Mad Woman Rambles

The warm and grounding scent of cedarwood and smoke hit us instantly as Gaia and I entered the room.  Memories began to flash in my mind, and I was sucked into it as if I was reliving it all over again.

The cozy, silken sheets brushed against my skin, sending a delicious shiver across my skin. His scent enveloped every piece of me. Fun, laughter, and love hummed through me as I began to stir. He always pulled that out of me. I was more fun. More alive when I was with him. He made my heart skip a beat and butterflies flutter in my belly. I never wanted the feelings to end. He knew me and kept my secrets. He took away my pain. My sorrow. My loneliness was less whenever he was around… Jona.

“You’re awake?” he questioned as the bed dipped where he sat. I moaned slightly and rolled over, cocooning myself in the sinfully luxurious comforter.

“No,” came my muffled reply as Jona began to unravel me from my nest. His masculine chuckle cascaded over my skin, sinking to lower parts of my body. Parts that wanted his hands to find them.

“Krystal,” he mused. “As much as I have missed you in my bed, we need to talk.” I sighed as his large hands finally found me in my cocoon. The cool air of his room hit the exposed skin of my stomach as my shirt rode up. Fortunately for me, his warmth chased the chill away as his arms encircled my middle. Pleasure followed the warmth. Pleasure I had not experienced since…

“Wait?!” I yelped, scrambling up and away from him. Unfortunately, the comforter I had mentally praised a moment ago betrayed me as it and I went over the opposite edge of the bed. I fought for my life as I extracted myself from the heavy bedding only to behold the brightest green eyes shining with mirth. I scowled up at him as I gathered my bearings and thoughts.

‘Crap, Krystal, how did we end up back here. I promised myself the last time was the last time.’ I chastised myself as I scrambled up from the ridiculous soft furs that were strewn about on the cold flagstone floor of his room. I pulled myself up using the dark wooden chair near the writing desk by the window. My breath came out in a huff as I blew my blonde strands from my face. Jona’s chuckle reached me from across the room, and I shot a glare at his relaxed figure lounging on his way-too-comfortable bed.

“Why am I here?” I asked as I searched my memory. It was spottier than it should have been. ‘Something about a fae princess. Vampires? I think. Had I been in a forest? Cheese and crackers, I needed to lay off of the box wine. Hold on?!’

“This is a bedroom. Why do you think you are here?” he mused, rolling over onto his side and propping his head on his hand. His bright green eyes roved over my body, making me look inside my shirt. ‘Oh, thank the gods my bra is still on’.

I hated the games he played, but I was a sucker for his brand of fun. His white hair flopped over his brow even though the sides were shorn close to the scalp. His dark skin made his eyes and hair pop with the stark contrast. Tattoos peeked out from the ‘V’ in the front of his shirt. Tattoos, I knew way too well. The mischievous fox took up most of his chest with a tail that dipped… I shook my head, trying to erase the memory, knowing my cheeks were definitely flushed.

“Come now, Krystal. I am a gentleman. I would not have taken advantage of you while you were unconscious. I would have waited until you gave your consent,” he proclaimed, gracefully exiting the bed and slinking over to me. He stopped an inch or two from my body. His heat chased away the chill that clung to me. I hadn’t even noticed it until he came close.

Distracted by his nearness, “Why am I here?” I breathed into the space between us. He frowned down at me.

“You don’t remember?” he asked.

“No, I don’t remember. Not completely,” I replied, fighting through the confusion in my brain. “I remember a girl and maybe a vampire. But it’s a little fuzzy.” I shake my head, hoping to clear the fog that settled over the events of the past day or so.

Jona leans down and places his hands on either side of my face. His eyes were so mesmerizing I could keep staring into them forever. Then it clicked. A flash of a red-haired man. A girl with big, bright blue eyes. My breath catches, and I realized my mistake.

“You do remember, don’t you?” he asks with a sigh. I shake my head as much as I can as his hands tighten on my face.

“No, Jona, I don’t remember anything. Just a scared, wet girl, and then I was here,” I lied, hoping my powers of deception grew in the span of seconds. They didn’t. As Jona shook his head and one of his hands moved to the back of my neck, gripping it, I knew he knew.

“Oh, Krystal,” he pauses, straightening to kiss my forehead. “I’m sorry I have to do this, but I can’t let anyone find out you know. It will ruin the whole operation.”

I push against his granite chest, “Jona, I don’t know anything. Your cousin came to me, and then Mallec was there.” I kept pushing, trying to get out of his hold. “I don’t know anything else. I don’t even know why he brought me to Fairy.” His grip tightened around my body, and he pressed me close to his body. “Please, don’t kill me,” I begged.

“What?!” he looked down at me in shock. “Krystal, I would never do that.” He pulled back and lifted my chin. “Please, tell me you know I would never dare to do something like that.”

“I don’t know what to think. One minute, I’m in my store, bored. Then next, I am being drawn into your cousin’s memories, and then I am here. I heard Mallec tell you to get rid of me. What are you into, Jona? Why are the vampires involved?” I asked, confused and trying to buy time to figure out a way out of here.

Jona releases me and stalks back towards the bed, where he sinks down on it. His large hands cradle his face as he sighs loudly. He looks up at me, pushing his hair back from his face. The look showed me he has made a resolution about something.

“I can’t tell you everything. This is bigger than me and you. This has the potential to be catastrophic to both our worlds.” He stops and looks up at me. I had drifted closer to him, engrossed in his confession.

“What is catastrophic?” I implore. “What are you a part of?” I reach out to him, my fingertips lightly grazing his cheek. He pulls my hand closer so that it cradles his cheek. His head turns, and he places a kiss on my palm. My mind is flooded with too many images to sift through.

 ‘Kalti’. The name stands out among all others, but before I can ask anything else, a loud banging on the door interrupts us.

“Open up, Prince Jona. You must stand before the King and answer for your transgressions,” a loud voice boomed from the other side of the door.

“Frack!” Jona exclaimed as he stood. “You have all the answers, but I must leave. My father can’t find me. Not until this is done. I am so sorry I have to do this,” Jona says before scooping me up into his arms and kissing me. I am lost in the moment with him and me. No one and nothing exists in this moment but us. It stretches on forever until he pulls away.

I stand there breathless and turn towards the window, where Jona is crouched, ready to jump. “I’m sorry, Krystal. One day, you will find it in your heart to forgive me. I hope,” he says as he leaps.

“Jona?” I breathe, rushing to the window. The banging on the door had gotten louder and more incessant. I watch out of the window as a bluish-purple swirling portal opens up and swallows him whole before winking out of existence.

“What the Hells?!” I yelped, spinning around as the door splinters open into the room. Several Court of the Silver Veil guards pile into the room and surround me.

“Where is the prince?” the lead guard demands.

“I don’t know. He jumped out the window, I think. I don’t even know how I got here,” I replied, confused. My hands rose in the air at the sight of their drawn swords.

“Take her. She can tell that to the King,” the main guard said, and two others broke away, grabbed me, and hustled me out of the room.

****

“Holy Hells! I remember it now,” I breathe to Gaia. “That bastard erased my memory and left me to deal with his father.”

“It appears so. Do you remember what he took from you?” Gaia asked, her blue skin shimmering in the fading light of the room.

“Yes, but there are some parts missing. Who is Kalti?” I asked, and Gaia grimaced. The look didn’t suit her beautiful features. I wanted to wipe it away.

“A problem that should have been dealt with a long time ago,” she murmured, and with a wave of her hand, we were back to sitting in Korbin’s rooms.

“Well?!” Korbin asked, expectantly frowning at Gaia and I.

“Kalti,” Gaia replied before she stood and walked towards the door. She vanished before she reached it.