Kirian frowns, and the surly expression only makes him more handsome. “I would’ve gone there by myself, but the scent took me here.” Leaning forward, he sniffs me. “It’s you. You smell good.”
Did I think my pulse was crazy before? Now it’s so fast I’m afraid I might pass out. My knees go weak, and my jacket and hat fall from my fingers.
“Thanks.” My voice cracks. I clear my throat, because apparently, I have difficulty accepting a compliment. “Are you sure you don’t want to go warm up at my house?”
“There’s no need.”
Against my better judgment, I nod. “Okay. If you really wanna go to the field, I can take you.” I smile when an idea comes to me. “But I haven’t cleared the trail from winter. There’s a lot of sticks and stuff. You’ll have to hold my hand again.”
Without hesitation, Kirian reaches for me. “Onward, tour guide.”
The arrogant order makes me roll my eyes.
“It’s Quinn,” I correct. “So, Kirian, the bridge is about two hundred feet ahead—”
“Your Majesty.”
“Not calling you that.”
“But it’s my title. I realize you’re an earthling, and this is America, which is a democracy. However, I’m still a prince in my world.”
“The Night Realm,” I deadpan, not sure if I want to strangle him or kiss him.
“That’s right.”
“You’re pulling my leg.”
“No, I’m not.” He holds up our intertwined hands. “I’m not touching your leg.”
“Not literally,” I grumble, amused. “I mean, you’re kidding. Making things up.”
“Check out my ears as proof.”
We stop, and I face him. His shoulder-length hair covers the sides of his head, and my fingers itch to move the strands out of the way.
“Go ahead,” he says, as if reading my mind.
With my free hand, I reach up and lift his damp locks, and I see what looks like an elf ear.
“It’s pointy.” I rub my finger over the tip.
A sudden laugh bubbles up from him, and I’m so startled by it I jump back, severing all physical contact.
He shrugs. “Tickles.”
He’s still smiling, and I have no words for the beauty in front of me. The grin on his face reveals straight white teeth and a dimple in his right cheek. Even half-drowned, he looks better than me on my best day.
Life really isn’t fair.
“Let’s go.” I can’t look at him anymore. It’s too much. I loop my arm through his and resume our walk.
“Quinn?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell me what you see?” It’s a request, not a demand.
My already-mushy heart softens even more. I can’t imagine losing my sight, and a wave of sympathy makes my chest ache.
“This forest is old, so the trees are really tall. The new leaves are just starting to grow for spring. It’s not all filled in yet, so I can see the sky when I look up. It’s bright blue today. No clouds.” As I’m describing our surroundings, I dig in my pocket and get my marbles. “There’s a wild strawberry patch on the other side of the creek. In a couple months when they get ripe, they’ll be scattered everywhere.”
“What do you look like?”
I don’t answer right away. Chewing the inside of my cheek, I think about embellishing a bit. I could tell him I have beautiful raven hair, sky-blue eyes, and peachy skin with rosy cheeks.
But I don’t.
“I’m not very pretty,” I admit with a sigh. “My eyes are brown, the color of mud. My hair is long, but also just plain brown. And… and my face…” I pause, because this is the worst part. “I have freckles. Not cute freckles. It’s called hyperpigmentation. Basically, it’s a bunch of little light-brown speckles all over my cheeks, forehead, chin, nose, and a few on my neck. I’ve tried everything to treat it—lotions, aloe, even prescription stuff. Nothing works. The kids at school make fun of me a lot. I don’t have any friends.”
Geez. All he asked for was a physical description and I treated him like my own personal therapist.
“Why don’t you have friends?” he asks. “Are you contagious with some sort of disease?”
I laugh.
“No. I’ve just always felt different, like I don’t fit in. It doesn’t help that my parents don’t like technology. Almost everyone I know has a cell phone, but my parents think that stuff rots your brain. We don’t have cable. Sometimes I sneak movies home from the library and watch them in my room after everyone’s gone to sleep,” I admit, hoping Kirian doesn’t tell on me. “We have one computer to share, and I’m only allowed to use it for studying. My mom offered to homeschool me, but I said no because if I do that, I’ll be even more socially awkward and out of touch than I already am.”
“Do you have trouble speaking to people? You seem to be doing just fine.”
I give him a playful nudge. “I guess you’re just easy to talk to. It’s not like that with other kids my age. When someone walks by in the hallway and says Hey, how’s it going, I’m not sure if it’s a rhetorical question or if they really want me to answer. If I’m having a bad day, should I be honest? I might end up boring them with problems they didn’t want to know about in the first place.”
“You think very deeply.”
“Yeah. People just don’t understand me. Not even my own family. I’d rather be out here in the woods than at the mall, and apparently, that’s not right.”
“What’s the mall?”
I give him a confused look. Maybe he’s just as strange as I am. I might’ve met my match, and I’m absolutely thrilled. I think about what it would be like to show up to school tomorrow with the new boy in town as my friend. Mine. Everyone would be so jealous.
“You know, there’s like a bunch of shops,” I explain. “Clothes, jewelry, makeup. That sort of stuff.”
“Oh. So, it’s a bazaar.”
I hike a
