Page 37 of The Calling of Caellaias
What would I do without you?
After sending the text, I wandered to the kitchen to get some water. My stomach was ready to empty itself again, but my mouth and throat were dry from the screaming I had done. I poured myself a glass and took a few sips. When I was done, I set it down on the island and sat at one of the barstools to wait for my sister.
Chapter twenty-four
Maeyve
Islammed the door behind me as I left Anevae’s cabin. I’d felt like I was leaving a piece of me with her, but I tried to ignore it. Her words hurt me, and I couldn’t entirely blame her for being mad. I was just trying to protect her in my own way. I shouldn’t have kept things from her, but I was still trying to figure things out before dragging her into something she wasn’t prepared for.Damn, vampire. At least I knew what and who she was now.
As I walked away, the cruelty of my words began to sink in, and a pit of regret formed in my gut. I spoke out of anger, wanting to hurt her as much as she had hurt me. When tears began welling in my eyes, I dropped everything I’d been carrying and shifted into my fox form to get home faster. With my injuries fully healed, the shift was painless.
I took off in a sprint, heading to my cabin. Behind me, I heard the door to Anevae’s cabin open, but I wasn’t turning around. She needed space? Fine. I’d give it to her. It didn’t mean I wouldn’t watch over her.
After the door slammed shut, I heard her scream. Panic filled me, and I stopped in my tracks. I wanted nothing more than to turn around to make sure she was okay, but I reminded myself that she wanted me to leave. I continued as my heart pounded and concern sank deep into my chest. I reassured myself that the vampire couldn’t get inside her house without an invitation from Anevae.
When I reached my cabin, I shifted back into my human form and shoved the door open. I was still angry and concerned about Anevae, but depression began to settle in; I was alone again. Anevae made me feel alive and happy, unlike I’d ever felt before. For the first time in my life, it felt like someone actually cared about me. Tears welled in my eyes, and I wiped them away as I wandered into the bathroom.
I headed straight for the shower, making the water as hot as my skin would handle. Then, I stepped in, trying to melt away my disappointment and sadness. Whenever the water started to get cold, I’d turn the temperature up until it couldn’t go up anymore. After exhausting the hot water, I forced myself to wash up and climb out of the shower.
Grabbing a towel from the rack, I wrapped myself up and plodded to my bedroom, where I collapsed onto my bed. I lay there staring at the ceiling, unsure what to do with myself. Unknowingly, I had started letting my life revolve around Anevae. She was something new and exciting, and after so many years of monotony, I welcomed the distraction and desire without a second thought.How could I have been so careless?
Arturo had been the closest thing to a friend I’d had in years. Since I avoided the towns as much as possible, I didn’t interact with others. Until Anevae came along, I didn’t think I needed friends; I didn’t think I’d need anyone. I thought I’d be okay all alone, but she made me realize I was wrong. I was desperate to have her be a part of my life. I didn’t know how much time she needed, but I knew I needed to tell her how I felt and explain what I could. I’d give her all the time in the world if it meant I could be with her.
Closing my eyes, I felt tears stream down my cheeks. I hated crying, but I gave in, rolled onto my side, and curled up into a ball, letting the tears flow. I’d check on her in a little bit, but for the time being, she was safe as long as she stayed inside her cabin.
Chapter twenty-five
Anevae
As I tried to clear my mind, I stared at my glass of water until I heard a knock at the front door. Nearly falling out of my chair, I regained my composure. Chances were it was my sister. Still, I crept to the window to confirm. Sure enough, she stood there wearing a garlic necklace, just as she had joked about in her text. I rushed to the door and threw it open. Reaching out, I yanked her inside and slammed the door shut, locking the deadbolt and slide lock I hadn’t used since I moved in.
“Thank goodness you’re here. I was so worried the vampire would get you,” I said.
Eiri reached out and held me for a while as I gripped her tightly, never wanting to let her go. She grounded me at that moment. Out of everyone, my sister understood me the most; she’d been through everything with me. While I worried I may have sounded crazy, we grew up listening to our mom's stories about Caellaias and the beings that inhabited the kingdom.
Finally, Eiri shuffled me over to the couch. When I was settled, she retreated to the kitchen to make some tea. Our mom always did this when we were upset or not feeling well, and my sister and I kept the tradition.
When she returned, she sat and handed me my tea before calmly saying, “Start from the beginning.”
We spent the rest of the day discussing what happened over the previous week; I divulged information that I wouldn’t have told anyone else about the relationship I developed with Maeyve, what I learned about her, and how that affected me. Then, I told her what had happened with the vampire earlier in the day and how Maeyve had saved me. I explained that Maeyve was actually the black fox I had been seeing in the area. She stopped me multiple times to ask questions, making sure that I could trust what Maeyve had told me, but when I explained Maeyve’s transformation into her fox form, Eiri finally understood.
“As concerned and suspicious as I am, I will always believe what you tell me. I would say that I think we should talk to Momma about this encounter you had with the vampire, but then she’ll feel obligated to tell Poppa. We wouldn’t be in this situation if they had prepared us in the first place. They’ve kept so much from us, and I don’t feel like I can trust them anymore,” Eiri said.
“Exactly. I’m just so angry at them! I don’t want to be brought home and never be told I can leave again. I don’t want them to fight our battles anymore. I’m sure there’s a reason they never told us, but I don’t understand why,” I said.
Eiri nodded in agreement. “They need to realize and remember that we are grown women; we can make our own decisions, and if that means we don’t want to go home, then we shouldn’t have to. I wish they would have told us about Caellaias.”
“I wish Momma could help and explain things without involving Poppa. She’s always been the level-headed one. No wonder Poppa was always so defensive when Momma told us stories about Caellaias; who knows what else he’s hiding from us? If we go home, who’s to say theywon’t continue to keep things from us even though we deserve the truth?”
Eiri thought about it and agreed. “We will get this figured out. We need to do some investigating outside at some point, though.”
As I looked at Eiri and processed what she said, terror took over, and I began to hyperventilate. What if the vampire was still out there, waiting for me? What if he took Eiri? There was no way that Eiri and I would be prepared to fend off a vampire. It was stupid to make Maeyve leave the way I did, but I needed space to breathe and my sister to talk things through with me. She was the only one who could understand why I was so upset. I’d have to reach out to her the next day so we could talk about things.
Eiri attempted to comfort me again. “Shh. Shh. One step at a time. We can do this.”
She’d helped me through numerous panic attacks in the past, so we knew the best ways to calm them together. We used every technique we had developed over the years, but each one only seemed to help for a few minutes at a time.
When nothing was helping, I got up and began pacing until I got dizzy. Then I stopped and sat on the floor, pulling my knees as close to my chest as possible. Eiri joined me and rubbed my back to help ground me while I tried to talk myself out of my spiral.
