Under the Winter Sun (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 3)

by Richards, Carrigan

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No, I’m good.” He fidgeted with his hands, watching Eric and Ilya walk outside with Gustav. “I’m gonna go at it again.”

  “Okay,” she said, trying not to let her voice tremble. “Do you want to come over later?” She spoke up a little as he started walking away.

  “I can’t tonight. I promised Ilya we’d hang out. I’m probably gonna be too exhausted, though. Sorry.” He ambled out the door.

  Peter’s lack of emotion was like chains wrapped around her heart with an iron ball weighing it down. She longed to feel his arms around her or his soft lips on hers. She wished he would get over this weirdness. Why was he avoiding her so much? One reason nagged at the back of her mind, but she refused to think about it.

  Ava dislodged the hard lump in her throat and looked around her. She felt incredibly insecure like her heart splayed open so everyone could see and laugh. She hugged herself. The anxiety coiled inside her stomach, making her dizzy.

  She fled the room, her eyes trained on the floor. As she rounded the corner of the doorframe, she ran smack into someone.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, trying to regain her balance.

  “Are you sick, too?” Gabriel asked, his hands on her arms. “You look very pale.” He scrutinized her face.

  She shook her head, avoiding his gaze.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low.

  “I’m fine.” She bit her lip. “It’s late. I should go.”

  “Ava.” The way he said her name almost made her lose the battle with the tears. “What has you up all night worried? Besides the obvious. I feel you every day and night.”

  “Just worried about Melissa and Jeremy. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She sidestepped him to pass. She felt his eyes on her until she turned the corner. Suppressing her anxiety so the necklace wouldn’t glow, she left.

  All Ava wanted to do when she got home was take a hot shower and go to sleep. She checked on her father, who still refused Savina’s help. Ava was at her wit’s end, but she didn’t want to argue with him. Instead, she heated up some soup for him.

  She needed to eat, but her stomach was too wound up. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pot of leftover spaghetti. Once she removed the lid, the putrid smell hit her and made her gag.

  She gagged again, unable to hold it back any longer. She raced to the bathroom, making it just in time. Her stomach heaved until it was empty. She washed her face and slid back to the floor, resting her head against the cabinet.

  Ava really needed to get a grip. She couldn’t believe her anxiety over Peter made her sick. She felt awful though. Her body ached and was feverish. Was this what her father felt like? She needed to go check on him but was slow getting to her feet. Dizziness set in as she gripped the edge of the sink.

  When the room stopped spinning, she ambled out into the living room.

  Her father coughed. “Dad?” He continued coughing and it sounded like he was choking. Panicked, she flipped on the light switch and darted toward him. He was laying down on his back, gasping for air.

  “Dad!” She moved him to a sitting position, and when she did, the blanket fell, exposing his covered arms. Blood had soaked through the fabric on his pajamas. She pushed the sleeve up and gasped. Gangrene had set in on his arm. The bone was visible surrounded by blackened, dry tissue. Bile rose to her throat.

  He coughed and blood sprayed across the blanket. Her heart pounded, her body shaking. She had to call Savina. She moved him to rest against the back of the couch and ran into her room, snatching her phone from the nightstand.

  Her fingers trembled as she tapped on Peter’s name. Listening to the endless ringing, she hung up and dialed Gabriel.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I need Savina! He’s coughing up blood.”

  The line on the other end clicked. She hoped they would be there any second.

  Ava held onto her dad, rocking him until Savina and Gabriel arrived. All the while, she felt as if she would get sick again, but miraculously held it back.

  The door opened and both of them came inside.

  “Oh good heavens!” Savina cried, taking Ava’s father’s hands.

  Ava stood and stumbled into Gabriel’s arms, weeping.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  She nodded, unable to speak. She was trying so hard not to puke.

  A few moments later, Savina touched her shoulder. “He is out of danger.”

  “Thank you.” Her eyes felt heavy. Dizziness washed over her.

  “Savina, I think she’s ill, too.” She heard Gabriel say.

  A few minutes later, Ava opened her eyes and scanned the room. Gabriel and Savina leaned over her as she lay on the floor. “What happened?”

  “You passed out,” Gabriel said. “Savina healed you both.”

  Ava relaxed and made her way to her father. He no longer looked sick and his arms were back to normal. “Dad.” She clutched onto his hand and let the tears fall.

  “It’s okay, sweetie.”

  “He will be tired, but he is fine,” Savina said.

  “Thank you. How could I have missed the gangrene? I thought he just had the flu.”

  Savina pressed her lips in a thin line. “The plague, Corbin’s plague, starts out slowly. Then, it attacks quickly. Once it hits the bloodstream, it escalates and takes over.”

  Ava stilled. “Corbin was here? How? Why would he come and not take me?”

  “He wasn’t here,” Savina said. “He sends underlings to do his dirty work. Corbin doesn’t want you dead. He’s testing you, like he did when you all were younger.”

  “He’s testing all of us. You have to hurry! Gillian, Thomas, Nicole, Melissa’s parents. They’re all sick.”

  Savina’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth. “Oh dear.” She turned to Gabriel. “Can you take me?”

  “Of course.”

  She grabbed his hand.

  “Will you come back?” Ava asked him.

  He nodded. “Yes,” he said, and then they vanished.

  “Dad, why didn’t you let me call Savina?”

  “I’m sorry I worried you. I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

  She held him tight. She missed cuddling with her father.

  “Thank you for reacting so quickly.”

  “Of course. It would have been quicker if Peter actually answered his phone.” She heard the bitterness in her voice.

  “Where is he?”

  “At the Manor.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I don’t want to talk about him. I’m so glad you’re okay. I can’t lose you.” Tears clouded her vision.

  He squeezed her. “I promise next time I will call Savina.”

  They stayed like that, waiting for Gabriel’s return. Ava chewed on the inside of her mouth and shook her leg. She couldn’t be still until she knew the others were safe.

  “What’s going to happen when I leave? Who’s going to heal you then?”

  “A few of us will stay at the Manor. It’s protected.”

  “Why wasn’t our apartment protected? Why hadn’t she placed a charm over it?”

  “She did. Ava, I could have gotten this from anywhere.”

  He was right. So many people had contracted the illness. “It’s turning into a pandemic isn’t it? He spreading the disease to the Ephemerals. Savina can’t save them all.” Her pulse quickened. “What are we going to do?”

  “Calm down. One thing at a time.”

  Ava couldn’t catch her breath. She grabbed at her chest and squeezed the edge of the couch cushion.

  “Ava.” Her dad shook her.

  Havok had attacked again. He was going to kill every single Ephemeral and anyone else who got in his way. She knew this all along, but now it struck too close to home.

  “What’s the matter?” Gabriel asked. She didn’t realize he had returned.

  “She’s panicking over the disease.”

  “I can’t brea
the!” she cried.

  Gabriel took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. “Take a deep breath, Ava.”

  She breathed in and let it out.

  “Another one.”

  She did as he instructed until her breathing leveled.

  “Savina is rushing to make potions for the Ephemerals as we speak.”

  “Is everyone else okay?”

  He nodded. “Yes. We’re out of danger.” He dropped his hands.

  “I want to help her. She can’t do this alone.”

  “How is she going to administer the potions to the Ephemerals?” her father asked.

  “We’re going to put it in the drinking water. It will prevent anyone who isn’t infected from contracting the illness.”

  Her father stood from the couch. “All right, well, let’s go help Savina.”

  Gabriel held out his hands, and Ava and her father took them. A second later, they were at the Manor. Everyone was in the kitchen gathering ingredients for Savina. Then she mixed them together in large pots. Others placed the finished product in large buckets and sealed them. There was a sense of urgency in the room and Ava wanted to jump in.

  “Ava,” Aaron called. “I’m going to need your help. We’re going to put this in the drinking water. You’ll need to administer this into the holding tanks. You have a way with water. It listens to you. Gillian is going to manipulate the guard at the plant.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll go with them,” Gabriel said. “There’s alarms and I’m sure we’ll be doing some fence hopping.”

  “Good. Take Lance. He can mimic your power.”

  The four of them set out to the town’s water plant in Lance’s SUV. Helping with the potion made Ava feel significant. Like she had a purpose if only for a night. They remained quiet on the way there.

  Lance slowed to a stop under an orange light in front of the locked fence at the water treatment plant. He cut the engine. “Ready?”

  “Let’s go,” Ava said.

  The four of them evacuated the car. Lance and Gabriel grabbed the buckets of potions.

  Gabriel held two buckets and teleported inside the fence. Lance followed until both of them had all of the buckets inside. Gabriel took Ava’s hand, Lance grabbed Gillian’s, and they appeared on the other side of the fence.

  “So far, so good,” Lance said.

  Crouching, they ran toward the holding tanks. Once they reached the first one, Ava climbed the stairs, with Gabriel on her tail. At the top, he turned the wheel to open the lid.

  She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. Did she have to coax the water to receive a foreign substance? She moved her hands over the water, willing it to acknowledge her. It latched onto her arms and she smiled. She never got tired of that feeling. Energy hummed inside her as she communicated with the water as Gabriel dumped the bucket of the potion in it.

  They watched it mix together. Then, they raced to the next holding tank.

  She topped the stairs, and as Gabriel lifted the bucket, an alarm sounded.

  Ava cursed. They had to hurry.

  “Who’s out there?” she heard a man. She scanned the plant for any sign of him. It was hard to see, even with the orange lights over the tanks. A flicker of light distracted her out of the corner of her eye. A portly man in a generic beige uniform made his way toward them with a large flashlight.

  “It’s okay,” Gabriel said. “Don’t pay any attention. Gillian can handle him.”

  She hoped. The last time Gillian had to compel one person, she failed. Ava turned to the water, ignoring the constant blare of the alarm. Once she linked with the water, Gabriel poured the substance inside.

  Sirens wailed in the distance.

  “Come on.” He snatched her hand and they raced down the stairs to the next tank. “The alarms must have triggered the police.”

  “We’re not going to finish,” she said, her heart pounding.

  “Yes, we will.”

  For the last three tanks, Ava directed all of her attention on connecting with the water. Red and blue lights flooded the entrance. Voices shouted at them. Ava and Gabriel worked in a methodical manner.

  Just as the police opened the gate, Gabriel grabbed Ava’s hand as Lance and Gillian reached for them. A second later, they were at the front entrance of the Manor, all panting.

  “Talk about in the nick of time,” Lance said. “I really liked my SUV, too.”

  “You mean the stolen one?” Gillian arched an eyebrow.

  “Finders keepers.”

  Gillian rolled her eyes and they laughed.

  Ava hoped the potion was enough to save the entire town.

  CHAPTER TEN

  OVER

  For the first time in weeks, Ava felt good. She smiled. Even though she hadn’t healed the town, she took solace in that she played a big part. There were no new reports of disease infected people.

  If only they could leave for Caprington, things would be better. Everyone had their powers back. They weren’t a hundred percent, but that shouldn’t stop them from starting the journey.

  The last day of school for the semester finally ended, and Ava breathed a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry about.

  As Ava emerged from the school building, she anticipated training with Gabriel. She realized she shouldn’t have been so stubborn about training early. It was a good distraction. He had a way of making her not fixate on her issues.

  Issue number one walked beside her, texting as usual and not paying any attention to her. The rains had taken a brief break earlier but now it started sprinkling again. More rain. As if it hadn’t poured enough. It was getting annoying after a week straight of rain and gray skies. Had someone destroyed the sun? Then she thought of Lance. Had his mood affected the skies?

  When they reached her car, Ava turned to face Peter. He was still glued to his phone and she rolled her eyes. “Do you want to come over tonight after practice?” she asked, hopeful, but instinctively knowing the answer.

  He shoved his phone in his jeans pocket. “I can’t. I told Ilya and Katarina I’d hang out with them.”

  Ava pressed her lips together and tried to calm her breathing but couldn’t. Like a time bomb, she exploded. “No! That’s like the thirtieth time you’ve declined. I’m sick of it. You didn’t even answer your phone when I had an emergency. What’s going on, Peter?” She folded her arms across her chest.

  Excited students walked passed them to their cars, splashing through the small puddles of water.

  “And don’t tell me it’s stress. I’m stressed out too, you know. I mean, you never come over anymore. You barely touch me. You can’t even look me in the eye. Why are you avoiding me?”

  He adjusted his backpack strap on his shoulder and looked away, which angered her more. “We…need to talk.”

  She stiffened. “We are talking.”

  He sighed, annoyed. “Somewhere more private.” He looked around at the multiplying students, who ignored Peter and Ava and faded into the distance.

  “It’s just us. No one’s paying attention. What is it?”

  He exhaled and ran his fingers through his dampening hair. “Ava, I don’t know how to say this.”

  The anxiety returned, forcing her body to tremble. She knew what he was going to say. But she still hoped for some other excuse. Her hands clenched into fists so tight her nails dug into her skin.

  “The thing is…I…well…”

  “Spit it out!” she cried.

  “This is a hard thing for me to do.” He raised his voice, finally meeting her eyes.

  “Then why are you doing it?” she asked, her voice, barely above a whisper.

  “Ava.” He reached for her hand, but she jerked it away, taking a step back.

  She chewed on the inside of her cheek. Waiting. For him to say that he wanted more space. To take a break. That she wasn’t good enough for him. That she messed up. That he didn’t love her anymore.

  “I think we should break up.”


  Hearing the confirmation brought tears to her eyes. Her heart sank and her stomach clenched. “Why?” Her voice quivered.

  “Ava, we haven’t been on the same page for months.” He scratched the back of his neck.

  “We can work on it. We’ve always been able to work through our issues.”

  “No, we can’t. We argue all the time now—.”

  “Because we’re both going through a lot. I’ve given you space because I thought that’s what you wanted. I’ve been trying so hard to keep everything inside so it won’t make things worse for you.”

  “I’m sorry. I wish things were different.”

  A tear slid down her cheek. “Please don’t do this. Don’t give up on us.”

  “Ava, I have feelings for someone else.”

  The words flew out of his mouth so fast it was like she’d been hit in the chest with a ninety mile-per-hour fastball. It took the breath right out of her. Her heart faltered and everything spun.

  “What? You’re lying.”

  His eyes watered and guilt arose, but there was relief, too. Was he really relieved to tell her that? “I’m so sorry.” When she didn’t speak, he continued. “You haven’t been yourself for a while.”

  “I was grieving,” she cried. “I even learned how to hide my feelings so you wouldn’t be guilty every time I thought of anything. That drove you away? My grief made you like someone else?”

  “No. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s difficult being around you because I couldn’t talk to you about going to the Manor or you’d get angry. I tried so hard to help you but you didn’t want my help.”

  “I came to the Manor. I have been training and gaining my powers back. I kept my grief inside for you.”

  “I never asked you to do that.”

  She shook her head. “So that’s it? You haven’t loved me for some time but decided to string me along?” Her throat closed and the sickening feeling churned inside her stomach.

  “Ava, I still love you, but I don’t know what to do.”

  “Are you asking for advice?”

  “I’m just lost.”

  She breathed in and out, trying to calm herself. Water formed around her arms, ready for an attack. It dripped onto the pavement next to her feet. She wanted to blast him with water.