Reed looked at her with his calm brown eyes and a stoic face that belonged on a much older man. “Nothing that has happened lately has been fair, but none of it’s your fault. You’re nothing but a good person who wants what’s best for the Realm. These are the actions of a selfish person who wants to see others suffer. Don’t give whoever is after you the satisfaction of seeing you blaming yourself because of something he or she did.”
Syney bit her lip and laid her hands on top of his. She didn’t have the immediate feeling of calm she always had with Hunter, but it felt just as good in her opinion. She had no idea how any Magic Users took their Protectors for granted. Reed wasn’t just her wolf or her friend; he was family. Her breathing finally slowed as her heartbeat stopped pounding in her ears. “Thank you,” she whispered, letting out a deep breath.
He gave her a small nod and rocked back onto his heels, still keeping a close eye on her.
“My mother did this, didn’t she?”
They all looked at Helen, who appeared surprisingly calm, given her concerning question.
“It’s more complicated than that,” Syney said.
“Please don’t try to spare my feelings.”
“She’s not.” Adam shook his head. “It really is complicated. But no, your mother isn’t a person you should trust.”
Helen gave him a sad smile. “I figured that out on my own. I just…didn’t think she was violent, or I didn’t want to think she was.”
Syney looked away from her. Realizing your mother isn’t who you thought she was is a big thing to handle. She didn’t envy Helen one bit. She had lost a sister and now the idea of a good mother. There wasn’t much to say at this point, but Syney was about to try to give her some kind of comforting words when the door opened and Gabe emerged.
He looked at all of them in the hall, ending on Syney. “I put her to sleep. I hope you don’t mind not having your bed for a while longer.”
“Of course not. How is she?”
“Her breathing got better almost immediately, but the fever hasn’t broken.”
“Did you notice anything else?” Adam asked quietly.
Gabe hesitated before leaning against the door. “Her eyes clouded. She didn’t say anything, but it may have been so subtle at first that she didn’t notice.”
Tears sprang to Syney’s eyes. None of this was fair. Something needed to be done. “We need to start thinking ‘offensive.’”
“Syney,” Adam started.
“No, I’m tired of picking up the pieces and holding back. We…I need to prove that Mellisandrianna can’t do this and get away with it.”
“She’s right.”
Adam looked at Gabe. “No, she’s not. We start playing offense, and we’re going to get hit harder than this.”
Gabe stared at him for a moment. “Attacking you was bad. This, with Noelle, is an act of war. Not to mention what happened with Syney last week.”
Syney looked at Adam, knowing her cheeks were pinkening with embarrassment. “You told him?”
Adam looked up at Helen and Reed before back to Gabe. “Nope.”
She followed his gaze to Gabe and watched whatever was left of his calm exterior crumble. His jaw muscles tensed, and his hands knotted into fists. This wasn’t a Vampire to mess with at the moment. Syney looked at Reed and Helen. Gabe had read one of them to find out what had happened. It didn’t matter which one; it wasn’t their fault Gabe could read their minds. She took a deep breath and stood, moving to within a foot of Gabe. “Unbind my powers,” she said, holding out her hands.
He finally looked at her, his gold eyes flaring with both anger and sadness. Without questioning her he took her hands and said a few words. Immediately Syney felt her magic rush through her veins like hot water. Gabe squeezed her hands before dropping them.
Before Syney could even think about what she was doing, she shoved her hand at Gabe’s chest. Instead of going through it, her hand bounced off his hard chest, making her fingers shake with pain. “Ow!” she yelled cradling her hand.
“Did you just try to give me the Death Squeeze?” Gabe asked, putting his hand to his chest.
“What? No. Maybe.” She looked at him. “It didn’t work.”
“Of course it didn’t work. You don’t actually want to kill me.”
She looked down at her hand. “But you think it might work if I did it to someone I really want dead?”
“Probably.”
Syney nodded and glanced at Adam. He looked at her for a while before turning away and shaking his head. He obviously disagreed with her even thinking about using this particular Daemon power, but he was just going to have to deal with it. Gabe was right. They were officially at war now. The Ancient One had taken too much from them, and she was going to get what was coming to her, even if it came from Syney’s own hand. She was no longer going to be the victim.
“Do you want me to cut that for you?” Syney asked, leaning forward toward Noelle.
“I’m fine,” she said a little too forcefully.
Adam couldn’t blame Noelle. For the past week, Syney had been babying her, trying to do everything for her now that Noelle was almost completely blind. He had expected Gabe would be the one to follow her around like a puppy, but he actually had been keeping his distance. It was Syney’s guilt, Adam knew, but he couldn’t say anything to her. He couldn’t seem to say much to her at all this past week, probably because he wasn’t alone with her very often. Between Syney following Noelle around, practicing magic with Helen, and trying to perfect her powers with Gabe, Adam saw her only at night, and by that point, she practically fell into bed without even a conversation. He had to admit he felt a little separation anxiety. After the assault on Syney, they’d spent nearly every minute together, and now she was pulling away. But it was more than that. Syney still hadn’t dropped the idea of an offensive strike against Mellisandrianna and even talked about it with greater enthusiasm, which scared him. He had witnessed Syney handle a lot in her life and come out stronger. But to actually commit murder, even if it was warranted—that took a whole other person; someone Syney wasn’t. He was worried she didn’t actually see that. Syney had a blind spot regarding the evil in the world and how it actually worked.
He looked at her as she frowned at Noelle across the dining room table. He could almost feel her need to help; it tasted almost exactly like his own feelings. But he stayed silent.
“Good evening, all,” Helen, said taking the seat next to Noelle and across from Adam. She smiled at everyone. “Exciting day tomorrow. Are you two ready?”
Adam’s brain screamed, No! as he smiled at her. “Of course.”
He felt Syney weave her fingers with his. “Ready as we’ll ever be. I can’t believe it’s tomorrow, finally.”
“I’m so happy for you two,” Noelle said, her gaze somewhere between him and Syney. “I think we all need something to celebrate right now, and a joining is one of the best things.” Her smile was genuine but had just a hint of sadness in it. Adam knew her joining with Gabe was really what she wanted to celebrate, but they had postponed it for a bit, while she adjusted to life without sight.
“I was thinking, if you’re interested, Syney, we could do a nuptialem partis tonight,” Helen said, biting into her dinner.
“What’s that?” Syney asked, glancing at Adam for the first time since they’d sat down, but he looked away from her quickly.
“It’s a tradition for Magic User joinings. The night before, the woman and her friends get together and have a party of sorts.”
“Sounds like fun. Like a bachelorette party.”
“It is fun, and the best part is the visionem potionatus.” She smiled and leaned forward a bit. “The woman who will be joined takes a potion that gives her a vision of her life one year in the future.”
“Seriously?”
Noelle nodded. “I’ve heard of it. It’s one of the only holdovers from before the war.”
“Let me get this straight…I take a potion and h
ave a vision of my future.”
Helen nodded. “Pretty much.”
“Is it really a vision?” Syney asked, her skepticism showing in her voice. “I mean, this place is pretty much antimagic. This seems a little odd.”
“Well, to be honest, I don’t really know. Most of the women don’t talk about their visions. The potion does contain pheromones, so…” Helen let her words drift off with a shrug.
“So,” Syney finished, “the potion most likely gives you really good fantasies.”
“Good fantasies would be welcome, right?” Noelle asked with a smile.
Syney squeezed Adam’s hand and smiled at him. “I guess.”
Adam wanted to smile back but couldn’t muster it. She was chatting with her friends as if nothing were wrong, but everything was wrong. He didn’t even have enough faith in his fiancée to know for sure that he would be the star of her fantasy. All his concerns about Syney seemed to amplify his insecurities. He pulled his hand out of hers. “You should do it.”
“I don’t have to,” she said slowly and gave him a confused look.
“It sounds like a good time, and you need that. I’ll see you in the morning,” Adam said, standing up. He didn’t want to do this in front of Helen and Noelle; he didn’t want to do this at all. But he knew she finally had noticed his annoyance and wasn’t going to let it drop. He said a quick good-bye to the girls and headed out into the hall. Finding a bench off to the side of the Great Hall, he sat down and waited. If she followed him out, he still had a chance to get to her. He didn’t want to think about her not coming after him.
“Hey,” Syney said softly, as she sat next to him. “Wanna tell me what’s wrong?”
His mouth opened, but no words came out. He wasn’t sure what to say, where to start.
“Is it me?” she asked, biting her bottom lip. “Oh, God, it’s…I know what it is. You don’t have to say it. I’ve been thinking about it lately. I’ve been thinking about taking that potion you gave me but I’m not sure I want to forget. It’s become something that is pushing me to do what I need to do but I know I haven’t been fair to you. But I think I’m ready. I was going to wait, though, until tomorrow night.”
Adam stared at her, not comprehending until her cheeks turned a few shades of pink darker. “You think I’m upset because we aren’t having sex,” he said slowly. “You really think I’m that guy?”
“No, I mean, it’s been bothering me. I’ve just been…overwhelmed,” she stammered. She stopped and took a deep breath. “If that’s not it, what is it?”
He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m worried about you.”
“You…” She stopped and pulled him back to face her. “You don’t have to be. I’m so much better. No more panic attacks, and I can even be in the same room with Grass without being sick to my stomach. You really don’t have to worry so much.”
Adam shook his head. “Syney, it’s not that either.” He took a deep breath and looked her right in the eyes. “You want to kill Mellisandrianna.”
He watched as her face dropped all emotions, and her violet eyes turned to stone. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, her voice hard as stone.
“Right there. That’s what I’m worried about. It takes a certain kind of person to kill someone, whether he or she deserves it or not. And you’re not that person.”
She looked away and wrung her hands but stayed silent.
Adam should have dropped it, he knew, but this was his only in. “Doing this will change you, and I don’t want that for you. There has to be another way.”
“And what if there isn’t?” She looked back at him. “Will you still be here for me?”
“Syney, there are always other options.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
He shook his head in frustration, his anger rising. “Who are you? Oh, my God! Do you even listen to yourself talk anymore? You can’t even entertain the idea that you aren’t going to do this! You can’t deal with the consequences before you pull the trigger!”
“Why are so damn mad about this?” She glanced around to see whether anyone was watching, but she and Adam hadn’t gained any attention. “Not even a month ago, I had to practically nail you down to the council-meeting table so you wouldn’t rip Grass’s head off. How is that any different?”
“You are not that person,” he said slowly. “You are different. You are everything that is good and caring in this messed-up world. I’m not. Do you really think my hands are clean? I’ve lied and stolen, and yeah, I’ve killed people. And I if I weren’t so concerned with your seeing that side of me, I would have torn Grass to pieces weeks ago.” He hadn’t meant to go that far, but once he started, the anger poured out of him. He needed to calm down and opted for some deep breaths. It didn’t do the trick entirely, but he was calm enough to continue. “This angry, vengeful person who keeps practicing deadly magic isn’t you, and it’s a dangerous path to go down.”
Syney was quiet for a while, staring at her hands. Adam wondered whether he had gone too far. Maybe it would have been better to keep his mouth shut and be there for her, no matter what. Finally she looked up at him, her face still hard. “I guess I’m not the girl you fell in love with then, because this is who I am. I’m pissed off, and I’m going to kill her before she kills me.” She pulled his hand into hers and placed something in it. “I’m sorry I can’t be an innocent girl for you.” With that she walked away. More like marched, he thought, watching her cross the large room, ignoring everyone around her, including Gabe, who gave her an inquisitive look as she passed.
Adam looked at his palm, where the red ring he had given Syney—Faye’s ring, he now knew—rested. He had gone too far, and now she was gone. He took a deep breath to stop the panic that rose in his chest, but it didn’t help.
“Is everything OK?”
He looked up at Gabe and all of his anger pushed forward onto his father. This was all Gabe’s fault. He had started all of this. Gabe had brought him here and handed him to Syney. Adam stood. “No, nothing is OK. You play with people’s lives and don’t care about the consequences.”
“Are we back to this again?” Gabe asked with a little smirk.
“We never left it! You’re training Syney to be a killer to further your own agenda. You’re breaking her, and you don’t care,” Adam spat before storming off in the opposite direction from Syney.
He debated going straight to their room and packing up his stuff but stopped himself. He wasn’t ready to pack up this part of his life yet, whether or not Syney wanted him to. But what else could he do? Sit in the room and sulk? No, he needed to vent his anger or maybe wallow a little.
A short while later, Leaf didn’t seem too surprised to see Adam at the door of his new house and greeted him with a smile and a very manly hug. “You look like hell.”
“I feel like hell,” Adam said, running his hand through his hair in frustration. He looked around. “So this is your new house, huh?”
“Yes it is,” Leaf said with a triumphant smile. “Now tell me why you’re here the night before your joining.”
“I’m pretty sure I just screwed things up with Syney permanently.”
Leaf raised his eyebrows. “I doubt that.”
“That’s usually what it means when they hand you the ring back, right?”
He opened his mouth to speak but closed it and walked over to a table, where he picked up a box. “Come on,” he said, hoisting the box onto his shoulder. He led the way out of the house and to a ladder propped against it. Once they were on the roof, Leaf placed the box between two wooden chairs and sat down.
Adam took the other seat and looked out over the horizon. They were facing away from the Village, over the wall and toward the direction of the neutral territories. There was a calmness to the dark land, the only light coming from a distance away, probably the Great Lake.
“Only two advantages of a wall town: the view and the brew.” Leaf opened t
he box and handed Adam a brown bottle.
Adam popped the top and took a long draw on the beer. It had been a while since he’d had one, but it slid down easily. He leaned back in the chair and propped his feet on the ledge in front of him. This was what he needed. He didn’t talk until he was three bottles down and enjoying a good buzz. And once he started talking, he couldn’t stop. He told Leaf everything—from the Ancient One to Syney’s parentage. He ended on their abrupt breakup just as he killed a fourth bottle.
Leaf stayed quiet and listened, only interjecting once to ask where they had sent the pregnant Cass. “So,” he said, swallowing some beer, “you actually are a royal.”
Adam laughed. “Yes. Ironic, right?”
He nodded. “Pretty amusing. And don’t take offense to the fact that I really don’t like your father.”
“It’s OK. I don’t either.” They clinked their bottles in agreement. Adam looked over at him after a period of silence. “No words of wisdom about Syney?”
Leaf cocked his eyebrow and slowly shook his head. “Not sure you need any.”
“Really? You did hear the part where we broke up, right?”
He laughed and sat back in his chair. “I heard the part where you had a fight. If you’ve really been alive for more than a hundred years, I’m pretty sure you know how to deal with an angry woman.”
“We’ve had fights before. This feels more final.”
“Syney is impulsive.”
Adam had to agree with that. She usually showed her naïveté through that impulsiveness, one of the things he loved so much about her.
“I wish you guys had told me all of this earlier,” Leaf said, his seriousness showing for the first time that night.
“Syney didn’t want to, for your own good.”
“I could have helped more.”
“No. Trust me—you did what you could. The more anyone knows, the harder Mellisandrianna seems to come after them.” He grimaced, remembering his attack a couple of months prior.
Deviation: Altera Realm Trilogy Book 2 Page 39
