Enchanted Summer Page 9

  Now the whole company was staring right at her. Everyone—except for Nate.

  He was looking out at the lake, his gaze glazed over with something like a distant memory. He seemed to be lost deep in thought. Ariadne wanted to come near him and take his hand. Ask him what he was thinking about.

  She assessed the situation.

  Would it be too reckless of a move to reveal herself now?

  These people, despite their curiosity—which was easily justifiable—seemed nice enough. Nate trusted them, and that meant Ariadne could probably trust them, too.

  After all, how long was she planning to resume her hiding? She was already causing so much trouble by trying to conceal herself.

  Finally resolved, she flew to the edge of the water and transformed right in front of the eyes of her stunned spectators.

  Twelve

  For the first few seconds, they just stared at her in bewilderment.

  Ariadne’s wings fluttered open and closed—a familiar movement that often indicated she was anxious. She didn’t even detect herself doing it.

  Then Hanna spoke.

  “This is her! The girl I saw at Nate’s house!”

  Ariadne’s gaze slipped from one face to the other, pausing on Nate. She saw him bite the inside of his lip.

  Taking a steadying breath, Ariadne felt for her magic, willing it to reach out and envelop those people. She couldn’t change their perception of her, but she could have an influence on their reaction. She’d never done this with Nate. For some reason, with him, she wanted to be just herself—not forcing him to like her. But with his friends she took precaution.

  “Who are you?” Ryan asked.

  Ariadne clutched one of her hands with the other—another familiar habit that she performed to soothe herself.

  “My name is Ariadne,” she pronounced as calmly as she could. “I’m a dryad.”

  “You led me to this lake? Do you live here?”

  “What were you doing at Nate’s house?” Hanna interfered by stepping out.

  Ariadne blinked at her, instinctively recoiling.

  Nate drew in a breath. “She’s living there.”

  Hanna goggled at him. “In your house?! For how long?”

  “About a few weeks.” His voice was steady.

  “What?!” Hanna gasped. “And you didn’t tell us anything?”

  Ray was staring at Nate as if it were the first time he saw him.

  Nate flicked his gaze between him and Hanna. “How exactly do you explain to people that there’s a fairy living in your garden?”

  “So that’s what’s been going on!” Ray finally uttered. “Your garden, that old tree, and all that … You were just pretending that you knew nothing, when in reality—”

  “He didn’t know I was living in his garden!” Ariadne exclaimed.

  Frightened by her own confidence and the curious glances that had instantly fixed on her, she desperately wanted to go back into her natural form and flee. But she couldn’t do this. Not to Nate. She had to work things out.

  When it came to character, humans were not much different from fairies. At least that’s what Ariadne had concluded after studying and observing their way of life. If anything, fairies were much more stubborn and unpredictable. Their relationship with nature was different, but only because it was something woven into their inner being. When it came to relationships among each other, it was as puzzling and complicated as it was with humans.

  Ariadne tried to convince herself that she’d be able to deal with it.

  “Okay, let’s make things clear,” Hanna said. “There’s a fairy that, for some incomprehensible reason, lives in your garden, Nate.” She cast a glance at him. “You decide not to tell anything to your friends and sneak her somehow to join us on the hike?”

  Ryan grinned. “Is this like on one of those shows where they heal wounded wild animals and then return them to their natural habitat?”

  “Or, in other words,” Hanna nodded, “did you bring her here to return her home?”

  “What?” Nate’s eyes went wide. “No, I didn’t—” He trailed off, glancing at Ariadne, as if not sure.

  She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. “No, I wasn’t wounded. And this is not my home.”

  Hanna’s eyebrows shot up. “But I thought this was like a fairy sanctuary! Look at them there, splashing away.” She motioned to the nixies. “Fairies just like you.”

  Ariadne barely chocked. Never in her life had she been compared to a nixie. She had to remind herself that these people knew nothing about the Enchanted Forest not to lash out at Hanna for such an imprudent conclusion.

  And she wasn’t even the type to lash out at anybody.

  “These,” she said, willing her racing heart to calm down, “are not my kind. Those are nixies; I’m a dryad. And either way, this doesn’t even matter because they are not real.”

  “What do you mean they are not real?” Hanna frowned.

  She made a few steps forward, kicking one of the crystals with her toe. It rolled around in the grass and clinked against the others as it hit them. She squatted down by the lake and reached out to touch the water.

  “I can feel it,” she said, dipping her hand into the crystal-clear liquid. Her eyes went wide with astonishment. “It’s warm! Like tropical water.”

  Pulling her hand out, she watched the radiant drops drip down from her fingertips.

  Ariadne nodded, then replied, “There’s probably a lake here in the real world. Do you have any maps?”

  Hanna raised an eyebrow at her, then shot a glance at Ray. “You have one downloaded to your phone, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but it doesn’t show me where we’re at.”

  Ray rummaged through his pocket and extracted his phone. He tapped on the screen a few times, then shrugged. “There is a lake here. Considering where we’d started and how far we should’ve come into the woods, we might indeed have reached it.”

  Suddenly Ariadne had an idea. If it worked, it might convince these people to believe her.

  She drew in a breath, looking over the company. “Can any of you … photograph it?”

  “Sure.” Ray shrugged, then took a picture with his phone. “See for yourself.” He walked over to Ariadne and showed her the result.

  Ariadne’s wings fluttered—the picture showed the Crystal Lake exactly how it was. Or how it should be. This illusion was strong.

  She closed her eyes for a second, nodding a thank-you to Ray. “Imagine that you’re dreaming now.” She ran her eyes over them again. “All of you. And seeing the exact same dream. Except that you’re doing it consciously.”

  Hanna rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, of course. I know you fairies love playing tricks on humans. Trying to convince us that we’re crazy. But don’t be so scared—we have no intention to harm you or your home. We just came here to show Mimi the miracle that is the Secret Lake.”

  Ariadne glanced at Mimi, who stepped back, her face flushed. “Why do you keep calling it ‘the Secret Lake’?” she murmured. “It’s Crystal Lake.”

  “See!” Hanna laughed. “You’re not even denying it anymore—this place is real.”

  “It is. But not in this world.”

  Ryan kept staring at Ariadne as if she were a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

  “All my life I had been told that fairies, ghosts, and unicorns are not real,” he said in wonder. “Can I take a selfie with you before we go?”

  Ariadne’s cheeks reddened. “I’m not planning on staying here. I’ve already told you—it’s not my real home.”

  “Then you plan on returning to Nate’s house?” Hanna chuckled. She took off her shoes and sat down at the edge of the water, clearly intending to plunge her legs into it.

  Ariadne’s blush deepened. “Yes …”

  Hanna beckoned Ray to come and sit with her. He took off his backpack and left it leaning against a tree, watching Ariadne with precaution every step of the way. Ryan followed shortly after.<
br />
  “Are you dating him?” he asked Ariadne, his eyes glittering with curiosity.

  It was almost enough for Ariadne to instantly shift and find a hideout for herself. Her wings trembled rapidly, eyes darting to meet Nate’s.

  “Ryan!” Hanna’s laughter echoed off the surface of the lake. “It’s impolite to ask so straight away.”

  “Why? I just want to know.”

  Nate let out a breath, then shook his head. “We’re not dating. And stop pestering Ariadne with questions—she’s not obliged to answer.” He smiled reassuringly at Ariadne, then walked over to sit with his friends.

  Ariadne clasped her hands tighter. She was staring at the crystals scattered around the grass, listening to Hanna’s chatter merging in with chirping of the birds and buzzing of the insects. Her own mind was a mess.

  Something clicked—Hanna taking pictures of the surroundings with her own phone.

  “They’re so adorable!” she announced—probably referring to nixies. “I want to play with them, but at the same time I feel like I don’t want to disturb them.” She turned to look over her shoulder. “Mimi, come join us! The water is so nice!”

  “No, thanks,” Mimi’s response sounded, a drop of sadness in her voice.

  Ariadne lifted her head to look at the girl. She was sitting on the grass at the edge of the clearing, clutching her knees to her chest. She couldn’t feel her aura from so far away, but even one glance at her told her something wasn’t right.

  Hanna’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is everything okay, sweetie? Are you feeling good?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Mimi attempted a smile. “I’m just a little tired after walking such a long distance.”

  “Then come splash your legs in the water; it’s so nice, almost like a hot tub. It’ll help you to relax.”

  “No, thanks,” Mimi repeated. “I just want to sit here.”

  Hanna blinked at her a few times, then turned to Ray, who tapped her shoulder wanting to show her something. As soon as she wasn’t looking, Mimi pressed her forehead to her knees.

  Ariadne’s heart squeezed, her instincts alerting. She wanted to come and soothe her; offer her any help that she could give. But something told her it was better to leave Mimi alone at that moment.

  Nate called her name, and her attention instantly snapped to him. He was smiling at her, motioning to come and sit with him. Smiling back coyly, she walked over to him.

  “Hey!” Ryan said as he saw her approach. “If you’re not dating Nate, could I be your boyfriend? I can come here every day to see you.”

  Despite curious glances, Ariadne laughed, covering her mouth with her fingers. “I’m not allowed to date humans. And even if I were, I’ve already said a million times that this place is not my home.”

  “Not allowed to date humans?” Hanna’s eyebrows shot up, but Ray distracted her with something that he said.

  Ryan sighed. “That sucks. I’ve always wanted to date an elf girl or a fairy. I’ve only seen them in games and movies. I would’ve shown you, but there’s no internet in the forest.”

  “Ryan, you’re too young to date!” Hanna pointed out, then resumed her conversation with Ray.

  “Oh, really?” Ryan shouted back to her. “You were already dating my brother at that age.”

  “Yes, but I was much more mature. You can’t even keep your room clean. If any girl saw that mess, she’d dump you right on the spot!”

  “This has nothing to do with that!”

  “Oh, yeah, it does!”

  “Ray’s room is messy, too!”

  “Not as messy as yours!”

  They kept bickering back and forth, and Ariadne switched her glance to Nate.

  Nate, who was looking out onto the lake, his eyes sparkling with fascination. He’d completely zoned out of reality.

  “Hey …” she murmured, startling him out of his stupor. “What are you thinking about?”

  Nate smiled at her—that beautiful, gentle smile that made her heart beat a little faster every time she saw it. “This place is phenomenal. Never in my wildest dreams could I have experienced anything like that.” He shook his head, his glance sliding to the water once again. “But at the same time … it feels familiar. As if I’ve been here before.”

  Ariadne looked down, smiling just slightly. “Maybe you have,” she murmured.

  “So is it”—he leaned closer—“the way your home looks like?”

  Ariadne nodded. “Crystal Lake. It’s a little different, tough. It’s as if the reality had merged with the dream. In my world, there should be a waterfall nearby. And the lighting is different.”

  “I wish I could go there one day,” Nate said quietly.

  Ariadne watched him for a moment. She wanted to reach out and take his hand. Wanted to brush one unruly lock away from his face. She barely stopped herself from doing that, reminding herself of what she’d told Ryan earlier.

  “They’ve accepted you pretty easily,” Nate remarked, bringing Ariadne’s attention back to their conversation. “Was it that magic you’ve talked about earlier?”

  Ariadne nodded. “I’m afraid they have many questions I’m not willing to answer. Although Hanna—she might have believed me without my interference. And Ryan, too. I didn’t know Hanna and Ray were dating,” she added, side-glancing at the rest of the company.

  “I should have told you more about my friends.” Nate met her gaze. “But I can assure you—they’re good people. Maybe a little curious. Bored by the monotonous small-town life. But they won’t harm you, I am sure, even if you don’t use your magic.”

  “I’ve had the same assumptions.”

  He smiled, casting his eyes on the water. Some of the pixies emerged from the grass and started chasing the fairy lights that darted away from them in panic. Hanna almost squealed with excitement and started snapping photos of them rapidly.

  Ariadne cast a worried glance over her shoulder to where Mimi still sat curled up against a tree, her head resting on her knees. It almost looked like she was sleeping.

  After spending some time by the illusion of the Crystal Lake, taking pictures, the group of friends decided it was finally time to head back. Then came another question—which way to go?

  Hanna insisted on returning to the clearing they’d been on before, then following the same path home. Except there was no path—they’d just wandered through the forest heading north. Ray tapped at his phone rapidly, his eyebrows furrowed, and muttered something about them getting completely lost.

  Nate abandoned the company to go check up on Mimi, who still kept away from everybody else. Ariadne saw him crouch beside her and say something to her with a gentle smile on his lips. As soon as Mimi heard his voice, her head snapped up, and she stared right into his eyes.

  Ariadne couldn’t hear what they were talking about. Mimi shook her head in an answer to some question. Nate motioned to the rest of the group, explaining something, and then he offered his hand to her, and Mimi seized it. He helped her to get back on her feet.

  Mimi let go of his hand as soon as possible. Her face was entirely flushed. She cut a quick glance at Ariadne but instantly dropped her gaze upon realizing Ariadne was looking at her, too. With some final words to her, Nate left her standing where she was and strode through the clearing to where his other friends stood.

  Ariadne moved to join them too, the hem of her dress rustling on the grass. Seeing her approach, Hanna and Ryan looked up from Ray’s phone screen; Ray kept staring at it.

  “I can lead you out of the forest,” Ariadne offered them.

  Hanna raised her eyebrows. “You could? That would be great if you do; we’d appreciate that.”

  Ray side-glanced at her. “And you trust her? She could as well be an illusion. She’d said it herself—we’re all just dreaming now.”

  Hanna pinched him on the arm and he flinched.

  “See?” She laughed. “Not dreaming.”

  Nate caught Ariadne’s gaze. “How do you know the way out of this fo
rest?” he asked curiously. “You’ve never been here.”

  “By flying high above the trees?” Ryan suggested. “Hey, how high fairies can fly?”

  Ariadne averted her gaze. “I’m not sure,” she replied with honesty. “We don’t really like soaring too far off the ground. But since I’m a dryad, trees show me the way.”

  Ray glared skeptically at her. Ariadne was sure he’d say much more than he did if he wasn’t under her spell. But either way, he didn’t have much choice. He shoved his phone back into his pocket.

  “What would you want in return?” he asked.

  Everyone stared—first, at him, then at Ariadne.

  Ariadne recoiled, fluttering her wings. She looked to Nate as if seeking his guidance.

  Nate caught her glance, understanding. “Ariadne doesn’t want anything from you,” he explained to his friends. “She just wants to help. Besides, she’s coming back with us. She’s living in my house—did you forget?”

  Ray blinked at him a few times, then shook his head. “I don’t get it. But either way, it’s not like we have many options.” He glanced at Ariadne. “We’d really appreciate it if you could show us the way out of this place.”

  Hanna sighed, turning back to look at the nixies. “Bye-bye, Secret Lake.”

  Before the eyes of her amazed spectators, Ariadne shifted into her natural form and entered the forest. The group of friends had lingered only for a moment before dashing after her.

  She could hear Nate explain to Hanna about her two different forms and how she was able to escape from her in his house because of that.

  “I’ve always believed in fairies,” Hanna’s cheerful voice resounded through the forest. “But you, Nate, have much of explaining to do. Did you think you could hide her forever?”

  “I didn’t want to be the one to reveal her,” Nate replied. “She came here from some faraway land, and it’s up to her to decide whether she wants to share any information about herself or her home.”

  “Faraway land, huh?”

  “Yes. She calls it the Enchanted Forest. But I know nothing about it. And it’s not my story to tell anyway.”

  Ray’s sigh sounded in the distance. “Maybe we’d just come out of the forest and discover that it all had been one weird dream. All these secret lakes and Nate having a pet fairy …”