Chapter 27
27
“ B lair, it’s so good to see you.” Addison kisses my cheek as we hug. “You look beautiful.” Her gaze swishes from me to Devlin and she beams. “And you brought my favorite wizard.”
Devlin grins and hugs her. “Good to see you, Addison. These are for you.”
He produces a dozen yellow roses and she gushes. “Thank you. That’s very thoughtful. Come in. Come in, everyone. Feylin’s outside with Ryals. I think they’re playing hide-and-seek.”
We head through the castle that’s all vaulted ceilings and tall windows, out to the garden, which is lush with blooming magnolia trees, fragrant gardenias and colorful crepe myrtles, not to mention the many rosebushes and hedges that make the space absolutely delightful.
Feylin picks up his little cousin, Ryals, and places him on his shoulders. Then he makes his way over to us, beaming. “I’m just getting the barbecue started. Who wants steak?”
There are many yes, pleases to that, and Feylin puts Ryals down so that he can properly greet us. When he gets to Devlin, he invites him and my father to help him with the barbecue.
“Someone said trucks keep dropping onto Main Street, just appearing with magic instead of driving in,” Dad murmurs to Mama before walking away. “Sounds dangerous. Reminds me of how dragons act.”
“Yes, dear,” she says, patting him on the shoulder. “Go do some manly cooking.”
“I’m serious, Clara,” he insists. “I heard about it happening just this week.”
“Well I haven’t,” Mama counters.
Dad shrugs and wanders off. Devlin smiles at me before meandering to help.
I find Addison fidgeting with the table settings. “Feylin’s barbecuing?”
She laughs. “He’s very hands-on for a king.”
“And for a fae.”
My sister grins. “I can’t say you’re wrong. Here. Help me inside. I’ve got some salads to put together. We wanted to do this ourselves, so we gave the servants the night off.”
She takes my hand and pulls me into the kitchen. Everyone else stays outside, enjoying the warm air. It is a nice change from the cold. My sisters seem to be especially enjoying it as they fight over the hammocks while my mother spends time with Ryals, who’s become her adopted grandson. It’s very sweet.
Addison shows me a bowl of tomatoes and asks me to cut them in half while she slices a roll of mozzarella.
“So, Devlin,” she remarks, brow curled.
“Oh, as if you have any room to comment. You’re the one who made me take him the books that Nana ordered. And just so you know, I’m not happy that you knew about her existence and didn’t tell us.”
She flashes me a sweet smile. Addison is a good, kind person, the sort of person that it’s impossible not to love.
“Nana made me promise not to tell.”
I grab a celery stick and chew it loudly. “So you say.”
“But Devlin?”
I finish eating the celery and pick up a tomato. “I don’t know what the big deal is. So I brought him. I’ve been helping him with an invention.”
“You have?”
“Why do you sound so happy?”
She scoffs and layers cut circles of cheese in a glass platter. “Because you love working with magic. You used to be so great at potions before you…” She wrinkles her nose. “What did happen, there?”
“She went to work for your mother, and she didn’t have time to do it anymore,” Nana tells her.
Where did she come from? The wall. She literally slipped through the wall to interrupt this private conversation with my sister.
Addison frowns. She’s so pretty, even when she frowns. She’s got auburn hair, brown eyes, skin that will fry if it even sees a peek of sunshine, and she’s got just the sweetest personality. Before Feylin met her, he was a big old grump. I’d never spent any time with him, but all you had to do was look at the man to know that he was grouchy inside and out.
But now he’s a big old teddy bear. Her teddy bear.
“But you don’t have to be at the bookstore as much as you used to. I’m there now. In fact, you could pursue potions or something else if you wanted.” She sighs. “I know that for a long time you were obligated to work at the shop, to make it your life. But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore.”
“Yes, Blair,” Nana adds, eying the mozzarella like she’s about to steal one, “the world’s your oyster. What used to be true isn’t, and what isn’t true, is.”
“What does that mean?”
She scowls at me and I wink. “I get it. You’re talking about Devlin.”
My grandmother lifts her transparent hands. “Now why would I ever be talking about him?”
“Would you quit? You’ve been trying to get us together ever since you came back.”
She smooths a hand over her hair. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Addison takes a handful of the tomatoes and layers them on top of the cheese. “You do make a handsome couple.”
“We are not a couple. I only brought him because I helped him make a huge breakthrough in an invention. He wanted to celebrate, but you’d invited us to this, so I invited him to come. End of story. Would everyone stop acting like it’s such a big deal,” I announce, thwacking the knife on the cutting board.
“Touchy, touchy,” Nana whispers.
Addison nods toward the kitchen window. “They do look comfortable, don’t the three of them?”
Outside, Devlin’s with Feylin and my dad. The three are holding sweating beers and standing by the grill. It’s about as suburban a picture as you can get for magicals.
And as much as I hate to admit it, Addison’s right. They do look very, very comfortable.
“Come on,” my sister says, pulling my attention from the window. “Help me make a green salad. And Nana, if you’re not in here to help, go outside and make yourself busy.”
“I know when I’m not wanted,” my grandmother mutters as she slinks through the wall.
Addison just rolls her eyes, and we share a laugh.
After helping Addison in the kitchen, I head outside, where Devlin sees me. He strides over, slips his hand down mine, which makes fireworks explode on my skin, and whispers in my ear, “Why don’t we explore the grounds?”
“But dinner’s about to be served.”
“We won’t go far,” he promises, dragging me off.
It’s impossible not to giggle as we walk through the hedges. He asks me what I’ve been doing these past ten years besides working, and I don’t have an answer for him. He tells me what he’s been doing, which is impressive enough to make me want to hide under a rock, but he also admits that his life has been lonely.
“But I do have my grandmother,” he says.
Her words about his uncle bounce around in my head, and my heart aches for him. Since he hasn’t said anything about what happened, it doesn’t feel right for me tell him that I know. So I stay silent.
While we walk, he holds my hand, entwining his fingers through mine. It’s a rush, this jittery feeling that’s inside me, and I don’t know what any of it means.
But I also don’t pull my hand away, because even though my chest is exploding with butterflies, dragonflies and small birds, this feels right.
Okay, so I do know what it means, but I don’t know what we mean. I’ve told him already that kissing him was a mistake (and it was, right?) but I’m letting him hold my hand and relishing his warmth, this feeling of bliss. It could all be fake. It could all be temporary, but right now I’m soaking it up.
“It’s a beautiful evening,” he says.
“It is. So beautiful. And a great view.”
He stares at me, and I feel a blush creep across my cheeks. “It is beautiful.” Somehow I don’t think he’s talking about Feylin’s garden. He points to a tall hedge. “What’s that?”
“A maze. Do you want to do it?”
“Yeah. I’d love to get lost in a maze with you. No telling what kind of trouble we could get up to.”
“Devlin—”
“What?” He turns to me and stops. “What? What is so bad about going into a maze with me?”
My heart squeezes so hard that my entire chest cavity hurts. That’s when the fear hits me. Fear that the past will repeat itself, fear that none of this is real. But it is, isn’t it?
I’m simply not ready to take the leap to find out. “It’s just…we’ve been here before, and you…”
He nods. “I get it. You’re right. Maybe it’s for the best if we remain friends.”
“Friends who hold hands?”
“You caught me.” He stares at me a moment, his eyes searching mine for something. “Listen, Blair, there’s something you need to know.” His gaze drops to my hand, and he runs his thumb over my knuckles.
“So serious,” I joke. “What is it?”
“There’s a reason why we broke up.”
Why is he dragging this up from the pits of hell? Immediately my heart jackhammers against my chest. I don’t want to talk about this. We’ve come so far.
“Devlin, all that was a long time ago.”
“Yes and no.” With his free hand he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Blair, look. I feel like you’re wishy-washy because of me, and I’ll be honest, for a long time I’ve run away from feeling anything for anyone.”
Oh my gods. He’s pouring his heart out. Right here. In Feylin’s garden. This is not what I planned on. I’m not expecting this. But what do I want to do about it? Make him stop?
No. Devlin broke my heart. I loved him. Loved him . Like first love kind of love. The love you never get over. The love you never forget. The love that settles into your bones and deposits there like minerals that fuel every single blood cell that makes up your body. He was my very essence for existing, my happiness.
And all that was snatched away.
And here I’ve been given a second chance with him. Yes, I hated him. Or thought I did. Really it was just my wounded heart that was still licking its wounds ten years later.
We’ve been given this time, and clearly there’s still something between us. But at every opportunity I’ve told him to bug off. I’ve said that he’s not right for me.
What if I’ve been wrong? Maybe it’s time to hear him out.
“Why have you run away?” I ask.
“Because I never got over you.”
It feels like an anvil just dropped on my head. “You what?”
“I’ve always cared about you, Blair.” Emotion flashes in his eyes, and the way he’s looking at me makes me glance down. It’s so intense. This moment. This isn’t what I expected would happen tonight. “I’ve never been able to let you go.” He leans back and laughs bitterly. “No matter how hard I tried.”
“I don’t understand.” Now I’m just angry. He’s telling me he’s always cared about me, but he cheated on me. What in the world? “Why’d you kiss Basheen? Why’d you do that?”
He grazes his fingers up my arm and lifts the strap that’s fallen, slipping it back over my shoulder. “That wasn’t what you?—”
“Dinner’s ready!” Addison calls. “Come on, y’all!”
My emotions are a knotted ball of twine with a kitten tangled up in it. “We’ll talk after dinner.”
“Okay.” He nods, but his mood has shifted. He looks disappointed, like he’s waiting for his own anvil to drop.
We all sit outside at the table that Addison’s decorated. It’s lovely. Cut hydrangeas are stuffed into mason jars. They make a line down the center, with food sprinkled between them. And what a spread it is—chicken and steak, with potatoes and fresh vegetables, and of course the mozzarella and tomatoes.
Devlin sits beside me, and I don’t know what to think. I’m so confused. Why did he dump me if he’s always cared about me? Why did he decide to tell me right now , in this moment? When we’re not even alone and can talk about it?
Yes, I’m irritated, but I’m also heartbroken. We’ve wasted so much time. There are so many years we missed. I don’t understand any of it.
But I try to arm wrestle all of that out of my mind and just focus on the food, which now I have little appetite for.
Devlin sits beside me, talking to my dad and keeping his knee pressed to mine. Even though I’m irritated, I don’t move. I like the way he feels against me. I like touching him. It feels natural. It feels right.
The sound of silverware ringing against a glass steals my attention.
Feylin and Addie rise. “There’s a reason why we asked you here,” Feylin says, wiping his mouth with his napkin and glancing at Addie.
She’s beaming at him, and the love in both of their eyes nearly brings tears to mine. This . This is what I’ve always wanted. I’ve always wanted to find my other half, and when I do, I don’t want to let him go.
I envy them, but I don’t harbor envy against them. Addison and Feylin are perfect for each other, and I’m honestly elated that they’re together.
Feylin looks at her and she beams. “We have an announcement.”
Mama shoots Dad a look and he just shrugs. No one was expecting this.
Then in unison, our hosts say, “We’re pregnant!”
The entire table erupts in applause and shouts of joy. I hoot and holler along with everyone, so happy for them. Addison, a mom! Me, an aunt! I can’t wait.
We all rise and give hugs and congratulations. When it’s my turn, I wrap up my sister tightly and whisper, “I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait to spoil him or her.”
She pulls back, dragging her hands down my arms. She gives me a huge grin. “I can’t wait for you to spoil my baby, either.”
As the congratulations go on, I step off to the side and head back to my chair. I’m almost there when an explosion rocks my head.
A bright light flares like a supernova, and when it recedes, I see Devlin. We’re talking about something. We’re happy. I’m happy.
It’s nighttime. The ground is wet. The air smells like rain. My arms are sticky from the humidity.
I walk away from him, out into the street, but turn around to give him a smile. Then a bright light’s shining on me, and when I turn to look, lights are bearing down, a horn’s blaring, and then everything goes black.
The vision disappears, winking out like a light. I am not okay. I grab hold of the table, sucking in air and clutching my trembling hands to my chest to ease the tremors that are racking my body.
I suddenly understand why everything happened the way it did with Devlin. All of it makes sense now.
My heart is beating frantically. I search him out, and when we lock gazes, his eyes flare with worry. He knows I’ve seen it. He knows I’ve seen his secret, and nothing will ever be the same.