A frog climbed into my throat. Swallowing the lump, I tried to speak. “Pardon?”
“Take them! This is your plan to fight against Lucian, is it not? We need to see how strong you really are.”
Without thinking, I glanced at Graham. He was probably my only fan at the table and I watched as a hint of curiosity washed over his face. It was almost like I needed him to encourage me to do this and ensure now was the time for me to display my strength. As though reading my thoughts, he winked at me again. Immediately after that, Kain place his warm hand at the base of my back. He leaned in and whispered.
“Breathe, Eviana. Relax and focus. You can do this.”
I closed my eyes and sent a silent thanks to Kain. After everything I’d done to him, he was still standing by my side. The thought almost made me cry but it also helped me push the nerves away. Okay, time to prove my worth in this world.
The surrounding air tasted stale as I took in several large breaths. I could smell alcohol and some type of fried food on many of the hotel patrons. That made sense since they’d been pulled in from their happy hour drinks and appetizers. How in the world would we explain this? I stopped my thoughts from going in that direction and forced them to focus instead.
First envisioning a dark room, I tried to pinpoint each consciousness. Nothing happened and I heard some of the Council members grumble. I knew that if I opened my eyes, I would be met with skeptical and arrogant faces. So I kept them closed and soon began to see each mind light up in my head.
They weren’t very bright and I attributed that to the fact that Mistress Lyonetta had control over them right now. When I’d taken over Lucian’s human and selkie army, I’d been so angry and emotional, I didn’t really even know how I did it. Now that I’d been practicing more, I could conceptualize the idea of minds as little floating light balls. Although I still didn’t know how to take control from someone else.
So, I visualized a tiny hand and began reaching for them. It was kind of like one of those sticky arms from gumball machines. I would throw the flexible appendage out toward a mind and try to wrap my fingers around it in time to pull it back to me. It took three tries before I finally got one. I think I sucked in a breath in excitement because Kain whispered softly to me that it was working. One down and a hundred and fifty more to go.
I didn’t know how much time passed, but I soon created three different sticky hands so I could grab more than one mind at a time. I lost count around sixty but I was also losing energy. Lyonetta’s hold felt strong and she was able to steal a few back. When I thought I’d taken the majority, if not all of them, I opened my eyes.
The humans I compelled were all facing me and the ones I didn’t continued to kneel in front of the Council. From what I could tell, I’d missed about twenty of them. I looked up at Lyonetta and smiled. “How’s that?”
Something resembling pride swept over her face and she gave me a small nod. “Not bad.”
“Not bad?” Christopher jumped in again. “She didn’t get them all. That could mean the difference between life and death.”
“No, she didn’t,” Lyonetta confirmed but didn’t say anything else. I saw the growing doubt amongst the Council members and I would bet those same feelings were running through the rest of the audience. Something inside of me cringed at the thought of letting them down. I had to prove myself not only for my clan but also for Kain’s.
Remembering our practice session yesterday, I began humming the tune to the chicken dance in my mind and at once I pushed it out into the light balls filling up the darkness of my room. Every human facing me stood and starting flapping their arms and shaking their butts in a very unorganized and truly hilarious version of the traditional wedding dance. Even the bride and groom participated, making me wonder how many times they would have to perform this dance today. I let them continue for several minutes before the sound of someone clapping disrupted my concentration.
Graham was standing now and the grin on his face told me at least he appreciated my display of power. “Fantastic, luv.” He turned to the rest of the Council. “I think she’s proven herself. I’ve never seen you make them dance before,” he directed toward Mistress Lyonetta. She glared at him.
“Enough, Eviana. Please release control so we can send them away.” I didn’t really know how to do that either, so I imagined a giant pair of scissors cutting my gummy arms. The room in my head instantly went black and all of the humans turned back toward the front tables. With another silent command from the Council’s leader, they began to walk out the doors with our protectors following closely behind. Maybe Lyonetta had the ability to wipe their memories too because otherwise, I didn’t know how they’d be able to explain where the last thirty minutes of their life had gone.
Kain rubbed his hand over my back again and sighed. “You were perfect,” he smiled down at me.
The look in his eyes left me wondering about the extent of our relationship again. This was a moment where I wanted to reach up and kiss him. The way he looked at me like I was the only person in the room right now left my heart pounding in my chest. Yet, being with him, even if Brendan wanted nothing to do with me, wasn’t possible. He made that perfectly clear when we got back to California and agreed to work together. But what I saw in him now seemed to contradict those harsh words he had for me. Kain was either an excellent poker player or just as confused as me.
“You are dismissed.” The command brought my attention back to the front of the room and again I caught a glance of Graham staring at Kain and me with a bemused look on his face. When neither of us moved, Mistress Lyonetta continued. “We will recess until tomorrow morning to allow us time to confer.”
And with that, the seven Council members stood and made their way to the double doors. Graham and two others walked right past us but he was the only one to stop and he only spoke to me.
“Rain check, then?” I wrinkled my brows in confusion. “On the drinks. Looks like duty calls tonight,” he said with a sigh. All I could do was nod my head quickly before he rushed away and placed an arm over one of the Council woman’s shoulder. I watched her glare up at him and shrug it off before they even made it out of the room.
“He is as irritating as everyone says,” Kain mumbled while watching Graham’s exit. That caught my attention.
“You know him?”
“No, but he’s somewhat famous. You don’t know?” I shook my head. “He’s the only Council member other than Adele Lyonetta to earn a seat as a teenager. He’s only twenty two and he’s already been a member for five years.”
“Five years?” I asked. He would’ve been seventeen then. Now I really felt like a child remembering what I was doing, and running away from, at seventeen.
“Yeah, and apparently no one is too thrilled with it. But he’s powerful in some way or he wouldn’t be sitting there.”
“Hmm…” It was all I could say.
“You should stay away from him,” Kain added.
“What?”
“He has a pretty bad reputation when it comes to the women in his life. They fall all over him but he tosses girls aside like trash. You really don’t want to be seen with him.”
“Thanks, dad. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” I rolled my eyes because the idea of me being with Graham was so ridiculous I couldn’t even believe Kain would bring it up. Besides, I wasn’t interested because I had someone else in my life. Or at least I was about to find out if I did. “What time is it?”
Kain looked at his watch and then back at me with a weird look on his face. “Almost six.”
“I have to go. I’ll get Palmer and Troy to go with me and I should be back in time for dinner.”
“Okay,” Kain said but it was clipped with disappointment. At least I think that’s what it was. “Call me if you’re running late so we know.”
I smiled up at him with another yes dad type of looks and went to find my cousin and his partner. There was a small skip to my step as I hurried across the room, thankful that most of the audience members had left right after the Council did. I’m sure they would be talking about me all night long, but right now that didn’t matter. I was finally going to see Brendan.
****
The coffee shop was a few blocks away and since it wasn’t raining, we decided to walk. Being in that ballroom not only exhausted me but it also seemed to creep out my cousin who kept looking at me in a strange way. I wasn’t going to let him ruin my moment so I pushed his concern aside to deal with another day.
We arrived five minutes early and I wondered if I should grab us a table or order a drink. Ever since taking over leadership, I’ve found that coffee is a mainstay in my diet now. I didn’t always like the bitterness, but I’d discovered that by adding a little bit of caramel and chocolate flakes, I had a drink that satisfied both the sweet tooth and the caffeine cravings. Not knowing what Brendan was into now, I decided not to order for him for fear of being too aggressive.
I found a small two-person table along the side of the coffee shop but far enough away from the counter and the front door to give us a little privacy. Taking in my surroundings I had to laugh at the random design of this place. The walls were painted a dark purple and the floors covered in faux wood. The background music was a mix of reggae and bollywood sounds that didn’t seem to go together at all. As if that were the plan, hanging from every available nook and cranny were naked Barbie dolls of various ages and colors. Some were dangling by their legs while others had tiny intricate nooses around their necks. It was quite creepy.
My eyes continued to drift over to the front door. Right on time, the bell chimed and Brendan walked in. I inhaled sharply and held it for several moments. Ever since we were little, he had that instant ability to take my breath away by his presence alone. No one else had that much power over me and I knew he had to remain in my life.
He looked wonderful. Tanned skin, dark hair, and those emerald green eyes that held unnatural beauty. It was like a desert mirage, too good to be true.
He spotted me almost instantly and smiled in a way I knew had to mean something to him. In only a few strides we stood in front of each other, just staring. I didn’t know if I was allowed to hug him or kiss him or chain him to me for the rest of our lives like I wanted to. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking and I needed to be strong and prepare for the worst. That thought brought tears to my eyes before I could stop them.
Brendan wrapped his long muscular arms around me and pulled me tight against his chest. With my heels on, my height reached to just under his chin and I felt him rest his head on the top of mine. I squeezed him so hard I thought I would break a rib. His heart pounded against my ear and every day I spent in anguish over missing him suddenly disappeared. He was here now. We were together now.
“Evs,” he breathed and the lump in my throat tripled in size. He was the only one that ever called me that and hearing it now was about the best thing that had happened to me in a long time. Brendan took a deep shuddering breath and held me a little tighter. “You smell so good,” he whispered.
Brendan’s selkie blood gave him a much more sensitive nose and he often commented about how my scent had always been unique to him. He said it was a mixture of the sea and the sun with a little splash of cinnamon. I didn’t quite understand how that was possible, but I was never going to question him.
“I missed you so much,” I said before I could stop myself. Squeezing him even tighter, I didn’t give him a chance to pull away. Not yet. He kissed the top of my head ever so gently.
“I missed you too,” he replied. This time I pulled away and held him back at arm’s length so I could see his face. I needed to know he was sincere, not that he was the type of guy to lie to me.
He smiled and ushered me to the table. I caught him looking at me in a way a man should look at a woman. His gaze was full of hunger and a wave of sensation washed over me like an aphrodisiac. We’d only lived together for three weeks, but those three weeks were the closest both physically and emotionally that we’d ever been. Not only did I miss his companionship, but I missed our experiences.
“You look amazing,” he finally said. “You’ve changed.”
“No I haven’t,” I replied even though I recalled thinking the same thing earlier in the evening. “Well, I feel like I’ve aged about five years in the last month.” I didn’t even try to hide the sadness that went along with those words. Losing my parent’s was still hard, having the responsibilities of a clan leader weighed me down, but not knowing where Brendan and I stood had plagued me the most.
“It’s not a bad thing, Evs.” He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. Shivers ran through my body with that one touch. “You just seem older. More mature. Wiser.” He smiled his crooked grin that I loved. It always showed the tiniest hint of a dimple and accentuated the glimmer in his eyes. My face lit up without command.
“I suppose I am wiser now.” Squeezing his hand, I pushed the next question out through gritted teeth. “How are you doing?”
Instead of responding right away, he looked at me in wonder again. I wished I was telepathic at this moment because right now I had no idea what was going through his mind. His carefully schooled face didn’t provide any hint and I began to worry he was thinking only bad things.
“I’m all right, I guess,” he finally answered. “Julian’s been really great and it’s kind of neat to be in Seattle again.” Brendan and his father lived in this area before he was kicked out of the house at sixteen. It wasn’t personal. It was just the way the selkie’s were. They stuck around long enough to raise their child on their own, but as soon as they were capable, the kids had to fend for themselves.
I wanted to ask him more, but he continued to speak. “It’s just not right.” He pulled away from me and sat back in his chair. Running both hands through his hair, he let out a sigh that seemed full of desperation and defeat. Fresh tears glistened in his eyes. “I don’t feel right. I’m not supposed to be here.” His hands reached for mine again and I didn’t hesitate. This was it. The moment I’d been waiting for. “I miss you so much, Evs. Nothing in me functions when I’m away from you. It’s like half of me has been cut away and I’m dragging around a lifeless body.” He dropped his gaze and shook his head. “I can’t stay here.”
Time literally stopped as I processed his words. I think he was saying he wanted to come back to California and that he wanted us to be together again. The pure happiness and joy that slid over me was the best feeling I’d had since we were in that mountain lodge together on my birthday. It was almost too good to be true.
“Come back with me.” I said and then quickly added, “Or at least to California. We can take things one day at a time.”
He raised his head to look up at me and smiled. “I think that’s what I want.” I squeezed his hands even tighter as he leaned across the table and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. The electricity between us was undeniable and it took every ounce of maturity I’d gained over the past month not to pull him back to me. “But I can’t leave yet.”
My heart dropped into the dark pit of my stomach and apparently my face showed my dismay. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” he quickly continued. “I just have to talk to Julian and get a few things in order first.”
I nodded and said, “Okay,” without really understanding what he meant. I feared that if he spoke to Julian, he’d change his mind about leaving.
“This is what I want, Evs. Don’t worry. Seattle is not for me and I think California will be.” I raised my eyebrows at him wondering if he’d gained some mind reading abilities while we were apart. He laughed at what my expression must have been and then nodded toward the giant coffee sitting in front of me.
“You drink that stuff now?”
“I need it,” I sighed. “Trying to lead a clan, finish high school, and train with Palmer constantly leaves very little time for sleep.” I didn’t tell him that I usually didn’t sleep anyway because I was always thinking about him.
“Training?” he asked.
“Yeah, new rules since we got home.” I told him about the increased security and pointed out my two protectors sitting at the counter. He laughed at the thought of me fighting my cousin, but he encouraged the training. He said it was a really good idea that we were able to hold our own on land as well as in the water. We laughed and joked about some of my stupid training mishaps until a man in a black suit walked over to our table.
“Mistress Dumahl, we need to leave.”
“Right now, Palmer?” I pleaded, looking back and forth between him and Brendan.
“Yes, I’m sorry to interrupt but the Council has asked to speak with you immediately.” Palmer shifted his stance letting me know that this was rather urgent.
“Oh,” I said and turned back to Brendan. “I’m sorry. We weren’t supposed to meet again until the morning.” Dread filled my thoughts at all of the reasons why they would want to see me again so soon.
Brendan stood and pulled me up into another hug. I savored every moment of that touch, from the feel of his muscles to the scent of his skin. “It’s okay. I should get going too. I want to speak to Julian right away.”
I smiled up at him and was surprised when he bent forward and kissed me. It wasn’t a bedroom kiss but it wasn’t an innocent one either. For a few brief moments, the coffee shop and the rest of the world disappeared. It was just the two of us back together again like it should be. When we finally pulled apart, I felt a little embarrassed. Although it was worth every glare directed toward our public display.
“I’ll call you soon. I promise,” he said lightly while rubbing the side of my cheek.
“All right. I love you, Brendan.” I didn’t really know what his response would be but I didn’t care. He needed to know where I stood.
“I love you too,” he breathed as he pressed one more kiss to my forehead then gently pushed me toward Palmer. “Good luck tonight.”
“Thanks,” I returned with a smile. We left the shop quickly and I had to practically jog to keep pace with Palmer and Troy. Their demeanor was all serious and I probably should have been more concerned. However, at this moment I could’ve been running barefoot through burning coals and broken glass and it still wouldn’t have dampened my mood.
Brendan was coming back to me. No matter what the Council had decided they couldn’t take away my happiness tonight.
