by Brenda Drake
“You all right?” The concern on Arik’s face was cute. Who was I kidding? Every expression of his was hot.
“Yeah.” I stood and brushed off the dead grass, glancing around the area. It was a crumbling arena, overgrown with foliage. An earthen smell swirled in the wind. “What is this place?”
“It’s an amphitheater,” he said. “It was used for plays and other performances back in ancient times before it was destroyed.”
“This could be your secret garden instead of the libraries,” I said.
He stepped lightly across the overgrowth. “This isn’t my secret garden. Weeds and horrible memories haunt this place. After Asile’s first high wizard died, it became a site for executions. It’s the only place with enough room and privacy for us to practice in.”
A recent rainfall had kissed the leaves. Mud slurped at my feet as I went over to him.
After placing the bag on the ground, he faced me. “Hold up your palm.”
I raised it to him, and he placed his palm on top of mine. It took all my willpower not to shake under his touch. The warmth built between our hands.
“Do you feel the heat?” he asked.
Is he kidding? That’s all I feel when I’m next to him.
I nodded, my eyes not leaving his gaze. “It’s getting hotter.”
The wind brushed his hair across his forehead and flushed his cheeks. “It’s my battle globe. If I let it grow any more, it will burn you. When I was six, Oren taught me how to ignite my battle globe at will. Most Sentinels have to speak a charm. I practiced relentlessly until it became second nature to me. Just as walking or talking happens naturally. I believe you can learn this, too.” He removed his hand.
“I doubt it.” The wind cooled the heat of his touch from my palm.
He sighed, pulling out a small booklet from the inside pocket of his jacket. “Have some faith. You can create a light globe and your battle one. We’re not sure what this third one is or what it can do. You should be able to conjure it the same way.” He flipped to a dog-eared page. “A wizard found information in this log book about your mysterious globe. He discovered it while researching your family tree. Only one other possessed your globe. A boy who lived many centuries ago. It’s a universal globe. Unfortunately, he died before his thirteenth birthday from the plague, so there isn’t much information to glean from his experiences with it or what powers it possesses.”
“Apparently, it doesn’t protect against human diseases,” I said.
“I suppose it doesn’t.” Worry scrunched his face and it took him several seconds before he continued. “I can imagine this is scary for you, so at any time you want to stop, we will.”
“I can do this,” I said, not very convincingly.
His finger dragged across the page as he read the entry. “It says here that you must think of things that make you feel protected to ignite the globe.”
“Great. Just whatever makes me feel safe, huh?”
“Aye, give it a whirl.”
The globe proved elusive. A light one sprouted first, then the truth sphere appeared. I wasn’t sure how to separate them. Numerous things that gave me a sense of security came to mind. From alarm systems to people—Pop, Nana, and even Arik. But nothing worked.
Dark clouds rolled over our heads. A crack of lightning disturbed my train of thought. Rain sprinkled on us, dotting my palm with water, which made me wish I had my mother’s red umbrella. Pain tugged at my stomach, my insides were on fire. A groan slipped from my lips and Arik grabbed my elbow just as my knees began to buckle.
“Embrace the memory,” he urged. “Only think of it.”
The umbrella? I used to sleep with it after my mom passed away. Carried it everywhere. It was a way to keep her with me. Electric sparks sped up my chest and across my arms. A pink sphere grew to the size of a peach pit on my palm before it busted.
“You have it!” His boyish excitement surprised me. “It startled you. That’s why you lost control. Try again.”
I concentrated on the umbrella for several minutes, willing the globe to form. When it materialized, it puffed up like blowing a bubble with pink gum. “What do you think it does?”
“All I know is that it released the charmed shackles from Faith. The entry in the book is unclear.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Try throwing it.”
I cocked my arm back, the sphere wobbling like Jell-O, and tossed it. The globe flopped to the ground near us and burst.
“That’s a horrible throw. Have you ever thrown a ball before?”
I glared at him. “Yes. It’s just that this thing is awkward and jiggly.”
He glanced up at the sky. “A storm is coming. We might have time to try once more.”
My entire body went weak. “I don’t feel so good.”
“Shall we take a break, then?” He snatched up the bag and pulled out a chocolate covered pastry.
I shoved it in my mouth as though starved. Which I was. I hadn’t eaten since lunch.
Amusement danced in his eyes as he watched me gobble it down like a troll. He took one out for himself, ripping off a piece and popping it in his mouth.
“Holy crap, this is delicious,” I said with a full mouth. The sprinkling of rain turned into fat drops.
“I’ve not found any better.” He removed bottled water from the sack, unscrewed it, and handed it to me. Something on the side of my face caught his attention. “You have a bit of something right there.” He pointed it out.
“Oh.” I rubbed at my cheek.
“You missed it.” He rubbed the corner of my mouth with his thumb.
Surprised at his touch, I dropped the bottle and slipped back on my heels, grabbing his hand and pulling him down with me. I landed on my back in the mud. He fell on top of me, bracing himself with his arms so as not to smash me with his body. Cold mud crawled under my shirt and up my back. I shivered. Rain dumped on us.
Our faces were mere inches apart, his chocolate-laced breath brushing my lips—every bit of my body sharply aware of his nearness. The rain slapped the bag beside us and clapped the ground.
A serious expression pulled on his face as his head lowered closer to mine. He swiped my lower lip with his finger this time, causing an eruption of tingles to spread across my skin. “Those pastries are messy. I should have grabbed some napkins.”
“No, I’m just a slob.” I licked my lips, and his breath hitched.
What just happened? And why is he looking at me like that? I thought he was still mad at me.
He straightened his arms, his face moving away from mine. “Are you injured?”
“I don’t think so.” Only heart palpitations.
He scrambled to his feet and grabbed both my hands, yanking me up. “We best find cover before we drown.”
We made a mad dash for the wall, rain drenching us. My feet kept slipping as I climbed up the vines beside him. The village roads were practically vacant of people. Our feet smacked the puddles as we sprinted to the door into the castle.
Dripping water and mud on the tunnel’s floor, we tried to catch our breaths. I was freezing, but too lost in the moment to care. Arik’s laughter had me completely entranced. His eyes danced and dimples deepened with each chuckle.
“You need to get dry,” he said, a hint of amusement lingering in his voice. “Moreover, your entire backside is caked in mud.”
As we walked through the corridors, we did a sort of hide and seek thing with our glances. He’d peek at me, and I would hide my eyes by looking at something on the wall. I’d look at him, and he would glance down at his feet. Both trying to conceal our smiles.
I was disappointed when we reached my room. “Well, thanks for seeing me to my door.”
“It was my pleasure.”
His pleasure? Did he mean that or was it just a thing to say?
“And thanks for the lesson,” I added.
He pushed his wet hair away from his forehead. “You did well. Practice forming the globe until our next lesson.”
Was t
hat it? I didn’t want him to go.
The door flung open, and Faith frowned at the sight of me. “Were you mud wrestling?”
“Certainly looks that way.” Arik snickered then looked over at me. “I leave for another mission tonight. When I return, we’ll commence our lessons.”
“You should hurry and get cleaned up for dinner,” Faith said, eyeing us.
“I suppose that’s my cue.” He hung there for several awkward seconds, eyes searching my face. “Good evening,” he finally said.
“See you later,” I said, trying to sound like his roaming eyes hadn’t affected me.
When he nodded and ambled down the corridor, disappointment sunk in my stomach. Was he feeling the same way as me? All the signs pointed to yes. I shook my head. What’s the matter with me? Maybe there’s nothing going on between him and Veronique, but he has a betrothed somewhere, so there’s no point getting involved. Why set myself up? Arik’s a one-way ticket to heartbreak.
I closed the door and headed to the bathroom but couldn’t stop thinking about him. The weight of his body pressing against me and his warm breath on my lips teased my thoughts. He was the silver lining to the suckage that was my new life.
Chapter Sixteen
For weeks, I sparred with Carrig, learning to balance a ball and hold my sword with an arm laced in the tight straps of my heavy shield. He won every match, but I put up a good fight. Spending time with him was like being with a coach, not a father. The man didn’t know how to work with teenagers. I actually felt bad for Deidre growing up with this guy. He busted my lip twice, cracked a rib, and cornered me until I fell down a rocky hill.
Nana was so angry she complained to Merl. He told her to stop fussing and that Carrig knew what he was doing, which only made Nana hotter.
It was coming up on three weeks and still Arik and the other Sentinels hadn’t returned from their mission. Back home, school would be starting soon. I didn’t know if I’d be back by then, which upset me. I didn’t want Deidre to attend classes for me. I valued my GPA.
The day was thick with fog when I finished my training session with Carrig. After seeing my battered arms and blood-caked forehead, Professor Attwood canceled our lessons and sent me to my suite, where Faith gave me one look and guided me to the bed. I tucked myself in a fetal position, buried my face into the pillow and screamed. How could I take any more? It was too hard. I just wanted to go home. I hated this life, and I needed Pop.
Faith brushed tangled strands of hair away from my face. “Hold on. I’ll get you something for the pain.” She grabbed a bottle from the nightstand and poured a small amount of Nana’s elixir into a shot glass, then held it in front of my face. “Here, drink this.”
I tossed back the shot, draining the liquid in one big gulp.
“You stay here. I’ll be right back.” She hurried off to Nana’s room.
I poured more elixir to the rim of the glass and slugged it down.
Faith returned with Nana on her heels, dousing a cotton ball with some sort of ointment.
“My goodness,” Nana said. “You look awful. I swear that man is going to get a few choice words from me when I see him.” She sat beside me on the bed and dabbed my cuts with the drenched cotton ball.
The pain subsided and my body seemed as though it was floating above the bed. All my fears dissipated like dandelions blown on the wind.
I giggled. “Nana, you should sell this stuff. It zaps the pain. Zippo. Gone-o.”
“Faith, did you give her the elixir again?”
“You said to give it when she’s hurt bad.”
“How much did you give her?”
“Only a half shot glass, as you instructed.”
I giggled again. “I snuck another. Well, a full shot, that is.”
Nana frowned at me. “Young lady, you’re insufferable at times.”
“What’s that mean?” asked Faith.
I hiccupped. “It means I’m difficult…I think.”
“It’s time to get dressed for dinner,” Nana said. “You need to eat something to take off the edge.”
“Okey dokey.”
I was in a euphoric daze as Nana dressed me. She ignored my protests as she pulled a pink dress over my head. It was chiffon and had a black satin bow at the waist. So not my style. At least it was from this century. It took both Faith and Nana to squeeze my toes into the heels they’d picked for me. I was certain I’d add a broken leg to all my other injuries as we went down to the dining hall.
“Good evening,” Veronique said, passing us on her way out the door.
“Good evening,” Nana returned.
I swayed and Veronique grabbed my arm, helping Nana to steady me. Something musky tickled my nose. I coughed.
“Thanks,” I said around a hiccup and yanked my arm from her.
“My pleasure.” Veronique smiled and walked off.
I turned my head toward Nana. “Did you feel that?”
“Feel what, dear?”
“A wet, misty, stinky thing.”
“No. Now pull yourself together. Everyone’s watching.” She smiled to the tables as we passed.
Food did help take the edge off the elixir, but it also brought back the pain. Auntie Mae’s chattering scraped against my eardrums, annoying me more than usual. The massive headache didn’t help. I made my excuses to the table and headed back to my room.
The corridors seemed tighter at night with the shadows draping them. Tiny winged creatures circled me, and I slapped at them. One hovered in front of me, her body thin and green like a praying mantis and a scowl on her beautiful face. She shook her head and waggled her finger at me, then flew off, the others chasing her.
Great. Now I’m seeing things. Nana should sell this stuff. Wait. “Maybe she does.” My voice sounded slurred.
I stopped in the middle of the corridor, my head reeling and stomach nauseous. There was no way one extra shot of elixir would make me this tipsy. I’d snuck an extra shot before and never got this woozy. Really, I should be worried, but I couldn’t focus enough to care. I squinted as I tried to see my way down to the end of the hall.
As I fell backwards, a pair of arms caught me and eased me to the floor. A spindly woman in her thirties with choppy red hair, pointy ears, and slanted gray eyes stared down at me.
“Are you real?”
“Yes,” she said. “Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “Who are you?”
“Sinead. I’m fey.”
“Okay, are you Sinead or Fay?”
“No. My name is Sinead. I’m from the fey nation.” She pulled me up by my arms. “Come on, help me out. We’ve got to get you to your feet.”
Once upright, I checked out her back. “You don’t have wings.”
“I’m one of the Silent People. We don’t have wings. Can you walk?”
“My legs feel like Twizzlers.”
She wrapped my arm around her shoulders, held my waist, and led me down the hall.
“We’ve got to get to your room. You’ll be safe there.”
With each step, I willed my legs to move, and before long, Sinead was knocking on the door to our suite.
Faith jerked the door open. “What’s happened to you?” She looked from me to Sinead. “Who are you?”
“She helped me,” I said. “Move and let us in, already.”
“You’re drunk. How many shots did you have? You’re going to be in big trouble when Nana sees you.”
“Zip it, Faith. The world is spinning.”
Sinead dragged me to the bed and dropped me onto the pillows. “I think she was drugged,” she said.
Nana burst through the door. “Young lady, you should be ashamed—” She stopped when she spotted Sinead. “What’s going on here?”
“I’m Carrig’s wife, Sinead.” She collapsed beside me on the bed.
I rose to my elbows. “You’re whose wife?”
“I’ve been trying to get into Asile ever since—” Her eyes teared. “I was w
ith him when we went to exchange Gia and Deidre. I waited outside your house while he went in with Deidre to get the shield charm. After she came out, I took her to Gia’s apartment, and Carrig waited with you.”
Nana shut the door. “He did mention someone was waiting for Deidre. You were her escort?” Nana’s eyes widened when she realized my condition. “What have you done to my granddaughter?”
“Nothing,” Sinead said. “Someone else did something.”
“Move over and let me take a look at her.” Nana leaned over, grabbed my chin, and twisted my head side to side. “Your irises are slanted. Have you seen anything unusual?”
“Yes,” I said before letting out a yawn.
“Delusion potion,” Nana said and went into her room. The sounds of rustling bags, clanking bottles, and running water came from the bathroom. She returned with a glass of cloudy water. “All right, drink this.”
I lifted my head and drank it down. It tasted like watery frosting. I sank back into the pillows and shut my eyes. After a while, I sat up. The three of them stared at me as if I had turned blue or something.
Finally, Sinead spoke. “How do you feel?”
“Much better. Good thing you found me.”
“I was seeking you. Do you remember what I told you earlier? About waiting outside Ms. Kearns’s house?” She pulled a slender dagger from a holster buckled around her hips, grabbed Nana, and held the blade to her neck.
“Stop!” I yelled, jumping off the bed. Without thinking about the consequences, I whirled and kicked at Sinead’s arm. The blade flew from her hand and clattered to the floor. “What are you doing?”
Faith readied herself to pounce. Lip curled back, fangs bared, she growled at Sinead.
The fey gave each of us a sharp glare as she scrambled for the dagger, but I was quicker and knocked it under the bed and out of her reach. “The man who came out of the house was not my Carrig. I stood right in front of him with my usual glamour on, and he didn’t recognize me.” She growled at Nana. “Tell me what you did to him!”
“I didn’t do anything. Wait. Let me think.” Nana paused as she tried to remember. “I finished tattooing Deidre and she left. I was out of black ink. The supply store is only around the corner. Carrig stayed with my stepdaughter, Eileen, while I went to get more ink.”
