The Hybrid (10 page)

“Gertrude quit fidgeting. You are going to
⎯”
Fall? Of course.

If it were anyone else, they probably would have done
just fine. But Tru had to freak out anytime she was near
an attractive man.

Her body was quickly hurtling toward the ground.
Cringing and screaming, Tru waited for the impact. She
was sure her screams could be heard around the world,
but at the same time, it felt like the wind was quickly
sucking the air from her lungs, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. The ground grew closer and closer
⎯ the rocks and smaller plants became more distinct by
the second. Tru quickly shut her eyes and waited.

“You did not really think I was going to let you fall, did
you?” Edyn said as his arms quickly wrapped around
Tru’s body, cradling her close to his bare chest. Tru instantly locked her elbows around his neck, holding them
firmly in position, instantly relieved. “I told you, I would
never let that happen.”

Tru took a deep breath. “For a second there, I thought I
was a goner.” She was telling the truth. Maybe that had
been his plan all along. But as she thought about it, Tru
knew that was a lie. He seemed to good a man to let
something like that happen to anyone. He didn’t even
seem like the type of person who would swat away an annoying fly. Tru looked up at his face, his grass colored
green eyes focused immediately on hers. “Being your
friend is going to be the death of me isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer.
Tru had somehow managed to always say the wrong
words around him. First with the mention of her grandma, and now with this.
“Maybe
we
should
keep
both
of
your
feet
on
the
ground for a while.” A cold look was planted on his face
now. Tru had completely forgotten about her thoughts
again. Even those weren’t safe anymore. How was she
supposed to keep her spoken words
and
her thoughts
from hurting him? If she didn’t say the wrong thing, then
she would think it. And, if she
had
said the wrong thing,
she would think about taking it back.
“Yeah, I agree.” Tru looked down at the soil just feet
below them as they gradually descended through the air.
Once on the ground, with Edyn still cradling her effortlessly in his arms, the two of them stood in an awkward
silence, staring at one another. Merely seconds later, the
muscles in Tru’s face began to relax. A smile broke out
across her face, and soon, Edyn began smiling too. His
eyes looked warm, and for a split second, Tru had the
urge to grab the back of his head, and pull it close enough
to her face so she could kiss him. Tru instantly blushed,
knowing he had heard every part of her daydream, as she
looked down at her lap.
But as Edyn hesitantly released Tru from his grasp,
setting her gently on the ground as he looked down at
her, there was a hurried rustling in the trees above them.

8
The Arrangement

“What’s th
⎯?” But before Tru could finish her question, Edyn placed a soft hand over her mouth and looked
up toward the sky.

“Shh,” he whispered, placing the index finger from his
other hand over his own mouth. Tru looked up at the
trees curiously.

“Edyn!” a young girl’s voice yelled out playfully. Her
tone reminded Tru of a young girl playing hide and seek
with her friends.

Edyn looked at Tru for a moment, their eyes instantly
locking on one another, before grabbing Tru’s wrist, pulling her towards a large tree. “Tru,” he began, looking back
up into the sky. His voice was barely a whisper, but one
could still hear the worry behind it. “Hide now!”

“But
⎯”
“Please?” Edyn
pleaded
still
looking
at
the
canopy
above their heads. His face looked scared, making Tru
wish she could hear what he was thinking.
Tru nodded up at him watching his face carefully, and
then ran behind the massive tree trunk to her left, remaining as quiet as possible.
“Coming Airi!” Edyn shouted up to the young girl hidden somewhere in the dense pine needles. He took one
final look at Tru, jumped into the air, and then quickly
disappeared into the dark branches of the nearest pine.
“Edyn!” the young girl, Tru assumed was Airi, shouted
as she emerged from the foliage of a tree on the opposite
side of her. Tru watched as Edyn took a seat on a branch
high above her head, letting his legs dangle freely off of its
side. The moon illuminated his body perfectly, like a spotlight shining down on him, casting shadows on his back
and the bottoms of his feet. Airi’s eyes instantly landed on
Edyn, and in the blink of an eye, she was joining him on
the branch. “Is everything okay?” She lowered her body
next to him, taking a seat.
Tru tried desperately to quiet her thoughts. She wasn’t
sure if Airi had the ability to read people’s minds like
Edyn, and if she could, Tru had no idea how far her range
could reach.
“Yes. I am fine. Why?” Edyn’s answers were short and
staccato. Tru could see Edyn fidget as he sat beside the
girl.
Airi was young, maybe fourteen, but no older than fifteen. She had an A-line styled, fiery red hairdo, and bright
crimson eyes to match. She was short too, less than five
and a half feet tall and couldn’t have weighed more than
one hundred and ten pounds. Her skin was a shade or
two darker than Edyn’s, and her tattoos were not as intricate, and covered much less of her body than Edyn’s had.
And instead of starting on her arms, the black markings
on her body started on her left ankle and made their way
up her thigh, disappearing under her handmade leather
skirt. They reappeared again just above her hip, wrapping
themselves toward her back, not yet crossing over to the
other side.
Her attire was much nicer than Edyn’s. The bodice of
her top was made of leather, with metallic looking buckles
holding down more thick leather straps, while the long
sleeves attached to the top of it were made of a sheer, delicately flowing clothe. Her short skirt was made of the
same weathered leather, with more straps and buckles
that held what looked like a small arsenal of knives and
spears. Her feet were bare, and like Edyn’s, managed to
look as though she had never walked on them. She looked
elegant, but somehow looked like an Amazonian warrior
woman at the same time.
Airi’s wings, attached to the center of her back between
her shoulder blades, were like something out of a dream.
Even in the dim light, they somehow sparkled, imitating
the stars in the sky that poked through the trees above the
three teens. They were a much deeper red than Edyn’s
had been, but not nearly quite as large. Where his jutted
out with sharp angles and frayed edges, as though they
had been damaged in battle, hers were curved and soft
looking, resembling the delicate wings of a butterfly.
Tru looked up at her, dazed by her beauty, and admittedly, slightly jealous.
“I heard a scream.” She quickly looked around the
trees, and then back at Edyn. Tru remained silent, placing
a hand over her mouth, hoping it would lessen ⎯ and
possibly muffle⎯ the sound of her hurried breathing.
“There is no one here but I,” Edyn replied, casually
pealing a piece of bark off of the exposed branch between
them. Tru watched as he twirled it around in his fingers.
“But I smell something stra⎯”
“There is no one else here, Airi,” He looked at Airi, his
face was expressionless. He slowly scanned the trees,
ending at the spot where Tru stood. She instinctively
moved further into the shadows.
“Well, your brother is looking for you. He says it is important.” Airi looked at Edyn for a moment, putting a
hand on her hip as she waited for his reply.
“Tell him I am occupied at the moment.” The small
piece of bark weaved its way in and out of Edyn’s long
and delicate fingers.
Airi looked around the forest once again. “You? Busy?
What could you possibly be busy with?”
Edyn looked down at the ground.
“I am working on our wedding plans. You know how
much there is still to do.”
Tru looked up at Edyn.
Turn around and look at me.
But, he did not look away from Airi.
What was he talking about? Was he supposed to marry
this girl? This child? She looked so young. She couldn’t
possibly be the one getting married to him, not at her age.
But what did Tru know? Maybe things were different
here.
Airi began to smile⎯ more of a smirk really.
“Oh,” she hesitated looking at Edyn peculiarly, “then I
will go and tell your brother. He will be very pleased to
hear the news.” She turned around happily, resting a
cheek on her shoulder as she gazed at Edyn. “Now I know
why you have been so mysterious lately.” Tru couldn’t see
her face very well in the darkness, but judging by the tone
of her voice, it sounded as though she was trying to seem
flirtatious, and somewhat playful. Tru watched as she
stood up on the branch and skipped to its very edge. As
she extended her wings, she placed her hands by her hips,
and then quickly disappeared through the branches.
Edyn waited silently for a moment, peering through
the trees where Airi had vanished, making sure that she
was far enough away before returning to Tru’s side at the
base of the massive tree trunk. Watching him fly was like
watching something from a dream. It just didn’t seem
real to Tru. She thought Airi looked beautiful, but watching Edyn made her feel as though she was watching the
tiny flakes of the season’s first snow falling in slow motion through the sky. He floated on the air with such
grace, landing smoothly on both feet as his wings folded
together gently behind his back.

Slowly, Tru made her way out of her hiding spot, and
placed a hand on the bark of the trunk beside her. As
Edyn walked toward her, Tru noticed how his head and
shoulders barely bobbed up and down with each step he
took.

“Well, I guess that means I should probably get you
back home.” Edyn put his hand on the tree so that it was
almost touching Tru’s, and held his other hand ⎯ palm
up ⎯ in the air, waiting for Tru to grab it. “She may come
back.”

Tru removed her hand from the tree and crossed her
arms over her chest. Though she was slightly angry, she
tried to keep calm. Tru knew she had no right to be so
angry. She had only just met Edyn today. He didn’t have
to share his entire life story yet.

And why should I care? He isn’t mine. We aren’t dating.

 

But Tru couldn’t help but feel the sudden sting of jealousy rising in her chest.

 

“Are you engaged to her?” Tru wasn’t afraid of asking
blunt questions anymore.

Edyn looked her straight in the eyes, leaning down towards her so that they were at eye level. Tru couldn’t help
but blush a little, but she was still focused on her question.

He squinted, examining Tru’s face. “You heard all of
that?”

Tru looked at him with a confused expression on her
face. “Yes. It wasn’t like the two of you were being quiet
or anything.”

“I mean, you could
⎯” he paused, looking away as he
took a deep breath. “Never mind.”
“Never mind what?” Tru asked quietly.
“It is nothing.” He turned to look at her again. “Airi
and I have been engaged since we were very young. My
father announced it the day before he was murdered. If
we do not go through with the marriage, I would feel as
though I am disrespecting him.” He shrugged his shoulders. The way Edyn said the words made it seem like he
really wasn’t too worried about the fact that he was supposed to someday marry the girl.
“So, it was,” Tru paused, unable to say the word without a touch of resentment, “arranged?”
“Yes.” Edyn continued to stare.
Tru looked down at her feet, and then back up into his
glassy green eyes.
“And, you’re okay with that?”
“I have to be. Airi and I are meant to bring our colonies
together. She is the princess of Riventalis.” He pointed
over to a spot through the trees behind Tru. She turned
and looked in the direction he pointed, but saw only the
dense, blackened forest.
“How old is she?” Tru didn’t really want to know, she
just didn’t know what else to ask.
“To you?”
Tru nodded.
“About fifteen.”
“So, when are you getting married?”

Is it soon? And when they become husband and wife,
will I lose my new friend forever? Maybe it doesn’t have
to be that way. Maybe we can all be friends.

Yeah right. Tru, get a grip. Don’t you remember how
she talked about killing you the first time you ran into
these people? She hates you. She hates humans.

Tru watched Edyn as he raised his hand to his chin. He
reminded her of The Thinker, the famous sculpture by
Auguste Rodin, that she had remembered seeing on a
fieldtrip once.

But watching him only made her realize that something was bothering him, something he would probably
never share with her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to
⎯” Tru let her voice trail
off, mumbling the last few words quietly to herself. She
felt like she was constantly saying that sentence, like a
broken record.

“No. Do not feel sorry. I am just worried about certain
matters. I should be the one apologizing. I am frequently
forcing my problems on you.” Edyn removed his hand
from his chin and put it casually at his side.

“What makes you so worried all the time?” Seeing him
acting so worried was starting to make Tru worry for him.
She wanted to reach out and hug him, but she knew she
shouldn’t, no matter how strong her desires were.

“It is nothing really, I promise. Just a few minor details.”

Tru stared at Edyn as the two of them stood in the silence. He looked down at the ground for a moment, and
then shifted his gaze up into the trees above them. Tru
could see the pained expression on his face. He wasn’t
hiding it very well if he was even trying to hide it at all.

“I have been trying to delay the whole arrangement for
as long as I can, but it seems that my efforts have not
been working out so well. I do not wish to marry her. I
care for her like a brother would care for his sister. Not as
my future bride.” Tru was startled when he had spoken⎯
it had been silent longer than she had thought.