crept out the door and down the steps. When my foot hit the bottom step, I inhaled deeply. The smell of coffee drenched the air. I closed my eyes to savor the scent. I loved coffee. Sweet like dessert or plain black, I loved it all. Dad didn’t let me indulge very often (said it would stunt my growth) so I enjoyed it at every possible opportunity when he wasn’t around.
Though my mouth watered at the prospect of a cup of the brew, I toyed with the idea of going back to bed; I didn’t want to disturb the Kirbys while they enjoyed the quiet of early morning.
I stood on the bottom step, one hand on the newel post, debating what to do, when Derek suddenly appeared at the bottom of the steps. He startled me and I couldn’t prevent the involuntary leap of my muscles
He just stood there, staring at me for several seconds before he finally moved. He extended his hand and I looked down into it. His long fingers were looped through the handles of two coffee cups. A shiver wiggled its way through me. I don’t know how he knew I was there.
Adding that to my ever-growing list of mysterious and/or bizarre occurrences, I merely nodded in gratitude and carefully took one of the proffered cups. When I did, Derek turned and, without a word, walked back the way he’d come. I hesitated only for an instant before I followed him.
He went through the kitchen to a small den that sat off the back of the house, almost like a sun room only with more comfortable furniture. Its pale yellow walls looked like warm gold in the rising sun and the puffy floral seat cushions seemed particularly inviting.
Derek sat in one of two extra wide, deep-seated chairs; I padded barefoot across the cool tile floor and slid into the other. He crossed his legs, resting the ankle of one leg on the knee of the other, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Evidently he had nothing to say. I, on the other hand, had a lot to say, mostly in the form of questions. So many, in fact, I didn’t know where to start.
So I went with simple. “Who are you?”
“Derek. Derek Hrolf,” he replied, not even opening his eyes. “Leah’s cousin.”
“I know that,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I mean who are you?”
After several seconds of silence, he finally answered. “Nobody,” he said enigmatically.
Obviously, this wasn’t going to be easy. “What were you doing at that party?’
“I told you—”
“I know what you said,” I interrupted abruptly. “But what does that mean?”
“You’re dangerous, reckless. Unpredictable. I knew if I didn’t stop you, someone would end up getting hurt.”
“I would never—“
“I didn’t say you’d do it on purpose.”
“Yeah, but I could never—“
“Yes, you could,” he interrupted, lifting his head and pinning me with his silvery stare.
Goosebumps spread down my back and arms. “How?”
“You know how.”
I didn’t want to get into all that I suspected. I’d much rather he just answered my questions directly. I decided to try a different tack. “But how did you know?”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. The mercury of his gaze seemed to ooze through my pores into my very soul, penetrating me in such a way that I almost felt violated. I had no idea what he was trying to see, what he hoped to see, but I felt like he saw too much.
“Answer me,” I snapped, my temper rising quickly to the surface.
“Shh,” he hissed.
“Then answer my question.”
Derek closed his eyes and leaned his head back again, looking relaxed and unengaged.
“I could feel it,” he finally supplied.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“I mean I can feel it when you wield.”
“Wield what?”
“Fire,” he answered simply.
Though he confirmed what I had begun to suspect, it was still incredibly frightening to be asking the question, to say nothing of the anxious anticipation I felt for what the answer might be. “But h-how can I do that?”
With a shrug of his big shoulders, Derek said, “Because you’re cursed.”
CHAPTER NINE
Just like that—I’m cursed. My first thoughts were that this guy was obviously terribly unbalanced and I needed to march right back upstairs, get my stuff and go home, but then...there didn’t seem a whole lot of other explanations for all the strange things happening to me lately.
I felt the blood rush from my face leaving me lightheaded and a bit disoriented. The room tilted just a hair so I closed my eyes and