Fruit trees swayed overhead as I walked through the narrow orchard rows, trying not to look at the adorable phoenix chick in my hands. If I looked at her, I just might change my mind about what I was doing. And I couldn't change my mind, not now. This deal with my parents was the only way to keep them on my side. If they figured out I'd broken it already--accidentally or not--they would never speak to me again.
Eva twisted her head around to look down the orchard row. White-rimmed black ovals on the back of her neck made it look like she had a second pair of eyes.
She chirped curiously. Where going?
Just to the end of the orchard. There's a great place for you to nest there. A great place where my parents wouldn't find her. Hopefully, she would be okay there until after this no-magic deal with my parents was over. After all, I definitely wanted a familiar eventually. Just not right now.
My parents hardly ever came this far out into the orchard. It was as good a hiding spot as any. Even Kyton agreed that it was a good idea. That might've just been because--as my bodyguard--he would probably get in trouble with Grandpa for not keeping me away from magic.
Turning her head back around to look at me, Eva peeped. Want some for nest.
I couldn't help but look at her. She was just a little fluffball with eyes and claws. The orchard was pretty safe, but there were still bobcats and coyotes that ran through here occasionally. What if something tried to eat her?
"Some what?" I asked as I moved down the row.
An image of my hair popped into my mind, and Eva fluffed up contentedly. Want that.
"Sure, you can have as much as you want." I sped up a little. The faster I went, the faster this would be over with. Eva would be fine in the orchard. I shouldn't worry. If I worried, I would forget to guard my thoughts, and Eva would see what I was planning.
No matter how much I tried to not look at her or think about her, I couldn't help it. Her adorable orangy eyes drew my attention like a magnet. It was more than that. Her scent might not have been as strong as Kyton's, but it was still as fragrant as a freshly-baked apple pie. What was I supposed to do with myself? How could I ever have a familiar if her magic made my mouth water?
Maybe it was just a weird witch phase, and I would grow out of it soon enough. Or maybe it really was a disease, and I would find it in one of Grandpa's books after he went to sleep this evening.
Not like here. Eva shivered in my hands.
What do you- When I looked up, thick trees crowded in around me. Thorn bushes and dark shadows grew all around us. I was in the forest. Spinning around, I couldn't even see the estate barrier. How far had I gone without realizing it? It didn't matter. I had to get back before the dragon came after me.
I started back toward the barrier, then paused. My parents never went into the forest. This might be the best hiding spot in the world for Eva. And it wasn't like fairy dragons ate phoenixes, right? They ate fairies. Eva would be fine here. Wouldn't she?
She was a wild animal, and she'd been living in the wild her whole life. If she stayed quiet, she would be fine out here until I could finish the deal with my parents. I swiped at my watery eyes. I couldn't stop now. If I brought her home, she'd get me in serious trouble. Or worse, I might suck her blood in a moment of weakness.
Only, she'd been living inside the barrier before. It wasn't exactly the wild in there. I kicked at an exposed tree root. What if Eva didn't stay quiet? What if something got her before the deal with my parents was over? I could never live with myself if something like that happened.
I couldn't leave Eva alone in the woods. Even if I was some blood-sucking freak, she'd have better chances with me. And I could find a way to keep her hidden from my parents. Maybe.
"What are you doing?" Zipping around a large oak, Kyton flew toward me, apparently suspended in thin air. Obviously, his wings were keeping him aloft, but it looked freaky because they were hidden by glamour.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
He landed in front of me. "I followed you to make sure you were okay, but you disappeared for a minute behind some trees, and now you're in the forest." He grabbed my arm and dragged me back toward the barrier.
"I didn't plan on coming out here." I cradled Eva to my chest with my free arm. "And now I'm going back." I set Eva on my shoulder.
He shook his head. "I thought you didn't want a familiar."
Not dignifying that with a response, I walked faster. Eva couldn't possibly survive in the woods. Taking her home was the right decision. She would hide in the closet when anyone came in my room, and Mom wouldn't know she existed until after our deal was fulfilled.
Warm room, fire room, soft nest, Eva murmured.
"Yeah, I do have a fireplace, don't I?" I scratched the eye-shaped markings on the back of her neck. "A nice, warm fire."
There was a hiss in the shadows of an oak. I saw a flash of silver before Kyton lunged at me and grabbed me in a bear hug. I didn't even have time to be attracted to his scent before we were racing through the air. Eva screeched in my ear, digging her claws into my shoulder.
"Did you see the dragon?" I shouted over the rushing wind and Kyton's buzzing wings.
"No, changeling," he shouted back.
I scanned the trees rushing past for any sign of what a changeling might be, but we were going too fast for me to detect the faint heat waves of invisible glamour. We flew through the estate barrier a second later. Panting, Kyton collapsed on the grass and released his iron grip around my waist. I scrambled away, pinching my nose.
There was a ringing in my ears that made everything seem strangely quiet. The birds were still there, fruit trees rustled in the wind, and Kyton's racing heartbeat tempted me closer. What sound was I missing? Absentmindedly, I reached up to pet Eva. My fingers stroked empty air.
"Eva?" I spun around, scanning my clothing, then the grass, for anywhere she could be hiding. She was nowhere to be seen. I reached out my mind and sensed her outside the estate barrier. I ran toward her.
"Oh, come on," Kyton called after me.
I was almost to the barrier before he caught up to me. He didn't try to stop me, which was probably a good thing. It was hard enough not to bite him when he wasn't actively working against me.
"Stay close." He flew at the level of my shoulder. "You grab Eva. I'll watch out for monsters."
"Got it."
We plunged through the barrier, crashing through low foliage and branches. Eva's mind came closer. After passing one more thorn bush, we could see her, and the creature holding her could see us.
The sight of what looked like a human-sized silver lizard standing on its hind legs surprised me so much that I lost track of my footing, tripped over a rock, and face-planted.
Up! Eva cried shrilly.
Wincing, I jumped to my feet as Kyton zipped past me. He flew at the lizard man with his hand raised. A stream of water flew up out of the ground and formed into an icy spear in his hand. Faced with an armed fairy, the lizard man hissed and dropped Eva.
I sprinted to her and scooped her up. Kyton was wrestling with the lizard man. His ice spear shattered as the lizard man slammed his fist into Kyton's arm.
"I've got her," I shouted.
Kyton leapt off the ground, invisible wings buzzing. The lizard man grabbed his ankle and slammed him on the ground. Before Kyton could get up, the lizard man jumped on him.
I winced. Should I run? If I dropped Eva inside the barrier, maybe I could come back and help. But that was too far. He could be dead before I got back. If I stayed, Eva and I could both die, but I couldn't leave Kyton.
The lizard man bared inch-long fangs and struck faster than a viper, sinking those fangs into Kyton's neck. Kyton stiffened, his arms shaking the same way they'd done when the dragon's magic was paralyzing him. He wouldn't be any help fighting now.
I tossed Eva at the nearest tree, hoping she could fly well enough to land safely. Then I ran back to Kyton.
"Get off, lizard," I shouted. Logic screaming for me to run in the opposite direction, I charged at the two of them and slammed into the lizard man's side.
We both hit the dirt. He jumped on top of me. Grabbing my chin, he slammed my head against the ground. Black spots clouded my vision. Pinpricks of pain dug into my neck as he bit me. His scaly cheek brushed mine. I tried to hit him, but he was kneeling on my arms.
Gagging, he jerked away from my neck. "How can you fight for the fairy, sis-"
A giant ball of ice flew through the air and shattered on his head. Eyes rolling back, he collapsed on top of me. Kyton dragged him off.
"Where's Eva?" he asked.
Dazed and winded, I could only point at the tree where I'd left her. He flitted off, coming back a second later with a feathery head sticking out the neck of his t-shirt. I struggled to my feet. As he came closer, I noticed the blood dripping from a fresh wound on his neck.
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