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“Ah. Give me a minute to set up.”
Nayome watched with her eyebrows raised in disbelief as Balfor, a man who would not look out of place hunting lions, or gladiator fighting in ancient Greece, whipped out a cheerful red checkered picnic blanket, carefully placing it on a level patch of ground. He spent the next few minutes setting up a spread that wouldn’t have look out of place on pintrest.
“Are we having a picnic?”
“I wanted to make sure we blend in with any passersby.”
“Ah, of course. For appearances.”
Balfor cleared his throat as he set out a couple of wine glasses. “I also wanted to start fresh, if we could. If you are who I think you might be…well, let’s just say we started off on the wrong foot, either way.”
Nayome felt silly, a warm glow washing over as she pictured Balfor picking out wine, cheese and the platter of fruits and snacks he had set out on a live edge wood charcuterie board. “It looks wonderful.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Was it just her, or did he shift his weight a bit, as if he was the one feeling awkward? “I’m sorry Nayome. For everything that happened, the way you were treated by my people.” Balfor said, sounding a bit rushed.
Not expecting the conversation to take such a quick turn into that uncomfortable territory, Nayome shifted and looked away. “Oh, well…”
“Please. Let me finish. I find this difficult to explain, and you deserve an explanation before we go any further with…our meetings.” Balfor said, motioning her to take a seat on the blanket before he continued. “Our people have been secluded, protective, for decades. It has changed us, made some of us cruel and intolerant of outsiders. You were the first person to threaten our seclusion in…well, in a very long time. My people had no right to treat you as they did, no matter if you end up being of our kind or not.” Balfor frowned thoughtfully, and continued. “And…I may have helped you in the end, but I had a hand in your treatment in the beginning. I wanted to apologize for my part in that.”
“I…well, I won’t downplay it. It was traumatizing. In some ways I probably haven’t fully processed yet.” Nayome’s gaze sought out Balfor’s, holding the eye contact as she continued. “After what you showed me yesterday, I can at least understand the need for secrecy. Understanding helps me, so I can rationalize everything.”
Balfor breathed out, as if he was relieved to hear it.
“Thank you for the apology. And thank you for going against your people to get me out of there. That couldn’t have been easy…I’m choosing to trust you now, but I can’t forgive what they did to me. But…why did you help me? I’m still not clear on that.”
Balfor’s lips curved up in a small half smile, looking a little bit lighter as he poured them both a glass of chilled chardonnay. “Because I think you might be one of us. The others…they would need more proof to believe it, but after what I saw…”
“Truce?” Nayome asked, smiling mischievously across the picnic blanket as he handed her a glass. His answer
“Truce.” He agreed, as they clinked their glasses together.
Nayome’s breath caught as they took their first sip, eyes meeting over the rim of the glasses.
She didn’t understand why, but Balfor, one of the sexiest men she had ever met, was looking at her like he wanted to rip off all of her sensible clothes. The feeling was exhilarating.
* * *
“Close your eyes. Concentrate on the sound of the waves, the breeze passing through the trees, the birds…”
“It’s not working,” Nayome complained.
“Tell me again how it happened before, maybe a feeling you had.”
Nayome sighed, feeling ridiculous and frustrated. What had she expected? That she would have called on some elemental force, and used her magic to cure cancer by dinner time?
“Let’s take a break, have some food.”
“Balfor, what if you’re wrong about me?”
“I am not mistaken in what I saw. Theteinewere drawn to you.”
“Maybe it’s not me who called them.”
“Maybe. It works differently for everyone. But…”
“But what?”
“They haven’t been seen—at least not in any significant numbers—for years before you showed up. It can’t be just a coincidence.”
