny, rolled scroll.
The queen regent walked over to Willa and set it in her palm. “Do not be late. You know I cannot leave the portal open. If you don't come through, it may be a long time before I can organize this again."
"Yes, ma’am," Willa replied.
Liza smiled at her and leaned down, kissing her forehead. As she turned, she glanced down at my bracelet, and I could feel a sharp spike race up my arm. I gripped my fist tightly closed but kept my facial expression as straight as possible. For a moment, I thought she was going to reach out and touch my wrist, but she pulled back her hand and walked toward the door, her guards following behind her. I didn't turn to watch them leave. I was too busy trying not to make a face. I didn't know why the bracelet was acting differently around her, but it was a bit more than suspicious to me.
But what could I do?
If I told Shade, he would be suspicious, and with the pressure on him already, going to the fae realm, I didn't want to add fuel to that fire. And Willa…well, I couldn't tell her that her aunt was giving off some crazy bracelet vibes. It was her family. I would just keep it to myself, and hopefully, it would subside.
I watched Willa's shoulders fall in relief as the front door closed. She reached into her pocket and texted someone. "Let's head over to the Lustrous Bean. We have a lot to do in a short amount of time. Plus, I want to update the others on what's going on. We'll need someone to stay behind and run the shop, but let's make sure it's easy on them."
I nodded, glancing over at Shade before slipping off to my room to get out of the pajamas I just realized I was wearing and into a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt. I had a feeling I wouldn't be wearing my regular comfort clothes in the fae realm. With the work we had to get done before the next night, I needed to make sure I was comfortable. As much as Shade made me anxious, he also gave off a comforting vibe that I hadn't noticed in him before. But maybe it wasn't magic like it was for Willa. Perhaps I had just gotten comfortable with him. Either way, it saved me time not freaking out over pulling my hair back into a ponytail and grabbing a zip-up hoodie.
When I was done, I headed back out to the living room where Willa was waiting for me. I glanced around nonchalantly, but Shade and Thorne weren't there anymore.
"They're already heading over to the coffee shop to make sure it's safe before we get there," Willa said as if she could read my mind.
I nodded as if it weren't even a question in my mind, and I could see the slight smirk on her lips. She turned to say something to me, and I shook my head. "If it's about Shade, don't."
With a grin, she put up her hands, turning to walk toward the door. "I'm not going to fight you on that. I know I'm going to have a big enough fight from the four fae who will be waiting for us when we get to the shop. I know though they'll want to go home, they've been away for a very long time. But I'm going to need two of them to stay behind."
Then and only then did it dawn on me that not only was I going to the fae realm for the first time, but Willa was headed back to her home. She was headed back to a place that she had left a long time before and built a life somewhere else. It was a place that, to Willa, there was plenty of hurt and sadness. It dawned on me that Willa would take the reins of her father, stepping in as the ruler of the entire fae realm. The magnitude of that was hard for me to fathom, much less Willa finding herself in this position out of nowhere.
Everything was about to change, and waiting for us in a realm I had never been, was an enemy, maybe more than one, that looked to end the fae world and everything in it.
Oh boy, a whole new set of pressures. Time to strap on the heavy-duty yoga pants.
4
Shade
* * *
Standing on the sidewalk outside of the café, the sun just starting to come up over the horizon, I could see the violent waves crashing against the shore in the distance.
It was a beautiful place, I couldn't deny that, and I could see why Callie was so attached to the place she grew up. But every time I started to enjoy something, find comfort in it, my brother, Vlad, pushed through my mind. I didn't know where he was, but I could still see his face from the vision I had been shown just a couple weeks before. I had to find him, and if it took going to the fae realm, then so be it.
"All right, everything's spelled, and we should be good," Thorne said, coming around the side of the building and standing next to me on the sidewalk. "Look, I'd be a terrible guard and best friend if I didn't say this. I think it's bull shit that I can't go with you. I think you should have fought for it. Going to the fae realm right now is the worst thing you could do. I know you were born to be a king. Your brother is gone, and you have an entire coven spread out across the world that's looking to you for answers."
I tore my gaze away from the ocean and put my hand on Thorne's shoulder, giving him a smile. "And I can't find my brother without doing this. That's why I'm putting somebody I trust in command."
Thorne raised a brow. "Who?"
I chuckled, squeezing his shoulder. "You, fool. I want you to run things to make sure everybody is safe while I'm gone. I will return. And if I have any luck left in me at all, I'll be returning with my brother. In the meantime, the witches need to stay safe, and I can't think of anybody better than you to keep them that way."
Thorne's chin came up just a bit, and I could see the pride in his eyes. He put one hand across his stomach and bent forward, bowing. "It's a great honor. I won't let you down. But I still don't think you should go to the fae realm. I'm telling you, there's something about that queen regent that I just don't trust."
"How does it feel?" a voice said from behind us.
We turned to find the four fae who had traveled with Willa standing with their arms crossed outside the coffee shop. Esmeralda, the older one, usually quiet and strange, looked much more brazen as she tapped her foot, waiting for a response.
Thorne narrowed his eyes and glanced at me but thankfully kept his cool. "How does what feel?"
"Being forced to work with somebody you don't trust? It's tough, isn't it?"
We could both see what she was getting at, and before there could be any replies, Willa and Callie drove up, parking their SUV outside of the shop. As they jumped from the truck, Willa paused, looking back and forth between Thorne and the other fae.
"Oh good, still getting along, I see. Come on, we've got things to do."
