Amira pulled her legs close to her chest. “He said that I should stay away from him. That I’m tooclingy.”
“Huh, that doesn’t sound like him. The nerve of this guy,” Varsha huffed before standing up. “You know what? You should go to his party looking fabulous and completely ignore him. That’ll teach him!”
“I don’t know. I think I should try to talk to him again.”
“Fine. But if he’s rude again, I’ll have a word or two with him,” Varsha said with a devilish smile.
* * *
Feeling confident in a vibrant amethyst dress, she entered the room with the beautiful painter at her side. The colour of her dress mirrored her eyes, bringing out the light in them. It felt nice to be in an outfit of her choosing. For too long, her brother had chosen all her outfits.
They made their way across the party room, craning their necks as they hunted for Rhay. Varsha’s eyes darted to Amira’s left. “There he is. At the bar. Figures.”
Amira turned around to see Rhay sitting on a bar stool, chatting with the bartender. He seemed so careless, far from the Rhay who had demanded she stay away from him.
“You ready?” Varsha asked.
Amira nodded, determined to get answers. “Thank you for your help. You can enjoy your night now.”
“Always a pleasure to be of service to you, princess,” Varsha said with a wink before disappearing into the dancing crowd, walking up to an incredibly attractive fae. Amira averted her eyes. She twisted a strand of hair between her fingers, the sharp pain bringing her clarity.
She joined Rhay at the bar without him noticing. As she sat on the bar stool next to him, she saw him tense up. “Can we talk?” Amira started.
Rhay turned to her, a large grin on his face, but it seemed forced. “Princess, I’m so glad you could make it. What do you wanna talk about?”
“You remember our last talk, don’t you?” Amira asked, irritated by his pretence. She had half-expected him to tell her to leave him alone.
Rhay took a sip of his drink. “Of course, I remember. I wasn’t that drunk.”
So he had been drinking yesterday. Maybe that explained his strange behaviour. But from what she had gathered, drinking usually made him friendlier, not meaner.
He took her hand. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna teach you how to block my powers. I haven’t forgotten about my promise. The key is to learn to balance emotions.”
Amira had never felt more confused. Why was he helping her after their last conversation?
Rhay continued without paying attention to her. “I have to be honest, it’s harder for low-level fae to learn to block mental powers. I’m not saying it’s hopeless, but you need to have a strong grip on your mind. I want you to try something.”
He pressed her hands and suddenly, all her anger was gone, replaced instead by a lingering feeling of nothingness. She was just…fine.
“Now that I’ve levelled your emotions, let’s start with a simple exercise. Think of a single moment that made you feel a specific emotion. It can be sadness, anger, joy, fear…whatever you want. Don’t tell me what it is. Just close your eyes, remember that time and how it made you feel. Do you have it?”
She wanted to ask him more questions about the previous day. Why was he acting as if nothing had happened? His eyes demanded her to focus and she wanted to learn more than anything, so she decided to play along.
Amira closed her eyes. Her mind wandered around her memories. She didn’t know which one to pick. Her fifteenth birthday drifted to the forefront. She was surrounded by her parents, perfectly happy. And then her father had gifted her the comb. She remembered admiring the present, mesmerised by the changing colour of the nacre.
“Now try to level all the emotions of that memory,” Rhay continued. “Use an opposite emotion for it. Disgust for pleasure, peace for anger, sadness for happiness.”
It wasn’t hard for Amira to turn the joy into sadness. Her birthday had been three days before her father’s death. An image of her father’s lifeless body struck her mind. She clenched her fist, trying to fight back the tears.
“Hold on to the balance.” Rhay’s voice sounded further away, a faint echo in her head. “Don’t let either emotion take over. They have to cancel each other out.”
But the heartache was too much. She could feel tears watering her eyes. Her heart was hollow. She was hollow. Just a pit of sadness. Everything seemed hopeless and empty. Nothing would ever change, she realised. She felt like a rock was crushing her, pinning her to the ground.
She heard Rhay’s faint voice calling her. “Princess?Amira?”
She tried to speak, but her mouth had been stitched shut. Her scream echoed inside her head, but it didn’t sound like her voice. She could feel two burning hands gripping her. Suddenly, everything stopped. She was floating in the ether.
“Amira, open your eyes,” a voice called.
