Page 10 of Entwined

Chapter Four

Darby hit the backspace key for the umpteenth time that day. He clutched the dark strands of his almost-short hair out of frustration. Maybe I should go in and get it cut today. He rubbed his eyes, sighing. As he glanced around his apartment, he noted that the place could use some tidying up as well. Yeah, I should probably get some cleaning in before I go to Becca’s play. Pretty much anything sounded like a better plan than continuing to write.

No wonder I never finish a story.

In an attempt to keep moving forward, he reread what he’d written so far. It wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t right. The whole thing was too romantic. Never once had he read a gushy romance in Fantastic Realms. The magazine was for more serious tales, ones with extraordinary world-building and daring quests.

Not hot, flying twinks. He groaned. Who get pregnant.

But that was where the story was taking him, and he couldn’t seem to force it into being anything different. Maybe his disastrous, pointless relationship with Nathan was making him long for a love so true it would wrap him in it’s warm embrace and keep him safe forever. Maybe his ex’s sour take on forever afters had made him want one of his own more than ever.

As it turned out, that was exactly what he wanted. It had been his dream since way before he’d ever known Nathan existed. Being an only child had always been a big bummer, and not having any close relatives other than his folks had made it even harder when they’d passed. His parents had died less than a year apart from each other. He’d always felt as though his mother’s death from a heart attack nine months after his father had died of cancer, had been due to a broken heart more than anything medical.

It wasn’t until that exact moment that he realized that having lots of children and his one true love to share them with was what he’d been searching for all along.

Which was why I dreamed up a scenario with the fated mate who wants to carry my children.

Within the context of his deep-rooted wishes, the situation now made complete sense.

Darby returned his attention to the document and ran a hand across the top of his head. He’d might as well give in to the inevitable.

Goodbye Fantastic Realms, hello gay romance.

Right as he was about to begin typing again, a glimmer of something, a sparkle, caught the corner of his eye. He’d made sure to clean up the crusted remnants of the flying leftovers, but hadn’t bothered with much else. After sharing breakfast with Becca, he’d been overcome with the desire to write down his story. Sadly, his burst of inspiration hadn’t lasted very long.

Darby rolled his desk chair back from his desk, then padded over to the glittery spot on the ratty carpet right beneath his window. The day was a sunny one, and the rays from outside shone down on the area. When he reached the location that had summoned him, he frowned as he gazed down on the smattering of…

Fairy dust?

His breath caught in his throat and he stumbled back a few steps. He stared at the spot with wide eyes, his chest heaving with frantic breaths as he tried to work out in his mind why his floor was littered with a sparkling layer of…

It can’t be fairy dust. That’s beyond ridiculous.

He gulped then stepped delicately around the glittering patch to yank the blinds up all the way. The cord snapped, but he could care less. There were more important issues at hand. The bright sunshine filled the entire side of the open room, including his bed. Darby slapped a hand to his mouth, his knees beginning to weaken. Every inch of his covers and pillows were layered with a fine sheen of…

Holy shit. Fairy dust.

The only other explanation was that a group of kindergartners had invaded his apartment while he’d been gone and made glitter pictures. He was surprised he hadn’t noticed it earlier, but then he’d groggily made his way to the shower that morning before heading out of the door after he’d dressed. Darby squinted then made his way to the bed.

There’s something different about this stuff. It’s not like glitter at all.

When he got close enough to touch, Darby leaned down and swiped two fingers through the shimmering layer. He gasped and straightened as the substance he’d touched burst through the air like the offshoot of a sparkler, then slowly drifted to the floor.

Darby glanced down at the pads of his fingers, the sensation that he might faint still a real possibility. The substance on his skin wasn’t a cheap, rainbow-colored, arts and crafts necessity, it was finer than sand and a gradient mixture of shades of blues and purples. He rubbed his fingers and thumb together and another burst of tiny sparks were ignited.

He laughed, then swiped up more of the substance, flinging it through the air to watch it twinkle and pop. Then he gathered up more of the dust and snapped his fingers, his cackling growing louder with each explosion of lavender or periwinkle blue or violet light.

His glee began to wane as a picture of Bram jumped into his head and a wave of shame passed over him.

I hurt his feelings. Darby’s shoulders slumped. He’s actually real and I wasn’t kind to him at all.

Suddenly, playing around with the reminder of the sweet young thing that had shown up in his apartment the night before was no longer fun. Maybe he was still hallucinating, and the dust was nothing more than actual dust in his dreary home. Maybe he needed to be locked up and examined.

But all the same, Bram was very real to him and he’d been mean to his… What did he say? Alpha? Fated mate? Darby sighed. I’m as bad as the sun fairies. Whatever they are.

Darby rubbed his eyes, the idea of doing anything at all making him tired. He’d promised Becca he’d go to her play, but maybe he’d beg off on hanging out with her theater buddies afterward. He might be edging even closer to complete loss of reality, but he couldn’t wait to go to sleep again.

Maybe he’s not too angry with me. Darby swallowed hard. Maybe Bram will come back.

Oddly enough, the thought of never seeing Bram again made his chest hurt more than when Nathan had dumped him by email.