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Scout and Briella made their way to the art studio where Briella’s pencils and sketchpad lay waiting. Rather than risk waking April, who was getting in a couple of hours sleep, Scout put some of her fairy dust into a spare lantern to light the workspace.
“Ooh, I like this one, too,” Briella gushed quietly, admiring the glow of the crescent-shaped moon.
“I prefer the star one myself,” Scout admitted, picturing the way the fire had shimmered as they’d made their way through the carpark to test a picture of a house Briella had drawn. The star appeared to sparkle, bringing a smile to her face.
“Both the lanterns are beautiful, aren’t they?” Briella said, not expecting an answer as she opened the sketchpad to a blank page and began the outline of a pumpkin. “Do you think it would be bad to capture John’s likeness in the picture?”
Scout placed her hand on Briella’s shoulder. “He would be honoured.”
“Do you really think so?” Briella asked, searching Scout’s eyes for the truth of her words.
“I’m sure if he was still animated by your magic, he would tell you that himself.”
April’s voice came softly from the bed, “If he were still here, Briella wouldn’t need to draw him, would she?”
“Sorry to wake you, April,” Briella said, her voice being heard through April’s mind-linking ability. “I forgot to lock down my thoughts.”
“Doesn’t matter, Love. I’ve had enough sleep to last me another week. Can I get you anything, girls?” April swung her legs over the edge and rose to a sitting position.
“No thanks,” they answered, returning their attention to the sketchpad.
April stood up and walked to the bathroom. After using the facilities, she swapped her pyjamas for a tank top and pair of shorts. Grabbing a hair-tie off the surface of the vanity, she placed her long, caramel coloured hair into a high ponytail. “Then I’ll leave you to it,” April replied, heading for her running shoes sitting by the door. She slipped them onto her feet and quietly closed the door behind her as she left.
April loved this time of the day. It was just over an hour until dawn, and the air was the coolest it was going to be for the rest of the day. Although her feet stepped lightly and barely made a sound, she was nearly knocked off her feet by a red and white husky. A scowl tried to take over her face as her mouth opened to let out the laugh that was making its way up her respiratory system. The resulting strangled sound nearly had her tripping over her feet in embarrassment.
“Dammit, Liam! You are going to get us kicked out of here,” she hissed, glancing around but not seeing anybody. ‘Whoever’s on reception duty must be in the loo,’ she thought, knowing the counter wouldn’t be vacant for long.
“Not me, Honey. Just you,” he smirked, transforming to his human state.
“You’ll be joining me if someone notices your irises. Honestly, Liam. How have you not been caught?” She narrowed her eyes at his guilty expression. “You were discovered, and yet you still haven’t learnt your lesson.” She clenched her fist to stop herself from smacking him on the back of the head. “What did you do, manipulate their memories?”
“Would you rather they knew of our existence?” he asked, taking her elbow in his gentle grip and leading her towards the exit.
“I would prefer you kept your eyes that gorgeous shade of chocolate like you had before they irradiated us, and caused them to turn coral.”
“Why do you always resort to feelings of violence when you are unhappy with me?” he muttered, registering the tension in her body.
“I have no idea,” she blurted before thinking. He turned to look at her but was thwarted when she averted her face. He stopped walking, tugging on her arm so that she did the same.
“Look at me, April.”
“Dawn will be here soon. I want to get my run in before it gets too hot,” she looked slightly to the left, avoiding direct contact with his eyes.
Force furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to figure out April’s behaviour. She was acting weirdly, but he couldn’t work out why. He felt terrible that he had made her angry again. His eyes deepened in colour until they appeared normal. “Would you prefer to run on your own?”
She turned to tell him that was precisely what she wanted, but sighed when her eyes met his. “No,” she said instead.
His face lit up with a grin, causing her heart to skip a beat. He moved towards the door, his hand sliding from her elbow to grip her hand. “Why don’t we make this interesting?”
“What did you have in mind?” April turned to face him head-on. She eased herself from his grip and folded her arms. Force chuckled quietly. “Trying to intimidate me, Love?”
“No, and what’s with this sudden need to call me love all the time?”
“I had a dream,” he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“Hmmm, going to leave that one alone,” April huffed, grabbing the handle of the door and pushing it open.
“Chicken?”
“Of you?” she scoffed. “Hardly.”
“Okay then, how about a race to our new house and back. Winner buys the loser breakfast.”
“Seriously. You can do better than that.”
“Um, that is a bit lame, isn’t it? If I win, you spend a day in the bush with me.”
“If I win, you spend a day at the beach with me,” she grinned, knowing she wasn’t as averse to a day in the woods as he was to spend a day on the sand.
“Deal,” he agreed, holding out his hand.
April placed her hand in his, and they shook on it. “I need to warm up first. Twice around the pub should do it. What do you think?”
“Yeah, that should be enough to limber up.”
April began her first lap. Force couldn’t help himself. His eyes went straight to her rear end. “I’m not going to win if I’m behind her,” he muttered, moving his feet and picking up his pace. “Too nice a distraction,” he said as he passed her
April laughed. Nothing had changed. That was the way she always won. Start off quicker than him, and he would forget they were racing each other. She hadn’t had a chance to spend much time in the surf when she and Scout made the trip to the coast. How lovely it would be to see Force in a pair of board shorts, surrounded by women, and not being able to appreciate it because of the irritating feeling of sand in his pants.
