Blake went and held on to Magnum’s leg, and Donovan’s arm came out and went still in front of me, protecting me from Ididn’t know what as Cinder ran to Magnum’s free arm, clinging to him like a monkey. It was sheer chaos, like every other visit to this house—I wasn’t sure why I’d expected anything different.
Holding a fresh cup of hot coffee, the steam rising above it, Magnum cleared his throat. I did a quick look around the room, noting Valerie was holding a matching mug. She must have filled them for the pair. It felt so natural and commonplace, but I wasn’t about to mention that.
Donovan turned to face his brother, who lifted Blake up in his now free arm, gently shaking Cinder to his side. If one thing was for sure, Magnum’s daughter came first. The scene felt as if it was out of a holiday movie, except sweat was now pooling at the base of my neck. Cinder’s emotions were climbing through the roof, and personally, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could absorb them.
“I want to cut to the chase,” Valerie said. “I’ve already stated that I will be accompanying Blake to meet your family. Magnum agrees, and so it’s final.”
My gaze went to Cinder, who was balling her fists.
Donovan walked over to his brother and said softly, “Blake, where is your grandma? Why don’t you go color with her so the adults can talk?” I didn’t know where this softer side of his came from, but it did things to me…
“No!” It was the first time I’d heard Blake object to anything. “I want to go to Rubia. And Mom is coming too, like Daddy promised.”
Cinder hissed. Clearly, it had been a big ole kumbaya family situation last night with Valerie, Mag, and Blake. Swallowing all the emotions clogged in my throat, I knew it was time.
“My daughter has spoken, and she wants me,” Valerie said while looking at Cinder, who had started to cry while her cheeks were beet red with anger.
Donovan whipped his head in my direction and nodded. This wasn’t going to improve; there was only room to decline, and there wasn’t far to go…
He mouthedNowand my fate was sealed. At some point between arriving here and now, the priority had quietly shifted to getting Blake back to Rubia. Of course, Magnum was still promised to Cinder and mending that was also a main task at hand, but it felt like Donovan had succumbed to Valerie being involved in some way.
It was my moment to help; to attempt the transfer and see if I could alleviate some of the tensions by doing so.
With my feet still planted, Donovan came close, whispering in my ear, “Maybe if she feels something other than lust toward my brother, she will reconsider her stance.”
I felt Cinder’s gaze on me.Do itshe now mouthed. With Magnum still holding Blake, Valerie watched us, creeping close to Mag’s side. He allowed her to hold on to him, but he knew he couldn’t stop what was about to happen. He could only defy his mother so much—
“When you’re done, she won’t want him, and he will only have eyes for me,” Cinder whispered to me while I was still next to her side.
Abstaining from rolling my eyes, I placed my hand on her shoulder, running it up her neck and behind her hair, noting Magnum kissing Valerie on the temple and walking out of the room with Blake. Valerie tried to follow but stopped short with a death glare aimed at Donovan. I suspected he’d sent a shock to stop her in her tracks—a true no-no.
I didn’t have time to ponder much more because Cinder’s agony was free-flowing into me, and a damp sheen of sweat began to cover my skin, eventually turning to a full-on perspire. I closed my eyes and felt the pain coursing through me. Normally I allowed it to drift right out of me. I’d never done an exchangebefore, but I’d given it a lot of thought and decided it was better to “store” the emotions in my own body rather than hold on to the two women at the same time, providing a conduit for one to pour into the another. I had my reasons for the plan, and they became clearer the more I took in from Cinder. Wave after wave of anger, deceit, and suffering traveled from Cinder into me. I let it fill every vein, artery, and my heart, willing myself to stay the course. There were more emotions than I’d ever experienced—if I’d opted to share them in some sort of rolling from one body to another situation, I wasn’t sure Valerie would have survived. She was only a mom fighting for her daughter. I owed her this much.
I kept on at my task…and while I never wished to do this again, I knew my mother would have me take notes on how it was done for future generations. Deep in my soul, I hoped it wouldn’t be my daughter or son who would inherit this ability. Shaking my head for a beat, I almost laughed. My daughter or son with who? I was not destined for falling in love and family life—
Finally, I sensed Cinder’s feelings bottoming out and I let go of her neck. As I’d prepared in my mind, I silently told myself to keep everything inside for a few minutes. Typically, I let the anguish dissipate as it went into my body, filling the air around me with warm atoms, but not today. This was a new sensation entirely.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I found Valerie standing stock-still.
“He has me pinned. Every time I even wiggle, he sends a zap,” she said to me, looking for pity, and I felt that in my core.
Donovan was using his power on a human; I told myself it was to help me. He wouldn’t do this otherwise. I wasn’t even sure he wanted to now.
On another day, under different circumstances, I might have given in to her, but not now. My own system was being overloaded. And my mother was waiting.
“I despise you,” she said to Donovan. “And you,” she spit out toward Cinder. “As for you, it’s quadruple whatever the hate I have for them.”
I deserved that much; I nodded in agreement at the sentiment. I didn’t blame Valerie for her words as I lifted my hand to her forearm. Her bare skin peeked out of the robe, and I touched it with my own clammy hand.
Release, I whispered in my own mind, and the floodgates opened. I pulled the imaginary doors back a little, permitting Cinder’s thoughts and feelings to drip one by one into Valerie, and my body began to feel lighter.
Actually, weaker. As the transfer began to pick up speed, my body seemingly couldn’t distinguish between in and out, so it took in Donovan’s zaps for Valerie as it let out the bad emotions. I began to feel cold. Not the kind of shiver I got from being near Don, but closer to ice filling my bloodstream. Goose bumps broke out everywhere and I felt limp.
The last thing I remembered was seeing Valerie’s face contorting in suffering, and I prayed for her bout to be short. Then my world went dark.
Donovan
“Fuck!” I didn’t care that Mag was hot on my heels with his daughter—the scene unfolding before me left me speechless for anything other than profanity.
