by Avril Sabine
Amber pulled the topaz out from the neck of her jacket. “They gave it to me for my birthday.” And for kicking wyvern butt. She wondered what her grandmother would say to that information.
“Is it real?”
Amber grinned. “Yeah. They talked about a matching set. Earrings, bracelet, you know. But I thought Mum’d have something to say about it.”
“Next time forget about what Donna would say. You take the full set.” Helen shook her fork at Amber. “Understand?”
“Yep.” Amber finished her meal, rising to her feet.
“And do the dishes. You’re younger than me.”
She bit back the words that wanted to spill and put the plug in the sink. She could do this. It was only until the end of school. Then she was out of here. She didn’t know where she was going, but she wasn’t sticking around. She could last that long. Maybe.
A chair scraped across the floor. “Goodnight, Amber.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Night.”
“And make sure you get more jewellery out of those kids. And start dating the boy. You’ve only got a year till you’re eighteen.”
Amber could only nod. Any words risked letting laughter escape. And she knew her grandmother was perfectly serious. She turned back to the washing up. At least now she’d have an excuse for accepting jewellery from Ronan. She could tell her mother that her grandmother had told her to take it. That was if she ever learned how to fill them with her power.
Looking at her hands in the water, she made fire start to form. A flicker danced under the suds, competing with the water to stay lit. Amber stared at it and she slowly smiled. Maybe, just maybe, she’d finally figured it out. Rushing through the dishes, she ran upstairs. Before she could open her door, her mother came into the hallway.
“Why’s your door locked, Amber?”
She reached out and turned the handle, swinging the door open. She watched as Kade and Rian disappeared out the French doors, glad her mother was at the end of the hallway. “It’s not.”
Donna strode towards Amber. “It was when I came up.” She looked into the room.
“What were you doing going into my room anyway?”
“I was trying to see if you had any washing after being away.”
A hand went to Amber’s hip. “You don’t wash this late at night. Why were you really going through my room?”
“It was locked so I didn’t go through your room, did I?”
“You tried to. Is that what it’s going to be like? No privacy?”
“I worry about you Amber. You didn’t seem yourself when you came home. And you hear all sorts of stories about the designer drugs rich kids use.”
Amber glared at Donna. “I don’t do drugs and neither do my friends. I’m tired. Jet lag. Did you expect me to be bouncing around? I’ve got school tomorrow. How excited am I meant to feel about that prospect after a fortnight in a European castle?”
“See, maybe it isn’t such a good idea for you to hang around these kids. You’ll never have their life. It’ll only make you dissatisfied with your own if you keep spending time with them.”
“Who says I can’t? Not everyone is born with money. Haven’t you ever heard of self made millionaires?”
“Oh Amber, be realistic.” Donna sighed.
“Well in that case I guess I’ll just have to take Grandma’s advice and marry Kade for his millions.” Amber stepped into her room, slamming her door shut and locking it. She rested her head against the timber, ignoring her mother.
She felt Kade come up behind her, brushing his lips against her ear. “Was that a proposal?”
Amber turned to face him, her hands resting on his shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m sure I can do much better than you.”
“Who? Ronan?”
Amber smiled. She wasn’t going to tell anyone about Ronan’s offer. “I was thinking more along the lines of Prince Charming. Do you know him?”
“I think he was eaten by a dragon.”
Her smile became a grin. “How terribly sad. I guess I’ll hang around with you until I find a better offer.”
“How gracious of you.”
“I know.” Amber couldn’t hold back a yawn.
“Looks like that jet lag is catching up on you. Bedtime.”
Amber was tempted to argue. She wanted to test her new theory on a jewel. Another yawn urged her to use caution for a change. She’d try again tomorrow. When she was rested.
Chapter Seventeen
Amber looked about as she floundered in a sea of blood. Around her floated the bodies of her friends and family as they moaned and begged her for help. She couldn’t save them. She had no power left. She didn’t even have the power to save herself. Again she sank beneath the blood red waves, trying desperately to struggle to the surface.
Striding across the waves came Paili. She wore a crown with a jewel as big as a soccer ball in the top of it. “Off with their heads.” She waved a hand regally towards the bodies that crowded around Amber, begging her for help.
Heart racing, Amber woke, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to slow her breathing. This was the third dream tonight, each one worse than the last. So much for getting to bed so she could wake well rested. She ignored the temptation to check the time on the alarm clock beside her bed. The last thing she needed was for more reports about her sleeplessness to get back to Ronan.
“Amber?” Kade pulled her close. “I know you’re awake.”
“So?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She pulled away from him, striding to the bathroom with a glance towards the alarm clock. It was only two. She couldn’t survive another night like last night. Closing the door, she turned on the light, glaring at the manhole. How was she meant to get the jewels down?
Bitting back the words she wanted to mutter, she swung the bathroom door open. Rian stood there. He looked towards the manhole and then back to Amber. She nodded and he came in, hopped up on the vanity and stretched over to the manhole. He removed the drawstring bags and the large emerald. When he dropped lightly to the floor he handed the items to Amber and left the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind him.
Amber locked the door and ran water in the sink. She eyed the emerald but decided to leave it to last. Tipping the new jewels onto the vanity, she picked up the largest one. A sapphire. Holding it under the water, she took a deep breath. A flame flickered to life, barely warming the water. She fed a thread of it into the jewel and tried to control the rush of the rest of the flame when it wanted to follow. It was easier to control under water.
The jewel shimmered and then shattered. Amber swore, then glanced at the bathroom door. No one disturbed her. She took a deep breath and chose a different jewel. She held a diamond under the water, calling up another flame. This time she stopped the moment the jewel shimmered. She lifted the diamond out of the water and stared at it. She felt her power, like something live, trapped inside it. Excitement rushed through her and she wanted to shout. She had to make do with a grin.
Flinging the bathroom door open, she held the diamond out to Rian. “Tell me about this.”
Rian took the diamond and examined the damp jewel. He met her eyes with a shrug. “A diamond. Flawless.”
“Nothing else?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
Kade crossed the room and took the diamond from Rian. “What’s going on, Amber?”
“What are you holding?”
“A wet diamond.”
Amber threw her arms around Kade and kissed him. She grabbed the diamond off him and closed herself in the bathroom again.
“Amber?” There was concern in Kade’s voice.
“Quiet.” She grabbed another jewel and held it under the water. This one shattered. Amber tried to tamp down her excitement. She couldn’t control her power to the level it needed to be controlled when she was this excited. Several deep breaths and she was able to fill another jewel with power. Amber stared
at the ruby she held. How did she get the power out of it? Closing her fingers around the jewel, she felt the power straining at the confines. She called it and felt a flare as it returned to her, seeming to be greater than when she’d put it inside the ruby. Was it only jewels?
Amber dropped the ruby onto the vanity and opened the bathroom door. She ignored Kade and Rian as she rummaged through the items scattered on her duchess. She gathered a pair of gold hoop earrings, glass slippers on a silver bracelet and a plastic bead necklace. Hurrying back to the bathroom with them, she soon found plastic didn’t work, glass and silver were reasonable, but the power loved gold and rushed over the metal like flames on petrol soaked timber.
She took her necklace off and held it under the water. First she filled the topaz and then the gold. The chain was easier to fill than her earrings had been and Amber guessed it was due to the quality. When she was finished, she put it back on and slid to the floor, completely exhausted. Leaning against the timber door of her vanity, she couldn’t keep the goofy grin off her face. She didn’t even have to look in a mirror to know it was goofy. It felt like it.
“Amber?”
She turned to look at the door that separated her from Kade. She’d invite him in, but didn’t have the energy to open the door. “Yeah?”
“Can I come in?”
All of the internal doors had external locks and could only be opened by a key from the other side. “If you can.” It didn’t surprise her much when a moment later the lock clicked and the door swung open, Rian stepping out of the way.
Kade sat beside her on the tiled floor. “Have you sorted it out?”
“Yep.” The grin stayed in place.
“You still can’t tell me?”
“I wish. I’m bursting with it. I want to tell everyone.” She looked up as Rian handed her phone to her. Her grin widened. “Of course.” She called Ronan.
“It better be good.”
“I did it.”
“Of course you did. So why did you need to ring me at,” Ronan paused a moment, “nearly five in the morning.”
Amber giggled. “Because you wouldn’t let me tell anyone. I’ve got people all around me and I can’t share it with any of them.”
“I guess you want some jewellery now.”
“Yes. And make sure the settings are gold. As pure as possible. Gold is definitely my medium.”
Ronan chuckled. “I’ll send Hound with a delivery later today.”
Amber thought of the ruby teardrop Ronan had given her. “And I have a blood red ruby I want turned into an earring.”
“Should I find a matching pair?”
“I doubt you’ll find another one like it. I’m sure it’s unique. A bit like friends. They’re all irreplaceable.”
“Get some sleep, Amber. You’ve obviously been awake too long. You’re starting to sound like a greeting card. The kind that are only good for fire starters.”
Amber giggled. “I don’t need fire starters so I might just hang onto that greeting card.”
“Goodnight, Amber.”
“Good morning, Ronan.” She laughed as he growled and hung up.
Kade wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close. He pushed the door closed. “Do you realise we’re actually alone for the first time in ages?”
Amber looked up at him. A rush of heat went through her that had nothing to do with her powers. “What do you plan to do about it?”
Kade smiled as his head came closer. “I’m sure I can manage to think of something.”
* * *
Amber heard her alarm and reached out to turn it off, only to bang her hand on the vanity. She struggled to wake up, trying to untangle herself from Kade’s limbs.
His arms tightened around her. “Rian’s got it. Sleep a little longer.”
Amber lay back against him. “I can’t believe we slept on my bathroom floor.”
“Speak for yourself. There’s no room in here to become a dragon.”
Amber laughed softly.
“You’re heartless.”
She pressed her hand against her heart. “Nope. I’ve still got one. I can feel it beating.”
“Prove it.”
Amber squealed as she suddenly ended up lying on the tiles, Kade above her with his head pressed to her chest. Her arms wrapped around him and she held tight. It was moments like this she could forget everything that had happened recently. But it seemed like it didn’t take much for it to come pouring back.
Kade pulled back slightly. “Are you okay?”
“I will be.”
“What happened when you and Ronan were kidnapped?”
She still hadn’t been able to tell anyone more than the basics. “I already told you. We were chained up in a dungeon.”
Kade lightly kissed her. “Whatever happened, it was Paili’s fault. Not yours.”
“Nothing happened. I just don’t want to talk about it. Now let me up. I can’t be late my first day back at school.”
Kade rose to his feet and helped Amber stand. She chased him from the bathroom, took the clothes Rian held out for her and shut the door so she could take a shower. While she had breakfast, Rian tidied away the jewels and returning to her room she took the teardrop from her jacket, asking him to make sure Ronan got it.
When Maira pulled up out the front to give her a lift to school, Amber reluctantly left her room. Out of habit, she tried the two locked doors in the hallway and wished she knew how to pick locks. She stared at them thoughtfully and wondered if Rian would be able to unlock these doors too.
Hurrying down the stairs, she grabbed her lunch and called out goodbye to her mother and grandmother. Racing to the car, she grinned when she saw Rian and Kade in the backseat.
“Don’t tell me you’re going back to high school, Rian.” Amber buckled her seatbelt.
“No. The Gold will watch over you while you are there. I will go to Kade’s place and sleep.”
“You could sleep nights. There’s always a Gold watching me.”
Rian shook his head. “Assassins favour places with few witnesses.”
Amber instantly regretted starting the conversation. That was the last thing she wanted to hear. She had enough trouble sleeping as it was. Looking over to Kade when he took hold of her hand, she smiled in answer to the query in his eyes. Maybe if she kept telling enough people she was fine, she’d start to believe it too.
Chapter Eighteen
By the end of the school week Amber wanted to drop from exhaustion. And it wasn’t due to the amount of jewellery she’d filled with her power. Not to mention the crystal on her duchess and even the mirror in her ensuite. She was surrounded with power she could tap into. But it hadn’t stopped the nightmares.
All Amber wanted to do when she got home from school was collapse, but her mother waylaid her in the kitchen. Amber sighed, shifting the weight of her schoolbag. The six gold bracelets on her left arm jangled. Ronan had a craftsman make them for her and you could barely see the gap that was filled with the dragon-leather that they had been cast with. Now she knew what to look for, she realised her necklace had a similar safety link. On her other wrist a plaited dragon-leather band was filled with round polished jewels, each in a separate, decorative gold setting. The blood red ruby teardrop hung at her right ear.
“Sit down a minute Amber.”
Amber dropped her bag on the floor and sat on a chair at the table. She waited for her mother to talk. She wasn’t about to spill any secrets just because an uncomfortable silence stretched between them.
“Is there anything you’d like to talk about, honey?”
“No.”
“Is something bothering you?”
“No.”
Donna sighed. “Amber, talk to me. I know something’s wrong.”
Amber stared at her mother. She had to say something. It looked like the interrogation would go on all afternoon and she had better things to do. “I’m not sleeping well.”
“Why?”
“Nightma
res.”
“But why are you having nightmares, honey. What are they about?”
Why did her mother have to keep pressing for information? Especially since she couldn’t tell her what she was dreaming about. The idea that popped into her head made her pause. She’d obviously been hanging around Ronan far too much, but it’d do the job.
“Amber?”
“I wake up in a strange place and can’t find my way home. Then when I eventually get home, the house is empty. You, Dad and Jay are all missing.”
“Oh.”
The silence stretched out. “Can I go to my room now? I want to get my homework finished before Jay arrives for the weekend.”
Donna nodded. Still silent.
Amber headed up the stairs and into her room. She was glad only Rian was there. At least he wouldn’t say anything negative about what she’d said. She locked the door behind her.
“Was anything you told your mother true?”
Amber stared at Rian. Maybe she was wrong. “I’ve never had a dream like that in my life. Well, not that I can recall anyway.”
“It will work. When you leave home at the end of year twelve, she will not try and force you to stay. Guilt will make her let you return to Brisbane.”
“What makes you think I’ll leave at the end of year twelve?”
Rian smiled momentarily. “My time is spent anticipating your every need. I have even found a suitable house for you.”
Amber stared at him. “Really?”
Rian nodded. “I have employed a woman to take care of it for you. She has a daughter, but the child is well behaved. She will be no bother.” Rian stared at Amber. “It is a good cover for Doneele and her granny.”
“I want to see it.”
“Next time you are in the city.”
Amber grinned. “Maybe you do know me after all.” She couldn’t wait to return to Brisbane.
Rian nodded. “There is a change of clothes on the bathroom vanity for you.” He bent to pick up her schoolbag.
With a nod, she headed for the bathroom and had a quick shower. When she entered her bedroom again, her homework was laid out on her desk, ready for her to start. Afternoon tea was beside it. She took a bite from one of the biscuits laid neatly on the plate as she sat and started her homework. She was nearly finished when she sensed her brother pull up out the front. Shannon’s warriors flew high above to guard him.