20. Chapter Twenty #2
Evera grinned, mischievous as ever, cute in a way. “I would never. My tricks will be far more mature than that.”
Evera grabbed Charmaine’s legs. Heat pulled beneath her cheeks.
Henry eased Charmaine forward, so she fell on Evera’s back.
She smelled of early morning dew and lilies.
Her hair was soft, tickling Charmaine’s cheeks and she couldn’t determine if she wanted hair like Evera’s or she simply liked it.
If she could run her fingers through Evera’s hair, she would, or maybe not.
Evera probably wouldn’t like that. She was truly feeling delirious.
Evera stood easily, her hands caught on Charmaine’s thighs. She suddenly became grateful for the pants, the fabric between them, though she wished she wasn’t so sweaty. It must feel gross, must smell gross.
“Hold tight,” Evera said. “We wouldn’t want you to fall and bruise that pretty face of yours.”
She didn’t know how to respond, so she didn’t.
“Someone is shy,” Evera said under her breath. “I won’t bite.”
“You would if you didn’t believe Nicholas may snap your neck in response.” Because it would upset William, not her.
Evera walked on, acting as if she didn’t carry more than a child’s pack.
Charmaine felt odd. Being taller, broader shouldered, and long-limbed, she practically cradled Evera.
And yet Evera could toss her across the field single handedly without breaking a sweat.
It was oddly attractive, though she chose not to dwell on it.
“Believe it or not, I’m not always interested in murdering mortals. In fact, I quite enjoy your particular company. You are more than pleasant to look at and give wonderful reactions,” Evera claimed.
She choked on her breath. That put a larger grin on Evera’s face.
She couldn’t fathom how a fae like Evera could find her “pleasant to look at.” Fae were known for their ethereal beauty, a weapon in its own right that deceived their prey.
Charmaine, on the other hand, never felt like she was ever above barely average.
Her heart beat furiously against her ribcage. She worried Evera would feel it and poke more fun, but instead, the fae added, “Not to mention, I am enjoying this little adventure of ours.”
“I have to agree,” said Henry, earning a surprised glance from Charmaine.
He smiled haphazardly. “The trip may have started out poorly, but come now, we’re in Faerie.
I could never venture far into Faerie during my visits.
I certainly haven’t seen plants like these and now I’ve had a chance to take note of them. This can be exciting for all of us.”
“You’re both mad,” she said, although she may have felt differently if she weren’t sick.
Her discomfort made the idea of enjoying anything seem distant, out of reach.
Her dizziness and blurred vision had her struggling to make out the world around them.
They passed beneath the wild high thorns, their tips stretching toward them, but never came within reach.
Then they descended a hill leading to a river, the waters a pale blue.
Pearlescent rocks lined the sides, glistening brighter than gems, calling to be picked.
“The bridge is the quickest.” Evera nodded at a long bridge of stone arched over the water at a seemingly impossible angle.
Evera and Henry marched on to the bridge.
Charmaine peered over the edge. A shadow passed below.
The water rippled, then a pair of pale white jewels floated to the surface.
She admired them, how her image reflected on their surface.
Then a row of sharp teeth appeared beneath them, discolored as the peculiar long tongue that darted out between them.
Charmaine’s throat ached and her words came out as nothing more than a hum.
Below, a creature breached the water, revealing a thin torso where her bones nearly pierced flesh.
Algae spotted her sides and cheeks, her smile peeling back thin skin to show three rows of fangs.
A dozen more came to the surface, their expressions gleeful and hungry.
“Mm, down,” she forced out, panicked but too exhausted to give more.
“Down?” Henry repeated, then the sirens sang. She never heard a more beautiful sound, a beckoning call. There were no words, merely a tune, high pitched and ethereal. Her ears rang. Her thoughts fell away, replaced by a memory, or an illusion.
Below, the sirens disappeared. A woman stood there, brown eyes warm, her form thin and small, delicate and beautiful, everything Charmaine wished to be.
If she could fashion herself a new skin, it would mirror the woman, an otherworldly beauty with curls of autumn hair and full, heart-shaped lips.
The woman held out her hand, fingers long and tipped in golden jewelry.
She yearned to take her hand, to be taken by her promise, whatever it was. How could someone so beautiful be dangerous? Why would Charmaine turn her away?
She shoved off Evera’s back, adhering to the summons.
She couldn’t move as she wanted, body too weak to lift herself over the ledge of the bridge.
Tears brimmed her eyes at the thought of losing the woman below, of missing the opportunity to see her, to speak with her, feeling her hand slip between Charmaine’s fingers.
Then she leaned over the edge and the stranger’s hand gripped hers.
All she ever wanted was literally in her grasp.
The stranger smiled. Someone grabbed Charmaine’s shoulder, but the stranger pulled and she fell into icy darkness.
The sensation startled her. In her vision, she thought she perceived jagged rocks and crooked teeth.
But those bejeweled fingers fell upon her cheeks and brought her warmth, true serenity as she peered into welcoming brown eyes.
The stranger smiled, her teeth pearly white and straight as needles.
A burning pain ripped through her leg. She gasped and what she brought in was not air but freezing waters.
Choking, she sputtered and flailed. The stranger blurred, then warped entirely.
A siren smiled, wicked, then angered. Her once beautiful voice ebbed into horror, a string of foul sounds.
Blood seeped into the churning waters, darkening after the siren dived with her claws embedded into the back of Charmaine’s neck.
Even without the sight of blood, she was too sick to conjure any strength. Fire wouldn’t bloom upon her fingers. She was cold and listless, dragged further into the depths, but something tugged on her ankle where pain throbbed.
Through the murk, a silhouette appeared, then silver light flickered, revealing Evera’s cruel snarl.
Her nails pierced Charmaine’s ankle, having used the pain to wake her.
In Evera’s other hand, the silver light coalesced into an orb like wildfire that even the water couldn’t snuff out.
But when Evera opened her hand, that light lashed out with dozens of tiny strings that cut clean through the siren’s wrist.
Her ears popped when Evera yanked her and swam above to where the sunlight breached the water.
She hacked and spit, her lungs struggling to take in air.
Evera kicked toward the river’s edge where she hastily threw Charmaine onto the muck.
Evera fell over her, heaving, clothes soaked through and clinging to her skin.
Her breath caught, her eyes lingering too long on Evera’s chest. The fae caught her chin to bring them eye to eye. A wild smile spread across her cheeks.
“While I appreciate the admiration, we have more pressing matters than breasts,” Evera said. Charmaine tried arguing, but Evera cut her off, “Are you of sound mind or do I need to cut you again?”
The sirens continued to sing, making her brain fuzzy, but all she focused on were Evera’s midnight eyes, such a deep blue they bordered on black.
“I don’t think so,” she replied, not for the same reason, anyway.
She wished Evera could hit her a few times to get that image out of her mind, of the perfect woman she yearned to be, that the siren unwillingly snatched from the deepest recesses of her mind.
The thought was one thing, a desire, but to see it below so real, right at her fingertips, dug the pain deeper than ever before.
“Good, because your friend is about to drown.” Evera leapt off her, leaving Charmaine to realize that she didn’t see Henry anywhere.
“Shit.” She dragged herself further from the water, trying to call upon flames that wouldn’t obey her. The shimmer sickness had zapped her of strength, leaving her as nothing more than a worthless husk on the river side. If anything happened to Henry, William would be beyond distraught.
The river rippled outward, causing waves to lap against the sides.
She dragged herself forward, otherwise the strength of the waves would take her under.
Then from the center, Henry burst out nearly twenty feet above the water, arms and legs flailing.
Evera popped out of the water too, half laughing.
Wind caught beneath Henry’s open palms, sending him away from the water to roll across the grass near Charmaine.
“You mortal mages have some interesting tricks up your sleeves,” said Evera while she swam. Behind her, the sirens peeked through the water, glaring.
“Be careful,” Charmaine croaked.
Evera walked onto the grass to ring out her hair. “Oh, they won’t bother us after wasting all that energy, although we should hurry. Those are young ones, spiteful and weak, and probably why I didn’t sense them. Their parents, however, won’t let us escape so easily.”
“They’re quite feisty for being that young, though I suppose that is why they messed up,” Henry coughed up water, then he held out his satchel. He pointed his palm out to summon the wind to dry it off.
Evera knelt by Charmaine, signaling for her to get on her back. She flushed, thinking of their wet clothes, how she’d feel Evera’s body pressed against hers, and vice versa. It made her stomach twist into a painful knot.
“Did they show you something that wasn’t of interest?” asked Evera.
“They were off to a good start by putting me into a library, but then a naked woman showed up.” Henry laughed and came over to dry them off with his wind.
Charmaine was thankful, and a tad confused about why a naked woman would have been what broke the siren’s spell.
“Well, I’m grateful, although it seemed like you were also on your way to save me. I appreciate that, Evera.”
She waved him off, then pointed at Charmaine. “Help me with her.”
Henry caught her under the arms to ease her onto Evera’s back. At least they were dry, and she was too exhausted to do more than lean against Evera.
“Let’s find our lost companions, shall we?” Henry asked, then wandered toward the bridge, but not before giving the sirens a harsh glare that sent them diving into the river.