Twenty
Kallie
The sun is still high in the sky, trying and failing to warm the cool breeze that’s steady in the air. I’m trekking through campus, side-stepping students and faculty heading back home, nearly bursting with energy, ready to be sweaty and spent from the grueling workout calling my name.
Although, the best part of the night comes after. Kate has a late study group—anatomy, if I remember correctly—which means I get the whole dorm to myself. A nice hot shower, one so scolding it feels like my flesh is melting off my bones. Ordering my absolute favorite pizza, and spending the rest of the night watching movies.
“Sorry,” the apology slips out on instinct, but then I see that the inconsiderate oaf I ran into is Callum. “Stalking me now? Seriously, stay away from me.” I barrel past him, quickening my strides until his menacing voice reaches my ears.
“Kallie,” he growls behind me, clearly annoyed by my obvious avoidance. But I don’t care. I don’t care about him or how he’s feeling. I sure as fuck don’t care about all the weird shit that keeps happening. Seeing him under the moonlight was like finding the last puzzle piece stuffed between the couch cushions. And once put into place, the whole picture stares back at you in its entirety.
Whatever is going on with me, he is a direct correlation, and I need to stay as far away from him as possible. I decided whatever answers he can give me aren’t worth it. I would rather live in a constant state of delusion then have anything to do with that man. The nagging feeling to turn around tempts me, but I refrain. That is, until fingers grip my shoulder in a strong hold and force me to look at him.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” I shout, trying to draw attention to us, but nobody looks in our direction. There isn’t a single set of eyes that turns our way. It seems like they’re looking through us. “What the hell?” I whisper, more to myself, because what the hell?
“They can’t hear you, Princess,” Callum confirms.
“What do you mean? What did you do?! This is all your fault! Everything! Every. Single. Thing!” Flustered, I try to find a way out. I don’t want to be anywhere near this lunatic. “Leave me alone! I don’t know what you did to me last night, and I won’t tell anyone what I saw, but I need you to leave me the fuck alone.” I back away slowly, hoping that, with enough distance, it will break whatever trance he seems to have put everyone in.
“That’s the thing, Princess. I didn’t do anything. You did.”
“Only because you did some sort of dark voodoo magic on me and took over my body!” I snap, and he eyes me with caution, however he meets me step for step. “What are you staring at?” I don’t like this, not one bit. Panic takes over, and I suddenly feel warm, like whatever transparent bubble he put us in has the temperature cranked up.
“You,” is his only response.
“Well, stop! Stop staring at me like a creep and go!” But he doesn’t. His gaze is unwavering as he holds his hands out slightly in front of him, like he’s preparing for a bomb to go off. A small glimpse of color catches in my peripheral. I look to my right and see a stunning orange hue surrounding my arm.
“Ahhhh!” I scream, dropping my book and trying to swipe it off. “What is that? What’s happening?” The color only grows brighter. I look like a fucking highlighter!
“It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine, but I’m going to need you to calm down. Can you do that for me?” Callum asks, keeping his voice even and calm.
“Calm down? Calm down?! You never say that to a girl. Are you a fucking idiot?! Can you not handle a little emotion? Does it scare your little man brain?” I’m so hot. Goddess, where did the sun come from? I’m boiling.
“Not at all. However, there is a small chance I won’t be able to contain it if you let it go. Death doesn’t faze me, but I can’t imagine you would handle it well if your temper tantrum incinerated at least half the student body,” he explains, so calm and not a hint of worry.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong with me?” I keep the tears at bay, holding out some sort of hope this isn’t real.
“Come with me. I promise I’ll answer your questions. But I can assure you, nothing is wrong with you.”
“Easy for you to say. You don’t look like a glow stick!” Without another word, he gestures past the building where the trees I’ve gone through so many times lie in wait. Part of me wants to blow it off, chalk it up to hallucinations, and go about my day.
The perfect day I had planned. But he narrows his eyes at me, and before I know it, I’m following him into the woods.
We walk for fucking ever. I maintain a safe distance away, and the urge to bolt was strong multiple times, but I knew I wouldn’t get far. Not with him checking over his shoulder every five seconds, like he knows the precise moment it pops in my head. Despite him being annoyingly over-cautious, there’s another part of me that knows this could be the only way I can get answers. I’m not sure they’re even worth it anymore.
I break out into a cold sweat when the clearing comes into view, memories resurfacing from the last time we were here. The comfort scared me. But maybe that’s what he wanted. For me to let my guard down and release all my inner demons.
The events that followed were catastrophic—the anger I felt, the words he said cutting so deep I thought I was bleeding out on the forest floor. Whatever happened to me that night, might have been reality slapping me in the face, but I didn’t want to feel it. I still don’t. After everything I’ve been through, I owe myself the possibility of getting some sort of answers, no matter how crazy and insane they sound.
“Why did you bring me here? We could have just gone back to my dorm,” I finally say.
“Trying to get me alone so you can take advantage of me, Princess?” He smirks. “I’m kidding—unless you don’t want me to be. I’m sure the stars won’t mind.” He’s joking. He has to be joking. Don’t get me wrong, Callum is sex incarnate, oozing sex appeal with his broody, bad-boy demeanor. His onyx eyes are always analyzing me as if he has x-ray vision and can see right through me, like I’m made of glass.
Callum looks at me like I could go off at any point, but never in a way of fear, but like he would welcome whatever I hurl his way. I hate that he looks at me like that. It makes me weak in the knees and want to melt into a puddle at his feet.
Which is absurd. The pull he has on me is gravitational, and when he’s near, no matter the amount of alarm bells going off in my head, telling me to stay away, I can’t. But then everything that’s happened since he’s come into my life douses me in a bucket of cold water, and I’m yanked back to solid ground.
“Stop looking at me like that.” It comes out harsher than I intended.
“You didn’t deny it. Tell me, Princess, what are you thinking about right now?” The look he gives me insinuates he knows exactly what I’m thinking, and I have to take a step back to regain my composure before I do something super stupid.
“I’m thinking…” I trail off, my train of thought flying off the tracks when he takes a step closer. “I’m thinking that you need to tell me what is going on. You said you would tell me everything. So go on. What’s everything?”
He tilts his head, and I know he sees right through my bullshit.
“I would take a seat.”
I don’t.
Shifting on my feet, I stare at her gorgeous emerald greens, knowing in a matter of moments, her life—her world—as she knows it, is about to shatter into a million different shards that she will never be able to make whole again. “Your name is Kalliope Whitlock.” I finally start, shifting my weight from one foot to the next, “You belong to a world that is much greater than this. Full of magic and endless possibilities, kingdoms and creatures you’ve only read about in books or watched on T.V.
You were protected by a well-trusted friend of your mother’s, Harrison, who you know as your father, and raised here. Your mother wanted more for you, so she faked your death so you could live out a normal life, but the whispers of you being alive have grown loud, and I’ve been sent to find you, instructed to only bring you home if you are who we think you are.” I don’t say anything, stunned silent as I absorb his admission.
“Your nightmares, however, have been me,” he continues. “Finding you was difficult, more difficult than I think any of us thought. The nightmares were a way I could infiltrate your mind and start training you from the age your powers should have manifested. Unfortunately, I believe your mother put some sort of glamor over you, keeping them at bay until it couldn’t be contained any longer. There were times I thought we were wasting our time. It made sense there was a casting over you, to hide your fae features, but to hide your powers the way they did? It would have taken an unruly amount of magic,” he finishes on a huff of breath.
I stare at him, unbelieving, unmoving, as words I’ve never heard before sink in. Internally, I’m cracking up, waiting for him to join me and tell me it’s all a joke, but it never comes. Instead, he watches me, like he can see the gears turning with all the information, never taking his eyes off me, probably thinking I would run.
I should. But the seconds turn into minutes, and skepticism seeps into my bones, disbelief crossing over my face.
“Nope,” I say in denial, pacing back and forth.
“Yes.”
“Nope.”
“Yes.”
“Nope.”
“Kalliope—”
Stopping abruptly, I advance on him, my frustration boiling over. “Kallie! My name is Kallie! I’m not a princess. I’m not a…” My hands fling in front of me, trying to remember what the hell he called me.
“Fae,” he answers for me.
“That.” I point my finger at him. “I am not a fae— whatever the hell that is. My parents are my parents. No matter how many times I wished my mother wasn’t my mother, she is! I don’t have magical powers, and I most certainly don’t belong in this mysterious realm of Sid—whatever the fuck.”
“But you are, and you do, Kallio—” My glare stops his words in their tracks. “Kallie. You wanted answers. I’m just giving them to you.”
“I want answers that make sense! You’re sitting here telling me that my entire life has been a lie. And you expect me to just what? Accept it? Oh yeah, that actually makes a ton of sense. What’s next, sergeant? You’re crazy! I’m not who you think I am.” Maybe I’m being hysterical, but the situation is laughable.
“I understand it’s a lot to digest, but what I’m telling you is the truth, and I need you to take this seriously. You’re in danger. The whole realm is in danger. The quicker you realize that, the better. We’re running out of time, and you need to be trained.” His words come out urgent, like at any point something is going to swoop down and take me out.
“Prove it,” I challenge, crossing my arms over my chest and hiking up an eyebrow.
“Prove it?” he questions.
“Yes, show me. Make me believe you,” I insist, hoping to call him on his bullshit.
“Was the courtyard not enough?” he asks.
“I’m still not convinced nobody saw us. They could’ve just not cared,” I state.
He rolls the sleeves of his navy-blue button-down up to his elbows, exposing the tight corded muscle beneath. His moves are swift and precise—with such grace—like the world waits for him, and the seas would part so he would be able to walk along the sea floor.
My breath hitches, and my thighs clench together. For a small moment, I forget why we’re even here, why we’re standing so far apart.
Goddess, get a fucking grip, Kallie! They’re just forearms . You’ve seen forearms before.
Shaking my head, I pull my attention from the bizarre thoughts that have invaded my brain and back to the stunning, infuriating man in front of me.
“Are you done ogling, Princess? Or should I just take it off so you can see the whole package?” His voice is sultry, dripping with lust and making me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling.
“Shut up and do whatever it is you do,” I bark.
Before I know it, the veins on his arms turn black, darkness slithering through him like a pod of snakes. I feel my face morph into a mixture of astonishment and horror. Leaking out of his palms, shadows flow out of him like inky night, completely entrancing me, and like a moth drawn to a flame, I’m so mesmorized I couldn’t look away even if I wanted too. Shadows dance between his hands, moving like electrical currents with no destination in sight. Palms facing the night sky, the blackness moves with him, controlling them, a master commanding his puppets. For a brief moment, my eyes travel to his, but the sliver of green I’ve come to get lost in is long gone and replaced with black soulless orbs.
A tidal wave of shadows burst toward me, circling around me like a shark, and I’m the chum. Slowly, they begin to constrict, wrapping me in a tight embrace. Instead of feeling frightened, I get a full-body shudder of contentment, all of my problems start to melt away, and I’m more at peace than I’ve ever been.
All too quickly, they retract, leaving my body tingling and feeling alive. I watch as they find their way back to their commander, easing back under his skin and settling, until the night sky disappears completely, and everything is back to normal.
“Whoa,” is all I can manage to say while I stand there in complete awe.
“Is that enough proof, Princess?” he asks nonchalantly, like he didn’t just show me the most out-of-this-world shit.
The only thing I can do is nod my head and let the reality of what just happened process. It’s not all bullshit? Is this real? My mind can’t grasp everything he’s told me and shown me. I try to turn away, not wanting him to see the complete and utter wreck I’m about to be. But before I get the chance, he’s right in front of me, gripping my chin between his fingers and tilting my chin up.
“Don’t hide from me.” His words reach my ear in a promise—a promise for what, I’m not sure, but I feel safe. And safe is something I haven’t felt in a long time.
“I’m scared.” As the words leave my lips, the tears I didn’t know I was holding in escape, and sobs wrack throughout my body, and I break down. He holds me to his chest while I soak his shirt in my fear, rubbing circles over my back, comforting me in a way I didn’t know I needed.
“I know you’re scared, but we need to go, Princess. What we need to do, we can’t do here. I need to take you home,” he says the last part with caution, probably afraid I’ll lose it again—but I’m exhausted. So, I pull back, and he grasps my upper arms, holding me steady while I contemplate what to do next. My gaze reaches his. “This is the only home I’ve ever known.”
Callum’s grip tightens a fraction, the muscle in his jaw ticks like he’s fighting to keep whatever secrets he carries locked away. A heartbeat passes, then another while his eyes bounce between mine, and I begin to imagine what another world would look like. Maybe the grass glows or the sun pulses with heat. The roaring springs could be living vessels, shrouded in flowers and accompanied by unknown creatures.
His voice shatters the image I’ve conjured in my head, the fractured splinters fading away until I’m back in the present. “Then let me show you mine.”
“Can I come back?” It seems like a silly question, but I have no clue what I’m getting into.
“I can’t answer that right now.” I know he’s not trying to be difficult, but that wasn’t the answer I hoped for.
“I need to say my goodbyes. To Kate and my dad. Goddess, has he known this whole time?”
“He doesn’t know the role I’ve played, but he knows about you and who you are.” My heart plummets to my stomach, but I can only muster a nod while I think over the lies that my life has been built on. “Say your goodbyes tonight, but we leave in the morning.”
“Okay.” I step away and out of his grasp, creating some distance between us as we make our way back through the forest and back to campus.
Before we part ways, Callum pulls me into him by my arm and says, “I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning at eight. And just like last time, I will haul you out of there, kicking and screaming, if you’re late,” he threatens.
“Noted,” I respond with a curt nod.
“Goodnight, Kallie.”
“Goodnight, Callum.” And just like that, he’s gone. Vanished into thin air. Wild.
Pulling out my phone, I dial my dad’s number, hoping he’s still awake.
“Hey, kiddo, everything okay?” he asks, the sound of his voice almost brings me to my knees. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until now.
“Hi, Dad. Yeah, everything’s good. I was just calling to check in, see how you’ve been.”
“Ah, you know. Same ol’, same ol’ over here. How’s school going?” He sounds tired, and guilt settles into the pit of my stomach, knowing everything I do now. No wonder he’s tired.
Tears breach the surface, but I keep my voice steady. “School’s great! You know me, never been the best scholar, but I’m hanging in there. That’s actually why I called. A few friends and I have decided to go away for a little reprieve, decompress after finals, and I’m not sure if I’ll have service,” I lie straight through my teeth, hoping he doesn’t call me out. I know I could tell him, but he has sacrificed so much already. The least I can do is not give him anything else to worry about.
“That’s great, kiddo! I’m glad you’re making friends. Where are you guys headed?”
“Somewhere in Canada. I think they were talking about backpacking through some mountains. I’m not entirely sure, but I’ll call you every chance I get.”
“Alright, kiddo, as long as you’re safe.”
“I will be, Dad. I love you.” The last word came out choked, so I close my eyes and take a deep breath to collect myself.
“I love you too. I’m gonna hit the hay. Call me when you can.”
“Will do, Dad. Will do.” The line disconnects, and it feels like a chapter of my life has closed, and life as I know it will cease to exist.
Ding. My phone chimes, probably Kate wondering where I am.
Tapping on the notification, I stop in my tracks. Not Kate.
Unknown: you scream so beautifully
Then everything goes black.