Beyond the Veil

I woke up but didn’t open my eyes. Muscle memory took over as I reached out and silenced my phone’s alarm with a tap.

What a weird dream I had last night. It was so vivid. But, of course, an insanely hot man didn’t come into my work, reveal the existence of a hidden magical world, pull me into a portal into my living room, then fall asleep on my couch in his underwear.

My eyes snapped open when I heard a sound from my kitchen, like a cabinet door closing.

That’s weird. Sophie shouldn’t be home for another few days. I dragged myself out of bed, stretching and yawning when I stood up, then made my way into the kitchen.

Kaden was standing at the stove, bacon frying in a pan.

My jaw dropped as I realized everything from the night before was real.

He pulled the bacon from the pan using a pair of tongs and set it on a plate lined with paper towels. He turned around with the plate and started when he saw me.

“Good morning,” he said with a smile. “I made breakfast.”

“I see that. So you raided my fridge?”

“Yeah, I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“Well, actually I—wait a second,” I said, looking at his clothes, “is that my shirt?”

“Uh…” Kaden looked embarrassed. “Yeah, these shorts too. My clothes were gross and I have nothing at the moment. Peter burned my apartment building to the ground.”

I gaped at him, surprised at how casually he said it. Kaden ignored my expression and divided the bacon between two plates that already had scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast.

“He burned your apartment building to the ground?”

Kaden nodded and carried the plates to the small table between the living room and kitchen then sat down and started eating. That’s when I noticed the duffel bag sitting on the ground, unzipped and full of my clothes, but decided to ignore it.

“What happened to the other people in the apartment building?”

“Most of them got out alive. Five people got injured and three died, including one child.” Again, he said this so casually, it was concerning.

“What did you do to them? I mean, why are they trying so hard to kill you?”

Kaden glared at me as he shoved a heaping fork of egg into his mouth and chewed aggressively.

“Okay then,” I said, biting a piece of bacon. “Where are you from?”

“Look, Damien, we’re not friends. I’ll protect you from Peter but that’s it.”

“So you’re just going to make me follow you around while you run from three maniacs trying to kill you? I’m not doing that. Just get out of my house.”

“You know I can’t do that. Peter, Natasha, and Natalia know you’re beyond the veil. While usually magical beings won’t do anything when a mortal comes to this side, they’ll be worried about what I might tell you.”

“They’re after you, Kaden, not me. I’m only in this mess because of you! If it weren’t for you, I’d—”

“You’re right,” Kaden said, stopping me in my tracks. “It is all my fault. I’d just been running for so long, I was so exhausted, and…I shouldn’t have come into that theater.”

“Just tell me. You owe me that much. My entire life is, as you said, over as I know it. I deserve to know why those guys are after us.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you. It’s kind of my fault. You see, I—"

BOOM!

Splintered wood sprayed across my living room as my front door exploded. Kaden grabbed my arm and the duffel bag then pulled my toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms beside the kitchen. What Kaden doesn’t know and I what I do is that there’s no back door. There’s only one way in and out of this apartment and it’s the front door.

“Kaden, there’s no way out through—”

Kaden pulled a crystal from his pocket and threw it at the wall, which blew outward, leaving a huge hole.

“Get back here, motherfucker!” Peter yelled behind us as we ran into the back yard.

“This way!” Kaden said, pulling me along the wall.

“Why can’t you just open a portal and send us somewhere else?” I asked.

“I don’t have another portal phial. That was my last one.”

“Phial?”

“That’s what those crystals are called.”

I glanced over my shoulder just as Kaden pulled me to the side of the building to see Peter step threw the hole Kaden blew through my wall. I’m sure Natasha and Natalia were with him, but I couldn’t get a good look as Kaden started running, practically dragging me along.

“Can we…slow down…” I panted as we started running down the sidewalk.

Goddamn, I am out of shape.

“Do you want to die?” Kaden asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “We need to keep going.”

Kaden pulled me down the sidewalk past three houses before turning right and heading down the strip between two of them, heading straight for the small patch of woods that separated the park from the street where my apartment building sat.

On and on we ran, crashing past trees, Kaden’s hand clasped tightly in mine. I didn’t know if the sounds behind us were other people running from the explosion, my imagination, or Peter, Natasha, and Natalia closing in on us.

“Kaden, I really…need to rest…for a moment,” I said, pulling my hand from his and pressing it to the stitch in my side.

“Damien, we can’t stop. We need to get farther away. There’s a safehouse of sorts a few miles from here.”

“I don’t have magic, Kaden. I’m not some god who can run forever.”

“I haven’t been using any magic. We’ve been running for like ten minutes. Why are you so out of breath?” he asked, looking down at my hunched-figure with something like disgust on his face.

“Oh,” I said, feeling embarrassed, “I’m just…I don’t know.”

Kaden grabbed my head in his and pulled my face up so we were eye-to-eye. Time slowed around me as I looked into his blue eyes. A bead of sweat slid between his eyebrows and stopped at the tip of his nose, where it clung on for dear life.

“Aerahs im ygrenae,” he whispered, his lips so close to mine, I could feel his breath playing across my skin. His pupils dilated, expanding just enough to be noticeable.

I could feel something leaking from him, soaking into my skin. My breath came back, my heartbeat slowed, the stitch in my side vanished.

“What did you just do?” I whispered.

“I’m sharing my strength with you. Don’t worry, it’s temporary.”

I sure hoped so. I felt dizzy and lightheaded. Was that from the magic or…something else?

“Come one,” Kaden said, turning and running off.

Following Kaden was easier for me now, but I could tell running was more difficult for him. Within minutes, we were both panting again, though I felt stronger and faster than I did before. Is this how people who work out feel when they run? If so, I need to get to a gym ASAP.

On the other side of the woods, we came out into Crestfall Memorial Park. I don’t know who it’s memorializing, but it’s the most popular park in the city. I’m not sure if the explosions were loud enough to hear from here or not, but nobody seemed panicked.

Kaden and I fell in with a small group of joggers. As we kept pace with them—they were thankfully going much slower than we were in the woods—I chanced a glance over my shoulder.

My heart leapt up into my chest as I saw Peter, Natasha, and Natalia standing at the edge of the woods, their eyes scanning the park.

“Kaden, they’re over—”

“I know. Just don’t look at them. Keep up with these guys. When we get farther down the path, we’ll veer off and go grab something to eat.”

At his words, my stomach let out a loud growl. Both of us barely ate anything back at my place.

My place. Front door blasted in, a hole blasted through the back wall. Surely the police will end up showing up. Then what? What will they tell Sophie? What will they tell my parents?

The world felt ten degrees cooler all of a sudden. My parents. Would they think I was dead? Or worse, would they think I was involved in something dangerous like meth?

The spell or whatever Kaden did to me must have worn off because I was feeling drained, not that Kaden looked any better. He took a quick glance around before nodding his head toward the road on the other side of the park. We broke from the small group of people we’d been jogging with and went into a small diner.

“Oh, fuck,” I said, “I don’t have my wallet.”

“Don’t worry, I grabbed it for you. It’s in the—”

Kaden looked down at the duffel bag. The one that wasn’t there. The one I’d left by the tree when I thought he was going to kiss me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Losing my wallet made me realize I’d also left my phone in my room.

“It’s still fine. I have mine, I can pay for us.”

“I just have nothing now,” I said as a pressure rose in my chest. “No home, no phone, no wallet, I can’t see my friends or my family.”

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Kaden said quietly, stepping close to me. “I know you’re scared, but you’re not alone. I’m here.”

“I don’t even know you,” I said, feeling my face burn from embarrassment as I realized my eyes were filling with tears.

“Two?” a server asked as she stepped toward us. “Oh,” she added, spotting the tears in my eyes, “do you two need a moment?”

“No, it’s fine,” Kaden said. “Yes, two please.”

She nodded, her eyes still locked on mine as she led us to a corner booth where I could sit with my back to the rest of the diner.

“I’m going to use the bathroom real quick. I’ll take a water to drink,” he added to the server before walking away.

“I’ll have a water too,” I said, looking at the tiny menu she handed me, though my eyes snapped to her as she crouched down next to me.

“Not to pry, but if your boyfriend is making you feel like a piece of shit, you don’t have to stay here. I can take you into the back, say you left, and we’ll get you some help.”

I laughed in her face. Like, full on, burst out laughing. I don’t know if I was going crazy or if I’d just had too many emotions going on, but she jerked back as though I’d just shouted, “Die, cunt!” in her face.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, clapping my hand over my mouth. “No, we’re not together. He’s just a…friend. No, it’s something else. But thank you, really.”

“Okay, well, if you change your mind, just ask for an angel shot. We don’t have alcohol, so I’ll pretend to take you to talk to my manager to see what we can do.”

Although I’m not in danger with Kaden, I…wait…am I in more danger with Kaden than if I was on my own? How much do I really know this man? Come to think of it, why would three witches—if male witches are called witches—be trying to kill him in the first place?

“Okay?” the server asked.

I just nodded as Kaden sat down.

“Did you order anything?” he asked.

“Not yet,” the server said. “I’m going to get you both those waters and I’ll be back to see what you want to eat.”

“Thanks, Darla,” he said as she turned to go.

“How do you know her name?” I asked.

“She’s wearing a nametag.”

And now I feel dumb. Of course she was.

As Kaden and I both ate our burgers, I couldn’t stop thinking about all of this. Here I was, apparently on the run from three magical beings, being saved by another. My entire life had fallen apart in the span of twenty-four hours, and I had no idea what was going on.

What if Kaden is some kind of criminal and Peter, Natasha, and Natalia are wizard police or something? What if he’s lying and they wouldn’t really hurt me? I mean, yes, Peter blasted down my front door, but they haven’t tried to kill me yet. They’re just trying to get to Kaden.

“What’re you thinking about?” Kaden asked. My eyes snapped up to his. Something about the look in his eyes, something about the way he spoke, it made me want to trust him.

Not that that’s a true indication of anything. Any other insanely hot guy could get me to do just about anything by asking with the right voice inflection. What does that say about me? Wait a second, did I just call Kaden “insanely hot”?

“Damien?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just processing all of this. Where are we going anyway?”

“Like I said, there’s a safehouse not far from here. Just a few more miles.”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

Kaden tilted his head, looking confused. “What do you mean?”

“At the movie theater last night, you said you weren’t from around here. How do you know there’s a safehouse here?”

Kaden stared at me for several moments without saying anything.

“I…I can’t answer that question.”

Great. Now my paranoia was really going crazy.

“Well obviously one of those two things are a lie, Kaden. Either you’re actually from here and you lied about it for some reason or there isn’t really a safehouse nearby and you lied about it for some reason.”

“Look, I left while you were asleep and I went and spoke to someone. There are alleyways here filled with magic shops and I rented one. Don’t worry,” he added, seeing the look on my face, “it’s completely safe. I rented it from a fairy.”

“You rented a magical safehouse from a magical fairy you met in a magical alleyway when you snuck out of my house while I was asleep.”

“You don’t really have to add ‘magical’ in front of all that stuff, but yes.”

“Is this real life?” I asked him. “I feel like I’m going to wake up in the hospital and find out this whole thing was some crazy fever dream or something.”

“Not a dream, totally real life. Though I guess Dream Kaden would probably say the same thing.”

“Yeah, but Dream Kaden and I wouldn’t be sitting in a diner,” I said offhandedly, then felt my face grow warm as I blushed.

“Oh yeah?” Kaden asked, one eyebrow raised and a half grin on his face. “What would you and Dream Kaden be doing?”

“Well it’s just that my dreams are much more adventurous than this.”

“’Adventurous’?” Kaden echoed and the word sounded so much more sexual coming from his mouth than I’m sure it did coming from mine.

“Like pirates or something. Something with action.”

“Yeah, because almost getting blown up twice, seeing time freeze, and jumping through a portal isn’t enough action for you,” Kaden said sarcastically.

“We all finished here?” Darla asked, stepping back up to our table.

Kaden paid her and tipped her well, then we started walking down the sidewalk.

“Let’s stop somewhere and buy clothes. I’m sweating like a construction worker,” Kaden said.

We bought a change of clothes, though Kaden didn’t want to wear them out. Apparently, there was a shower at the safehouse. Honestly, a shower sounded like the closest thing to Heaven at that point.

Nearly an hour later of walking through Crestfall, then through some woods on the edge of the town, and we stopped next to a well.

“Well,” Kaden said, emphasizing the word, “this is it.”

“This is what?” I asked.

“This is the safehouse,” he said, gesturing toward the well. “It’s hidden quite…well…isn’t it.”

“Please tell me you’re not a pun guy,” I groaned.

“Hey, it’s all pun and games with me.”

I rolled my eyes and slung my arm out, slapping him in the chest, ignoring the totally adorable smile spread across his face as I walked up to the edge of the well and looked down. I couldn’t see the bottom or a reflection of water.

“So how do we—” I began until Kaden pushed me from behind. I tripped over the front, falling straight into the darkness.

I screamed and screamed and screamed, sure I was going to splat at the bottom, until I realized my feet were on solid ground. I turned and saw Kaden standing next to a solid wall of black, smirking at me.

“That was hilarious,” he said.

“Oh, yeah, real funny,” I said, turning back to the safehouse, and stopping in my tracks.

It was pathetic, though I don’t really know what I was expecting. There was a threadbare, three person couch, a bookshelf crammed with books, a small table with two chairs, and a single, full-size bed.

Thankfully, there was a bathroom of sorts, though it was just a toilet sitting next to a showerhead with a drain in the floor. No walls, no door.

“I call the shower first,” Kaden said, walking forward and pulling his shirt up over his head.

“Wait, this is it?” I asked, looking around.

“What were you expecting?” he asked, turning back to me. My eyes strained against the muscles in their sockets as I clenched them to force my eyes from straying.

“Well, a walled off bathroom would’ve been nice,” I said. “How are we supposed to have privacy?”

“Just lay on the bed and don’t look,” Kaden said with a shrug. Read a book or something.

I grabbed a book from the bookshelf and lay on the bed. With the way the room was set up, the shower was on the other side of the room from the bed, so I set the book on my chest and opened it, blocking my view of Kaden as I heard him get undressed and turn on the water.

My eyes, completely without my telling them to, snapped to a mirror off to my left where I could get a glimpse of him in the shower. The mirror was too high to see anything lower than the slight V on his abdomen, but it was enough.

I had to pull my legs up to hide the tent expanding in my pants while I tried to focus on the book I was reading.

I have a weird habit where, when I follow the Prince, I make sure to match my footsteps to his so the echoes of our footsteps off the stones walls of the Grand Palace align perfectly. I’m doing this now as I follow behind him. As his Royal Attendant, I’m meant to look at the back of his head out of respect as I follow him. If his ass didn’t look so good in those pants, maybe I could accomplish it.

What kind of book is this? I closed the cover and read it as I heard the water slow to a trickle, then stop.

“A Prince’s Pride by Ottie Otter,” I said aloud.

“Have you read it?” Kaden asked. I pushed myself up and looked at him, blushing once again, as I saw him standing in front of me, his hair still damp, with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Uh, no,” I said. “Is it good?”

“It’s very good. It’s gay erotica.”

I couldn’t do anything but nod, wishing he’d put on his clothes. The towel did nothing at all to hide his bulge.

“Close your eyes,” he said as if he could hear my thoughts. I covered my eyes, wishing I could stop being attracted to him as he dressed. “Alright, your turn. I promise not to peek,” he added, giving me a wink.

I got up and walked toward the shower as Kaden pulled a different book from the shelf. The cover had writing on it in a language I didn’t recognize. He laid on the bed just as I had with the book blocking my view.

Part of me wanted to cover the mirror, but I thought that’d give away that I’d been kinda sorta watching him, so I decided against it and just turned the shower on.

As I stepped into the stream of water, I thought about Kaden again. About whether or not I could really trust him. About his hot and cold attitude. About what he meant that he wouldn’t peek.

I wondered how long I was going to have to spend in this safehouse with him. Still, I’m not going to waste the time. I have a million questions. And I’m going to make him answer some of them.