Chapter 11
Eleven
Avalon
Iwaited at the walls of Boellium, Alucius at my side. Braxus had huffed at being off duty for the day, but Hayle had merely told him that it was because Alucius was more likely to maim first and ask questions later. I wasn’t sure if that appeased Braxus, or just made him poutier.
Even Epsy had joined me, taking the opportunity to see his family.
Or maybe he was just feeling neglected. It had been a crazy few weeks, and I didn’t think it was going to get any easier.
I scratched the stolt under the chin, his head resting right beside my cheek as he lay curled around my neck like a scarf.
Alucius stood beside me, her eyes flicking constantly. She might be more serious and quicker to anger than Braxus, but she was just as devoted. They made a well-balanced pair.
“He’s late,” I told her, and she huffed an aggravated sigh, like the slight was grievous enough to eat him.
“Not late, just making an entrance,” Lierick’s voice said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at the surprise Heir, and the way his hair shone beneath the early morning sun stole my breath. He looked down at my four-legged companions. “No bodyguards today?”
Neither Hayle nor Vox had been able to shuck their responsibilities today to babysit me. Vox had some kind of big meeting with Master Proxius, who’d finally returned to Boellium, and Hayle was up to something in order to secure a meeting with the Baron of the Eighth Line.
But I had Alucius, plus Quarry in the trees, and I had a suspicion that perhaps Hayle had more eyes and ears in these woods than normal.
There was even a tiny little mouse that had tucked itself into the lower pocket of my pants this morning.
I wasn’t sure how it was meant to protect me, considering it was napping in there, but whatever made Hayle happy.
I smirked at Lierick. “If you think I don’t have bodyguards out here, then you aren’t quite as knowledgeable as you pretend to be.”
He gave me a lopsided grin, waving a hand at the side gate that led into the woods.
“Trust me, the Second Line has nothing but respect for the Third Line. There is a reason they’re Third, and that they’ve managed to keep the First Line under control for this long.
Besides, the Second Line has very little control over the minds of animals.
Your friend there could tear me to pieces if she wanted to.
” He nodded respectfully at Alucius, who bared her teeth.
I reached down and brushed my fingers across her long coat in thanks.
“Should you be telling me your secrets so easily?” Maybe war college life was rubbing off on me, but you didn’t tell your adversaries your weaknesses. You didn’t even share all your strengths, so you didn’t lose the upper hand.
Lierick shrugged as we followed the path deeper into the forest. “An ounce of research will reveal the truth—I can assure you the Librarian would already know by now—and I’d like us to be friends.
I want you to feel comfortable with me, and if knowing that your hound could tear me to pieces gives you a modicum of security, then I’m happy to part with the information. ”
I chewed over his words, the silence comfortable enough until we reached a clearing.
The fact he knew this was here after only being on the island for less than two weeks suggested he’d been doing a lot more recon than I’d suspected.
Staring at his youthful, handsome face, it was almost too easy to forget that he was in control of a small army floating off the shoreline and that he’d bent the minds of over a hundred people.
It had been decided between the four of us that we needed to test the limits of my powers.
Or at least, try and activate them without the emotional turmoil of one of the guys dying.
How Lierick had gotten dragged into being my teacher was beyond me, but it was probably because his power was the most like mine—cerebral, not physical.
Plus, he had the most knowledge of my Line and what I was supposed to be capable of, due to the Votresses in Ozryn.
I guess, theoretically, they were my ancestors too, even if it had been many centuries since they’d been part of my Line.
I didn’t know if any amount of secondary knowledge was going to help, but I didn’t want to keep resetting history until I ruined something that couldn’t be undone.
Sighing heavily, I sat on a fallen tree. Epsy scurried down from around my neck and out into the woods. I didn’t panic about it now; he’d return when he was ready.
“I’m not sure how we’re supposed to do this. I don’t remember any of the other times. I don’t even have any normal Ninth Line power that I can access.” I hadn’t been able to predict the arrival of the Second Line, or even guess what we’d have for dinner.
Lierick sat beside me. I could feel the soft heat of his body, and his subtle cologne that merely brushed against my senses.
“Then that’s where we start—finding your power.
Even though you have these big, awe-inspiring abilities, you should have the lesser abilities of your Line too.
The fact that none of the people in your Line can touch them tells me that either there’s some kind of external block by an unknown source, or that you’ve lost the knowledge needed to teach the members of your Line to reach into their well of power. ”
I snorted. “A well of power seems ambitious. I’ll take a puddle of power right now.”
His laughter swirled softly with the sounds of the forest. “Whatever helps with your visualization. Close your eyes and relax your mind.”
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I tried to do as he said. Closing my eyes, I blanked my mind.
I wondered where Epsy was.
I wondered if everyone saw Epsy the way I did.
Did we all see the color purple the same?
I wondered if my brothers could already do this and had just never told me.
I wondered if Alucius had pups somewhere.
Did anyone have monkeys as companions?
I should ask Hayle.
Monkeys would be great companions.
Would those monkeys have to wear pants?
“Avalon,” Lierick chastised. “I said relax your mind, not send it into a flurry of… monkeys?”
Elbowing him in the ribs hard, I glared. “Stay out of my brain.”
He held his hands up, fending off my elbow jabs.
“I wasn’t even in your brain. You were thinking so hard, you may as well have shouted into my ear.
” Shaking his head, he turned on the log to face me, straddling the wide trunk easily.
His pants stretched taut over his strong thighs, and I tried not to look.
Or drool. He placed his hands on his legs, just above his knees, palm up. “I’ll help. Place your palms on mine.”
Screwing up my nose, I tried to think of a reason I couldn’t do that without admitting to him—or myself—that I found him attractive. Growling at myself, I leaned forward and placed my palms over his. I wasn’t a fucking animal. I could touch another man without falling into a panting heap.
“Great. Okay, now, close your eyes again, and just listen to my voice first. I know you can do this; you just have to work on your focus. Can you hear the birds?” When I nodded, he flexed his hands reassuringly.
“Well done. Can you hear something softer? Can you hear the wind through the leaves of the tree beside us?”
I really focused then, until I could hear the soft rustle of the gentle sea breeze through the branches, the hardening leaves brushing together. I nodded, and Lierick let out a proud hum.
“Okay, what about my breathing?”
I focused on the man in front of me, and the soft puff of his breaths on my face. When had he gotten so close? I could hear the whoosh of air flowing out through his nose and the slight rasp of his inhale. The warmth of his hands on mine, his strong heartbeat beneath my fingertips on his wrist.
“So well done,” he praised, and I flushed pink. I hoped his eyes were shut too. “Now turn that inwards. Feel the air filling your lungs. Hear your heartbeat in your ears. The prickle of power that fills your cells.”
The hairs on my forearms stood on end, and I let out a soft exclamation. I could almost feel it, the power running just beneath my skin, right down to the tips of my fingers.
I sensed his pride through the small spots where our skin touched. “Excellent, Avalon. Now draw that power inwards, toward that gaping spot in your chest. Can you feel it? It’s so empty, it almost aches. You can fix it.”
Instinctively, I knew what he was talking about. It felt like a dead spot in a green field. Like it had never gotten any sun, or it had been salted and was now barren. How could I heal something so damaged?
“I don’t know how,” I whispered, and he gripped my hands tighter.
“Yes, you do. It’s an instinct, buried deep in your mind. You just have to let go.” His words were earnest. “Suck in a deep breath, and pull the power in with it. Place it in your empty puddle.”
Shaking my head, I did as he suggested. Concentrating on that buzz of power close to the surface of my skin, I sucked in a deep breath. I imagined the power like rain, aiming it over the barren place in my chest. I pulled and poured, until I could hear my gasping breaths in my ears.
Finally, the power filled the empty puddle. I kept going, until the puddle turned into a pool, and the pool into a lake.
“That’s it,” Lierick encouraged. “Feel that power. When the spot feels full, stop.”
Turning it off was almost as hard as starting, but eventually, I swallowed around the lump in my dry throat and drew the power back to my limbs.
“You look radiant right now, Avalon Halhed. Your power is a heady sensation,” Lierick rumbled. “Now scoop up a handful of that power and try to predict what's about to happen.”
Scoop, he says. Just scoopy scoop it out. How fucking insane. Still, he’d gotten me this far. Scrunching my face, I tried to mentally fill a cup and let it infuse my brain or something.
Then, like a moving painting behind my eyes, I saw Lierick leaning forward and kissing me.
His lips were soft against mine, his tongue flicking out to run across my lower lip.
I saw Alucius pushing between us and snapping her teeth at him, before she grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him off the log.
Then stomped on his nuts for good measure. Yeah, Alucius didn’t play.
My eyes slid open, and he was right there. So close that his smile flashed in the afternoon sun and he was all I could see. Nothing else in the forest existed. The pink tip of his tongue peeked out from behind perfectly straight, white teeth.
I put a hand out and pushed him backwards, though a whole other part of me wanted to grip his shirt and pull him closer.
Alucius stood and growled low in warning, but I looked down at her. “It’s okay. Lierick is going to mind his manners.” Now. Scowling at him, I tried to calm the wild beating of my heart. “You’re lucky. She mauled you in my vision.”
The stupid man just grinned as I pulled my hands away and edged backwards. Away from temptation. “It was probably worth it.” He clapped his hands softly. “Congratulations, Avalon Halhed, Heir to the Ninth Line, you just used your foresight powers. Next step, changing the future completely.”
Goddess help me. Or maybe this was her fault all along.