Celestial Heart (A Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Chapter 30: Heart to Heart

"You're lying."

"Winter, I'm not--"

"No, you are, because the Loke I know - the Leo I know - is as likely to kill a chick as Candor is to get a girlfriend."

Said brat apparently wasn't overly fond of my charming comment, and I was unsurprised when he let out a weighted sigh, then promptly tossed the nearest projectile at the back of my head, which just so happened to be a rock the size of my fist. If it weren't for Loke's quick reflexes, there's a very good chance I would have spent the rest of this emotional encounter sprawled out oh-so attractively on the ground. 

Lucy would have been so proud.

In any case, I finally managed to pry myself from Loke's arms, settling a hand on his slumping shoulder, the other gently nudging his chin up so that we were eye to eye. My lips quirked down into a frown, I said, "I wouldn't believe that for a second, just so you know. You could be standing in front of me caked in blood and I still wouldn't believe it. You're not capable of that, Loke. But," I added, seeing the inevitable protest already on his lips, "I'm gonna ask you to tell me what the hell you're talking about anyway."

He watched me for a moment, just looked at me, searching my eyes as though he'd find some chink in my armor, a way to slink past this encounter. But he sighed, because it was damn-near impossible to untangle himself from a stubborn bitch such as myself in straits as dire as this. And so he closed his eyes, rocked back on his heels, hung his head and mumbled beneath his breath, then closed his trembling fingers around my hand. His pulse beat steadily against my wrist as he knit our fingers together. 

"I'm not expecting much from this, but..." From behind his tinted shades, I caught the barest hint of desperation, and a pang lodged itself in my heart, knowing I was barely scratching the surface of his emotions. "Try not to hate me, Winter. Please." 

I squeezed his hand, using my free one to thread my fingers into his hair and jerk his head forward, banging our foreheads together. He winced; I smiled, crookedly, maybe, but a smile nonetheless. "As if I could hate you, playboy. Now carry on; you know I love me a good story."

And maybe it was just my imagination, colored in equal parts fear and wishful-thinking, but the faintest smile flickered over Loke's lips, just before something darkened his hazel eyes and he said, "It was three years ago..."

Loke's POV

Not again, I thought, looking away from the spot where Aries had stood not two seconds before.

She was gone now, whisked away to the human world by order of her summoner. Our shared summoner, actually, and that's what dropped a hefty stone into the pit of my stomach the moment Aries had vanished mid-sentence: I knew Karen. A powerful Celestial Mage contracted with Blue Pegasus, she was the unerring cover girl of Celestial magic, synonymous with Spirits and their human partners. 

But she was dangerous.

I raked a hand through my hair, casting an anxious glance around the now-empty glade. Empty, huh? I slipped my hand from my pocket and arced it across the air in front of me, embers of magic trailing from my fingertips in generous sheets. I watched as the prismatic strings coalesced, forming an image I'd seen too many times before.

Karen towered over Aries, who trembled pitifully, curled in on herself on the ground. Her watery eyes darted everywhere, taking in the metallic cuffs that dangled from Karen's long fingers, the cruelty masking her aristocratic face. Terror glittered behind the dewdrops clinging to her dark lashes.