Chapter Seventeen
Leonora
I sat up with a gasp, my empty hand still heavy from a weight that existed only in my dream.
Brown eyes. The fear. The acceptance. The sound it had made when I’d dropped his heart to the floor.
Rowan.
Head still full of the fog of sleep, I nearly didn’t notice the other person in the bed also sitting upright.
I’d opted to stay with Novalie and Emerson, the bed more than big enough for the three of us to sleep in comfortably. The candle on the side had burned low and the light flickered over the umber of Emerson’s skin as she watched me with sightless eyes.
She nodded her head like I’d asked her a question, a bloody tear dripping down her face. “Soon. He’s almost ready.”
“Who?” My voice was a rough croak and I didn’t stop her when Emerson laid back down as if nothing had happened. The air felt too still and I could sense eyes on me, like Emerson was watching as I swung my legs out of bed. I glanced back once before I left and turned away quickly when the flickering flame caught on blank irises within the shadow of the bed.
We had to find a way to get her visions under control. It was all well and good being able to see the future, but not if you couldn’t remember it and had no idea what it meant. If we weren’t careful, Em’s predictions could do more harm than good.
My door across the hall opened soundlessly and I padded inside, shutting it firmly behind me before sinking into the empty bed. The room was quiet, but it felt hollow instead of peaceful, like every movement I made was loud enough to wake the dead.
Noise in the hall had my eyes flashing open and then closing quickly again when I recognised the familiar tread. A cool breeze stirred my hair as the blood bond seemed to purr and stretch. My body relaxed, like this was what I’d needed all along to make the room feel comfortable, and I kept my eyes closed, breaths even. Hayes said nothing, either believing I was actually asleep or opting to allow the ruse as he climbed into the bed at my back.
The warmth of his body sank into me, the palm sliding under the hem of my baggy T-shirt to wrap around my waist making me shiver. What I felt for Hayes was complicated at best, but when we were like this, everything else faded away.
My mind eased into sleep as Hayes’ arm tightened around me, lips brushing my ear as he murmured, “Sweet dreams.”
“Clear your mind,” Cal intoned and I grimaced. I was pretty sure he was trying to sound wise, and instead was coming off as irritated. Or maybe he really was just annoyed. “Leonora!”
“Hm?”
Emerson snickered at my side and I looked between her and Cal with an eyebrow raised.
“Is your mind clear?” he said, a pinched expression on his face.
“Totally.”
Cal shook his head. “You need to concentrate. Focus is the start to?—”
“Control.” I waved a hand at him, brushing off his words. “I know. You already said.” He’d also told us repeatedly that if we wanted to control our magick and not the other way around, then we should try and meditate three times a day. Normally, I would have ignored him, but that morning I’d clicked my fingers at Novalie and nearly set our curtains on fire with a stray lightning bolt. I couldn’t help it though—how was I supposed to control something I hadn’t realised I was wielding?
“Then how about you wipe the drool off of your chin and actually do as you’re told. ”
Drool? There was definitely no drool on my chin. I scowled and he glared right back. Sure, watching a shirtless Hayes spar with Novalie was a little distracting, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention. Mostly.
I lifted my palm and breathed in through my nose, out through my mouth. My concentration turned inward as I focused on finding that small thread that ran through my body, my soul, the one that was my magick. I opened my eyes and focused on my hand, feeling the air crackle around me until I toned back my grip on the thread and a miniature bolt of lightning webbed between my fingers.
“Good,” Cal said, somewhat begrudgingly, eyes still crinkled at the corners like his face was reluctant to completely lose its frown. “Now, you.”
Emerson blew out a breath that seemed like it was borne more of frustration than any effort to calm herself. Her new power was proving tricky to grab a hold of, either refusing to cooperate or sending her into a trance-like state.
“Okay. Now remember, breathe through the background noise. Feel your heart—” He blinked and cleared his throat. “Um, I mean, feel the ground beneath your palms.”
My amusement at Cal’s blunder faded quickly, though. This was important. If we couldn’t keep Emerson’s ability to ourselves… Well, there was no telling what the bastards at court might try to get their hands on her.
Emerson shook her head, eyes flashing open as she ground out. “It’s not working.”
“Maybe we should try something else,” I suggested, shooting a glance at Cal when he opened his mouth. “I don’t know about you, but for me my magick has always been instinctive. So let your gut guide you.” I stood and offered her a hand up, holding her palms in mine when she faced me. “Maybe your gift doesn’t work the same as mage magick.”
Cal half-nodded, half-shrugged. “It’s possible. Vampire magick isn’t the same as ours, it draws more from your personal power than the world around you.” At our blank looks, he sighed. “Magick is a give and take. For mages, a lot of that balance is preserved through nature—but for vampires, your power is inherent, usually through your houses. That’s why it can be destabilising for young vampires to have their own fledglings before they come into their power. Trying to support yourself and someone else can be too great a strain for many newly undead.”
“Maybe that’s it!” I looked between them and Hayes glanced back at us at my exclamation. I waved him off before continuing, “When Em first had the vision, it was because Novalie was in danger. You said to me before that sometimes that kind of adrenaline can be the spark magick needs, right?”
Cal nodded. “I’m following.”
“Right. So that explains why Em’s power manifested at that moment—and then I wielded a lot of magick to make Novalie a part of the House.”
“And I couldn’t stop having visions after that,” Emerson said slowly before nodding. “I drew from the House?”
Something about the idea made me feel warm, like this was tangible proof that Romilly house did exist, that we had somewhere to belong—regardless of what the council thought, the magick didn’t lie.
“So the visions up ‘til now could have been like, aftershocks, right?” I bit my lip, hoping for some concrete answers. I was tired of feeling like we were stumbling about in the dark with only half the information all the time.
“Have you had any visions today?” Cal ran a hand over his jaw in what I’d come to think of as his thinking pose as Emerson thought back and shook her head. “Then let’s find out. Give her some juice,” he said to me and I tilted my head in question.
“Blood,” Hayes said and I jumped, not having felt the prickling of the bond warning me of his proximity. “It’s probably the easiest way to give Emerson your power.”
“Can’t she just draw from the house? From us?” Novalie chipped in, folding herself down to the ground gracefully and crossing her legs.
Emerson shrugged. “I’m still not a hundred percent sure I even know what that means.”
I snorted. It was like the blind leading the blind. “Blood it is.” A strange sensation swept through the bond, almost like a tightening, and I glanced at Hayes to see a darkness in his eyes that was unfamiliar.
I bit into my palm and offered my hand to Emerson, holding back my smirk when my suspicions were confirmed and the muscle in Hayes’ jaw ticked. He was jealous .
Em was quick, drinking only a few mouthfuls before my hand healed over.
“Okay,” Cal said, nudging me out of the way as he came to stand directly in front of Emerson. “Now try again. Ignore all other sounds except for my voice. You’re in a void of dark, of nothing, only you have the ability to drive your consciousness forward, Emerson. What do you see?”
The planes of Em’s face seemed to sharpen, like she’d fallen into shadow. “I see stone.”
It wasn’t much, but this was the most progress we’d been able to make so far. “I think… I’m underground. There’s so much dust. And—oh god, there are bodies.” Her voice shook and Novalie was there in an instant, reaching for her hand and glaring at Cal when he moved as if to stop her from making contact.
“Don’t forget the void, Emerson. You are merely a spectator of the place in stone.”
She nodded, her head jerking with the movement and a splatter of red hit the floor at her feet as bloody tears began to drip from her eyes. “I can’t get back in the room.”
“That’s fine. Just move on. Where is the darkness taking you now?”
“Nowhere. It’s just—It’s just dark.” A strained look came across her face and I stepped forward, the tether between us feeling oddly taut.
“That’s enough.”
Cal didn’t move and I hissed slightly, hackles rising. Like it or not, Emerson was my fledgling and if I said it was enough, then he needed to move out of my damn way.
Thunder filled my voice as I pulled on the thread that connected me to Emerson and I pushed between her and the mage. “Enough. Open your eyes.”
They flashed open, the irises slowly bleeding back to their normal colour as Cal gaped at me.
“Leonora—”
“I told you it was enough!” I snapped and his face darkened.
“You may be powerful, little girl, but you are no match for me. Watch your tone.”
I rolled my eyes, but didn’t relax until Emerson did. “Yes, Dad. ”
He muttered under his breath and I could sense, rather than see, Hayes’ amusement.
“So, a room made of stone,” Novalie mused. We were in the training spot Cal had taken me to before, but I knew what she must be thinking—that description matched nearly the entirety of the court. Plus, it was underground too.
“I could be wrong…”
“But?” I prompted when Emerson remained quiet.
“I don’t think I was seeing the future. I think it was the past.” Em glanced at Hayes, something crossing over her face I couldn’t decipher. “But it felt like only the beginning.”