The Guardian

by Quinn Arthurs

  A rush of cold air pulled my attention away from the pillow, and I gasped in utter horror. A furious Onyx staggered next to Reed, who struggled to hold him upright. Any exposed skin not hidden by the thick plates of his armor was scraped and cut as though he had been beaten.

  “What in the realms did you do to me?” Onyx roared, his eyes flashing with fury.

  15

  I gasped in horror, letting the piece of tourmaline fall from my palm to clatter on the floor.

  “Onyx!” Reed’s voice was sharp.

  “I tracked it here,” Onyx snarled. “I thought someone was attacking the two of you, but it’s coming from her.” Reed lowered him to the chair, letting him sink into it as he scrambled for our water pitcher.

  “I’m sorry.” My voice cracked as I glanced towards the pillow I had been trying to destroy.

  “What were you thinking letting her practice outside of a circle?” Onyx hissed as Reed began to heal him.

  Reed shrugged. “I assumed that whatever she did would be localized and I would be able to shield against it. I wasn’t prepared for the fact that she could send her spells outward yet.”

  “Terran!” I yelled, desperate as Onyx’s wounds showed no improvement under Reed’s hands. He appeared in a rush of warm air, his hands glowing green as he assessed the situation quickly.

  “Tori.” He turned to me as I wrung my hands, kneeling in front of me. “Release the spell.”

  “I did!” Onyx was an ass, but I hadn’t wanted to hurt him. “I dropped the stone.” I pointed at the offending gem, wanting to kick it away.

  “Releasing the stone does not release the spell,” Terran explained rapidly as I watched another slice appear on Onyx’s cheek. “You pushed your energy into the spell, told it to work. Pull it back again.”

  I was shaking as I watched blood trickle down his cheek, despite Reed’s bandage of water. “I thought I did, I’m not willing it anymore.” I fisted my hands, unable to tear my eyes from Onyx’s face. Terran’s large hand grasped my chin, brining my eyes to his.

  “Concentrate on the magic. It’s still active inside of you. Pull it away, shut it down.” His words were calm, despite the worry in his eyes. “We can heal him, Tori. We just need you to stop the spell.”

  I tried to grasp the magic inside of me, feeling it slip through my mind despite my frantic attempts to hold it and control it. “I can’t!”

  “I thought you were strong.” Onyx’s voice was taunting, and I attempted to turn my head to look at him, though Terran’s grip on my chin didn’t relax.

  “Probably not the best idea to torment the girl currently stabbing you,” Reed murmured quietly.

  “She’s got to be strong enough to stop it if she started it,” Onyx snapped. “She’s part fae. She needs to step up and control it.” Reed swore, and I assumed another cut had opened on Onyx’s skin.

  “Refocus her,” Reed called out. “She’s lost in the panic.”

  Terran’s eyes went wide as he glanced toward Reed, before turning back to me. He murmured, before scooping me up and spinning me, pressing me flat against the wall. His mouth claimed mine in a dizzying kiss, the light scrape of his beard against my skin a foreign sensation. He plastered his body against mine, his hard muscles pressing deep into me as he yanked my legs around him, cradling my hips in his hands. Shocked, I could do no more than respond to his kiss before he pulled away with a groan.

  “You’ve got it now. Pull it in,” he demanded, before claiming my mouth again. How the hell did he expect me to contain anything when he was kissing me into oblivion? His lips invaded mine, his tongue sliding and twining over my own as he devoured my mouth, and I couldn’t resist kissing him back. His power pressed against mine, and I pulled away, finally able to grasp my magic as he called it forward to battle with his.

  “Got it,” I gasped, the magic flooding me again.

  “Good girl,” Terran murmured, his beard brushing against my neck as he spoke. “Now calm it. Release it. Ending a spell is like stretching a muscle after you’ve used it, letting it relax. You’ll burn yourself out if you leave them active. You will it to work, you must will it to stop. It’s all about control.” His grip on my hips tightened at the word and a murmur of approval fell from my lips. I pushed the magic aside, willing it to rest, letting the spell drain away. I knew I had been successful when Reed sighed in relief, and I hoped that meant he was able to heal some of the wounds I had inflicted.

  “You can probably let me down now,” I suggested, wiggling slightly to remind him he still had pinned to the wall.

  “I like you where you are,” Terran offered distractedly, as he watched Reed healing Onyx. I wished I could see, but Terran’s bulk blocked any view of them I would have had.

  “Right,” I muttered weakly. Terran released me slowly, dragging me down his body in a way that left me aching. I swallowed back the groan I wanted to release as my feet hit the floor, and I hurried around him to where Reed was tending Onyx.

  “Onyx, I’m sorry.” I bit my lip, unsure what I could do to help. Most of the marks I had seen before were gone, though Reed was continuing to work. I wondered how many were hidden under his armor, and if the armor had provided any sort of protection from my attack.

  “It’s more his fault than yours,” Onyx grumbled. “He should know better than to let someone untrained try new magic without adequate protections.”

  “Like you knew she could distance cast,” Reed muttered.

  “How did you do it exactly?” Terran asked, coming up behind me so that the warmth of his body wrapped around me. I stepped forward slightly, the blush mantling my cheek at Onyx’s smirk, unwilling to be quite so close to Terran yet until we cooled things off.

  “Well, I was focusing on the pillow.” I indicated where it sat with a wave.

  Onyx snorted. “Yeah, it looks demolished. I’m more interested in how you were supposed to be hexing a pillow and ended up hexing me instead. I assure you, I’m no pillow.” The words were a snarl at the end as he glared at me.

  “I wasn’t thinking of you exactly,” I muttered. “I was remembering what you told me, how you had to will it to happen. How a fae simply has to have a strong enough will and their abilities are nearly limitless. I wanted to show you I could do it.”

  Terran’s voice was amused as he offered, “I think you did that.” Onyx turned his steely glare on him, though it didn’t appear to faze him.

  Exhaustion was hitting me now, making my limbs achy and loose. Now that the spell was closed and the adrenaline leaving my system, my body was refusing the activity of the day. “I just wanted to learn to use the tourmaline.”

  “You can learn new stones, but we still aren’t sure exactly what you’re capable of.” Terran’s voice was gentle. “Tactics that would work with other students just may not be enough for you until we have an idea of what your limits are. Someone as new as you should not be able to cast your spell out at a distance like that. We were next door with River, but it is still much farther than a normal student at your level would be able to cast, especially considering you couldn’t see him.”

  “She visualizes well.” Reed finally pulled himself from Onyx, and I flopped down on the chair, curling onto my side. If they were going to keep ranting, I was going to sit for it. My body ached, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. “She did well in her lessons earlier, she could flick the flame on and off at a moment’s notice and use it when she was surprised and cornered.”

  “We need to talk about that,” I muttered. “Kissing is not a training technique, though you’re both really damn good at it.”

  “Both?” I didn’t think Onyx’s eyebrows could have risen any further as he glanced first at Terran, then at Reed. “Can’t you two keep your hormones under control?” Onyx roared. “We’re supposed to be training her as a Guardian, not having sex with her!”

  “Hey, I didn’t have sex with anyone.” I perked up a little bit to glare at him. Why did he think he had any say in who
I kissed, or slept with for that matter? He was my Guardian, not my husband. “Nor do I have any plans to.”

  “They know better!” he snarled.

  “It was a kiss! No commitment, no strings. Hell, Terran only did it as a distraction, it’s not like he was attracted to me, he was just trying to save your sorry ass.” I pushed from the chair, putting my hands on my hips as I faced off with Onyx.

  “That’s far from true,” Terran interjected, and I glanced at him. “A kiss may not have been the wisest course, that’s definitely true, and though I was trying to help Onyx, I did want to kiss you.”

  “If it had been anyone else you would have slapped them.” Onyx grunted. “Why would you kiss her instead?”

  “You really expected him to slap her?’ Reed asked, skeptically. Onyx growled, shoving his hands into his hair in irritation.

  “He’s just jealous he didn’t get a kiss too.” I sent him a snarky wink. Onyx was on me in a flash, his face nearly against mine. I stood my ground as he crowded in on me, a sultry smile curving his lips.

  “Banféinne, if I had wanted to kiss you, I would have. You would have enjoyed every second of it and then begged me for more.” His voice was a velvet caress, soft as fur against me as his mouth hovered over mine.

  “Onyx…” My voice quavered, and I leaned towards him, unable to tear my gaze from him. His smile turned to a predatory smirk and, quick as a lightning, I shot my knee up, nailing him directly in the balls. He groaned, his knees buckling as I darted out of his reach. “You Guardians really should train better for that. Maybe have more females here, then you’d be used to ball shots.”

  I saluted a shocked Terran and a howling Reed. “I’m heading to bed.” I glared at Onyx as I stalked to my room. “Maybe let Reed heal your balls,” I called out before snapping the door shut behind me. I heard Onyx’s furious voice, and Terran and Reed’s amused ones, as I crawled in my bed to nap. It had been a long day.

  A soft knock on the door woke me, and I dragged my butt out of bed to yank the door open. River stood there balancing a tray loaded with pastries, fruit, meat, and juices, a small smile playing on her lips as she took in my sleepy countenance. I grunted, pulling the door open for her and letting her join me in the room rather than going into the main living area with the others.

  “Thanks,” I muttered. I wasn’t usually at my best when I’d first woken up. “You didn’t have to bring this in, I could have come out there.”

  “I didn’t figure you’d want to go out there quite yet,” River offered.

  I hesitated, a pastry partway to my mouth as I tried to analyze her statement. “Why is that?” I asked innocently. I wondered what the guys had told her.

  “I walked into the very end of your little show last night.” River’s voice was clearly amused, and I couldn't keep the smug smile from spreading even as I stuffed more pastry into my mouth. She was a hell of a cook. “I could not believe you kicked him like that.” Her voice dropped to a scandalized whisper.

  I shrugged. “He may be a Guardian, but he was being a dick. I just emphasized that fact. Besides, it’s not like I kicked him that hard.” Okay, it had been a little hard. “If we’re trying to start a standard for how non-Guardians should be treated, they shouldn’t be exempt to it. He was trying to intimidate me, and I was just showing him he couldn’t.” I considered for a moment, before selecting an apple from the tray. “Are they all out there?”

  “Oh, yes. They’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” Her voice was nearly gleeful. “I thought Onyx was going to come in after you last night, he was so furious. Terran and Reed talked him down though. He definitely wasn’t happy about it.”

  She’d said last night, so hopefully that meant I hadn’t drained myself like the first time I’d used the offensive spells against Birch. I considered the tray in front of me, debating. I wanted to hide in here and pig out, but it was time to face them all. We needed to establish some ground rules for the future. I grabbed another handful of the pastries, hauling them with me as I headed for the door.

  “Well, if they’re waiting for me, I better go face them.” I shot her a smile as she followed. “I can always kick them again if I need to.” Her chuckle gave me the courage I needed to open the door and head toward the living room. This was definitely going to be interesting.

  16

  “Sleep well?” Reed asked with a sweet smile when I entered. I saw his eyes lock on the pastries in my hands and I grinned, tossing one into the air. He caught it with ease, biting into the fluffy crust with appreciation.

  “Out like a light.”

  “Good. You needed the rest after yesterday.” Terran smiled, standing to greet me. I shook my head at the seat he offered, preferring to stand for the confrontation I expected.

  Onyx pushed up from his chair, crossing his arms in front of him as he glared at me. I wondered briefly if I should have grabbed a stone to protect myself before this interaction, though I hoped Terran and Reed would keep Onyx from completely losing it — though I could always kick him again if I needed to. “I believe you are owed an apology.”

  “Well, that was convincing…” I offered dryly in return. “Nothing like a partial apology.”

  Onyx’s eyes flashed. “You’re the one who tried to kill me and then kicked me,” he snarled.

  “I apologized for the first and you deserved the second,” I snapped back.

  “Onyx.” Terran’s tone held a clear warning as he glared at him.

  Onyx grumbled, fisting his hands tightly. “I’m sorry for overstepping my bounds with you and for frightening you.”

  “You didn’t frighten me, but you did overstep your bounds.” I paused a moment, studying him. I could tell that apologizing was not something that came naturally or easily to him, and I figured that was about the best it was going to get. “Apology accepted.”

  “Besides you’re the one going around kissing everyone,” Onyx muttered, his voice so low I barely caught the words.

  “Excuse me?” Outraged, I went toe to toe with him. I had no idea how the fae handled such things, but sharing a few kisses wasn’t anything to be ashamed of in my mind. It may not be the relationship I had envisioned for myself, but I wasn’t going to apologize for it.

  Onyx seemed startled, pulling back slightly from my ire. “Well, you did manage to kiss both of them yesterday.”

  “That is none of your business. Whom I kiss, or do not kiss, is my own decision and not for you to criticize.” I was furious that he would feel entitled to question me. “If I want to kiss Reed every single day then that’s his call, not yours.”

  “I certainly wouldn’t complain.” Reed’s murmur was enough to distract me from my ire as I turned my focus to him. He merely shrugged his shoulders when I studied him. “I’m just saying.” I stepped away from Onyx before I gave in to the urge to kick him again, turning my attention back to Reed instead.

  “So, what are planning for today then?” I tried out a grin, although it came out more like a grimace. “I’m assuming injuring Onyx isn’t on the schedule, unfortunately.”

  Terran covered a chuckle with the clearing of his throat. “We will practice some more. We would like to give you a few more pieces for your arsenal.”

  River stepped up next to me, wringing her hands in agitation. “Are you sure this is the best way we can handle him? Maybe if we approached the Ancients…” She trailed off for a moment and shook her head. “They know that Tori’s special. They wouldn’t have asked her to be trained otherwise. The chances of her getting hurt are just too high.”

  “You know the Ancients won’t do anything.” Reed’s voice was soft, but firm. “If anything, they’ll encourage the behavior in order to rapidly increase her powers due to the stress she’ll be facing.”

  “We’ll have other ways of looking out for her,” Terran reassured her. “You cannot believe that we’d allow her to actually be injured. It’s a calculated risk, River.”

  “One I’m happy to take.” I hoped my
words sounded more confident than I felt. “It’s going to be fine, truly.” I turned my attention back to Reed, grateful that he was here. “I was thinking about River.”

  “Me?” River’s voice was shocked. “What about?”

  “Well, you’re fae.” I shrugged. “There’s got to be more to your powers than just artwork, you just have to think about it differently, that’s all.”

  “Differently?”

  “There’s no differently.” Onyx snorted. “Magic is simply that. It’s willpower, nothing else.”

  “Possibly,” I allowed, ignoring Onyx’s innate dismissal of me. “It doesn’t make sense, though, that she’d be born with these powers and not have any ability to use them to defend herself.”

  “Not all creatures do,” Reed pointed out, though he seemed to be contemplating what I was suggesting. “Though I do understand what you’re suggesting; almost every creature has some defensive mechanism unless they don’t have any predators.”

  “Fae may not technically have predators, but they do fight amongst each other, so I would assume skills would develop, even if they were simply to camouflage or protect themselves.” I turned to River, giving her an encouraging smile. “Will you try something for me?”

  “Oh, this is ridiculous,” Onyx snarled, tossing his hands up into the air. “Let me stab him and get this over with. You’re listening to a girl who’s been here only a handful of days, who has no true idea how magic works. She’s simply wasting time!”

  “I may not know how your magic truly works, but I did learn about it growing up. My mother always said that part of the magic was feeling it, not just reciting it. If you simply recite spells that others have created, you’ll never truly connect to it.”

  “That may be true for witch magic, but not fae magic,” Onyx objected. “They are completely different things.”

  “Why? Because you say they are?” I pointed out. “You both have control over the elements and can do things that humans would think are impossible. You have no idea how either type of magic came into existence. All you’re doing is repeating what you’ve learned.”