Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
STARING AT MY OWN EYES
ORIE
“We’re meeting my best friend and her boyfriend, so be nice,” I warn, pointing a finger in Orian’s direction.
He holds a hand over his heart. “I am always nice, dear sister.”
I raise a brow at him, and he gives me a grin. Maybe he’s always nice now, but that hasn’t been the case his entire life.
Raya and Arman are meeting us at my house before we walk over to the fountain, where Carson is having his art show. I can feel his presence there, and if I focus enough, I can feel a lot of people around him too.
Having a crowd attend is good for me. This way, it won’t just be me, my friends, my formerly estranged brother, and the man I’m stalking.
That could’ve been awkward.
In my peripheral vision, I see Raya’s familiar hot-pink hair. I turn to face her, giving her a smile as she gets closer. Arman walks alongside her, his eyes going wide as he scans my brother before shrinking back slightly behind Raya.
“No way…” my brother mumbles, letting out a scoff.
The two of them stop just short of us before I can question my brother about his reaction. Raya’s eyes dart between the us, her lips parted.
“So, how did we go this long without knowing you have a sibling?” Raya asks, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Let alone a twin brother?”
Orian sticks out his hand. “I’m Orian, and in case she missed the details, I’m the older twin brother. Twelve minutes.”
“Eleven minutes and forty-two seconds, actually.” I correct him as he shakes Raya’s hand.
When he lets go, Raya gestures over her shoulder toward Arman, who still watches Orian cautiously from a step behind her. “This is my boyfriend—”
Orian cuts her off, his eyes focused beyond Raya. “Arman Whelan. New Bria, right?”
They know each other?
Oh no.
Raya did mention once that Arman was hesitant when he met me because he’d had a dangerous encounter with a shadow demon. What are the odds that the shadow demon in question is my brother?
“I’ve passed through there once or twice,” Arman answers through thin lips. “Not in a while now, though. Changed man over here.”
Orian lets out a laugh. “Likewise.”
The tension in the air only seems to fade slightly, Arman’s shoulders relaxing by an inch or so. Whatever happened between them can stay between them—and stay in the past.
Right now, I’m having a crisis.
Granted, it’s a crisis that only Orian knows about, but it’s a crisis, nonetheless. We need to get a move on to the art show before the crowd disappears.
“Ready to go, everyone?” I ask, not really waiting before looping my arm through Raya’s and leading us toward downtown.
The walk to the fountain isn’t too long, and while Raya spends most of it telling me about her recent streaming and gaming adventures, my mind is elsewhere. The closer we get to Carson, the more my senses buzz.
So many feelings swirl inside me that I can’t even tell what they are, let alone begin to figure out how to deal with them. There’s something going on with the artistic mystery man, and one way or another, I’ll get to the bottom of it.
I have to.
Orian must notice something is off, as he’s suddenly walking in line with Raya and I. “So, Raya, what do you do for work?”
She loosens her arm from mine, leaning forward to look past me and give her attention to my brother as we walk. “I’m a video-game streamer. So, I work from home.”
He nods. “That must be nice, getting to do it all from the comfort of your home.”
“It is. Not everyone gets the appeal, but it’s definitely right for me.” She beams, her usual shyness seeming to fade away.
I don’t know how long Orian will be here, but having him and Raya get along will definitely make my life easier. Raya is important to me, which I’ve made abundantly clear to Orian in the short time since his arrival.
“What do you do?” she asks.
Orian laughs, but it’s unlike any I’ve heard from him before. It sounds…nervous. He’s never nervous. Being confident is his biggest strength—and weakness, for that matter.
“Well, I was working as a bouncer for a club,” he reveals, letting out that nervous laugh again. “But I quit that to come here.”
I nearly trip over my feet, my tail whipping behind me. He did what?
“Are you planning on staying in Harmony Glen then?” she asks, Arman quickly walking alongside her and staring at Orian.
Orian’s quick, “Yes,” comes at the same time I answer, “No.”
My tail beats against his leg as I turn my head to face him. Right now, my anger at Orian is overriding all the buzzing from Carson’s presence.
Is he fucking kidding me?
He is not staying here. He is not moving to the town I’ve built my life in. I don’t care if he’s my brother and that he’s here to help me. It’s not happening.
No way, no how.
“My dear brother, I thought we discussed your visit was…temporary,” I say through gritted teeth, trying not to let Raya see just how mad I am.
Orian gives me a sheepish smile. “Well, I thought maybe we could discuss that again at a later date.”
Oh, we definitely will be discussing the matter again when we aren’t on our way to an art show with my friends. And by discussing, I mean bashing in his head until he understands that he is by no means moving to my town.
“Where would you work? I don’t think any of the bars here are hiring—or really need bouncers, honestly.” Arman sounds a bit nervous as he joins the conversation, his words coming quickly.
With a shrug, Orian’s eyes dart between Arman and I. “Maybe I’ll take a new path, something calmer…like at a wellness store.”
That’s it, I’m going to kill him.
“I’m not hiring,” I bark, clearing my throat quickly before lowering my voice. “I mean, I don’t have enough work that I need any other employees.”
Raya lets out a little laugh, poking me in the ribs. “Orie, you don’t have any employees. You never take a day off.”
Damn it, Raya, I know you mean well, but my brother is not someone I want sticking around…not that she knows that. She’s right though, I never take a day off from work.
Well, except for the one day that I closed early to follow and watch Carson. But that was one time. So far.
I mean, if I did hire Orian, that would only encourage him to stay long term. But on the other hand, having an employee is something I can afford, and it would give me more time to figure out my issues, and what’s going on with the man who’s sending my senses into overdrive.
If Orian worked for me, I could also keep my eye on him and make sure he’s not messing up anything here in town. Shit, am I really about to give him the benefit of the doubt? After so many years?
As the faint sound of water trickling flows into my ears, I say, “Fine, we can talk about it later.”
The fountain comes into view, and Raya lets out a murmured, “Woah.”
Boy, does she have the right reaction. There are easels and stands all over, each one with a canvas displayed proudly.
People mill about slowly, stopping as a piece catches their eye here or there. I hope Carson wanted a turnout because that’s what he got.
We get closer, and through the crowd, I spot him. He smiles as he interacts with everyone, the longer bits of his hair seeming to float around him as he turns his head. At first, he doesn’t spot our little group approaching, as he’s locked into a conversation with Glen.
When he turns away from the tree-man, he looks this way, immediately tripping over his feet.
A laugh rises in my throat, and I have to fight to keep it in.
Did he just trip over his own feet because of…me?
That’s not very ill-intentioned, potentially evil of him.
“Is that him?” Orian asks quietly, so to not alert Raya or Arman of our true reasons for coming today.
Giving a subtle nod, I whisper, “Yes.”
Orian lets out a chuckle. “Even from this distance, I can confidently tell you he gives me zero bad vibes.”
“You can’t give me an answer yet—interact with him first.” I straighten my posture, trying to regain control of my tail as it whips behind me against my will.
Raya gives my arm a squeeze. “Arman and I are going to go look at a piece over there that would be so perfect for my office.”
I give her a smile. “Okay. We will meet up in a bit?”
She nods before Arman slips his hand into hers. He’s in his more humanoid form today, walking on legs instead of floating along in his wispy genie-bottom form. He leads her toward the opposite side of the fountain, his light-blue skin eventually disappearing from view behind a few people.
When I turn forward again, Carson is bounding toward us. My heart rate picks up, another telltale sign that he must be dangerous. Otherwise, why would I be reacting this way?
There’s simply no other explanation.
“You came,” he says breathlessly as he stops just a few feet away from me.
In the daylight, his eyes seem even brighter. The LEDs in my store didn’t show off how enticing they truly are. They didn’t shine this way in the shadows of the forest, either.
Just as I realize I’ve been silently staring at him, Orian speaks. “Hi, I’m Orian—Orie’s brother.”
“Orie.” Carson repeats my name quietly before turning his gaze from me and extending his hand. “Carson. Nice to meet you, Orian.”
Orian gives his hand a firm shake that has Carson’s eyes widening. “Woah, what a grip.” He ends up with a smile on his face, a small laugh leaving him. If what Orian did was meant to be an intimidation tactic, it clearly didn’t work.
“So, tell us about your artwork,” Orian says, his tail thwacking against my leg.
I purse my lips to keep my composure, despite wanting to smack him on the arm. He has the right idea, though. There could be secret meaning in his paintings. Examining them will be a good start, and hearing Carson’s explanations will give even more insight.
“Well, I paint in a semi-realistic style,” he says, leading us toward the closest piece. “I like to take places, emotions, or memories and add my personal flair to them. A distorted reality, in a sense—but not in a bad, distorted way.”