First Kiss Read online

  I grimace, “You would have been twenty-four and I would have been sixteen?”

  He sighs, “Why are you making that face? You’re older than I am now. You’re twenty and I am still just older than eighteen.”

  I sigh back, “Okay, I don’t want to think about how much older I am. I want to know why your parents didn’t just break the engagement?”

  He cocks an eyebrow, “Your mother—she sealed our fates.”

  I close my eyes, holding my hands over my face for a second. I take a few deep breaths and then look at him, letting the rage run loose. “JUST TELL ME WHAT THE HELL YOU MEAN! STOP TALKING LIKE I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SAYING!”

  The candles in the room all light at once, brightening everything dramatically. I gasp and hold myself, fighting the trembling in my hands. The flames flicker as if a wind were in the room. Did it follow me here? I look around, waiting for it to blow me in the right direction. But it doesn’t come. The flames flicker, but I don’t feel anything.

  He starts to laugh, “You are a daughter of a black blood, like your mother and Baylor. You are a witch, like I told you, you were. On your nineteenth birthday, your gifts would finish filling you. They always do in your family. My family always likes to maintain a certain level of witch blood in the family. Keeps us strong. Every few hundred years, one of your witch ancestors and my royal ones are written in the stars. That is you and me.”

  Something doesn’t ring true. I rip my gaze from the flames and give him a skeptical look, “How did Baylor send us to Lakeland if she was only eighteen?”

  He shakes his head, “Your aunt, I assume.”

  I point at him, “Do I know everything you know now?” Everything feels like I am in a haze and he is lying his ass off.

  He shakes his head, “No.” I look up into his eyes and instead of seeing a burning there, I see a look of worry. I know he sees the anger in mine.

  He puts his hands up defensively and backs up, instead of touching me again. He sits on the bed and gives me a hurt look, “When Baylor had her fit of anger over not being queen, it wasn’t just that. She also learned you would be queen. Your aunt predicted you would be the strongest witch in the family in five hundred years.”

  “What?”

  “It’s why they chose you for me and her for my brother.” He nods, “Baylor wasn’t angry that you would be queen, but that my parents chose you for your magic, over her. They sealed our fates together, so no matter what, your magic would be bound to help me.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “You and your magic must serve me, in return I would marry you and make you my queen, therefore making your family royal. It is the arrangement they have had for ages.”

  I drop to my knees, “My mother agreed to this? To bind me to you like a servant?”

  He nods, “But Baylor was jealous so she sent us to Lakeland, somehow. Using the aunt’s magic, I imagine.”

  Shock and confusion are all I feel. I can’t hate him—he was a twelve-year-old boy when the decision was made, and yet, I am angry he never told me the truth. I look up at him, making him laugh again. “I wanted to tell you, Lynnie. I did. But you didn’t know anything. It was crazy enough that we were in another world or country or whatever. It was crazy you weren’t actually a Lake. It was crazy . . . a crazy story. Adding this, without proof of your magic, was impossible.” He smiles, “Needless to say, I was excited when we came up with a way for me to marry you and be with you, without you dying like your sister will. I am going to my father’s chamber and telling him all about her. You will be my new bride, but we will still be the soul mates we were all along, and no one will be the wiser.”

  I feel sick. I push myself up and walk for the door to the room. He jumps up and grabs me, “What are you doing?”

  I look up at him, “I need to tell Sam he has to go home alone. I can’t risk being this, there. I’ll end up as a science experiment for the government. Magic isn’t real there but I still did it there. What if I can’t stop myself and I hurt him?”

  His eyes search mine for a second. He releases me after a second and nods. “Hurry up.”

  It is my king giving me those orders. I can feel it.

  When I get out into the hall, I feel like collapsing and crying, but I force myself to get to the door to Sam’s room. I knock quietly. He opens the door slowly, smiling when he sees it’s me. “Running away already?”

  I nod, “Yup.” I push him into the room and slam the door. I press my back against it and slump onto the floor. He drops to his knees, tilting my chin up, “What’s wrong? Did he hurt you? Do I have to kill him?”

  “I’m a slave. My parents sold me into slavery so my babies could be royals and improve my family’s standing.”

  He looks confused, “Like real slavery?”

  I shake my head, “No. I have to marry Bastion even if they find out who I am. I am his betrothed. He is the duke who my parents agreed I would marry when I turned sixteen. I am far past that now. There is no escaping marrying him.”

  Sam frowns, “You don’t want to marry him?”

  I think for a second and then look up into his eyes, “No, who wants to get married like that? I want to be free of this. We have to run. I’ll come for you in the night and we’ll go to my aunt’s.” I swallow, “I mean, unless you want me to try to make a mirror thingy for you to go home. But I could screw it up. We should get to my aunt’s and get her to help us. You have to go home. Bash has it all planned out. We will never escape this.” My heart breaks a little.

  He brushes my hair from my cheek, “I’m not leaving you here. I already said that. I love you.” I smile when he says it. He nods, “It’s taken me a long time to be man enough to say it.” He leans in, “I should have been man enough before. I should have been willing to die for just one kiss.”

  I close my eyes and savor every second that his mouth hovers above mine, until he finally whispers over my lips with heat, like firelight is brushing against them. “Can I kiss you, Lynnie?”

  I want so badly to nod, but I am afraid for him. I shake my head, “Not yet. If they see us kissing, you’ll be put to death. This isn’t Lakeland, Toto.”

  He laughs, “Come and find me in the night.”

  I nod, “I will.” I get up and leave his room. My insides are on fire, and I swear I am having an out-of-body experience. Nothing feels right.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bastion’s scars are the main things picking at me. He’s a wolf, he’s a beast. He’s going to turn again, and I won’t be here to save him. They will make me come back and save him. If I run, he will eventually tell them all who I am, and Sam will be put to death.

  The later it gets, the more clearly I see things.

  I have to stay—I have to stay and keep Sam safe until I can get him to leave me here.

  I roll onto my side and sigh—unless going to my aunt’s is the right choice. I don’t remember her. I know she exists, but I don’t recall her. If I cure Bastion, will he have any need of me?

  I glance over at him sleeping and decide that is my best bet. I need to run, hide Sam with my aunt, and find the cure for Bastion so he will leave me alone.

  I can’t marry him.

  He stole my heart as a mysterious guy who defended my honor. Now as a king, who would use me for my powers, I am less than captivated. Someone could find out I am a Devereaux, and I would be burned. Not to mention, I don’t know how to control my magic; I could kill him by accident and be burned for that. Either way, it is a bad scenario. I will save Sam and get the answer to the curse and come back. That is the plan.

  I slip from the silken sheets. I am halfway across the room, when I hear him make a noise. I turn back, jumping when I see my sister looking at me in the dark. I open my lips to scream but she shakes her head, “I beg of you, Lynnie. Let me save you.” I scowl but she points, “I have Sam in the tunnel already. Hurry.”

  I back away from her, “You sent me to hell.”

  She shakes h
er head, “I didn’t.” She slips across the floor to me and holds her hand out. “Press my hand to your temple if you don’t believe me.”

  Her face is so like mine, I am stunned. It’s hard to not trust her—she is me or I am her. Either way, we are the same. I can see it and feel it. Tears fill her eyes, “My sister.” I see them stream down her cheeks, glistening in the dark.

  I take her hand and pull her to the back of the room. In the corner, I press her hand to my temple. I see it instantly.

  Baylor is a bit younger than she is now. In the vision, I can see the woman she is becoming as opposed to the woman she is now. She is slinking along a corridor, hurrying with mother. They rush past lanterns and torches until they reach the end of the hallway. There is a woman all in black standing with her back to them. When she turns, she has a black veil over her face, but her ginger hair hangs out the bottom. She puts her hands out. Mom and Baylor take her hands. The three of them start to chant. I can’t hear any noises, just see their lips moving. It’s a freaky scene, like out of a horror movie.

  Suddenly, a mist swirls at their feet and then it slithers like a snake under a grey blanket down the hallway. The lady, I assume is my aunt, nods at them both as she takes Baylor’s hand and vanishes. My mother reaches for the stone wall, gripping to it almost. Her back shakes like she is sobbing. When she turns, I can see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

  She looks crushed.

  I open my eyes and look at Baylor, “Why?” I whisper.

  She shakes her head, “We had to. The prophecy was coming true.”

  I don’t care about a friggin’ prophecy. I care about the fact I am with the person guilty of betraying me all these years. “Take me to Sam.” I need to get away. I saw the truth. She, Mom, and our aunt sent Bastion and me away. They did it on purpose. Mom wept at leaving behind her home and Baylor. She never cared for me.

  None of them ever did.

  I can feel the seed the vision starts, building something inside of me. Something angry. I want to cry, I want to ask her why she never came back for me—only Rosie.

  We creep behind a bookcase and into a dark opening. I expect her to snare me in a trap, but in the torchlight I see Sam. He looks different in breeches and a tunic. I smile, I can’t even help myself.

  He shrugs, “Easier to blend in.”

  Baylor closes the secret door and turns to me. In the orange glow of the torch, she looks worried. “How did you get here?”

  “Rode horses?”

  She shakes her head, “Back into our world.”

  I look at Sam and then her, “The mirror portal you made when you took Rosie.”

  She looks confused, “But how did you find it?”

  “Who cares?” I snap, shoving her against the bricks, “YOU LEFT ME THERE TO ROT! TO BE BEATEN EVERY DAY AND LOCKED IN CLOSETS AND TO GRIEVE MY ENTIRE FAMILY DYING!”

  Her lips tremble. Sam takes my hand in his, pulling me back into him. “You’re going to wake Bastion, then we’ll have to stay. Let’s go. You can fight in the woods.” He pulls me away from her.

  She looks lost for a minute. She runs after me, “I never knew. I never knew what it was like. I never stayed long once I realized how it was—how the time was so different. Mary caught me once. I told her I had come to visit, and I was your older sister. She was rude to me so I was rude back. She told me Mother had died.”

  Her eyes are wide and watery. I fight the urge to tell her I know she is lying and that Mary saw her there the day Mother died. But I don’t. I let her finish. “I came for Rosie when I assumed she had been born, like I had promised Mother I would. But Rosie was two, almost three years old. It made no sense. You were a teenager and I hardly recognized you. I saw you walking away from Mary’s, through the window. Your face was so cold and distant when you crossed the street. I wouldn’t have known you if my life had depended on it, apart from your hair. I thought Mother had done it. I wanted to wait for you, but Mary was acting crazy so I fled. I came back again once to get you both, but you were gone and Mary wasn’t there. Rosie was home alone. So I took her back with me and then I couldn’t get the portal open again. I went for our aunt, but she said the portal must be controlled by you now. Your magic was finding its way to you. You had to be the one to open it.”

  Sam looks at her and then me, “We need to go.”

  I nod, “We do.” I look at Baylor, “I don’t forgive you. You’ve lied to me and betrayed me and left me to suffer for a decade. It might have passed in only a year for you, but I felt every second of it. I know you are lying about being there the day Mother died. I don’t know why you’re still lying to me and I don’t care.”

  Baylor grabs my hand, “You have to forgive me. Your magic is strong, but it’s easily corrupted. That’s the prophecy. You are the strongest in hundreds of years—the royal family knows about the prophecy. Once you give your heart to the king, he can control your magic. That’s why they wanted you to marry Bastion.”

  I shake my head, “I don’t care anymore.” I turn to Sam and take his hand. He pulls me through the tunnels. When we get to the bottom of a steep incline, Baylor goes to the front and leads us through winding tunnels that get quite moist. I can barely breathe through the wetness in the air.

  Sam grips my hand harder, the closer the walls get. Suddenly, there is a grey light ahead. We leave a small cave entrance that is behind a large bush. We are in the field that separates the castle and my father’s land—the field where I saw the cloaked woman.

  The moon is high, lighting the mist on the dark fields with light. My heart is in my throat.

  We run across the field to my father’s stable. Baylor steals two horses, “Ride to our aunt’s house. She will help you.”

  I shake my head, “I don’t know the way, and we only need one horse; he doesn’t really ride.”

  She gives him a look and then me, “She is a full-day’s ride east of here. Can you get there on your own?”

  I shake my head but Sam nods, “Yeah. Does the sun rise in the east here?”

  She laughs at him, “Of course.”

  He points to the side of the sky that is a fraction lighter, “It’s that way.” He climbs into the saddle. Baylor grabs my arms, pulling me into her embrace, “Aunt Cécile will explain everything.” I am wooden and detached from her body wrapped around mine. I hate her. I can’t even fight the hate, and I don’t even want to.

  I turn and let Sam pull me into his lap. I give the horse a nudge and we leave her behind. I don’t look back. There’s nothing there, as far as I’m concerned.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Show me something you loved as a kid.” Sam says in my ear.

  I smile, “Uhm . . . well. My favorite thing was . . . uh.” It’s there on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t remember it. I shake my head, “There was a . . . that’s strange. Beyond the castle and my house and the land around our estate, I don’t remember anything. I don’t think I went anywhere.”

  The words leave me puzzled. He must think I’m a freak, again.

  He rubs my arms, “We can find new places together. Make new memories.”

  I nod, but the feeling like there should be more doesn’t leave me.

  The cabin comes into view just as I am about to hop off the horse, throw in the towel, and die in the forest because my butt is so sore. I look around at the woods and try to muster even an ounce of memory of this place, but there is nothing.

  I do not remember this land, not the way I should.

  I pull on the horse’s reins. Sam nudges the horse, “We can rest later. Let’s just find it.”

  I look back at him, “This is it.”

  He looks around, “This crappy spot in the forest is your aunt’s house?”

  I scowl, “Dude, the cabin. You don’t see the cabin in the woods?”

  He grins, “You said dude—you’re still here.”

  I roll my eyes, “Focus. Of course I’m still here.”

  “Then no. I don’t see a cabin, you mus
t be using your super-power goggles.” I hop off the horse and walk towards it, cramping and trying not to fall with my jelly legs. I point at the small little cottage, “You cannot see this?”

  He shakes his head, “No. But if you don’t remember the way, how do you know the invisible cabin is the right one?”

  I turn and look at it, feeling the puzzled look on my face. How do I know it is the one? How did I ride us here perfectly?

  I walk to the cabin and knock on the door, “Aunt Cecile, it’s me.”

  The small wooden door feels like it’s out of a fairy tale. Snow White walked through a similar one to see the dwarves, I’m sure of it. I knock again. I’m about to walk around and peek in a window, when it opens a crack. An older version of my mother, like IDENTICAL, stares at me through the gap. “Bay?”

  I smile, “How are you?”

  Her mouth drops, she looks scared for a second, and then she slams the door in my face. Guess that wasn’t the way my sister greeted her.

  I look back at Sam who is off the horse and stretching his legs. The door opens again and she looks at me, long and hard. I feel like I’m up for auction and she’s checking the quality, “How, Lynnie?”

  I shrug, “Made a magic mirror show me the way home.”

  She sighs, “How did you know?”

  I step back, ready to cry. There is nothing quite like the tiresome feeling of being greeted like you are about to spread the apocalypse with a smile, by every family member.

  She closes her eyes, “How did you know?”

  I take a step back, “It doesn’t matter. I can see you’re about as excited to see me as my sister and father were. Screw you all.” I turn and walk to where Sam is. I grab the horse by the reins. Sam scowls, “What’s the deal?”

  I am so close to tears, I cannot speak. I shake my head softy and lead the horse away. Sam screams as Cecile runs at me. She grabs my arm, pulling me into her embrace.