Revealed (Unbound, Book 5)

Chapter Two

When I returned to Calin's house from my fruitless expedition, I putzed around the kitchen, tidying up. Once I did as much as I could do without annoying Islene by reorganizing her cupboards, I swapped my coffee for a bottled water and took Onyx out the patio door off the kitchen so she could burn steam. I had always used the side door because of the mudroom to take Onyx out and was excited to see what the backyard had to offer.

Stepping through the door, my first thought was how beautiful the landscaping was, the second was the realization that Calin's backyard felt like home.

The three-tier deck was similar to the one we had in Briarville, but with a hot tub on the second landing. There was extra bench seating built into the railings on the top tier, the expanse of green starting at the bottom step was farther than I could see, and a swimming pool to the left of a pathway made of large, flat stones. When I looked to the right, I felt a small surge of disappointment to find that the Malloy's weren't close to any trees or trickling stream. A smidgeon of happiness pierced through the emotion as I followed the pathway with my eyes to a gazebo, which looked like a hut with a red-tiled roof, open walls, and seating around the interior edges.

The gazebo didn't really look like ours—no designed tiles on the floor and unstained oak rather than wood painted white—but just the fact that it was there was comforting. I ran into the house, took a towel from the linen closet in the laundry room, and ran back before Onyx clued into my disappearance. Quickly, I rushed down the deck, coffee in one hand and towel in the other, both held just slightly over my head.

Without shoes, the grass tickled the soles of my feet, the morning dew fresh and cold between my toes. Just before reaching the gazebo, the grass gave way to a bed of rocks that surrounded its base. Some were smooth, some were large, and it was impossible to jump over them or step without feeling the pain. Midway to the gazebo was a stone bench, and I backtracked so I wouldn't hurt myself.

I laid the towel down to lessen the coldness night had fed the stone, then followed suit to rest on my back with my arms crossed over my chest. Closing my eyes, I exhaled deeply. I felt my shoulders relax. My breathing hit a slow in-and-out rhythm, calming me, and every muscle in my body started to feel weighted, like I was somehow being pulled to connect with the bench such as polarized magnets sticking together or... gravity.

It was impossible to shut the outside world down, but within a few minutes, I managed a complete absence of thought by concentrating on my surroundings. Keeping my eyes closed, it was like the rest of my senses were heightened. I could hear the rustle of grass as the wind stroked its blades, hear the song of birds from above, and felt the warmth of the sun get hotter as the day was fully introduced.

"What are you doing?"

I blinked, then squeezed my eyes shut against the brightness.

"Nora?"

I blinked at the sky again, this time ignoring Calin to stare at the cloudless blue sky.

"Are you ignoring me?"

With a sigh, I slapped my hands down at my sides and straightened my knees. Pushing up with my palms, I lifted my torso and turned ninety degrees to hang my legs over the side so Calin could witness me rolling my eyes from where he stood beside the long side of the bench, looking down at me with amusement.

I tilted my head back to shake my hair out down my back. "What are you doing out here?"

Calin shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, making his shoulders bunch around his neck and his biceps to bulge. A smile tilted his lips up, popping both dimples into full view, and I was pretty sure that his hair stylist was a genius because Calin always pulled off the bedhead shag effortlessly, even when he truly was just getting out of bed. It wasn't fair to me that he had so much charm.

He shrugged. "I saw Onyx and came to see if you were with her."

I leaned forward at the waist and raised my eyebrows. "Yeah, I wanted to get out of my head, so I thought coming out here would be good for me."

"Is it working?"

This time, I shrugged. "A little."

Calin stared at me, then pulled his hands out of his pockets and came to sit beside me on the bench. The familiar pull to touch him when he was near was impossible to ignore. I tilted my head to the side and rested it on his shoulder. Calin took my hand in his, bringing it to rest in his lap.

"Do you want me to leave you alone for a while so you can try to relax?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No."

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

While the thought of cuddling on the couch held appeal, I'd be too self-conscious knowing that both of Calin's parent were home. "How about we go to the clearing for a bit? I need some more nature."

"Yeah?" Calin sat straighter, resting his chin on his chest so that he could look down at me. "You're not worried about going there?"

After what I'd seen this morning?

I shook my head. Devland was too busy to care about tracking me when he obviously had Maible wrapped around his finger. Given what I'd seen in the basement of the Manor, I couldn't underestimate Devland's likely talent for multi-tasking, but I'd learned how to deal with fear after avoiding my clearing for four years. It was the one useful thing Zachariah had shared before dying.

The best way to exterminate fear was to face it, and nothing could have power over you unless you allowed it to.

I lifted my head and looked at Calin. "Let's go."