7. Chapter 7
Yareli rummaged through the fridge, moving boxes until she found the buttercream.
It had been a week since she had last seen August, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a coiled knot of nerves anticipating their weekly meet-up.
Their last conversation hadn’t gone the way she had expected; instead of steeling her resolve to clear things between the two of them, she found herself increasingly anxious.
“Yareli.”
August’s quiet voice caught her by surprise as she walked out of the fridge. She gave him a questioning glance, her pulse quickening.
“You’re here early!”
She placed the bucket of buttercream down, wiping her hands on her apron.
She had expected to see August at the end of her shift.
He wore dark cargo pants with a black T-shirt.
She swallowed; her mouth souring at the implication.
His hands hung awkwardly at his sides while he waited for her reaction.
“Heading out, then?” She picked up the bucket again and brought it to the counter.
“Yeah.”
“Taking a raincheck?” Yareli popped the lid off, grabbing a scooper.
“Yeah, sorry.”
She whipped her forearm, launching the glob of buttercream into the piping bag.
For a while, the only sound was Yareli scooping and dumping buttercream into the bags.
She opened and closed her mouth several times.
Something between them had gone taut, and it strained under August’s silence.
She wanted to know what was wrong, but cowardice held her tongue.
If he said that he regretted telling her the truth, she would be crushed.
Instead, she turned around and smiled, pointing the scooper at him. “Well, be careful. Don’t come back with another hole in your side!”
“I won’t.”
She waited for him to leave; when he didn’t, she arched an eyebrow. He opened his mouth, a faint blush spreading across the tips of his ears.
“I’d like to go to dinner with you.”
She blinked. Had she imagined things were far worse between them than they were?
“To… talk about the changes,” August added, but the tips of his ears were now a flashing beacon.
She rushed to accept. “Sure. Of course!”
I’d go anywhere with you, she added to herself.
“Great.” He took a step back. “I’ll be back in a week.” Then, another step.
“Great,” she echoed. Her heart fluttered. Maybe in a week, she’d work up the courage to ask him what was wrong. She was hit with a surge of anxiety as she watched him walk out of the kitchen. His name left her lips before she realized what she was doing.
“August!”
His face popped back in, his hazel eyes glinting in the kitchen’s bright light.
She searched his face, not wanting him to leave, but she knew that he had no choice.
As a general in Izmari, he was assigned frequent missions.
It was his duty, just as it was hers, to show up at her job. She swallowed her anxiety.
“Be safe,” she said.
He smiled, his dimples making an appearance. “I will.”
She stared after him long after he had disappeared. Helio’s words echoed in her head.
Be careful out there.
Without August, she was vulnerable in her new world, but she’d never admit it to him.
He already worried about her, and she hated worrying others.
She was an adult with a stable job now; she could take care of herself.
Besides, everyone at the cafe had been respectful, curious about her, and had expressed happiness at having her around.
Something about being happy to chat with a human without fear of prejudice.
Having grown up with immigrant parents, she understood the sentiment and had doubled her efforts to hide her shock at their real identities.
It was easy to overcome it; they were still the regulars she had gotten to know in her first two weeks.
She finished filling the piping bags and wiped her hands on her apron.
Yareli could do it—survive in her new reality where magic was real, and her crush was Fae.
She only needed to take it a day at a time and focus on her wins, like her new job.
For the first time in two and a half years, she had money for rent and then some.
Everything was going to be okay, great even.
She clenched her fists. Yareli Ines Martinez, you have the potential love story of a lifetime. Stay positive.
Yareli took over the front so Don could work on the pastries.
She found comfort in the mechanical motions of work while her mind wandered to August. Now that she knew he was off in another realm fighting, it was different.
No longer was he safe in the mundane life of a college student; now, he was an actor in a play she didn’t know.
She could only sit and wait for his safe return.
Something about that didn’t agree with her, but before she could think about it, the hair on her arm stood up, a tingle crawling from her hands to her shoulders.
Yareli looked up from the cups she had been putting away under the counter and noticed the black-haired Fae woman seated at a table, holding a cup of coffee. She said nothing, bringing the cup to her lips all the while her eyes stayed on Yareli.
Tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, Yareli mustered the courage to address her. “I take it you aren’t here for one of our pastries.”
The woman smiled, a cruel glare reflected in her eyes. “No, I’m here to have a sneak peek at Augrys’s latest plaything.”
Yareli didn’t know who Augrys was, so she stayed quiet. Instinct told her it was better not to provoke her.
Her silence must have told the woman Yareli was confused, because she loudly exclaimed, “Oh! That’s right. He goes by August here.”
Furrowing her brows, Yareli almost fell for the obvious bait. The woman wanted to upset her.
“How do you know August?”
“Him and I have a long history together, and as much as I’d like to tell you every detail, I’m afraid…”—she disappeared and reappeared in an instant behind Yareli—“we don’t have much time before your next guest walks through that door.”
Her stomach clenched. Something about the way the Fae said ‘him’ sounded intimate.
She wanted to ask her what she meant, but her skin prickled again, practically buzzing with static electricity.
If it was an indicator of power, the Fae woman was strong, but whoever was approaching the door felt a lot stronger.
She whispered, “Who—”
The woman tutted. “Ah, but if I answer that, it will ruin the surprise. A piece of advice as a small mercy—drink the water, but don’t touch the food they give you.”
With that ominous message, the woman's presence vanished, and Yareli was left gripping the counter, sweat perspiring on her forehead.
August was gone, and it was only Don at the cafe.
Her mind raced. Would it be possible for the movie-type of impeccable timing?
Would August walk through the portal upstairs as the door opened?
Was there a secret exit in the back? Either way, she was too slow to act; the doorknob turned, and the door swung open.
A man with pointed ears, dressed in a dark green military uniform, walked in, followed by two men dressed in gray.
The gray streaks in his dark hair spoke of years of service, but what really worried Yareli was the thick scar that ran from his temple to his left cheek.
To survive something like that… He had to be tenacious, and that was something to be wary of. She swallowed, but her throat was dry.
“Welcome to Enchanted Brew,” she croaked, her mind grasping for the familiar.
The man in green took a seat at the counter. “A cup of coffee. Black with Arabica beans if you have them.”
She stared blankly at him for a long second before her muscle memory kicked in, and she began roasting the beans. He wanted coffee?
As she prepared his cup, he spoke. “There’s a saying I live by. An eye for an eye. Are you familiar with it?”
Yareli stilled, her hand on the cup’s handle. Who wasn’t familiar with it?
She eyed the kitchen door and prayed Don was contacting August. “Sounds like a painful way to live.”
The man cracked his neck before motioning her toward him, hurrying her along, saying, “I simply return what was done unto me, and your dear First General Augrys has taken much from me.”
There was that name again—Augrys. Clinging onto her last shred of courage, Yareli placed the cup in front of him. She forced a blank expression.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
The man ignored her, bringing his cup to his mouth to waft the aroma. His pleased expression was unnerving. Yareli backed away and gripped the counter behind her, attempting to ground her racing mind. She glanced at the Fae behind him, their expressions bored. She wouldn’t find any allies in them.
“Coffee is the one human delight I indulge in. It is the only worthwhile contribution humans have made to this world.” He nodded at Yareli.
Without a word, the men moved toward her.
“I have nothing to do with this.” Her voice cracked, but the men ignored her.
Yareli threw plates, cups, utensils, anything within reach while backing away, but her panic set in.
They were forcing her farther away from the door.
She cursed when her back hit the end of the bar, and she hopped over it.
No matter how many things she threw at them, their advance remained steadfast. She tipped tables over and threw wooden chairs, but they bounced off the men without even a flinch.
“Please,” she said.
Tears streamed down her face, and her breath came in short gasps. The back of her foot hit the wall. There was nowhere left to run. The men lunged, and she threw herself to the side.
Yareli scurried on the floor and scrambled onto her feet, but before she could flee, a pair of hands hooked onto her arms. She cried out.
Her instincts kicked in, and she scratched and kicked at the Fae who now had a hold of her.
They struggled to keep her still. She screamed for Don, only for it to be cut short.
Alarmed, she tried again, but no noise came from her throat.
The man in the green uniform stood up, his lip raised in disgust. “Now look at the mess you’ve made.
Humans are dirty, little parasites that destroy everything they touch.
” He walked toward them. “Stupid, weak vermin who don’t know their place.
” His voice hardened. “Stop struggling, or I’ll make sure your friend doesn’t take another breath. ”
Yareli glanced behind him, and a third gray-uniformed man walked out, dragging Don behind him like he was nothing more than a sandbag. Don was in bad shape, and she doubted he was still alive until his eyes flickered open. Blood seeped from him, creating a red pool on the floor. She went limp.
“Good. Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time here as is.”
She let herself be dragged across the cafe, numb from the adrenaline thundering through her veins.
She shut her eyes, trying to stem the tears that ran down her face, but the faces of her family kept them fresh.
The eldest daughter going missing, presumably dead, would devastate them.
A sob escaped her throat, and she received a harsh tug from her captors.
Right as Yareli passed out, there was an intrusive, foreign feeling in her head, like a sharp ache. She heard Don’s voice.
August… will… find you.