Elfcharm Read Online Free Page B

to him, standing my ground and waiting for him to come to me, or at least meet me in the middle, but I couldn’t fight this compulsion. I ran to him, happily, leaping the last few feet into his arms. He caught me easily, his muscled arms wrapping around my waist, laughing quietly as he hugged me to his body.
    I moved to press my forehead to his, the lights of our eyes glowing bright. Closing our eyes, we stood like that for a time, my arms around his neck, his around my waist, our faces close enough to kiss, feeling the magic between us swelling from nothing more than our embrace. A tear slipped down my cheek, falling to splash on his chest.
    Fallon lowered me to my feet, keeping one arm around my waist while lifting his other hand to brush his thumb over my cheek, wiping away the tear track. I opened my eyes to stare up into his face, knowing too soon I wouldn’t be able to look at him; too soon I would have to leave this wonderful place.
    “Taryn,” he said softly, bringing his hand down under my chin, lifting it up to look at him. “We have such little time; let’s not waste it on tears.”
    “But I’ll be gone soon, you’ll be gone soon,” I said.
    “But not yet,” he said, bringing his face close to mine. My lips parted in anticipation of his kiss, but he moved to the side, pressing his lips to my cheek. Reluctantly I stepped back when I felt him pull away from me. His arm fell away from my waist and his hand caught my wrist, sliding down to take my hand, twining our fingers together.
    He led us through the foliage and the trees, walking confidently through the shadows and shifting moonlight. I stepped closer to him so that I could wrap my free hand around his bicep, pressing the line of my body to his arm, not quite clinging to him. We would walk like that, the forest never changing, the will-o’-the-wisps never fading, only the moon tracking our steps in the sky.
    Eventually I would feel the world grow darker, the trees would begin to fade away, and one by one, the will-o’-the-wisps would wink out with the stars. Turning to Fallon, he would smile sadly down at me, knowing I was fading away.
    “I don’t want to go,” I said.
    “I know, but you can’t stay.”
    “Why?”
    “Because you have forgotten what it means to be Fae.”
    And then I would wake, alone in my bed, the charm around my neck, trying to catch my breath.
    “You didn’t even tell me your name,” I said, cradling the charm in one hand while I clutched the covers to my chest. “So how do I know your name in my dreams?”
    Closing my hand around the charm, I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts of the beguiling green stranger. But no amount of squeezing my eyes shut or violently shaking my head would make his echoing words stop. Had I forgotten what it was to be Fae?
    A glance around my apartment said as much. After the Solstice Massacre, I had finally bought a cell phone, which was charging in my kitchen at the moment. My apartment was powered by the human run electricity plant. I had a television. Hell, there was hardly anything in my apartment that spoke to my elfin nature except for the blackout curtains that allowed me to sleep through the day. At least I didn’t wake with the sun. That was one last tie to the elfin lifestyle that I couldn’t imagine ever changing.
    “Stop it,” I said, looking at myself in the mirror. “You’re a Bright Elf, Taryn Malloy. No stupid fairy dream can change that.” I could still feel the magic swirling in my body, making my skin glow with power. No human could do that. Awkwardly, I snapped my fingers, trying not to drop the blanket or the charm, and watched as the spark of power burst at my fingertips. Pursing my lips in a smile, I nodded to myself. Glancing down, I realized how careful I was to keep the blanket clutched around me, but why? Elves didn’t worry about modesty, especially when alone.
    Letting the blanket drop to the floor, I stepped out of the puddle of fabric, feeling