Free A Lonely Magic by Sarah Wynde Page A

“to visit your bookstore someday. It is in Chicago, yes? I have never been there. Do you like it?”
    “It’s the only place I know,” Fen answered. For the rest of the meal, they discussed Chicago, its good and its bad, Luke and Kaio contributing, Gaelith asking questions and acting charmed by their answers.
    By the time they’d finished the delicious caramel flan, Fen felt in harmony with the world and her alien hosts.
    “This has been a most pleasant diversion,” Gaelith said, her smile warm. “Would that I could stay longer and share more hours with you, but I must away.”
    Away? But they’d just gotten here. Was Kaio leaving as well? He rose, pushing his chair back and taking Gaelith’s hand.
    “But wait,” Fen protested. “You haven’t told us anything about what’s happening at home yet. Did the police find Zach? What kind of drugs was he dealing? Have they learned who shot Luke?”
    “I’m afraid I have no information to share,” Kaio responded.
    Fen stared at him. That sounded like a brush-off to her. “This isn’t some ‘don’t worry your pretty little head about it’ thing, is it? Because I want to know what’s going on.”
    “The police investigation continues but they have not seen fit to update me on their progress.” Kaio didn’t look like he was lying, but Fen didn’t believe a word of it.
    “That’s bullshit.” Fen dropped her napkin by her empty plate and stood. “There’s no way they wouldn’t tell you what’s happening.”
    Kaio spread his hands, a gesture of graceful helplessness. “And yet…”
    “That’s ridiculous. You’ve got their witnesses!”
    Next to her, Luke rose to his feet, putting a hand on Fen’s shoulder. “I’m sure they’re doing everything they can.”
    She shrugged his hand off.
    Aliens, she reminded herself, over the rising tide of her accelerating heartbeat.
    Watch your step.
    Danger, danger, Will Robinson.
    But the fear curdling her stomach wasn’t about horror movies or extra-terrestrials. Fen wanted her life back. She wanted to know when she got to go home, when she’d see her apartment again, when she’d open the bookstore. Okay, maybe her life wasn’t much, but it was hers.
    Keeping her voice steady, she said, “You had my crystal. What about my cell phone? And the rest of my belongings? My messenger bag?”
    Kaio dipped his head. “I apologize. I intended no negligence. Luken’s health has been my priority.”
    The subtext was obvious—how selfish of her to be worried about her cellphone and her messenger bag when Luke was wounded. Fen glared at him.
    “Now, now.” Gaelith leaned forward. “You’re worried, child, and you must not be. All will be well.”
    Child?
    “I look young,” Fen said. “But I’m a legal adult. I take care of myself. A couple days in paradise, awesome, rad to the tenth, rocks the big one.” She couldn’t keep her hands still and her voice was rising with each additional adjective, so she stopped herself and took a deep breath. In a quieter voice, she said, “But I want to know when I’m going home.”
    “Oh, child.” Gaelith hurried around the table to her. Fen let herself be hugged, but she stayed stiff and rigid in Gaelith’s arms. The woman wasn’t as tall as her brothers, but Fen still fit under her chin. “All will be well,” Gaelith repeated, patting Fen’s back.
    Luke hovered next to them. “Soon, soonest,” he said, sounding worried. “We must let the police do their work.”
    Fen gritted her teeth. She didn’t want comfort, she wanted information.
    “After I return Gaelith to her home,” Kaio said, “I shall retrieve your property and interrogate the officers in charge of the investigation. I shall endeavor to discover every detail they have gleaned from the scant evidence and inform you forthwith. And I shall particularly press them to expedite their work so as to speed your return. Does that satisfy?”
    Fen pulled away from Gaelith’s hug. From his voice, she