Despite the gnawing of confusion and fear in my belly that had yet to dissipate since my outburst in the throne room, I found myself laughing as I lay on my back in the grass. Proof that no matter what life threw at me—like the manifestation of scary powers—I was always better off with them by my side.
“Might as well come out.” I sat up and looked toward the trees. “Your cover is blown.”
Maddox appeared first, then Lake. A dark shape darted around Callum’s feet as he emerged from the woods next, almost tripping him, followed by a laughing Rowan and a softly smiling Briar. The sight of them helped chip away more of my bubbling anxiety.
“Where’s Duke and the others?” I asked, not spotting the knight trio or the spies.
“In the parlor.” Reaching my spot near the bank, Briar sat beside me. “Varys wished to speak further with Draven and Reign and invited them for a drink. The knights accompanied them.”
“And Onyx?”
“In his study.” Rowan grabbed a low hanging branch and pulled himself up into the tree. “He left right after you did, not sayin’ a word to anyone.”
He’s upset.I recalled how Onyx had stared at my hands. The realization that’d crossed his face. Perhaps a trace of hurt.
“Ah.” I nodded and returned to my earlier position—hugging my knees to my chest. “Sorry for running away earlier. I don’t know what happened.”
“Your powers awoke.” Briar rested his hand on my lower back.
“People like me arise in times of great conflict, right? We’re meant to be heroes or whatever?” I made myself smaller, hugging my knees tighter. “But that angry place inside me didn’t feel heroic, Briar. It felt dark.”
“Sometime when powers first manifest, they’re triggered by strong emotions,” he said, rubbing soothing circles on my back. “Anger and fear being the most common.”
“Specs is right,” Rowan said. “First time I used the Bone Crusher, it was an accident. A man with a dagger had me cornered in an alley, saying how he couldn’t wait to flay the skinoff my bones, then sell my meat to the butcher. Next thing I knew, he was a pile of flesh and blood at my feet.”
A whine reached my ears. Lake sat on my other side, his wolf ears drooping. “I thank the gods you escaped that life and found your way to us.”
Rowan cleared his throat and turned his face away. It was half concealed by the leaves anyway. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell our wolf’s words touched him.
“But still.” I rested my cheek on my arm and looked over at Briar. “Nearly setting everyone on fire because I got angry doesn’t sound very saintlike. What if I’m a bad egg? Like a dark saint or something?”
“There is no darkness in you, sweetheart,” a deeper voice said, and a big body pulled me close. Maddox had sat down behind me in the grass, stretching his legs out on either side of me. “Of that I’m certain. Your heart is too pure.”
I relaxed against his broad chest. The air was chilly, and he was so freaking warm. He soothed the ice coursing through my veins too.
“Our captain speaks true, love.” Briar smiled at Maddox, then at me. The tightness around his eyes made that smile apprehensive. “The anger you feel toward Cedric comes from your deep love of Bremloc and all the people in it. From a place that repels the cruelty and injustices he’s perpetrated. That doesn’t make you a bad person. Quite the opposite.”
I mulled over his words, trying to find relief in them. And I did, to an extent. The anxiety in my chest refused to settle though. Too much was uncertain, like sailing out into open water without knowing where you were at or where you were going.
“What will happen now?” I burrowed deeper into Maddox and watched the colorful glows move beneath the surface of the pond. Frog-chomping, possibly murderous, chameleon fish aside, they were pretty to look at.
“That, I have no clear answer for,” Briar responded, a crease forming in his brow. “But if I were to guess, I’d say your powers will strengthen from this point on. Starting small for now but likely growing stronger with the passing of days.”
I examined my hands. The blue sparks had caused a hot tingling in my fingertips, as though charged with electricity. “Onyx knows. I saw it on his face. He witnessed the former saint’s power and recognized it in me.”
Maddox slowly drew in a breath. On the exhale, his arms tightened around me.
“I reckon it’s a good thing you have Lord Onyx wrapped around your pretty little finger then,” Rowan said from his perch in the tree. He dangled one leg down and bent the other at the knee. How he kept his balance, I had no clue. My clumsy butt would’ve fallen in a second flat. “He’ll help us keep you safe.”
“The former saint helped kill his dad, Ro.” Hot prickles spread over my collar bone, gathering at my sternum. “Not sure he’ll be too happy with me.”
Lupin had warned me that one of my fated mates would either love me or kill me. Revenge would be a good motive for the latter. Onyx was a doom flag waiting to happen. A smarter muffin would’ve stayed far away from him, but he was too damn important to me.
I couldn’t stay away from him even if I tried.
“You’re not to blame for his father’s death, Ev.” Callum scratched Oreo’s ears, tossing me one of his dimpled smiles. The puppy lay beside him in the grass, his little head resting on Callum’s thigh. “Bake him more honey cake and he’ll come around.”
Some of the guilt lifted from my chest. Once again, my cinnamon roll chased away the storm clouds. My ray of sunlight.
