"Good," he said softly, pressing a tender kiss to my forehead before continuing. "Because I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you. Nothing, not even this tangled mess we've found ourselves in, can change that."
My voice caught as I fought tears. "That means everything to me."
Our lips met in a sweet, tender embrace that went on forever. In that moment, as we stood wrapped up in each other's arms,I knew that whatever challenges lay ahead, we would face them together.
It wasn't until I was lying in bed later that night, the soft hum of my fan providing a gentle soundtrack to my thoughts, that I realized just how much I'd come to rely on Daniel. Not just in terms of solving the mystery, though his keen insights and unwavering support were certainly invaluable in that regard.
No, it was more than that. Somehow, without my even realizing it, Daniel had become an integral part of my life. He made me laugh, he challenged me, and he seemed to genuinely care about my well-being. While I couldn't quite put my finger on when exactly it had happened, I knew that somewhere along the way, I'd fallen for him.
As I drifted off to sleep, I smiled at the thought of what the next day might bring, both in terms of unraveling the tangled web of Deva's mystery, and in terms of exploring the uncharted territory of my feelings for Daniel.
16
EMMA
The next morningbegan with an abrupt jolt, like when you're in a dream and suddenly fall off a cliff but wake up before hitting the ground. My phone rang louder than at all necessary for such an early hour, and I swatted at it like an angry ogre, making sounds equally as elegant. Finally, I managed to get the darn thing, and I squinted at the caller ID. It was Beth.
"Thank goodness you picked up," she practically shrieked into my ear. I winced and held the phone away from my head, as if that would somehow lessen the impact of her panic.
"What's going on, Beth?" I asked, still half asleep. The smell of Daniel filled my nostrils, reminding me that I wasn't alone in this unexpected wake-up call.
"Something awful has happened, and I need your help," Beth said, her voice shaking like a leaf caught in a sudden gust of wind.
"Just give me a minute to wake up, okay?" I put her on speaker as Daniel's eyes opened, rubbed my eyes, and tried to focus onthe present moment and not how comfy my bed was or the weight of Daniel's arm around me.
"Emma, wake up! I need you to go get Wade and bring him here. There's a hurt unicorn, and I can't get close enough to help it. It won't talk to me," Beth's frantic voice came through the phone.
"Wait, hold on a second. Did you just say unicorn?" I asked, rubbing my face as I tried to process the information. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted into the bedroom, and Daniel hurriedly got out of bed.
"Unicorns? Really?" he mouthed at me, eyebrows raised in disbelief. I just shrugged, still trying to wrap my head around the concept.
"Yes, a unicorn, Please, just go get Wade. We don't have much time," Beth said.
"We're on our way," I said before hanging up the phone. "Daniel, you get coffee. I'll go grab Wade while you finish getting ready." I slipped out of bed, the cold wooden floor creaking beneath my feet as I quickly threw on some clothes.
"Are you sure about this? Unicorns?" Daniel called after me. There was no time for doubt, for all we knew, a magical creature was suffering, and we had to help.
"Positive, Now, hurry up. We don't want to keep Beth waiting." I rushed down the stairs, my heart pounding with anticipation and trepidation. This was uncharted territory, but if unicorns were real, what else could be hiding in our world?
I rushed next door and up Wade's walk. "Hey, Wade?" I knocked on his door, trying to catch my breath from the sprint acrossthe grass. "Beth needs your help with, erm, something. Can you come with us?"
He opened the door with his hair sticking up on one side and a bewildered expression. "Of course, whatever you need. What's up?"
I leaned in close. "Beth called. There's a hurt unicorn." Would that throw him?
Nope. The gears turned in his head as he assessed the situation. His eyes darted around, and in a matter of seconds, he had grabbed a sturdy-looking backpack from a hook by the door.
"Be right back." He disappeared down the hallway. I heard doors opening and closing as he gathered supplies. Meanwhile, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from Beth with her location.
"Got everything we need?" I asked when Wade returned, his bag now filled to the brim with, well, I wasn't sure what.
"More or less." He gave me a reassuring smile. "I've got some first aid supplies, a few tools, and some snacks. You never know when you'll need a granola bar."
"True words have never been spoken." I chuckled. The humor helped to ease the tension that had settled over us. As we climbed into Daniel's truck, I showed him Beth's location and he plugged it into the GPS.
"Looks like we're headed into the woods," Daniel said. "We might want to call for backup."
"Backup?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
