Awakened Magic, page 33
Last night Kiera had thrown a farewell party for May and me. We had said our good-byes then. I preferred it that way. I was really going to miss seeing them, especially Tessa. At the last second, I’d almost invited her to come with me and May, but thought better of it. She was already moving on with her life, and I shouldn’t interrupt that.
I was almost to the front doors when I heard my name. I turned around. Ms. Hady jogged toward me. What now? She hadn’t spoken to me for days.
She stopped in front of me and worked her jaw back and forth like she was trying to get something out of her mouth.
“What do you need?” I asked.
“To say sorry.” The words came out fast. “I was cruel to you because I was afraid.”
“Forget about it. I understand.”
She glanced down at the bag in my hand. “So you’re leaving?”
“For a while.”
She pursed her lips together.
“What?” I asked.
Her face reddened. “I was hoping you could teach me a few things about how to use Light.”
I chuckled. “That’s something I never thought I’d hear. Ask Kiera or Ashlyn. They know as much as I do.”
She drew me into her arms, startling me. “Thank you. For everything.” Before I could say anything back, she let go and hurried away.
I stared after her until she disappeared around the corner. Things at Lucent were going to be so different. I probably wouldn’t recognize it when I returned.
Pushing open the door, I squinted against the glare of the sun. As soon as my eyes adjusted, the first thing I saw was Liam, reminding me again of how good he looked in the sunlight. I hoped the blood I gave him lasted a while.
He stood at the bottom of the steps, talking to May and Arik.
“I still can’t believe you guys are leaving,” Arik said when I joined them.
I glanced at May. “It won’t be for too long.”
“Six months,” she said. “At least.”
“Whatever it takes.” I figured it would take at least that long. We both wanted to return to Wildemoor for a while to visit family. Jake and Heidi said they had a big surprise for me. My guess was she was pregnant. After that it was off to Irondale.
“I wish you’d let us help,” Arik said. “Finding that cure might be a lot harder than you think.”
“If there is a cure,” Liam added.
I looked pointedly at him. “I’m going to find it, and it’s going to help you.”
And me and Christian. I knew he was thinking it too, but he didn’t say anything. I never said good-bye to Christian when the Deific came to take him away. They said they’d keep him safely locked up. I didn’t want any more memories of the monster he’d become.
Liam took hold of my hands. “I don’t need a cure. I’ve lived like this for centuries and will continue to do so.”
“Here we go again,” I mumbled.
Arik turned to May. “Walk you to the car?”
She nodded and headed to our rental parked not far away.
I huffed, not wanting to have the same argument we’d had for the last several days. “I’ve felt your burden, Liam. You mean too much to me to let you suffer like that.”
“Then let me come too. I’ll find it.”
“We need to do this. May and I.” I forced a smile. “But we’re coming back. And when I do, I’ll find you. I need you in my life, Liam. I meant what I said. As long as you want me, I’m yours. Always.”
“I will always want you.” He pulled me into a tight embrace and moaned. “This is going to be hard.”
I hugged him back and breathed him in. It was going to be hard, but it was necessary. I’d depended on Christian for so long and then Liam. I needed to know that I could survive on my own.
Liam let me go. “Charlie told me to tell you good-bye. He wished he could be here, but his hands are full with trying to track down Vykens.”
“I heard a bunch of adult Auras are helping him.”
“They are. And he said he’d love to have you join too, when you’re ready.”
“I’d like that.”
We walked to the car hand in hand.
“You know you can call me anytime, right?” he said.
“I know.”
“For any reason.”
May rolled down the passenger window and called out to me from the driver’s seat. “You ready?” She really wanted to get out of here.
“Be right there.” I lifted on my tiptoes, intending to give Liam a quick kiss on the mouth, but he swept his arm behind me and pressed me to him, deepening the kiss into something I would never forget.
Arik cleared his throat, and May groaned.
Liam slowly let me go. I was so dizzy that I hung onto him a second longer.
“I love you, Llona Reese,” he breathed in my ear.
I smiled, tears blurring my vision. “I love you too.”
We finally separated, and he opened the car door for me. “Be safe.”
I slid into the passenger seat. “I will.”
He closed the door and stepped back. I watched him for a few seconds, wanting to memorize how he looked in the sunlight. So absolutely perfect.
Arik walked over and stood next to him. “They’re going to be just fine,” I heard him say as we slowly drove away.
I sucked in a slow, deep breath and said, “We made it. We survived.”
“But what’s left?” May’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Hope. For the future. The world is a beautiful place, and we have our whole lives ahead of us. We have to focus on that to keep the darkness away.”
“I have a future,” she whispered to herself, but I don’t think she realized she said it out loud.
I nudged her and smiled. “Are you ready for an adventure? The good kind that doesn’t involve anyone dying?”
Her hands lowered to the bottom of the steering wheel, and her shoulders relaxed. “I’d like that very much.”
Just before Lucent Academy disappeared from view, I glanced back at Liam, thinking of my own future. I’d make sure it included him. I just hoped finding a Red Tree Witch for the cure didn’t involve much danger.
Liam and I had just found each other. We couldn’t lose each other now.
* * *
The End
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Awakened Magic
Born of Light Book 3
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A novel by
Raven Steele
www.RavenSteele.net
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This is a work of fiction. Names characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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