by Wendi Wilson
I knew he wanted me to call him dad in private, though he hadn’t outright asked me to. I could see it in his eyes, could see the light in them fade a little every time I used his given name.
I was being careful, I reasoned. None of the students or staff besides Finn and my close group of friends knew he was my father. They didn’t know he was a Zephyr. Or that he was Sebille’s son.
We were keeping it quiet, and as I’d learned on several occasions, there were eyes and ears—and video cameras—everywhere. I just couldn’t take the chance that anyone would overhear.
Then he walked into the gym, his stride quick and his smile ready. Always so happy to see me, he walked right up to me and held out a hand for me to take.
“Hey, December,” he said, shaking my hand like he was trying to keep things casual and stress free.
“Hey, Dad.”
It just kind of slipped out, and I flinched. I must have been because I’d been thinking about not calling him that. His blue eyes widened and glassed over with emotion but, other than that, he gave no indication that what I’d said affected him. Well, other than a tinge of color that rode up his cheeks.
He carried on, business as usual, and I hid a smile. I could tell I’d made him happy, and it made me happy.
“So, today, I’d like to practice with fire,” he said, “and I would like to try combining our powers again like we did against Sebille.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea? Especially inside? We could burn the whole place down.”
“I can handle it if it does. But I don’t think it will. I believe that you can control it. You just have to concentrate.”
“Okay,” I said, suppressing the fear I felt.
I decided to let it go. Trying to suppress my emotions is what made my powers so unpredictable in the first place. I’d learned that giving myself over to them, not fighting against them was the key. It was just hard to remember, when my natural inclination was to bury them deep.
Cris…Dad held a hand out toward me, and I grasped it with my own, feeling that little zip of energy as our magic touched. I lifted my other arm, palm out, and called to fire. Heat coursed through me, building higher and higher until blue flames shot from my hand.
The fire streaked across the gym. I started to panic, afraid I’d set all the mats and equipment on fire, but my father’s voice broke through the dread. He encouraged me to focus on shaping the flames while pulling back on the amount of energy I was sending out.
I listened to his words, and his steady, unafraid tone calmed me. I asked the flames to bend upward, away from the mats on the floor, and my request was granted instantly. The fear left me completely and was replaced by excitement as I shaped the stream of fire into a large circle that spun in front of me. I moved it slowly, lifting it above our heads and tipping it sideways so it rotated like a giant lasso above us.
A laugh burst from me as I reined it back in, letting the flames dissipate slowly, until only a small flicker rested in my palm. I closed my hand into a fist, and the fire went out completely.
“I did it!” I exclaimed with a big, cheesy grin.
“I knew you could. Never doubted it for a minute.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I whispered, and this time, I used the title intentionally.
He graced me with a beautiful smile before pulling me in for a tight hug. Things changed between us then. He was no longer just my teacher and mentor. He was my parent. My dad.
And I knew I wouldn’t have trouble thinking of him that way again.
Chapter Seventy-One
2
“And then I called him dad.”
“Shut the front door!” Shaela exclaimed, her mouth falling open. “How did he react?”
I shrugged. “Good, I guess. He smiled and hugged me, like it made him happy.”
“How did it make you feel?” she asked, her voice soft.
“It felt right,” I replied, smiling. “I know it’s weird, but it feels like maybe I knew all along. Like I felt the connection and my mind chose to ignore the signs. But now that I’ve accepted the truth…I don’t know. I’m just happy, I guess.”
And happiness was not something I’d had a lot of experience with in my life. Abandoned at birth, growing up in the system with deadbeat foster parents who were selfish, neglectful, and sometimes abusive.
“Well,” Shaela said, pulling me from my memories, “that’s the goal, isn’t it? To be happy? Love, friendship, and family are the keys to a life of bliss and now you have all three.”
The only thing that would make it more perfect was if I had my mother with me, too. My father had told me the story of their whirlwind courtship and her mysterious disappearance. He searched for her for years, and never found a trace.
“You okay?” Shaela asked. “You zoned out there for a minute.”
Before I could respond, a knock sounded on the door. Shaela looked at me with question in her eyes, and I shrugged. Neither of us was expecting anyone. It was girl’s night, no boys allowed. We didn’t have any other girlfriends, so our visitor was a mystery to us both.
Shaela skipped across the room and swung he door wide. Cris stood there, looking uncertain with pink-tinged cheeks. One toe scuffed the carpet as he mumbled out a greeting to Shaela.
“Can I come in for a second?” he asked, looking past her to meet my eyes.
“Sure,” I said.
He nodded, then bent over to the side, picking up a large object hidden under a white cloth. My head tilted to the side as I studied it, my interest peaked. What was he up to? And why did he look so nervous?
“So, I missed your birthday,” he said, then barked out a humorless laugh. “I’ve missed all of them, actually, and I wanted to get you something. I know this doesn’t make up for all the time we’ve lost, but I figure it’s a start.”
I should have argued that it wasn’t his fault. That he had nothing to make up for. But I was mesmerized by the large box-shaped object in his hand.
My dad got me a present. It was the stuff of dreams. Didn’t every young girl relish presents from her father? At least, that’s the way they felt in the books I’d read.
“Stop stalling and open it, D!” Shaela exclaimed, an excited tremor in her voice.
He set the covered object down on my bed, then took a step back. His smile held a hint of uncertainty, like he was worried I may not like his gift. But it didn’t matter what it was. I was going to love it.
As I pinched the corner of the sheet and started to lift, Cris said “I know it’s not a puppy…”
I ripped the sheet off, revealing a wire cage. My blue eyes met a pair of large black ones set in a brown, furry face. Large ears flopped down each side and a tan little nose twitched, setting whiskers aflutter.
“Is that a…bunny?” I stuttered, my body frozen in shock.
“You don’t like it?” Cris asked, moving to grab the cage. “I’m sorry. After our conversation about pets I thought…never mind. It’s stupid. I’ll take it away.”
I wrapped my arms around the cage before he could pick it up, shouting “No!”
He backed away, holding his palms up in supplication. “Sorry,” he said.
I looked away from him, back to the bunny, my eyes widening in wonder. “I’ve never seen one before. Just pictures. Can I pet it?”
“Of course,” my dad said, stepping closer. “And it’s a she.”
“She’s so pretty,” Shaela cooed, poking her fingers between the cage wires. “What will you name her?”
“I don’t know,” I said, crouching down to stare into the bunny’s eyes. “Something pretty. What about…Blossom?”
“I think that’s perfect,” Dad said, making me smile.
I opened the cage door and inched my fingers inside as I spoke soft, calming words to the bunny. She hopped forward, sniffing my hand, then sat perfectly still while I scratched behind her ears.
My burning eyes caught my father’s and I sniffed against the emotion clogging my throat.
“Thank you, so much,” I croaked out. “But, is this allowed? I mean, are students allowed to keep pets here?”
“Not…exactly,” Cris said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I got special permission from Finn, of course, but you have to keep this under wraps.”
“Okay,” I murmured. “We can tell Easton and Charles, though, right?”
“I think that’ll be all right,” he said, “as long as they don’t tell anyone. This place would be a madhouse if all the students tried to keep pets.”
I nodded in understanding. “Of course.”
“Okay, then,” he said, his eyes chasing around the room before refocusing on me. “I guess I’ll get out of here so you girls can get acquainted with Blossom. I have a box filled with food, bedding and toys for her that I can bring by later.”
“Thanks,” I said. Then as he turned to leave, I called out, “Dad!”
He spun back around and I dashed toward him, slamming into his chest and wrapping my arms around his waist. His hands landed on my back, holding me tightly against his chest.
The urge to cry welled up inside me, causing an intense pressure around my heart. We’d had one conversation about pets where I’d mentioned the fact that I’d never had one. It was brief and inconsequential, but Cris had remembered. He’d gone to the trouble of finding me a pet I could keep in my room, gotten special permission from Finn to give it to me, and bought everything I’d need to take care of it.
For being new to this whole “dad” thing, he was crushing it.
“Thanks, Dad,” I murmured against his chest, then pulled back to give him a watery smile. “I love her.”
He nodded once, a smile pulling up at his lips. “You’re very welcome.”
Then he turned and slipped through the door, disappearing up the hallway. I closed it and turned around to look at Shaela, who had taken Blossom out of her cage and sat, holding the bunny in her lap as she stroked her ears.
“Best. Present. Ever,” she said.
I sat down beside her, and she gently placed the bunny in my lap. As I ran a hand down her furry back, she rose up on her hind legs and nuzzled her head under my chin. I giggled as her whiskers tickled my skin, and Shaela laughed with me.
Then she leaned in and held her phone out. Seeing that the camera app was open, I gently turned Blossom around to face the camera and smiled. Shaela took the picture and started tapping on her screen.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sending this to Charles and Easton, of course,” she said, her eyes never leaving the screen.
“Make sure you swear them to secrecy,” I warned.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I told them to come over and not tell anyone.”
“On girl’s night?” I asked with a smirk.
“Special circumstances,” she said. “For Blossom’s first day, we make an exception for our no boys allowed rule.”
I laughed. “Okay, sounds good.”
We moved to the floor and let Blossom hop around, exploring the room. She was soft and pretty and sweet, and I loved her already.
Pets were awesome.
And so was my dad.
Chapter Seventy-Two
3
“The time for war is growing near. Queen Sebille has been upping her efforts to take down the Sylphids, and reinforce the devotion the humans have for the Zephyrs.”
My eyes widened as I watched my father lean a hip against his desk. I could see similar expressions on the faces around me. I wasn’t the only one shocked by Cris’s opening statements to the class. Our main focus of study had always been on the human-Zephyr relationship and what was driving both races to act and react the way they did.
His blunt assessment, while true, was unexpected.
“I know the adults in your lives have taken great pains to shield you from these facts. While you all know what you’ve been training for, it’s been an abstract idea…some distant future that you’ll face in a couple of hundred years or so.” He paused, his eyes travelling across the room before landing on me. “But Sebille has accelerated her timeline, meaning we have to accelerate ours. We have to be ready at any given moment.”
I could feel several pairs of eyes on me, but I held my father’s gaze. He was right. Sebille could strike at any moment and keeping the students of Oberon Academy in the dark wasn’t doing them any favors.
“We’re just kids,” someone behind me said. “We don’t stand a chance against Zephyr soldiers.”
Sounds of agreement echoed around me, causing my lips to turn down. If the Sylphs didn’t believe they had a chance, if they didn’t believe in themselves, then we would lose.
“We have December,” Shaela called out, her voice strong and clear. “I’ve seen her go up against Sebille. I’ve seen the fear in the dark queen’s eyes.”
“While it is true December’s nature makes her a strong ally, she can’t defeat the Zephyr army on her own,” Cris replied, his lips turning down like the very thought of me heading into battle turned his stomach. “We have to work together. All of us. The students, your parents and grandparents, the staff…every available Sylph has to dedicate him or herself to the cause.”
I could feel the pressure of excitement building in the room with his words, the buzz of conversation in the room growing louder. Even though they were afraid, the students knew the fight against the Zephyrs was what they’d been training for their whole lives.
“Now that you know how serious the situation is,” Cris said, gaining the attention of the class once more, “I need you all to focus on your studies, intensify your training, and get plenty of food and rest. It could be a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years before the conflict comes to a head and you’re needed, but it will happen. And you need to be ready.”
He gave the class permission to catch up on homework or talk quietly amongst ourselves for the rest of the class period while he sat at his desk, tapping on his tablet. I turned in my chair to face Easton.
“What do you think?” I whispered. “That was a bold move, right? Just putting it all out there like that? I wonder if Finn knew he was going to do that.”
“I don’t know,” Easton said, his expression thoughtful. “But I think it was the right thing to do. We may just be kids, but we can’t afford to be complacent. We have to be ready.”
“I agree,” Shaela said, leaning in to join our conversation. “Sebille almost got her hands on you both, and Cris, Charles, and I could have died. Charles almost did. That’s what happens when you’re unprepared. We can’t let it happen again.”
I nodded in agreement. They were right. I just hoped Finn agreed, too, and didn’t reprimand Cris for his galvanizing words.
I caught my father’s eyes on me and offered him an encouraging smile. One that let him know I had his back, and that he could count on me. His eyes crinkled at the corners before refocusing on his tablet.
We were in this together. All of us. And it would take all of us to be victorious.
“I thought maybe we could take a walk.”
Easton’s hopeful expression and gold aura warmed my insides as I stepped from my bedroom and joined him out in the hall. I hadn’t been expecting him, so his knock on my door had been a surprise. We’d parted ways at dinner, each going to our rooms to study.
Shaela was out with Charles, so I was happy for the reprieve. I pulled the door closed behind me, and Easton’s hand slipped into mine, his grip warm and tight. He led me down the hall, and we descended the staircase. We slipped out the front entrance and onto the grounds with only the light of the full moon lighting our way.
“Thanks for coming out with me,” he said. “I was feeling restless.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
He shrugged, saying, “My mom called. She wanted to warn me that my father has plans to visit the academy.”
I tugged him to a stop, unable to stop the look of horror that etched its way across my face.
“What? Why?”<
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“He didn’t give her a reason. He doesn’t feel the need to explain himself to her.”
A flash of power streaked through me, and I had to physically force it back into remission. Easton’s dad was a real piece of work. He hated his own son for being born because he wanted to be king, and Easton’s existence made that impossible. So he reviled Easton and abused his wife for handing her claim to the throne to her son.
“It’s okay, D,” he said, pulling me from my thoughts. “I can handle him. I always have.”
“But you shouldn’t have to,” I argued. “It’s just not right, Easton.”
“It is what it is,” he replied, his voice carrying a note of defeat.
“I don’t know if I can accept that,” I said honestly. “If I see him mistreat you…”
I trailed off, letting the unspoken threat hang in the air between us. To my surprise, Easton’s face lit up with a beatific smile. He pulled me closer, his free hand grasping mine. He pulled both my hands into his chest, erasing the space between us.
“I love it when you get feisty,” he murmured. “Your eyes flash with blue fire and your face floods with color, making you more beautiful…if that’s even possible.”
The anger and indignation drained out of me as I filled back up with a different kind of heat. I tried to keep my expression stern, but I couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at my lips. My brain lost whatever witty response it was formulating as Easton’s mouth closed the distance between us.
Just before our lips met, he whispered, “I love you, so much.”
Then he was kissing me. My mind went blank, knowing nothing but the feel of him against me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew we were standing on the lawn, in full view of the school with bright moonlight washing down on us, but I didn’t care. If someone was watching, let them watch. All that mattered in that moment was us. Our connection. Our desire. Our love.
Easton came to his senses first, breaking off our kiss with heavy breaths huffing in and out through his mouth. Taking a step back, he untangled the fingers that had become twisted in my hair. Slipping his hand back into mine, he turned and walked back toward the building.