Black Orchid (Svatura)

by Abigail Owen

  Adelaide’s cheeks heated. So they weren’t assembled for her. At least she hadn’t spoken that embarrassing assumption aloud. Apparently losing her mind meant becoming incredibly self-centered.

  A knock at the door sounded. “Come in,” Selene called.

  A petite woman entered, followed closely by a man with shaggy blond hair and laughing eyes. Lovers by what Adelaide could see in the relationship between them. Or… maybe… not quite yet. But they would be soon. Right behind the man was a boy, not a day over thirteen.

  “We brought Samuel, My Lady,” the woman said.

  “Thank you,” Selene replied. She waved them inside and moved to shut the door behind them, cautiously checking the hallway beyond as she did.

  The woman glanced around with a tight smile. When her gaze landed on Adelaide, the smile changed to a wide grin. “Delia! They told me you were away.”

  Adelaide looked to Lila, who had moved to stand beside her.

  “Maggie, Adelaide has lost her memory,” Lila explained. She paused a moment to let that sink in. When the girl named Maggie’s eyes widened, Lila continued. “She’s only come to hear what Samuel has to say.”

  “Oh!” Maggie gasped. She walked over and held out her hand, which Adelaide shook limply. “I’m sorry to hear that, sweetie. Um… I’m Maggie. And we’re friends.”

  “Maggie is one of the Vyusher,” Lila added. “While she’s a wolf metamorph, like all Selene’s people, she can also project voices and thoughts.”

  Maggie shrugged with a self-deprecating smile. “Basically a glorified megaphone. Not anything cool like telepathy. But I come in handy every once in a while.”

  “Did you order her memory to be removed?” a male voice interrupted them.

  Glancing up from Maggie’s friendly face, Adelaide saw the blond man was staring at Selene.

  “It was my decision, Desmond,” Lila said. She turned back to Adelaide. “Desmond is one of Selene’s High Council. He can also turn invisible.” She turned to glare at him. “And sometimes he’s even more of a pain than his father, Xavier.”

  Desmond shook his head, his lips quirking. “Well, I hope removing her memory works a sight better than when you removed all her emotions.”

  Adelaide gasped. “What?” She looked down at her trembling hands as the shaking immediately started up. She clenched her fingers into fists.

  Lila led her over to the couch to sit down. “Trust me, it was to help you.”

  Desmond grimaced. “She didn’t know?”

  Selene shook her head, her jaw clenched.

  “Sorry. But don’t you think it’s better that she knows the truth?” he asked.

  “Yes. But not yet. She was overwhelmed with everything. We’re letting her discover the truth at her own pace.” Adelaide’s mother stepped forward now. When Adelaide looked over, she found Lucy watching her closely.

  Lila reached over and took her hand. Peace washed through her, but it felt forced. As if it weren’t her own. Still, the quaking subsided. Adelaide sighed, tired in a bone-deep way. She was tired of discovering more. Tired of learning. Tired of not knowing. Tired of knowing.

  “We can talk about this later,” she mumbled. Like when I’m not trying so hard to contain a fire-breathing dragon inside my body. “Let’s just get on with what you wanted us all here for.”

  “Are you sure?” Selene asked.

  Adelaide gave an abrupt little nod.

  “All right. But we will talk about it when you’re ready.”

  “Thanks,” Adelaide murmured.

  Selene sent her a small smile, and then turned away. “Samuel?” she beckoned the boy, who’d remained silent up to this point, further into the room. He moved forward hesitantly.

  Selene placed her hands on his arms and turned him to face the family. “Samuel, as most of you know, has the gift of prophesy. But at only thirteen, he’s only just coming into it. So please take what he’s about to say with that in mind.”

  She gave the young boy’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. “Go ahead and tell them what you told Desmond and Maggie.”

  He gulped and nodded. “I don’t really know what it means. I saw four lights glowing in a field with mountains on all sides. The lights were colored - one purple, one pale blue, one yellow, and one bright pink. As I watched, they dimmed… and then turned black. Then they turned into snakes… black snakes. All four snakes were then caught by birds and carried into the sky.”

  Thick silence greeted Samuel’s words.

  “Do you have any idea what it means?” Alex asked, frowning.

  “No, sir.”

  “Ellie?” Lila asked.

  Ellie just shook her head. She sent Samuel a smile. “I’ve tried to access Sammy’s powers before. But I can’t seem to get a lock on his gift. We thought it might work if I could try to control it when he was in the middle of a vision, but we haven’t been lucky enough to be in the same room when that happens yet. They don’t come often.”

  Selene took her hands off Samuel’s shoulders. “Thank you.”

  Samuel smirked, going from unsure to cocky in a blink, as only thirteen-year-olds can. “I hope you figure it out, My Queen.”

  At Selene’s nod, Desmond and Maggie took Samuel and left.

  “What could that possibly mean?” Ramsey asked, looking around the room.

  Ellie cleared her throat. “Selene and I see lights when we’re manipulating other people’s powers. Each light is unique to the person. When we tried to help Selene, our lights got all tangled up. And the four colors he just described…”

  “Those are our lights,” Selene finished.

  Chapter 15

  Adelaide concentrated. It’d been only three days since Samuel’s prophesy, and she’d come back home. But she couldn’t get the eeriness of his words out of her mind. Was she destined to turn evil? Was she going to be killed by another shifter?

  Selene had said that they couldn’t worry about it too much because Samuel’s predictions were untried at best. So Adelaide had returned to a very curious Nate and had thrown herself into her practicing. Not that she was getting very far with it.

  Concentrate, she ordered herself silently, adding an extra couple of exclamation points to the thought. In her mind, she pictured a falcon. She visualized the sleek feathered form, sharp talons, hooked beak, and keen sight. She held that image in her mind and willed her body to change into it. Then she opened her eyes.

  Nothing.

  She was still a woman. Adelaide muttered a curse word that would have earned her a stern look from her mother. Nate was watching from his usual spot in the wicker chair on the veranda. Although several yards away, with his speed he could reach her quickly if needed. He’d already soothed her uncontrollable shaking twice this morning and numerous other times over the last few days. She could feel him watching her. Laughing, always. Judging, perhaps. She caught that vibe from him sometimes. As though he liked her but didn’t want to.

  He’d offered to help the first time she’d tried to shift.

  “Are you a metamorph? No? Then, thank you, but I’ll do this on my own,” she’d snapped.

  But in response to her rude behavior, he’d bowed with a flourish. “As you wish.”

  Adelaide pursed her lips to keep from laughing. “Another Princess Bride quote?” she had guessed. The first night when he’d figured out there wasn’t much to do around the house, she’d offered him some books to read and he’d said, “In my day, television was called books.” She’d frowned and he’d laughed. He’d been spouting quotes from the movie nonstop ever since. She’d gotten really good at recognizing when they were coming. He got this specific kind of goofy expression on his face — like a little boy who thought he was getting away with something.

  Now, days later, Nate sat and read one of her books while she tried and tried and tried. And failed and failed and failed miserably. Adelaide ran her hands through her hair and let out a small grrrr of frustration.

  “You’re not relaxing,” Nate’s
deep voice interrupted her.

  She glanced over to where he was seated with his feet propped up on the veranda railing. How do you know? Adelaide was tempted to yell at him again or maybe throw something. Juvenile, but satisfying.

  “What do you mean?” she asked grudgingly.

  Nate laid the book on the seat of his chair and walked over to her. Adelaide’s pulse picked up speed. When she’d told him to shave, she hadn’t expected that he’d be quite this handsome. All those whiskers had a lot to answer for, hiding this kind of man from the world.

  A strong chin and nose and dark, slashing eyebrows were softened by his big brown eyes and lips that she could only describe as kissable. He was a tantalizing mix of blatant male and boyish charm. The constant smile on his lips and twinkle in his eyes just added to the pull he had on her. And when he would wrap those strong arms around her to calm her from the vibrations of the violent creature battling to get out of her body, she was filled with such unimaginable, scandalous feelings.

  Adelaide raised her eyebrows questioningly as he said nothing. “Well?”

  He shook his head. There was that twinkle again. A real one today, reaching his eyes. “Uh-uh, Princess. You’re going to have to ask me nicely.”

  Adelaide wanted to stamp her foot and glare at him, but that teasing twitch to his mouth also made her want to laugh. The twinkle was the only reason she didn’t argue with the patronizing nickname. He liked to tease. He didn’t mean anything by it.

  “Nate, I apologize for being so rude earlier. If you would be so kind, I would very much appreciate any advice you have to give at this time.”

  Nate stepped forward and took her chin between his fingers to tilt her face up to his. “Ask me that beautifully every time, and I guarantee I’ll jump to do your bidding,” he murmured. And then he frowned a little, as if surprised by what he’d said.

  Adelaide blinked as he let her go and moved to stand behind her. She jumped a little when his hands landed on her shoulders. Granted, in order to calm her down periodically, he had had to hold her much more intimately. But this was different. She was completely aware of him right now.

  “You’re too tense. You’re trying way too hard and thinking yourself out of it. Don’t worry about the shaking. I can help you stop it. Don’t worry about anything… me, your family, the future.”

  As he spoke, Nate’s hands started to massage the tight muscles in her neck, shoulders, and back. It felt good. Really good. Still, she shouldn’t be letting him touch her like this. Adelaide glanced over her shoulder, but Nate’s expression was completely clinical. He appeared to only want to help.

  At her glance he raised his eyebrows and then used a gentle finger to turn her head back forward. “Close your eyes. Relax,” he murmured, his lips still so close to her ear she could feel the tickle of his breath. She shivered but did as he ordered. And then, after a moment, she let go of the fact that he was touching her and just concentrated on releasing her tension. Gradually, Adelaide could feel the stress melting away under the magic of his fingertips.

  “Now breathe slowly. In and out. Like we do when we’re calming you down. Concentrate on the breaths.”

  Adelaide’s body was humming but with a different kind of tension now. One created by his touch, his scent, his voice. What is wrong with me? I barely know him. Besides… he’s just helping me.

  Even more strange, however, was the soothing effect he had on her. It felt as though her body relaxed completely and utterly in Nate’s presence, which made no sense. He was still, for all intents and purposes, a total stranger.

  “Good. Let it all go.” He kept up a stream of soft, deep murmurs, and Adelaide listened. Not to the words necessarily, but to the rich timbre of his voice, the cadence of his speech. She could listen all day.

  “Now, picture the falcon. Not what you would look like. Picture what you would feel like. Feel how light your body is – hollow bones and airy feathers – perfect to lift into the sky. Feel how sharply you will see. Feel the strength of your talons.”

  Adelaide concentrated on the images and feelings he conjured. Suddenly warmth started spreading through her body. She gasped and opened her eyes with a snap.

  “What happened? Are you okay?”

  She turned to face him. “I think so. I started to feel this… heat.”

  “That’s called desire, darlin’.” He winked.

  Adelaide didn’t catch it, though, as she was too focused on what’d just happened. “No, desire feels completely different from what I just felt,” she murmured.

  “Oh, really?”

  She looked up and realized what she’d just said. A mortified blush stained her cheeks, neck, and probably every other inch of her body. Even her ears were burning.

  “I wasn’t… I mean… that’s not what…” She whirled around. “Let’s just try it again. I think we’re close.”

  She waited through a few agonizing moments of silence. “Okay, Princess,” he finally muttered. Before she could decipher the odd note in his voice, his hands were back on her shoulders.

  This time, when the warmth started moving through her body, Adelaide didn’t fight it. She concentrated on relaxing and on the images in her mind until that warm sensation spread to every nerve ending.

  “Open your eyes,” Nate said.

  Adelaide did, and saw the world from an entirely new perspective. She was close to the ground now, but even at this angle, her perception of the world was incredible. Everything suddenly looked sharper and brighter. Looking down, Adelaide saw feathers and talons.

  I did it! She wanted to burst from excitement, and a piercing cry tore from her mouth.

  Suddenly she was back in human form, sitting in the dirt on her butt.

  Nate’s laugh drew her gaze up to him. “You were doing so well. What happened?”

  She gave him a disgruntled frown. “I startled myself. I have to keep my concentration on the form, I guess.” She scrambled awkwardly to her feet and dusted off the seat of her pants.

  “Well, the important thing is you did it!”

  Adelaide blinked, and her excitement at her achievement came rushing back. She turned a beaming smile on Nate and threw her arms around his neck. “I did, didn’t I? And no tremors or anything!” Her laugh was a sound of pure joy and exhilaration.

  She leaned back slightly to look into his beaming face. “Thank you.” She went to pull out of his arms but stopped as they tightened around her. Her gaze returned to his, and what she saw in his eyes stole the breath from her body. She couldn’t look away, even if she wanted to.

  Slowly…so very slowly… Nate lowered his head. He was going to kiss her! Adelaide’s heart pounded so hard she wondered if he could feel it. But she’d never wanted anything more. Softly, his lips brushed against hers. And then again. Over and over, he whispered his lips across hers in a barely there sweep that had her both completely turned on and tremendously frustrated. So sweet and oh so agonizing.

  Adelaide spiked her fingers through his hair and tugged. “Kiss me. Please, kiss me.”

  Nate answered her plea and crushed her lips under his, his tongue seeking immediate entry. Adelaide’s lips opened for him and met him kiss for kiss. She savored every single sensation, every heart-stopping moment. She squirmed to get closer to him. And he accommodated by using those amazing hands to plaster her along the length of his body as his lips continued to devastate her senses.

  And then he froze, every part of him so still, it felt as though she were holding onto stone. “Nate?” she murmured against lips that still hovered over hers.

  With a deep groan, he gripped her arms, pulling them from around his neck. He gave her one last, soft, lingering kiss and then pushed her away from him.

  “I can’t. We shouldn’t. I don’t—” Nate slashed his hand through the air. Adelaide watched as a gamut of emotions crossed his face. Desire, regret, confusion, and then suspicion. “What are you doing to me?” he demanded roughly.

  “Me?!” Adelaide gasped.


  Before she could go further, he shook his head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.” But his eyes had gone all blank on her again.

  It kept her from reaching for him, or asking what was wrong, or asking anything at all. “No. You’re right. We shouldn’t.” She kept her expression and her tone light.

  He frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  Adelaide held up a hand. “No need. We were both involved in that kiss. But we’re essentially strangers in the middle of nowhere. Probably best to keep things on just a friendly basis.”

  Instead of looking relieved, his scowl only deepened. “You’re sure?”

  “Of course.” She smiled to show no hard feelings. Then she turned and headed back to the house. Her mind was spinning. What was he suspicious of? Her? Relationships in general? Something else?

  Adelaide tried to force it from her mind. The important thing to focus on was her abilities. They’d proven today that she did better learning her new skills with a little help. Perhaps slightly more skilled help was needed now. The next time Charlotte came, Adelaide decided to ask her to bring Ellie along when she came to visit in the future. Adelaide’d have to send Nate away, of course, or at least hide him on those days. She still needed him close in case the dragon inside her tried to come out. But if she wanted to be independent, she obviously needed the practice and an expert adviser.

  Chapter 16

  “Delia, you in here?” Ellie’s voice preceded her appearance in the doorway. “Hey, friend.”

  “Hey.” Adelaide closed the book she was reading and pushed thoughts of Nate from her mind. He seemed to occupy her thoughts more and more lately.

  But now was not the time. Tonight was Ellie and Adelaide’s night to work together on Adelaide’s power control. They’d been practicing every few days for a little while now, and the extra work was helping. Adelaide sent Nate away each time, though she had no idea where he went. She was afraid it might be time to send him away forever. She didn’t really need him anymore… not for the shaking at least.