Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
The next week passes by quickly. Astral came by a few times to teach me about my magic .
To say it has been a learning experience is an understatement.
My magic has no limits and is extremely hard to control once the darkness takes over.
Astral has been teaching me how to regulate my breathing and self-hypnosis to calm myself.
The darkness is there, I can feel it, but it doesn’t taint me the way it did before.
Astral seems to think it is because I have found my grounding place.
Something to hang onto when I feel myself slipping away.
Theo and Tobias don’t give me any rest even with learning control.
They are constantly watching and hovering, and it is starting to get on my nerves.
We have been arguing heaps and no matter how much I tell them I am fine, they don’t listen.
They can both feel the darkness inside me, and it scares them.
They should feel scared, it is dark and twisted and all-consuming, but with Astral’s help, I have it managed and under control.
If anyone is struggling, it is Theo. The more he feeds off me, the more severe his mood swings have been.
Astral believes Theo might become addicted to my magic , the same way it affected me, changing him to his most primal urges.
So, I haven’t let him feed off me for two days now, which makes Tobias hover over me every time I have Thaddeus and eventually I’m going to snap.
I have remained quiet over it, tried to ignore it and even bitten my tongue, but eventually it will become too much.
I don’t need them mothering me, suffocating me.
I just need them to be there when I need them, and right now I feel smothered.
I’m about to go to war with Bianca; I don’t want to be fighting them at home.
Astral and I have just come in from training.
She has been teaching me how to control the surrounding elements, mainly air, and how to manipulate it and I’m pretty good with it now and it feels comfortable.
Not like the time we worked with fire, which was angrier and when I first started learning.
We both nearly lost our eyebrows that first day, and I singed Tobias’s precious garden and burnt a hole in his perfectly manicured lawn.
Saying goodbye to Astral, I watch as she drives down the driveway before turning and heading inside. The moment I step inside I could hear Tobias and Theo arguing over something, Thaddeus is upstairs stirring so, I head up there to check on him.
Opening the bedroom door, he was lying in his new crib watching his mobile go round.
“Hey, precious boy,” I say, staring down at him.
He smiles his big gummy grin and coos back.
Leaning in, I pick him up. He glances around the room.
He has become very alert, and being a Tribrid baby, he is growing faster than a normal human child.
Sitting on the end of the bed, I feel his butt and realize his nappy is quite full.
I can still hear Theo and Tobias arguing over something that happened at work.
Apparently, Theo snapped at one of the workers and now they have quit.
Apparently, the worker has threatened legal action against the company for workplace bullying.
Laying Thaddeus down, I notice his eyes look slightly different, something off about him. Pulling his onesie off, I watch closely, and his eyes flicker and I jump back, startled. His green eyes sparkling before they go completely black like he is possessed.
“Tobias, Theo, come here,” I call out, slightly nervous about our son’s behavior. They don’t hear me, too busy arguing. I roll my eyes at them.
I change his bum watching as his eyes go back to normal deciding I must be seeing things.
I shake the thought away. Maybe I’m more tired than I thought.
I quickly dress him and pick him up when suddenly the entire house is plunged into darkness.
Shit, a blackout, I think. Turning to walk to the door, the lights turned back on and I hear Thaddeus cackle.
“Did you just cackle, baby boy,” I coo looking at him, only his eyes are black again. He cackles again before shoving his hand in his mouth and the power goes out yet again. My heart rate quickens, and I realize it’s Thaddeus doing it.
“Babe, where are you?” I hear Theo sing out. I roll my eyes and yell back.
“Upstairs.” The lights turned on again, and I gasp at what I see. All the furniture is floating like some ghostly horror movie.
“Are you doing that, little man?” I ask and I notice his aura glowing around him, fluorescent green.
That isn’t all I see, the edges are dark, the same darkness that sometimes consumes me and I gasp.
Thaddeus's eyes snap to mine and the furniture plummets to the ground with a loud crash. Thaddeus starts hysterically screaming. Ear piercing screams like he scared himself. “Shh, you’re okay. You’re okay,” I tell him, cuddling him.
Tobias and Theo are up here in an instant, the noise startling them, and I feel panic coursing through them.
Tobias rips him from my arms, and I watch horrified as Theo glares at me.
His eyes turning blood red, anger radiating off him. Tobias soothes Thaddeus.
“What did you do, Imogen” Tobias growls out. I take a step back, shocked at him.
“I did nothing, he scared himself, he—” I don’t get to finish when Theo steps forward like a predator stalking its prey.
“What the fuck, you said you were fine,” he snaps, taking a step forward.
“I am. Thaddeus—” I was cut off again.
“Don’t blame him. We felt through the bond your fear, like you did something. Now what did you do?”
“I did nothing, Theo,” I say, throwing my hands up. I know I will get nowhere with them, no matter what. Anything I say they aren’t going to believe. If they bothered to search through the bond, they could see I am telling the truth.
Giving up, I go to walk out of the room. They can just find out for themselves.
“Don’t just walk away. Real mature, Imogen” Tobias calls out, as I walk down the stairs heading to the kitchen. Theo follows me and I sigh. Going to make a bottle for Thaddeus. I feel him watching me as I grab the formula from the cupboard, placing it on the bench.
Tobias comes down a few seconds later. I finish making the bottle and hold my arms out for Thaddeus, who reaches his arms up for me. Tobias snatches the bottle from my hand.
“No, not till you tell me what you did to scare him,” he says before popping the bottle in Thaddeus’s mouth who guzzles it down hungrily.
“I did nothing. I just changed him then—”
“Bullshit, why was he screaming like that?”
“If you will let me finish, Theo, instead of jumping down my fucking throat every god damn second. I can explain!”
Theo growls low in warning.
“You know what, I’m leaving find out yourselves. I am going to go buy more nappies.” I grab the car keys out of the bowl. Theo moves with blinding speed, standing in front of me.
“What? You're both too angry to listen, so move.”
“No, you don’t just get to walk out,” he says, grasping my arm.
“Let go,” I scold. I’m so sick of everything I do being judged and criticized by them. They aren’t going to listen to me and maybe if I am gone, they will realize it isn’t me, if he does it again.
“No, explain yourself,” he demands. I shove past him, pushing him out of the way. He jerks me back and I finally snap. Turning around, I shove him back and he staggers before growling. I see Tobias get up, moving away.
“Enough,” I scream at him, and he goes to step toward me. I flick my wrist and I throw him backward into the pantry door. Tobias is suddenly gone before coming back without Thaddeus. He goes to grab me.
“It’s just the magic , Hun, calm down,” he says, feeling my anger through the bond. How do they not realize they are the problem, not my magic ?
“It’s not the fucking magic . It is the two of you.
You’re driving me insane. You won’t hear me out and you are fucking smothering me.
Stand down, Tobias, I don’t want to hurt you, but I fucking will to get my point across,” I say.
Theo steps forward and I flick my wrist again, throwing him back into the pantry.
I growl low and stand so I can see both of them.
Tobias lunges at me, I lift my other hand before slapping it down, and Tobias hits the floor.
I hold them both where they are, Tobias on the ground, and Theo against the pantry.
They struggle against their invisible restraints.
I feel the energy in the room and the lights flicker, my magic drawing on their energy. Electricity zapping loudly around me.
I feel the darkness trying to envelope me, feeding off their anger. I close my eyes, breathing and focusing, pushing the darkness back to the edges like Astral showed me. Regaining my composure, I open them.
“Let me up,” Tobias says through gritted teeth.
“No, you will listen.” He goes silent, and his jaw clenches and unclenches.
“I did nothing, Thaddeus manifested magic , not me. I have control of myself, and I am so sick of both of you hovering. I don’t need a mother.
I have one of those, well did. So, either step up and act like my mates again or step the fuck out.
I won’t keep putting up with you treating me like I am a ticking time bomb, I have control and if I feel off, I will let you know. ” I tell them.
“This is you in control?,” Theo says, shaking his head.
I huff, annoyed.
“Yes, if I wanted to hurt you, I could have, easily I might add. I have merely restrained you. Now I am going to get fucking nappies for our son, understood?” I ask, looking between the pair of them. They say nothing, but I see Tobias nod.
I release them, Theo falling to the floor with a soft thud. His eyes still crimson as he steps toward me, and I hold up my finger.
“Don’t. You will see for yourselves I am not lying.
I would never hurt our son, and it is about time both of you realize that.
I would kill myself long before I would ever harm a hair on that boy’s head.
” Tobias looks down guiltily, but Theo steps forward again.
But this time Tobias speaks and Theo halts.
“Let her go, Theo, I think we all just need to calm down,” he says, rubbing his temples. Thaddeus makes a noise and all three of us look up at the ceiling.
“I will go,” Tobias says walking out, heading up the stairs. I grab my keys again, heading toward the door. Theo sings out as I get to the door.
“My wallet is on the hallway stand, and can you buy more coffee,” he says coming up behind me.
His eyes are now their usual green and his aura has calmed to a more neutral color.
I grab his wallet and head out to the car.
Hopefully, this will be the end of our arguments now.
I have bigger things to worry about with the challenge coming up in four days.
I don’t need the drama at home, either. And now I have another task added to the never-ending list of shit to stress about, and that is to find out what is going on with my baby boy.