by Stella Snow
She looked down as the last of the scrape closed and the redness that had surrounded it faded away. Gavriel wiped away the last of the blood with his finger and his magic skittered across her skin with a very different kind of warmth. Blood rushed to Melodie’s cheeks and she couldn’t help but look up. Their eyes locked together, and she found she could not look away.
“These too?” His hand hovered over the burns on her cheek.
Melodie nodded. She hadn’t ever considered herself vain, but the idea of having scars on her face had upset her.
Gavriel ran his hand slowly down her cheek, then her jaw, painstakingly slowly. He paused at every spot where she knew the worst of the burns were and she could feel the magic more strongly in those places. She could feel the heat of the blush lingering on her face, but there was nothing she could do about it.
He paused and leaned in slightly. “Hmm, there is a very faint scar left now, nothing someone would notice unless they got very close,” he said, his breath brushing across her skin.
He sat back in his seat and Melodie let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. “Thanks, the ointment Ethan had given me wasn’t doing anything at all.”
“It was my pleasure.” Gavriel smiled.
She cleared her throat, deciding now was as good a time as any to ask.
“I don’t want to lose control like that again, and Salathia doesn’t really want me to learn how to use my magic. I want you to train me.” When Gavriel was silent, she quickly added, “if you are still willing to.”
“I am.” Gavriel leaned back in his chair. “But I don’t think Salathia will allow it.”
“She wants to try to bind my magic again. And cut off the tips of my ears so she can keep me here forever and pass me off as human.” Melodie cupped her hands protectively over the points. “I don’t want that. I want to go to Arsadia and meet my family.” She swallowed the lump in her throat.
Gavriel’s face had gone from neutral to angry as she had spoken. “I won’t let her do that to you, I promise.”
The tension drained from her shoulders. “Can you just teach me in secret somehow?”
Gavriel considered that, then nodded. “Yes, I think I can do that. I’ll come knock on your window tonight.”
“Is there anywhere safe to practice? If I lose control again, it’ll be pretty obvious.”
“I’ll find a place, don’t worry about that.” Gavriel paused for a moment. “Does she think she can rebind your magic?”
“What?” Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “I don’t want her to.”
“I know, but does she think she can? She has insisted she has no idea how your mother did it.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She looked down, avoiding his gaze. Salathia must have been referring to using the Stone again, like her mother had years ago.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Gavriel said, resting his hand on her arm again.
“I know,” she said, trying to sound a bit more convincing. “It’s not really about whether she can, it’s that she wants to. And all of her so-called training is just about how to stop my magic instead of using it.”
“I understand.”
“She’s avoiding me now too.” She twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt. “I’m not sure if I embarrassed her or if she’s mad at me.”
“This wasn’t your fault,” Gavriel said.
“I know, but it’s still a problem. Esther is letting me stay despite my loss of control, but what if it happens again? What if I seriously hurt someone? She can only protect me for so long.”
“You will learn how to control this because you have to. When failure is not an option, you find the strength to do what might seem impossible.”
She gripped her necklace and nodded. “I hope so.”
Chapter 12
Melodie walked back into the main house and every face turned toward her. Only a few families remained, and Salathia was nowhere to be seen. Sierra’s family hovered near the door watching Sierra and Ethan hug like it was the last time they’d ever see each other. Considering the expression on Sierra’s mother’s face, it was entirely possible Sierra wouldn’t be allowed back over here.
Gavriel put his hand on Melodie’s shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I have to go speak with Esther, but I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.” Melodie crossed her arms.
Gavriel disappeared into the study and Melodie shifted uncomfortably on her feet. Everyone had moved a few steps further away from her leaving her feeling both isolated and on display.
Someone pinched Melodie’s side and she yelped, whipping around to see who had done it. Rachel was standing behind her laughing with her head thrown back and a big grin on her face.
“Oh my god, Rachel.” People were staring at her again, one woman had gone completely white and was tugging her husband toward the door.
“Oh my god, Melodie,” Rachel mocked her. “You aren’t going to lose it that easily.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” she grumbled, rubbing at her arms even though there wasn’t the slightest hint of magic.
Rachel rolled her eyes and slung her arm around Melodie’s shoulders. “I don’t know if you know this, but apparently Ethan and Sierra had snuck out to the garden to make out,” she whispered, leaning in conspiratorially. “We’ve all been waiting on this for months. And that’s the only reason they were there when you exploded, which is hilarious timing. I’m never going to stop teasing him about this. Not ever.”
Melodie pressed her lips together to keep from laughing aloud. “I hope it wasn’t either of their first kiss or something.”
“Oh, it might have been.” Rachel smirked. “Sierra has been crushing on Ethan for ages. I don’t think she’s even looked twice at any other gentlemen callers.”
“Well, it doesn’t look like I ruined their relationship or anything,” Melodie said.
“Nah,” Rachel agreed. “By the way, I’ll be back here tomorrow to help with that research stuff. You going to be in there helping out?”
“I think so. I had permission before.” Melodie waved her hand in the direction of the garden and shrugged.
“That shouldn’t matter,” Rachel said decisively.
“Well, hopefully it won’t.”
Sierra and her family finally left, and the remaining people trickled out after them.
Rachel turned and gave Melodie a tight hug. “I will see you tomorrow.” She pointed her finger at Melodie’s face. “Don’t let anyone run you off.”
She punched Ethan on the arm on her way out and left with a wave, pulling the door shut behind her. Ethan rocked back on his heels, then turned and walked over to the couch and plopped down. He leaned back with a satisfied smile on his face.
“Not even getting blown up can dampen the excitement of young love, huh?” Melodie asked, sitting on the couch next to him.
Ethan laughed. “Nah, it actually worked out perfectly. I realized you were about to lose control and I was able to protect us from the brunt of the explosion. So, I’m basically a hero.”
“Well, I’m glad I could help then.”
“I mean, next time, no help needed though.” Ethan grinned.
Melodie reached over and punched him in the arm.
“Ow, you got the same spot Rachel did,” he said rubbing at it.
“Good.”
The door to the study opened and Esther stuck her head out. “Melodie, do you have a minute?”
“Yeah.” She stood up, her heart jumping into overdrive. Esther’s tone was always so hard to read, she had no idea if she was walking into an interrogation or not.
Melodie stepped into the office and Esther shut the door behind them. Gavriel was leaning against the bookcase with his arms crossed. He nodded in greeting.
Esther walked over to one of the leather chairs and plopped down instead of sitting at her desk. She motioned for Melodie to take the other chair. “I feel I owe you an apology,” Es
ther began as Melodie sat down. “I knew that Mark was highly opposed to your presence here. I should have kept a closer eye on him while he was at the house. I’m sorry he attacked you.”
Melodie shrugged. “It wasn’t your fault. You have a lot going on.”
“You’re very gracious,” Esther said. “And I hope that you can understand that the next thing I have to tell you is not a punishment. I had to implement this rule, first and foremost, in order to protect you. Secondly, I do need to be able to reassure the community that you won’t accidentally hurt anyone again.”
Esther sighed and smoothed out a crease in the leg of her pants. “From now on, I can’t let you go anywhere unattended. Either myself, John, Gavriel, or Salathia will always be here with you. It would be best if you stayed with one of us, or in your room if you’d like to be alone. As long as one of us knows I don’t mind you going outside with Ethan. He can protect himself well enough, and I don’t think he would do anything to upset you. You will just need to ask permission.”
Melodie twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt. Of course, she didn’t want these restrictions, but she couldn’t really blame Esther. Even the people that supported her being here had to have been freaked out by what happened in the garden. She had no doubt the people who didn’t want her here in the first place had made a big deal of it.
“Alright, is this forever? Or just until I can show that I have control?”
“I don’t know. If you can show control that would certainly help, but the restrictions may have to stay until the gate is open and we have stopped these mercenaries from crossing over.”
“Can I still help with the research tomorrow?” She didn’t want to lose her chance to look for information on the Stone. Gavriel’s comments from earlier had her worried. She had no idea how the Stone might have affected her.
“Yes, and if anyone has a problem with that, they can leave,” Esther said.
Melodie let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Esther acknowledged her thanks with a brief nod.
“Do you know where Salathia is?”
“She was helping escort home a couple of the families that live outside of the subdivision. She should be back relatively soon. Now, if the two of you will excuse me, I need to make some phone calls.”
Gavriel and Melodie walked back through the living room toward Ethan and Joy, who were in the kitchen eating leftover pie. Joy was perched on the edge of the kitchen counter looking well pleased with herself.
“Melodie!” Joy shouted, waving her fork in the air.
“How many pieces of pie is that now? I think I’ve seen you eat at least three,” Melodie asked with a raised brow.
Joy stuffed another bite in her mouth.
“Four,” she said as she chewed. She swallowed and grinned. “My dad says growing girls need a lot of sugar.”
Melodie sidled up next to Joy, then snatched the last bite of pie off Joy’s plate. Joy shrieked and tried to grab her arm. Melodie laughed and leaned back out of her reach, popping the piece into her mouth and licking her lips in satisfaction. The pie was pretty amazing.
“You pie thief!” Joy shouted, dropping her paper plate and jumping off the counter to chase her around the island in the center of the kitchen. Melodie laughed as she skipped around the island, matching Joy’s back-and-forth dashes as she tried to fake her out and switch directions. Ethan darted in and grabbed Joy. He tossed her over his shoulder while she shrieked her objections and tickled her mercilessly.
“Put me down, Ethan! I swear to Gaea I will summon a barghest to your room!” Joy threatened between laughs.
“Oh, I’m so terrified,” Ethan mocked as he spun in a circle eliciting a squeal from Joy.
“Stop! I’m so going to throw up pie all over you!”
Ethan set her down and Joy turned and jumped at Melodie without hesitation. Joy hit her with a thud and immediately went for her sides, tickling ruthlessly. Melodie let out a squeak and tried to wiggle away and grab Joy’s hands, but the girl was determined.
“Pie thief! Pie thief!” Joy shouted as Melodie laughed and tried to scramble away. She stumbled backward and fell on her butt, which Joy took advantage of, jumping on her to sit on her stomach.
“You are vanquished!” Joy crowed enthusiastically.
Magic lurched in the pit of her stomach and she clenched her hands.
“Fine! I surrender!” Melodie said from where she lay on the kitchen floor breathless from the tickling. Ethan was standing in the corner laughing at both of them. The magic was crawling up her arms now. She was afraid to move.
Melodie looked over to Gavriel, and the desperation must have shown on her face, because he stepped in and lifted Joy off of her, then pulled her to her feet.
“Why don’t we go wait for Salathia? She should be back soon.” Gavriel wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Ethan looked between them, then grabbed Joy and carried her out of the kitchen over her loud protests.
“Breakfast is at seven thirty tomorrow morning,” he said over his shoulder before tossing Joy onto the couch in the living room.
“Thanks,” Melodie said from behind clenched teeth as Gavriel guided her back outside. The magic was already fading away, but the near loss of control had her shaking.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “I wasn’t upset at all. Why did that happen?”
“Any strong emotion can cause a reaction if you have little control. You wouldn’t have hurt her,” Gavriel said, pulling her in closer to his side. “The magic would have been playful, or even protective once you got scared.”
She wanted to turn and bury her face in his chest and pretend that today hadn’t happened.
“Are you alright now? Or do you still feel close to losing control?”
“I’m fine, the feeling faded really quickly.”
Gavriel smelled good today, she wondered if it was some kind of elvish cologne. She crossed her arms tightly and mentally shook herself. Rachel was rubbing off on her a little too much. Or maybe it was just some weird reaction to feeling his magic earlier.
“I’m sorry, this must be so ridiculous to you.” Melodie shook her head.
“Ridiculous? Why would it be?”
“I can’t go two hours without nearly losing control. I’m guessing no one in the Sidhe has that issue.”
“Not really, but none of them have had their magic bound their entire life. They were able to experience its development naturally. I can’t imagine having to learn to control the kind of power in less than two days,” Gavriel said as he opened the door to the guest house and ushered her inside.
Melodie stopped just inside the door. Salathia was sitting at the table with a plate of leftovers.
“I didn’t realize you were back already,” Melodie said, her shoulders drooping.
“Do you want me to stay?” Gavriel asked, looking between them.
Salathia said nothing, just took another bite of her food. Melodie shook her head and walked to the table and sat down across from Salathia. This wasn’t a conversation to have in front of Gavriel, no matter how understanding he was.
Gavriel shut the door behind him and silence settled over Melodie and Salathia as they stared at each other, neither of them wanting to start the conversation.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked when her desire to get the conversation over with finally outweighed her hesitance to speak first.
“No, of course not.” Salathia dropped her fork onto her plate with a clang that made Melodie flinch. “My one purpose all this time has been to protect you, and I’ve completely failed to do that this week.”
Melodie looked down at her hands. She hadn’t been expecting that response at all, and she wasn’t sure where to start. “So, you’ve been avoiding me because of that?”
“Yes and no. You’ve been mad at me, and then you lost control. I didn’t think you wanted to see me.” Salathia sighed heavily. “I’m sorry you thought I was blaming you.”
&
nbsp; “Just don’t disappear again, okay?”
“I won’t,” Salathia said quietly.
“Esther talked to me about some new restrictions. Did she already tell you what she had decided with all of that?”
“Yes, she did.”
Melodie fiddled with the hem of her shirt, she wasn’t sure that Salathia would give her an honest answer to the next question, but she had to ask. “Could the Stone have done something to me that is making it harder for me to control my magic?”
Salathia was silent for a long moment. “Perhaps,” she admitted. “There’s no way to know for sure.”
“I’m going to help them with the research tomorrow, will you be there?”
“Off and on,” Salathia said. “We should take some time to work on your control tomorrow morning before everyone gets here.”
“Alright, I’ll be up at seven.” Melodie moved to stand. She wanted to get a shower and just not think for a little while.
“Melodie.” Salathia reached across the table to tug her back into her seat. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m going to keep repeating it until you listen. You have been spending quite a bit of time with Gavriel. You need to understand he is not really on our side. I don’t think he will hurt you, but the only people we can trust are each other. You can’t tell him about the Stone.”
“I haven’t told anyone about the Stone, even though I think we should. Especially if there is a chance it could open the gate.” Melodie crossed her arms.
“The gate is the least of our concerns. If we can just get rid of the mercenaries, we are going to disappear again. I know you want to go to the Sidhe, but we cannot go back.”
She ground her teeth together. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“Out of the two of us, I’m the only one who understands what is waiting there for you, so yes, I do.”
“So far, the only argument for staying here is that people in the Sidhe might try to kill me. And that argument doesn’t really hold up that well considering they can apparently not only get to the human world, but show up in our backyard,” she snapped. “You still have no idea how they found us either.”