He pulled his phone from his pocket and pulled up the camera app. “One more.”
Her heart leaped with affection.He was having a good time,she thought and leaned in with a big smile. Once the picture was taken, he hastily stuffed his phone in his pocket.
They rode a few more rides before Rory insisted on riding the biggest and fastest coaster in the park. He would be forced to show a reaction, and she couldn’t wait.
When they piled into the seats, Sam pulled the padded safety bar over his shoulders and looked at her. “Is this a joke?”
The bar wouldn’t close properly because he was so tall. “It’s still holding you down,” she said, pointing to his lap. “Plus, there’s a seatbelt.” He grumbled under his breath, fastened the belt across his waist, and placed his hands on his thighs.
Rory screamed her head off during the entire ride as Sam stayed silent. His hair tie came loose, and his blonde hair whipped around his face. To her utter amazement, she saw the tiniest smile on his face when they unloaded from the car.
“How do these rides not affect you?” she asked him with wonder.
Looking down at her, he lifted a brow. “I can fly. These are nothing.”
She stared after him as he followed the group, but her agitation melted away.
She couldn’t wait to tell Caius she got him to smile at an amusement park. It was a miracle.
They spent the rest of the day playing games and stuffing themselves with fried foods from the vendors, and as Rory listened to her friends joke around, a deep sadness filled her heart.
Impossible decisions were always forced upon her, and just once, she wanted things to work out in her favor.
Rory,Sam, and her father sat at the dining table as the two men ate dinner. Rory’s stomach hurt from the park food, and the thought of eating made her want to die.
“Any luck on finding a way back to Vincula?” her father asked between bites.
Sighing, she sipped her water. “I don’t think it’s possible. Caius has to find his way here.” She glanced at Sam. “He thinks he found a way, but I’m worried about him.”
TheAngelsaid nothing at first. Setting his fork down and placing his napkin on his plate, he turned to her. “You have seen his marks.”
“How could I not?” She scoffed. “They cover his entire upper body, and I saw them grow when he was angry.”
His nostrils flared slightly. “They cover him?” She nodded, and he cursed under his breath. “He is going to kill himself.”
“Turney and my mother both saw this happen,” she whispered. “It’s fueled by his anger, maybe more, but he won’t stop.”
“I will speak with him when I return,” Sam assured her.
“He won’t listen, but I made him promise to try another way,” Rory replied. “I asked him to call on overwhelmingly happy emotions.” She grimaced. “I pulled it out of my ass, but I couldn’t think of anything else.”
“That was surprisingly good advice.” Sam stood with his plate, and she glared at him.
Surprisingly? “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she snipped.
“You know nothing of the old magic, but you are correct,” he returned. “It is controlled by emotion.”
“Why didn’t you tell him that?” She moved her chair back and grabbed her father’s plate along with hers.
“I did not think he possessed the ability to use that much power,” Sam admitted. “It was a fool’s dream, yet he has done it.”
“There’s something I’ve been wondering.” She placed the dishes in the washer. “You know a lot about the magic of the realms, but not all of it. How?”
He smirked. “It does not differ from knowledge of anything else. You know how to make drinks, serve them, where they come from, possibly even the ingredients in the liquor and mixers, but do you know precisely how that liquor is made?”
“Point taken.” There was another thing she’d been wondering. “Are you aSeraph?”
He stepped into the dining room, and his wings shot out of his back, fluttering as he tucked them tightly against his body. “How many sets of wings do you see?”
