Page 76 of Shattered Heir
“How do you plan on stealing the crystal?” Ash asked as we walked down and out the gate of school. She was coming home with me and spending the night. We walked down the street, and still, even after a few minutes, I did not know what to say. I didn’t know what I would do to get the crystal.
“Keil says that he must be wearing it, but it must be under his clothes because I haven’t seen it,” I said, looking at Ash as she watched a few cars drive by us.
“Well, that will be difficult to figure out.”
I knew it would be. I had thought that, perhaps, I could invite him over to swim, but it was too cold. Spill something on his shirt? Anything to get him to change so that I could get a glimpse of it.
“I am all up for ideas,” I said with a sigh.
“We will think of something.” Ash paused, and her lavender eyes got all huge as she grinned. “You could kiss him, and then rip his shirt off.” She nudged my shoulder, and I would have loved to do that if it were Shad, although I wasn’t sure he would because the real Shad, my Shad, with his melody intact, didn’t even change to go swimming in my pool, and I suddenly wondered if that was a modesty thing. That being said, however, I knew Cade would not mind in the slightest. However, it wasn’t an appealing idea. I did not doubt that he was well-formed and muscular, and I was sure that any girl would probably think he was hot stuff. He was handsome, but he wasn’t Shad, and I didn’t want to, nor care to, see him without his shirt on.
“I was kidding, Emma. Too bad he isn’t a boy who you actually like, because that could be fun.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“How many boys have you ‘had fun’ with, exactly?” I asked Ash.
“Well, to be honest, I have never really been kissed, so none, but I read all the books and movies there are about love, and these are how things seem to be done, and in my opinion, how they should be done.” She laughed, and I nudged her in the side.
“No kissing at homecoming?”
“No, and I am not sure when I will ever get my first kiss. I am seventeen now, so it feels like now is the best time for it, but I don’t know. I know on Terra that we don't kiss casually like they do here, but I grew up mostly as an earthling, so—yeah,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders.
We stepped onto my front porch.
“All I know is that Shad was my first kiss, and it was like lightning. Seriously, I thought we were being struck by lightning or something.” Thinking about our first kiss ignited a new flame within me. I wanted Shad so much. I missed him, every single thing about him. We walked inside of my house, and weflung our backpacks on the couch, and then we walked into the kitchen. I was hungry, and I figured Ash would be, too.
“That is so dreamy!” She sat on one of the bar stools near our kitchen island. I grabbed a few drinks out of the fridge and a bowl of strawberries. “When I have my first kiss, I want there to be fireworks or something.” She bit into a strawberry and gasped. “Oh, and like a live band playing our song!” She bounced up and down.
“How could you make all that happen?” I questioned, sitting down on the brown wooden stool picking up a red berry.
“It is called planning.”
“You are going to plan your first kiss?”
“No, but he better. I mean, hello, I am a princess, and whoever he is, he better treat me like one,” she laughed, and I joined her.
“No one is kissing anyone.” I heard a loud and firm growl of a voice. We both turned to see that Glasson and Ryker were standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Glasson’s brown, short, cropped hair making the expression on his face even more frightening.
“Glass, you are not my mother,” Ash said, putting another strawberry into her mouth.
“That’s true, Glass,you aren't,” Ryker said with a smirk of amusement, folding his arms and leaning against the white kitchen counter, stealing a strawberry for himself. I watched as Glasson’s eyes grew darker. His melody, I noticed, was faint, but it was there. I just felt the basic tone of it. He was very irritated.
“Ashlyn, let me take you home,” he said.
“I am staying with Emma; she doesn’t have training tonight, and we are having a sleep-over. Come on, let me live.” She hopped off of the brown wooden stool and walked up to Glasson.
“Go home,” he growled, his voice cold, a warning.
“You are such a jerk,” she said, pushing his shoulder, and he didn't budge. He held her wrist as she tried to hit him again, andtheir eyes locked. I looked at Ryker who looked back at me with a raised brow. Finally, as they moved away from each other, Ash turned around and sighed. “Let’s go upstairs, Emma. I am sick of these knights.” She walked to the couch, retrieving her backpack and then headed up to my room.
“Sorry guys, but we need some girl time.” I stood up and moved to put the strawberries away, but Ryker snatched the bowl from my hand.
“Talk to her, Em. You need to talk your feelings out with her. I am not good at those conversations, and you, Glasson, should let her. Girls need to talk,” Ryker smiled.
“Guys should talk, too,” I said.
“We do talk,” Glasson said, moving to Ryker and stealing the bowl of berries.
“Sure,” I said, walking past Glasson. I walked down the hall and turned around for a moment as I saw Ryker reach over to take the bowl from Glasson, only Glasson had already eaten the last five berries and set the bowl in the sink. I heard a sound of annoyance from Ryker, and then I turned around.
