Lola walked around the antique shop. It was filled with all kinds of hidden treasures that she couldn’t wait to discover. She picked up a broach that was made from human hair, a piece of mourning jewelry.Sitting it down, she couldn’t help but think that the light brown and copper strands must have a sad backstory. She loved little shops like this. Each item seemed to tell her a story as she studied a figurine of two lovers strolling side by side their hands clasped, before moving on. She glanced up at the tinkling sound of bells and looked towards the door, her eyebrows scrunched together.That was strange no one had come in. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back to all the pretties. Maybe it had been the wind?She loved everything about this particular antique shop, the cozy feeling the shop had come from it being set up inside an older Victorian style home. The soft scent of jasmine tea filled the air from the small kitchen at the rear of the house. She paused, her emerald eyes t

“Is she dead?” The deep, rolling brogue was unfamiliar to her. Lola was afraid that someone had broken into her apartment and after possibly going insane, she was about to be murdered.“No, I think she’s coming to.” A lighter, but still very masculine voice said from somewhere near her right side.“Go halainn,” another voice said from further in the room.“She is, but you shall not lay with her.” A grumbling voice said from somewhere near the couch.“I do as I please, and if she wants to, I wouldn’t be opposed. It’s been a long time, she’s pretty enough even if her hair is a strange color.” The voice that had said the strange words said, his voice coming nearer as he moved closer.Lola opened her eyes slowly. She was lying on the floor with two men standing above her. No, that wasn’t right. They may look like men, but something about them screamed other to her. She closed her eyes, willing them to be gone when she opened them.They were not. She let out a shriek and tried to crab walk

Lola winced at the pain stabbing through her shoulder as she picked up the wooden tray. She sat it back down quickly. Rolling her shoulders before lifting it again.“You’re still hurt?” Bodach asked as he caught the grimace marring her pretty features. He glared over at Merrow before stepping closer to her.“It’s fine, I’ll ice it later.” She said turning to take the tray into the living room and to get away from the tension she felt between the two men.“Let me,” Bodach said, stepping forward to take the tray from her hands. Lola released it as he pulled the tray closer to his broad chest.“Thank you,” Lola said, looking up at him. She had never seen a person with crimson eyes before and she bit her lip, studying him. His eyes were larger than a normal person’s, his features almost delicate with a slightly squared jawline. “It’s my pleasure,” he said, his lips tilting in a smirk as he caught her admiring glance. Something tightened low in her stomach, a blush rising in her cheeks at

Lola looked up at Puca. Her cheeks flaming red, her wild purple hair a mess. He was right. She was tired even through the embarrassment she felt at falling on Lu and the way he had held her. She bit her lip as she turned away from the men and trudged down the hallway to her bedroom.“Let me know if you need anything,” she said over her shoulder.Lu’s body had been surprisingly muscular underneath her. She shook away the thought and opened the door to her bedroom. Reaching into the darkness, feeling the smooth white wall for the switch. Finally finding it, she flipped the switch on. Letting out a sigh of relief.Lola knew it was a silly fear for an adult to have. Being afraid of the dark, but that didn’t make it any less real for her. She closed the door behind her as she stepped into the softly lit room and fell face first onto her bed. Burying her face into the handmade quilt, her body sinking into the soft surface as she thought about the quilt beneath her. The one she and her gra

Lola placed a pan over the open flame with a bit of butter stepping over to the toaster she added bread to it. Moving back to the pan to give it a swirl. The steady thwack, thwack of Lu chopping the chives at the counter was soothing as she moved about the kitchen.The toast popped up and Lola grabbed it from the toaster, moving it between her hands as she grabbed a plate.“What magic is that?”“The toaster?” Lola asked.“Toaster.” Lu repeated, watching as Lola added more slices to the slim silver device and pressing the little lever.He did the next round, picking up the toasted bread and studying it closely. He grabbed two slices and add them to it, moving closer to watch as it went down and the coils inside of the device turning orange.Lola smiled to herself as she added the eggs to the pan before dumping the chives in. She stirred the eggs until they were fluffy. The smell making her mouth water, she glanced over at Lu, “Would you mind grabbing the plates with the toast for me?”W