Chapter 27 King
King
Sky and I walked hand in hand down the boards behind our friends.
We still hadn’t unpacked everything from the other night, but we both felt like we needed a minute to just be Skylar and Kingston.
We hadn’t been pulled into the Dream-veil at all, and I wasn’t complaining about it.
Malcolm hadn’t even taken me into The Vault again, and I was pretty thankful for that, too. Like really, we just needed a breather.
Ego kept up a constant stream of chatter, and Chance had no problem keeping up the other end of the conversation. The two of them halted many times so Chance could talk to someone the rest of us couldn’t see and relay the information to Jetty and Ego.
Scotty had taken a pass on coming, choosing to spend the day at the library instead for some strange reason, so Stevie had stayed back at the pond with Trixie.
Elyse and Marc had also bailed on us, deciding that they were already in need of another staycation.
And with everyone else out, Buck announced that he and Harry would be staying back at the manor in an attempt to desecrate as many rooms as we all knew Jetty and Chance had.
As a surprise to absolutely no one, Gran and Pops had also taken a pass.
“I’m really surprised Booker didn’t come,” Sky said.
I thought about it for a second and shook my head. “He’s been unhoused for a bit. I think he’s enjoying having his own space and being able to just chill inside.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I guess I didn’t think of that. I’m so happy Carli and Cassi offered him a job and a place to stay. I’d planned on asking Jetty if he’d mind me letting him stay at the bungalow with me, but it’s not very big, and I wouldn’t want him to feel like a third wheel.”
“Or listen to us having sex,” I teased, elbowing him in the side.
He snickered. “That, too.”
We’d come in at the opposite end of the boardwalk from the amusement rides, so we were halfway there when I noticed one of our librarians heading our direction. “Have you met Lysandro, yet?” I asked, Sky.
“No, who’s that?”
Pointing, I directed his attention to the man coming toward us, covered head to toe, with big sunglasses on that covered half his face, carrying an open, oversized, rainbow umbrella over his head.
The man was probably in his mid-thirties, and one of the quirkiest characters to live in Willowhope, and I adored him.
“Why does he have an umbrella?” Sky asked, looking up at the blue, cloudless Sky.
I shrugged. “No idea.”
Jetty turned and walked backwards to become part of our conversation. “My money’s on a skin condition.”
Ego stopped and turned toward us, too. “It might explain the big glasses and the leather gloves.”
“Do you think?” I asked my cousin. “Why walk on the boardwalk then? I mean, the ocean’s right there drawing the sun’s rays, and he’s walking down the center. It’s not like he’s trying to stay under the overhangs.”
Ego snorted. “Sky, he has on a long purple trench coat and… are those yellow galoshes?”
I almost choked at his incredulous tone, but I swallowed it back when Chance hushed us. “He’s getting close enough to hear.”
Jetty and I shrugged at each other. We weren’t making fun of Lysandro. We genuinely liked the guy. He was smart as a whip, the most helpful person at the library, and he always had a smile for everyone—whether they were a douche canoe or not.
“Hey, Lysandro,” I called, raising a hand in greeting.
Without missing a beat, his lips stretched wide in a big, beautiful smile, and he veered toward us. Ego gasped when he got closer, and I wondered if he’d finally noticed that every article of Lysandro’s outerwear was made of leather.
“Hey, Kingston. Jetty. Who are your friends?”
His voice never failed to surprise me. Smooth like velvet, it sent a shiver down my spine, and I’d never even been mildly attracted to him. From what I knew through Jetty and the grapevine, most people in town felt that way.
“This is my boyfriend, Skylar,” I said.
Sky held out his hand. “You can call me Sky. Apparently, everyone does that now.”
Jetty snorted and pointed at me. “Might as well call him King, too. That’s also a thing.”
Lysandro grinned. “Cool.”
Jetty then proceeded to introduce Chance, and after they exchanged pleasantries, Lysandro’s head tilted as he took in Ego. “You look familiar, but I don’t know why.”
Makeup-free, dressed down, and with a ball cap pulled low over his ears to avoid fans taking over our day, Ego shrugged. “I’m not sure. I only recently moved to town.”
“Huh.” Lysandro let it go, and I didn’t think he realized Ego never shared his name. I was pretty sure we’d all decided to take that as a win. “Anyway, I was actually out looking for you, King. The High Priestess said I’d find you and to feel free to speak openly in front of your friends.”
Concerned, I stepped closer to him. “Is everything alright? Do you need to speak privately?”
“No, no. That’s okay. I just wanted to congratulate you, Lorewarden. I think Malcolm made an excellent choice.”
We all froze. “Uh.”
Lysandro snickered. “Don’t worry. He knew I was going to approach you.
It’s important for you to know you can call on me if you need me.
I’ve been Malcolm’s first and only line of defense many times.
” His smile grew sharper. “He said that you have some powerful friends of your own, which is great, but I wanted you to know I’m always happy to lend a helping hand. ”
“Uh…” I felt bad about being completely ineloquent, but… “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that anyone local knew that Malcolm was the Lorewarden. I’m not even sure how many people know who the Lorewarden is.”
Lysandro bobbed his head. “Yes, yes. That makes sense. He wouldn’t have told you about me. I’m always allowed to introduce myself. It’s easier for people to understand.”
“Why?” Jetty asked, moving to my side and sounding as baffled as me. “What’s your gift?”
Chance groaned. Maybe Jetty’s question had been rude, but I had to admit, I was curious, too.
Lysandro snickered, covering his mouth with his leather-gloved hand, so his face was barely visible between that and his sunglasses. “I’m a vampire, of course.”
His voice came out so muffled that I was sure I’d misunderstood. Then he dropped his hand, leaving a big smile in its place. A smile that looked unlike any he’d ever given me before with two large, sharp canines.
“Fangs,” Ego whispered, sounding awed.
“I’m gonna pee myself,” Sky muttered next to me, pushing into my side.
Wrapping my arm around him, I held him tight while trying to process what I was seeing.
Lysandro snickered again. “Have a nice day. It was nice to meet, y’all.” Then, with his umbrella held high, he was off and moving away.
We stood in shocked silence, unmoving, until Ego whistled low. “Now that’s not something you see every day.”
“Or ever,” Sky wheezed.
Jetty tracked Lysandro’s progress until he was out of sight, then gave a full-body shake. “Remind me never to send anyone to work on that guy’s house alone.”
Uneasy laughter moved around our small group. Finally, Sky blew out a breath. “Okay, let’s table that for now, too.”
Chance chuckled. “We can’t keep pretending—”
Sky held up his hand. “For today, we can. I want to have funnel cakes and ride the ferris wheel with my boyfriend. Ego wants to let you talk to spirits and tell him what they said. I think we can stick to what we know for one more day and enjoy ourselves.”
“I agree.” I steered Sky past our group and headed for the rides.
If the thought of riding the Ferris Wheel with Sky had made me giddy, that was nothing compared to being locked in the little bucket seat next to him with my arm across his shoulders.
As the motor whirled and we moved up, he smiled at me brightly. “I’m so glad we’re doing this.”
My stomach swooped with joy. I’d never thought I’d get this. I wasn’t sure I’d ever have a person of my own, and to have found someone as vivacious and personable and adoring as Sky was more than I’d ever dreamed. “Thank you for coming with me today.”
Sky leaned his head on my shoulder. “Big guy, there isn’t anywhere I wouldn’t go with you.”
My heart raced at the honesty in his voice. He meant it. We weren’t playing games. This wasn’t about our best friends having fallen in love or fate making us soulmates. We’d stumbled into each other, our person, and it was everything.
When we reached the top and stopped, I scooted to look down at him and found him already staring up at me. “I—” we said at the same time, cutting off. “You g—” we tried again.
Laughing, I nodded my head at him to go.
Resting one small palm against the side of my face, I saw the truth in his eyes before he said the words. “I love you, Kingston Porter.”
“And I love you, Skylar Reign.”
From the cart below us, Ego gave us a big woo-hoo, and I heard clapping that I assumed belonged to Chance and Jetty, but I didn’t care that our big moment had been witnessed by them. All I cared about was sealing our confession with a deep, long kiss.