I looked around me. There were
about a dozen small thatched roof
cottages that were built into the
hillside nestled between a forest
and a river.
“This is the Allure village?”
“Were you expecting something
different?”
“Something bigger.” The Allures
didn’t seem like simple, hut
dwelling people to me, and I
definitely expected more than
twelve houses. Did a lot of them
live together?
“Your numbers are dwindling.”
“You make it sound like that’s a
bad thing,” I mumbled.
“Allures play an important role
in the order of things,” Adrian
explained.
I turned to him hoping he’d
continue.
“All creatures do, but the Allures
are needed to keep the balance.”
“The balance?” I asked. I wished
something the Dryads said would
make sense to me for once.
“You’ll understand soon,” Sky
touched my arm.
“Which is Violet’s house?” I
looked over the homes.
“That one.” Adrian pointed to
the brown and green cottage at the
top of the hill. “Roland’s is over
there.” He pointed to one to the
right of us.
“I want to see Violet’s first.”
“Hers before your maker’s?”
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“I think she left something for
me there.” I grappled for a
reasonable sounding excuse.
“And you are only telling us
now?” Donna put a hand on her hip.
“I forgot. Just remembered.” I
hurried up the hill.
“Thanks for escorting us, but
we’ll be fine from here,” Owen said
from somewhere behind me. I
assumed he’d follow, but either way
we needed to start searching for
any answers we could find.
“You’ll come for the festival?”
Donna called.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Owen was right on my heels.
“We’ll try.” He caught up with
me as I reached the door.
“Go on, try to open the door.”
Sky called up the hill.
“Wait. We need a key.” Owen
tried the door. It was locked.
“Daisy should be able to open
it.” Adrian called up. I heard
footsteps behind us, and I knew
one of the Dryads was following.
I put my hand on the doorknob.
It warmed under my touch and
gave way.
“You’re an Allure,” Donna said
from behind us.
I nodded. I had it in me. That
much was true.
I turned around and watched
the three Dryads disappearing
down the path.
Owen leaned in. “I know how to
find them.”
“What?”
“Shh.” He put a finger to his lips.
“How?” I peered down the path.
The Dryads were nowhere to be
seen. “How do you know?”
“I can be persuasive.”
“Meaning you flirted with the girl
for info?” I didn’t like that he flirted
with her, but if it got us the
information we needed, then I
guessed it was well worth it.
“I didn’t flirt, I gave her
attention. She doesn’t get much of
it.”
“Why not?” I found I actually
cared. That was a good sign. Caring
was feeling.
“Her family isn’t all that
important. I can relate.”
“Says the advisor of the king…”
“I got my position out of my
friendship with Levi, not my family.”
I wanted to know more about
Owen’s family, but now wasn’t the
time. “If we know, do we need to
go inside at all?”
“It’s probably a safer place for
me to explain everything.”
“Sky doesn’t think Violet has a
plan.” I pushed open the door. I
figured I should be forthcoming as
well.
“Violet has one.”
“How do you know?”
“Because her Allure doesn’t work
on me. She might have used it on
Georgina and Mayanne but…”
“Wait, you’re right. How didn’t I
think of that before? She might
have been using her Allure on
them.”
“It wouldn’t work on me or Levi,
and neither woman sounded off to
you, did they?”
I shook my head. “No, but either
way, let’s hope she did have some
sort of plan.”
12
OWEN
Iturned on the one small lamp as
we walked into the simple yet
spacious home. From the outside it
had appeared small, but the high
ceilings and large hallways were
nothing like what I expected. It was
almost like an illusion. My eyes
went immediately to the large
window with a view of the entire
valley below.
“We broke into someone’s
house.” Daisy carefully closed the
door behind us.
“If that was the case, would it
have been so easy for you to open
the front door?” The door hadn’t
budged when I touched it, but
Daisy’s touch worked immediately.
“It seems strange that any
Allure can open it. Wouldn’t that be
a security or privacy issue? It can’t
be that simple.”
“None of the Dryads were
surprised, so it has to be pretty
common.”
“Or they want us to think that.”
Daisy walked into the living room.
“We can’t trust anyone anymore.”
“You can trust me.” I followed
behind her. “But I agree with you
about trusting anyone else. The
Dryads seemed to know more than
they were saying. I’m hoping this
isn’t some sort of trap.”
“We can’t know for sure, which
is why we need to work fast.”
“We can’t go anywhere else
tonight. We need to get food and
sleep.”
“You better not really be
planning on going to that festival.”
I smiled. “Really? Jealous of
Donna?”
“This has nothing to do with
jealousy, it has to do with
fraternizing with the potential
enemy.”
“I know you aren’t a fan, but I
did get some information from her.”
“You mentioned that earlier.
Ready to share?”
“Yes.” I put my hands on her
hips. “But first I need something
from you.”
“What?” She scrunched up her
forehead.
“This.” I crushed my lips into
hers. I’d been waiting hours to kiss
her, and I wasn’t going to give up
the chance.
She wrapped her arms around
my neck, pulling me closer. I lightly
bit down on her lip. She moaned,
and I intensified the kiss, soaking
up her taste as I explored her
mouth. I slipped my hand just
underneath her t-shirt, wanting to
feel her soft and warm skin.
She pushed my hand up higher,
and I cupped her breast through her
bra. She moaned as she ran her
hand up and down my chest. Each
touch set me on fire. I’d never get
enough.
She bit down on my lip, and I
groaned. I unclasped her bra and
cupped her breast without the
fabric in the way. She moaned as I
ran my fingers over her nipple.
I used my free hand to unbutton
her pants, and I slipped my hand
inside. She thrust her body against
mine. I released her breast and
pulled off her shirt, immediately
discarding her bra.
I held her against me, reveling
in the feel of her bare chest against
mine. Everything about it was
natural. We belonged together in a
way that still made little sense. I’d
never given much credence to fate,
but I’d changed my mind. We were
fated to be together. There was a
higher power that wanted us
together, and it made each day we
spent together feel like a year in
the intensity it created.
“I can feel your heartbeat,” she
whispered with her lips running
down my neck.
“I can feel yours.”
“I still can’t believe you’re here.
Despite all this craziness, you’re
with me.”
“I am.” And I always would be.
“We can’t do this though.” She
rested her head against my
shoulder. “We can’t let this go
further.”
“Because of how you feel, or
because of everyone else?”
“Everyone else. The only
feelings of mine I know are real
right now are the ones I feel for
you.”
“Good. And although I don’t
want to stop, you’re right.” I let out
a few deep breaths. My body was
ready for her, but my mind knew
that she was completely right.
I bent down and picked up her
bra. Instead of handing it to her I
put it on her myself. I moved
around behind her to clasp it.
Dressing her wasn’t nearly as much
fun as undressing her, but it was
intimate in a different way.
She pulled on her shirt while I
buttoned her jeans.
She ran her fingers through her
hair that fell over her shoulder.
“We’ll finish that later.”
I smiled. “Yes we will.”
“What did Donna say?”
It took me a moment to answer.
It was jarring to move from
touching Daisy to discussing
something serious. “The Glamour
Realm is really several islands.
We’re on one of the largest ones.
The Force is headquartered on one
smaller one.”
“And the Elders?”
“We have to travel to the
farthest island in the chain in order
to reach Energo. Once we get there
we’ll have to climb a massive
mountain to get to Mount Majest.”
Not that I planned to climb
anything. I’d fly us anywhere we
needed to go.
“Fantastic.” She pressed a hand
to her forehead.
“There’s more.” I needed to
share everything I knew. At least
Donna had been chatty.
“Oh?”
“When they say we won’t get an
audience, they mean it. We won’t
even be allowed near the palace on
our own.” I wasn’t used to being
denied access anywhere. I’d grown
up as the best friend of royalty, and
I’d never had a door closed in my
face. Now I had to learn to navigate
a world where no one cared who or
what I was.
“But we have to. There’s no way
to know how long Violet will be with
the Force, or even if she’s going to
help.” She paced around the worn
wood floors of the main living
space. The sparsely furnished place
had a quirky yet homey feel.
“Which is why it’s important
we’re here.” I had to keep our
confidence up. We needed to be
ready for whatever came our way.
“Maybe there’s something here that
can help.”
“Maybe she left a clue. She
specifically said she wanted us to
see her home.”
“Could be, but when would she
have left it?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “It
was only a thought. I’m also
wondering about Taylor. When and
how did she disappear? And what
about Violet’s past? What was the
story behind the story Myrtle told
us?”
I put my hands on her hips
again and pulled her in. “You’re
cute when you’re frustrated.”
“I guess that means I’m cute a
lot now.”
I laughed. “You’re breathtaking
when you’re happy.” I knew I was
moving us from the situation again,
but I couldn’t help it. Daisy was so
stressed and sad. It was killing me.
“I’m happy when I’m with you.”
“Are you?’” I looked deep into
her eyes. I was constantly checking
to make sure she was still there.
“Very.” She leaned forward and
brushed her lips against mine.
“I’ve missed you.”
“Me too. And I got jealous. I’m
ridiculous.”
“Not ridiculous.”
“I got jealous, and you were
getting us information.”
“I want you to be jealous.”
Being jealous meant she was still
feeling. She needed to stay that
way. Positive emotions were better,
but negative ones could be strong.
“Oh yeah?”
I ran my lips down her neck. “It
means you feel. You care.”
She leaned her head to the side
to give my lips better access. “No
matter what happens, I’m going to
remember your touch.”
“I won’t let you forget it. I won’t
let you forget anything.”
“I love you.”
I looked into her eyes again. “I
love you too.”
Tears streamed down her face.
“I want to love you forever.”
“And you will. I’ll make sure of
it.” I wiped away the tears from her
eyes.
“What are we looking for
exactly?” She blinked a few times.
“Anything to tell us where we
need to go.”
“How do we do this? Are we
really going to manually search her
house?”
“Absolutely not!” a scratchy
voice called from the dark corner of
the room.
I transformed again,
immediately on alert.
“Are the dramatics really that
necessary?” The voice asked.
“Who are you?” Daisy’s voice
shook. We both watched the corner
of the room where the voice came
from.
“I’m Glendale.” A small furry