by Jade Frances
“No. I can only do it slightly anyway,” I replied.
“Right. Have you practiced with elements other than fire?” he pushed further.
“No,” I stated bluntly.
“I can see you don’t want to discuss it, but Evangeline, we need to understand your powers as much as we can in order for us to help you,” he said calmly, whilst calmly gazing at me with his purple eyes.
“I won’t take that away from the girls, they are their elements to control. We stick to our own,” I stared back, unwavering.
“I see. Ok.” He paused to scribble in his notepad. “Any more dreams lately?” he asked. I let out the breath I hadn’t been aware I was holding and sighed with relief at the change in topic.
“Nothing new, much the same, if I ever dream at all really,” I told him, with a lot less tension than I had before.
“Ok, something about them unsettles me, but I’m looking into it. No waves of darkness?” he asked.
“Nothing, I’m not even entirely sure the bond to Aresollo is still in me. Maybe if I took off the ring, I could check?” I suggested, which was the wrong thing to say. Demetrios leaped out of his seat and appeared inches away from my face. That close, I could smell the horrid tea on his breath. Pearce moved fast, pushing him a little away with a bit of force.
“Not under any circumstances will you remove that ring, Evangeline! Not now, not on tour. Promise me that you will not!” he shouted, throwing Pearce a warning look before leaning around him to look at me. The pupils in his purple eyes contracted and were glowing. I hadn’t ever seen him look so threatening. It took a moment for me to get over his anger and realise that he was waiting for an answer.
“Sure, whatever.” I shrugged, trying to pass it off as nothing. Sitting back down, he took a deep breath, ran his hand over his face and weirdly smiled at me. I reached out and brushed my hand along Pearce’s arm and he visibly relaxed too. We filled the next hour with menial talk of the tour and how me and the girls would best handle any scrutiny we would no doubt face. I had never felt so thankful when our session ended and hurried out of the office as fast as I could.
“Well, that was intense,” I said to Pearce as we walked back to our quarters.
“Fae can’t ever really be trusted, Evangeline,” he whispered and looked around at the group of students practicing magic in the courtyard. I glanced at them messing around levitating various objects.
“But Avetta…” I started.
“None of them Evangeline,” he cut me off. “Did you see any fae at Moorway House, Evangeline? Any in the cavern when you were fighting just to stay alive?” Pearce stopped to face me and take my hands in his, “they control what they fear, and they fear what they cannot control. Never forget that little siren,” he continued and gently brushed my cheek with his knuckles. I opened my mouth to speak, but he silenced me with a shake of his head, dropped his hand and continued walking. Well, that was a conversation for another time, I thought. Not wanting to push the subject further, I walked along silently next to him, pondering over what he had said.
“Looking forward to the tour?” he asked.
“Is that a joke?” I retorted back.
With a small smile, he turned to me again, “small talk isn’t my thing.”
“You’re fine with Ava,” I mumbled.
As he looked over my shoulder, his face darkened. Gone was the Pearce I wanted him to be at all times. An almighty scowl crossed his face that could only be for one person. Turning, I saw Adam jogging our way.
“Hey,” I shouted over to him.
“Hey yourself, I was just about to come looking for you,” he shouted back. I waited until he was within a reasonable distance to ask why.
“Thought we could have that talk, you know the one I’m sure we have both been avoiding,” he shuffled and looked at his feet, his messy brown hair flopped in front of his eyes. I took a deep breath. I’m not sure I’m ready for this, but it didn’t look like I had much choice.
“Sure, shall we head to the common room?” I asked.
“Sounds good to me.”
Walking along, Adam was closer, probably, than most other people would stand. Pearce, who was radiating with loathing, took a step back and followed silently behind us. I could feel his piercing grey eyes burning a hole in the back of my head. Surely something’s got to give at some point with these two, I thought.
Once we were in the common room, I settled in a seat and draped a blanket over my legs. Breaking the silence, I thought back to my conversation with Demetrios and asked Adam how he had been.
“Other than the fact that I could do without this tour, ok. The pack is settling into our old ways, and yes, before you ask, Darryl is doing ok. For someone who didn’t have a pack for so long, he is adjusting fast. Being a beta must help…” he trailed off and looked at his hands.
“We were his pack. But how are you, Adam? Not the pack, not Darryl, you,” I pushed gently. He looked up at me and I watched as the fire flickered and danced in his eyes. Eyes that had only ever seemed, well, sad. His gaze flashed behind me, then back, and it occurred to me that he was uncomfortable with Pearce in the room. I had grown so used to him, I often forgot he was there. He was like my shadow, silent and waiting. It probably wasn’t appropriate for him to be here now, though. “Pearce, you can go, no one can get in here but us, I’ll be fine. Maybe you could pack,” I suggested to him. I received a thunderous look in return.
“It isn’t students getting in that I’m concerned about Evangeline. With all due respect, you’re sitting next to the most dangerous person to you,” he spat out the words with venom. I flinched at his tone and the animosity it held, but my anger soon took rise. A pit of darkness formed in my mind.
“Pearce. Get out. Now,” I growled. Turning my back to him, I took a few deep breaths before I lost control. Twisting my ring, I wondered why it wasn’t suppressing my anger this time. I apologized swiftly to Adam for his behavior and tried to pass it off as his job. The door slamming a second later made me flinch again.
“It’s ok Evvy, I’ve gotten pretty used to not being liked by now,” he tried to reassure me, but I still felt horrible for him. Pushing my anger with Pearce aside, I gave Adam my full attention.
“So, the talk huh,” I muttered.
“Yeah, I’ll talk you listen for now. Deal?” he held out a hand for me to shake. Taking it, I shook and made a zipping motion on my mouth. That earned me a grin.
“So, there’s this wolf, Naya, a member of our pack. As soon as I reconnected as her Alpha, she knew my wolf had bonded. Funnily, she also knew that, that someone it had bonded to isn’t a shapeshifter. Naya said it’s only ever happened a handful of times in our history. There wasn’t much information she could give me, she implied that it’s not really been discussed.” Adam paused and stood, he walked over to the shelves and browsed the books. “It’s called a Desmos. Sounds fancier than what it is, it’s just the Greek word for bond.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“So what does that mean exactly?” I asked.
Adam sighed.
“There isn’t much to go on. Some it strengthened, others it made weaker. Their conflicting feelings with their wolves made it hard for them to control it. It’s a choice we didn’t get to make.”
Thinking back to Moorway House, I’d had the impression Adam didn’t want me near him, but his wolf did. I had genuinely thought he had a vehement dislike for me. Now, I suppose, he just explained it. Adam started speaking again, and I snapped myself out of my head to concentrate.
“It doesn’t mean much for you, except that my wolf wants to protect you, at all times. The Desmos affects me more than anyone. Naya has made it clear, that I will find it difficult to find a mate, my wolf won’t bond to two, but it is possible. An Alpha without a mate isn’t ideal Evvy.” Adam wandered back over to take the seat next to me. “It’s hard having a wolf yearn for someone who isn’t around. It’s hard to control when we run free. It’s like we run with no purpose, no de
stination.” Adam was avoiding looking in my eyes. This was an intimate conversation, but he was sharing. We still barely knew each other. Twisting my ring around, I thought about the situation he was in.
“What does it mean for you? You can’t stay here, and I can’t be with your pack. It’s a no-win situation, right?” I was stating the obvious, I know, but I had no idea what to say.
“Right. I don’t really know. It’s not like we know any more than we did before. Lucky I like you though,” he bumped my shoulder, lightening the tone. Punching him lightly on the arm, I replied.
“Lucky I like you too, well, I prefer your wolf,” I teased. Adam shocked me by reaching out and pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
Voice low, he leaned into me and whispered, “yeah, I think he prefers you, even to me.”
The door creaking open had us jumping apart. I turned to see Pearce taking in the scene before him.
“We leave in an hour,” his voice was clipped.
“What? I thought we were leaving in the morning?” I asked in surprise. I looked at Adam, he shrugged. He was no more in the loop than I was then.
“Change of plans, go pack. I’ll be outside your room in forty-five minutes,” Pearce snapped and walked out again, slamming the door behind him.
“Guess we pack,” Adam smiled and took my arm to help me up.
“Guess so.” I didn’t want our conversation to end. I didn’t understand it. As if reading my mind, Adam squeezed my hand.
“We have plenty of time on the tour to figure things out.” My hand tingled as he dropped it. Surprisingly, disappointment filtered its way into me.
“Sure,” I replied sulkily and dropped his hand to leave. This tour would be horrific, I thought.
“What is that? I am not travelling in that!” I heard Sandra shouting from outside as we descended the stairs.
“Brace yourself,” I muttered to Pearce with a small smile, hoping his mood had dissipated somewhat.
“Na-ah, Egan’s problem,” he grumbled back, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. As we stepped outside, I got a first glimpse of what Sandra was shouting about. Right in front of our quarters were three old, baby blue, Volkswagen campervans.
“What, they’re vintage,” Egan said, beaming proudly and standing in front of them with his arms spread wide.
“Vintage! Vintage is the dress I’m wearing! These are old bangers and I, for one, am not stepping foot in one,” Sandra shouted and crossed her arms in defiance. Egan’s face dropped, his excitement fading.
“Yes, you will dear,” Avetta said making us all jump. I watched as Sandra’s face contorted into rage and then defeat when she looked at Avetta’s stern face.
“Fine. But don’t think that I’ll be caught dead stepping out of one. Drop me off a mile before our first stop, I’ll walk,” she huffed and threw one of her many bags into the open campervan door. Shaking her head, Avetta turned to the rest of us.
“Girls, you will all go in one, guardians the other and me and Adam will occupy the last,” she stated. I saw Pearce inch towards Avetta, who held up her hand to halt him. “No discussions,” she said and turned to get in the one closest to her. I walked over to Rose, who was loading up hers and Sandra’s bags. Leaning against the open door, I peeked in.
“Hey, road trip with the girls, can’t be that bad,” I told Sandra. Rose threw me a grateful smile, but Sandra didn’t even look up from where she was brooding. “Righty then,” I muttered as I tied my long hair back and started to help Rose.
“Does anyone know where we are going first?” Rose asked us both. Shaking my head, I looked towards Sandra.
“Not a clue, some lower royalty members are all I heard Egan talking about,” she said and returned to staring out the window.
We had been on the road for hours now. It was late, and Sandra’s mood had lightened none. Rose’s weak attempts at conversation weren’t helping the ambience either. I hope the others were having a better time than us.
“Cards anyone?” I suggested. Both girls declined, though they were polite at least. The silence was killing me. “Rose, I noticed I couldn’t reach you through the bond the other night, everything ok?” I whispered to her. I was watching her closely, and that was the only reason I caught her nervously glancing in Sandra’s direction. Plastering the fakest smile I’d ever seen on her face, she looked me straight in the eye.
“No idea, was it late? I was probably sleeping.”
Just as I was about to reply, the van came to a stop so suddenly that I was jerked from my seat. I could have sworn Rose breathed a sigh of relief. Knew it, she was definitely hiding something. Maybe Pearce would know, Barak must talk to him. If anything was going on, her own guardian would have caught wind of it. Just another conversation to be had. Rolling my eyes, I slid the door open and climbed out to see what was going on. Pearce was by my side in a second.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“Theodore sent a group to meet us, we just have to make sure it’s them,” he stated bluntly whilst scanning the surrounding road. We had stopped in the middle of nowhere. Tall grass surrounded us on either side, and stretched as far as the eye could see. At least what we could make out in the moonlight.
“Where are they then?” I asked.
“Watching, waiting. Barak and Egan have gone to scout, shouldn’t be long,” he informed me.
Just as the girls dragged their weary bums out of the campervan, we heard rustling in the grass behind us. Barak and Egan walked through with four fae in tow. Their looks were extraordinary, and all of them wore only trousers, bizarre. They seemed to be of African American descent, all except one. One had green skin, glowing amber eyes, and high striking cheekbones. The man wore a necklace of what looked like bones that dropped to the centre of his chest. The bracelets on each of his wrists were much the same. He stopped to study us, much like I was doing to him. His gaze met mine. Startled, I cast my eyes to the ground.
“Presenting Theodore, leader of the Zeruba clan,” Barak announced as the green guy took a step forward and bowed his head. We followed suit out of courtesy. I was still unsure of the customs of the fae.
“Presenting Avetta, Queen of fae,” Pearce announced from behind me, as Avetta stepped out of her campervan to greet them. Bizarrely, she walked over to Theodore and gently placed her forehead on his. They stayed that way in silence for a few minutes before Avetta broke away.
“Theodore, my old friend, I thought you were sending others to collect us,” she exclaimed and pulled him in, surprisingly, for a hug. It occurred to me in that moment, Avetta was the only one who looked human.
“Very well my queen, I thought it befitting to greet you myself. Come now, you need to rest after your journey.” Theodore gestured into the tall grace and moved with a grace I could never perfect.
“What becomes of our belongings, dear Theodore?” Avetta asked him politely.
“My clan members will retrieve what is needed for your stay,” he replied. His voice was almost angelic. It had a sweet harmony to it. Although, I wasn’t sure I could get passed the green skin. I had never seen a fae like him.
Pearce nudged my back and nodded his head toward the tall grass. Guess we had to follow. I looked over at the girls, who both had their guardians by their side.
Why, oh why, does this trip insist on torturing me, Sandra sent through our bond.
It’s just a bit of grass, Sandra, Rose responded.
There’s nothing around for miles, I wonder where we are going or how long it will take; I told them both and watched as they looked off in the distance. There was nothing to see though, no form of civilization anywhere. Told you, I sent when they came up empty like I had.
“Avetta, please tell your girls to refrain from using their bond, we find it rude.” Theodore halted and turned to look at us as he spoke. His amber eyes flashed slightly darker. Heat flushed to my cheeks, and I stopped myself from looking at the other two in case I laughed awkwardly. Satisfied we would
not continue, Theodore spun on his heels and disappeared into the tall grass. Sandra huffed and was nudged forward by Rose. Who looked about as comfortable as I felt. I fastened my pace and caught up with Pearce. We took the lead, just behind Avetta and Theodore.
“Have you been here before?” I kept my voice low.
“Only once on business.”
“Well?” I pushed again, whispering.
“You’ll see,” he replied. I rolled my eyes and slowed down a bit, waiting for the girls to catch up.
Avetta and Theodore were deep in conversation, but no one else had uttered a word. I turned to look at Sandra, surprised she hadn’t moaned at all. As I opened my mouth to speak, she noticed me looking and held her finger to her mouth. Confused, I frowned at her. She stabbed her finger toward Avetta and then pointed to her ear. Oh, she was trying to listen to their conversation. That was pointless from where we were positioned. With a mischievous grin, I linked my arm in hers and walked faster. At least we would be closer, maybe within ear shot. We passed Pearce, who sent us a questioning look but didn’t ask. Honing in on their voices, I could just about pick up on what they were saying.
“Brave to tour with your subjects in tow. Would it not have been wiser to come alone?” Theodore was asking.
“Possibly, but the fae will only listen by learning for themselves. Even you know that,” Avetta replied.
“Ah yes, I am rather eager for Zafira to look into her past.”
My head whipped round to Sandra, eyes wide. I got an even more confused look back from her. Who’s past, I thought.
“In due time Theodore, first we rest,” Avetta said and cast a look back at us. I glanced up at the moon shining down on us, but I knew she was aware we had been listening. After that, we all fell into silence. The only noise came from our footsteps and the surrounding nature. The chirping of the crickets in the tall grass and occasional flap of a bird’s wings in the night sky were quite peaceful and comforting.
Eventually, the group came to a stop. I watched, enthralled, as Theodore held his hands up and moved them in a circular motion. Green tendrils of smoke became visible from his fingertips, floating their way into the open space in front of him. Right before our eyes, amidst the grass, a doorway appeared. Only you could see right through to the other side.
