Chapter 72 Evasive
606words
"You may have bruised Belinda's ego for a lifetime," Ember marvelled, leaning with her head against the seat. "I'm so proud of you."
"Are you feeling well?" Kayn hesitated. "You didn't catch some deadly illness from the dance?"
Ember snorted. "No."
"Wow. I got a compliment from my sister," Kayn breathed. "That's a first."
"At this rate, it will be your last."
"Uh-huh."
The car slid into the long, dark road, smooth as a black river. Tall trees hugged it on either side, gently rustled by a breeze. They seemed alive, in a sinister sort of way.
The more I stared in between them, the more my mind convinced me I saw things that weren't supposed to be there.
I shivered and crossed my arms. "Don't people get nervous driving out here at night?"
"If you're alone," Ember answered. "It is creepy."
"Or human," Kayn pointed out.
"I'm not human, and it freaks me out," Ember rubbed her arms. "So speak for yourself."
"Where exactly do fairies stay?" I asked. "Do they have some special place, or live like us, in houses, or what?"
"Seeing things in the woods?" Kayn smirked.
"No," I scoffed, but he was right. My mind was having a field day conjuring up scary things right now. "I was curious since your people live on land and water. I figured they might have some non-commonplace they lived."
"Non-common?" I didn't need to see his face to know he had raised one of those dark, elegant brows of his.
"You know what I mean," I snapped.
"Well, they're very secretive, so it's hard to give you a definite answer." Kayn flicked on the brights. "All we know is some of them do live amongst humans. We think they have a whole realm to themselves, but I can't confirm that. What I can tell you is that they aren't trustworthy."
"Yeah, I got that the first time." I attempted to relax my shoulders against the leather seats. There was an uneasy feeling coiling in the pit of my stomach, and no matter how hard I tried, I only tensed up more.
"You alright?" I glanced up to find Kayn frowning at me in the rearview mirror.
"I'm fine."
Kayn lifted a hand from the steering wheel and pinched his other arm.
"Ow!" I flinched, slapping a hand down onto the same spot on my arm, and massaged it.
"I can tell you're lying."
"I thought...How come I'm not feeling much lately, but you do?"
Ember's brows raised as she peered between Kayn and me before she turned back to face in front of her.
"You do. You just like to pretend you don't feel it," Kayn answered, his eyes intent on me.
"No, I don't," I insisted. "You're doing something to block me out."
"Anything but…" He sounded wistful.
Ember snorted, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Kick you both under the ass," and, "Get a room."
I flushed, glancing out of the window, grateful it was too dark for anyone to see. Feeling the weight of Kayn's stare, I looked up to find him grinning at me in the rearview mirror.
I pinned him with the meanest glare I could muster, turned toward the window to stare at the trees.
Instead, I found a familiar pale face grinning at me through the window before a massive tentacle sprouted out of nowhere and slammed down onto the roof of the car.
