“Remember when I said I owed you a boon?” I ask when she’s a few feet away.
“You mean the day we met?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah,” she replies slowly. “But that was a long time ago. I never expected anything in return. I would’ve helped you anyway.”
“That’s not the point. I’ve been in your debt since then, and I finally have a way to repay you.” Turning my hand over, I reveal the bottle in my palm. “This will make your hair grow back. Not right away, but fast enough that people might have questions. You have shops in your town that sell beauty tonics, yes? Maybe at the mall you speak of?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Just say you got it from there. Explain that it’s made from the coconut oil humans seem to love so much.”
Accepting it, she shakes the milky liquid as she inspects it. “How do you know coconut oil is popular here?”
“Damon.” My cousin’s knowledge of Quinn’s world is more extensive than mine. “Massage it into your scalp once a day until it runs out.”
“And it’ll just make it longer? Like magic?”
I nod. “Exactly like magic.”
She squeals. “Ohmigod, I can’t believe this! This is so great. I promise I’ll love you forever.”
Her words make my heart jump with a delighted flutter.
She doesn’t mean it. It’s one of those things humans say without thought about future consequences, but the fae take oaths very seriously.
“Quinn, what have I told you about making promises you can’t keep?”
“That I shouldn’t do it, especially with a fae?”
“That’s right. Don’t say something you can’t follow through with.”
I’ve been selective with how much I tell Quinn about my world. Rules and customs are fine, but there are aspects of Valora she’s too innocent to hear about. Like the fact that Day Realm men kidnap females—both human and fae—for breeding purposes.
I also haven’t told Quinn I called off the search for the witches a few years ago. It was just too dangerous. During our hunts, we kept running into bandits, rogue Day soldiers, and wild animals. It created unnecessary fights, injuries, and lives lost. The last straw was when one of my best men died in the Shadowlands. His head was severed by an unknown beast, and his family still mourns him.
“But I mean it, Kirian.” Quinn’s arms go around my torso as she squeezes me tight. “I’ll love you forever and ever and ever.”
I feel the truth to her vow, even if the root of it is based on deep friendship. It settles in my abdomen like a warm gulp of tea.
I want to say it back, but I’m scared. Funny how a child could terrify me as much as Quinn does. And that’s what she is—a kid.
Young people are impulsive and fickle. They change their minds as quickly as the wind changes course. One day, she’ll grow up and see me differently. How differently, I don’t know.
I just know eventually, our relationship will either progress to something more or fade away to nothing.
It’s the thought of nothing that makes me hug her a little tighter.
Quinn
18 Years Old
I’m already sweating as I trudge to our spot, and it’s not because of the summer heat. As I roll the marble around my palm at a rapid speed, I question myself for the hundredth time today.
Can I really go through with this?
My heart feels like it’s going to break into pieces, just like the twigs snapping under my feet.
When I see Kirian standing in the honeysuckle field, I stop for a second to admire him.
His white cotton shirt stretches over his muscular back and shoulders. The pearlescent beads he had in his hair yesterday are gone, and the long locks flow freely in the breeze. The trousers he wears hug his narrow hips. And damn, that man has a great ass.
I’m going to miss it.
I’m going to miss him.
Over the years, our friendship has become so much more than I ever thought it would be. Kirian’s the first thing I think about when I wake up. He’s on my mind all day, and I’m not content until I’m with him. He’s my last wish before I fall asleep.
He’s my world.
And that’s a problem.
I can’t let my life revolve around someone who doesn’t belong to me.
“I know you’re there,” he calls, grinning as he turns.
“The grasshoppers?” My throat gets tight while I close the distance between us. “Did they tell on me again?”
Shaking his head, he answers, “The scent in the breeze. Nothing in all of the realms smells as sweet as you.”
Oh, he’s going to make this so much harder.
Dread fills me with every step I take, and my lungs feel like they’re being crushed by an invisible weight.
When I’m just a couple feet away, I straighten my spine with steely resolve. “I have something to tell you.”
“What’s that, young one?” He cocks his head to the side. “Your heart beats so fast.”
Reaching out, he toys with a strand of my hair, which, thanks to him, still grows faster than it should, even though I ran out of the magic oil he gave me within two months.
Remembering little gestures like that sends sharp pains through my chest. Heartbreak hurts. Literally.
Swallowing hard, I rub at my sternum. “I won’t be here tomorrow.”
Kirian’s smile falls. “Where will you be?”
“Or the day after that,” I continue. “Or the day after that.”
His face darkens. “What are you saying?”
“I’m leaving for college tomorrow. I waited until the last minute to tell you because I know it means we won’t see each other for a long time.”
“How long?”
“Well, I’ll be back for Thanksgiving, which is in, like, a hundred days.”
“A hundred days?” he thunders out. “That’s a century for me!”
“I know, but—”
“No. I forbid it.” With his firm tone, he sounds very much like the king he is. “You’re not going.”
I gape at him. “Excuse me, you can’t do that. I’m not one of your subjects.”
“Yes, I can and I am. I won’t go that long without seeing you. I can’t.”
