by Mandi Oyster
“Yeah, I did.” I fidgeted with the panther necklace, wondering if it would come off now and not sure if I was ready for it to. “Like I told Mavros, my life might be difficult, but God gave it to me for a reason.”
Chapter 44
Hard To Say Goodbye
Monday, I resumed classes. I needed to get back to normal, but it wasn’t as easy as it had been after Nefarious or Draconian.
I sat in Scientific Computing, watching the door and trying not to stare at Damon’s empty desk. Mavros needed to be returned to the Abyss, but Damon had been my friend. For several days, I’d spent most of my free time with him. I had come to appreciate his humor, his attentiveness, his charm, and even his cockiness. I knew Mavros was a demon who wanted to destroy the world, but as Damon, he never acted that way.
I felt like a friend of mine had died, but nobody shared my grief. No one understood what I was going through.
Cody slipped his hand under my desk and patted my knee, smiling sadly at me. I turned away from him and wiped my eyes.
When class ended, Cody didn’t get up. He held onto my hand, keeping me there with him. “Go on,” he said to the others. “We’ll catch up.”
As soon as they were gone, he leaned closer to me. “I get it.”
I traced the grain pattern on the desk with my fingertip. “How can you?”
“He was a friend.” He shrugged. “He’s gone. You’re sad, angry, guilty, and—” his jaw tightened and his voice sounded strangled “—you probably miss him.”
I stared at him, trying to figure out how he could be so understanding. It’d been hard enough for him to see me with Damon, and now he had to see me pining for him. “I’m sorry.”
He helped me to my feet. “Me, too.”
i
That night I lay in Cody’s arms. His breathing was slow and even. I pulled away from him and slowly sat up. I walked over to the window and looked out at the school grounds. For the past month, I probably would’ve seen Mavros, Damon, or the panther out there, gazing up at me. It was time for me to realize I would never see him again. I needed to let go of him for me and for Cody.
I reached up and grasped the clasp of the necklace, preparing to be burned or shocked. I pulled back the latch, and the necklace came off. It dangled from my fingers. The panther seemed to suck all of the light into it.
I set it down on Cody’s desk and whispered, “Goodbye.”
i
Fire dances along my fingers and up my arms. The blue flames are mine, but I have no control over them. They spin and twirl leaping across my skin, covering my body.
Their beauty is mesmerizing, lulling me into a hypnotic state. I stare unblinking, as the flames flicker from dark to light blue.
The fire shoots higher, burning all the oxygen from the air. I gasp for breath. My heart gallops, racing faster and faster.
I try to freeze the flames, to douse them, but nothing I do works.
My head pounds. My eyes widen. I try to teleport, but instead, I fall to my hands and knees, fighting for breath.
Darkness creeps in at the edges of my vision. I clutch my throat.
Something moves toward me. My head slumps to the ground, and I stare at a pointy-toed pair of boots.
Shadows engulf me.
i
“Dacia, breathe.” Cody pumped my chest.
I sucked in a breath and choked on it, bolting into a sitting position.
“Are you hurt?” His eyes were bright, and his pulse pounded in his neck. “Dacia?” His hands shook as he reached for me.
“I—” I coughed “—I’m okay.” My voice was a hoarse whisper through my burning throat.
He wrapped his arms around me. “Starting again?”
“I think so.” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Whatever it was, it used my powers against me.”
He ran his hand through my hair. I think it was as much to calm him as me.
The End
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review. Feedback from you, the readers, matters to me. Plus, reviews buoy my spirits and stoke the fires of creativity.
Acknowledgments
It’s really hard for me to write the acknowledgments. There are so many people who have helped me along the way, and I think I thanked them all in the first two books.
Cheryl Gage and Jeff Oyster helped me edit this book and gave me suggestions for what to change, so I’d like to thank them. Cheryl was very excited about this book, and since she never read Young Adult or Fantasy before reading my books, I’d like to give her a double thank you for giving my books a chance.
Jeff, Jami, and Jesse are amazing. Their love and support mean everything to me. I can’t imagine a world without them in it.
I would like to add a special thank you to the readers who are excited about my books and can’t wait for the next ones. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that people enjoy reading what I write.
Once again, I’d like to thank God for leading me to this path and giving me the shove I needed to walk down it.
A special thank you to J.K. Rowling for inspiring me to start writing again.
And for reading this to the end:
Thanks!
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
If you liked this story, you can join my mailing list.
Drop by my website MandiOyster.com
or if you have any comments,
shoot me a note at [email protected].
I am always happy to hear from people who’ve read my work.
I try to answer every email I receive.
If you liked the story, please write a short review for me.
I greatly appreciate any kind words, even one or two
sentences go a long way. The number of reviews a
book receives improves how well a book does.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MandiOysterAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandioyster/
My web page – MandiOyster.com