Page 11 of Cupid
“Show me.” I rolled the empty chip bag in my lap, over and over again, fidgeting while my mind tried to process what he was saying.
“I will.”
My eyes darted up and locked with his, eager and terrified by what was going to happen next.
“But not right now. I have to wait until it’s dark so no one sees me.”
I cocked my head, still not fully buying it. “How big do you get?”
“About…” Arrow looked around and then held up his hand. “From here to the railing… That’s about right.”
My jaw dropped at the distance he was indicating. It was probably 15 feet. That was almost as long as my car. “Seriously?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, and about six feet tall. We’re bigger than regular reindeer.” His eyes drifted out to the sea and then he smiled. “We have to be in order to fly for such long periods of time.”
“Did you fly all the way here?” Was I actually starting to believe him? It seemed crazy, but he spoke with such conviction that it was hard not to believe him.
“Not myself. I flew in a plane.” He placed his hand on the tightly rolled plastic bag in my lap to stop my movements. “It would have taken forever to fly only when it’s super dark.”
Something wasn’t adding up. “But how do you fly around the world with Santa in one night?”
He bit the inside of his lip and then sighed. “Magic. It’s not easy to explain, but on Christmas, time is just…different. Pulling the sleigh gives us different powers than when we’re just out for a pleasure flight. But I will show you once it’s dark, if you want.”
“I do.” Then I got an idea. “Actually, can you change inside the house? I think you’ll fit if we move the sofa out of the way.”
He grinned and then a soft chuckle rumbled out of his throat. “Are you that curious or are you debating whether to call the police and have me arrested?”
I winked, hoping he was willing to play along. “Maybe a little of both.”
Arrow pulled me onto his lap and kissed me hard. “Good. I’d never be able to leave you to go back home if I didn’t know you had a healthy dose of skepticism and some serious self-preservation in you. Let’s go inside.”
EIGHT
ARROW
I nudged him with my head, gently pressing my snout to his cheek as Jude stared at me with his mouth agape. He was clearly in shock, but at least he wasn’t screaming.
That felt like a good sign.
I’d never revealed myself to a human before, so I had to assume his reaction was normal. But still, I felt a little self-conscious by the way he was just staring. Was he scared? Disgusted?
I was ready to shift back into my skin within thirty seconds, but I wanted to give him enough time to fully process what and who I was. It was a lot to take in when you weren’t familiar with my world, and I’d heard of reveals that went much worse from the beginning. Which meant, I needed to give Jude some time to accept what he was seeing, and hopefully, not run screaming.
I dropped down onto the floor in front of him and just waited for his cue to do something.
He looked all over my face, carefully inspecting it from just a few inches away. “Are you okay in there?” Jude lifted his hand toward me and touched my cheek before quickly pulling his hand back.
I nodded and scooted a bit closer so he knew it was okay to touch me.
“Does it hurt when you change?”
I shook my head and carefully lowered my chin so my antlers were close enough for him to slide his fingers over.
“It feels like velvet…” He was clearly in awe. “You’re so…majestic. Is that where the word magic comes from?” he mused to himself as his finger slid down the length of the longest point. “You’re the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. This is amazing.”
It took a few minutes, and the shock wasn’t completely gone, but he had a big grin on his face as he got up and circled my body to inspect it.
I took that as acceptance and shifted back, landing right in front of him, completely naked, before I pulled him up against my chest. “You’re really okay with this? I know it’s a shock, and not everybody would be able to accept that I’m not human. Well, not fully human, but… I really want you to be okay with this.”
