Scornful Sadie

by Felicia Tatum

  Chapter Twenty-Sadie Does As Sadie Wants

  “Sade!” he cried from the walkway. He was running faster than I’d ever seen him move, a look of pure terror outlining every inch of his face.

  “I’m here!” I called. “I’m fine!”

  He followed my voice, rushing to me and holding me close. “You scared me so badly,” he admitted. Was his voice cracking? Was he crying over the thought of losing me?”

  “I’m ok,” I reassured him.

  “That light…” he said. The realization of what I’d done dawned on him. “Oh, Sade.”

  “I had to,” I said. “Tarann showed up in ghost form. I can’t freaking have a ghost haunting me. I have enough going on.”

  “What now?”

  I shrugged. “Now everyone gets pissed and I’m one step closer to being sent to this other realm.”

  He closed his eyes, exhaling heavily. “Can I go?”

  Scoffing, I leaned my head back to look at him better. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I can’t let you go by yourself, Sade.”

  “You can’t go,” I chuckled. “Aiden Rivers, the boy on a mission to die.”

  “You’d protect me.”

  He had a point, but I shook my head no. “We have to go in. I’m sure they all saw that.”

  “What exactly did you do?” he asked. Pulling away from me, he put his arm around my shoulder, and I put mine around his waist. We started walking back and I explained what had happened.

  He stopped, stepping a few feet from me and inspecting me. “You look kinda glowy.”

  “What?”

  “Glowy,” he said. Moving his hand around my outer body, he said, “All around here.”

  I felt my eyes grow large. “Are you seeing my aura?”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea?”

  “SADIE MAE TABORS,” Grandma yelled from the door to the castle.

  Giving Aiden a side glance, I strutted up, ready to take my tongue lashing. “Grandma?”

  “You said you would wait,” she scolded. “Why is your aura golden?”

  “Oh my god, Grandma! Aiden can see my aura!” I told her.

  “What did you do to him?” she squealed. She rushed to Aiden, her eyes searching his body. “I don’t see his.”

  “Me neither,” I said. “But he said I looked glowy.”

  “Why did you do this?” she said. Disappointment laced her words, her face etched in worry.

  “Tarann came to me in the gardens. She said I had no choice. The other side sent it to me.”

  “The other side?” she asked, stunned. “This is so much worse than I expected.”

  “Why?” I didn’t understand.

  “The other side doesn’t help unless it’s an extraordinary situation.”

  “I’d say the Six being resurrected is pretty extraordinary,” I scoffed.

  She waved Aiden closer, and directed me toward the door. “Both of you get inside.”

  Once we were sealed in, she turned to Aiden. “Can you see anything around my body? Any colors?”

  He shook his head. “No, Ms. Anna.”

  She pondered his reply. “Maybe you are glowing from within, Sadie. How much power was given to you?”

  Chewing my bottom lip, I chuckled. “A lot.”

  I shifted my eyes, cracking the table by the window and taking the bathroom door off the hinges simultaneously. Moving my wrist, I levitated Aiden and myself while spinning the furniture around in the air.

  “Sadie, stop,” Grandma demanded. “I can’t believe you accepted this.”

  I lowered everything to the ground and fixed the messes I’d made. “Well, it’s true. I am the Dark Sorceress. Why should I fight it? Why deny it? We knew I would have to do this. They’re coming tomorrow.”

  “I know,” she finally replied. She looked defeated, upset. She thought I wouldn’t survive this.

  “I need to know about the rest of the Six. I only know of Bram, Pryce, and Wolfe. Who are the others?”

  “Quinton, Jyler, and Aric,” she said.

  “All men,” I huffed. “Go figure.”

  “Women weren’t allowed to have magic back then,” Mark said, strolling in the room. “If one showed signs, she was put to death.”

  “Well, that’s nice,” I said sarcastically. “All of these dudes are super powerful?”

  “More powerful than a fifth-generation,” he told me.

  Groaning, I flung myself in the closest chair. “I’m so screwed.”

  “You just ingested a huge amount of power,” Aiden pointed out. “How are you screwed?”

  “Six to one?”

  “They’ve got nothing on you,” he said.

  Mark came closer, squinting his eyes as he looked at me. “Is your skin glowing?”

  “I told you!” Aiden yelled.

  “My skin?” I held my arm up and saw little specks of glimmer dancing across it. Well, hell, my skin was glowing. Aiden wasn’t seeing auras after all. “What’s happening?”

  “You’re consumed with power,” Grandma said. “You have to relax and let it settle.”

  “How long will that take?” I asked. The glittery specks grew brighter.

  It was getting worse.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Let’s go. You need to rest and we need to prepare.”

  “Why can’t I prepare?”

  She glared at me. “I just told you.”

  “Fine,” I growled. “Aiden, you wanna go watch a movie?”

  “Sure,” he said eagerly. “Let’s go.”

  We parted from Mark and Grandma, my anger growing as we walked. I was sick of being told what to do, how to act, when to do stuff. I was an adult and a damn powerful sorceress.

  “Wait,” I said halfway up the stairs. “Let’s go outside.”

  He looked confused, but came with me. Aiden was the only person who trusted my decisions, who believed in me no matter what. “What are we doing?”

  “I’m going to see what I can do.”

  “But Anna said…” he started, but seeing the fuming glare on my face was enough to stop him short. “I mean, good idea.”

  I chuckled at his words. “Thank you, Aiden.”

  “For what?” he grinned. He bumped his shoulders into mine.

  I bumped back. “For trusting and believing in me.”

  “You’re the best sorceress out there, Sade. I know you’re doing the right thing.”

  His words touched me deeply. Emotions were tied to my power, and my expanding joy for Aiden was evident all around us. The floor shook and cracked as flowers sprouted from the tile. I looked around at the garden I’d created and bolted to the door.

  I may not have to do what Grandma wanted, but I really didn’t want to be around when she found that.

  Hurrying outside, I spun as I felt the power within me. It danced and leaped, eager to play. I grew a tree, and changed the colors of the fountain from soft to bright. After I created a car from nothing, I tossed the keys to Aiden. “Wanna go for a spin?”

  “Is it safe to leave?” he questioned, mischief dancing in his bright blue eyes.

  “I’m going with you,” I said with an eyebrow wiggle.

  “Then let’s go!” He ran ahead and opened the passenger door for me. Once I was settled, he closed the door and was in the car in seconds. “Oh man, this is gonna be fun.”

  He turned the ignition of the old car, a Camero I thought, and rested his head on the wheel as he listened to the engine purr. He moaned and did weird boy noises before shifting gears and revving the gas.

  “Go!” I yelled excitedly.

  He spun the tires on our way out, heading down the street to town.

  “Aiden!” I squealed. “We’re in England! You’re on the wrong side of the road!” I couldn’t help but laugh as he freaked out and got the car on the right side of the road.

  “Shit,” he chuckled. “My bad.”

  I looked out the window as he drove, seeing lifeless
trees and plants. I waved my hand, healing them all back to life, and adding a few to the mix. Aiden pulled to the side of the road to watch a sheep be sheared, and I decided to have fun.

  As the man shaved the wool, I snapped my fingers and made it grow back instantly. Confused, he looked at the instrument, then his sheep, before doing it again. Giggling, I kept it up until he began to look around him. Ducking in the seat, I told Aiden to go before we got caught.

  “I can’t believe you did that,” he laughed. “That man was so confused.”

  With a shrug, I said, “I was helping. He can sell that now. And he didn’t have to wait forever for it to grow back.”

  “True,” he said. Turning to me, he took my hand. “It’s nice to see you smiling.”

  Blushing, I lowered my eyes. I couldn’t tell him the truth. This was probably my last day here. Tomorrow, I would either die or open the door to Clorva. Either of those options wouldn’t include him.

  I was going to lose Aiden again.

  I didn’t know if I could handle it, so I decided to have fun. Enjoy being with him for the time being, and not think about the dangers and dread tomorrow would bring.

  Aiden Rivers wasn’t my heart mate. That was obvious the first time I met him when my body didn’t react accordingly. It was solidified when I was away from him for years, and nothing happened. Aiden wasn’t meant to be with me, and I wasn’t meant to be with him.

  My heart didn’t know this, though.

  And while my mind did, I simply refused to accept it. Aiden made me happy, giddy even. Butterflies danced in my tummy when I saw him, his voice soothed me, his touch warmed me.

  However, this would be goodbye. I wouldn’t come back from this. I knew I would die either way, from the Six destroying me, or me destroying the Six.

  Aiden didn’t need to know, though. His ignorance on the issue was fine with me. I liked seeing him happy and smiling, his handsome face lit in a grin while his eyes danced and shone in the sunlight.

  “Sade?” His voice pulled me from my thoughts.

  “Yeah?” I said.

  “We’re back,” he said regretfully. “We probably need to eat and go to sleep. You’ll need your rest tomorrow.”

  I nodded. I’d definitely need energy for tomorrow.

  “You’re gonna be ok,” he said gently. He cut the engine and took my hand. “I know you can do this.”

  I didn’t believe him, but believed that he believed in me. “I need you to stay hidden away.”

  “Can’t you give me a gun or something? Or a bow?”

  “A bow and arrow?”

  He grinned and nodded.

  “When did you learn how to use one of those?”

  “College,” he said cockily. “I took archery.”

  “And that prepared you for shooting arrows at magical beings?”

  He shrugged. “Close enough.”

  I just covered my face with my hands, speechless.

  He peeled my fingers away and guided my chin toward him. “Sade, I’m serious. I don’t want you putting another spell on me to knock me out. You can’t do that to me again.”

  He was referring to when we fought Devlin five years ago. He’d wanted to come and I’d been determined to not let it happen, so I’d put him to sleep for a few hours. I didn’t agree to his request, but I did think about it.

  “I know you think I can’t handle these things, but Sade, I can. I may not be brimming with power to the point I glow, like some people, but it’s in there somewhere. And I have other ways to help. If you’d just let me.”

  “Aiden,” I choked out, fighting the tears welling in my eyes. “I couldn’t live with myself if you died because I didn’t protect you.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to me,” he promised.

  “You don’t know that.”

  “You don’t know something will,” he countered. “We’ll figure out something, but please, promise me you won’t spell me. Or charm me. Or curse me. Any of that.”

  I nodded. “No magic on you.”

  “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “Let’s go get food now. I’m so hungry!”

  We exited the car, and I waved it away. He gasped as he watched it dissipate. “Sade! I can’t keep it?”

  Giggling, I raced toward the castle. “It’s at Grandma’s!”

  He chased after me. His long legs made him faster and he caught me from behind. Spinning me around, he hooked his finger under my chin and lifted my face. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime,” I sighed.

  He softly kissed me under the fading sunlight. Lust exploded within me and I wanted him more than ever before.

  All the power I’d taken in was messing with my emotions.

  Pushing him away, I panted. “You gotta stay away from me.”

  His eyes widened. “You ok?’

  “Too much power makes my emotions go into overdrive. No kissing until I say so,” I instructed.

  “Aww,” he whined. “Come on.”

  “No,” I said sternly. “If any of this escaped, it could seriously hurt you.”

  He outright pouted, making me want to take his bottom lip between my lips and suck and bite the soft skin. Oh my gosh. Turning away, I flicked my hand and the doors swung open. Sashaying in, I ignored the stunned looks of the people in the room and headed straight to the kitchen.

  I whipped up a magical meal in seconds, duplicating another for Aiden. As soon as I sat at the table, I tore into my food, devouring every last crumb. Aiden watched in amazement, picking at his food because he was so distracted.

  “What?” I asked when I’d finished.

  “I’ve never seen you eat so much,” he admitted. “This power surge thing is messing with you.”

  I nodded in agreement. “No kidding. You gotta sleep somewhere else tonight.”

  “No!” he said instantly.

  “Ok,” I said. “I’ll sleep in the room with Mel and Tessi.”

  Before he could argue, I jumped up, kissed him one last time, and transported myself to their room. Sealing the door, I turned to see my shocked friends watching me.

  “Sleepover!” I grinned.

  They smiled, but I saw the tension and apprehension in their expressions. I spent the next two hours explaining everything that had happened to them both, and let Tessi in on my plan. Neither was happy with my decision, but they didn’t fight me on it.

  The only thing to worry about now was what to do about Aiden tomorrow. Keeping him safe was vital.