“Is that bad?” I asked when the silence had become too much.
“No, no, no.” Wyn reassured me. “It’s just that... normally to have a connection as strong as yours, you would have at least kissed.”
I began to feel even more uncomfortable. I looked down into the carpet of flowers as the blush crept up my cheeks.
“Your souls must be connected,” she sighed.
I couldn’t help but hear that teenage longing in her voice.
“It’s like you are meant to be.”
I rolled my eyes at her, but secretly, I hoped she was right. At least then, I would be able to save him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ilyan had knocked loudly on my door at daybreak to command me to meet him in the courtyard in ten minutes. Even without being awakened by the bright sunlight in his room, I still wasn’t allowed to sleep in. I didn’t give him the benefit of an answer. Instead I rolled out of bed, thankful for the disappearance of the ancient décor. The brown and orange paper had been replaced by white walls with a deep green stripe circling the ceiling. The lumpy bed with the ancient bedspread was also gone, a small squishy pure-white day bed in its place. The dark table and orange lamp were still there, but they didn’t look as old as they had before. Instead they looked almost chic. It wasn’t really my style, but I liked it anyway.
I had opted to shower first, deciding that since I hadn’t actually taken a real bath in a while and knowing that I could be in and out in five minutes, it wouldn’t be a problem. But when I stepped into the hot water, I knew I was in trouble. The jets of steaming water hit my skin, and every muscle in my body relaxed into a comfortable jelly. I let the water flow over me in long rivers as it wiped away the grit and grime of everything that had happened to me in the last two weeks. Granted, the water was clear and I actually had no real dirt or grime, but it still felt wonderfully cleansing and invigorating.
I stood there for longer than necessary, feeling the now-constant buzzing. After my success with the circle of pansies, I hadn’t been able to accomplish anything else without removing the necklace, despite trying late into the night. Standing here without the necklace, I felt my magic surge again. I didn’t dare attempt anything for fear that it would hinder any success later. I turned off the water and stepped out, knowing Ilyan would be upset with my tardiness.
Sure enough, without the sound of the water, I could hear Ilyan and Ovailia shouting at each other in Czech again, their voices carrying through my door. I was beginning to wonder if this was a daily occurrence. I dressed quickly as the angry yelling continued, trying to pick out clothes from among the mismatched array of what had been brought over for me. I could tell that most of these clothes had belonged to several different people. I opted for a band shirt I was sure was Wyn’s and a pair of baggy gray pants. Thankfully, a pair of flip-flops near my size had been left for me, so I slid them on as I pulled Ryland’s sweater over my head, his lingering smell still clinging to the fabric. I flung the door open, and the yelling stopped.
“Look who it is,” Ovailia sneered in a sugary sweet voice. “Finally decide to grace us with your presence, did you?”
I looked from Ilyan to Ovailia in confusion. Ovailia kept her eyes glued on me, her lips pursed, while Ilyan had his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed toward no one in particular.
“Here I am.” I tried to sound perky, but my voice fell flat.
“Wonderful.” Ovailia walked away, her hair swaying ominously behind her. Ilyan followed her, beckoning me to follow.
My guard went up instantly. I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend an hour, let alone a day, with the two of them together. My experiences with them so far had been less than stellar. Ilyan led us, once again, into the courtyard, but my heart plunged at seeing the thirty or so people who were milling around the large space. My hands moved to pull my hood up, but stopped half-way; I needed to be brave.
“Sorry,” Ilyan said sheepishly. “I had hoped to prepare you for this, but I didn’t count on your needing a shower.” He grabbed my hand and placed it gently in the crook of his arm. It didn’t escape my notice that his posture improved almost instantly. “’My Lord’, remember,” he smiled bashfully at me before leading me into the large courtyard.
Everyone stood and faced him. I couldn’t help but feel that my baggy pants and sweater left me terribly underdressed for this. Even though Ilyan wore his trademark torn jeans and button-up shirt and no one else was wearing anything out of the ordinary, the air of the situation demanded something better. As we walked past each person, they would bow their head and lower slightly; Ilyan would return the bow with a slight head nod and sometimes say a name. Thankfully, by the time we made it to the tree, most everyone had returned to what they were doing previously.
“Is it always like this?” I asked quietly, noticing that several of the people continually looked over toward us.
“My Lord,” Ilyan reminded me under his breath.
“Is it always like this, My Lord?” I asked stiffly.
“Unfortunately,” he mumbled.
“It should be like this more often and handled with much more dignity. But, my brother seems to think otherwise.”
I jumped at Ovailia’s voice. I hadn’t noticed her standing there.
“Well,” she continued after glaring me down, “now that you are here, should we continue?”
“Ummm... sure,” I answered, unsure if I should be adding some form of a title to Ovailia’s name. She acted like she was entitled to one, so I wasn’t sure.
“Good. Now, Ilyan tells me you have mastered plant growth easily enough. Let us hope the same rings true for your command of the wind.” She held out a heavy muslin cloth. I hesitantly removed the necklace and placed it in the folds. Ovailia wrapped it up tightly and placed it near some bushes on the ground. I looked at it, longing to put it back on, but I knew it would only hinder me, and I needed to get control of my magic fast.
“Now,” Ovailia continued, “the concept of manipulating wind is much the same as plant life. You must infuse the wind with your magic until you receive the ability to control it. It is through this control that you will be able to manipulate yourself and objects around you.”
I just nodded my head numbly. I knew that should make sense, but I couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around it.
“Think about how you move your magic into the plants and tell them what to do,” Ilyan said. “It’s much the same concept, except with wind, you can do more; move cars or buildings, fly.”
“We were flying that night you saved me, then!”
“Yes, we were,” Ilyan said happily. Ovailia, however, cleared her throat.
“Sorry... My Lord,” I added hastily.
“I want you to learn this skill, so in case anything happens this week, you will be able to get away and save yourself.”
My heart plummeted at the reminder of my need to run away. I wanted to be able to save Ryland, not be a hindrance and only have to run away. I nodded strongly and focused on what was going on.
“Alright,” Ilyan said. “Bring your magic to the front and release it into the air around you. I want to see if you can summon wind from nothing.”
I focused intently on the air and felt my magic seep out of me like a slow leak, pleased when I felt the air softly move itself into a subtle breeze. I pushed more magic out, excited at the quick success. The more I released into the air, the bigger the breeze became, until it swirled swiftly through the courtyard pushing into those who remained watching us and eventually knocking me into Ilyan.
“Sorry, My Lord,” I whimpered as he set me straight again.
“Don’t be. That was wonderful!” Ilyan was pleased. Ovailia looked anything but. Ilyan grabbed my shoulders and steered me to stand right in front of the large tree.
“Okay, now, climb the tree,” Ovailia snapped impatiently, ignoring my quick success. “Show me how you accomplish these tree races that Wynifred has told me so much about.”
I felt excited f
or a whole moment, until I looked up into the tree branches. The tangled knot of the tree extended high above me; no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t see a way through. But it was more than the impossibility of the branches, it was the fact that I could fall. My hands moved to wrap around my back without my even knowing. My fingers spanned flat against my back, the fingers touching the places where broken bones and nerves had been only a week before. My painfully broken back had given me a fear of falling.
“You won’t fall,” Ilyan whispered in my ear.
“How do you know I won’t?”
“I won’t let you.” His finger moved up to trace a circle around my kiss.
I tore my eyes away from the tangled branches to look at him, stepping away from his touch, feeling guilty.
“But there is no way up, Ilyan... My Lord.”
Ilyan smiled at me softly before turning to Ovailia. “If you will excuse us, Sister, I believe this lesson will not require your assistance today.”
Before Ovailia could open her mouth to rebut, Ilyan had opened his hand, the necklace flying into his open palm from within the bush. Ilyan then took my hand and began to lead me out of the courtyard. Everyone looked surprised that we were leaving again so soon, but they stood and paid their respects to him as we walked by, nonetheless. Once we had made it through the door from the courtyard, Ilyan’s pace increased until we had emerged on the other side through yet another door, this one leading to a wide expanse of untamed forest. I couldn’t see a city or town; we were surrounded by hills of forest, misty mountains just visible in the distance.
“Now, do you trust me?”
The answer to the question was obvious. I did trust him; I just didn’t trust how he acted around me sometimes. But I knew that I couldn’t let my fierce loyalty to Ryland get in the way of Ilyan teaching me how to save him; so I nodded my head.
“Good. Now, do you trust me to not let you fall?”
It took a moment for me to get my wits about me. As much as I was scared of falling, scared of breaking my body again, I knew that I trusted Ilyan. He would not let anything happen to me; of that, I was sure. I nodded once in agreement, and a wide smile spread over his face.
“Good. I am going to teach you to fly the way my father taught me. I want you to use the wind to launch yourself into the air, straight up. Can you do that?”
“No,” I said, panic seizing me.
“I won’t let you fall, Joclyn. I promise you this above all else, I will never let anything hurt you. I am only here to protect you.”
“Okay.”
“Now get down and prepare to jump.”
I crouched down to the ground as Ilyan had instructed, my palms laying flat against the ground.
“Now call the wind to you,” he whispered behind me.
I closed my eyes tightly, attempting to forget that anyone was there, forgetting my previous failures. I breathed out, letting my magic come to a boiling point under my skin. My magic moved away from me easily, stretching away and bringing the wind back with it. The warm tongues licked at my feet and the tips of my fingers. I moved it around, amazed at the control I had over it. It obeyed my every thought.
“Now, jump.”
With one swift movement, I kicked off from the ground, the wind propelling me upward, my arms extending out, warm air whipping past my fingers. The sensation was amazing; I could have never guessed that so much freedom lay in this, in flight. My face rose to the sun, enjoying the warm rays and the breeze that moved across my skin. The feeling of the wind’s soft touch brought back memories of a million car rides up the canyon and a million tree races. Even through the bitter-sweet memories, I smiled. And then the wind began to change.
I had flown too high. The air zoomed past me as I began to fall. I looked around desperately for a branch large enough to land on, my instinct from the tree races kicking in. There was nothing, not even a stem big enough to support my weight.
I had been here before. I had fallen. I had almost died. I screamed in fear and agony as gravity pulled me toward the earth again. My body tensed, preparing for the awful impact that waited for me below. But instead of hard dirt, I felt strong arms. My body clenched further as I looked into Ilyan’s face, his arms cradled around me as he propelled us upward. His wind moved around us as we flew toward a tree, a large branch stretching out before him as if welcoming us. Ilyan landed on the branch safely, his arms still wrapped around me.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you fall.”
“Thank you, My Lord.” I moved away from him, careful to keep myself standing on the tree branch.
“I am just Ilyan now, Joclyn.”
“Thank you, Ilyan.”
“You are very welcome,” he smiled softly. “Now, we are going to do it again, but this time I want you to focus on the wind. Set your mind on what it is doing and how I am controlling it. Do not let fear enter your mind. I will be here, always.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, calling the wind again. The warm breeze came almost instantly, but it wasn’t just my magic controlling the movements of the wind. Ilyan’s magic intertwined with mine as the wind swirled around us. It was not my magic that eventually forced the wind to push us off the tree branch. Ilyan’s magic surged, sending us flying into the air. My body tensed in panic as my feet lost contact with the branch.
“Relax your body; do not think of the movement you are about to accomplish.” Ilyan’s voice was soft in my ear as his hands moved to grip my waist. “Focus only on the wind. Focus on its movement, on its warmth. Focus on how your magic will bring it to you. And do not worry, Joclyn; I will never let you fall.” And with that he threw my body into the air, the wind he controlled pushing me up and away from the tree.
I screamed for only a moment as my body left the security of his arms, terror grabbing hold of me. But before I could act on the fear, Ilyan was there again, his arms wrapped around me as he kept me safely against him, our bodies floating through nothing. He stayed there just seconds before throwing me in a different direction, spinning me through the air away from him.
As I twirled through the air, my magic moved away from me, my calm body giving it leave from its prison underneath my skin. My magic mingled with Ilyan’s as he controlled the wind that supported me, our combined magic flowing and dancing through the air. I continued to fly forward as our magic worked together to guide me. Ilyan grabbed me gently and continued moving us through the open air.
As Ilyan threw me away from him again, I understood; all trace of fear was gone. I knew exactly what to do. I grabbed the wind that Ilyan had surrounded me with and pushed it another way, my body moving alongside it as I controlled it.
This was the feeling I got when I climbed the trees with Ryland; this supreme happiness and freedom. It was just as Wyn had said; I had used Ryland’s magic to climb the trees, except now, it was my magic giving me those same feelings. Even though I missed Ryland’s comforting warmth, there was something empowering behind doing it myself.
“Now catch me,” Ilyan’s voice called after me. I turned my head to see him speeding away through the trees in the opposite direction from where I was headed, dodging in and out of the high branches. I laughed happily before easily changing my course to fly after him. Ilyan moved swiftly, his powerful arms propelling him further, his wind racing him ahead of me. He moved with an ever-increasing speed as he changed his course several times. His smiling face continued to look back at me as I desperately tried to catch up to him. I followed behind, not making much headway before he changed his course yet again.
As he moved, I saw a path that would give me a straight shot right to him. I smiled at the idea of winning the game before plunging myself down into the lower branches of the tree. It was harder to move here with the branches growing smaller and closer together, but being out of sight gave me the opportunity to cut across a corner that led straight to him. I broke out of the lower branches, a rush of wind pushing me up to where Ilyan flew. I wrapped my arms around his neck,
pushing him off his course, and slamming us into a large branch of a tree.
“Got you,” I said.
I rolled onto the branch as my body began to register the effort that was involved in not only flying, but also propelling through branches. I leaned up against the trunk of the tree and looked at where we had ended up, my breathing ragged and forced as I attempted to catch my breath.
“Very good,” Ilyan said. He leaned forward and placed his hand gently against my face. I stiffened as his warmth moved into me, moving right to my back. It spread comfortably down my spine, wiping away the small aches that had popped up from our impact.
“I didn’t break my back again, if that’s what you’re checking.”
“I know, but it’s always best to double check.” He smiled before removing his hand, letting his fingers trace the kiss again.
“Why do you do that?” I said, moving swiftly away from his touch.
“Do what?”
“Touch my kiss. It seems you take every opportunity to touch it.”
He withdrew his hand. “I’m sorry. Does it bother you?”
“Not as much as it should, I suppose,” I lied; it actually made me very uncomfortable, like he was touching me in an intimate way. “When Ryland touched it, I kind of blacked out. Why doesn’t it do that with you?”
“Because you are not bonded to me, Joclyn. I am not your mate and so our bodies don’t react.”
“Mate?” I exclaimed, terrified.
“Yes, Joclyn the Zȇlství, remember? Everything just has a different name.”
I nodded my head like I understood, but my stomach still spun. Mate? I was sixteen, barely.
“So why do you keep touching it?” I asked, freaking out a little bit. “You don’t expect the same thing to happen, do you?”
Ilyan laughed, which I should have been happy about, but instead it only made me feel really embarrassed.
“No, Joclyn, you don’t have to worry about that. I am only here to protect you. It’s just…”
“What?”
Kiss Of Fire (Imdalind Series) Page 25