The Willow Read online

  “Pretty, isn’t it?” Haven remarked.

  I could only laugh. Pretty wasn’t quite the word I’d use to describe what was before me—terrifying, frightening, chilling—all seemed a little more appropriate.

  Just as we reached the edge of the castle, Haven scooted forward to join Finn. She glanced back, smiling, and then they vanished into thin air.

  “What the hell!” I spun in circles trying to find them, but they were gone. Worriedly, I met Kyden’s gaze. “Where’d they go?”

  He chuckled, laying his hand against my lower back, and urged me forward. “They’re just over there.”

  Hesitantly, I took a step forward and immediately gasped as the air rippled around me in giant waves. The only reason I didn’t lose it completely was because Kyden’s hand remained on my back. Having him there was definitely reassuring.

  When the rippling stopped, I blew out a loud breath, shook myself—did whatever I could to free myself from the creepy feeling.

  Loud laughter broke out.

  Haven was practically falling on the ground she was laughing so hard, and Finn was very close to doing the same. Jerks! “Oh, shut up,” I snapped. “That was just weird!” I gave myself a couple more good shakes. “What was that?”

  “Let’s have a fire first,” Haven said, still laughing, “then I’ll explain it all to ya.”

  Taking a peek over my shoulder as we headed off, my shock only grew. The castle was now gone and what stood in its place was postcard perfect. A castle in ruins sat very close to the edge of a rocky peninsula, and just below was a dark, sandy beach surrounded by deep blue water.

  We started down the cliff, which was in no way going to be easy. Every step I took was a careful one. Halfway down, my worries were justified. A rock made the decision to embarrass the hell out me. Before I could even stop myself, I slipped. “Whoops.”

  Strong arms caught me, instantly. “Careful there,” Kyden said, raising me back to my feet.

  “Thanks,” I exhaled, and steadied myself.

  Instead of releasing my arms, his fingers lingered there—keeping a gentle hold.

  Three breaths later, he began removing them. Only it wasn’t quick. His fingers lightly traced the outside of my arms. When, I glanced back at him, his eyes said it all. He wanted to touch me and when he did, it definitely had an effect on him. As much as that sent butterflies whipping around my stomach, I needed to focus on my feet. If I kept thinking about that, I’d only end up killing myself.

  Could I kill myself?

  The thought weighed heavily on my mind the rest of the way down. By the time we hit the sand I figured it probably wouldn’t kill me, but it’d still hurt. My curiosity wasn’t strong enough to test the theory.

  As we met the sand, I removed my shoes immediately.

  Haven looked at me curiously then did the same. “This tickles! It’s so squishy! Finn, take your shoes off—you gotta feel this.” He gave her an annoyed look and shook his head. She just shrugged, giggling and walking in small circles, squishing the sand beneath her feet.

  Suddenly, a thought rose. “Er…Haven, don’t you need wood to build a fire?”

  “Wood.” Haven giggled.

  I blinked. Then, a bright blazing fire sat before me. “Shit!” I screamed, and fell back on my butt. “How the hell did you do that?”

  “Magic silly.”

  Her tone insinuated my being slow, which I guess to them it might appear that way. Good thing I was too shocked to give a shit.

  “This is St. Andrew’s, Scotland and that,” she pointed back to the ruins, “is St. Andrew’s Castle, or what’s left of it I guess, but it’s also the Gateway to the Otherworld.”

  “The Gateway?” I repeated.

  “It’s kinda like a doorway. If you’re a supe—”

  “A what?” I interrupted her.

  “Supe. Supernatural being.” She laughed. “Anyways, if you’re a supe it brings you home. If you’re a human you see the ruins. It’s that simple.”

  Yeah right, simple! “Do all supes,” the word felt ridiculous coming from my mouth, “live here in the Otherworld?”

  “No, most live in the Earthworld. Only the ones who work for the Council are allowed to stay here.”

  That was a bit hard to take—vampires living in a United States suburb. Picturing such nonsense was impossible. I’d have to see that one for myself to believe it. I shook away the amazement and got back to business. “So, what’s with the rippling thingy?”

  “That’s the Gateway.” She shook her head, apparently confused as to why I wasn’t getting this. “It’s the magic that allows you access to the Otherworld. When you cross over the barrier you enter into the realm of the Otherworld, get it?”

  “I think so. So, where does the Otherworld exist exactly?”

  They all burst out laughing.

  Kyden’s brow arched inquisitively. “Exist?”

  “Yeah, exist. Is it like a planet or something?”

  They looked at me as if I had four eyes.

  “You think too much like a human,” Kyden replied.

  “That’s ‘cause I am…” My words cut off as Kyden’s arched brow rose higher. “I’m not human, am I?”

  “You never were.” Ignoring the stab of fear, I waved him on. “The Otherworld is in another dimension. It has nothing to do with the Earthworld. You cannot think of it in those terms. It’s a world of its own.”

  “I have enough trouble wrapping my mind around Earth. Now, I gotta deal with other dimensions too? Is there more than just this one?”

  Kyden nodded. “There is, but for now, stick to the two. I believe that will keep your mind busy enough.”

  Couldn’t argue with that.

  Suddenly, a light breeze swept across me and my gaze lingered over to the water, waves were splashing up on the shore. “What lake is that?” I hesitated a moment, then asked, “That is a lake, right?”

  The laughter resumed.

  “No, it isn’t a lake,” Finn answered.

  My brows rose as I all but whispered. “What is it then?”

  He laughed harder. “That’s the North Sea.”

  “Hardy har har,” I retorted.

  The next hour, Haven talked, and talked, and talked some more. How anyone can have such a long one-sided conversation is beyond me. But she managed just fine. She asked Finn a couple of questions, but every time he opened his mouth to answer, she just continued talking. Finn rolled his eyes a couple times and Kyden would laugh softly. Obviously they were used to this.

  I actually didn’t mind her talking. I could have listened to her for hours. She had the sweetest sounding voice and was so expressive. Moving her arms and hands while she talked trying to show you exactly what she meant.

  The longer she spoke, the more I could see why Finn loved her so much because I was beginning to love her too. She hid nothing of herself and I appreciated that about her. She wanted to know everything about me and she shared her entire world in return.

  After a deep breath, she asked, “So, you tried to kill yourself, what was that like?”

  “Haven,” Finn shouted.

  Kyden laughed, which he disguised not too well as a cough.

  “What?” Haven said, innocently. “I just wanted to know what it was like.”

  “It’s okay.” I waved away their concern. “I don’t mind answering.” She wasn’t asking to be judgmental, just more out of curiosity. “There’s not much to tell, really. It hurt at first and then I was cold, but after that I don’t remember anything until I woke up here.”

  “And you did it because your parents died?”

  Finn shook his head and buried his face in his hand. “Haven,” he said slowly.

  Kyden laughed loudly.

  This might be funny, if the subject matter wasn’t. “I just never felt as if I belonged there, which I guess makes tons of sense now. But Gloria and Frank were amazing people and having them was always e
nough, you know?”

  Haven nodded, but looked sad.

  And that sadness washed right through me. Hers? Mine? Who knew? “When they were gone, nothing mattered anymore. It was impossible to go on without them, and I just couldn’t find a reason to wake up.”

  “I’m glad you did it.” She blushed slightly. “Not that I don’t feel bad you were so sad, but if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have come.” She smacked Finn’s arm. “Right, Finn?”

  He peaked through his fingers at her. “Yes, dear.”

  When I met Kyden’s gaze, he was watching me intently. Could I decipher his look? No. But the intensity of his gaze left me uncomfortable enough that I had to look away.

  Just as I did, Haven grabbed my arm. “Get up. Let’s go for a swim.” Being in my underwear with Kyden here, held about as much appeal as eating a jalapeño pepper. I yanked my arm away. “No thanks, I’ll wait here.”

  She stomped her foot like a small child throwing a tantrum. “Oh, come on.”

  I smiled at her, not budging an inch. There was no way in hell I’d be getting half naked with Kyden around. I’m embarrassing myself enough with my clothes on.

  “Go on, Haven,” Kyden said firmly. “I’ll wait with her,”

  “Boo on you too!” She scowled, but yanked on Finn’s arm.

  Apparently, supes lack in modesty. They had zero qualms about stripping to their knickers with watchful eyes.

  As they hit the water, something suddenly became quite apparent. “Why can I see?” I asked Kyden.

  “You do have eyes,” he responded.

  I shot him a look. “No, I mean it’s nighttime, but I can see as clearly as if it was the day.”

  “You’re seeing as supes do,” he told me with a grin. “Our vision is superior to humans.”

  What did he find so amusing? Was it my annoyed look or the restoration of my sanity? Whatever it was, he sure was amused, and his smile seemed to grow the longer he looked at me.

  Annoyed, embarrassed, one of those things forced me to look away. I gazed into the fire and was completely mesmerized. The way the coals raged with color as the heat charged through them was entirely hypnotic.

  “Where are you from, Nexi?” Kyden asked, drawing me back to his gaze.

  “Carson City. Have you been?”

  “Yes, a few times.” He smirked, then asked seriously, “Do you miss it there?”

  “No, can’t say I do.” Attempting to kill myself should make that pretty clear.

  His expression turned curious as he said, “Do you not have anyone there who is missing you? Wondering where you have been?”

  “Not really, the only friends I had, I shut out after Gloria and Frank passed.”

  His brows furrowed, appalled. “And they let you?”

  “If you want it bad enough, getting rid of people isn’t such a hard thing to do.”

  With that bit of happy talk, we fell silent as we watched the raging fire. My mind swirling from the past events, all that changed, the complete one-eighty my life had taken.

  I couldn’t even tell how much time had passed when Kyden nudged my arm, nodding toward the sky, but when I saw the sun was rising, I guessed it’d been a while.

  When I followed his gaze, warmth filled me. A paint brush couldn’t have painted a better picture. I always appreciated the Earth’s beauty, and whenever I was lucky enough to see an extra bit of its glory, I never wasted a second of it. Judging by Kyden’s tranquil expression, he felt the same. “You like sunrises?”

  He grinned in the sweetest way. “I do, Álainn.”

  Surprises around here were never ending—he had a soft side. I hadn’t expected that. I was mildly curious about what he kept calling me, but the sunrise took precedent. I leaned back against my arms and watched the brilliant sky. My thoughts drifted away as I filtered through all that had changed. How different things were. When the sun met the middle of the sky, for the first time since Gloria and Frank’s death, I was happy.

  Chapter Three

  A week had come and gone, and I needed something to remind me of…well…me. So, I made my way down to the Gateway. Taking a deep breath, I walked through and the world rippled around me just as it had before.

  “Christ, that’s creepy.” I shuddered, cautiously approaching the cliff.

  After a careful climb down, I glanced around quickly, but there was no one in sight. Perfect!

  Throwing caution to the wind, I went to the side of the Peninsula where it was a little more secluded and quickly stripped naked. Everyone has at least one naughty secret and this is mine. I love to skinny dip.

  Back home, Lake Tahoe was pretty close to my willow and I’d always sneak in a quick swim when no one was watching. Gotta love the way the water feels against naked skin. The rush always made me feel so alive.

  After another quick look around, I ran toward the water as the warm summer wind tickled my skin. I hit the water and swam out to where it got deep. Spinning and twirling around, allowing the cool water to glide over my skin and enjoying every moment of it.

  I could have stayed out here for hours, but soon, anxiousness set in. Someone might come along. With one finally dunk, I swam back to shore. Looking quickly to make sure no one was watching, which they weren’t, I set my feet onto the sandy floor and walked back to my clothes. I reached down to grab my pants, but heard a noise behind me. I spun around to see Kyden an inch from my face. “Holy shit,” I screamed and gave his arm a punch. “Don’t do that!”

  His jaw clenched tight and his eyes reminded me I was naked. Swearing at myself, I spun around and dressed quickly. Fully clothed, I turned back and he hadn’t moved. His eyes fixed on my body.

  And that is how we stood for what felt like forever, not saying a word. My humiliation grew as each minute passed. With the air growing thick, I blurted out, “Sorry about that.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about—I’m sorry I interrupted you.” His voice was deep and strained. “I enjoy the water before training.”

  “Yeah, but I bet normally you enjoy it in clothes,” I said under my breath, which was true. He was only wearing those silver shorts. May I just say, if he looked good in his kilt, then he looked unfucking believable in his shorts. They left nothing to the imagination and his body was utter brilliance. I’d seen most of it already, but I hadn’t seen what was beneath his kilt. I could hardly breathe taking all of him in. He was definitely all man—every bit of him.

  His deep throaty laugh drew my gaze to his. “Come on, let’s go get changed. I’ll meet you in the Hall for training.”

  * * * *

  It’d been three long, grueling hours of me being used as a mop to dust the Guardian’s Hall floor. The good thing, I was doing better tonight. The bad thing, Kyden wasn’t giving me the luxury of not fighting back. At least, the anger that was beginning to build was overtaking the embarrassment I felt from earlier.

  After a hard blow to my back, I twirled around and slammed a fist straight into his chest. He responded with a deep groan as he lunged forward, grabbed my arm, and twisted me away with a kick to the hip. “You cannot let me get a hold of you,” he said firmly.

  “Shut up,” I snapped in my defense. I was beginning to suspect he enjoyed chastising me. Springing forward with a kick of my own, I blasted his thigh and sent a loud smack echoing through the hall.

  Before I could pull back, he grabbed my foot and flipped me over backwards. “As I said, you cannot let me get a hold of you.”

  “As I said, shut up!” If there’s a flaw in my character it’s my wicked temper. I don’t get mad often, but when I do, I have trouble controlling it. And it just so happened, I’d had just about enough of being tossed around by Kyden.

  A curious expression crossed his face, but I could care less about it. I was too busy being pissed off. Exploding, I kicked out again. It never hit. He grabbed my thigh mid-stride and dragged me forward to wrap it neatly around his hip.

  “Jerk,” I grow
led, trying to jerk my leg back, but it didn’t budge. When I met his gaze, his eyes were hungry and it wasn’t food he was after. This attraction between us was too immediate. I’d never felt anything like it. Normally, I had to know the guy before I’d ever let him kiss me. With Kyden, though, anytime would do.

  Thankfully, it appeared I wasn’t alone in this regard. He focused on my lips. His grip softened as he began to run his hand slowly up my thigh and leaned in.