When I opened my eyes again, a full-body paralysis was in effect and there was no way I could move at all as the faces of the three most important people in my life stood over me. The only things I thought about as sudden darkness crept in were that I hoped like hell it wasn’t the last time I would see any of them and I wished I would have told them goodbye, just in case.
Stabbing pain brought me back to consciousness who knew how much later. I was still unable to move any parts of my body, though I could sense everything that was happening to me.
Hands roamed over my body from more than one person as voices talked over each other. Some I recognized, some I didn’t.
“Are you sure this is normal?” Dad asked someone.
“Brooks, if you question my methods one more time, I’m going to banish you from Arvayta,” a woman snapped.
“She’s going to be okay. Lorelle knows what’s at stake if Kaliah doesn’t wake,” a rough male voice said, most likely to my dad, or maybe to both of my parents.
Not being able to see anything was really beginning to piss me off as claustrophobia set in from having no control of my body.
Something sharp stabbed through my chest as my body arched on its own, then I heard the splash of water as I settled back down. Apparently, I was going to be waking up in a body of water of some sort with more than one stranger around me. Super. Just how I wanted to come back from the dead.
“She’s coming around. I can sense her consciousness returning already. Now, her body just needs to wake up. I’ll come by the house later to check on her, but you all have it from here,” the woman said in a much softer tone than the last time she spoke.
“Thank you, Lorelle. We appreciate you meeting us here,” Mom said, but I heard no response.
Finally, feeling began to return to my legs and then my arms. Within another few minutes of tense but awkward silence, I finally opened my eyes.
Above me, my mom and dad stood on one side with Jordan on the other and an extremely attractive male next to her. I tried not to stare at the stranger, but my attention was stuck on his eyes, which were an alarmingly similar shade to mine, possibly even an exact match, depending on my mood.
Of course, the first guy I’d meet would likely be a relative and having thoughts of how hot he was running around inside my head was far from appropriate, but what could I do? I’d just died and come back to life. I had little control over anything at that moment.
Thankfully, my mom distracted me. “Kaliah, can you talk?”
“Yeah, but more importantly, can I get out of this water?” I asked in return.
I was still submerged in a pool and fully clothed. Wearing jeans probably wasn’t the best idea, but nobody had told me I’d be swimming in them later.
“As long as nothing feels off, then yes, you can get out of the falls, but its magic is what brought you back, so if you’re not fully transformed, then we should stay in here a bit longer,” Dad answered, but Mom shushed him.
“Lorelle said she was fine. If things weren’t complete, she wouldn’t have left Kali’s side.”
“Daliah is right. As long as Kaliah is feeling up to it, then we should take her back to the house. It’s better for her to be there than out here until she’s ready,” the guy I didn’t know said.
“Kali. Please, call me Kali.” Odd as it was, it drove me crazy when people called me Kaliah. Except for Stryx. I’d tried to break him of it, but I usually let it slide for my fluffy owl. When anyone else used my full name, it seemed too proper and reminded me of my mom. Not that being like my mom was bad, but I wasn’t ready to be so formal just yet.
“Well, Kali. My name is Ryland. It’s nice to meet you finally.” He reached a hand to me that I gladly took and was promptly yanked out of the water as if I weighed nothing. The guy was not only good-looking, but strong, too.
Damn it. I needed to quit thinking that. He could be my cousin, for all I knew.
Jordan wrapped an arm around me, then pulled me from Ryland as we walked out of the water together. When I glanced back, I realized we were at the waterfall Stryx had shown me my last night with him. It was even more stunning than it had been in my sleep.
“So, how do you feel, Chuck?” Jordan asked as everyone followed us out.
Twisting my neck, then stretching my arms, I decided I felt pretty damn good for dying. My body was humming with energy, and I had the sudden desire to run a marathon. “All things considered, I feel great. So, what do we do now?”
“We don’t do anything. You get to go back to the house with your parents, while Ryland and I go attend to some business. But don’t worry, I’ll be by to check on you really soon. You’re not getting rid of me now, I promise.” Jordan hugged me tight, and over her shoulder, I made eye contact with Ryland.
He seemed really confused and more than a little stressed by the pinched look in his familiar icy-blue eyes, but I didn’t get a chance to dissect it more, because Jordan bounded away from me. I watched as she punched Ryland in the ribs before throwing an arm around him and walking in the opposite direction.
When it was just me and my parents, they seemed worried as well, but when I asked them about it, they shrugged me off.
“Nothing to stress about, sweet girl. Let’s go get settled in the house, and then we’ll give you a tour of the town if you’re up for it,” Dad said, and I didn’t argue.
I’d been dying to see the town ever since I decided to accept Stryx’s word as truth. I just hadn’t realized all I’d have to go through to make that happen. Now, all I had to worry about was some crazy dark fae with a vendetta against me just because of who my ancestors were.
Nothing to stress about at all, I thought with an overwhelming amount of sarcasm.
Chapter Five
Surprisingly, my parents’ home in Arvayta was extremely similar to the one in Bridal Veil, except instead of wood siding, it was stone, appearing more like a mini castle than a weekend cabin.
The lower floor was identical to the other house when I first walked in, but as my parents and I entered into the kitchen, it opened up into a more spacious entertaining area with a huge covered porch and a beautiful fountain in the center just past the French doors.
A deep-rooted sense of serenity ran through me. Considering I’d been dead not too long ago, I felt better than ever. Well, maybe a little tired, but I was trying to ignore that feeling and just soak in as much of this new world as possible.
“What do you think?” Mom asked.
“It’s gorgeous, and now that I’m seeing more of Arvayta, it makes me sad I didn’t get to grow up here. Don’t get me wrong, Oregon was great, but this is something else entirely.”
She grinned. “It really is, and I hope you can be happy here. Things will take some getting used to, but as long as we can eliminate the threat of this dark fae, then it should feel like home in no time.”
Sigh. The dark fae. For a split second, I had forgotten about him.
“What do we do about that? Just wait for him to show up?” I asked.
“No, we’ll be assembling a group of guardians to go searching for him. Once we have his location, a more elite team will be sent to lock him up and end this nightmare before it even begins. We’ve been trying for years since we learned of his plans, but Alaryk is rather elusive, unfortunately. I’d have much preferred him dead long ago,” Dad answered with a grimace.