Page 52 of The Curse of Eternity
Swallowing hard, I signed it off and folded it up. Maybe the best thing I could give Johann if I died was some peace. The tall tale of my running away, decidedly happy but firm that I’d never see them again, was folded up between my fingers. Winston was at the sink, washing up his own plate, but his gaze met mine instantly when I lifted the letter.
“Do you think… If I don’t come back, will you mail this for me?”
“Sure, I can do that.” Detachment laced his tone as his dark brown eyes glanced at Drake outside before returning to his task. I slumped against the back of the wooden chair.
I was so stupid, bringing up the idea of me and Drake dying when my family weren’t the only ones who’d be losing someone. Drake and Winston had been a part of each other’s lives for almost a century, and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for one to lose the other. Shoving away the impending depression, I focused on writing our church’s home address in Thomas Village onto the outside of the paper.
“Have to be honest, the odds aren’t great,” Winston said, startling me. Moving away from the sink, but not closer, he dried his hands on a dish towel. “But I’ve always been a betting man.” A plainly impish smile spread across his broad lips. “Anything I can do to boost your morale?”
His attempt at brevity helped ease the weight settling on my shoulders, and I straightened.
“To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about working with another faery.” My embarrassment at the confession abated when Winston’s posture deflated a little, and he ambled over to sit in the chair opposite mine.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about when it comes to Daphne. She’s a sweet girl. A little unusual at times, but her heart’s always in the right place, and she’s as honest as they come.”
“Seems like everybody has a faery friend from the, um, Summerland.”
Winston grinned. “Not really, and Daphne isn’t full faery, either. She’s a changeling.”
“Is that like…” I shrugged at Winston.
“Like dhampirs? Yeah, one human parent and one faery makes a changeling. Daphne’s a bit touchy about her progenitor, though, so I wouldn’t ask after it. Still—” He exhaled long and slow, glancing at the ticking clock a second before it chimed, followed by the doorbell. “She’s nothing if not punctual.”
Grinning, Winston stood and headed through his house toward the front door. The shush of the glass door sliding open and shut, along with the sudden burst of cold air, made me turn to where Drake now stood inside the lit space. Wearing the white button-up and jeans Winston had given him this morning, along with a pair of leather loafers that resembled the ones he’d lost to our river crossing.
Any normal man would have been flushed from the chill outside, but Drake’s pallor was unaffected. Although his skin was probably freezing cold. My chest throbbed at the idea of touching him to find out, and Drake’s curious smile didn’t help my rapid heart rate. A surprised shriek echoed from down the hall, or through the living room, since they both led to the front door.
“Winston!” A feminine voice exclaimed, followed by Winston’s chuckle. I leaned my chair over to get a glimpse of the entrance. Winston set down a shapeless figure, who huffed and pushed back the hood of her oversized black hoodie. A whole foot shorter than him, the young woman pouted her plump lips up at Winston, and her crumpled brow looked peeved above large chocolate-brown eyes.
Spiky black hair fell flat against her forehead but curled at the nape of her light brown neck. As she glanced my way, I started to wave, and then suddenly overextended my reach with the chair. Unable to counterbalance it back into position, I flung out my hands to catch myself against the circular patterned rug when a cold arm wrapped around my waist.
An equally frigid hand grasped my upper arm, steadying me mid-fall, and I looked up to find Drake hovering over me. His raven-dark eyes were inches from mine, and I gulped.
“Quit it.” Daphne’s voice captured both mine and Drake’s attention. He still held me while Daphne patted down her hair, which Winston seemed to have unapologetically ruffled. Ducking his second attempt, she spun smoothly, practically dancing out of his reach with a wide smile on her face. “You have too much energy!”
Distracted by their playfulness, I stifled a yelp when Drake physically pulled me upright. The living room became a blur, solidifying as Drake’s grasp fell away.
“Thanks,” I murmured, and he nodded like it was no big whoop. Straightening out the hem of my sweatshirt, I regained some semblance of composure and snatched my new weapon off the table.
“This here is my old pal, Drake, and his lady friend, Maria.” Winston extended a hand, indicating us, and Daphne’s attention followed, but her gaze fell to rest on my worn combat boots. “They’re the ones I called you about.”
“It is nice to meet you, Daphne,” Drake said, again inclining his head instead of offering a hand to shake. “I am immeasurably grateful for your assistance.”
“Yeah, me, too.” My head bobbed while Winston locked the front door before joining us in the living room.
“It’s no trouble.” Daphne shrugged, her focus flitting across the room but never landing on anything—until she spied Tina. The tabby cat was stretched out on a threadbare pillow by the fireplace, and the changeling strode over in a couple of loping steps. Scratching the cat under the chin, she said, “Actually, and not to disappoint you, um, Drake, but it’s not really my help you’ll be needing.”
“Then whose?” Brow furrowed, I glanced from Drake to Winston.
“That’ll be Atticus, yeah?” Winston seemed to accept Daphne’s noncommittal nod. “Daphne’s new to the whole ‘realizing she’s a faery’ thing, so your tour guide is going to be someone more experienced with the Summerland’s landmarks.”
“I carry two items of substantial personal, and historical value,” Drake explained, addressing Daphne despite her attention being on the cat. “Will this suffice?”
“Oh, yeah,” Daphne replied, focused on Tina’s twitching ears. “Atticus is flat broke, he’ll take anything you’ve got at this point. Doesn’t matter how far you’re going.”
“And he’s really willing to help us?” I asked, dubious, and Daphne glanced up to meet my gaze for a brief second before hers fell to my borrowed clothes. “I always thought faeries didn’t like humans much…”
“They are none too fond of vampires, either—usually.” Drake smirked, but it slid away to nothing when he faced Winston. “This ‘Atticus’ appears to be in dire straits, indeed.”
