Wish Upon A Demon

39.

CHAPTER - THIRTY NINE

“Can I ask you something?”

I have my back against Zylen as we sit on the couch. He keeps playing with my hair as I hold his hand, touching his fingers. “What?” Zylen questions. “If...if...you hadn’t made me beautiful, granted my wish that day, then you still feel the same...for me?” At my words, Zylen pauses making me look up at him. “I don’t understand what you mean,” Zylen says. “I mean that if I still looked the way I did before, you would still feel the same for me?” I question. Zylen wraps his arms around me, “Before or now, it doesn’t make a difference to me.” He says. “Oh okay,” I say immediately, avoiding his eyes.

However, the bugging feeling in my chest doesn’t go away. It was a simple question that popped up in my head when I was back from our date and a weekend later, it still hadn’t left from my mind. It wasn’t like Zylen’s answer hadn’t satisfied me; it was just that I was having trouble believing his answer. I trusted him, but somehow, this tugging feeling wasn’t going away. “Are you still worrying about that?” Zylen questions me and then grasps my hand as he continues, “I fell in love with who you are, not how you look.” He says. I freeze this time. Love. He said he fell in love. He’s in love with me just like the same I am with him.

“Provided that my behavior wasn’t very nice before, but the wish...it was a way for me to approach you – to introduce you to your world. I wish there was another way, but there wasn’t. I didn’t want to show up at your door and kidnap you or anything of that sort. But no matter how you look, you will still be the same for me, the same Faye.” Zylen says. I smile and lean back against him. The door opens at that moment. I break away from Zylen within a second and push him off the couch, standing up. “And I was telling him...” My father trails off, eyes falling on me. Alana’s with him and she too, stares at me, lips pulling up into a sneaky smile.

“Hi,” I wave, eyes moving around the room. Placing her hand on my father’s shoulder, “Fred, we have those documents to revise and submit. Let’s go.” Alana says. My father nods. They leave. And that’s when I relax. I look down for Zylen, but he’s no longer there. I look around for him, hoping he’d be in my room, but give up after I look for him around the house only for him to be gone. He’d left without a word and it was bothering me why.

Settling against the couch, I switch on the TV, sighing.

“We’ll meet during the summer breaks, won’t we?”

Alexandria asks me. I nod. “Of course we will,” I tell her. She nods to herself, biting her lip. “I wasn’t so nervous about it before, but I am now...” She says, more to herself than me. “Don’t get too close to them...” I say to her. She nods again. “I won’t...” Alexa says. “There’s something I didn’t tell you,” Alexa says, eyes meeting mine. “My grandmother has a house ...in Pilot Hill....” She says. “Your grandmother lives in Pilot Hill?” I ask her. She nods once more. “Apparently, she does. My grandparents moved there once I was born. They lived there together and my grandmother continued living there after my grandpa passed away... So, I guess, I won’t have to look for other options...” Alexa says.

“Well, life is full of surprises isn’t it?” I tell her softly. “I guess so...” She says. “It’s a good thing though. And from what I heard, this pack isn’t his original one. It seems he changed packs a few years ago for unknown reasons...” Alexa mutters. “So, this pack is much more civil than his previous one...which means I can continue my life and not have my throat ripped out on the first meeting...” She continues with a little laugh. “Let’s hope they’re nice...or I’m going to march to them with an army of demons.” I say. She chuckles. “I’m going to miss you...” I start. “Faye...” Alexa says, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“I’ve never had a friend before...a real friend...I never knew how that felt...it’s surprising how in such a short time, we got so close...I’m going to miss you...I’m going to miss you a lot...” I wrap my arms around her shoulder. “I’m going to miss you too...” She says. A honk comes from outside. Alexa breaks away from me, looking out the window. “The taxi’s here...” She says, holding my hands. “I’ll miss you...” I say, lowering my head. “I will too...” And with one last hug, I walk her out the door and to the cab.

She leaves a few minutes later as I wave her goodbye with a heavy heart.

“Why’d you leave so abruptly?”

I question Zylen. He turns back at from the book he was going through while standing nearby my bookshelf. “There was something...to take care of.” He says. “What was that ‘something’?” I asked, swinging my legs off the bed, walking over to him. “Just something...” Zylen shrugs. “Zylen, what’s going on?” I ask him, grasping him by the shoulders, turning him towards me so our eyes meet. “Nothing.... nothing you should worry about...” He says and I raise an eyebrow. Nodding a second later, I turn around, biting the inside of my cheek.

“Hmm...it must be something important. Something urgent. You don’t come to visit me very often and even when you do, you leave without a word. Though you might give the excuse that you’re king now, I don’t believe that’s exactly the reason. Nolan’s barely anywhere in town, I passed by his house the other day and it looked like it had been cleared off just like the other houses in that colony...” I keep reciting facts when a hand is placed over my mouth.

“Stop worrying,” Zylen whispers near my ear.

“I can’t help it,” I say, after pushing away Zylen’s hand. “Stop worrying, Faye,” Zylen tells me once more. Let’s talk about your graduation, it’s the day-” I cut him off. “Stop changing the subject,” I tell him. “What. Are. You. Hiding?” I ask. Zylen sighs, lowering his head. “A few days earlier, three families from my kingdom were mysteriously killed during the night.” He starts, walking away from me towards my balcony. “All three families were neighbors. All of them had their throats slashed and heart’s ripped out. All of them held a message on their skin: This is the beginning.” His words cause me to widen my eyes, my hand going over my mouth.

“What does it mean?” I question him, not sure what the message conveyed. I didn’t know who would do something as cruel as that, but the curiosity of why it was done was making question him further on. Zylen wasn’t his usual self, it was easily seen. Of course, he wouldn’t be, three families from his kingdom – his people had been murdered and the ones who committed the crime were roaming around freely in search of a new prey.

“Usually, in our world, murders like these with messages being conveyed are a sign.” Zylen begins once more after a moment of silence. “A sign? A sign of what?” I question him. “It’s a sign to indicate bloodshed.” He says. I walk over to him and turn him around to face me. “A sign to indicate bloodshed? Does that mean that more people will die? But who is doing this? Why are they doing it?” I question him, eyebrows furrowed. The hand I had on his shoulder slips down to grasp his hand.

“Tell me, please,” I say.

“Yes,” Zylen says. I furrow my eyebrows further. “Yes, more people will die. Yes, it’s a sign to indicate bloodshed. I don’t know who is doing this, but I’m positive it’s their main aim. And yes, if I don’t get this under control – find out something they want....” Zylen trails off, shaking his head. “What happens if you don’t find out what they want in return to stop?” I ask. His eyes meet mine, the violet in the increasing intensity, taking over the hazel.

“If I don’t find out what they want soon.... there might be – there will be a war.”