Page 7

Trees sprouted out around us as far as the eye could see. The busy noises of the city were far enough away that only the birds and squirrels filled the air. It reminded me of home. Or rather the queen’s home.

A sense of peace swelled within me, and yet unease crept in.

“Are you sure we won’t get caught? What about those floating eyes?”

“Cameras,” Rebecca corrected me, stopping in the middle of a clearing near a small pond. A gaggle of ducks with their ducklings quaked and ruffled their feathers. “The floating eyes are cameras. And yes, in a fashion. I have placed a barrier around us so they can’t see us from below. It will protect us from prying eyes, but if someone walks through it...”

I rolled my lips and shook my head. “I’m not sure this is wise.”

“Unfortunately, it will have to do. I like my garden and my house, and your powers, while great, are uncontrollable as they are now.” Rebecca leveled a look at me. “Here, you will bother no one, and I will get to keep my home.”

I crossed my arms. “Tell that to the squirrels,” I muttered.

“Okay, enough talk.” Rebecca clapped once and rubbed her hands together. “Show me what you can do.”

Cocking my head to the side, I chewed on my lower lip. “I don’t know how. I mean, I don’t know what to show you.”

Rebecca hummed and looked off to the side before she gave me a wicked grin. “Fire.”

My brows shot up. “Fire? You want me to start a fire. Here?”

“Yes, like you did at the party.” She turned toward the wall of trees and muttered a few words under her breath. The shield she had placed around us shimmered and hardened. “There. Your magic will be contained. You won’t burn down the trees with the little birdies and squirrels down in them.”

I puffed out a breath, still not happy with the idea. I’d seen what the fire balls could do. I felt... icky about using them like the queen did.

But if I was going to control my powers, I had to know what I could do, and one thing I knew the queen could do was fire.

Quietly apologizing to the animals if this went wrong, I placed my hands in front of me, palms out, and focused on the magic inside of me. Like in the bathroom, it swelled and caressed me before pooling into my palms.

A burst of fire appeared in my hands, a tiny flame at first before it began to grow, an orange, a fist, a watermelon, it kept growing, and I couldn’t stop it.

“Control it, my queen. Control it.”

“I can’t.” The fire was so hot, so powerful. Just like in the bathroom, once the magic started, I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t make it stay in the ball of flame the way the queen had at the party. It wanted to eat everything around us and burn it to ash.

“If you can’t stop it, then throw it.” Rebecca stepped forward. “Throw it away before it gets any bigger.”

Gritting my teeth, I lifted one hand, pulling the fire with me and threw with all my might. The fire shot across the clearing and smashed against her barrier, sending a tremor through it before it shattered altogether.

I gaped at what I’d done and then locked eyes with Rebecca. “You were saying?”

Rebecca grinned. “Well, I’ll just have to make the barrier stronger. Now, let’s try again.”

We continued on like this for an hour, her making a barrier, me shattering it within moments, and then on and on again. Even though I’d been using my magic for an hour, I didn’t feel tired. At least, not physically.

Mentally, I was exhausted. Not because the magic was draining but from the lack of control.

I bet the queen was laughing inside of me. True, she had given me the full extent of our powers but, without control, I was little more than a disaster waiting to happen.

“Let’s take a break.” Rebecca breathed heavily, the strain of using her magic for so long showed on her face. A sweat had broken out on her brow, and her eyes were weary.

I nodded, swallowing.

Rebecca collapsed next to the pond, gathering handfuls of water to splash on her face. Guilt riddled through me. Here I was, completely fine, while Rebecca was exhausted.

“I’m not getting any better.” I sat on the ground next to her, not caring about my dress getting dirty. “We should stop for the day.”

“No.” Rebecca tried to push herself up, her arms shook and collapsed under her.

“Rebecca!”

I rushed to her side, rolling her over onto her back. Eyes closed, Rebecca’s chest moved up and down in a rhythmic pattern.

Passed out. She was only passed out.

Sighing my relief, I brushed her hair away from her face and sat back on my heels.

Glancing around the woods, I contemplated what to do. We could stay here while I waited for Rebecca to wake up, but that could take hours. I could use my powers to teleport us back to the house, but I’d never taken more than one person. Gods, I’d barely done one person.

I didn’t doubt I could do it. Unfortunately, the risk of messing up and dropping us off a cliff was too high.

So I waited.

My head lifted and closed my eyes soaking in the sun, the breeze blowing through the leaves. All things considered, this place was beautiful.

It had everything I had wanted back in my tower. The grass beneath my feet. The wind blowing in my hair. The chittering of the forest animals was the only sound in the air.

For the first time in a long time, I felt safe, at peace.

A growling yipping breaks that peace and, before I had a chance to open my eyes I was barreled over, a wet sloppy tongue attacked my face. The heavy body of the creature pressed down on my chest, its tail smacking my legs as its nails bit into me.

I peeked my eyes open and laughed at the hellhound on top of me. “Izzy, what are you doing here?” I scratched her behind her ears and down her flank. She yipped and licked at me some more. The happiness in my chest turned to panic at the sight of her. “Izzy, where is your master?”

Pushing her off me, I searched the tree line for the dark haired mage who claimed the beast.

There. Movement in the trees. Two figures, one stood stark white against the trees while the other almost blended in with his black garbs. They were moving toward me now, their voices growing louder with each moment.

Rebecca.

I shot a look at her and then back to the trees. They couldn’t find me here with her. If they knew I was with her they’d know who helped me and where I’ve been staying and I wasn’t ready for them to know that yet. There was still much to be done, much to learn.

“Move, Izzy.” I pushed the hellhound to the side and turned to Rebecca. I couldn’t take her back to her house, but maybe I could hide her? I had watched her put the barrier up so many times in the last hour, surely I could create one on my own.

It didn’t need to be large. Only big enough to hide Rebecca. I wouldn’t bother hiding myself, Izzy would give me away in an instant.

Izzy growled at my side, sniffing Rebecca’s blood red hair.

“Leave her alone,” I instructed, putting my hands out above her. What were those words Rebecca had said to make the barrier? They weren’t in a language I knew. At least not this version of me.

The longer I struggled to find the words, the louder Luke and Blake’s voices became.

Forget it. I hadn’t needed words so far, I could only hope that I didn’t need them now. I envisioned a bubble of protection from touch and sight around her, grabbing at my well of magic inside of me.

Nothing happened at first. Blake’s voice called out for Izzy, and panic grew in my chest. I could do this. I had to do this.

Finally, something began to happen. The air rippled, and a shimmer in the air grew around Rebecca’s form. Excitement manifested inside of me, and I pushed back onto my feet the barrier growing with each step back.

Luke and Blake broke the tree line.

I dropped my hands, cutting off the magic. It would have to be enough.

Spinning to face the twins, I placed a hand on Izzy’s back and drew my shoulders back. There was nothing else I could do. I could only hope they would listen to reason and not try to force me to go back with them.

Though, based on the looks on their faces as they grew closer, I knew they weren’t going to let me go without a fight.