Ikovos stopped them. “Hey, but don't go telling the whole world, okay. The pool is only so big.”
They both smiled coyly. “For sure,” said Trevor, and then they were off.
Ikovos turned back to me. “Wow. I still can't believe you did it.”
I warmed with delight.
“I'd ask you to show me, but . . .” he nodded his head around “. . . I think it might draw too much attention.”
I glanced around as well.
I wonder if I'll be keeping it a secret. . . .
Ikovos stood up, rubbing his hands together. “Well, I'm gonna go let the Masters know, and also get permission for us to go to the pool.”
“What's the occasion?” The voice made my skin shiver. Jaden sunk casually onto the couch. “You sure look happy this morning,” he added, nodding to Ikovos.
The blond boy smiled. “With good reason. Evelyn did a spell.”
I stuttered, unsure of the plan.
Jaden's eyes moved over to me. “Is that so?”
I guess we were just omitting everything.
Ikovos nodded for me. “Yeah, a flame spell too.”
I blushed. Jaden just kept staring.
“Well, don't get too excited or anything,” snorted Ikovos sarcastically.
Jaden eyed him, then turned to his book. Even if he was just playing it cool, he seemed to be awfully indifferent of the achievement
Ikovos shook his head disapprovingly. “Don't let him fool you, Evelyn. He's just upset that he wasn't there when you did it.”
My eyes widened internally, but I remained calm on the surface.
Jaden played it flawlessly, looking at the other boy as if it was the most preposterous thing he'd ever heard.
Ikovos paid no attention, gazing off and shaking his head wistfully. “I'm glad too, for a while I thought he was gonna give in and help you do the spell himself.”
My eyes darted over to Jaden. He scoffed, retaining the skeptical glare.
“When have I ever done that?” His voice was incredulous.
Ikovos looked back at him with a coy smirk. “Never. But this is different.”
Jaden's jaw clenched.
My brows furrowed in confusion.
“Anyways,” declared Ikovos. “We're going to the pool now to celebrate. You have to come with.”
Jaden shrugged. “Fine.”
Ikovos narrowed his eyes at him, then turned to me. “Okay. I'll go tell the Masters and meet you by the gate in say . . . half an hour?”
I yawned, feeling my hair again and nodded. “Yeah. That's fine.”
He grinned. “Good. See you then.”
I nodded again and he was off.
Once he had disappeared through the doorway, I looked over to Jaden. “So we're just saying that you weren't there?”
The boy raised an eyebrow at me. “Looks like it.”
My chest fell dejectedly, he made it sound so easy.
Suddenly he rose from his seat, tipping my face up with a finger. “You just worry about finding something to wear.”
I gulped as he walked off, but the words had distracted me from the delivery.
Ack! He’s right. We’re going swimming! What on earth am I going to wear?
I started to gather up my books to put away on the shelves.
Thirty minutes suddenly felt like too short a time to be ready in. . . .
*
“Here I goooo!” As soon as the young boy landed, bright water splashed up into the air.
I clapped happily.
We were at the glowing pool now, though . . . it didn't really glow at all at the moment. It wasn't very pink either. Ikovos told me it was because of the sun.
I looked up. Made sense, it was strikingly vivid today. The water trickling down along the rock wall into the pool was still beautiful, but it hardly compared to what I had seen before.
“My turn!” shouted another boy, before jumping over the cliff.
This time water splashed up onto the ledge where I and some of the other boys were sitting.
“Hey, watch it!” yelled Jacob. Others joined in the complaints.
I just laughed. The place was so lively. Trevor and Nathan had gone a little overboard with inviting other people, though I'm sure that, per Ikovos’s request, they’d also held back.
There were about fifteen boys altogether. Most of them were young. Ikovos, Jaden, Derrith, and another boy I hadn't met, were the only older ones here. The last was playing in the pool, as was Ikovos. Derrith hadn't gotten in the water once thus far. Instead he sat on the high ledge with a pile of books, reading.
Jaden was sitting over on a rock at the opposite side of the pool, periodically watching the boys jump in. I guess he wasn't planning on swimming, because he had a shirt and longer pants still on . . .
Thank goodness.
“Alright,” said Nathan excitedly beside me. He moved back till he was about ten feet away from the edge. “This will be the best, jump, ever!!!” He ran and leapt as he said it, springing into a double front-flip before hitting the water.
My breath held worriedly for a second, but when his head came up I cheered excitedly.
He beamed, then one of the other boys in the pool dunked him under.
They could be being a little less rough in there. . . .
“Aren't you coming in?” asked Ikovos from the water. Then he hoisted his body onto the ledge by his arms. His wet, disheveled, hair and dripping skin reminded me of our walk in the rain . . . the look really suited him.
I watched for too long without responding. “I, ah . . .” Then looked ahead. “I'm just warming up. I will in a minute.”
He smiled, standing up. “Come on, it's not that cold—” he pointed behind me “—besides, I think some of the boys are conspiring to push you in.”
I followed his finger to see Trevor and two others whispering in a small circle. My brow furrowed, then I looked back at him and nodded.
He smirked before going to stand in the jumping line.
My eyes turned down.
I hadn't been completely honest about the whole “staying out to warm up” thing. The truth was that I wasn’t really big on the whole swimsuit thing. In Tiver it had kept me from the lake trips many times. It didn't really make much sense I guess . . . the other girls loved wearing them. It was always greatly fussed over to find or make the perfect swimsuit before summer.
I lifted my robe back a bit to examine mine. It really was beautiful. Sophie had made it for along with the other clothes. It was a deep, jade-turquoise in color with bluer trimmings here and there. Fitting, but incredible modest, almost like a mini dress, starting at the top with a curved neck and ending above my knees in a lacey material.
It would have gotten a lot of praise in Tiver.
I sucked in a breath and looked ahead purposefully. Alright, Evelyn, stop being a weirdo. No one's paying that much attention to you anyways. Just get on with it.
I nodded once, dutifully, then stood up and went over to the wall to set my robe down. After that I got into the line to wait for my turn to jump.
“You getting in now, Evelyn?” asked Lucas, one of Nathan’s younger friends, behind me.
I nodded. “Ah . . . yeah.” Then smiled.
He looked pleased, but Trevor and his small group frowned substantially.
“Wanna jump in together?”
I laughed. “Sure.”
We did. The water was cool and refreshing, wonderful under the hot sun. We all swam like this for a while, playing different games or just taking turns jumping in. When they were trying to think up a new one, I mentioned to one of the boys something we used to do in Tiver when I was young. You could either do it alone or with a partner. You would stand out on a ledge and put on a small act, before falling into the water in a way that related to the story. He seemed enamored with the idea and forced me to share it with the others.
It wasn’t long till they were playing it repeatedly.
I sat in the pool a
nd watched as they put on the short plays. Most often they would display a Meoden being defeated by one of the Masters in the order, and then falling to a watery death, sometimes from a sword to the gut, others a fire spell. I laughed and clapped merrily for each. Nathan's were my favorite as he would act ridiculously animated, completely entering into the role.
Ikovos never did it, watching instead beside me at the edge, commenting every so often.
I glanced at Jaden a couple times, but he was just lounging contentedly on the rock. He seemed a bit dubious of the game I'd taught . . . I couldn't tell if he was happy to be here or not. . . .
After another hour of role-playing, Derrith called all the boys together to head home for dinner. It had gotten quite a bit darker. The pool was beginning to glow now, it was absolutely wonderful, especially being in it. It didn't take a long time to round up all the boys. They moved out sopping wet and talking about how much fun it had been while waving goodbye to me and Ikovos.
“Bye, Evelyn,” shouted Trevor last.
I raised a hand. “Bye!”
“You're good with kids, you know that?” came Ikovos voice calmly beside me.
I looked to him. We were the only ones left in the water. His hair had begun to dry out a bit, but his blue eyes against the pink glow around us were startling.
I raised a surprised brow. “Really? . . . I've always thought the opposite. . . .”
He sunk a little deeper. “That's because you always assume the worst about yourself.”
He said it so matter-of-factly. I raised a finger to argue, but he dipped his head back under the water before I could.
When he came back up he shook out his hair, running a hand through it. “So, do you want to stay here a bit longer, or are you ready to go back?”
I looked at the pink wall behind him and the glowing sky above. “It really is beautiful at this time of day.”
He shrugged before I could think up my answer. “Okay, let’s not leave yet.”
I smiled and everything went quiet.
“By the way, thank you for today, Ikovos . . . it was a lot of fun.”
He brightened then chucked my arm. “No problem. You deserved it. You worked hard.”
I smiled again, then my eyes moved past him to Jaden. It was inevitable that every time I thought about magic, I thought about him. Silly . . . Ikovos could use magic too. He was lying on his back, I think he might have been asleep. I couldn't see his face from here.
Ikovos followed my gaze, which had probably lasted to long, then looked back with a wicked smirk. “Wanna try something fun?”
My eyes widened, suddenly nervous. “Huh?”
He tossed his head back. “With Jaden.”
I settled. “Oh . . . what do you mean?”
He got closer checking back once at the other boy. “Don't you think it's about time he got in the water?”
I looked over at Jaden. “. . . I don't think he wants to.”
“Exactly,” said Ikovos, smiling.
He then relayed a plan to get the currently dry boy into the water. I would have liked to object, but with all he had done today I felt indebted.
With a wink and a nod he jumped out of the pool towards the woods.
I looked back ahead dejectedly, then waded through the water towards Jaden. My part in this was purely distraction . . . It might not have been the best role considering I was hardly adept at holding the boy's attention . . . or, at least, he never makes it seem like it . . .
“You guys about ready?” questioned Jaden, shocking me out of my contemplation.
I guess he wasn't asleep.
He sat up, leaning back on his arms, then looked around. “Did Ikovos leave?”
“Ah . . . yeah. He'll be back though . . . I think . . . I don't know.” We hadn't discussed that. Ugh, this was a bad idea.
Jaden raised a disbelieving brow, looking towards the trees. “That's awfully reckless of him.”
Huh? “How so?” I asked confusedly.
Jaden looked at me, mouth tilting into a thin diagonal line. I would have called the face condescending . . . except there was a trace of tenderness to it . . . pity?
“That was an interesting game you taught,” he said, tossing his head up and ignoring my question completely. I sighed as he continued. “Can't really picture you doing it though.”
I looked back, blushing slightly. “Yeah. I used to . . . I guess I'd be too chicken now.”
His smile kept, but for a moment there was silence.
“Well, are you ready to go, or . . . ?”
Ack, I forgot about the prank. “Ah . . . no!”
His eyebrows lifted and I cleared my throat. “I mean, not yet. In a bit.”
“Okay,” he drawled, eyeing me skeptically.
I was going to kill Ikovos for making me do this.
Suddenly Jaden stood up.
“Where are you going?” I asked panicking. This wouldn't work if he moved.
“Nowhere,” he answered.
Oh good.
But then he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the rock.
I gulped, ignoring the sudden tightening of my stomach. “You're swimming?”
He nodded. Off went the shoes.
“But . . . but I thought you didn't want to.”
“I didn't,” he said, then walked to the edge and dived into the pool.
Wha? How is that supposed to make any sense?!?
I dropped my hands dejectedly into the water.
Now Ikovos is going to be mad at me, I knew this was a bad plan.
“He got in?”
That was Ikovos. He walked up to the rock Jaden had been sitting on. I looked over to him and shrugged apologetically.
Jaden came up then, narrowing at the other boy.”Weren't you gone?”
Ikovos rolled his eyes at himself. “I should have known . . .” Then dropped into the pool.
Jaden looked over at me questioningly.
I just went red and shrugged.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 14
Belong
WE SWAM a while longer, but, despite the beauty of the pool, I asked to leave after not too long.
Right now . . . with certain things . . . it just felt smart.
I shivered as we started into the woods. “It's f-f-fr-freezing.”
Both boys were walking beside me with their dry clothes over their arms, not looking the least bit chilly. I hugged my shawl around me.
“Here,” said Jaden. Then he reached down to grab a stick, lighting one side with a rich, red, fire.
My eyes brightened . . . I'll never get used to people just doing stuff like that.
“Hold your hands up to it,” he commanded, lifting it close to me.
I did. It felt good, but my breaths still shuttered.
“Why don't you try it, Evelyn,” suggested Ikovos. He looked at Jaden. “Doesn't it make you feel warmer.”
Jaden shrugged. “I guess so, you could try.”
I looked at each, then down at my shaking hand. The woods around us were pitch dark. I had only been here once when it was this late, there was something so mystical about it.
“O-k-k-kay,” I said, shivering again. Then I lifted my hand out in front of me. As soon as the fingers stretched out a large, violet, flame burst up. Bright, but a little uncontrolled.
“Jeez,” said Ikovos. His eyes were wide.
Jaden held a pleased smirk, like he knew what was going on better than I did. The trees around us lit with a bright purple glow. I was glad for my immediate success, but to be honest it seemed to be acting more on its own. It was flickering violently, getting larger then smaller and trying to move away from my palm. It didn't help that we were still walking.
“Man, when you said you made a flame I didn't know you meant that,” said Ikovos, holding his hand up to touch it. I would have wondered at this, but he had showed me the other day that he had a spell that worked almost like a protective armor. I could see the blue glow of it
against his skin now.
The purple flame flared up again. “Now I just need to learn how to control it better.” My face contorted with my concentrating.
“Don't tell me you're gonna start on that already,” complained Jaden. “You just got the first spell.”
My brows furrowed, hand circling around with the flame. “I got the afternoon off—Wah!”
My feet hit a rock and I lost balance, falling forward. Jaden grabbed my wrist before I could. As soon as he touched me the fire in my hand calmed, it's wild, uncontrolled, dance changing to a smooth, steady line.
My eyes grazed his, which were unreadable, then I straightened up uncomfortably.
“Sorry,” I said, pulling my hand.
He let go.
“Is that normal?” asked Ikovos, pointing to the flame, obviously attuned to the sudden change.
I just looked ahead, eyes a little wide and pained. My body definitely wasn't shivering anymore. Every inch of my skin felt hot.
Jaden looked at him straightly, lifting his shoulders.
I took a breath and examined the flame in front of me. I hadn't gotten to do this much last night . . . there was no doubt that it was easier with a certain person around . . .
“Well, anyways, I'm thoroughly impressed, Evelyn,” said Ikovos. “And I really haven't seen a color like it.”
I smiled. So far I'd only been using my right hand to conjure it. I lifted my left close. “Can I touch it?” I looked at Jaden.
He eyed me, then nodded.
I waved my left palm over it. It latched onto my fingers like any flame might, only bit didn't burn, just a soft tingle. I took another breath.
The rest of the walk back Ikovos asked me questions about my first success at the spell. I was flustered the entire time, it was nigh impossible for me to answer without giving everything away. Luckily whenever I got close, Jaden would steer the conversation to safer topics. For the most part though, the dark-eyed boy seemed somehow changed. Calmer, if that was possible, and distant. Since last night . . . it’s like he was thinking something over in his head.
When we got to the edge of the lodge, yellow light pouring down from the windows,, I closed my hand, extinguishing the flame.
“Oh,” said Ikovos, swinging around to face me. We all stopped, forming a circle. “I never told you about what the masters said.”
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