What did you do? (Infatuated fae #2)

15. Present Day

15

PRESENT DAY

Caly

W ide-open fields speckled with trees and flowers stretched along both sides of us. The frequent orange-and-black movement of the monarch butterflies that trailed along Eli only added to the unbelievable view. It looked like something from a hyperrealism oil painting. A breeze took the hair off of my sun-warmed shoulders while we continued down the dirt pathway. The small crunch under my feet and the pleasant scent of warm, fresh grass was hypnotic.

Eli really did know how to make me feel better. He always had.

“If we can’t touch them, then why are we going?” I asked for the second time.

“I told you. There are several different kinds of unicorns. Some are battlecorns for the chariots of the Fates, some are for admiring their beauty, some for their magic, and many others. The unicorns we are about to see are the floricorns. They magically pollinate the stonopolis—the flowers used in our mead—and they can be quite mean.”

“Wait. We can’t pet the floricorns because they are mean?” I laughed so hard, I had to stop in the middle of the path.

“They are much more daunting than they sound, I assure you. They are respectable creatures though. Generally calm and mellow when left to their flowers or their mob, but they are the most ill-tempered, curmudgeonly, crabby, fierce lot when disturbed from their flowers. Not even the unikeeper likes them, but they get the job done.”

“A group of floricorns is called a mob?” I was struggling to keep a straight face, but Eli’s sharp, gold-speckled eyes told me it wasn’t a laughing matter.

“I’m serious, Calypso. Do not try to pet one, or I promise, you will regret it. I just thought you might like to look at them,” Eli said.

So onward we went to look at the scary, angry, flower-loving unicorns.

Small stone houses began to pop into view more and more until we came to an old stone fence. Bits of moss had started to climb around the edges of the sharp-looking gray stones. The fence was short, only coming up to about my thighs. The rocks had been formed into the shape of a large vertical circle in front of us. An old but clean-looking wood door stood inside the tall circle. I could easily see over the short fence, so it seemed silly to have a door in place; all that would be needed to get over the fence was to lift a leg. It was so odd and nonsensical, as so many things in Seelie were proving to be. Then it occurred to me.

“Is it a ward of some kind? Spelled?” I asked Eli.

A wide smile broke over his face. “I was just thinking of what silly things I could tell you it was.” He let out a laugh, tipping his head back until he was facing the sun entirely. “But yes, the land and cottages on this side of the fence are protected by the Seelie court and its powers. Most of the houses are those of court members or employees of ours anyway. This is warded to keep everyone safe and protected. Fae villages can be dangerous and unpredictable. Suns knows the elven villages are overflowing with mischief, as are the Unseelie, and don’t even get me started on It?re. I’m sure the human villages have their own dangers.” He watched as a monarch butterfly landed on his hand and crawled around with a slow fold of its wings.

“Will it hurt me to go through it? How does it know I’m allowed to pass?” I asked, looking at the round door with curiosity. I didn’t fully understand the concept of magic. Unlike science, it didn’t make sense, it was unpredictable, and there was no real explanation for it.

“Of course not. Your tie—” Eli flinched a little before continuing. “You’re tied to me. We can go anywhere the other can safely as far as magical guards are concerned.” He walked toward the door like a puppy about to be scolded. “Let’s go. We don’t have a ton of time.”

“You want me to go through the magical door? Make me, SunTamer,” I stated stubbornly. The fresh air had invigorated me, maybe a little too much, and I couldn’t help but want to play around a little. I crossed my arms and planted my feet with a grin. Truthfully, I was still a little angry and had stored up too much restlessness in the room the past few days. I wanted to get a rise out of Eli.

He sighed, dropping his arms at his sides to let his head fall back dramatically. “How old are you, Calypso?” He moved in front of me and put his hands on his hips, then looked down at me with a small smile.

“For someone so smart, you’re severely miscalculating the situation,” he laughed, and I swear I could see it brighten the gold flecks in his eyes. “I thought you tired of me beating you years ago. You don’t want this heat.” He chuckled, but then his face fell. “It’s been a long time since we played together, Cal. We’ve grown up a lot since then,” he whispered. The energy between us had somehow shifted.

His frame was so large this close, he completely shadowed me from the sun. He was right—things had changed since we had last seen each other. He was strikingly different from how I remembered him. I couldn’t help but admire how handsome he was standing there.

The thought felt weird, so I moved my hands up to push him back, ready to catch him off guard and show him he wasn’t really as grown up or as tough as he thought. In a blur, his hands shot out to hold my own in place against his chest, and he took a final step into me.

I inhaled sharply but couldn’t seem to look away as he pulled his lower lip into his mouth. I could feel his heart beating faster and faster under my fingers. My eyes took him in, from his bronze cheekbones down to the slight opening of his shirt.

A soft thrap sounded, startling me. The cool silhouette blocking the sun grew as Eli’s feathered wings spread wide, broadening the shadow.

“You better stop looking at my mouth that way, or I’ll never be able to walk through town, Cal,” he whispered with a grin.

My face flushed with his words. The dancing flutter of my stomach with his closeness was undeniable. I unfroze myself and tried to move to the door, but Eli gently kept my hands in place.

“Are we going in or not?” I demanded, attempting to look anywhere but at him.

Nervous excitement flooded me.

I had always had a stupid crush on Aurelius. He was charismatic and kind. Full of self-esteem but somehow entirely selfless at the same time. No one could be near Eli and not like him.

“Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like if we kissed?” he asked, something new radiating through his eyes.

My eyes shot from his to a butterfly on his shoe.

Younger me had thought about it a lot—far more than I should have—but as an adult… He was my only real, fully trusted friend left, and I wouldn’t let my brain go there. I couldn’t risk losing him as my friend. There was no way I could take losing him too.

“No,” I bit back a little too defensively to be believed.

“I have. I don’t know that I’ve ever stopped.”

He lifted a hand off of mine to run his fingers lightly over my forehead, pushing back my windblown hair and tucking it behind my ear. I fought against the urge to lay my head on his chest. His large hand slid into mine, and he stepped away to open the planked door and guide me through.

I followed, eyes the size of saucers and mouth hanging open like a fish.

Three hours ago, I was thinking of ways to hurt him. An hour ago, I was thinking how lucky I was to have a friend like him. Now…I was disappointed he hadn’t actually kissed me.

What would it actually feel like to kiss him? What if only one of us felt something? We could be ruined forever and still tied together.

Eli tugged me along behind him by the hand, and I don’t know what I was expecting—an electric shock or something, perhaps—but I came out the other side unscathed and without even an indication I’d walked through a magical ward.

I released his hand, using the excuse of taming my hair, which was being blown about even more now. I had chosen a white lace sundress that stopped just above my knees today, but I was not a white-dress kind of lady. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever actually enjoyed a meal and not spilled some of it on me. I had somehow already stained it with dirt and grass just from the short walk. How could Seelie royalty wear white so often? One more reason I didn’t fit in here…or anywhere.

We stopped on the top of a tall hill. Soft, salty notes in the slightly sticky sea air filled my senses as we stood, looking out onto a large shimmering ocean. The sea itself was a deep, warm orange color that glittered like Christmas lights when the sun beat down on it.

The sea from my window.

“Wow,” I sighed.

It was stunning. The sky somehow matched the magical-looking sea that blended into pinks and light blues around the sun. Large white-and-orange birds flew in the horizon under the sun, dipping in every once in a while, reminding me of seagulls. A section of the water looked choppy and blurry off in the distance.

“What’s that?” I asked as Eli stepped behind me. He wasn’t even touching me, but I could feel the heat from his body.

“It’s the Golden Sea, and those are fire birds. They are hunting for fish,” he replied softly.

“Not the birds. What’s that blur out there? It looks like it might be moving toward us slowly?” I asked.

My heart began to race when his hands found my waist. What was happening? This shouldn’t happen.

But I also didn’t want to move.

“That is just rain from the golden seas. It’s not uncommon for it to rain here. It usually doesn’t last for too long, and it’s actually quite refreshing since the sun is a bit stronger here from the sea’s reflections.”

I pulled away to turn and look at him.

One brow rose as he cocked his head to the right quizzically.

“So it’s a golden shower?” I said, nodding and barely stifling a giggle as I pulled my lips into my mouth. “And you say…you say you enjoy a nice golden shower, huh? That the golden shower is refreshing? Good to know.” I cackled, taking off running down the dirt path.

Hearing Eli’s laughter and thumping feet following closely, I slowed my pace.

The large green meadow was fenced off with thick, bolted iron panels all the way around, as far as I could see. Large pink-and-cream flowers littered the pasture, taking up more space than the grass. A small shelter covered in flowers backed up to the iron panels nearest to us. It was the oddest juxtaposition, to see the fierce black-iron panels surrounding the beautiful field and the completely flowered cottage.

“What do you think?” Eli asked.

“Why is the fence so short? It doesn’t even come to my hips.”

“Oh shit, here they come. Remember what I told you. Do not touch them,” Eli said. I noticed he had taken on a fight stance as he looked over the hill.

No fierce, monstrous unicorns came; instead, I saw only the gray plaid of a flat cap, soon to be accompanied by the body of a weathered, old, angry farmer.

“Step away from the fence! The tyrants are coming this way! I can’t stop them!” the man yelled, worry pinching his brows together.

“Are you sure this is safe?” I asked, taking another step backward.

“No,” Eli said, and smiled.

He angled his body protectively in front of mine. I could still see around him, but he was clearly ready to take the first hit if something should happen.

I hated it and loved it all at once.

His body tensed as the sound of hooves grew louder, and instinctually, I moved from behind him and stepped in front of him protectively.

The thundering grew louder as the ground trembled beneath our feet. My mouth began to make the sound before I could stop it.

“Awwwwww!”

“Caly, no!” Eli shouted.

As the stampede pulled up before us, I could barely contain myself, unable to stop myself from stepping over the sturdy iron barrier.

“They are so cute! What are these guys?” I squealed.

At least seventy stocky, shaggy mini-unicorns lumbered toward me. They were adorable, none taller than three feet, and each with a fluffy coat and a mother-of-pearl-colored spiral horn parting their forelocks.

“Those are the floricorns, Caly!” Eli cried, leaping over the fence to jump in front of my crouched body again.

The floricorns surrounded us, several snorts and stomps filling the air around us as Eli drew his dagger.

“Leave the prince alone, you floral bastards!” shouted the old man as he tried to move them away. “Petals has gotten me other finger!” the man yelled. “Run, Prince Aurelius!”

“Caly! Are you all right? On the count of three, shield your eyes. I’m going to?—”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to shield my eyes,” I said, wheezing a laugh at the look on Eli’s face when he turned around.

Several of the mini-unicorns had made their way to me and were shoving each other out of the way to get under my hand and receive their share of scratches and pets.

“I think they like me.” I smiled ear to ear. “Just be nice and pet them. That’s all they want.”

“Pet them? Calypso—” But before he could continue, a fluffy chestnut mare with a flaxen-blond mane charged, knocking him over. The stout equine barely missed his head with a swift kick.

“Don’t hurt her, Eli!” I shouted, watching him leap to his feet, his wings spread wide and a bright light pouring through the gaps in his fingers.

He snapped his head to me with a shocked expression. “Hurt her? For sun’s sake! What about m?—”

The sassy floricorn took advantage of his distraction and slammed into him with the force of a battering ram again, pinning him tightly against an iron panel of fencing this time.

My hand slapped over my mouth as I tried to get up, but the lounging minis wouldn’t budge when I tried to push their heads from my lap. I watched as Eli sideswiped the front legs of the mare, freeing himself and pushing her against the wall. At least his powers were not involved in their brawl.

“Yeah! You don’t like that very much, do you?” he said, goading the floricorn. He put his full weight against her…and she bit into his ass with a crunch.

“Aagh!” Eli yelped.

“Okay, do you all see what’s happening? You gotta let me up,” I said to the ponies on my lap to no avail.

I looked up to see the crown prince of Seelie attempting to put the tiny unicorn in a headlock.

I couldn’t help but laugh and realized someone was joining me with thick, crackly laughter.

“Oh, she likes you very much, sir!” shouted the old unikeeper as he held a bloodied rag over his hand.

“Likes me?” But Eli’s words were muffled by the mare’s armpit, where he was now pinned.

“That’s the meanest girl in the bunch! She’s just playin’ with you though,” the keeper said. “I’ll move them to another field. You can watch them pollinate the stonopolis.”

The man walked over to a gate and, with a great squeak of the hinges, opened it. Immediately the floricorns leaped up from my lap and trotted through the gate and into another field, this one more forest than the meadow. All of the fluffy creatures left but one.

The chestnut mare remained next to Eli, watching the rest of her mob graze. When she noticed I was standing alone, she stalked over to me—and began rubbing her muzzle against me.

I made a ridiculous face at Eli, unable to contain my adoration.

He rolled his eyes dramatically. “Come on, you can see how they pollinate the flowers.”

The soft unicorn walked between us, pausing at the gate, making certain we followed her in. Large pink flowers spread out in hundreds and hundreds of small patches throughout the grass and around the trees. Butterflies fluttered about, collecting in a mass on a large pine tree, giving the impression of a Christmas tree.

“There is a Seelie portal in the tree,” Eli said. “See the ring of mushrooms around it?”

Clumps of large, white, toothy mushrooms were attached to the surrounding maple and birch trees. Each clump in the perfect circle dangled down, long white spines almost giving the appearance of a beard. “Lion’s mane,” I murmured in awe.

After Eli denied my pleas for a closer inspection due to limited time, he hastily moved me along to watch the floricorns do their work.

“Name’s Patty,” the weathered unikeeper said with a slight bow of his head.

“It’s great to meet you, Patty. If you ever need a hand around here, I’d love to help with them,” I replied.

“That’s kind of you, miss. They sure do seem to enjoy your company. Never seen anything quite like it, as a matter a fact,” Patty replied. He pointed out some of the animals closest to us, telling me their names: Nettle, Rose, Greenbriar, Honey Locust.

“All thorns, huh?” I said as I raked my fingers through the coat of the sassy mare still between us. “Let me guess: Cactus?”

Patty snorted. “It’d be fitting, but she goes by Thistle.”

We watched as she walked a few paces to the nearest clump of flowers and dipped her wide head and, ever so gently, set the tip of her iridescent horn in the center of each flower. Thistle closed her eyes, a blissful expression on her fuzzy face. She looked sweet and friendly like this.

“Their horns and magic are the only things capable of pollinating the stonopolis flowers. The flowers couldn’t exist without them,” Patty said with a soft nod.

Eventually, we said our goodbyes, promising to return soon. I’m not certain the mini-unicorns even realized we left, they were so busy with the flowers. That was probably for the best. I think Thistle might have maimed Eli or I had she seen us leaving.