Free Entasy (Prophecies of The Nine) by Brynn Myers

"Is he scolding you already? Damn, Kylah, that may be a new record." She moved closer to the couch and pulled me into a deep hug. "Nana wanted me to make sure I gave you an extra one of these for her."
    My eyes started to well up with tears as Vivi hugged me a second time. "How is Nana?"
    "She’s great and she hopes to see you soon. She said it’s been too long." I shook off my sadness and followed Vivi into the kitchen as Ty went to take their bags into their room.
    "Where did Syd go?"
    "He had a few things to do. He said he would be back here by 6pm, ready to become a knight." She smiled as she took two glasses out of the cabinet. "So how was your day with Syd anyway?"
    "He seems like a really good guy. Conversations are so easy with him it’s almost as if we have known each other for years." Vivi smirked as Tynan walked into the room again.
    He waved at us. "Carry on with your girl talk, I could care less." Tynan leaned against the bar as the phone started to ring.
    Vivi teased, "Yeah right, Tynan Keenan nobody's buying that load of crap."
    Vivi laughed as she lifted the ringing phone from its cradle, "Hello." We watched as she listened to whoever was on the line while making her way to the fridge. After pulling out a pitcher of tea, she poured some into both glasses as Ty gave her the "what about me" look. Vivi hung up the phone and pulled a bag of chips out of the pantry. "Our costumes arrived. Ty, would you mind going down to the concierge's desk to pick them up? ".
     "On my way." As Tynan headed out the front door, Vivi and I sat down on the couch and started talking about their trip and how tonight was going to be a night to remember.
    "So, what are the two of you going as anyway?" Vivi didn’t get the chance to answer because Tynan walked back into the room shaking two garment bags.
    "We are going as zombie prom dates! She’s the queen and I am her king." Ty unzipped the bags and pulled out two tattered costumes.
    "Oh, for the love of…you guys…really?" I laughed out loud because if anyone could make the1970s baby blue tuxedo he held in front of him look good, it was gonna be my brother. And the retro yellow prom dress with all the tiered ruffles that Vivi was going to be wearing…well let’s just say they needed to be zombies to pull that off.
    Ty beamed as he shook the costumes back and forth. "Don’t be jealous. We are gonna be the hit of the night."
    Vivi gently touched my arm. "What did you finally settle on?"
    "Well, it’s kind of a surprise. I still have a few things to finish before I am ready to show you guys." I nervously looked back and forth between them, hoping they wouldn’t press me for more information.

 
     
    Chapter Twelve
     
    I opened the door to my room only to be blinded by the sunlight streaming in from the huge picture window. The sun was so bright it was muting the eggplant colored walls, making them appear to be a lighter shade of purple. I smiled when I noticed the black wig perfectly placed on my dressing table. Syd must have brought it in here before he left. I picked up the note he left on an old Starbucks receipt. "Didn't want this to get messed up, had a really great time with you today, see you tonight. Syd."
    I set down the note and ran my hand along the top of the wig. Today was filled with such a mixed bag of emotions: first with Syd’s reaction to my costume, and then lunch. I was just not sure how to feel about this man. He was so kind and loving, but his serious side could be a little unnerving. All in all though, I thought Syd was someone worth getting to know better.
    The light shining in was too much for my eyes; it was giving me a headache, so I walked over to the floor to ceiling windows and closed the deep velvet curtains. I stopped short when I saw something glinting in the rug next to my messenger bag. I leaned down to pick it up, unsure of what or where it came from. A ring? The muted gold band encased a green stone almost the color of my eyes, and it