62. Rae
RAE
“Close your eyes.” Olympia’s voice held a soothing air, almost meditative in its melody.
Taking a deep breath, I spread my feet and took on a grounded stance. As I exhaled, I let my eyes fall closed and tried to tune out everyone in the room but her.
There was no Calloway, with his prejudiced judgments.
Or my sister Izzy jumping to his aid. No Pax and Kyrie, with their silent worry I could feel.
No Kian and his powers, supercharged by my blood.
No Nyx and his cold stare that always seemed to find me lacking.
And certainly, no Rhys and the complicated cruelty that wrapped around him.
I kept breathing. Let it all go.
“Focus on your heartbeat. It’s your own unique tempo,” Olympia instructed. “Listen to your body, your heart, your soul.”
I did as I was told, zeroing in on the two-beat thumping. I listened as I kept breathing.
“Call up the power within you. Picture a ball of energy in your palm,” Olympia went on.
I tried. I pictured a tiny, pink ball of energy like the ones I’d seen Kyrie conjure countless times. But I felt…nothing.
Cracking open an eyelid, I peeked at my palm.
Not even a spark.
I let out a grunt of frustration.
Olympia made a tsking noise. “Keep breathing. Keep listening. It’ll come.”
My annoyance at myself mounted, morphing into anger. It wouldn’t matter how hard I trained physically if I couldn’t figure out the magic piece. Not only would it be impossible for me to defend myself, but I would also be a ticking time bomb.
I bit the inside of my mouth as I tried to call up anything, everything. An image of last night filled my mind. Kian. Pinning me, taking me, filling me. My eyes locking with Rhys’s.
A deafening boom sounded, and I flew backward as an alarm wailed and my ears rang. I blinked rapidly as hands curved around my shoulders. Kian’s face filled my vision as he asked questions I couldn’t quite make out.
The scent of smoke entered my nostrils as Nyx and Rhys joined him. A mix of worry and something that looked a lot like fear filled their expressions.
My hearing came back online just in time to hear Izzy shriek, “I think you singed my fucking eyebrows.”
Kyrie choked on a laugh. “You got Iz to drop an F-bomb. Good job, Rae.”
Izzy let out a strangled scream. “This isn’t funny! She’s a walking landmine just waiting to explode. She’s so imbalanced, she’s going to kill herself or someone else.”
With that parting shot, she charged out of the room with Calloway on her heels.
I groaned as I tried to sit up. Kian’s hands slid around to my back, helping me. “Easy, Butterfly. You might have a head injury.”
It certainly throbbed. “Do Luminaries get concussions?”
Olympia chuckled as she crossed to me. “We can, but we also have remedies for that.”
I barely heard her words because I was too focused on the gaping hole in the middle of the floor, surrounded by black soot. “Oh gods,” I whispered. My gaze jerked to Nyx, and I was instantly dizzy. “I’m so sorry. Your floor. Your gym.”
“Hush,” Nyx bit out. “Buildings can be replaced.” He nodded at Rayne, and some silent conversation seemed to take place between the two.
“I’ll let everyone know we aren’t under attack and gather a cleanup crew,” Rayne said, heading for the doors.
I let out a breath. “What even was that? How…?” My words trailed off because I didn’t know the questions to ask.
“It was freaking awesome,” Kyrie said, practically bouncing on her feet.
Olympia chuckled and then turned back to me. “That, my dear, was a power surge. It tells us you’re capable of great things.”
“Like what? Blowing things up?” I bit out.
Rhys grunted as if in agreement.
Kian’s hands skimmed over my face and body as if checking for injuries. “Does anything hurt?”
“Just my head a little.” The little part was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that.
His fingers moved to my neck, gently massaging it.
“What does the imbalance mean?” Rhys asked Olympia, his voice hard. “How do we fix it?”
She was quiet for a moment, looking at all of us. “You need your fourth. And Rae needs to develop relationships with all of you, not just one.” Her gaze dipped to Kian on that last part.
“I’m not sure meeting Rae’s fourth will help us,” Rhys grumbled.
“What do you mean?” Olympia asked.
The guys shared a look.
Olympia puffed up her chest as though she were trying to look intimidating. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Nyx sighed. “You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. For all intents and purposes, she has three of the four Nocturnae Kings as her fated…” He let his words hang.
Olympia’s eyes went wide. “The Feral King?” She spoke the words in a whisper as if afraid he might hear her, even miles away.
Rhys toyed with a ring on one of his fingers. “If any of us even stepped foot on his lands, he’d go into a rage and kill us all.”
“Not Rae,” Kian cut in. “He wouldn’t hurt her.”
“If he was sane, he wouldn’t,” Rhys snapped. “But you know something broke in him when he defended his people against that demon attack. He can’t control his beast.”
Kian suddenly looked uncertain as he gazed down at me. “You might have a point there. But there has to be a way.”
“The gods always have a plan,” Olympia encouraged.
Nyx huffed. “Or maybe they just enjoy laughing at us.”
“We’ll figure it out with time,” Kian said, helping me to my feet. “But for now, let’s feed our little Luminary. That had to take a lot of energy.”
Kyrie moved closer, taking my arm. “I’ve got you.”
I smiled down at her. “Thank you.”
The guys began bickering with Olympia as they headed for the doors. I purposefully walked incredibly slowly. When I thought they were out of super-hearing earshot, I bent my head toward Kyrie’s and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Can you help me get to the House of the Blood Moon?”