The Guardians' Daughter

by A. M. McPherson

  Her lips are tight with her smile. “Thank you, Aiden. That’s sweet.”

  I cringe at her words, if only she knew the truth behind my statement.

  She sniffles loudly and wipes away her tears. “But that’s why I stopped using my abilities even though it was something I loved to do. My life before my parent’s demise was always focused on becoming a Guardian like them. After they died, that part of my life died with them … but now, I can feel it eating away at me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Deep down, I think I know what I’m meant to do; it’s in my blood after all. After denying the Guardian path for so long, I want to make sure it’s actually what I want, not just because I feel like people are pressuring me to do it.”

  “I’m surprised you’re feeling this way, to be honest. You always seemed so sure that being a Guardian is a path to failure.”

  “Well, when I chatted with Erik, I realized how wrong I’ve been all these years about my opinion of Guardians. Not all of them are bad.” She glances my way and smiles. “Also, no matter how much I’d like to deny it, it’s hard not to be inspired by your dedication.”

  I return the smile. “You know, your parents are the reason why I’m in the Defender program.”

  “I remember you said you were a fan of theirs.”

  “I was—still am if you want to be technical about it. They saved so many people and did so much for the city. It was hard not to admire them.”

  She nods. “I know, and people expect me to follow in their footsteps.”

  “I’ll admit, it took me off guard when I first met you and you called me an idiot for wanting to be a Guardian,” I tell her, trying to lighten the mood.

  She laughs. “Oh, I forgot about that. I’m sorry.”

  I shrug. “No worries.”

  She eyes the night sky; it’s a clear night, and the stars twinkle like fireflies. “I just don’t know where I’m going with my life anymore. I used to be so sure about some things. Now it’s like I’m lost in a fog, and I keep hearing people call out to me, but I’m not sure which voice to follow.”

  “You have to follow the voice that resonates the most with you.”

  Her stare lingers on me for a bit longer than I expect. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  I break eye contact by picking up my orb. “So, is there anything you have truly changed your mind on?”

  “Um, maybe? I may stay here for another semester. I originally was only going to be here for one.”

  My eyes bolt open in surprise. “What? You were only going to be here for one semester?”

  She turns her head, almost like she is ashamed to tell me anymore. “Yeah. I promised Eliza I would try for only one, but now, I kind of want to stay.”

  “You should stay.”

  A small smile tugs at her lips. “Oh, why is that?”

  “Well, for one, I’d miss you,” I say before I can even process the words, and I feel the need to backtrack. “Secondly, who knows what would happen if you stay? Maybe the right path will fall at your feet.”

  She sighs loudly after taking a deep breath. “Yeah, maybe.”

  I put my hand on her shoulder and gently squeeze. “I’m here for you if you ever need any help. I hope you know that.”

  She leans back on her arms. “So, Aiden, enough about my past. Fill me in on yours. I know you’ve lived in Stalwarth your whole life, you miss your mom’s cooking, and you’re crazy smart, but I feel like there’s a lot you need to fill me in on.”

  I remove my hand from her shoulder; the contact suddenly feels forbidden. “You know plenty already, trust me.”

  She shakes her head while pursing her lips. “Well, I’m not sure about that … I don’t even know your favorite color.”

  I stare into her emerald-colored eyes. “It’s green.”

  She smiles. “Oh, really?”

  “Yep. What’s yours?”

  Her eyes bore into mine. “Right now … I would have to say blue.”

  My cheeks pull tight with my smile. “Oh, really?”

  She bites her bottom lip and glances away. “Don’t distract me. You still need to fill me in about your past.”

  I tilt my head in confusion. “Distract you?”

  “Your eyes, they’re absolutely stunning.” She refocuses on me. “No wonder why Carly was spreading rumors about dating you.”

  My breathing hitches. I’m not sure what to think of her comment.

  She waves her hand in the air. “But anyway, c’mon, talk. Fill me in on the life of the mysterious Aiden Stiles.”

  I chuckle. “To be honest, I’m kind of boring.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, when I was a kid, I toyed with my abilities a lot but never thought too much of them. My dad has no abilities and really struggled with the fact that I did. Also, with my mom’s abilities, she can fly.”

  “Oh, wow!”

  “Yeah, she has a really good job at the airport because of it, and my dad got really jealous once after she got a promotion.” I swallow hard and take a deep breath. “He … drank a lot to cope, and I hid my abilities for a little while to see if that would help him feel better.”

  Her hand rests on top of mine. “Oh, Aiden. I’m so sorry. That couldn’t have been easy.”

  “No, it wasn’t. Then …” I choke on my own words for a moment to stop myself from saying too much. “I … got injured one time when my abilities should’ve helped, but since I hadn’t used them in so long, I-I failed a lot of people.” My head drops in shame. “I had a really rough go of it for a while, but later on, I decided to focus on my abilities so that would never happen again.”

  She squeezes my hand. “I remember you said one time you stood by and did nothing when someone’s safety was at risk. Is that what you’re talking about?”

  I stare out in front of me; the weight of my memories feel like they have a gravity of their own, threatening to pull me back down into the darkness. “Yes, but I can see now I wouldn’t have changed the outcome. Therapy helped me with that—and my mom. I probably would have ended up dead if I did try to help, but sometimes I still feel guilty.” A tear escapes my eye, and I quickly wipe it away.

  “I’m sorry, Aiden. I shouldn’t have asked,” Ember says softly.

  I wipe away another tear before glancing at her. Her eyes shimmer with the light of my orb, and the feeling of her warm hand on mine consoles me. “No, I want to share my life with you.” As soon as I say the words, I realize they’re too strong, and my anxiety rushes to the surface. The overwhelming emotions of discussing my past and hiding my true feelings from Ember are a little too much. I ignore the sensation, even if my head feels a little fuzzy. I need to try to relieve my emotionally charged words. “That’s what you do with friends, right?”

  She smiles, but a sadness weighs it down. “Right.”

  I stand, needing to move and to try to distract myself. Without warning, I feel a disturbance in the forcefield around my orb. Ember picked it up. I stare at her wide eyed. “You can touch it? It doesn’t hurt you?”

  She brings it in front of her face to examine it. The sparks inside the orb reflect in her eyes, causing them to sparkle. “It’s a little uncomfortable because it’s shocking me a bit, but it’s so pretty. I couldn’t help but check it out.”

  Seeing her enjoy my abilities brings a much-needed lightness to my heart. “Feel free to. Just be careful.”

  She cautiously twists it in her hand with fun curiosity for a few moments before standing. She pokes at the thin blue line of energy from me to the forcefield, but her finger goes right through. “You really do have some impressive abilities.”

  An idea occurs to me for something I want to try with her, and I put my hand underneath hers. “Let me know if this causes you any pain.” I carefully surge some energy through her hand to the orb, growing the orb and the forcefield.

  Ember winces slightly and doesn’t say anything.

  I continue, and once it
reaches the size of a basketball, I give it a boost, so it floats. It twinkles brighter, with my forcefield still around it.

  The biggest grin spreads across Ember’s face, and she stares at it full of wonder.

  I put my hand on top of it to reabsorb the energy through the forcefield from the orb, and it floats into my hand like thin white wisps of energy. The forcefield disappears also. Darkness, my old friend, surrounds us once again.

  Ember flips her hand to hold mine. They fit together like a missing puzzle piece. “Thank you, Aiden … for tonight, that is. It was a lot of fun.”

  I squeeze her hand. “It was, wasn’t it?”

  She squeezes back. “Yeah, we should do it more often.”

  Our hands together is a sudden reminder of my growing closeness to her, that it shouldn’t happen—it can’t happen. We cannot do this more often, because I’ll keep falling for her, and I can’t help but feel that she may be falling for me as well. Nothing good can come from this. Even knowing all this, I can’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  Chapter 20

  Ember

  “What are you smiling about?” Stella asks with a sly smile.

  I close the door to our room. “What do you mean?”

  She gets up from her desk, dressed in gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Half of her hair is broken off into different strands twisted together, and the other half is clipped up in a frizzy bun. Some hair products and a vanity mirror sit on her desk. Lime is already asleep in his miniature bed near the mirror. He’s tucked in with a red bandana for a blanket and is clutching a teddy bear made for a baby doll.

  Stella walks to the divider wall, leans against it and crosses her arms. “Well, you come in here with a huge grin on your face. You don’t normally look that happy when you come back from practice.”

  I tone down my smile, feeling self-conscious. “Well, I enjoyed it a little more tonight, that’s all.”

  She raises an eyebrow in suspicion. “Oh, and why is that?”

  I head to my dresser, wanting to get out of my tight clothes and into my pajamas. “Someone joined me, that’s all.”

  Stella’s reflection smirks at me in my mirror. “Oh?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  She chuckles. “Well, don’t leave me stranded here! Who was it?”

  “I’m sure you could figure it out if you wanted to.”

  An even larger smile crosses Stella’s face. “Aiden?”

  There’s no stopping my Cheshire cat grin. “Yep.”

  With great enthusiasm, she slaps the top of her thigh. “Ha! I knew it.”

  I stifle my chuckle. “It’s not that big of a deal.” I pull open one of my drawers, and a bottlecap rattles inside next to my sweatpants and pink tank top. “Um … Stella?

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you know why there’s a bottlecap in here?”

  She laughs. “Oh, it’s probably Lime’s. He likes to collect things, and he already filled my drawers.”

  This time my chuckle does escape. “Oh, that should’ve been my first thought.”

  “So, back to the story … Did you tell Aiden to meet you out there?” Stella asks excitedly.

  I eye her reflection in the mirror. “No. He actually was coming over to see if I wanted to do anything. We’d talked earlier about hanging out, but I figured we would next week, since he didn’t comment on doing anything tonight. But anyway, that’s when he saw me go into the woods.” I glance to the side, shaking my head. “I don’t know how I didn’t notice him. I’m always so careful to make sure no one sees me.”

  She nods. “Yeah, I know,” she says seriously, but her face reflects a sudden excitement. “But he actually followed you out there?”

  I shrug. “Well, I guess he thought I was going out there to look for Iron Forge and got concerned.”

  “Oh, so he got worried about you? I know you think I’m crazy, but I’m telling you he likes you.”

  With a wave of my hand, I dismiss her comment. “Stella, stop it. We’re just friends. How many times do I need to tell you this?”

  Stella dramatically rolls her eyes. “Whatever, Em. I’ve known Aiden for a while, and I’ve never seen him look at a girl like the way he looks at you.”

  Since this is turning into a full-blown conversation, I guess I’ll change my clothes later. I close my drawer and sit on my bed. “Stella, how many times do we need to discuss this? Even if he does like me, it doesn’t mean it’ll go anywhere.”

  She plops down next to me. “Just hear me out, okay?”

  I fall backward onto my bed, and a gust of air escapes me. “Why?”

  She leans back on her arm. “Because I’m pretty sure you like him, and you should tell him.”

  A pit forms in my stomach. “Maybe I do … a little. He protected me from Iron Forge, he’s smart, and he’s easy to talk to … plus, he’s definitely easy on the eyes.”

  Stella’s smile grows, and my cheeks feel like they’re on fire.

  “I guess … I can’t help but admire him, but, like I said, it doesn’t matter. Plus, I have bigger things to worry about, like if I really want to try out for the Defender program next semester and not if Aiden likes me or not.”

  Stella cocks an eyebrow at me. “Girl, why don’t you think it matters?”

  I sit upright, the pit in my stomach growing into a cantaloupe. “Because I highly doubt he wants any kind of a relationship even if there’s a remote possibility he may feel the same.”

  Stella’s brows come together. “If that’s the case, why did you believe Carly so easily when she said she was dating him?”

  “Well, they’re in the Defender program together. It would make sense for him to date someone there.”

  “It would make sense for him to date someone he likes, not just because they’re in a program with him.”

  I stand up, feeling antsy and needing to move, and step toward my desk. “It was easy to believe, okay? She’s pretty and probably has some great ability. I mean, why would I suspect she was lying to me about it? Which still seems a bit crazy.”

  “Because it was crazy! The fact she did that tells me she was jealous of something between you and Aiden.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Oh, and what would that be? It’s not like she’s ever seen me with him.”

  “Probably because she, unlike you, has picked up on the fact he likes you, duh. It probably had to do with the fact he risked his life for you. You said she confronted you the following Monday after the Iron Forge debacle.”

  “Just because he protected me doesn’t mean he wants to go out with me. Friends protect each other without there being more to it.”

  “Maybe he would. Why don’t you just ask him?”

  I shake my head. “He freaked over us just being friends, remember? If he doesn’t have time for friends, how in the world would he be comfortable being anything more?”

  Stella frowns. “Oh, I forgot about that.”

  My heart feels heavy, like a rock in my chest. “Yeah. It’s fine, but that’s why I won’t talk to him about this. Like I said, I have bigger things to worry about anyway.”

  She shrugs. “I know, but I just feel like it may be worth it to tell him how you feel. He may surprise you.”

  I eye her skeptically. “I doubt it. He’s never shown any interest in me like that.”

  “Em, c’mon.” Stella tilts her head in disbelief. “It’s right there on his face when he looks at you.”

  I do have an inkling as to what she means. Earlier, when Aiden and I were together, there was definitely a moment or two between us. His strength has always impressed me, but tonight my heart raced even faster at seeing his abilities firsthand. I was so sure he was going to kiss me once, but it must’ve been all in my head, since he didn’t.

  My vision blurs as I stare off into space. “Sometimes there may be, but …”

  “But, what?”

  Blinking a few times, I clear my sight. “It’s like he think
s about it and then reconsiders.” I grab the top of my desk chair to steady myself and take a soothing breath. “There’s nothing else to say about this. I need to finish my homework so I can focus on my visit with Eliza this weekend.”

  “Em. I—”

  I dismiss her with a wave of my hand. “It’s fine. I just don’t want to think about it too much.”

  Stella surprises me when she puts her hand on my shoulder. “I know, but I think you should, Em.”

  I take a shaky breath. “Stella, Aiden and I are in a good place with our friendship. I won’t risk it by asking for anything more, and besides, a relationship is the last thing I really need to worry about right now. I’m here to figure out where I want to go in my life, not to hook up with the first guy I manage to be friends with.”

  She lets go of my shoulder. “Okay, Em. I’ll back off. For now.”

  A small chuckle sneaks out of me. “I wouldn’t expect anything else from you, Stella.”

  Chapter 21

  Ember

  I step out of Eliza’s SUV, and her arms are around me, squeezing me. “Ember, I’m so happy to hear you are using your abilities again!” I step backward, and she looks very relaxed dressed in jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Her glossy black hair is put back in a high ponytail, and her skin shimmers in the sunlight. “Only in my wildest dreams did I think this day would come.”

  I grin. “Yeah, I knew you would be excited!”

  We take the stairs into my house and enter the kitchen. It looks the same as ever. The solid oak cabinets line the wall on my left, and white countertops sparkle in the sunlight. On the opposite side are the appliances—a stainless-steel oven and matching fridge—with more counter space. Eliza retrieves a pitcher of her famous homemade fruit punch from the fridge and sets it on the island; chunks of oranges, lemons, and strawberries bounce around as the red liquid settles.