“I can feel you staring, little Red.”
Okay, apparently not asleep.
“Conceited much. I have better things to do than stare at you all morning.”
He opened his eyes then, the inky black lashes sweeping up like a curtain to reveal the chocolate goodness beneath. I wasn’t one to admit it, but when he looked at me like he was right now, I almost cried. His eyes were warm as they caressed my face, like the messy-hair tousled look was the most amazing thing he’d seen in all his years. He reached up a hand, tangling it in the hair at the nape of my neck, and pulled me down for a gentle kiss.
“I have lived over half a millennium without you. How can you question that I don’t know you’re the most perfect beauty in every world?”
“I’m just one person, Brace. Nothing special here. I just get up every day and do the best job I can.”
He laughed. “Well, actually my half-Walker conduit, you are special. But, more importantly, you don’t have to be every person’s most perfect beauty, the reason they get out of bed each morning and don’t destroy the worlds every night. You only have to be mine. To have just one person in the worlds who loves you as much as I do ... well, that’s enough, isn’t it?”
Damn, Brace was too freaking smart. He saw so much more than I did.
“And in reality, Red, you have a lot of people who love you almost as much as I do, so you must be doing something right.”
I threw myself all over his naked chest. “I love you like that, Brace. Thankfully I have a Walker heart. I think a human one would explode from this much emotion.” I pulled back to see his face. “You’ll have to put up with my immature insecurities for a while. I’ve got a few years to go to catch up with you.”
“Baby, it’s not time’s job to rid you of your insecurities. It’s mine. If a man loves his woman right, protects her, provides for her and cherishes every single facet of her complex personality, then there will be no need for insecurities.”
A soft smile spread across my face. “Now I understand why women date older men. You’re so wise.”
And suddenly we were very busy again.
Later that morning, after a leisurely rinse-off in the warm springs, I was dressed and searching for the others. I’d found a few more vintage tees that Josian had dug up for us. Considering how much he hated Earth, it must have been a sacrifice sifting through its clutter for our shirts. My dad was one of the good ones. I’d left Brace in the kitchen preparing food for breakfast. Lucky for me the boy could cook, because I didn’t have a clue. On Earth we’d been more into throwing knives than using them for dicing food.
The caves seemed so quiet. The last time I’d explored this place there had been so many Walkers filling it up.
Suddenly the golden cord that I now recognized as part of my conduit powers tugged at me, urging me to carry on along the corridor I was in.
Now, normally I would hesitate to follow directions from a golden cord, but for some reason a curiosity overtook me. I continued until I reached the garden. The urge persisted so I stepped out onto the soft dirt, careful not to crush any of the smaller delicate plants. Something powerful was on the other side. I don’t know how I knew that, but I did. I could feel the warm glow beckoning me, drawing me closer.
Once I was through the garden I noticed a small alcove hidden to one side. It was emitting a glow, subtle but alluring, and was definitely the source of the power. I slid my way along the rock wall, my soft steps slowing as I neared the opening. What the hell did Josian have hidden back here? I peered around the corner.
“Abby!” I jumped ten feet in the air as Lucy screeched in my ear. “What you doing sneaking around?”
I held one hand over my chest to stop my heart beating out of its cavity. Lucy, wearing a Mario Brothers’ vintage tee, was standing at my side.
“Could you give a girl some notice before you try to scare her to death?” I turned back to the alcove. “There’s something hidden here.”
She grabbed my hand. “What is it?”
“I don’t know yet.” I peered around the corner again, and what I saw brought a shocked gasp to my lips.
I yanked Lucy into the opening, both of us dumfounded by the vision before us.
“Are you seeing what I am, Abbs?”
“It’s a freaking fairy land,” I finally gasped out.
A miniature world was spread out before us, complete with forests, thousands of fragile little plants, a stream and tiny houses built into the hills and grassy land. And the inhabitants were peering up at us, their huge eyes watchful as they waited for us to move. Finally, the most delicate of all that I had seen stepped forward. She looked female, long wispy hair falling around her face, and a light cloth covered her body. Her head was large, disproportionate for her tiny frame. I couldn’t see any wings, but otherwise she looked like the epitome of a miniature fairy.