Chapter Fifteen
As Col paced in the spacious living room, the late afternoon sun was still shining into through the glass doors that led to the backyard and woods beyond.
Katie Cooper was at the house, which meant that all of his senses were hyper-acute and liquid heat ran through his veins. She had gone to use what she laughingly referred to as “the loo”. She’d been coming to Simon’s house every evening, for the last three days.
He was trying to stay away from her, truly he was. That is what a trueWaryeorwould do - avoid all distractions. Being near her was pleasure and torture at the same time. She made him ache in every fiber of his being. He did not deserve relief; he was not bred to be soft, to indulge himself, to shy away from pain.
TheWaryeorrace had been created with one purpose: to serve the Wise and Kind, the rulers of Arengard. The great-great-great-great grandparents of The Sorceress of Plenty had sacrificed their life force to create theWaryeors. Arengard was long gone now, lost to history, but the mission remained the same: protect the innocent against evil. And The Dark Warlord, who would be awakening soon, or would have awakened already, was the ultimate evil.
What right did Col have to think of happiness, when such a fight was looming?
But his gaze caught upon her loveliness each time she was near, as inevitable as a bee drawn to flower. Each time that happened, Col steeled his resolve, and removed himself even further.
The others had noticed the tension that crackled between Col and Katie Cooper, as they had witnessed the first exchange between them the other night. They had no such issue with her. They formed their own bonds with her, especially golden-haired Aylwyn, upon whose countenance she graced with a look of delight each time he babbled out some fresh nonsense.
Col had never felt such enmity before towards aBrodher.
Barric struggled to stay his hand, as Barric and Aylwyn’s argument was quickly escalating, soon to erupt into a brawl. It was over something trivial that he did not catch, nor did he care to know.
Katie Cooper came back into the living room. Barric and Aylwyn were snarling at each other now, literally growling, fists clenched, teeth bared. Her warm eyes, filled with sharp intellect and compassion, quickly assessed the situation.
“Aylwyn, Barric, would you come help me, please. I dropped something behind that large steamer trunk in the hallway. Would you come help me move it?”
“Of course, fair lady!”
“We shall be pleased to help.” Aylwyn and Barric were practically jostling each other to assist her, their previous animosity forgotten.
Her eyes met Col’s, and for a split second that magnetism was there again. One of theBredhrenblocked her from sight, and broke the connection, freeing Col to look away.
He paced the room, willing himself to calm down. His senses were all frenetic again, as if that look had inflamed him all over. He needed to get away, stay away—
And they were back. Aylwyn and Barric walking into the room, laughing about who was better able to lift the heavy antique container with a single hand.
“Although it was a shame that naught was to be found behind it.” Barric rumbled, in his rich baritone.
“That’s because I didn’t have anything there,” Katie Cooper said. Col’s ears perked up at the sound of her voice, a most pleasing sound. “That was a distraction technique. It’s what I have to do with my preschoolers when they get into a fight. Now think aboutthat.”
Aylwyn and Barric exchanged glances, as Barric’s face broke into a huge grin, frightening both in its rarity and display of teeth.
“I like you!” Aylwyn’s voice was filled with admiration, and Katie Cooper smiled at him.
Col heard a growl —where was it coming from? Just as he realized that he was making the sound, he charged at Aylwyn, and just like that, the two were brawling, with the sounds of Barric egging them on.
And one more sound, just as Col was about to lose his human form and really rip into Aylwyn.
A door slamming.
Col rolled away from striking distance, breathing heavily, Aylwyn watching him warily.
“The female is crying,” Barric rumbled. He was looking straight at Col. “It’s your fault. Go find her, and fix it.”
* * *
She picked her way through the woods, past the backyard, the branches of the shrubs scratching at the loose skirt of today’s medieval outfit, fresh from the Faire’s wardrobe department. It was still late afternoon, with plenty of sun. Plenty of time for Simon to realize what a fraud she was, and fire her sorry ass.
It was impossible. She didn’t know why she ever thought she could do this. It was completely idiotic of her to think that she could tame these…these overgrown action figures that were even more badly behaved than the most tantrum-my of tantrum-my preschoolers.
Why would she think that she could do this job, or accomplish anything good, when her whole life was nothing but a cautionary tale?Don’t be like Lily.Broke, homeless, on the run. Years of her life wasted on an abusive manipulator who turned out to be a drug dealer.
