by Alicia Rades
I was back.
I wasn’t just alive. The light my father and the other spirits filled me with had blessed me in ways I didn’t think possible. My abilities had returned at full force.
But it wasn’t just that. My full range of senses seemed heightened. It was like the last few weeks with my faded abilities had caused my other senses to deteriorate with them, and now that my gift was back, so was everything else. I could smell the daisies in the corner of the hospital room, and the blond of my mother’s hair appeared brighter than it had yesterday—at least, I thought it was only yesterday.
“How long have I been out?” I asked before either of them could say anything.
A look a relief crossed Robin’s face. “Over 15 hours.”
My mother gave my right hand a squeeze. “Crystal, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
A grin formed across my face. After everything that happened, that statement couldn’t be any truer. I really was okay, better than I’d ever felt, to be honest.
“Don’t worry about me, Mom. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Derek told us everything,” Robin said quickly. “He told us about Sam, about the possession.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Derek’s okay?”
My mother nodded. “They took him to the hospital, too, but he’s okay now. He told them he passed out because he was queasy from seeing what happened to you.”
The thing was, I could actually see Derek doing that had he not been possessed.
“He told us what he remembered while you were asleep,” my mother informed me.
I blinked a few times, absorbing this information. “So, he remembers being possessed?”
My mother looked toward the door. “Why don’t you ask him?”
I followed her gaze, and my body relaxed as Emma and Derek walked into the room hand in hand. “Derek! Are you okay?”
His brows shot up. “Me? What about you?”
“I’m fine. What do you remember?”
Derek and Emma stopped at the foot of the bed. “I came in and out. Some if it I remember, some of it I don’t. It was like I was there the whole time, but I couldn’t control my own body. I wanted to give you guys some sort of sign, but I couldn’t break through.”
“I should have known it wasn’t him,” Emma admitted. “The real Derek would’ve never broken up with me.”
Derek’s expression softened as he stared into Emma’s eyes. “No, I wouldn’t.”
Emma couldn’t hold it in any longer. She flung her arms around Derek’s neck and held onto him so tightly that his face began turning red.
He pulled away with a laugh. “Don’t worry about me. I’m okay. None of us have ever gone through something like this. I didn’t even know it was possible to be possessed. If it had happened to any of you, I wouldn’t have guessed what was really going on, either. I’m just glad Sam’s gone and I have control of my body again.”
“I’m glad, too,” I told him. “I feel so terrible for not seeing the signs. It’s just, the possibility never crossed my mind. I thought something else was bothering you.”
“Believe me, if something was wrong, I’d talk to you about it,” he assured me.
The door to the hospital room clicked open again, and Teddy slipped inside. He looked from me to my mother, then back at me. “You’re awake.”
I nodded. “I’m fine, really.”
He leaned out of the room for a moment, and a second later, Sophie and Diane entered behind him. Teddy shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and came to stand at my bedside. Now my whole family was here.
I turned to Robin. “I’m so sorry about everything that’s happened between us recently. I just . . .” I honestly didn’t know what to say.
“You knew,” Robin accused lightly, stopping me.
I tilted my head at him, wondering what he meant.
“You knew something bad was going to happen,” he clarified. “That’s why you didn’t want me to come to the festival.”
“I figured the same thing,” Emma admitted. “You were trying to convince me not to come, either.”
I could hardly believe how well they knew me, but it also brought me comfort. There was no point in lying to them any longer. “I’m sorry. I knew that if you all knew something was going to happen, you’d want to try to save me, and I had to save you.” My gaze drifted toward my mother as I spoke.
“But why me and Robin?” Emma asked. “If it was about your mom, why keep us two away?”
I swallowed hard, not taking my eyes off my mom. Her expression was soft, but tears were beginning to well in her eyes.
“I didn’t know what exactly was supposed to happen,” I told them, still looking at her. “I was just covering my bases, trying to keep you all safe. I was told I had to save three of the people I love most.” That was the way my father worded it. Three of the people I loved most. Not the three people I loved most like I had been assuming all along. “In reality, Emma and Robin were never in any real danger. It was my mom and my siblings.”
My mother’s expression quickly shifted to one of surprise. “Siblings?”
I nodded. “I know you didn’t want to know, but I can’t hold it in any longer. Mom, we were both right. You’re having twins, a boy and a girl.”
Emma squealed. “Congratulations!”
Teddy froze, and a stunned expression fell across his face. Even as Sophie and Diane patted him on the back in congratulations, he didn’t move. Only after my mother made her way around the bed and pulled him into a hug was he able to speak. “We—we’re going to have twins? We’re going to have twins!” He hugged my mother again.
As everyone else was congratulating them, Robin took a moment to lean over me to whisper in my ear. “Crystal Frost, what you did for your mother was incredibly brave. You never cease to amaze me.”
I shrugged my shoulders up slowly. I didn’t know what else to say. He was so close to me now that his lips hovered just inches above my own, taking my breath away.
His eyes shifted over my face, and then he whispered the words that let me know everything was finally okay with us again. “I am in love with you.” And then his lips connected with mine. Far too soon, he pulled away to sit back down in his chair.
My mother came back around her side of the bed and wrapped her arms around me. Her voice cracked when she spoke. “I’m so proud of you, Crystal. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I pulled away, a perplexed expression written on my face. “You couldn’t have done what without me?”
She blinked away tears. “Admitted my secret to everyone. It was something you said just before the festival. You said your witch costume was about telling the world it didn’t matter what they thought about you, that you loved yourself for who you were. It just hit me that I’d been hiding behind the idea of make-believe for too long. I wondered what I’d been doing all these years trying to hide it when you’ve only had your abilities for a year and already embraced them fully. I found my courage through you, Crystal.”
It wasn’t until she said it that it dawned on me how comfortable and confident I actually was with my abilities. And with my mom’s secret out in the open, I didn’t have to hide it for her sake anymore, either.
The room fell silent for a beat until Sophie spoke. “We’re so glad you’re okay, Crystal.”
I sat up straighter in my hospital bed. “I’m better than okay.”
With all eyes on me, I noticed how incredibly lucky I was to have so many people who cared about me. They had all helped guide me through every challenge I’d been through over the last year. I thought back to the day I’d visited Sage, about how I realized she’d found her calling through music and I thought I’d found mine by having to die for the people I loved. But there were people out there who believed I was destined for better things, and I was determined to fulfill that destiny. From here on out, I was no longer just Crystal Frost. I was Crystal Frost, Psychic.
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Acknowledgments
It’s difficult to thank everyone who has come together to support me in writing the four books in the Crystal Frost series. First of all, I have to thank my husband for pushing me to write and publish the series in the first place. I also have to thank the many teachers I had throughout the years who told me to keep writing.
Also, thank you to my team of beta readers. Many of them stood with me since the very first book in the series. Thank you to all those who helped me improve Fading Frost: Jan, Jennifer, Bethany, MacKenzie, Heather, Cindy, and Deb.
Also, thank you, Emerald Barnes, for your hard work in helping edit the series.
Thank you to Clarissa Yeo for all four covers. She did a fantastic job!
Finally, thank you to my fans who requested a fourth book. The Crystal Frost series wouldn’t be complete without this one.
About the Author
Alicia Rades is an award-winning young adult paranormal author with a love for supernatural stories set in the modern world. When she’s not plotting out fiction novels, she’s running her own professional writing business, plowing her way through her never-ending reading list, or preparing for the backpacking trips she takes every summer. Alicia holds a bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis on professional writing. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two cats.
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