I decided to pay Claude a quick visit to see how he was doing. His bedroom was located on the second floor in a separate hall from Gem.
Now I could appreciate why.
I stood in the doorway and laughed when I took a gander at the bed on the right-hand wall. Gem was curled up beside Claude, who was giving his best impersonation of a hibernating bear.
“I thought that was a chain saw.”
Gem sat up and gave an elfin smile. “He snores.” When she turned to poke him, he stopped and made a purring sound before rolling onto his side.
“Mind if I come in?”
She gestured toward the chair on the right, which faced the bed. A candle flickered on the bedside table from the draft of her movement.
“Nice place,” I said, admiring his abode.
Everyone’s bedroom reflected their personality. Claude’s private chamber was laid out the same as mine with the fireplace on the left wall and bath in an adjoining room behind the bed. But instead of arched windows opposite the door, he had a massive circular window with a clock design. I’d seen it from the outside of the mansion, never realizing it was his bedroom. Though it was too dark to see, I knew the glass was stained blue with black Roman numerals. The lanterns affixed to every wall weren’t lit, so the only candles burning were one in the entranceway to the bathroom and another on his bedside table. He didn’t have a small bed like mine. Claude was much too tall for one of those.
What surprised me most? I’d expected the room to be lavishly decorated in gold because that seemed fitting of Claude’s regal personality. However, that was not the case.
“So, Claude’s a leather man,” I remarked, looking between the leather headboard and leather bench at the foot of the bed.
Across the room, the window sat within an alcove. Two leather couches faced each other on the opposite walls, a white shag rug between them.
I noticed the fireplace across from the bed had a large, rectangular mirror with a black frame above it. I stepped inside the room and turned around to admire his black armoire beside the door. I imagined him sitting on the leather stool while putting on his shoes and socks. There were only two chairs in the room. One was plush with a wide seat by the fireplace—a great place to doze off with a good book on a winter’s night. I sat down in the other one next to the bedside table. It was small, stiff, and smelled a lot like Claude. There were creases in the arms and a few imperfections.
“How’s he doing?” I asked.
“Better.” Gem’s legs dangled off the bed comically. “Shepherd had some special medicine that’ll help his wounds heal faster. He’ll be back to himself in no time, but he needs rest. Niko’s drained, and Claude refuses to accept any more help from him.”
I glanced at my hand, guilty that I couldn’t have done the same and just healed on my own.
Gem reached up and tied her hair into a messy knot. Her baggy grey sleep shorts and shirt indicated she was foregoing her usual nightly swim.
“Should we light a fire?” I asked, staring at the cold hearth.
“No. Claude gets hot when he sleeps. He usually doesn’t light it unless it’s forambiance,” she said, dramatically emphasizing the last word.
I watched her picking at the chipped polish on her short nails. “That was really something you did back there with the light show.”
Her brows knitted together for a moment before she looked at her hands. “Oh.That.”
“I know you’re smart and all, but maybe Viktor worries for no reason when putting you on the front line. Seems like you can take care of yourself.”
She rubbed her fingertips together, and a tiny ball the size of a marble formed. It was composed of blue light and quickly dissipated when she smashed it in the palm of her hand with a tight fist. “I only get a few good shots, and there’s always a chance something could go wrong. That’s what Viktor’s afraid of since it requires concentration and control. It depletes my energy. If I use too much, sometimes I can’t flash for a day. Every gift has a drawback.”
“That’s some gift, though. Is it a rare one?”
She fell over on the pillow next to her and curled up in the fetal position. “Some rare gifts are rarer than others. My Creator told me there aren’t many who can do what I do.”
“What do they call it?”
I knew Gem was a Blocker who had the ability to block many Mage gifts, such as those from Mentalists or Charmers, but she hadn’t detailed everything about her powers, and it wasn’t my business. Now that the cat was out of the bag, it didn’t seem rude to ask about it.
“When there isn’t an official name, we give it one. The Mageri recorded my gifts when they measured me, but they didn’t mention a name for it. Wyatt wanted to call me a ball buster. I just call it wielding, so I guess that makes me a Wielder.”
Man, Gem was one lucky girl. Every Mage was different in not only what rare ability they possessed but also how many. Some had just one gift, while others had several. Niko had informed me that some didn’t discover hidden abilities until years later, that the gifts would lie dormant until accidentally revealed.
“I’m just a Stealer,” I said.
