He stared at the picture tracing the design. His mouth curled up as he concentrated trying to make sense out of what he was seeing.
“What about the ones on her scalp do you have a picture of those too?”
She shook her head. “I don’t. I never thought to take one when she was a baby and now she has too much hair for a clear picture.”
He nodded and went back to examining the glyphs on her back.
“Whatever it is, we have to find her lineage and then petition for her protection. Aviana, we have to bring her home.”
“No. She’ll be walking into a dangerous situation.”
“She’s in danger no matter where she is. But we are better equipped to protect her here because we know what’s happening.”
Rylan pulled her into his arms.
“I don’t want anything to happen to her; I’ll protect her with my life. You have to listen to me. We can’t protect her when she’s miles away. Besides, she needs you. Urom need a sense of family around them, it’s part of who they are. Without that family their abilities get away from them. She needs to come home, Love.”
She nodded her head and buried herself in his chest. Kayla, she missed her but now she was worried about her life. How had things gone from bad to worse and why did her daughter have to be the center of them?
Now that she knew she was coming home, she couldn’t wait to see her. The desire to jump on a hover and go get her was overwhelming.
“When will we go get her?”
“I am going to ask Mick to bring her and Vick home. I don’t want to leave in case we are followed. This way no one will be expecting her return.”
“That sounds like a good plan. I miss her.”
“I know.”
He shifted allowing her to lie on the bed before he got up to retrieve his cell phone.”
“Aran, it’s Rylan. I was wondering if Mckayla was around. Thanks.”
He handed the phone to Aviana.
“Kayla?”
“Mommy!”
“Hi Baby, how are you doing?”
“I miss you, Mommy. Can I come home?”
“You’re coming home soon.”
“Yay! They’re really nice here, Mommy. Can we come back some day? You and me together?”
“One day we will go and visit again. Can Rylan come with us?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone while Mckayla pondered the question.
“He can come. I really like him.”
“I like him too. I’ll see you soon, Kayla.”
“I don’t want to get off the phone.”
Her voice trembled allowing her big girl voice to fade away as the voice of the child came back.
“I really miss you, Mommy. I want to come home. I get lonely.”
“I get lonely without you to, Baby. Don’t worry; you’re coming home soon.”
“Do you still love me?” There was a deep sadness in her voice.
“Of course, I love you, Mckayla. Hang on, you will be home soon, all right?”
“Ok Mommy, I love you, bye.”
“Bye, Love.”
Aviana reached up and brushed the trickle of tears away from her eyes.
“She thinks I don’t love her.”
Rylan took the cell phone from her hand before drawing her into his arms one more time.
“She knows you love her. That’s her Urom side. It needs connection, family to thrive. I had Gabe make arrangements with Mick while you were on the phone to bring our daughter home. She’ll be here tonight.”
“What are we going to tell her?”
“About what?”
“About us, of course.”
“Why can’t we tell her we’re married?”
“It may have escaped your attention but it won’t escape a six year olds that her mommy didn’t wear a white dress and stand before a preacher. Also Kayla expects to be the flower girl at the wedding. So, the I eloped and there’s no wedding story is out.”
“Then why don’t we tell her the truth? That I love you and her. I’m going to be her father and we don’t know how everything will work out but we’ll work it out together.”
Aviana nodded liking the sound of it. “The truth it is.”
Her stomach rumbling brought a rueful smile to her face. “I think I’m hungry.”
“Then let’s go feed you.”
They scrambled into clothes as they laughed and traded kisses. Aviana smiled. This was the easy part. She assured herself they would find Kayla’s lineage, get protection for her, and everything would go back to normal.
Well not exactly normal, she was with Rylan now. Soul-bonded to him. She looked into his mind to find him thinking of all the different ways he would make love to her. Yeah, nothing was ever going to be normal again but she was ok with that.
He would protect them and he would love them. She couldn’t ask for more. Looking up, she found him staring at her; the look on his face made her heart flip. He was hers and she would be forever thankful.
“Ready to go downstairs?”
She nodded and followed him out the room.
Chapter Twenty-five
Aviana sat on the couch in the living room tucking her feet in. Rylan left with his brother and Victor after the meal, stating he needed some male time out.
Now she sat there looking at Paige wondering what she should talk about.
“This feels a bit awkward.” Paige gave a small laugh looking at Aviana. I don’t really know what I’m free to talk about.”
“I think it’s all up for grabs now. I know everything and if I don’t know it I should know it.”
“That sounds like a pitch designed to get me in trouble, but I have to agree you should know everything. Have you seen Rylan’s Matra yet?”
“I have,” Aviana’s eyes lit up. “Not sure how to say this but I liked what I saw.”
“I know what you mean; I like Cal’s Matra too. He makes me hot.” Paige’s cheeks heated up.
“As in he does things to you?”
Paige nodded her head as her cheeks took on a new shade of red.
“Have you ever—you know…”
“No, he’s way too big for that.”
“Oh I just wondered…”
“Are the two of you discussing sex with the guys, and you didn’t invite me?”
Selma walked across the room and found a chair that she promptly tucked herself into.
“Now you can proceed.” She gave a queenly wave to her hand as a laugh tinkled out of her mouth.
“I…uhh,” Aviana tripped over her words feeling her cheeks heat.
“Don’t stop now. I’ll start. You might be curious to know what a Matra can do with his tongue,” Selma said.
“Don’t forget his fingers,” Paige chimed in.
“Darn it, we need wine with this conversation,” Aviana murmured.
“No wine for you, Aviana. I have it on good authority you’re not a drinker and you’ll need your wits about you later.”
“Has your Matra tried to sex you up yet?” Paige asked.
“No.” The sadness that came from her made the other two look. “What do you think it means? Maybe he doesn’t like me.”
“I doubt that’s the reason,” Selma said, her voice calming Aviana. “Maybe he hasn’t had the chance to spend any real time with you.”
“I just met him last night. Rylan thought he was hiding him but I knew. All I had to do was wait; eventually he revealed himself.”
“Then that’s why. Your Matra won’t make a move on you till he knows you’re comfortable,” Paige replied.
“How did you get comfortable?”
“For me it was over many years but that was so many life times’ ago it’s hard to remember. What I do remember was that things were much different then. Not as easy as it is now.”
“Are you really that old, Selma?”
“Yes Aviana, I’m really that old. I remember a time long before the continents were discovered. When life w
as harsher and there were no judges or juries. More like tribal chiefs. Life was also glorious and at times much freer than it is today. It’s about taking the bad with the good.
“You want more from your Matra, then you have to get to know him. You’ll be surprised at how much alike and different he is from the Arbrin. Just remember they are one and both of them need time to be in their own skin.”
“I’ll remember.”
“Aviana, do you know where you derive your power from?” Paige asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I derive my power from the sun. I am more powerful during the daylight hours but Selma is more powerful at night because she derives her power from the moon. Your power as far as I can tell comes from some aspect of the earth. There’s water, earth, air to name a few I can think of.”
Aviana closed her eyes and went back into the room she found before the mate trials. Her room allowed her to prepare for the things in life she liked, one of which was studying. She looked out her big picture window over the rolling hills until a waterfall came into view. The one thing she absolutely adored. Water.
She could almost feel herself being immersed in the cool arms of water as it flowed around her. Without thinking, she pulled it out of the air, slowing her heart and keeping her cool. The thought of Rylan’s stormy blue eyes made her smile. If she had a source, something that helped to power her, it would have to be water.
“It has to be water.”
“That’s nice because water is always around even if you can’t see it.” Paige said.
“Tell that to the dessert or a drought ridden state.”
“Even in those places there is water, just not enough to do what the land needs. It should be enough to fuel you if you ever need it, Aviana.” Selma said quietly. “Right now there is water lying around on the ground what can you do with it?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t tried.”
“Then let’s try. You have to begin to prepare yourself, Aviana. Just because you haven’t been in real danger doesn’t mean you won’t be. You now have two people depending on you. You can’t afford to let them down,” Selma said before getting up and going to retrieve her coat.
Aviana and Paige did the same, and then they all reconvened outside. Selma set up several targets before walking over to the porch where Aviana stood.
“Target one is easy. Send a fireball at it, aiming for the middle as much as possible and watch as it consumes the target. The second target, I want you to hit it with a non-lethal bolt getting as close to the center as possible. Two targets, two different types of energy, two different end results.”
“What exactly is a non-lethal bolt?”
“It’s a bolt that will go through the body without killing anyone unless it happens to hit the heart or some other major organ.”
“Uh-huh right, non-lethal.”
Aviana closed her eyes and went over everything she learned in the soul-bonding trial. Then she went over what she learned as she fed Rylan energy when he was captured. Quickly she realized she didn’t know enough.
Imagining a ball of flame sitting in her hand, she opened her eyes to see it there. Without thought she drew back her hand only to have it fizzle and go out.
“That was a good first step, Aviana. That’s why we are practicing. You don’t want your weapon to be in your hand. That gives your enemy time to see it and counter it. It should go from your mind to your target in a seamless move.”
Selma turned to look at the ground. A fire ball ignited before their eyes melting the snow.
“Where it’s aimed and what it will be should be a surprise until they see it. I want you to try again. This time allow it to develop in your mind and use your eyes to guide it. Eventually you will learn to guide it by thoughts alone, but not tonight.”
Aviana thought of Mckayla and someone coming after her. Using powers she hadn’t mastered yet, a ball of fire appeared in her mind, perfectly round and burning at the edges. She looked at the target wanting to destroy it to keep her family safe. A blaze tore through the target causing it to go up in a pile of smoke and ashes.
“I did it!”
Selma and Paige smiled, letting her joy touch them.
“Try the next one. Remember we may not always want to kill the perpetrator of a crime. You may want information from him, something you won’t get if he’s dead. Now you want a bolt that will penetrate and hopefully pin down or incapacitate the intruder.”
Aviana’s body tingled as she prepared to make a stake. It seemed easier to think about than a bolt. She imagined one with a sharp point able to cut through skin and muscle and let it fly. It hit the target at the very edge nowhere near the X but it hit the target.
“It hit the target?” She looked at Selma with a question in her eyes.
“Hey, you did better than I did. The first time I hit nothing. Actually Cal was doing the hitting and I was the target.”
Aviana found herself smiling. Seems there was no judgement here.
“You hit the target, Aviana, even if you didn’t stop him or slow him down you gave us a chance to track him. Try again.” Selma’s soft voice reassured her.
Keeping her eyes open this time she imagined the stake and struck out quickly. She hit the target again, not in the X but further from the edge. Ten times later she was growing tired. Her aim was improving, but still not spot on.
“Have you ever been an archer?” Selma asked as they went through the door to the house.
Both Aviana and Paige shook their heads.
“I love archery and this is a lot like that. You want to hold that bow close to you, arms not shaking and sight your target perfectly. In your case, you want to keep the image of your target perfectly centered in your mind, where you want to hit him. Then allow your mind to release the bolt along the path you have plotted. You did well tonight; if you keep practicing you will have it down pat.”
“Was this life hard to accept, knowing you were in constant danger?”
“My life was in danger the minute I was born. My mother hid me to give me a chance at life. I would have been killed at birth if my father had seen me when I was born. My mom said I was born looking like a witch. They killed all girl children who were born a certain way. Learning I had the power to protect myself was liberating. Aviana, whether you accept it or not, your life was in danger the moment you were born, as well as Mckayla’s. You either accept the power you have and learn to use it, or you suffer the consequences.” Selma replied to the question.
“I know. Thank you both for helping me tonight. I’m tired, I think I will go lie down.”
She turned and walked up the steps. Her shoulders were heavy and her head tilted to the side. It felt like the whole world was sitting on her shoulders and still there was no Mckayla. It was getting late; did that mean Mick would have to wait till tomorrow to bring Kayla home? She would ask Rylan when he came back.
She wanted to reach out and touch Rylan, but instead chose to give him whatever privacy he needed.
Consequences, she knew a lot about them. Like how walking home at night could veer your life so severely. But was her life veered? Was Mckayla an accident? No, she couldn’t wrap her mind around that one. If there was one thing she learned from the soul trials, it was that she wouldn’t replace or undo Mckayla even if she had the power. She came at the perfect time in her life.
Feeling somehow lighter, she wandered to Mckayla’s room making sure everything was in place. The bed was made although she was sure she hadn’t made it the day she allowed her to go away. Shrugging, she went back to her room. That was a little thing. If the house wanted to clean itself, who was she to be upset with it?
It was more important to determine how Mckayla would react to Rylan truly being part of their lives. Also the issue of where would he sleep was on her mind. Never having a man in her life before, this was an issue she never dealt with.
How would she explain that, although she wasn’t married to him in the traditional way,
she was indeed married?
With a sigh, she stripped her clothes and took a quick shower and dressed. Rylan left hours ago so he should be coming home soon unless he was in trouble. She checked briefly on him to feel him laughing with another female. Jealousy caught her by the throat and she quickly cut off the communication.
He was trustworthy. She had just proven that cheating would be stupid because she would be able to tell by peeking in. She didn’t know if he was cheating because she refused to look. She wanted to scream in frustration.
Trust him or not but make a decision she demanded of herself. The look in his eyes and the way he treated her came back. The way he treated her like spun glass in his Matra form. Trust.
“Mommy!” reverberated off the walls. A pair of little feet ran through the living room and caught her at the door to her room.
Arms flew around her and kisses covered her face.
Mckayla was home.
Chapter Twenty-six
She promised herself she wouldn’t cry but that didn’t seem to matter as tears slipped down her face as she hugged Mckayla tight. The feel of her body in her arms gave her a feeling of rightness she had been missing. Her smell invaded Aviana’s senses making her feel whole once again. She wiggled in her arms and touched her face, drying her tears with her little hands.
“I missed you, Mommy. Don’t cry.”
“These are happy tears, Kayla. I’m just so glad to have you back.”
Her little arms went around her mother once again as she hugged her tight.
“You have to tell me about all the adventures you had with your new friends.”
Mckayla settled in her arms and started talking nonstop about all the things she did, the new things she saw, and even new food she ate ‘cause Mr. Dante made it for her and told her it would help her to grow up big and strong. She was gonna rule the world someday ‘cause Mr. Dante told her she would.
Aviana held her and listened until her daughter finally ran out a steam an hour later. She looked around and realized that Rylan was sitting in the back of the room on one of the armchairs. He had watched them for the past hour, never interrupting or bringing attention to himself just quietly observing.
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