by S. J. West
Anwen voluntarily flies over to Gretel without me having to ask her to.
I approach Coltan, and he looks at me expectantly. I’m not sure if he overheard the exchange I had with Gretel or not, but it doesn’t matter.
“Would you like to get out of here for a little while?” I ask him.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he replies with a relieved grin. “Where should we go?”
“I know a place,” I reply as I hold out my right hand for him to take. Without any hesitation at all, he takes hold of it with his left one, and we walk out the door of the study.
“Have fun, children!” Gus calls out to us.
“Call me on my com bracelet if Maximus returns before we do,” I tell Scarlet.
“Aye, aye, captain,” she says with a mock salute as Coltan and I reach the hallway. As we are almost of earshot, I faintly hear her say, “Speaking of captain, I better call Kalder and let him know we won’t be home for lunch.”
“Kalder?” Coltan asks me, perplexed by Scarlet’s words as we make our way down the stairs to the first floor hand in hand. “Why would he be making you lunch at your house?”
“He’s staying with us for a while,” I explain. “Since his boat is at the bottom of the Neverending Ocean because of us, he thought staying in my house until I got him a new one was fair compensation. It’s a temporary arrangement.”
“Is he behaving himself?” Coltan asks, looking a bit disgruntled that Kalder is living inside my home.
“As well as you would expect someone like him to be,” I reply, but then I think back to everything Gretel pointed out to me that Kalder has been doing around the house. “Actually, he’s been great. He does all the cooking for us, and he’s been fixing things around the house that I didn’t even realize needed repairing.”
“And is he respecting your privacy?”
“If you’re asking if he’s made any untoward advances on any of us, no, he hasn’t. He’s been a perfect gentlemen. The only thing he does that bothers me is walk around the house half-naked.”
“Which half?” Coltan asks with a smirk.
“The upper,” I laugh. “If it was the lower, he would be singing at a much higher octave right now.”
Coltan laughs and the sound brings me joy. I’m glad I can make him laugh on a day like this. I hope I can help keep his spirits up. If he can make it through today, everything else will be downhill from here.
We hop in my car and drive off Guild property toward the center of town. Coltan lets out a deep sigh as he takes in the sights of my Briardale.
“I’ve always liked this side of town better than my family’s,” he says, being careful not to call it the Prince side of town. “There’s a lot of history in the architecture here that we lost across the river when my ancestors chose to make it more modern.”
“Do you know why they did that?” I ask.
“I don’t have a clue,” he replies with a sigh. “To make it look more intimidating? That’s only a guess though. My family loves to make people do what they want them to do by imposing fear. My father is a master at that.”
“Now that Morgan has been exiled and you’ve defected to our side of the city, does that mean Mathew will be the sole heir of your family’s fortune?” I ask.
“I suppose so because I have zero intentions of ever going back there or accepting anything from my father,” he replies with conviction.
“What do you think your dad’s reaction will be when he learns that you’ve left them?”
“He’ll probably be angry for a while, but honestly, I think a larger part of him will be relieved that he doesn’t have to deal with me pestering him anymore. He isn’t a horrible man, Cin, but he is greedy, and we’ve butted heads more often than I care to think about.”
The conversation isn’t going where I want it to. I was hoping to take Coltan’s mind off of his troubles for a while, but that isn’t what’s happening. I change the subject in hopes that it will lead him down a path to happier thoughts.
“Have you ever been to Shortcake’s Ice Cream Shoppe?” I ask him, watching the brick buildings blur together as I drive.
“No,” he tells me. “My brothers and I weren’t allowed to come over here when we were kids, even though I would sneak over to go to the library. Speaking of which, did you ever ask Maximus about what happened when we were kids?”
“Not yet. I can if you still want me to, or you can ask him yourself. I’m sure he would be happy to tell you whatever you want to know, but discovering the truth about that has become less important to me.”
“Why?” Coltan asks softly, turning to face me.
I chance a glance away from the road to look over at him. “Now that I know you better, I simply don’t care. Odds are Maximus probably did alter your feelings for me back then. I know he cast a spell on me because he wanted me to concentrate on becoming a Thorn and not on you. We were too young to be having those type of feelings for one another anyway.”
“And now?” he asks.
“And now,” I say, repeating his words, “I think we’re both our own person and have our own thoughts and feelings. When we first touched as children, I felt like I was losing myself in my obsession with you. Now that I’m older, I know who I am and what I want out of life. It’s a totally different feeling. Is it that way for you?”
Coltan nods. “I understand what you’re saying, and yes, it’s different for me now as a man instead of a boy. The feelings are more real instead of fantasy.”
I feel nervous after hearing his words and wonder if I should broach a subject neither of us have mentioned yet.
“What you said back on the island—”
“I meant every word,” he tells me before I can even finish my question. “You might think I’m a fool for saying that I’m in love with you, Cin, but I’m not going to lie to you or myself about how I feel. It’s not something I can control, and it’s not something I expect you to reciprocate right away or even at all, if you don’t want to. I believe you care for me, but I’ll never push you to say you love me too. I’m a patient man, and right now I want you to follow your heart.”
I have no idea what to say to that, so I don’t say anything at all. I nod my head to let him know I heard him. We ride in silence for a few minutes before Coltan restarts the conversation.
“Didn’t you tell me your birthday is coming up?” he asks me, effectively changing the subject. “I seem to remember promising you a surprise for it.”
“Oh, well, my birthday has already passed,” I inform him.
“When was it?”
I knew this conversation would come up eventually, but I didn’t expect it to happen on the day Coltan laid his mother to rest.
“It was the day your mother died,” I tell him.
He stares out the passenger window as he processes this.
“I hope I didn’t ruin your birthday for you,” he apologizes as he looks back at me.
“You absolutely didn’t,” I tell him as I take my right hand off the steering wheel to grab one of his resting on his lap. “I wanted to see you again. I only wish it had been under happier circumstances.”
“Me too,” he says, squeezing my hand. “I’ll have to figure out a way to make it up to you.”
“There’s nothing to make up,” I assure him.
“Yes, there is,” he says resolutely. “Plus, I still owe you a surprise. It’ll give me a project to work on to take my mind off of things. But I’ll need some time to figure out what I want to do for you.”
I try to contain a pleased and excited smile, but I can’t. “Then I look forward to being surprised.”
I start to pull my hand out of Coltan’s, but he gently keeps ahold of it, which isn’t something I mind at all. I feel him raise my hand with his, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him lean in and kiss the back of it. The instant his lips press against my flesh, tendrils of electricity course through my body from my head to my toes.
“Wow,” I say, shocked by the powerfu
l sensation of his kiss.
“Then you felt that too?” Coltan asks, studying me closely.
“Yes,” I reply, glancing his way and seeing his startled expression. “Did you know that would happen?”
He shakes his head, and I return my eyes to the road.
“I had no idea, but it makes me wonder what we’ll feel if we do other things together,” he murmurs.
I laugh nervously, and slowly take my hand out of his grasp to rest it back on the steering wheel.
“Why does the idea of kissing me make you so nervous?” he has the audacity to ask.
If he didn’t sound so genuinely curious, I would try to brush his question aside, but it’s Coltan. I can’t do that to him, especially not on a day like today. Besides, my main purpose for taking him out was to get his mind off of his mother’s passing, and this topic of conversation seems to be doing the trick.
“I um . . .” My speech falters. What will Coltan think of me after I answer his question? “I’ve never kissed a man before.”
“Really?” he asks, sounding surprised. “Haven’t you ever dated? Or was that frowned upon while you were at the academy?”
“No, we were able to date people while we were there. I just chose not to do it. I was more concerned about being the best cadet at Thorn Hill and that took up almost all of my spare time.”
“Why was it so important for you to be the best?” he asks.
“In the beginning, Commander Ford embarrassed me in front of the whole school, which made me want to prove to her and everyone else that I wasn’t some little spoiled brat. Then, after a while, I enjoyed learning how to protect myself and anyone else I cared about. Success can be addicting,” I tell him. “The better you become at something, the better you want to be at it.”
“I can understand that,” he says. “And to be honest, I like knowing that you’ve never been kissed.”
“Why is that?” Butterflies flutter in my stomach in anticipation of his response.
“It means anything that we do together will probably be your first time doing it,” he replies. “I get to experience your first reactions to things, and that’s exciting for me.”
I grin and shake my head. “You’re so weird.”
Coltan laughs. “Why do you say that?”
“It seems odd to me that a guy would care so much about sharing my first times with me,” I say.
“Why does that seem odd?” he asks.
“Usually girls are the ones who care about touchy-feely things,” I tell him honestly.
Coltan chuckles. “Are you calling me a girly man?”
“No,” I say definitively. “There is nothing about you that screams girl to me. I promise you that.”
“Good,” he replies. “That’s not the kind of vibe I want to give off because I’m most definitely interested in you as a red-blooded man.”
Thankfully, we reach Shortcake’s Ice Cream Shoppe by this point, and I avoid responding by parking the car.
“We’re here,” I announce before shutting off the car’s engine and opening my door to hop out of it.
I’m thankful for the gentle breeze blowing on this autumn afternoon. It does wonders for cooling down my burning cheeks. Before I met Coltan, I hardly ever blushed. Now it seems like my face turns red from a mere glance from him. I attempt to shake off the effect Coltan has on me and shut my car door to walk over to the sidewalk in front of the ice cream parlor.
Coltan steps out of the car and joins me. He searches his pockets for something, and then worry takes over his features.
“I don’t have any scripts,” he says, frowning.
“Did you literally leave home with only the clothes on your back?” I ask.
“I suppose I did,” he says as the realization of his situation hits home. “In hindsight, that wasn’t the best idea, but I didn’t want to take anything that belonged to my family with me.”
“What you did today took a lot of guts, Coltan. Not many people would willingly give up that kind of wealth and security.”
“None of it was mine anyway,” he says. “I was born into the right family. I didn’t earn the right to be so privileged. At least your father earned everything he left you. I would rather be like that than a trust-fund baby.”
“Come on,” I say, taking one of his hands with mine. “Today’s my treat because this trust-fund baby has scripts to spare.”
“I’m sorry,” he says as he willingly lets me pull him toward the ice cream shop. “I didn’t mean it like that. Like I said, your father earned his way. Mine inherited everything and made more off the moral lapses of others.”
“I am joking,” I tell him. “I’m not offended. Our situations are totally different. I get that. Now come on! The longer we stand here, the hungrier for ice cream I’ll get.”
“Is ice cream a normal lunch option for you?” he asks. His amusement is reflected back at us in the store’s window.
“Sometimes,” I admit because I am not ashamed of my sweet tooth. “Maybe later I’ll take you out for real food, but right now, I need ice cream.”
“So is this a date?” he asks.
“Why don’t we call it two friends going out to get some ice cream together,” I suggest. “I really don’t want to think of this as my first official date with a guy.”
“Then I’ll make sure our first official date is something you’ll remember because I plan to be the lucky guy who gets to do that for you.”
“Come on, Prince Perfect,” I say, using Gretel’s nickname for him. “Let’s fill my belly with chocolate ice cream before I get cranky and you see the beast inside me emerge.”
“There can’t possibly be a beast inside that tiny body of yours,” he declares as he opens the wooden door of the shop for me.
“You would be surprised,” I tell him. “Let’s hope that you never have to meet it up close and personal.”
I have one foot inside the shop when the earth beneath my feet quakes and a loud boom reverberates in the air, causing me to raise my hands to shield my ears from the cacophony. I turn around and search the immediate area. When I look to the east of where we’re standing, I catch sight of a dome of blue energy bubble up in the distance, and I know what’s happening. I quickly turn toward Coltan, grab his right arm, and pull him into the ice cream shop.
“Everybody get down!” I yell to those inside the store as I push Coltan facedown to the hardwood floor and cover him with my body.
“What’s happening?” he asks in alarm right before I hear the pop associated with what’s coming next.
“A mage is going supernova,” I tell him. “If you believe in a higher power, Coltan, I suggest you pray that we survive it.”
Chapter 5
I’ve only experienced a supernova once before in my life. It happened when we were thirteen and sitting in Ms. Martin’s class at the academy. None of us would have thought much of the slight tremor beneath our feet, except that afterwards Commander Ford gathered us all together to watch footage of the incident. Three Thorns died that day, and our commander wanted to educate us on what to do if we ever encountered one, so we could hopefully survive such an attack.
The extent of the destruction caused by a supernova is contingent on the strength of the mage. Some mages wield magic that’s more powerful than others. The ball of electricity I saw a moment ago swelled well past most of the rooftops in town, which suggests the mage who’s about to release all of his or her energy is one of the strongest I’ve ever seen in my life.
An ear-splitting pop of all the mage’s power being released at once echoes across the town, and I pray Coltan and I are far enough away from the heart of the blast to survive the destruction that is sure to rain down on the city. The high-pitched whine of the wave of energy heads our way. I hold onto Coltan tightly in case I need to protect him or the building we’re in comes tumbling down on top of us.
The mage’s energy wave hits our location, and glass shatters as the windows in the ice cream shop bus
t inward, spraying us with tiny shards. The pieces are so small they have almost transformed back to the sand that they were originally forged from. The oxygen in the shop is instantly depleted, leaving us all gasping for air that isn’t there anymore. It takes a few terrifying seconds before we’re able to take in a breath of air again.
Breathing deeply, I ask Coltan, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” he says as breathless as me. “I’m fine.”
I scramble off him and scan the parlor to make sure everyone is still alive. There are five patrons in the shop, and Ms. Margaret, the shop owner, stands up from behind the counter. Since no one here seems to need my help, I head directly for the front door. I don’t have to look over my shoulder to know Coltan is following close behind me. When we get to the street, I’m thankful to see that all of the buildings in the town square are still standing. None of them have windows, but glass can easily be replaced. Scattered along the sidewalk are the people who weren’t fortunate enough to find shelter before the energy wave hit. Their bodies suffered the full brunt of the blast, and just like the glass, their bones shattered on impact, and I know there isn’t anything that I can do for them now. Commander Ford taught us that as long as you’re not in the epicenter of the blast, you can survive it by being low to the ground. The power from a supernova will travel in a circular pattern away from the mage like a pebble dropped in a calm pool of water that forms ripples radiating from the point of impact. If you remain below the mage’s center of gravity, you can withstand the devastating power of the supernova.
I activate my com bracelet and call Gretel. She breathes a sigh of relief upon answering.
“Thank God you’re alive,” Gretel says, happy to hear my voice.
“Coltan and I are fine,” I tell her. “Is anyone there hurt?”
“We’re all okay. Do you know where it happened?”
“East side of town is the only thing I know right now,” I say. “We’re about to head that way to secure the epicenter of the blast and see if we can find any survivors.”
“We’ll head that way too,” Gretel tells me. “Be careful, Cin. This was a bad one.”