Stone of Destiny(16)

“I’ll walk you out,” I said.

Ethan’s truck was parked on the road at the end of Liam’s driveway. We walked down without saying a word.

When the silence became too much, I glanced up at him. He was already looking at me but I couldn’t get a good grip on his expression. He squared his shoulders and if anything, I’d say he looked determined.

“I’m sorry,” I said, voice wavering. “I tried to keep you out of this, I really did.”

Ethan shrugged. “Nothing to be sorry about. I just need some time to process it all. But, Al?”

“Yeah?”

He opened the driver door of his pickup truck. “Whatever you’re planning to do to help your parents, I want to be there.”

I gaped at him. “That’s not a —” He cut me off by climbing in and shutting the door.

“Good idea or not, I need you to trust me. I want to be there,” he said through the open window.

Before I could respond, he started the truck and gave me a salute before driving off.





I heard the screen door open and slam shut downstairs the next morning. Sticking my head out of my bedroom door, I listened for who it was.

I didn’t go back to Liam’s house after the showdown figuring I’d hear more from them soon enough. Instead I opted for a shower and some overdue laundry. I was actually surprised I hadn’t been summoned back yet.

I heard Nicole’s laughter coming from downstairs. I grabbed my cell off my bureau before I headed down.

“Hey Nic,” I said when I walked into the kitchen. Nicole sat at the kitchen table with my grandmother pointing out wedding cakes in a bridal magazine. I looked across to where my mother sat in the living room watching a cooking show.

“Hey, whatcha doing?” Nicole asked without tearing her attention from the magazine.

“Not much, just finished a week’s worth of laundry,” I said as I sat beside her.

She turned and wrinkled her nose at me. “You’re off today, right?”

“Yup, two days of good old R and R.”

“Hmm, well. Want to grab a late lunch? I found some of the cutest ideas I want to show you.”

I willed my face blank. I had no reason not to. I had no plans other than saving the world from blood-draining fairies. But even that seemed on hold for now.

“Yeah, lunch sounds good.”

Nicole’s face lit up. “Great. Let’s go to The Bean Counter. I’m dying for a mocha.”

We took my SUV and parked it on the street in front of Stoneville’s coffee house. The place was pretty crowded, but the food was always awesome and it smelled like coffee heaven. As we entered, I gave the place a quick scan from the corner of my eye. As far as I could tell everything seemed pretty normal, no signs of glamour.

We seated ourselves and opened our menus. The sound of a couple arguing a few tables over caught my attention. A girl with spiky black hair sat with her back to us. Across from her, a tall guy with caramel-colored hair around our age sat fiddling with a straw wrapper, but his demeanor was agitated.

I went back to my menu and decided to order a turkey club and a mocha Frappuccino. Once the waitress took our orders, Nicole pulled a stack of magazines out of her messenger bag.

I bit back any comments, because this was Nicole’s big dream and I wasn’t about to ruin it for her. She had little post-it notes marking up dozens of pages and we pored over them until our food arrived.

While we ate, I absently noted the arguing couple getting up to leave. I glanced over and when I got a look at the girl’s face, I gasped.

She looked just like Aoife.

But it wasn’t her. Her chin length black hair framed her face in perfectly arranged spikes. Aoife’s hair was long waves down her back. This girl had piercings covering both ears and in her eyebrow and lip. I would have remembered if Aoife had multiple piercings.

When the guy she was with caught her looking at me, he grabbed her elbow and pushed her toward the door. She went without arguing, but not before taking one more curious glance at me. I watched them out of the corner of my eye as they made their way out the front door.

I tried to focus on what Nicole was saying about linen chair covers, but I couldn’t get the girl’s face out of my mind. It had been almost an exact match. Maybe her cheeks were a little fuller, but still, so close.

My mind was going over the idea that maybe it was Aoife and she was glamoured to look human. But that didn’t make sense. I’d looked for glamour and there was none.

I made a few affirmative noises to Nicole, not really surprised she didn’t notice my distraction. She was in her element with all the planning involved in a wedding.

When our food arrived, the couple was still standing outside the plate glass window at the front The Bean Counter. The girl gestured widely with her hands while the guy stood with his arms crossed. He glanced over and saw me watching. I averted my eyes for a second, but when I looked back, they were gone. They disappeared into thin air.