Loi opened her eyes to see if Cat had noticed the energy yet, she could feel it had reached her. Cat’s pale face and wide open eyes suggested she had. Loi frowned, concerned by that look and focused on drawing the energy off her a little, creating a gap between Cat and the energy. Immediately Cat relaxed, her color returning to normal.
Across from them Sian and Kassie practiced. Kassie stood amongst a strangely silent torrent of water. Sian’s energy felt curiously peaceful, like stepping behind a waterfall. The only noise Kassie could hear was the sound of Sian and Loi using their gifts, although it wasn’t so much a sound as a sensation. It felt rather like when they were on Earth after a power cut; that strange sudden stillness. Kassie began to hear it clearer and clearer with each session. Now she could hear it when Elena did something, though her sound was barely audible.
After Elena closed the circle, Loi questioned her. 'How are we able to throw our energy out like that? Won’t we use it all up?'
Elena gave Loi a thoughtful look and motioned for them to sit. 'No you will not use it up, but there are some things you should be aware of. When you’re required to use your energy in a defensive manner, you must always make sure that you separate the energy you throw from the energy in your chest. If you keep it attached and flowing from the energy in your chest then you could use too much which will kill you.' The women stared at her aghast.
'Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?' demanded Sian.
'Because it wasn’t necessary, you girls already do it very well. I have been watching you all quite closely to make sure,' Elena said. 'You can be assured there is no way I would let you progress until you had that correct.'
Kerak and Loushka landed just outside the training circle. Alek and Rumal came over to collect them.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Ada stood outside their room when they arrived. Sian raced into the shower so the fabricer wouldn’t have to wait much longer. The others volunteered her to go first so now she stood in the middle of the room, still damp from the shower, wrapped in a towel, as Ada circled her with a measuring tape, muttering to herself. 'What’s the normal dress for a dance?' Sian asked.
'What? Oh, well for the evenings it isn’t anything too grand, not like what I’m creating for you all for the Prince’s ball,' Ada said with a shy smile. 'Typically it’s something which moves well when you dance. So I’m going to create you a dress with a circular skirt and I think a split on one side,' she looked thoughtful. Ada went to one of the armoires and rummaged through it. The other three had finished their showers and sat watching. After locating several pieces, she turned, tossing them to Sian. 'Put these on then I’ll go to work.' Sian looked down at the items Ada gave her. A long skirt, a shirt and a belt. The styles all went together well but the color…Sian inwardly shrugged, putting the clothes on.
Kassie, Loi, and I jammed onto Kassie’s bed, watching while Ada circled Sian who stood wearing a long skirt and a slim fitting tunic top with a belt slung low on her hips. All in shades of rose. Loi nudged me and winked, Kassie muffled a giggle at Sian’s slightly pained look.
Ada’s head snapped up. 'What’s wrong?'
'Nothing.' Sian gave the three of us a firm look, so we all assumed straight faces.
'Nope, nothing. Lovely color,' enthused Loi. Sian narrowed her eyes at Loi. Ada ignored us, focusing her energy. That odd noise I’d heard while we trained was audible again, a strange, almost dead tone. I realized it must be the sound of someone using their gift and watched to see what she did next. The skirt began to shimmer then blur, the hem rising, fanning out, creating a more circular shape. A split opened over Sian’s right leg up to mid-thigh, the waist line reshaping so it curved to sit on the hips. It was like watching an artist draw, all the decisions she made were precise and intent, her lips moving as she worked. I have to see this, I thought, climbing off the bed for a closer look, taking care to stay out of the way. At this distance I could see the fabric re-weaving and re-melding itself.
When Ada finished Sian wore a dress with floaty, kimono-like short sleeves and a slim fitted bodice that led into a circular skirt with the split over one thigh. The three of us circled Sian, studying her outfit. All the seams had vanished, if you stared close enough you could see how the weaving of the fabric moved in several directions instead of the usual two. Loi dashed off to one of the armoires, hunting through it for items Ada could use to create her piece.
Sian studied her reflection in the mirror. A perfect fit, a very pretty dress, she frowned at herself, just not quite her. Noticing her frown, Cat touched her shoulder, arching an eyebrow.
'It’s beautiful… But not quite me,' Sian said apologetically, with a glance to Ada.
Ada beamed at her, surprising them. 'That’s fine. It’s much more fun if you have an idea of what you want. What shall we change?'
Frowning at her reflection Sian chewed on her lower lip while she considered some options. 'What about racer-back shoulders?' suggested Cat. 'Or a halter neck?'
Sian smiled. 'Ada, can you make it one shoulder? I want it to taper to a thin strap on the left then remove the back of the top. Have the strap follow over my left shoulder, across my back to my right hip.'
The fabricer’s eyes went wide, she hesitated. 'That’s rather daring. Can we make the skirt a little longer then?'
'Yes.' Sian said, glad she’d suggested it. 'Bring it down to mid-calf and keep the split.'
The end result looked much more Sian. Kassie loved the open back and wished she could wear it. Unfortunately her breasts were really too big for her to pull it off and look decent. Sian was quite small in the bust, but had nice hips, so the whole effect looked delicately sexy.
'Can you adjust the color?' Sian turned to Ada after admiring her dress in the mirror. Across the room from the pile of clothes she sorted through, Loi snorted and looked up at Kassie, giving her a wink. Sian glared at Loi, turning back to Ada with a questioningly look. 'So?'
She shrugged. 'If you like. What color are you thinking?'
Sian considered her idea again. 'Let’s make the strap light rose, slowly darkening the color to deep rose then black, when it reaches my waist. Start to lighten it down the skirt until the bottom of the skirt is white, like it’s being dipped in dye.'
Ada’s eyebrows arched high, but she smiled while she set to work again. Kassie, Cat, and Loi froze from rummaging through clothes to watch as Ada’s gift shimmered and slid over the fabric. They could feel the fabric respond to her coaxing. The completed dress left them spellbound. Sian spun and preened in front of the mirror. She hated to admit it but this dress, with its delicate style and striking coloring was fast becoming her favorite piece of clothing. She couldn’t wait to see Daron’s face.
Sian’s face began to look a little mischievous, she started to glow blue, just a hint. 'What are you thinking, Siany?' Loi asked curiously.
We laughed when she flushed at being caught out, pressing both hands to her red cheeks. 'Oh God, this is going to be embarrassing if I glow at every errrr… naughty thought.' We chuckled at that then set to work with Ada, creating our outfits.
Dinner seemed to last forever. The four of us sat on the edge of our seats while we waited to go back and change. I looked forward to seeing their style of dancing. Everyone chatted away so I let my mind drift, thinking about my outfit for this evening. Ada transformed a beautiful violet robe into a cowl necked, sleeveless dress. It finished on a diagonal and fit like a dream. I felt a pang of envy at Ada’s gift, it made me wonder what other gifts you could have. Dinner finally ended and we hurried to our suite.
When they arrived at the Great Hall the doors were closed but they could hear the music. Loi fiddled with the ties on the wrap shirt Ada created for her.
'You look fine, Loi,' Kassie gave her hands a playful slap. 'Leave it be.'
Loi shrugged, smiling at her diminutive friend. She didn’t know why she felt so nervous. Sabyn had seen her in far worse. Maybe that’s it, she thought. This was the first time she’d
really been dressed up in front of him; I guess it’s good practice for the ball.
The guards pulled the doors open for them. The spectacle that greeted them made Loi’s jaw drop. It felt like she’d stumbled onto the set of a movie when a large group of courtiers performed a dance in the center of the room. The room looked enormous, all the tables pushed back against the walls to make way for the dancers. The four of them stood watching while the dance continued.
Colors swirled past in an array of striking costumes. The normal dance attire reminded me of slightly less revealing cocktail wear. Sian squeezed my hand. 'Do you think they were all made by fabricers? They look amazing.'
I nodded absently, distracted by the dancers. They’re so good. The dance style looked snappy and fun. Lots of spins and lifts, occasionally all the women would perform a move then the men. It looked fantastic. I jolted in shock when someone grabbed my hips from behind, spinning me around.
She looked amazing. The violet dress clung to her curves and made Alek wish she’d renege on her take-it-slow oath. The color of the dress emphasized her creamy white skin of which rather a lot seemed visible. Alek couldn’t help the suggestive smile he gave her. He raised her hand, this time twisting it, exposing the soft underside where he pressed a languid kiss. Cat’s energy flared out, those close by leaping out the way with exclamations of alarm. The other three girls and Rumal, who’d just arrived, started laughing while Cat flushed red.
Dammit! I need to learn to stop that. But when he looked at me like that the ability seemed to vanish. I flushed again as Alek’s eyes roamed over me. It felt a bizarre sensation; normally I had fun chasing the boys and I always had the upper hand. Not this time. He had me between a rock and a, err, hard place and he knew it. I also knew full well that he’d be happy to ignore my go slow rule if I let him. Right at that moment I wanted to—badly. He wore a green shirt and slim tan pants. The shirt hugged him enough to show the hard muscles underneath and I just knew the pants would make his ass look great.
Cat stopped blushing, now studying his outfit. She lifted her eyes and he saw that look. Exactly the same as when she watched him in the river. He still had her hand and pulled her into the dancing crowd. Her eyes went wide as he spun her around. When he lifted her in time to the music she let loose a squeal, startling those around them into laughter. 'Alek,' she half wailed. 'I don’t know what I’m doing.'
He laughed, delighting in her uncertainty, it was fun to have the upper hand in this situation. The thoughts it inspired would have made Loushka yell at him. He resisted the urge to laugh again, lifting Cat into the next spin. She seemed to have a better grip on the steps and moved with him.
Loi still waited by the entrance, looking for Sabyn. Rumal and Daron had whisked the other two off and she’d lost sight of Cat and Alek in the crowd. She twisted her fingers in the silk fabric of the high waisted-harem style pants while she scanned the room. Plenty of heads twisted to stare but none were Sabyn. Where is he? A touch to the shoulder made her jump, she spun to find him smiling at her. Loi smacked him on the arm. 'Don’t do that. Where have you been?'
'Ow,' Sabyn rubbed his arm. 'Sorry, I got caught up talking to Yakov.' He offered his arm. 'Shall we?'
Actually he’d finished talking to Yakov a good five to ten minutes ago, just watching Loi for that time. He’d never seen her dressed in evening clothes and wanted a few moments to admire her. The outfit Ada had created looked stunning. She might not have realized it while she scanned about for him, but every male in the room had stared at her. The navy pants made her already long legs look endless while the dark gold shirt hugged her waist and breasts. She looked incredible. Part of him just wanted to whisk her away somewhere private. Maybe later, he thought, leading her through the dance steps.
For the last part of the hour Rumal had tried to teach Kassie the dance steps. Yet it seemed no matter what he said, she got them wrong. If he said left, she went right. Even when he moved with her she got it wrong. Now they had a small group of people trying to assist, all giggling helplessly when Kassie got it wrong yet again. The bronze haired woman just laughed along. At least she seems to be enjoying herself. Rumal shook his head at her. 'C’mon, Kass. If I lead you through it we might get it right.'
Okay, so dancing isn’t my forte, Kassie thought. It flummoxed Sian, Loi, and Cat when they discovered her skill at getting it wrong. For a short period of time the girls took belly dance lessons, apparently she’d gotten every step wrong. Still, it had been lots of fun. Kassie shrugged those thoughts away when Rumal lifted and spun her. This style of dancing was great. As long as he led her she seemed to be going the right way. It also gave her ample time to ogle him, and damn, he looked hot. The sleeveless black top showed off his biceps and muscled chest, the fitted pants looked awesome. She smothered a giggle as some inappropriate thoughts stole into her mind. Mmmm, really should go and find a broom cupboard or something.
Chapter Twenty Nine
A nagging need to use the bathroom woke Sian. She slipped out of bed, wincing at the pain in her calves. Ouch. Guess I haven’t worn heels for a while. She snuck through the room. Climbing back into her nice warm bed, knowing today was their free day felt fantastic. She stretched out to try and relieve some of the tightness in her legs. Last night was so enjoyable. She ran through the evening in her mind. Daron led her through nearly every dance, at the end of the evening they’d enjoyed a walk on the inner gate. It had been very romantic. Mmm and he’s such a good kisser. She giggled to herself then rolled over. 'Guys, wake up!'
Ehhh. 'What?' I groaned. Why is Sian bugging us? It’s our free day.
'Where’s Kassie?' Sian sounded panicked.
'What’dya mean?' mumbled Loi, pushing herself up, looking about with bleary eyes.
'Where’s Kassie? Her bed hasn’t been touched.'
Struggling to sit up, I stopped, taking a moment to untangle myself, then twisted to look. Sure enough Kass’ bed looked neat and tidy, not a pillow out of place. As I started to answer, one of the doors to our suite opened and a rather rumpled Kassie walked in.
'Kassandra Boyd. Where the hell have you been?'
Kassie stopped short in the room and gave Sian a look. Last time I checked I was still the oldest of the group, she thought, ignoring them while she headed to the shower. When she came out, a good twenty minutes later, they still hadn’t budged from their beds. The sensation of three sets of eyes watching felt unnerving. She found the long tunic she used for a nightie then climbed into bed. After a pause three heavy thuds hit the bed.
'Kassie,' squealed Cat. 'Where were you? Whatcha been doing?'
'We’ll tickle it out of you,' threatened Loi.
Kassie pulled the covers down from her face, giving them all a stern look which then dissolved into a very naughty one.
After a long and pointless attempt to get any more information out of Kass, we gave up and instead got ready then headed to breakfast. Ms. Kassie snored away when we left the room. We gossiped while walking the corridors.
'I can’t believe she was out all night,' Loi couldn’t seem to decide if it was scandalous or not.
I chuckled. 'Well she looked like she had fun.'
Sian snorted. Loi and I exchanged an amused glance; Sian’s the prude of our group. Then she giggled. 'Did you see her neck?'
'No!'
'I missed that!'
Rumal watched the doors to the Great Hall experiencing a bizarre sense of anxiety. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt like this. The sound of the girls voices at the doors had him tensing when he watched them enter. Kassie isn’t with them, he realized with a pang.
He stood to greet them as the other men did then stared in surprise when the three girls stopped in front of him.
'Rumal, you look so tired,' Sian wore a look of concern on her face that didn’t match the mocking tone of her voice. The other two gave him cheeky smiles.
'Ahh, where’s Kassie?'
'You know, that’s exactly what I said when I discov
ered her bed un-slept in this morning.'
There was a long pause while he considered his options. 'She’s in bed now?'
'Yup. Seems she’s pretty tired too,' Cat grinned.
'Well then, if you’ll excuse me I’ll arrange to have breakfast delivered to her.' The girls chuckled as Rumal hurried out the room.
'I think that’s the closest I’ve ever seen Rumal come to blushing,' Daron glanced at Sian. 'What was that all about?'
'Nothing much. Just Kassie pulling an all-nighter.' Sian slipped into the seat beside him. Daron gave her a shocked look. 'Indeed. Didn’t you notice the extra company in your quarters?'
'No. Rumal didn’t sleep in our quarters last night.'
'Oooooohh,' Loi and Cat chorused teasingly.
After breakfast everyone split up. Daron and Sian headed to the library. Loi and Sabyn went to take their horses out for a ride while Rumal and Kassie remained unseen. Leaving Alek and me wandering down the corridor.
'Did you want to do anything in particular?'
I pondered ideas as we walked past the ballroom. 'Can we visit Loushka?'
An hour or so later we walked in the forest of the Scrodian Mountains. Alek took great delight in showing me different things. I’d marveled over tiny, jewel colored dragonflies with wings like leaves and now clutched the stems of a delicate green flower, its scent very much like jasmine, my favorite flower on Earth. I twisted it into the plait in my hair, so to enjoy the fragrance while we explored. Loushka had flown off to the high peaks, leaving us alone.
The Arrival: An Epic Fantasy Romance Page 29