Sticking my neck out for the possibility that some random Unnatural got a whiff of the magical signature was a risk I was willing to take if I got to see my sister before I was stuck in Faerie for who knows how long.
I forced myself away from that crap pile. It wasn’t the issue I wanted to deal with yet… or ever. One step at a time.
I rubbed my eyes. What had my world become? I would love to be freaking over some paper I had to write instead of dealing with Unnaturals. I swallowed hard as I worked myself up to walk the rest of the way to the trailer.
Only a day or so had passed since I’d said goodbye to my friends at that diner in Idaho. Rian had been able to steal a good chunk of money, which had resulted in a tense argument when I’d realized he’d lifted it, but everyone had been desperate. So, I’d pushed away my morals and sucked it up. The money had been disbursed between everyone, and those ugly purple dresses were tossed in the trash—much to everyone’s glee.
Before leaving, Camilla had invited me to her house in Texas. Never had I wanted something so badly, but I had a promise to fulfill before I took her up on that offer. When she gave me her address, I’d been stunned to realize she’d lived close to me before our lives had been turned upside down.
One day I would see them again. I felt it in my bones. I was so sure of it that it was even a little scary.
“You’re stalling,” Rian said with no inflection in his tone. The blankness took me back to another Fae male. A tall, onyx-haired, lavender-eyed one. One that continued to shoot sharp stabs of pain through my chest.
Roark.
My brain conjured up his name without my consent. I bit back a whimper. If only I could erase him from my memory.
“And you’re overreacting,” I muttered.
Hell, I wish I could erase the entire events of the last two weeks. Finding my ex-boyfriend cheating on me, being dragged into another world, meeting him. Most especially him. Maybe then I wouldn’t have this constant ache.
Shaking off the maudlin emotions, I mentally braced myself. My chest rose with my sharp inhale, and I stepped forward in a determined stride, gravel crunching under my shoes.
I could do this.
Nerves were starting to get the best of me, manifesting in a ringing that buzzed through my ears. My eyebrows furrowed when I realized it was an actual phone ringing from inside one of the trailers. I was so concentrated on that buzz that I didn’t sense the kid until he ran in front of me as he chased a soccer ball. I stepped back, startled that I’d almost plowed into him.
I wished Rian knew how long it was going to take to get used to all these heightened senses. Hell, a widget would be nice, too. A neat little countdown, one for when I would get used to all these damn changes and another to tell me when my heart would stop hurting.
Standing in front of the rusted, tan trailer, I paused, shading my eyes from the sun. My emotions jumbled even more. I was ashamed to admit that a part of me wanted to turn and run in the opposite direction. What if she hated me for not calling her back? What if I saw my dad?
My hands fisted as fear clogged my throat. A hand awkwardly pat my shoulder, and I looked over to see a sympathetic expression on Rian’s face.
“I’ll give you a moment. If you have need of me, yell.” His discomfort with emotions was obvious. He turned and disappeared in the way Fae had a tendency to do.
Stepping forward into the shade of the awning, my heart accelerated. It wasn’t made better when the steps creaked as I stepped up them. Raising my fisted hand, I took a deep breath and knocked on the cracked, jagged wood of the door.
2
A grunt accompanied by a creak of a sofa sounded as someone inside the trailer moved.
“Talk,” I muttered, straining my brand spanking new enhanced hearing. I wanted to hear whoever’s voice was inside.
The thump of footsteps nearing heightened my anxiety, and I steeled myself against the nervous energy skittering over my skin. I gnawed on my lip as time ticked at a snail pace. Tick, tick, tick. In reality, it was only about ten seconds, but it felt much, much longer. The door swung open, and my little sister’s drawn face stared back at me.
I blinked as I took her in. She was as tall as I was. The familiar face had matured, losing its baby weight. The dark wavy hair we shared was shoved into a soppy bun atop her head. She gaped as I fiddled with the edge of my new shirt and swallowed nervously.
“Annie?” It took effort for me to get her name out. I cleared my dry throat, my gaze drawn to her arm as it tensed. Muscles contracted beneath her skin, and I could tell she was about to slam the door. I rushed my words out. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. I got your call, but there was a… complication.”
She grunted. “A little late?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “I know. One day, I’ll tell you, but I have to go in a—”
“Of course, you have to go,” she said mockingly. “You always go. That’s what you’re good at, leaving.”
I stared at her in open-mouthed astonishment. Ouch, that hurt. I understood the anger simmering over my perceived abandonment. But I would never tell her that our father had beaten me so severely that he’d fractured my arm. And
