Field of Innocence (The Euphoria Series) by Lainy Lane Page B

enough of a sign, that is going to happen.”
     
    Calandra stares at him as she tries to take it all in; the way things have changed in just a few short days. Something should fill her—doubts, fear, nerves—but as she sits here and stares at Jarreth she feels none of those things. His eyes somehow manage to take it all away and bring her back to a state of serenity. The world, crazy as it is at the moment, disappears and feels just right.
     
    “So, I take it if you don’t believe in faith and hope, there’s not exactly any kind of a deity here either?” Calandra doesn’t quite understand why that is the first thought that crosses her mind at the moment, but it is out of her mouth before she can stop it.
     
    Jarreth chuckles. “No, dear, faeries tend to believe in nothing but power. Magic and temptation is our controller. Trust me, if there were some kind of a deity out there, I highly doubt they would take kindly to our kind anyway. We aren’t exactly the most redeemable creatures, so to speak.”
     
    “I don’t believe that.” Calandra’s hand rests on the soft grass slightly out to her side and she leans into it to support herself. She absorbs every word he says like a sponge, lingers on his every statement. She links them all together and tries to build a picture of what this world is like. The small piece that she has seen was a little more than troublesome in her state of mind at the time. Not to mention that she was only slightly intimidated by the fact that every single person was staring at her, or technically at her mark.
     
    “What exactly don’t you believe?”
     
    “That you aren’t redeemable. Everyone is supposed to be, right? I mean, if God made the world and everything in it, then surely he’d provide a way for everything to be redeemed, right?” Calandra isn’t exactly the right person to be discussing the technicalities of something such as religion as she is filled with a million questions of her own regarding it. “So …” She begins a game of twenty questions in an effort to change the subject since she feels incapable of discussing the subject at hand, despite being the one that got them on the subject in the first place. “I take it from the stares I got on the way to your house everyone here knows what this means.” Calandra noses her face toward the dragonfly to indicate what she is referring to. It feels like a childish move to make, but she isn’t sure what word to use to refer to it exactly.
     
    “Your mark?” Jarreth seems to know all of her questions before she voices them. “There is only one thing it could mean, Cal, and yes, that is why everyone was staring. There will be quite a stir over the next while about you.” His smile beams into her and leaves her feeling suddenly exposed.
     
    “Oh,” she replies simply.
     
    “That wasn’t meant as an insult you know.” Jarreth places his hand over hers. Heat spreads throughout her body and is followed by a cold tingling sensation. It relaxes her and eases up the tension that has been building in her head all day. She relishes in the feeling and lets it wash over her. “Calandra, there is a bit more that you must understand about what lies ahead for you here.” His eyes flash a soft shade of midnight blue before they return to their normal shade of baby blue.
     
    Calandra tries to ready herself for whatever is to come. “Do I want to hear or understand it?” she asks. “I am in a bit of an overload as it is.”
     
    “I know my dear, but you must hear it and truly understand it as so many rely on you now.” He leans his hand into hers and sends the surge of electricity and fire and ice back through her once more. His eyes look sad and Calandra’s nerves build inside her like a brick wall despite the sensation that pools in her skin from Jarreth’s touch.
     
    Calandra takes in a cleansing breath and closes her eyes momentarily. “Fine, go for it,” she sighs.
     
    “Faeries are born out of