frown and walked ahead of me on the stone path. I’d been helping Dad out for years, but I’d never been required to go with Mom to her meetings. Usually they contained information I wasn’t allowed to hear. Plus, no twelve year guy wants to go to meetings with his mom. So, when she told me I had to go with her today, I wasn’t too happy about it. That feeling was amplified after Liam had called to go surfing.
“Maybe she’d be a better queen if she did,” I muttered under my breath.
“It’s not every day we’re summoned to see Persephone. I need you to behave. We won’t be here long. Just long enough-“ She stopped abruptly when she peered over her shoulder at me. I held my breath and suppressed a snicker. She put her hands on her hips and glared in my general vicinity.
“Finn Morrison, if you don’t uncloak yourself right now, I’m going to change you into a piece of lint and stick you in my pocket for all of eternity.”
The laugh I had been holding in fought its way out, sounding more like a snort. This time she crossed her arms, smirked, and lifted an eyebrow. “Suit yourself. But it’s going to be hard to surf next week without a surfboard.”
“Aw, Mom! Come on!” I uncloaked myself and pleaded one last time. “Persephone won’t know I’m there and I’ll still listen to whatever you guys talk about. The only difference is I won’t have to talk to her. Everybody wins.” I gave her my best puppy dog eyes.
“Except when she catches me talking to thin air and assumes I’ve lost my mind,” she countered.
“Everybody assumes that already,” I joked, and jumped out of the way as she swatted at me playfully. We walked the rest of the way down the path and soon approached the front entrance. The Queen wasn’t known for being very welcoming, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Mom gave me a weary look and knocked on the heavy wooden door. The house itself was covered on all sides with thick, golden vines. It was as if the forest floor was slowly devouring the entire structure.
After two more attempts, the door finally swung open and a stunning woman stepped out into the light. Or maybe she was the light. It was hard to tell since she looked like she was glowing. She reminded me of a roman candle me and my friends had lit last year at the Summer Solstice event on the Isle. Except she didn’t have sparks flying out of her head. That would have been much cooler.
I experienced something like a red hot whip slam into my heart as her golden eyes met mine. I jumped in front of mom; immediately on the defensive. I could feel the darkness that everyone from down there had, but the sense of powerful rage simmering below her surface was overwhelming. If Mom felt it, she gave nothing away.
“It’s alright, Finn,” she reassured me and touched my arm gently. Not taking my glare off of Persephone, I backed away only slightly.
“And you must be Finn.” Persephone’s blazing golden eyes dissected me in mere seconds as her mouth curled up into a smirk. My entire body tensed as I sensed the full force of her hidden anger when she spoke. I narrowed my eyes at her in an effort to let her know that whatever dealings she had with my mom, she would have to get through me first. I felt my own darkness flare and spread as Persephone chuckled.
“I mean no harm to your mother, son.” I bristled at her use of the word ‘son’ and then realized she had known what I was thinking. Could she read minds?
“Then what do you want?” I growled at her, moving in front of Mom once again.
“Finn, honey, Persephone only wants to discuss certain…administrative issues. You have no reason to fear for my safety.” I could tell she was trying to be reassuring but she still wasn’t convincing me. No one with that kind of resentment and anger could do anything out of the goodness of her heart. My father once told me that hate binds the heart. People like her always had hidden agendas.
Persephone ushered us into a large foyer and then up a flight of stairs into a solarium. It was filled to the brim with flowering plants and bushes. Lush fruit hung from trees, and vines clung to the glass walls. The entire ceiling was also glass, which created a tropical forest feel.
Mom took a seat near one of the many waterfalls, but I remained standing. There was no way I was letting my guard down. As Persephone strolled past and sat down across from Mom, I heard the sound of feet running. Two seconds later, the owner of those feet pranced into the solarium and scowled at Persephone.
“Mother!”she barked and then rested her hands on her hips. “You were supposed to tell me when they arrived!”
“Nadia, dear. Won’t you make our guest feel welcome?” Persephone swept an arm in my direction and then addressed me with regal undertones. “I believe you know my daughter, Nadia.”
I cringed as Nadia’s pout lifted into a cunning grin, and she swept into the room like Cinderella on ‘Dancing with the Stars’. I got the feeling the world was supposed to stop spinning in acknowledgement of her entrance. I was waiting for a hidden orchestra to begin blaring Beethoven’s Symphony #5. I let out a snicker, which was quickly muted by a look from Mom. Nadia ignored my outburst and continued to move in my direction.
The last time I had seen her would have been at least four years ago. By the spoiled smirk she was wearing, it appeared humility and kindness were still foreign concepts to her. I had to admit, she was stunning. Her golden hair tumbled over her neck and shoulders, accentuating the golden color of her skin, and the black sundress she was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination. Every guy I knew would jump at the chance just to be near her. I begged to differ. She couldn’t hold a candle to her . No one did. No one ever would.
“Hey there,” she purred and wrapped a snake-like arm around my waist. I abruptly stepped out of her greedy embrace. The golden eyes she had inherited from her mother boasted a different type of hardness behind them. She was used to getting her way, and the lingering path her eyes created as they slid down my body told me she had expected nothing less from me. She was about to get a very rude awakening.
“Come with me,” she demanded. Last I checked, I wasn’t a pet Chihuahua who would follow her around begging for her affection, so I stood my ground and raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
“Finn, give us a few minutes to talk. Why don’t you let Nadia show you around?” Mom smiled and nodded her head, insinuating it was safe to leave her alone with Persephone. I refused to budge.
“Finn,” Mom urged again with apologetic eyes. I shot one last threatening glare at Persephone as a warning and ignoring every instinct I possessed, painstakingly forced my feet to follow Nadia. Instead of showing me around their home, Nadia made a beeline for the back door. I continued to follow her as we walked down a dirt path, while she rambled on about a girl at school whom she didn’t like. I stopped listening after less than a minute, and tried to figure out when the next ideal time to go surfing would be. The tide would be up by the time we got back, but a storm was blowing in tomorrow, so it might be better to wait until then. I could ride my short board instead-“Were you even listening to me?” I ran right into a fuming Nadia, whose carnal eyes were now boring a hole into mine.
“No,” I shrugged my shoulders and let out an exaggerated sigh of boredom. Surprise flitted across her features before they darkened considerably. She pointed a bony finger in my face.
“When I talk, you listen. Got it?”
I tapped my chin as if thinking. “What am I supposed to say? Oh that’s it - Yes, your highness.” I bowed to her and then flipped her off with a gallant smile. Light swirls of gray smoke lifted from her skin, reminding me of a smoking fog rolling off the ocean. I didn’t need the vapor pouring out of her skin to tell me that she was evil. I could sense it a mile away. She stiffened but remained silent, as she attempted to reign in her wrath. The vapor disappeared and her eyes returned to their normal honey color.
