The Unveiling

Chapter Fifteen

There was no funeral procession. There was no wake. In fact, there was no mourning within the community whatsoever. It was if Brad’s loss of life simply didn’t happen. 

When they came to remove the body, it was another two nameless suits. Mayor Winters didn’t even come to investigate herself. A hushed situation - something to simply not be spoken about. 

Before handing over the note to those suited authorities, Chase snapped a picture of it discreetly on his phone. 

I sat in the cold shivering. Was the note for me? I scoffed at even doubting their intentions. They left the message (because I couldn’t think of the body as Brad) in the middle of the scorched field with a note about war. Everything in the baseball field had been signed because of me, so what better place to choose then? 

Chase pulled me up off the ground, steadying me as I stood breathing in the frost bitten air. The wind cool on my face as the storm that had been threatening finally rolled in. Lightning lit up the sky, but he didn’t look away from my face, simply didn’t notice the flashes demanding attention like errant children all around us. 

He turned me around, and guided me back home, arm in arm, amongst the soft pitter patter of rain. 

We didn’t talk about Brad. We didn’t talk about death. We didn’t talk about the note. We didn’t even talk about Mayor Winters non-arrival. 

We simply continued. 

We continued as if nothing had happened, as if nothing were wrong, and perhaps that was worse. 

He ran me a full, steamy bath, commanding me to remove my wet and iced clothes and warm myself. 

How long had I sat on that frost covered pitch? I didn’t know. But it was long enough for my bones stopped aching and for me to feel entirely numb. 

I watched my non-grief, non-feeling self swirl down the drain, and I wondered if this was the price that Seraphim spoke of. Was it worth it? 

Knock.

Knock. 

The walls to my mind reverberated, and I knew that the trickster was on the other side, waiting for an audience with me. 

Not now. I wasn’t ready. I needed time. 

I reinforced the walls, thrusting back slightly in a way that told him I wasn’t open for chatter tonight. 

I’d have to deal with him - I knew that. I also knew that if he ever found his freedom and it wasn’t because of me, he would come after me with all of his vengeance for refusing him. 

As I padded, barefoot into the living room, Chase had an array of take-out laid out as though it were a feast. And although his eyes softened at the sight of me, he still said, “Tomorrow Oswald is coming to oversee our training and to demand a report on how things are going.” 

I slumped in the chair, grabbing a chicken wing, I groaned, “And he thinks that tomorrow is the best day for this report? Honestly!” 

“I think,” Chase spoke carefully, “that he will be counting on you being out of sorts after everything that has happened, and that to get through tomorrow we’ll have to show a somewhat united front and portray that everything is fine.” 

“Is that your military opinion?” I asked, biting into another piece of chicken. 

“It’s advice from one friend to another,” he said. 

And there it was - the olive branch. The idea that I was actually friends with this High Fae male. 

So I smiled as I asked, “Does that mean you won’t be an ass tomorrow?” 

His eyes crinkled in laughter, as he said, “You can’t change a person’s character Reya.”

In response, I may have dipped an olive into my mouth, sucking on it suggestively. 

Chase’s eyes flared wide, and I watched him track my lips, waiting to see what I did next. 

I smiled blandly. 

“Good Night Chase,” I stood up and headed towards the bedroom. 

He grunted in response, as I fell asleep with a smile on my face. 

The following morning, Chase and I were both tense and snappy with one another, no doubt nervous about Oswald watching us. Did Fae Prince’s get nervous? He would argue that he wasn’t nervous and that ultimately there wasn’t anything to be nervous about. But I knew better, and his nerves put my own on edge. 

When we arrived at the park Oswald was already there waiting, a frown plastered on his face. 

“Good morning Oswald,” I beamed with my brightest smile. 

His stance softened as he looked at me directly and said, “It is lovely to see you this morning Reya,” merely dipping his head in acknowledgement at Chase. 

Chase and I both took our usual positions - me on the log in a meditative state, Chase standing a few feet back by the tree, whilst Oswald stood in the middle awkwardly. 

After half an hour of meditating and getting nowhere, I huffed in irritation, trying not to show Oswald how unsatisfied I was - not with the training session, but with myself. 

I knew that Chase understood, and that he held himself accountable to the highest standard, but Oswald? I wasn’t sure he understood at all. 

“What of your shifter Reya,” he interrupted my thoughts. 

“Huh?” I responded, the expression out before I could even think and formulate something more coherent to say. 

He chuckled, and it sounded brittle against my skin. 

“I mean to ask,” he continued, “if you know what animal form your shifter has presented itself in.” 

I sank lower within myself, dreading this conversation. 

“Um, I haven’t really accessed my shifter side to be honest.” 

He glanced disapprovingly towards Chase and tsk’d in a reprimanding manner. 

“We can discuss all the possibilities of your animal form over dinner tonight,” his voice velvet smooth. He didn’t pose it as a question, rather it was a statement. 

“Tonight?” I squealed, my voice sounding foreign in my ears. 

“Yes,” he nodded, “the President has even granted me permission to escort you to dinner outside of this base-camp.” He spoke with enthusiasm, as if eating out with him was the most joyful experience one could hope for. 

Chase cleared his throat, “I’m not sure she should be in such situations,” he stated, a frown on his face, “she doesn’t even have a full handle on her powers, and now you’re taking her out to dinner in a presumably crowded restaurant where other people’s lives may be at stake.” 

"Your concern is noted Prince," Oswald said, "but unwarranted. I am more than capable of looking after her." 

And perhaps it was because Chase had called me a danger to society and myself. Perhaps it was because he had voiced my own internal fears to Oswald, and in so doing I somehow felt betrayed. 

But I found myself shrugging in a nonchalant manner and replying to Oswald, "Sure, I mean a girl has got to eat." 

I felt Chase's eyes stare into me as I refused to look at him. 

The rest of my training session went by awkwardly with neither myself or Chase looking at one another while the other was looking, leaving us both to catch the tail-end of the glances. 

At home we worked in silence, deftly avoiding one another.

I showered and got ready for the dinner with Oswald  mindful of what I wore. When I stepped through the door into the living room, I heard Chase’s breath hitch and I wondered briefly if I was doing the right thing. 

I wore a black coat-dress with two lines of brass buttons running down the front. It would have been modest, had it not boasted a slit on either side, effectively exposing my thighs. I wore black sheer stockings with a dark black line at the back running from foot, up underneath my dress. Paired with simple heels, I knew I looked good. 

After a day of not looking at each other, we stood in the living room drinking our fill. Chase was wearing a dress shirt tucked into a low cut pair of jeans. His shadowed jawline clenched as I stepped towards him, the smell of his Pine scent present - even with the distance between us. 

A sigh escaped my lips. It was the type of sigh that spoke of belonging. It spoke of comfort and relaxation. Testing the waters with your toe in case it was too hot, only to discover that it was the perfect mix of warmth and steam that you could submerge yourself in. 

“You look good,” he spoke, his voice strained. 

I allowed myself to smile, basking in his compliment. 

“So do you,” I replied. 

“I’m meeting Mayor Winters for dinner,” he said quickly. 

I turned my face slightly away. He was going to dinner with Mayor Winters, and something within me wanted to stamp my feet and scream about the unfairness of it all. But, I couldn’t do that. We owed each other nothing, and more so, I was the one who started this. I was the one who was meeting Oswald for dinner. 

As I turned my head away, conflicted within my own thoughts, Chase rushed on, saying, “It’s supposed to be a few key members from the compound.” 

I looked at him and grimaced. I felt better knowing that it wasn’t just him and the Mayor, and those feelings of jealousy were foreign to me in my world. I had never had a reason to feel jealous, had never allowed anyone in deep enough to cause such an emotion. I refused to think about how the Fae prince had nestled his way beneath my skin, causing my emotions to swing wildly as though it were a pendulum seeking the answers of truth itself. 

A sound blasted from our window as the car's horn blared just outside. 

“I have to go,” I said, walking towards the door - towards Oswald. 

“Reya?” he spoke, my name falling from his lips in a plea. 

“Yes?” I turned, looking at him one last time. 

“Be careful,” he said, his eyes swimming with emotion. 

I simply nodded my head and shut the door behind me, creating a barrier between myself and Chase and all the feelings and entanglements he came with. 

The drive to the restaurant was uneventful as Oswald spoke of himself and his achievements. 

The restaurant was some high-class sushi joint, with sunken tables, creating isolated booths, and blue lit fish tanks surrounding the place, forming an aquarium-like wall. 

Oswald grinned, “Pretty neat huh?” 

“It’s great,” I nodded and smiled, giving him the answer that was expected. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, the velvet cushions of the seating, creating static and sticking to my stockings. 

Oswald didn’t notice, too absorbed within the menu, whilst I didn’t even open mine. 

When the waiter came to take our order Oswald simply chose a bottle of champagne and some crab dish - for both of us. Not once had he asked me what I wanted. He didn’t even know if I liked crab. 

Yet I chose to smile sweetly and remain compliant. 

“President Gaol has high hopes for the two of us,” he spoke, taking a sip of his champagne. 

“Does he now?” I asked blandly, swirling my glass. I still hadn’t taken a sip - I was afraid that it would affect my mental shield, and the last thing I needed was the trickster to arrive while I plied Oswald for information. 

“Indeed,” his teeth shone in the light in a way that reminded me that he was indeed feral - a shifter afterall. “He has such visions for the merging of our bloodlines,” he spoke with fever, gripping my hands from across the table, “our children will be conquerors.” 

His grip suddenly a little too tight, I asked, “Funny that. I don’t once remember being asked to participate in this little breeding experiment of yours.” 

His eyes hardened, “If it’s a proposal and a silly little ring you want Reya, I’ll be happy to oblige, but this arrangement we are discussing will be enough to quell a war.” 

“A war?” I asked. 

He shifted next to me, pushing his body against mine as his hand slid down my back in an action that spoke of ownership and possession. 

I supressed my shudder, lest he think I was shuddering in anticipation and not revulsion - sometimes they could be two sides of the same coin. 

“Yes,” he purred, “you and I could end this war, and I promise you Reya - it won’t be wholly unpleasurable.” 

That implied promise made my skin crawl and I suddenly found myself standing up, making an excuse to use the restroom. I needed to get away. On some level I knew that it was possible that such an alliance may even keep war at bay, but the peace it would bring wouldn’t last - Seraphim had said as much. 

As I rounded the corner towards the rest room Shay stood there, one knee hiked up with his foot pressed firmly against the floral wallpaper. His open denim jacket showing off one of his ban shirts. 

“Hello darling,” he grinned at me. 

“Shay!” I flung my arms around him, “What are you doing here?” I whispered. 

“Your Fae lover boy said that you may need help bailing on your date.” 

“Chase called you?” I asked in disbelief. 

“Yes sweet cheeks,” he nodded, swinging his keys around his finger, “now we don’t have a lot of time, so let’s get going,” he ushered me towards a back entrance. 

I stepped into the night air, leaving Oswald to his illusions of grandeur.