Broken Promise (Between Worlds #2) Read online

  “My case load has kept me up late this month. I figured I’d sleep in and take it easy today,” Dad answered with a twinkle in his eyes. Considering I’d dropped a bomb on them last night about seeing Kallan, he was in good spirits.

  I glanced over at my mom and raised an eyebrow. Mom, who was still dressed in her plaid pajamas and had her chestnut hair up in a messy bun, just smiled and shrugged. Well, good for them, I thought. They deserved some relaxing time.

  I grabbed the orange juice from the fridge and poured a glass.

  Mom spoke up. “I got your favorite banana nut bread from Smith’s. It’s in the breadbox.”

  Finally, after years of trying to bake, my mom was starting to accept some things were better to purchase than make herself. She meant well, but cooking was not her strong suit.

  “Where are you off to this early?” she asked.

  I pulled the loaf out of its bag and set it on the cutting board. “Figured I’d go out with Sierra for the day. She’s having a hard time at home with her nephew being there and her mom and sister fighting. I thought it would be good for her if she got out of the house.”

  Mom took a sip of her coffee before she asked, “Why wasn’t she at your concert? I don’t think she’s ever missed one before.”

  “She had to babysit again.” I cut off a thick slice of the moist bread and took a bite.

  “She’s been doing that a lot lately. It doesn’t really seem fair. I’m surprised her mother is allowing it.”

  “I know.” I sighed. My best friend and I hadn’t had a lot of time together lately, and I missed her. I really wanted to talk to her and tell her everything that had happened last year, but I was afraid she’d laugh or think I was crazy—or even be scared of me. That would crush me. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing my best friend.

  “Well, if nothing else I’m sure it’s good birth control for her.” My dad smirked. “Maybe you should offer to babysit.”

  “Funny.” I rolled my eyes. Why did dads have to be such dorks?

  I chugged my orange juice and had just put the glass in the dishwasher when Sierra’s horn blared from out front. “I’m meeting Adam later.”

  “Okay. Have fun,” Mom chirped.

  “I’ll be home by curfew.” I shoved the last bite of bread in my mouth and grabbed my purse off the chair.

  “Careful. It looks like a storm is coming,” my father warned.

  “We’ll probably just go to the mall.” With a quick wave, I slipped through the door and closed it behind me.

  Sierra’s black convertible sat on the street. The wind almost blew me off my feet as I trotted down the driveway, which explained why she didn’t have the top down.

  I slid into the passenger seat and scanned my best friend. She had dark circles under her green eyes, and the blonde highlights in her brown hair had faded. Sierra was always pulled together. I didn’t quite know what to make of her appearance.

  “Rough night?” I asked.

  “You have no idea. That kid wakes up like every hour and my sister sleeps through half of it. I can’t stand for the poor little guy to be crying, so I drag myself out of bed. I feel like a zombie.”

  “Not to be mean, but you kinda look like one, too.”

  She swatted me, and then pulled away from the curb.

  “So where are we going?”

  “I don’t know. Want to catch a movie or hang out at the mall?” she asked. “As long as there are no babies involved, I’m all for it.”

  I laughed. “No babies. Got it. Maybe we could just hang out, do a little retail therapy, and talk.”

  Sierra smiled. “Sounds perfect. You meeting Adam later?”

  “Yeah. He’s supposed to text me.”

  We spent the next couple hours walking through the mall, stopping at various stores and spending money. Sierra had two credit cards to her name and used them constantly. I was actually worried for her. I wasn’t sure what would happen to her when she graduated and didn’t have her parents to spoil her.

  We stopped in the food court and picked up cookies and sodas, then sat down at a table. As we unwrapped our goodies, I said, “Sierra?”

  “Yeah?” She shoved a bite in her mouth.

  “Do you think it would be cool to have some kind of power?”

  “Like a superhero power?” She wiped crumbs off her mouth with the back of her hand.

  “Sure. Something like that,” I agreed, tearing off a gooey chunk of chocolate chip cookie.

  “Yeah. Why not? I’ve always thought it would be awesome if I could read minds.”

  “A mind reader?” I wrinkled my nose. “Why would you want that power?”

  Sierra shrugged. “It would be cool to know what others were thinking. You could use it to your advantage.”

  “What about looking different? Would you be okay if you looked differently than others? In order to have a power, I mean.”

  She shot me a weird look. “What would be different about me?”

  “I dunno. Weird hair color or an extra-large nose or maybe wings?”

  “Is this about your birthmark again?”

  I thought about that for a second. “In a way.”

  She shook her head. “I think your birthmark is cool.”

  You wouldn’t if it marked you the way it does me, I thought. “Just answer the question.”

  “I guess if I had something different about me, I’d have to live with it. Not sure I’d like a big nose. I could work with different color hair. Wings would be...interesting.”

  I laughed. That was true. They were interesting. “Do you think there are creatures out there that we don’t know about?”

  “Sure. You know I think anything is possible.” She smiled around a mouthful of cookie crumbs.

  “What would you do if you found out they were walking around right beside us?”

  She laughed. “As long as they’re not biting me, I’m okay with that.”

  It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Not just vampires. Not all fantasy creatures are vampires.”

  “True. I think my opinion stays the same though. As long as they’re not hurting me, I don’t care.”

  Maybe it was time to tell her? She’d always had an open mind. I really thought she would be cool with it. For the next ten minutes, I tried to tell her a dozen different ways, but the words just wouldn’t come out. I kept chickening out, and then finally decided to wait for another day.

  My phone dinged. I took it out of my pocket and checked it. It was Adam. 4 good for u?

  Yes. Already at mall. Meet here?

  Ok. Food court.

  Checking the time, I told Sierra, “Adam will be here in half an hour.”

  “Guess girl time is over.”

  “How are things with Ian?” I asked. Sierra and Ian had been dating since last spring, but lately they had seemed to be slipping apart. Of course I hadn’t been around her much to know what the story was there.

  She shrugged. “Complicated.”

  “Aren’t all relationships?”

  Sierra rolled her eyes. “What would you know about relationship issues? You have the perfect boyfriend.”

  I was lucky to have Adam, and I knew it. I just wished I could shake the thought of a certain dark faery. Not to mention the fact that I was promised to said dark faery and would have to crush Adam to keep that promise. My stomach tied itself into knots just thinking about it.

  We made another loop around the mall, and then parted ways. I met Adam in the food court with a kiss and a smile.

  “Have you been at the mall all day?” he asked.

  “Yup, since about ten-thirty.”

  “I’ll never understand girls and shopping.”

  “It’s our bonding time. Sierra needed to get out.” I threw my arm around Adam’s waist, and we made our way to the theater.

  We decided on a comedy, where we laughed a lot and ate too much popcorn. I found myself glancing at Adam during the movie. His laugh was infectious and his smile could light up
a room. There was no way I could give him up. I needed to find a way out of this crazy deal I’d made with Varwik. He was expecting me to move to the faery world and take my place beside Kallan when I turned eighteen. My feelings for Kallan were stressful and confusing, but I knew I cared for Adam. I didn’t want to give him—or the rest of my life—up.

  The rain had started while we were inside the theater. I shivered and Adam pulled me in close. The warmth of his body spread to mine as we hurried to the truck. Even though it was spring, a chill lingered in the air, especially when it was raining.

  “Food or home?” he asked after we were settled in the cab.

  “Ugh, I’m so full from the popcorn, but you know, a shake sounds good,” I responded, thinking how ridiculous it sounded that I was cold and wanted a shake.

  He drove to our favorite eating place, Bob’s Diner. It was a cottage-style restaurant off the beaten path with pretty red shingles and a plaster hamburger out front. We both loved pretty much everything on the menu.

  Come to think of it, Adam and I shared a lot of interests. We both liked movies, junk food, and music. He had always been supportive of my singing, and I encouraged his baseball.

  We fit together perfectly, and I was scared that Varwik would tear us apart.

  The wind cut off as soon as the door slammed shut behind us. A waitress nodded from behind the soda counter, and motioned for us to have a seat.

  Our usual booth was right near the door, but the place was just busy enough that the wind would be too strong and cold coming inside, so we took a booth near the back.

  The waitress came to take our order, her pen poised over her pad. “What’ll it be, kids?”

  “Can we have an order of...” I started.

  “Fries,” Adam finished. “And two chocolate milkshakes.”

  I laughed and took his hand as she walked away. We sat silently for a moment as Adam spun the charm bracelet around on my arm. He had given it to me for my sixteenth birthday with two initial charms on it: a musical note and a heart. Then for Christmas, he gave me a butterfly and a snowflake.

  “Do you want more charms for your birthday?” Adam asked.

  My seventeenth birthday was a few weeks away and anything from him was special. I nodded. “You know I love them.”

  “I guess this was a good present, then.”

  “It was one of the best,” I responded honestly, but there was a plaintive note in my voice that even I could hear. Adam always knew what I liked. I used to say he knew everything about me, but that wasn’t true anymore.

  His thumb brushed over the back of my hand. “What’s wrong?”

  “I just worry about losing you.”

  Surprised, he said, “Why would you worry about that?”

  I looked away, out into the dim evening where the rain continued to pour. I don’t know why, but things felt like they were coming to a head. It wasn’t just the fact that I’d seen what I thought was Kallan not once, but twice, or that I felt eyes on me when there were none. There was something else at work.

  I finally caught Adam’s eye and murmured, “Something could come in between us.”

  “That won’t happen,” he said firmly, squeezing my hands. “I love you, Rylie.”

  “I love you, too,” I responded, forcing a smile as the waitress returned with our shakes.

  I knew I was in trouble when I got home and found my parents sitting at the table. It was never good when I found them waiting for me there. Frown lines had taken over Dad’s forehead, and Mom was rubbing her temples.

  Swallowing hard, I sat down. “What’s going on?”

  Mom slid over a piece of paper. “This.”

  I glanced down. My progress report. I scanned it quickly. My normal A’s and B’s had been replaced with C’s and D’s. There was a teacher comment that read “In danger of failing.”

  “Do you have an explanation, young lady?” Dad asked sternly.

  I sagged against my seat. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen it coming. I’d noticed the steady decline in my grades. “Not really.”

  Dad frowned. “Rylie.”

  “It’s just hard, Dad,” I said, rubbing my face. “It’s hard being what I am and dealing with school. I don’t know. I’ve just been struggling a lot more lately.”

  “We understand you are going through a lot, but this is not acceptable. There are only a couple months of school left. You want to be able to choose your college, don’t you?”

  I crossed my arms. “Have you forgotten I might not even get a chance to go to college? If Varwik has his way, I’ll be the wife of a dark faery.”

  My father shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “No one has found me a way out of this mess. I’m sorry if that seems a little more important.” I paused. The clock on the wall ticked into the silence. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring my grades up.”

  “Honey, I really think you need to let Azura help you. She might be able to come up with a solution to get you out of the promise.” My mother’s eyes had softened. I knew it wasn’t easy for her to tell me to ask Azura for help. Azura was my biological mother, something my mom could never truly be. But to me, Azura was a stranger—one that had completely ruined my life.

  “I’ll think about it.” I stood up, ignoring my mom as she said my name, and plodded up the stairs. I slammed my door and threw myself onto the bed.

  As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, now they were harping on my grades.

  The next day, Sierra and I went to the spring carnival being held at the local fairgrounds. It was an annual thing the town did every year around the first day of spring, and I always went with my best friend. She almost had the baby, but luckily she managed to talk her mom into watching him.

  We went on rides and played games for a couple hours, then sat down for a treat. As I bit into my cotton candy, something caught my attention. Something fluttering in the meadow behind us. I froze, and then slowly turned to look.

  Wings. Teal and black wings. My body went cold. Kallan looked right at me, his face still, but his wings moving. My wings did the same.

  It was definitely him. The same slick black hair and penetrating blue-green eyes, a guy so gorgeous he couldn’t be real…and he was standing only a few feet away. I felt like I was going to hyperventilate.

  “Rylie?” Sierra ducked her head to catch my eye. “Rylie? Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  I tore my gaze from Kallan. “What?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I...I...” I stammered. I glanced back towards Kallan, but he was gone. I stood up and spun around, searching for him, but there was no sign of him. Either he’d left or he’d gone invisible.

  But he’d wanted me to see him.

  Why was he here? He hated the human world. He’d told me that his mother had been killed here. I wasn’t supposed to return to him until I was eighteen, and that was still a year away. Maybe he knew I was trying to get out of the whole thing and was here to make sure I didn’t. The thought sent a chill of fear through me.

  “Rylie, what are you looking for?” Sierra broke through my inner turmoil again. “I wish you’d talk to me.”

  Giving up on my search, I sat back down and stared at my cotton candy. It suddenly seemed tasteless. “About what?”

  Sierra pursed her lips and looked to the side, like she was trying to think of what to say. “You’ve been different. Something’s up with you, and you won’t tell me what’s going on.”

  Here it was. My big chance to tell her. Would I chicken out again? I ran through some lines in my head, trying to figure out the best way to say what I needed to. Nothing sounded good. “There is something going on. It’s big and I’m...”

  “You’re what?”

  “Scared.”

  She looked perplexed. “Of?”

  “Losing you. Losing Adam.”

  “It must be huge if you’re worried about losing us. What did you do?”

  �
�I didn’t ‘do’ anything. It’s who I am.”

  She reached over and took my hand. “You’re my best friend.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Rylie!” She sounded offended.

  “It’s going to sound crazy.” I glanced around. We were on the outskirts of the fair, so we weren’t really close enough to the crowd to be overheard.

  She turned and looked at me expectantly, and then her eyes widened. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

  “What? No! You have to have sex for that to happen.”

  Sierra laughed. “Whew, you scared me for a moment.”

  I let out a long breath. I just had to spit it out, no hesitations. “I’m a faery.”

  She was quiet for a minute. “Um…what?”

  “A faery. Wings. Magick.”

  My best friend burst out laughing. “You really had me there for a minute.”

  Crap, she thought I was kidding. I sat down on the bench beside her. “Sierra, this isn’t a joke. I’m not human. I’m a faery.”

  She stopped laughing and looked at me. “You look so serious.”

  “I am. It’s the truth.”

  “You’re telling me you’re a faery...like Tinkerbell? Aren’t faeries supposed to be like an inch tall? You can’t be serious, Ry—”

  She reminded me of myself just a year ago. “No. Those are piskies,” I corrected her. Now I sounded like Azura.

  “Of course they are,” Sierra retorted sarcastically. “And isn’t it pixies?”

  “Apparently not.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on, Rylie?”

  “On my sixteenth birthday, I found out I was a faery.”

  “A faery?” she repeated.

  “This lady showed up claiming to be my birth mother. She told my parents their baby died, and she had switched babies because she had to keep me safe.”

  Sierra stared at me. “What?”

  “This woman then told us I wasn’t human. We didn’t really believe her until she showed us her wings.”

  “Wings?”

  I nodded, thinking maybe my best friend was in shock by the way she kept repeating everything I said.

  “So that means you have wings?” Sierra peered around my back. “I don’t see wings.”