Hold Tight

together we represented the elements: Kaylee earth, me air, Josh water, and Isaac fire. So four witches trumped one psychic in our book.

The wind hit the house, causing the siding to creak. The front screen door rattled too, and I wished I had reminded Dad the screws were loose. I was on my third square of pizza when the floor above us groaned. Chase and I stopped chewing and stared at the ceiling.

“It’s just the wind,” I said, hating how our old house squeaked and moaned on gusty days.

The next noise sounded identical to that of someone stepping on the wobbly floorboard in front of my closet.

It’s just the wind, I repeated to myself.

But the eerrrrr that followed sounded more like the drawer on my nightstand being slowly slid open. Winter’s bony fingers clawed at the siding. Chase chomped on the remainder of his crust, obviously trusting that I knew what I was talking about when I’d said the strange noises were the blustery weather.

“I’m going to make sure I closed my window,” I said as I placed another slice of pizza on his plate.

I glanced up the staircase. It’s the wind. You’re only checking for peace of mind.

Climbing two steps, I paused with my fingers curled around the banister as if it were a lifeline. What if I was wrong? What if someone was in the house with Chase and me? The wind hit the front, rattling the screen door forcefully and sending my heart into a frantic jog.

I took a deep breath. “You’re not going to find anything,” I whispered and forced myself to walk up another step. “And you don’t want to worry Chase.” The last thing I needed was for him to see me scared to death in our home. He’d never go upstairs by himself again. That thought was enough to have me taking the remaining steps two at a time.

A sad melody filled with flutes and strings drifted out of my room. The song was too extraordinary to be coming from the radio.

“Finally!” I rushed into my room, expecting to find Brea.

Instead, I found myself alone listening to the longing of what might have been a waltz spilling out of unseen speakers all around me. A cool breeze brushed the nape of my neck. The alluring aroma of meadowsweet mixed with the woodsy scent of pine filled my senses. Brea’s perfume had reminded me of a summer’s day. This was more like the dead of winter.

My pretty bouquet was encased in ice once again. I focused on my powers, hoping they would allow me to see what I knew was just beyond my human sight. I still appeared to be alone. The urge to bolt back down the stairs was strong, but my legs locked in place, frozen in fear. I dug my nails into the palms of my hands to keep from screaming and scaring my brother.

“I know you’re here,” I said, my voice much steadier than my tangled nerves. I kept chanting silently to myself, Please let it be Brea, please let it be Brea, even though I knew if she was there, I’d be able to see her. I pulled my powers closer to the surface and let their strength support my trembling knees as I continued to survey the room. “I know what you are.” Silence answered. “I’m wearing iron.” Nothing. “I know it’s your cologne I smell.”

Reed appeared near the window. He stood with a clear flask in one hand. Iridescent blue liquid sloshed back and forth inside it. Instead of workpants and a flannel jacket, he wore khakis and a dark long-sleeved turtleneck.

He looked at the glowing contents of the flask when he spoke. “You’re not wearing enough iron for it to be bothersome, and I’ve no need for cologne.” His voice was as sad and longing as the song that continued its depressing ballad.

“Where’s Brea?” I would have felt safer if she were near.

“She went home.”

Knowing I’d been right about who’d invaded my privacy didn’t make me feel any better about Reed standing in my bedroom and looking back at me with eyes as white as snow. Without his glamour, he was taller and leaner and incredibly handsome. His ears poked out from beneath pale blond hair that looked as if it were spun from silk, and his skin was as smooth and creamy as Brea’s.

My powers itched to be used, but I didn’t want to be the one who scarred such a beautiful face. I could strike lower instead, propel an energy ball right at his rock-hard chest.

What was wrong with me? Who cared if I marred his pretty face? He was a faerie. One who—if Isaac was right—collected human girls for sport, and I was next on his list. Feeling surer about my emotions, I said, “Isaac told me about you.”

“I bet he failed to tell you everything.”

“He told me enough. I’m not going to join your harem.”

“I hardly have a harem.”

“Really, then what are Natalie and that brown-eyed girl to you?”

“You scried. Very good. Annabeth was homeless when I crossed paths with her. She’d run away from an abusive father. I offered her a new life, and she accepted. And Natalie wanted romance. She wanted to be whisked away from the everyday to live a fairy-tale life.”

“She wanted that in her own realm near her family and friends. A girl wanting her version of happily ever after doesn’t mean wanting to leave her existing life behind altogether. Did she even know what you are?”

“When you saw her, did she look in anguish? Was she sad?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t see why you’re upset.”

“You took her from her family! That’s not ‘romance.’”

He raised a shoulder. “Semantics.”

“You’re a cold-hearted bastard, you know that?”

Reed took a sip of the curious blue liquid and then held the flask out to me. A tantalizing, fruity bouquet nuzzled my nostrils.

I shook my head.

“Did Isaac tell you how we first met?” There was a bitter edge to his words.

“You need to leave.” I stepped aside, providing a clear path to the door.

Instead of taking the hint, Reed placed the flask on my nightstand and took a seat on my bed.

“We were courting the same girl,” he said, his voice like the purest honey. “She was special, as you are.”

“She possessed the powers?”

“She did. Only, unlike you, she not only invited me into her world, she was happy to see me.”

“She cast the same spell I did?” I interrupted again. This girl must have been the one to write Dellis and Rhoswen in Isaac’s book. But if Reed expected me to be glad he was in my personal space, drawing lazy circles on my comforter with his long fingers, he was sadly mistaken.

“Yes, although I see now she had better manners than you.”

“Since you liked her so much, why don’t you go torment her?”

“Maddie,” Chase bellowed up the stairs, startling me. I’d almost forgotten Reed and I weren’t completely alone. “I’m done!”

I quickly stepped into the hall so that my brother wouldn’t run upstairs. “Wash your hands and go watch TV,” I hollered.

“’Kay!” His small feet thudded all the way from the foyer into the powder room downstairs.

Reed’s unearthly music continued to seep into my pores.

“Shall I go on?” he asked.

“Do I have a choice?” I replied, exasperated yet curious about how Reed and Isaac had come to date the same girl.

Reed’s lips quirked upward into a coy smile. “Heather was stunning. She had crystallized amber eyes and silky caramel-brown hair. She was tall and slim with some of the most delicate features I have ever seen on a human.”