Cursed: St. Croix Falls #2

by Melody Personette

  She could do this. She had to do this.

  Pulling out of the parking spot, she headed home read do whatever she had to do to stop the curse.

  Chapter Fifteen

  This was harder than Mia had thought it would be.

  “So, let’s work on some focus first?” Rhett said the next day in his backyard.

  Mia groaned but followed suit as he sat down cross-legged on the grass. “OK, what are we focusing on today?”

  Rhett grinned. “Let’s just start with something easy. Close your eyes.”

  Mia frowned but did as he said and closed her eyes. “OK. Now what?”

  “Shh, I’m getting there. Place your hand in the grass and reach out like I’ve tried to teach you before.”

  Mia scowled at that but placed her hand in the grass, feeling the cool blades prickle her skin. Then she reached out like he’d tried to explain to her over the past five weeks. How it felt, what she needed to do to connect. Turned out connecting to the Earth and every living thing around her was harder than it sounded. She only felt it snap into place when she was running, which was a problem. Mia needed to figure out a way to transfer her connection when she was running to when she was relaxed and sitting down or standing in one place. Maybe she was thinking too much about it.

  She cleared her mind, getting rid of all thoughts and focused on what the grass felt like beneath her palm. How the dirt felt cool and wet against her skin. But no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the grass and the dirt, Mia came up with nothing. No tingly magic or zing of power.

  She tried for a good five minutes before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I give up. This isn’t working.”

  Mia slumped and opened her eyes to find Rhett staring at her with a puzzled look on his face.

  He frowned, rubbing his cheek. “Maybe it’s not tangible enough for you.”

  “What’s more tangible than grass and dirt?”

  Rhett shook his head. “Not that. I mean like the idea of magic. How your power works. Maybe I haven’t explained it the right way... Growing up in Faerie, no one has to explain how your power or magic works. You just kind of know... it’s an instinct. And it was for you too. But then you forgot that instinct, you forgot your past and now you have to relearn it all. So here, let me try again. Close your eyes.”

  Mia gave him a doubtful look. He smirked, gesturing at her. “Humor me. Close your eyes.”

  “Fine.” Mia shut her eyes and placed both hands in the dirt.

  “We aren’t nymphs,” Rhett said. “We’re Sidhe. Nymphs like Angie are born from the Earth. They are truly one with nature. And yes, I know how cliché that sounds,” he said when Mia opened her mouth to say how dumb that sounded. “But it’s true. Sidhes have the magic already inside of us. We’re literally made of the stuff, if that makes sense?”

  Mia shook her head. “It doesn’t.”

  Rhett sighed. “Alright. Think of it this way. The race of nymphs were born of the trees, the grass, the flowers. Plants of all kinds. The merfolk were created from lakes and rivers and oceans. Nymphs can make plants grow and can control flowers and trees. Merfolk have power over water. But while nymphs draw power from the earth, us Sidhes are made of magic. We have it already inside of us. We don’t have to draw it from outside sources.”

  “Then why do I always feel a burst of energy come from the ground and I feel connected to everything when I run?” Mia asked without opening her eyes.

  “Because that magic that is already inside of us is connecting to everything around us. When your running, not only are you drawing strength from the ground, but also from any water nearby and the wind against your face. It’s called channeling. Ryker was trying to teach that to you at the beginning because it comes more naturally to Seelies. That’s why you do it without meaning to while you run.”

  “I get that... I just am having a hard time visualizing how that’s supposed to look. Or I guess figuring out how I’m supposed to consciously do that. Whenever I feel that sort of thing, I’m never purposefully doing it.”

  “Then don’t purposefully do it now.”

  Mia made a face. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “What are you thinking about when you’re running?”

  “I don’t know...” Mia shrugged. “Nothing? I don’t think when I run. I focus on my movements... on my breathing that sort of thing.”

  “Then do that now.”

  Mia frowned. “It doesn’t work like that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know, it just doesn’t.”

  “Or maybe because you keep telling yourself it doesn’t. Just try, Mia. Humor me.”

  She sighed. “Fine. If it’ll get you to leave me alone.”

  Mia could imagine that smug look on his face, but then she remembered she wasn’t supposed to be imagining anything. Do what she did when she was running. It wasn’t the same, but she could try. Mia let her mind go blank and concentrated on her breathing. Instead of counting her steps and feeling the way her legs moved beneath her, she focused on the air going in and out of her lungs. Beneath her palms she could feel the earth feed her energy. She felt a breeze run along her skin and through her hair.

  She could feel herself connecting to them, like she was the heart of a larger body. Everything around her ran with currents of power, pumping her full of magic and, in turn, she could pump it back out. Mia let the energy bubbling up all around her seep into her skin and feed the magic Rhett said was supposedly inside her. Kind of like downing one of those energy drinks. They fizzed in her veins and riled her up, giving her the mega boost she wanted.

  She sucked in a breath and opened her eyes to find Rhett eyeing her. He cocked his head, grinning. “How do you feel?”

  Mia grinned back, letting the energy wash over her. “Amazing... I’ve only ever felt this way while running.”

  “What were you thinking about when it happened?”

  Mia shrugged, getting to her feet. Maybe it was better that it only happened when she ran because now, she felt like she might burst if she didn’t burn off some of this energy.

  Rhett must have noticed because he quickly hopped up too and grabbed her wrists before she could run off. “Now channel all that energy your feeling. You feel that fizz in your veins?”

  Mia nodded.

  “Use it,” Rhett said, excitement laced in his voice. “Let it out.”

  “How?”

  Rhett glanced around. His eyes lit up when they landed on the lake. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Rhett gestured at a few pebbles scattered in the yard. “Raise those,” he instructed.

  Mia bit her lip, glancing from him to the small rocks. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Come on, give it a try.”

  Frowning, Mia let go of his hand and reached hers out like she had before. She closed her eyes and felt the pull inside her like a muscle she was just starting to learn how to use. When she opened her eyes she grinned, seeing the pebbles floating in front of her. When she glanced at Rhett, she found him beaming with pride which made her smile grow even more.

  “You’re doing it,” he murmured.

  Mia grinned. “I am. And it’s... effortless. I thought it would be harder, but it feels like I’m not doing anything at all.”

  Rhett nodded, both of them watching as she wiggled her fingers and made them spin and dance in the air. Now that Mia felt the magic, could picture what was happening and had done it before it clicked. She still had a ways to go, but this was a step in the right direction. “You used to tell me that all the time. I used to envy how effortless it was for you. You were always a natural and so much more powerful than you ever let anyone know,” he said with a wistful smile as he remembered a past Mia couldn’t recall.

  Mia let her hands fall to her sides. The pebbles fell back to the ground. “Well... it’s not totally effortless.”

  Rhett laughed. “You said that too. You don’t have to try and make me feel better. I’m Okay with being av
erage at magic.”

  “Really?” Mia asked, hands on hips with a teasing grin.

  “Yes, really. You may be good at magic, but I dominate at swordsmanship.”

  “Well I guess that works out because I’m perfectly Okay with being average at using a sword.”

  “See, we make the perfect pairing,” Rhett said back, a hint of seriousness in his eyes Mia chose to ignore.

  She straightened out her ponytail and flashed him a grin. “So, what’s next?”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “Still think you got some energy left?”

  “Sure. I’m willing to try something different. I want to be able to use my magic with ease... like I used to. Or I’m assuming like I used to.”

  “You did. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said you were the best at magic. Extremely powerful, talented, controlled. I think if you really put your all into training, you could get back to that.”

  Mia nodded. “I want that.”

  Rhett’s eyes narrowed as he folded his arms. “Why the sudden change? I know you want stop the curse but is that really all this is?”

  “It’s not only about the curse... I just want to prove that I can defend myself. That I’m not weak. I’m sick of Lilac staring her nose down at me. I want to prove...”

  “Prove yourself,” Rhett whispered, finishing her sentence.

  Mia blinked and nodded, surprised he knew what she had been about to say. “Yeah,” she murmured. “Prove myself. After everything that’s happened, I want to prove that I’m useful.”

  Rhett nodded. “Trust me, I get that more than you know. And if that’s what you really want, then I’m all in. I’ll help you with your training, I’ll help you get stronger if that’s what you really want.”

  “It is,” Mia said with finality.

  She had had a lot of time to think it over, and she wanted this. Not just to spite Lilac but also, she owed it to herself to find out what she was capable of. For the past few weeks, Mia had been too scared to dig deep. She had been processing and figuring out what being half-Fae meant, but now she realized she would never move forward, move past this revelation and find out what kind of a person she had been, and was now, if she didn’t move on and give herself the chance to use her natural gifts.

  Rhett nodded, face stony and serious. “OK then. Your intensive training starts now.”

  Mia couldn’t help but grin at that. “What I’ve been doing for the past two weeks wasn’t intensive training?”

  “Not even close,” Rhett said with a smirk. “If you want to unlock your full potential, it’s going to take more than levitating some pebbles.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mia had thought accessing her magic had been pretty impressive. It turned out though, she had just been scratching the surface of her potential. She was up at the break of dawn and at his house for most of the day.

  A few days after her pebble-floating breakthrough, the two of them were at the lake. They did meditation and Rhett taught her that the key to her magic was emotions.

  “Emotions, feelings, they’re the heart of what makes our magic come forth. Have you ever felt a tingle of power when you feel threatened? Like something tugging inside of you? About to break free to protect you?” Rhett asked a few days after she had accessed her magic.

  They were in his backyard. Mia had been trying to teleport a cup of hot chocolate from one surface to another. Apparently, that was another thing the Sidhe used often. When Mia asked why Rhett didn’t just teleport stuff he needed to him, he had flashed her a grin and said that was for Sidhe who were lazy. She would bet twenty dollars that he used it more often than he admitted. Who wouldn’t?

  Mia stared at the cup as she thought back to the lake. “I made vines grow up Aeron’s legs when I thought he was going to attack me. There was this... pull inside me. My fingers tingled. But then it just went away once I knew I wasn’t in danger anymore... Does that count?”

  “Yes! That completely counts. That’s great Mia. That’s progress. Now all we have to do is master that.”

  “Master what?”

  “That instinct. What did you feel in that moment?”

  Mia shrugged, still staring at the cup. Maybe if she concentrated hard enough, something would happen...? “I don’t know... fear... But before that I sort of was just messing around and I moved the water a little bit. And I didn’t feel fear then. I was just... not really thinking. So what does that mean?”

  “It means we have something to work with,” Rhett said, excitement in his voice. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

  “Because I didn’t want to do magic?”

  A pause and then, “Alright... that makes sense. But now we are doing magic and you need to learn how to use it properly. On command.”

  “Well if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears. If you haven’t noticed, nothing else we’ve tried has worked,” Mia said, throwing her hands up.

  Rhett raised his hands. “Hey, let’s not get all worked up about it. Calm down. Let me think.”

  Mia let out a sigh and sat down in the grass while Rhett paced in front of her. Two minutes later when he still had nothing, Mia flopped down onto her back. This was pointless. How was she supposed to ever get control over something as intangible as magic? Magic was this... elusive thing. This thing she didn’t understand at all. She placed her arm over her eyes. What if none of this worked? What if she really couldn’t get control? The curse would eat everyone in town.

  “I know!” Rhett shouted, jerking Mia from her thoughts. She sat up to find him grinning down at her with outstretched arms. “I’m such an idiot! It’s so obvious... I was on the right track, but I didn’t think.”

  “That’s not a surprise,” Mia drawled with a grin.

  Rhett shot her a look and held his hands out for her to take. “Come on. I know what to do now,” he said, wiggling his fingers.

  Mia sighed but took his hands and let him haul her to her feet. “What?”

  Rhett walked around her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He guided her to stand in front of the cup on the ground. “Close your eyes.”

  Mia didn’t even bother asking why. She shut her eyes. “Now what?” she grumbled.

  “Now go back to the night Ryker unlocked your magic.”

  Mia made a face. “I’d rather not. Why can’t I focus on the lake the other day?”

  “Because that’s not the root. That’s not what triggered your magic to begin with. Ryker unlocked it. Just trust me. While it’s great you were able to do anything at the lake, those were tiny incidences of your magic. What did you feel that night?”

  Mia grimaced. “Fear... anger... worry... terror... heartbreak,” she whispered that last one.

  A pause and then in a quieter voice, “OK. Focus on one of those or all of them. Feel them. Let yourself live in that moment again and while you’re doing that focus on the cup in front of you.”

  She’d rather not focus on any of those feelings but... she supposed it was worth a shot. Mia went back to that night. Now that she had some distance from it, she could recall everything that happened without having immediate feelings of fear and pain. She remembered crying, pleading with Ryker to not do this. Trying to convince him that she didn’t have any magic, she couldn’t open the door. But blanketing it all of it was heartbreak and pain. She had just found out the truth about Rhett. About his lying, about herself, about the memories. It had hurt. More than anything else that had hurt. Tears pricked her eyes as she recalled the feelings that had filled her that night. All bad. All things she wished she didn’t have to feel. Ryker had given her her magic without her permission. He’d forced this upon her. Rhett had taken her memories and pushed her away to protect her. Everyone had lied to her when she first got there about what she really was.

  Mia’s hands fisted at her sides. Anger bubbled up inside of her, drowning out all the other feelings. She was sick of people making decisions for her. She was tired of feeling useless, powerless. Everyone was stronger
than her. They could all take care of themselves and they all felt the need to take care of her. Mia wanted to be able to take care of herself. Most of all though, she was sick of her magic not working for her. It was controlling her, living inside of her without being any help at all. Well Mia wouldn’t have it anymore. She wanted – needed – control. And that was what she was going to get.

  As if drawn out by her anger, her hands tingled, and she could feel that heaviness in her gut she’d felt at the lake. The sound of glass shattering made Mia’s eyes fly open. The noise severed her connection to her magic, cutting off her anger.

  There, lying on the ground, was a bunch of glass shards from the cup that had been sitting there moments ago. Rhett was standing beside her staring down at it.

  Mia swallowed as she stared at the poor cup she’d destroyed. “Did I... do that?” she whispered.

  “Yeah, you did,” Rhett said back just as quietly.

  They stood there for several seconds staring at the glass pieces. Mia had done it. She’d found a way to get control over her magic, to summon it. Through anger. She wasn’t sure if that was right or healthy, but it was something. At least now she had something to work with.

  “How’d you do it?” Rhett asked at last, a small smile growing on his lips.

  Mia glanced at him. “I did what you said. I used my emotions.” He didn’t need to know the emotion she’d chosen was burning hot anger.

  Rhett didn’t seem to mind not knowing the specifics. He grinned. “Well I’m proud of you. You did good today. Now we have a starting place. But first... let’s see if you can repeat it.”

  Rhett scanned their surroundings, his eyes landing on the lake. He raised a hand and droplets of water formed in the air. His hand fisted and the droplets turned to ice. Mia’s eyebrows shot up.