“Princess, judging by your screams, he was very real,” Rhylan replied while finally releasing me.
“What did you do?” I questioned, rubbing the wrist he had kept trapped tightly.
“I just planted the image in your mind, it was very easy and you were crying because you missed him. Consider it a favour,” he said and made a motion to silently invite me downstairs for breakfast. When I didn't follow, he went ahead towards the stairs.
“You told me you couldn't read minds!” I accused, trailing after him.
Rhylan stopped mid-step and turned to me. “Read them? No. Play with them? Yes,” he responded with a wicked grin.
Day 15
I didn't see Rhylan for the day and I felt relieved to be away from him. On the short journey towards the breakfast room, he had argued that there was no point in me being upset about the mind games he played on me since he had offered me time with my mate. “Real-time,” he pointed out and my insides twitched at the memories of Ansgar pumping into me with desperation.
Apparently, he had used Ansgar’s desires and emotions from when he last saw my boyfriend and combined them with my own memories, then implanted the situation in my mind and made my brain believe what was happening was real. When I argued that I took an actual photo of Ansgar, Rhylan asked me to check my phone and reluctantly, I did so. I found a selfie of me with a surprised face, as if I had woken up on Christmas morning. Just me.
I remained quiet for the rest of the meal and took a car out to the park, needing to be alone and feel closer to nature.
It never was highly important for me to be close to nature before all this. I loved technology and busy areas, I liked going into crowds and being surrounded by people, and never felt bothered by the cement and polluted air around.
That is, until visiting Evigt and discovering how amazing fresh air can feel in my lungs, like taking a big sip of river water to calm the thirst of one's soul. I loved the soft aromas in the air, the smell of pine or the blooming flowers, hearing the wrestling of the leaves or the clink of the river. I loved the quiet, sometimes the forest made it so that I could hear myown breathing, my own heart beating in my chest because there was nothing and no one miles around. Just me and the birdsong.
Since returning, I felt trapped, I hated going to massive gatherings and found myself needing personal space. The only thing that calmed me was being alone and staying in closed spaces, where I could filter air. Sometimes it felt like I stuck my head in a chimney. I missed the forest so, so much.
“Thinking about me?”
“No!” I automatically stumbled on the words as soon as I recognised Rhylan’s voice and turned to find him sitting on a nearby bench in his usual Boss attire, looking like a male model ready to shoot a commercial.
“Do you ever not look like that?” I sighed, making my way to him, aware that I unwillingly elicited one of those proud grins he liked to showcase so much.
“Like what, sprout?” he responded, knowing full well what I meant. “Do you not enjoy this connection between us?”
I stopped in my tracks, my body forgetting to take the necessary step, leaving my foot mid-air for a short while, until my knee gave out and I almost tumbled to the ground, were it not for Rhylan’s quick reaction. And of course, he had to trap me inhis arms, like one of those rom-com horrid scenes.
Fortunately, I recovered quickly enough to separate myself from him and take a seat on the bench, putting a healthy distance between us.
We spent a few minutes in silence, gulping the fresh air and watching the wind dust away fallen leaves. It felt weird, having him there, by my side and through some weird connection that we both had probably shared with Evigt, I knew he was also enjoying the breaths of green air.
“Feels very different here, doesn’t it?” I was the first to break the silence.
“Indeed,” he agreed, for once not turning to me, somewhat lost in thought.
“Is this connection one of your powers then?” I didn’t know what I was pressing on this, why even open a conversation I did not want to have. Maybe because part of me wanted to blame whatever I felt when Rhylan was close to his faerie powers. Because I loved Ansgar, and this weird attraction towards Rhylan had to be just that, one of those tricks he always used to rope innocent people in.
“That’s part of a longer conversation, princess, one that we’ll have need to have soon,” he turned his head slightly to the side, just enough to see me, then redirected his attention to the trees in front of us.
Day 16
@anwenodstar: Cressi, what the hell?
I couldn’t say anything else, there were no words to be uttered. The late afternoon found me working on a report, trying to settle all the financial aspects of the association, which seemed to take the rest of my life when the notification buzzing on my phone distracted me. I only turned my head enough to see the screen, but as soon as Instagram told me that @cressidaofficial tagged me in a photo, my curiosity spiked and I allowed myself to stop just for a few minutes and check it out. Since Evigt, social media did not occupy a high place in the necessities of my life, I kept my platforms open for marketing purposes and the odd event that even I had to post.
That photo, however, almost gave me a heart attack. There Cressi was, stunningly gorgeous as always, her golden locks flowing dramatically from under a big sunhat. A huge cocktail with lots of colours and fruit decoration covered almost a third of the photo, which is where I got tagged in. What I did not expect to see, on the left side of the screen was Rhylan. A shirtless Rhylan holding a similar drink, casually resting his chin on my friend’s shoulder.
They were on a beach. In Hawaii!
@cressidaofficial: It does feel like hell, but the icy drinks keep us alive. So hot in here.
@anwenodstar: Cressi what in the name of all the living things? What are you doing in Hawaii? Why are you with that bastard?
