“Then the final product is literally mouthwatering. The smell that escapes when you're almost done and that first bite is just so satisfying.”
On the verge of a food orgasm, my council Sister buries her head in her hands as she awaits one of my delicacies. My cheeks turn red listening to them gush over my desserts and my process. I turn away before the girls can catch me because I know I’ll get teased for it. As I place the bowl down, I see I did exactly as Victoria said.
Lost in my own mind, the dough is already ready. With a quick wave of my hand, the sheet pans appear on the counter. As I begin rolling the dough into balls, I hear one of the bedroom doors open. Charlie skips in seconds later with a look of pure delight. And as Lucas passes us to join the guys, he has the same exact look plastered on his face.
Smiling because I've never been happier for someone, Charlie notices and nudges my elbow.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed your baking. Among a lot of other things, this was definitely in my top five.” Spinning around to face the rest of the girls, Mack jumps out of her seat and walks over to Charlie. Taking her arm and making her twirl, Mack whistles, causing Charlie to get just as red in the cheeks as I was a moment ago.
“Damn, girl! Paradise sure was good to you! Lookin’ at you now that I'm not straight shocked, I can see there is a difference. And what’s surprisin’ is that you still have all these tattoos.” Mack examines her arm, as if even her tattoos have been glamorized.
“That was my own choice. They said I could keep them if I wanted.” Charlie shrugs it off and playfully pushes Mack.
“And look who's talking! I hear you have some new tricks up your sleeve, half mortal!” Proudly, Mack showcases her electric new gift. She does it so easily, even I am impressed.
“Very nice. Maybe you can be of assistance after all.” Surprising us all, Mack quickly declines.
“Uh uh. Don't any of y’all be volunteerin’ me for any of this war business. Y’all heard Ava, I am to sit nice and safe at the Village.” Chuckling at her blunt innocence, Charlie nods in understanding. As I place the cookies into the oven, Hunter claps her hands.
“YES! It won’t be long now. In the meantime, Charlie, can you PLEASE tell Scarlet your secret. I am choking on the tension that’s oozing out of her because she can’t touch Evan.” She puts me on the spot. If it was anyone else, I would have been completely embarrassed. But she’s right. I need to learn how to control this.
Charlie salutes Hunter and spins to face me. As she reaches for my shoulders, I retract in fear of consuming her gift. But she gives me a stern look and places her hands on my arms. I prepare myself for the shock of electricity that comes with it. When nothing happens, I open my eyes that I didn't realize I squeezed shut.
“That is just to show you it is possible.” She lets go and leads me to the two empty chairs.
“Okay. Callie made sure I knew exactly how to get you to understand how to control your special gift. Can you summon your skateboard for me, please?” She takes me by surprise, which is paired with confusion.
I do it quickly, without saying a word. The last thing I want to do is delay this any longer. Willing my power to call to my board, I seal the cast with a clap. When the skateboard appears, Charlie's eyes light up.
“Seriously, you have no idea how dynamic you are. Now get on.” I do as she says, with reddened cheeks.
It is as silent as a library in here as everyone’s curiosity is piqued. They watch me with bulging eyes, waiting for me to do something that blows them away. I wonder when I will stop feeling like a circus act. As I easily balance myself on my board, Charlie motions for everyone to step back to give me space.
“Good. Okay, you know how when you're doing a trick, that’s the only time your feet leave the board? Well your angel gift is the board and your feet is everyone else's gift.
You see, when someone with a gift touches you, that’s them stepping on your board. It’s your choice whether you want to take their gift for a ride. Now do a quick and easy ollie.” As I effortlessly do the simplest skateboarding trick, I slightly understand what she’s trying to tell me.
“You see that you are always connected to the board? Just like someone else's gift connects with you? Well, the trick isn't to deflect their gift, the trick is to keep that connection without letting them take their feet off of your board.
If you keep that connection open, you can ride smoothly. But if you frighten and retract in fear, you're going to fall. Know that when someone is about to touch you, their gift will step onto your board. If you don’t want their gift, simply will their feet off of your board.
Their gift will return to them as if nothing has happened. And if you do want to take their gift for a ride, simply do your tricks and remember to stay connected. When you get really good, you'll be able to withdraw and return everyone’s gift without even touching them. Now that, I can’t wait for.”
She makes it sound so simple, but I know I'm going to be thinking of this lesson all night. Luckily, the oven sings its song, letting us know the cookies are done.
“After we destroy these cookies, we’ll give it a try.”
Charlie winks at me and goes to sit by Luke. As I get the cookies out of the oven, I do my best to go over her metaphor so when I try I won’t screw it up. As if screwing up is something I can easily control.
Chapter 19
Angel 101
“Come on, Scarlet. I'm stuffed and ready for some alone time with Luke already. Just close your eyes and picture in your mind the caster’s gift staying with the caster. If the gift crosses over to you unintentionally, simply take hold of it, control it, and return it to them.” Charlie, who has already had five cookies, throws herself on the couch, ready to begin.
Sensing my hesitation, Charlie grins and whispers in Luke's ear. He snaps his fingers and Earth Angel by the Penguins blares through the walls. The irony of the song and my situation is exactly something Charlie would pick. I can’t help but get a sensation of thankfulness that she’s back.
“A little of your music for a sense of calmness?” Charlie chuckles, as she dances in her seat to one of my favorite songs that will now always hold a different meaning. Squinting my eyes and shaking my shoulders, I crack my knuckles in the middle of the room, trying to make light of the situation.
“Very Funny. Fine. Victoria, you. Come.”
Adrenaline pumps through my veins and I can feel my power and body brace itself for the prospect of absorbing someone's gift. But I do just as Charlie instructs. Victoria raises her hand to touch me. But before she does, I close my eyes and concentrate on Victoria's gift stepping on my board but not leaving her body.
With all my might I focus on her gift staying with her. I clench my shoulders awaiting the spark. When I feel the heaviness of her hand but nothing follows, I let out the breath I am holding. All I hear is silence. If I had taken Victoria's gift, I would be hearing everyone’s thoughts coming at me simultaneously. But I don't. And I want to scream with happiness.
“Alright, another one! Owen, you!”
Jumping up and down, I await Owen’s touch. But this time I keep my eyes open. He comically taps me with one finger and, again, I feel no spark. I will his gift to stay with him. When I try to manipulate a shadow with no luck, I shriek with joy.
“Hunter, you're my last one, come on.” Giving me a squinty look of her own, Hunter waves her hand and teleports in front of me in a mere second.
Distracted and confused, I don't expect her to touch me. So when she does, the spark hits me full force. Using Charlie's direction, I close my eyes and will her gift to stay on my board. If I don't, I’ll let it control me, instead of the other way around. I picture myself on my board with the heaviness of Hunter’s gift on me. Without another second passing, I push her gift right back into her body. Immediately I feel as if I am now weightless, striding on my skateboard.
With my eyes still closed, I can sense Charlie has gotten up.
“Good.
Now without touching her, try to call her gift back to you.” Shooting my eyes open, I swing my head towards Charlie's direction, which is now right next to me.
“Why would I want to do that? I thought the whole reason I'm learning to resist is so that I don't have to take anyone’s gift.” Confused, I stare at my best friend, who is now my guardian angel.
“It’s important for you to know that if you keep that connection open with the last person you touch, you can use it to your advantage in future situations. Now, let’s go.” Charlie gives me a fierce look, causing me to slowly look back at Hunter, who looks just as shocked as I do.
Taking a deep breath, I think of Hunter’s gift back on my board. If I close my eyes and picture myself on my skateboard, I can feel the ride become heavier with her gift. Once it feels like I can’t hold any more, I open my eyes and raise my hand to the ceiling.
Focusing on my cave because it’s the last place I saw Charlie alive, I feel Hunter’s gift take over my power. A portal begins swirling, a black void I know would take us back to the location of that terrible day. Closing my fist, I shut the portal and think of this gift returning to its rider. When I can feel the skateboard in my mind get lighter, I realize how well Charlie’s training is working.
“Yes, Scar!”
Charlie cheers me on, because she’s really the only person who knows what’s going on. When Hunter feels her gift come back, her gasp is enough to let everyone in the room know I have control over my gift. Without hesitation, Evan takes the chance to finally touch me.
The fact that I know it’s coming gives me the chance to prepare to resist his gift. Only, I thought he would simply place his hand on mine. Instead, Evan takes my face in his hands and gives me such a breathtakingly intimate kiss.
“Alrighty then, that’s our lesson for the day. Tomorrow we will revisit and continue practicing. You did great, but I would advise you to stay down here, where it’s safe. If you need me, call Luke's phone.”
Charlie, who is just as eager as Luke to be alone and have some privacy, ends the day on that note. I don't think I’ve seen Luke so genuinely happy since the day he met her. My heart grows, knowing their reunion will be filled with so much love. And now that I can touch my Anima Partem again, I can show him how much more he now means to me.
I can show him that no person can come between us. Not a mortal, not a caster, not an angel, nor any of the other species Charlie mentioned will ever take his place in my heart. Sensing that everyone left, I gather up all the boundless love I could possibly hold and I send it straight into his heart.
Instantly he pulls me in for another heated kiss. When he pulls away, I can see the devotion exploding in his eyes. Numb from all the love, my lips move faster than my brain.
“Let’s have our Anima Partem ceremony.” I watch his eyes grow wide in shock, but the smile on his lips is enough to tell me he is completely on board.
“Are you sure, love? With all of this stuff going on, is this the right time? I mean, I'm ready now. Don't get me wrong. I just don't want to put more on you when you already have so much to deal with.” He looks like a puppy with his excited eyes, but I can see the doubt he also has, even if it’s only on my behalf.
“Yes, Evan. I’m sure. Have you met my sister? I'm sure there won’t be much I’ll be doing anyway.”
Evan happily tackles me to the floor with one of his sloppiest kisses, but it’s perfect.
“I can’t wait to make you Mrs.White.” Even though I know this is the worst possible timing any bride would want to plan her ceremony, my heart spoke for me, and that’s enough to throw caution to the wind and just let it unfold.
“It won’t be a rush. We’ll take things as they come, one day at a time. If you need me to do anything to help, let me know and I’ll be there, always..” Evan has a new glow about him now and it’s comical, filling my heart even more than it already is.
“I love you, Evan.” Getting on his knees and scooping me up off of the floor, Evan carries me to one of the bedrooms down the hallway. With a nod of his head, a plate of cookies I made float in the air behind us, following us to the room.
“I love you so much more, Scar.” Giving me a sensual look, he slowly closes the door behind him.
I feel the blood rush to my cheeks immediately and it causes a flirty smile to form on his lips. He chuckles once, then slowly moves to my side of the bed. Turning me around so my legs hang off the side, Evan places himself directly in the middle of them.
He pushes himself so close to my body that I can distinctly smell apples on his skin. If my mouth was open, I would be drooling. To make it harder, Evan pulls the scrunchy out of my hair and softly runs his hands through it. Goosebumps form from my arms to my legs, causing my eyes to close on their own accord.
“Just know I will always have your back, I will always take care of you, and I will always appreciate every little bit of you. Together we will conquer all that love has to offer and more.” Evan whispers this as he softly trails kisses from my neck to my lips.
He has me so completely hypnotized with passion that all I can muster up for a reply is a purring moan. I hear his fingers snap and I open my eyes, curious to see what he could be casting right now. To my surprise, it looks exactly the way it did the first night he asked me to be his girlfriend.
It’s pitch black all around us and all I can see are the floating, lit up orbs that look like stars. Reaching around his body, I grasp the closest orb and, just like the first time, it begins to glow brighter under my touch. A smile grows on my face as I remember how naive I was before I knew the extent of my powers.
Now look at me. I have more power than I can hold. But as I look up into the eyes of my Anima Partem, I know that as long as I have him and all of the people we love, we can and will defeat anything that comes our way.
***
“I really missed you guys.” Charlie says, as we sip on our coffee.
It’s so much quieter with only the two of us here, although my coven is right outside. I know we’re safe here at my dad’s gym. But after the ambush from the other night, you can never be so sure.
“We really missed you, Charlie. Luke was…inconsolable. I was…broken.” I can feel the tears begin to burn at my eyelids. But if I let them flow, I know I’ll break down. And nobody likes to see a leader break down in tears.
“You need to stop putting so much pressure on yourself. I mean, sure, you have three different realms to protect, but I have faith that you will come out on top.” She says this so confidently that I almost don't realize I didn’t say how I was feeling out loud.
“Wait, how did you know what I was thinking? Is mind-reading your angel gift?” For a brief moment I sense how bizarre it is to be talking about this with Charlie, since the last time I saw her she was mortal.
“No, it is not my gift. It’s just written all over your face. My angel gift is the gift of knowledge. I mean, I was a mad genius when I was a mere mortal, so it only made sense to intensify what I already had.
Now I just know facts about the mortal world, Paradise, and what I'm learning about the caster world. The casters are pretty secretive about their world, but I’ve been trained on what I need to know about it, so I'm pretty much up to speed.”
“Wow. That is ironically fitting for you, Charlie.” Clinking her mug to the rim of mine, she chugs the rest of her coffee and stands abruptly to pace the small space of the living room.
“So we got a little bit ahead of ourselves yesterday with the impromptu angel gift lesson, but I could tell it had to happen. You and Evan could’ve started a fire with all of the tension in the room. But it didn't put us off track too much, so let’s start from the beginning.”
Placing my mug on the table, I tuck my feet under myself to pay attention.
“Ava wants you to get up to speed with your angel side, so where would you like to start? The past, the present, or the future? Or would you like to know everything you can do first?”
She seems sligh
tly jumpy, but I blame it on the fact that she had to stay hidden from us for so long.
“Um…everything?” Speaking in full honesty, I crack a small smile to show the hesitation of my answer. Throwing herself on the couch next to me, she leans her head back and closes her eyes.
“This is going to take a while. You should have read all those books I recommended, because then you would be more up to speed.” I flinch at her sarcasm.
“Is it really that similar to what you used to read? I mean, they were called fiction for a reason, no?” Genuinely surprised, I await her incredulous answer.
“You really have no idea how similar the books are to the real thing. 85% of what was in those books was actually factual. In Paradise, it is said that mortal writers are the closest link this realm has to all of the worlds.
They're born with the ability to peek into the realms of the universe. The gods and goddesses made it so it would be accepted as fiction, for the safety of all the creatures in the realms. My obsession with reading those books was actually one of the main reasons the high court approved my request to be your guardian.” I can sense the pride pouring out of her and even I feel proud to have such an intelligent guardian.
“I still can’t believe it. You're back. With wings. To protect me.” Spaced out in my own head, I almost don't hear her response.
“Well, you can’t keep me in a lamp or anything, and I don't have the power to grant any of your wishes, but I can help you kick ass out there on the battlefield.” Again her sarcasm and pride remind me just how much I missed my spunky friend.
“As Mack would say, HELL YES!” Our laughter gets cut short as a blinding pain strikes behind my eyes. Squeezing them shut, I bring my hands up to my head to try and stop the pain, but it keeps coming. Charlie jumps out of her seat alarmed and immediately in defense mode.
“Scarlet, what’s wrong? Are you being attacked?” I'm not sure why she thinks I can answer her. I'm in so much pain that I can't even try.
“EVAN!” I hear her shout his name. In less than a second I feel the sparks ignite on my spine. The door opens and Evan runs in and bends by my side.
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