Struggling with the ache slashing through me, I looked into his ancient, wise eyes, searching for something. I couldn’t help but still trust him, maybe to my detriment. Stepping back from the panel, I let him enter the elevator. He pressed his thumb to the panel until it lit up, and then pushed the button I had hit so many times—a tiny bell ringing.
Dante and D stepped forward, seeming physically impossible for them to let me go, but Bjørn shook his head once, letting them know not to follow as the doors slid close in their faces.
Covering my face with both hands, I tried to swallow the pain attempting to consume me. Was there anyone I could truly trust here?
“You can trust me,” Bjørn whispered, making my hands fall.
“How did you do that?” I blinked, wiping the tears that escaped me.
His nose crinkled. “It’s a Fae thing. I’m sorry, I’m pretty good at blocking everyone else’s thoughts but your hurt is practically screaming at me right now. I just wanted you to know that even though it feels like everyone is betraying you, not everything is as it seems.”
The doors opened to the lobby then, so my gaze went past him to the double glass doors, and to the park on the other side of the street.
“You haven’t been toCentral Parkyet, have you?”
I shook my head, my attention returning to him.
“Well, you are going to need shoes.” The sight of him trembled in the air before heblinkedaway. A second later he was back with a pair of boots from my closet, and a pretty purple coat. “A little bird told me purple is your favorite color.”
My heart squeezed with his reference to Isis, and I nodded.
He helped put the coat on me, behaving once more like a father probably would, and then knelt to get my feet into the boots.
When we reached the doors and stepped outside of the building, Bjørn offered me his arm. “You can always count on me, dearie.”
Feeling the honesty in that statement reverberate through my entire being, I took his arm, letting him guide me across the street.
With each step we took, I realized that the space was filled with life, laughter, and joy, directly contradicting the way I felt right now. Children played near the lake, some adults read a book, while couples walked hand in hand, and adolescents threw a ball at each other, catching it and throwing it back. Someone rode a bicycle right by us, and there were even small carts selling hot dogs, popcorn, and roasted nuts.
It was beyond me why humans would want to eat a dog, hot or otherwise, but everything smelled delicious.
The interaction fascinated me, and admittedly, it distracted me for a while as we strolled in silence. We even walked under a carved stone bridge, until Bjørn finally stopped, apparently arriving at our destination.
In front of us was a strange, circular contraption with lots of colorful replicas of animals on it. “Horses! Those are horses,” I gasped, bringing a smile out of the Fae.
“The first time I ever saw a carousel was at a fair in 18thcentury, London. Nothing this shiny or modern but it was still a great experience… Do you want to go on it?”
My gaze swept the area, seeing mostly children go on the ride, though a few adults entered as well. A few of them were couples. Both wonder and excitement filter into me with the idea, and I couldn’t help but nod. Bjørn walked me through the line, and we stepped onto the platform, going between the single-horse statues to find a couple that were attached to a chariot.
“After you.” He gestured for me to go first, so I sat in the chariot, seeing him take the spot next to me.
Joyful music suddenly began to play, and colorful lights adorned everything in sight, then we were moving. The carousel went around and around while the beautifully painted horses jumped up and down, making children giggle. It was the most magical thing I had ever experienced.
“Thank you for bringing me here, it’s helped me calm down,” I offered when we stepped down, wishing we could just ride the carousel forever.
“You misunderstand, dearie. I didn’t bring you here to calm down. You are entitled to feel everything you are feeling. If you want to hate their guts, I’ll hate them with you for as long as you want.”
“What do you mean?” I asked while he walked us close to a great fountain with lots of people sitting around it.
“What I mean is, you’ve gone through a lot in the past few days, and it’s normal to feel the way you feel.” Leaving the fountain, Bjørn’s gaze found my eyes. “You deserve some answers, Natasha, and I’m sorry that it’s taken so long. Ask me anything you want, and I’ll be honest with you.”
My eyes narrowed at him. “You’ll answer my questions as long as it has to do with your own story?”
The Fae shook his head. “I’ll answer anything I can for you, whether they want me to or not.”
My forehead crinkled as we sat in front of the fountain. “Why would you do that?”
Exhaling deeply, he paused for a moment. “Because I’m not willing to risk my relationship with you to keep someone else’s secrets.”
