Page 15 of Light and Shadow
She takes my passport. “What’s your reason for visiting Canada?”
“I’ve always wanted to see PEI, and I had some time off. It’s just a short vacation.” I force a smile.
She nods and goes into her little booth. A minute later, she returns. “Have a nice trip, Miss Craig. PEI is beautiful.”
And just like that, I cross into Canada as if I’m alone, and all I can think is that I just smuggled a human being across the border into another country, and that’s probably a federal offense. Except he’s not human. He’s an elf. Elves don’t exist. So really, I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m totally fucking losing my mind.
We are well down the road before Aaran opens his eyes. His smile fades. “Are you okay?”
“No. No, I’m not. I’m a felon for dragging an illegal across a pretty major frontier. I’m being chased by a fucking witch and wolves and shadows and who knows what else. I glow like a damn rainbow. Nothing is normal. You saved my mother’s life, and I’ll be forever grateful, but I’m not this person. I’m nobody’s hero. What I do is sit behind a desk and make sure containers get from point A to point B. I’m not exciting or interesting.” I swerve to the side of the road, flip on my flashers, and rest my forehead on the steering wheel.
Sweat drips down my back and at my temples. I’m deep in a full-on panic attack, like the ones I had when I was a kid. I take a deep breath, but it’s not full or refreshing. It shakes and stutters as I let it out, so I try again.
Aaran rubs my back and then my neck.
His touch feels so damn good, and my breathing gets steadier. “There are human women who can climb ropes and shoot guns. We have female soldiers who would be much better suited to this kind of thing. I’m no warrior.” I rock my head to the side so I can see his disappointment. I brace myself for it.
His eyes are bright and clear blue like the Caribbean Sea. I see sympathy but no regret in the set of his jaw and the straight line of those perfect lips. “I don’t know why you have the gifts needed to save my world, Harper. You’re wrong though. You are a warrior. Maybe not in the sense that you’ve been trained to kill or defend with weapons. Not everyone could have cared for your mother, held a job, been a friend to an old flame, and been kind to all the other people at that pub who clearly care about you. If you want to go back, leave me here, and I’ll find my way home. No one would blame you. This is a lot to ask.”
What do I do? This man saved my mother from certain death. He needs my help to save his world. As crazy as that sounds, I believe him. Sitting up, I touch his cheek across theconsole that separates the front bucket seats of my car. “Is everyone in your world so beautiful?”
His hair is so soft, and I love the way it tucks behind his ears when he’s not using it to hide those points. He says, “You can find out for yourself.”
“Why not tell me?”
Covering my hand with his, he kisses my palm.
His lips send a rush of heat through me, and if we weren’t on the side of a road in Canada, I’d be hard-pressed not to give in to my attraction to him.
“If I say that the elven people are fair to look at, you might not look at me the way you do. Right now, I’m unique in your eyes. By tomorrow, I’ll just be one of many.” He drags my palm to press over his heart.
“That seems unlikely.” Gathering my wits and my hand, I pull back onto the road and head for PEI.
Chapter Five
Harper
We arrive at Montague, population 1,961. It’s a quaint town with a waterfront full of boats. “How are you going to find someone willing to take us to St. John’s?”
“I think we start there.” Aaran points to a place called Moe’s Bar.
I have my doubts, but follow anyway. The bar is dim and smells of stale beer and other things I don’t want to think about. It’s early, but four men and a woman sit talking and laughing at the far end of the bar.
Aaran strides over with no preamble. “Would any of you be a boat captain?”
They stop laughing and stare at him.
A stocky man with tattoos on his arms and a touch of gray in his dark beard, says, “Are you from Scotland Yard?”
The five of them bust out laughing.
Aaran laughs too, though I doubt he has any idea what Scotland Yard is.
The man says, “You here to arrest us?”
“I just need a boat and captain to take me and my friend to St. John’s tonight. Well, not exactly to St. John’s. It’s a place on the coast near there. Can any of you accommodate us?” Aaran’s smile is warm and easy.
I lean against the bar near the door, sure that at any minute, this group of locals is going to laugh us right out of here.
