Ben nods. “Yes.”
“I still don’t understand why they want me.”
“Nor do we,” Lincoln answers. “There is something about you – perhaps both of you – that we do not yet know. You were taken from this realm when you were still young enough to not remember. You are the owner of a telling as well, which is rare and typically revolves around something important.”
“Is that why they are after her? Because of this telling?” Emmy asks.
“No,” Kaleb says in a gruff voice. “Tessa is the only seer in Strega. No one knows about the telling except those of us in this room and Maddox.”
I stand up, unable to sit still any longer. “So what are we going to do about this?” Part of me is terrified to ask the question. They could very easily say that I’m not their problem and kick both me and Emmy out, leaving us with nowhere to go and no real knowledge of this realm. The other part hopes that I am important to them in some way. If I am, then maybe they’ll still be willing to protect me like they did earlier tonight.
“We are still working on that part,” Ben confesses. “For now, you will be with Damon or one of us at all times. There will be guards stationed outside of your house all hours of the day. There will be lots of discussions happening over the next few days as to how to proceed after tonight’s events. This isn’t only about you Violet. 15 people were killed tonight alone. 32 of our members have been murdered in the last two weeks.”
“What he’s saying, Violet, is you are not our only concern right now,” Lincoln says. “You need to put more effort into your training and learn to wield your magic just as Maddox told you days ago. You need to learn to defend yourself.”
Ben leans back in his chair, crossing his ankle over his knee. “In the next few days, Maddox will schedule a meeting with all of us to determine our next move where it concerns you. Until then, your training will continue as planned. As will Emmy’s. Tomorrow’s day will be cut short. There will be a mass pyre tomorrow for those killed tonight. All will attend, both of you included.”
10
Inhaling deeply, I focus on the scene around me. Seeing the bits and pieces of the lake and trees until it forms a clear picture in my mind. A tingle runs through my veins, forcing goosebumps to rise on my skin. My eyes burst open, lightning scorches the sky, two bolts falling simultaneously, crashing deep into the two trees that Lincoln wanted me to hit.
The smell of burning wood hits me before the crack of thunder does. I smile. Lincoln isn’t even watching. His attention has been far from our training over the past two days. He may be here, but he really isn’t. I almost feel bad for him. Even I have heard the rumors going through the settlement. The people here are scared and sad – especially after the pyre we had to go to – and unsure of what is coming after them. It’s clearly weighing on him, but there’s nothing that I can do for him. I’ve never been the consoling type.
The man is insufferable the majority of the time. He’s always yelling and criticizing me. Telling me that I have no desire to learn my craft. The funny part is, I am learning it. At least over the last few days. We have reversed roles. Now that my attention and desire to train has taken me over, his has disappeared.
Just today, I have hit every target he has asked of me. I can turn my magic on and off with little thought. It’s as though my lightning is learning me, just as he said it would. Knowing that these assholes are after me, knowing that they will hunt me no matter where I am, I have a new drive to learn how to defend me and Emmy. I can’t do it by myself though.
I snap my fingers in front of his face. His scruff has grown out slightly, making it more of a beard than a few days without shaving. His brown hair is tousled from his fingers running through it over and over again. “Hello? Anybody home?”
He blinks rapidly, shifting to look at me. “Good job.”
I consider yelling at him, telling him to focus on me. Ultimately, I choose not to. All it will do is call attention to the fact that I know his head is somewhere else and I don’t want him to unload his problems on me. “What next? Something harder maybe?”
Lincoln looks around, obviously trying to find something to tell me to do so he can get lost in his thoughts again. We come to the same area every day. Always next to the lake, always on the wet sand of the beach with the treeline behind us. Over the last few days, those trees have taken a massive beating from me. Dozens of them are seared black, their branches arching downward, threatening to snap off at any minute. A few of them are gone completely. If I push more power into a bolt, I can destroy a tree completely – without leaving a shred of evidence that it was ever there apart from the scorched ground where it once stood.
“Let’s try something different this time,” he says as he crosses to the edge of the water. The water is crystal clear and very inviting. I’ve considered diving in many times over the days I’ve been here. “Put your hands in the water, let the current flow out of you and into the lake.”
I nod, dipping my hands in until the cool water comes up t my wrists. “How will we know it works?”
“The fish will die.” His words are flat and emotionless. His face even more so. I’ve already lost him.
I haven’t let myself really see him during our sessions. But right now, I can’t seem to look away from him. He’s handsome, utterly so. His jaw is strong and defined well by the long scruff. He keeps his hair long on top and it has a knack of falling in front of his left eye. His shoulders are broad and his hips narrow –the perfect shape for a man. His eyes are an icy blue, with so many shades that it would be very easy to get lost in their depths. The black leathers that he wear leave very little to the imagination. The fabric hugs every crevice, every muscle. The man has a body that most couldn’t accomplish with two hours in the gym several days a week.
With a jerk of my head, I look away. Focusing on the water only inches from me. Electrify the water. The request to my magic is silent, internal. I keep my thoughts straightforward, the request brokering no confusion.
One by one, motionless fish rise to the surface. Some are the size of goldfish, others the size of sharks. I pull my hands out, taking a step back. Using magic isn’t hard, not once you get the hang of it. It’s like an entity inside you that can read your thoughts and desires, like it knows what you are thinking before you do.
Lincoln, once again, hasn’t noticed that the task is done. While I was busy killing a lake full of fish, he was talking to someone that I hadn’t heard approach. I leave the two of them to talk, but I don’t have to wait long before Lincoln comes back towards me.
“We need to go.”
With a swipe of my foot, I destroy the drawing I was making in the sand. “Why?”
His eyes drift down from my face, analyzing my body the same way I had done to his minutes ago. I hope that I was more subtle than he’s being right now. With a cock of my hip, I snap my fingers again. “The castle,” he answers after clearing his throat. “Apparently we have a visitor.”
He turns on his heels and immediately starts charging through the forest that separates our spot from the rest of the training fields. “Who?” I ask him while trying to catch up to him.
“Someone from Rovente. We’ll know more once we get there.”
I’m only slightly breathless once I catch him. “We? I’m going with you? What do they want?”
He sighs loudly. “I don’t know, Violet. I don’t even know who it is. And yes, you are coming too. Emmy will meet us there.”
The brothers told us that we’d be meeting with Maddox at some point, but I didn’t realize that Emmy and I were important enough to be included in a meeting with the Lord of Pensatore and his Commanders. It’s unsettling to say the least and makes me feel like someone here knows something that I don’t. “Is it normal for the other clan members to visit?” I rack my mind, but can’t come up with a single time I’ve heard of or seen such a thing happening.
“No.”
Could he be any more vague? “So why are th
ey here?”
He stops and I nearly smash into his back. “I don’t know. They only come here if something has happened.” He starts his march up again.
“Something bad?”
“Yes, something bad.” Could Aetheries have gone to the Rovente settlement looking for me? Did they attack them too?
He doesn’t say anything else as we speed walk to the castle. Even if I wanted to start a conversation, I wouldn’t be able to because I am huffing and puffing just to keep up with him.
We cross the same hallway/balcony as we did the first time I was in the castle, entering the same room in which I first met Maddox. Lincoln and I join with Emmy and his brothers. Maddox enters right after us, taking his seat at the head of the large table.
“Who is it?” Ben asks, breaking the silence.
“She told the guards at the gate that her name is Seraphina,” Maddox states in a bored tone. “She’s no one I know.”
The old man looks worse for wear than even the brothers. He rubs at his sunken and wrinkle lined eyes and I can’t help but try to stare him down in an attempt to get him to spill what he knows about me. He doesn’t.
There’s a knock on the door, but they don’t wait for an invite inside before the heavy oak door opens wide. Two Pensatore guards hold them open as three people walk into the room. The first to enter is a woman. Her waist length honey blonde hair catches the magical firelight coming from the lanterns hanging along the wall, making it shimmer like a halo. Her bright green eyes stand out brightly against her perfectly tanned complexion. A silver necklace dangles low on her neck. I’ve never seen a piece of jewelry quite like it before. Threads of worn silver metal swirl around, forming a circle with a hollow center, where a faint white light shines through. Her skin looks so flawless that I can’t tell if she’s simply too young to have a wrinkle or two, or just adamant about skin care and anti-aging. She looks eerily familiar, like I’ve met her at least once before. I shrug off the idea, knowing that I can’t possibly know someone from Strega unless I met them in the last week.
The woman’s attention is focused solely on me. She looks almost angry at me, as though pissed that I’m in this room. Suddenly she stops, her hand slamming onto the table to steady herself. The necklace around her neck starts to pulse rapidly, almost hypnotically. The woman’s eyes jump from me to Emmy and back again. It’s only then that I notice I am the only one in the room still sitting down. Even Kaleb is on his feet, waiting for these three people to take their seats.
She stands up straight and starts to smooth the fabric of her blood red gown. “Thank you for meeting with me, Maddox, especially with no notice.” She doesn’t even look at him as she speaks, simply continues walking to the far end of the table, taking a seat opposite Maddox.
“Who are you?” he asks her.
She sits with her back utterly straight, her shoulders pulled back in perfect posture. “I am Seraphina, sister to Queen Mikayla of Rovente, keeper of the amulet of the destined.” My first impression of this woman is that she thinks her shit smells better than most and I immediately don’t like her.
Maddox leans forward and threads his fingers together, balling his hands into one large fist that rests on the table. “And your purpose for showing up unannounced?”
“Formalities,” she says through a fake smile. “Queen Mikayla is dead.”
The heads of Maddox and his Commanders jerk toward Seraphina. The shock in their expressions is hidden but there.
“What happened?” Maddox asks.
She blinks rapidly, her eyes wet but no tears form. “She was killed – murdered – 2 weeks ago.”
“You’re just now telling us of this?” Ben asks with a hint of aggravation. “We are supposed to be notified immediately if something like this occurs.”
Her lips thin as she looks at him. “We have been a bit busy, as I am sure you can understand.”
“Has the new ruler been found?” Maddox asks.
Seraphina’s chair scrapes across the floor as she stands up. She clasps the circular necklace in her hand, squaring her shoulders again. “I am the new destined Queen of Rovente.”
Destined?
A quiet chuckle fills the room. Kaleb. What could possibly be funny about any of this?
“I thought you said you were Mikayla’s sister?” Lincoln asks. “That you were the keeper of the amulet. Coincidental.”
“Indeed it is,” she answers while taking her seat again. “You all know how the ruler is selected in Rovente, the choice isn’t ours to make. When Mikayla was killed her powers transferred to the next destined ruler. Destiny chose me.”
Kaleb’s laugh is starting to make sense. If she is the one who controls a necklace that tells who this next destined person is … it’s a bit odd that it pointed right back at her.
As though sensing what we are all thinking, she pulls the necklace away from her chest, displaying it. “The glow is always present. When the current ruler dies, the necklace will grow dark. The closer the amulet is to the next destined, the brighter it will glow. Once in the presence of the individual, it will pulse.”
“Rovente ways are none of our concern,” Maddox says bluntly. “Who killed your sister?”
She fans her face with a long, slender hand. “The Reapers graciously offered their talents and have been investigating the death. The evidence they have reviewed suggests that Aetheries is behind the murder of my beloved sister.”
At that, I look up at Lincoln only to find him already focused on me from across the table. In fact, Maddox, Ben, and Kaleb are staring me down as well.
“That was the main cause of the delay coming here,” Seraphina continues, oblivious to how we are all reacting to her declaration. “The investigation and crowning took precedence. Rovente could not be left leaderless with the threat of Aetheries looming over us.”
None of the brothers or Maddox respond to her and I get the impression that these two clans aren’t on friendly terms. By their body language, it’s clear that the four of them don’t care about any threat that Rovente is dealing with.
“The Reapers wanted to come and speak with you,” she says. “I volunteered to come here personally, not only on their behalf but to also tell you about Mikayla myself. Like I said, they are the ones in charge of the investigation. They wanted me to ask you if anything has happened here as well.” Her eyes narrow as she looks at Maddox.
The room is quiet, all attention on the elderly Lord of Pensatore, each of us waiting to hear how much he will tell her. Maddox’s jaw clenches tight, but he doesn’t answer.
“Yes,” Ben answers for him. “Just two days ago, we were attacked. 15 people were killed before we gained control. In fact, over the last few weeks, we have had sporadic murders.”
Her chin lifts like she is happy to hear this. Maddox is anything but. The look he gives to Ben is full of hatred. Ben doesn’t have the authority to answer for him and once those two are alone, it’ll probably get ugly.
“And have these incidents been investigated?” she asks.
Ben ignores Maddox, and continues to answer on his behalf. “Yes. We are under the impression that Aetheries is behind it all.”
“They are after me.” I don’t realize I’ve said it out loud until I feel all the eyes in the room zoom in on me.
“How do you mean?” she asks me. What little sadness she’s been showing up till now is suddenly gone. She tilts her face down, looking at me under hooded eyes.
My hand curls into a fist so tight that my nails bite into my palm. I should have kept my mouth shut. I shouldn’t be in this room in the first place.
“We found her in the human realm,” Maddox tells her. “Nearly a week ago. Our seer had a telling about her. It seems as though Aetheries found her before we did. They made several attempts to capture her before we went to get her. Two days ago, one of the attackers confessed that they knew who she was and that they wanted her.”
I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough that I’m surprised it ha
sn’t started to bleed. Why would he tell her that? Why would he tell anyone my story? It’s none of her business.
“And why were you in the human realm in the first place, witch?” I don’t answer and luckily Maddox keeps his mouth shut too. “What ability do you possess?”
The lightning inside of me decides to show itself without any input from me. Small sparks fly from my fingers, the veins in my forearms starting to glow a whitish blue.
There’s a sharp inhale from the far end of the table. The two men that accompanied Seraphina stand behind her with their mouths hanging open. Seraphina simply cocks her head as she sees my element.
“Interesting,” she says more to herself than to anyone in particular.
“What is?” Emmy asks. She’s been so quiet during this whole thing that I nearly forgot she was even sitting next to me. “What’s so interesting about it?”
Enemy Of My Enemy (Price Of Power Book 1) Page 12
