Some Like it Hexed, page 3
I let Willa and Callie take the fae into the shop, and I turned and stopped Thorne from following. "I need you to get back to the castle. I'll let you know when I've returned."
"And if you don't? Who do I hold responsible?"
I stared at my kind friend, knowing he meant that with the utmost respect for my life. "I can tell you who not to hold responsible. I know that Callie and Willa won't have anything to do with it. And don't judge the queen regent too quickly. We both know the fae are strange beings, and it isn't abnormal for us to instantly not trust them. Just keep that simmering in the back of your head. And Thorne? Thank you."
Thorne nodded, and I stepped back, watching as he gave me a massive grin before disappearing. I glanced up and down the street to make sure nobody had seen that, but everything was still closed and quiet. Turning and walking up to the glass windows of the coffee shop, I could see Willa talking to the fae, Callie standing nervously in the background. She was staring down at her bracelet, and I knew she was worried about the stone within it. To be honest, now knowing what was powering the bracelet helped me understand where the magic was coming from when it came to Callie. At least a little bit.
I quietly slipped inside and locked the door behind me, leaning against one of the bookcases as they talked. I wasn't really the one who had anything to do with Willa's coffee shop or their business at all.
Callie meandered over next to me. "I'm glad you're coming to the fae world. I hope we can find your brother."
My eyes shifted to hers. I couldn't help notice the rosiness of her cheeks and feel the proximity of her body next to mine. There was an awkward uncomfortableness between us, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was an emotion that I hadn't felt in a very long time, but it was also one that I would have to push away. There was no time for me to have any kind of romantic relationship with anyone. It was just hard with Callie because I felt pulled to her. We were like two magnets.
Before I could reply to her, Willa's voice faded out, and the fae began to talk amongst themselves. We watched as Willa hugged Esmeralda and Harry and made her way over to us.
"Everything set?"
Willa nodded, but I could see the nervousness behind her eyes.
Callie waved to Esmeralda and Harry, turning to Willa, confused. "Where are they going?"
"Esmeralda was my mother's hand, and she's going to return with me to take that place until we can come back. Harry's going to come along with us. They're going to go get their things in order and meet us at the portal."
Callie nodded. "And the other two? They're going to stay here and run the shop?"
Willa nodded but didn't say anymore.
"Thank you for sticking up for me with your aunt. I do want you to know that it's just as much of a priority to me to find your father as it is my brother. With the stone missing, I can see how this will begin to affect every realm, including our own." While we both knew that my words were in thanks and that, in reality, my brother was my top priority, I felt it essential that Willa knew we were on the same side.
I knew what it was like to step into a role that was never meant for me, and I knew that she was struggling through it.
"So, where's this portal we'll be leaving from?" Callie asked.
Willa pulled out the small scroll and unrolled it. "The South Pier at exactly 11:52 PM, tomorrow night. We've got a lot of work to do. Why don't you go back and start taking stock of the room, and I'll get some orders done?"
"You? Do the ordering?" Callie giggled, and the sound of it struck me at my core. "I'm pretty sure we still have things leftover from the special order you did at the beginning of the year."
I could see the trademark fae sparkling shimmer in Willa's eyes again. "I think for this situation, having a bit of excess isn't going to hurt anyone." She turned her attention to me. "And you're welcome. I'm going to need all the help that I can get. And keeping Callie safe is one of my top priorities."
"I will do whatever I can," I replied.
I stood there at the bookshelf, watching as Willa and Callie split off, Callie standing behind the register and Willa heading to the back stock room. I could remember the days where adventures like the one we were about to undertake would've made me almost giddy with excitement. However, going to the fae realm, where I was already considered an enemy, coupled with the danger Callie was under, a feeling of dread settled deep in the pit of my stomach. It was a world I hadn't been to in a very long time, a world that had no regard for my life or Callie's. I really hoped that whatever happened there, we find my brother and I could get Callie back safely.
Whatever role Callie was meant to play in all of this, with the fae involved, I knew it could either turn out really well, or we were in for the fight of our life.
5
Callie
* * *
I stepped through the swinging doors to the stockroom, and as soon as it closed behind me, I put out my hand and rested on the boxes stacked to my right. Letting my head hang, I took in a couple of deep breaths, trying to center myself.
From the moment I opened the door and saw Willa's aunt standing there, I was holding it back. I was holding back fear, excitement, questions, and everything else that went along with magic suddenly dropping back into my lap two weeks later.
And then there was Shade.
He hadn't really said anything to me, but just having his presence there made me feel better. I knew there was something between us, but he was tough to read. It looked like, though, I would have plenty of time to get to know him better in the coming weeks. I grabbed the clipboard off the wall and held it up, blowing the excess glitter off the paper. Every checklist, every advertisement, every notepad was covered in some sort of glittery concoction that Willa crafted herself during the quiet hours at the coffee shop.
As the tiny specks of sparkling paper fluttered to the floor, I thought about times before I knew about all the magic. I thought about all the quiet days and even quieter nights. I thought about my obsession with having a safe life and how quickly that had completely turned upside down. For the first time in years, I hadn't stopped to think about my parents every single day. I was too busy trying to figure out how to stay alive to think about that kind of thing. It was kind of a win for me, though. It wasn't that I wanted to forget them, but I definitely needed to move forward. I just didn't think that moving forward meant ahead through a portal into another realm. I thought more like taking a yoga class and maybe going out to the bar once a month.
I rolled my shoulders, letting the thought pass by me. There was no use in thinking about it over and over again. Things were what they were, and now what I had to focus on was leaving behind my life for an undisclosed amount of time and hoping that it was there when I got back. Actually, my first hope was that I would be there to come back.
I dragged my feet over to the first rack of coffee-related items and began to go down the checklist. Almost everything in the stockroom was overstocked, keeping me from having to place an order every single week. Every time Willa did the order, we ended up with not enough coffee beans and far too much random flavoring or sparkly edible glitter. All things that would sit on the shelf until either we magically went through them or they expired and I tossed them out.
This time though, it wasn't a matter of making do. I wanted to make sure there was enough of everything to get Bella and Cruz through the next several weeks, at least. I was glad that Bella was staying to help run the shop. She had been the one person who had actually taken over for Willa and me a couple of times when we went out of town for an event or decided to take a day off together. She knew the gist of running the place, and she was a smart girl. She would have no problem, and I had no problem trusting her with the store.
While going to see the fae realm was exciting in some ways, not knowing how long I would be there took a lot of that excitement away. I hoped that I would get back soon, but more importantly, I hoped that I would come back alive. Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of a realm of fae, but after meeting Willa's aunt, I was less excited than I was before. For some reason, I had worked up the fae in my mind to be these beings that lacked every negative trait that humans possessed and had all the beautiful aspects, plus magic. However, after seeing the looks between witches and fae and how Willa's aunt was incredibly condescending, I wondered if the fae realm was just a magical version of earth.
The door swung open behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder, finding Shade walking in, looking around the cluttered and piled room. "You actually have to order things? It looks like you have enough stuff here to last the shop for at least a couple years."
I rolled my eyes and chuckled, checking off another box on the spreadsheet. "We can thank Willa and her absolutely devastating ordering abilities for a lot of the stuff. It's not really usable, not on a daily basis. If we're leaving and we don't know when we're coming back, I want to make sure that all the normal everyday stuff is fully stocked."
He walked up next to me and stared up at the coffee beans. "Are you nervous about going to the fae realm?"
"Nervous?" I replied, reaching out and pushing one of the rows of coffee beans to the left. "I'm not really nervous, but I'm excited. I've never been to a place like that. I mean, I just realized it was a place two weeks ago."
When Shade didn't immediately respond, I glanced up at him and found him chewing on the inside of his cheek, staring blankly at the row of creamer in front of him. "I feel like I should say something. Look, the fae realm is not as amazing as you would think. I was born and raised here on Earth, so I have a really good idea of what human beings believe the fae world would be like. And for all intents and purposes, on the outside, it's a lot of what humans think it is. It's beautiful, secluded, and generally peaceful. But the fae aren't these creatures above all others like they're portrayed in so many human stories. They aren't always the hero. They face the same kind of decisions and issues that humans do. They just get to use magic to help."
I turned toward him, watching his face. Something was going on, something more than what he was leading me to believe. "It's obvious that there's something about the fae world that you don't like. Did something happen there?"
Shade closed his eyes for a moment, and I wondered where he was going. His mind fluttered off to some other place and then came back. "There's a lot of darkness inside the fae realm. That darkness stretches outward into the community but also deeply into the royal court. I assume part of the reason why Willa left the way she did was because of that darkness within the royal hierarchy."
I took a deep breath and shrugged. "I guess if you really think about it, if the fae world were the way that it's depicted in human stories and movies, it would be kind of boring after a little while. While I am excited to see the place, I don't have any real expectations for the fae world to be much different after the things that I've seen the last month. What's most important to me is that we help find Willa's father, the stone, and your brother. I'd like to do that with as little complication from the fae as possible."
He snickered. "Good luck with that. The Fae Council has a reputation for trying to control everything within their realm." He paused, and his voice lowered as his eyes shifted around the room. "When I was a kid, my brother and I went to the fae realm as part of my brother's celebrations leading to his coronation as king. It sounds fancy but what it really represents is the connection between magical communities for continued alliance and peace."
I nodded, listening intently.
"My brother, he was always soft-spoken, kind, and not at all what you would assume a king of the witches to really be like. I had always been his protector and gave him the courage to stand up for what he believed and what he knew was right. When we were younger, he always insisted that I stay in the same room as him. It was our last night. We had already met with the Fae Council and participated in their traditional dinners and events. We were slated to come back to Earth the next day. During the night, someone came into our room. I woke up, finding them lurking in the shadows. They lunged at my brother, holding a magical dagger. I threw myself at them, struggled with them, and eventually, they ran off. My brother woke up and thanked me but then realized I was bleeding."
On instinct, my hand came to my mouth, and I watched him pat his lower stomach.
"I almost died," he said quietly. "My brother had always been really gifted with healing magic, and before my father could even get to the room, he had stopped the bleeding and closed the wound."
"Did they ever catch who it was?" I asked.
Shade shook his head. "No. Just like what's going on now, whoever it was, they were really good at covering their tracks. Willa's father was very upset, but none of the investigations they did ever came back with anything. My father always thought it was someone within the council, but not someone like Willa's father. I promised my father before he passed away that I would always watch out for my brother. But now he's out there, and there's no one to protect him."
Without thought, I reached out and touched his arm, moving closer to him. "With as strong as it sounds like you've been for him and all the things you've done to protect him, I'm sure he learned a few things from you. My only experience with royalty to this point is a TV series on the queen of England. But just to stand there as your leader, as the king, takes an incredible amount of courage. I'm sure your brother is holding onto that right now. We'll find him. And we'll find Willa's father as well."
He smiled at me kindly and lifted his hand, running it over my shoulder and down my arm. I couldn't tell whether the tingles going up and down my arm were from the bracelet or Shade's touch, but whatever it was, I never wanted it to stop. Standing in a dusty coffee shop backroom wasn't the most romantic thing I had ever done. Despite the lack of magic involved, it was the most fantastic feeling since I was tied to two wooden posts, minus the whole fearing for my life thing, of course.
The space between us began to close, and our eyes stayed locked on each other. Everything around us was so still. All I could hear was the beating of my heart. I longed to kiss his lips, to feel his arms tugging me closer to his warm, hard body. There was something about him that pulled me in like a magnet.
"Hey, Callie," Willa shouted out as she came bursting through the stockroom doors, looking down at one of her lists.
Immediately, Shade and I jumped back from each other, and I nervously tugged at the end of my ponytail. Willa glanced up, but she didn't seem to notice anything going on between Shade and me. She stood next to me, looking down at the clipboard in front of her. I watched as Shade swallowed hard and then hurried out of the backroom into the front of the house.
"I was trying to figure out how many of the vanilla creamers you want me to order. I couldn't find the normal ordering rate on the sheet," she said, glancing up at me. "You okay?"
My eyes shifted to hers, and I scowled. "You have the worst timing ever. You are like this fae pro at sensing people's emotions, but you have no idea when you're about to interrupt something."
I threw my hands up in the air and headed toward the door. Willa was staring at me, confused. "Does that mean I order several boxes? I feel like I missed something here."
As I pushed through into the front of the house, I chuckled, hearing her running behind me. Now that I knew she was a fae, the little things I assumed were absentmindedness before suddenly became clear. She wasn't human and didn't thoroughly pick up on the social cues. It was funny, but not that funny. I just hoped that wouldn't be the only chance I ever had to have a moment with Shade. I had no idea how he felt about me, but I was starting to get a good idea of how I felt for him.
6
Callie
* * *
"Because I said so," I growled, staring at Mr. Hobbles as he stood on the countertop, pacing back and forth.
"So, you're telling me that not only are you leaving me here with Bean and his tiny brain, but you're also leaving me here with two perfect strangers," Hobbles replied. "Meanwhile, you're off gallivanting in some other plane of existence, with no idea when you'll come home. That's if you even come home."
I spun on my heels and pointed at Hobbles, having a hard time being angry when I was staring at a cat. "Don't say that. Of course, I'm going to come home. I told you, I'm going to the fae realm to help Willa find her father and figure out who took the stone. Esmeralda and Harry are trusted members of the fae community, and I need somebody to stay behind and watch the shop. Bella and Cruz are doing me a favor by staying here so you don't miss a meal. Don't make me put you in one of those cat hotels."
He gasped. "That's the second time you threatened me with that, and I don't appreciate it. I can already feel the fleas crawling on me. I just don't understand why I can't come with you. It's a travesty to leave me here with the mutt."
I let out an exhaustive sigh and patted him on the top of his head. "I know you love him, even if you won't admit it. We're family. He's not that bad."
Just then, Bean went running past the kitchen door, tripping over his own ear and sliding past on his face. Mr. Hobbles turned toward me, but I shook my head and put up my hand. "We can't all be as graceful as you. Besides, I absolutely can’t take you to the fae realm. The last thing I need is to be worrying about my life while I'm cleaning up your trail of kitty litter paw prints down some castle hallway."
Hobbles sat down and licked his paw indignantly. "It's not my fault you buy the cheap litter. If you spring for the automatic cleaner and the crystals, you'll never have to worry about it."
I groaned, turning toward the cabinet and reaching up, grabbing a tumbler and filling it with coffee. I spooned some sugar into the cup and poured a little cream before stirring it and twisting the top back on. Willa walked into the kitchen, shooting a bitter look toward the cat. As soon as she looked at me, though, her mouth turned upward into a smile. "You ready to go?"
