Lullaby (The Fable Series, Book 2)

Chapter Twenty Three

"You're safe now. It's over."

Thunder booms through the sky overhead as I lunge into Felix's arms. I press my face against his chest, burrowing into the cold rain-soaked fabric of his hoodie as I cry like I haven't cried in ages.

The rain is relentless, so loud that I can barely hear the words of reassurance Felix is whispering into my ear. Small rivulets of rainwater stream down my neck, my back, dripping from the hem of my sodden blue dress. Felix holds me tight in the wet embrace, and we stand like that for a while, two bedraggled teens getting drenched by the thunderstorm at the back of a dark alleyway.

Eventually I stop crying, but I can't stop shaking – whether out of cold or shock, I'm not sure.

I release my hold on Felix, stepping back and wiping the tears from my face, even though it's pointless with the constant downpour, so heavy we might as well be underwater.

We stand about a foot apart, the only sound that of the roaring rain as it batters the ground.

"You came for me," I say.

Felix nods, and then tilts his head slightly to the side, watching me quietly with a slight smile curving his lips. I can see myself reflected in the greenish-gold irises of his beautiful eyes as we stand there, locked in an invisible bubble as the maelstrom rages around us.

There's something about his expression that reminds me of something, or someone.

Swirling water all around. A sad half smile. Eyes filled with deepest, most heart-felt relief that he managed to save me, I'm safe, knowing that everything is fine now.

Evan.

I blink away my tears, reaching up to brush aside a lock of Felix's dark hair, dripping and cold. My fingertips brush his cheek for a moment, and without thinking, I trace the outline of his jaw, feeling the smooth wet skin as droplets of rain pool where I touch. Felix steps forward, and I quickly withdraw my hand, lowering my eyes as thoughts race through my head.

The dreams. Felix's face as he stabs me again and again. The myth. The silver circle.

I can't do this. I don't know enough. I don't know anything.

I look up into Felix's eyes again, and I'm about to speak when without warning he scoops me up into the air, one arm under my legs and one around my back. He starts walking, carrying me bridal style past Cameron's unconscious form slumped over against a trash can, out of the alley and across the road.

He mutters something about my shoes getting muddy, but I don't need an explanation. I just put my head against his shoulder and close my eyes.

I can feel the steady rhythm of his heart against mine, the warmth of his body through the cold rain-soaked hoodie.

Some time later he stops walking, and I unclasp my arms from around him, my feet touching the pavement as he lowers me down. The black Jeep is parked next to the sidewalk directly under a 'no parking' sign.

"But... the jeep was at the Forest Park parking lot..." I say. How did it get here?

"Kitty left the keys at the cabin," Felix says.

He takes the keys out of his pocket and unlocks the car, opening the passenger seat door for me. I slip in, and Felix goes around the side of the car and gets in on the driver's side.

We pull out of the makeshift parking and head down the road, the windscreen wipers squeaking frantically as they battle to clear the rain battering the windscreen.

"What about Kitty?" I ask.

"We're picking her up," Felix says.

We pass a row of parked cars before pulling off to the side of the road and parking.