Tanner just holds me, our mouths enmeshed, his lips warm on mine.
Suddenly, there’s a honk behind me, and all too soon, the moment between us is over as he pulls away, looking me over one more time before he turns to wave at my ride.
The driver looks upset, and I’m honestly not sure how long we were just kissing there on the sidewalk.
Time seems to have no meaning around him.
“I guess this is my ride,” I say balefully.
Tanner strides forward and opens the passenger door for me. I hand him back his jacket as he motions for me to get in.
“I suppose I’ll see you around, as they say,” he says.
Wait, what?
“Oh, shouldn’t I get your number or email address or something?” I ask as I sit down, the death glare from the driver pressuring me to go faster.
Tanner leans over me, just smiling, a certainty in his smile that my mind and body do not share right now.
“Don’t worry. I promise we’ll meet again. Very soon.” He looks me over one last time, making my body ache for what it can’t have once more.
“But seriously, how do you plan to do that?”
“Close the door, miss, please,” the driver barks at me.
“Don’t worry,” is all he says.
Don’t worry? How am I supposed to not worry when I don’t even know his last name?
Reluctantly, I close the door, and the driver peels off into the rapidly moving traffic.
I glance over my shoulder, watching the tall shape of him disappear into the darkening night behind me, wondering what that all meant.
And as we head for home, I can still feel his lips on mine as though they’re still there.
When on earth am I going to see him again?
Tanner
Eva. Damn, there’s no doubting what I know now.
She’s the beacon we’re searching for, and she’s my soul bond.
And I don’t have time to deal with either of those realizations because I can sense chaos lingering nearby, probably drawn by her presence.
I catch the last glimpse of her cab as it disappears. Then I turn around to walk the other direction down the sidewalk. I pass the doors to McKinley’s, making a right as I follow several dark threads hovering in the air around me like invisible ribbons.
Time to hunt down some monsters.
As the commander of darkness, fighting chaos in my world used to be an everyday occurrence.
Here in the human world, I can follow the threads people leave behind as they come and go, but I’m mostly interested in the kind of insidious trails left by the stronger sources of chaos.
Chaos fae from my world.
I take a deep breath of cool night air, wishing I could still be kissing Eva. Still be talking to her. Still be basking in the radiance of her beauty and her personality.
Too bad the forces of chaos had to decide tonight was a good night to go looking for a beacon.
I’m absolutely certain that Eva is one. A fairy princess hidden amongst all these humans, unawakened to her true powers just yet.
If we continue to bond, one day she’ll know what she is.
Until then, I have to do things carefully, guard her from the shadows for now.
I keep following the thin, dark trails of magic, ducking down a nearby alley, ignoring the smells of garbage and wet pavement.
The scent of chaos, like coal and Flynn’s overcooked steaks, fills the air, letting me know I’m getting closer to my quarry.
News must have reached the chaos realm of one beacon being successfully awakened by Brett, and now every chaos prince that wasn’t already here has probably come over to see if they can find and kidnap their own fairy princess.
I’d like to see them try.
My whole soul reaches for Eva, wants to be with her this very second. But I’m still formulating a plan in my head. Something that’s risky but may or may not work.
I reach the end of the corridor, a dead end. Around me, the wisps of chaos magic are thick, like a heavy mist in the air.
I turn and see three men emerge from the shadows.
Chaos warriors. Even in the near pitch black of the alley, I can see the last flecks of light glinting off their dark, oil-slick armor.
They all have the telltale fae ears, not even bothering to try and look human right now.
“The beacon will soon awaken,” one of the men says in a low rasp. All three are blocking my path out of the alley.
But I’m not the one trapped right now.
“You’re one of those princes they sent to stop us, aren’t you?” Another cackles, coming to the front. “It won’t work. We’re taking this one.”
Dark magic surges inside me, charging the wand I keep holstered on my back, invisible until I need it.
“We will kill you. Then we will take the beacon for our own.” All three of them are reaching behind their backs, watching me, waiting to see what I’ll do.
My right hand twitches slightly. I wait just a moment longer.
Suddenly, a wand appears—black and twisted—in the hands of the first warrior, and he draws it out. I can see it crackling with chaos energy, ready to fire.
In an instant, I pull my wand out with lethal, trained precision. Before all three even have their wands free, I train mine forward. Three quick, dark shots of energy fly out the tip of my wand in rapid succession, lighting up the alley with black and gray light that bounces off the shadows.
Three bodies fall to the ground, one after the other, making little sound as they do. And as I come forward, staff still trained on my enemies, I watch as their bodies dissipate into ashes and mist, blowing away on a faint wind that carries what remains of them upward.
“Good-bye and good riddance,” I say to the last remnants of the creatures who wanted to harm my soul bond.
I put my wand away, and it disappears behind me, as it has a thousand times before.
It’s not the first time I’ve killed. It won’t be the last.
But I never enjoy it, even if it’s necessary to protect those around me.
Shaking my head, I head out of the alley and back onto the street.
The cool night air is refreshing, and already, my thoughts are wholly on Eva again. That soft brunette hair. Her cute, shapely lips and bright blue eyes. The way she talked.
The way she kissed.
My magic surges at even the thought of my soul match, and I’m hungrier to just see her again than I ever have been for anything else in my entire life.
At least those three won’t be coming near her.
But courting my soul match will take more than just putting down rabid chaos dogs. I need a plan. I need a way we can see each other more, so I think back to our conversation in the bar, mulling over one idea I had before we kissed.
I pull out my cell phone and click on one of the only five contacts I have stored. It rings for a moment. Then a familiar voice picks up on the other end.
“Hello? Tynan… I mean, Tanner?”
“Yes, Chad, it’s me. I have a big favor to ask…”
3
Eva
It was just a kiss.
I should be focused on sorting through the last of the CEO applications, not thinking about the lips of a tall, dark, and handsome stranger.
Especially since I’ve been doing interviews all morning and not liked any of the applicants so far.