Stars of Fortune (The Guardians Trilogy 1)

“Do you know me?”

She only smiled. “I don’t know your name.”

“Sawyer.”

“Sawyer.” She repeated it, carefully. “My name is Annika. I come— I came,” she corrected, “to help you find the stars. Will you take me with you?”

Just like that, he thought.

“Yeah, I think I’d better. We’re up there.” He pointed up to the villa, where—as in the sketch—a single light glowed.

“I have some things.”

“Where?”

“I’ll get them.”

She ran up the beach, the movements almost like a dance, then with a swirl of white dress and long dark hair, she disappeared behind the rocks.

“Wait. Shit.” He ran after her, cursing himself for being so dumbfounded he’d frozen.

But she came out again, carrying two large bags.

Not luggage, exactly, he noted, but two sacks, he supposed, both brightly patterned with trees, flowers, birds, and secured with the sort of clasps you might see on treasure chests.

“Let me get those.”

“You take one, I take one, and the weight is half. The steps are wonderful!” With her one bag, she raced for them. “They go so high. We’ll be closer to the sky.”

“Be careful, they’re st

eep.”

“Someone always says be careful.” She beamed at him as they started up. “Annika, you are too reckless. But I don’t think so. I only want to try everything.”

Not reckless, he thought, going off with some strange guy in the middle of the night? If not reckless, then way too trusting.

“Oh.” At the top of the steps she paused, laid a hand on her heart. “This is home for you? It’s very beautiful.”

“It’s borrowed. I mean we’re just staying here for a while.”

“I can smell the flowers.” She trailed her hand along flowering shrubs. “And the trees, and the grass. Look at this.”

She stopped to trail her fingers over a low-hanging lemon. “It’s so cool and smooth.”

“A lot of lemon trees around here.”

“Lemon,” she repeated, as she had his name.

“I didn’t bring a key, so we’ll go around and up the back.”

She looked at everything as they walked, went up the terrace steps with him without protest.

Since the light remained on in Bran’s room, Sawyer gave a rap on the terrace doors.

Still in his jeans and T-shirt, Bran opened one of the doors.

“Look who I found.”