“Wow.” Her eyes lit as brightly as her smile. “That’s wonderful. Congrats.”
“Did I hear you right?” Nicolas strode in and clapped Guy on the shoulder. “You’ve finally come to your senses. There’s no further secrecy?”
“You heard right.” Guy shook his hand. “Thanks for all you did.”
“No problem.” Nicolas slanted his head toward me. “You’re fully healed?”
“Yes. I rested as you said.”
“Good, then this is a day for extra celebration. I’ll catch you both later. I’ve promised to play one of the guitars for a bit.” Continuing on in his dark leathers, he joined those nearer the fire.
“Oh, there’s Hope.” Vitaria grinned. “She’s a hard one to catch, and I need to ask her if I can come out to the station. I’d love to see the outback. Later, you guys.” She raced off.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it feels weird that I’m getting along with—”
“Shh.” Guy pressed a finger against my lips as two warriors ambled past, the swords at their sides glinting orange from the firelight. “You truly can’t say it.”
The strangest emotion rolled through me. It was one of unease, but not for these warriors. All my life I’d been told to hate the enemy. Even Guy’s father was imprisoned for bringing harm to my people, but I still liked him. Nicolas and Vitaria too. It was crazy to have these conflicting feelings, but all was not as it seemed. Not every warrior was bad.
Silas had joined with Hope. Davio had accepted Faith. I was no different to my brother and cousin. We’d all found the good in warriors. Faith and Hope also wanted to bring about peace between our nations. Now, I wanted that peace too, so future generations wouldn’t have to suffer the loss of their mate as I might have, as Zayn right now did, and who knew who else was in the same boat.
“Hey, you look deep in thought.” Guy stroked my nape, his fingers warm and firm around my neck.
“I’ve had a revelation.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled.
“And that is?”
“We have a huge job ahead of us.”
“We already know that.”
“It’s more than what we spoke of.” Heat surged through my veins. “I feel driven, as the girls do.”
“Silvie.” Faith jogged toward me, grabbed my hand. “Forewarning.”
“Not again. Who and how bad?”
“You. Guy, let’s go.”
He grabbed me and followed Faith’s ’porting airstream.
In a blink, I teetered on the edge of an indoor pool. Three lanes wide and seventy or eighty feet long, all surrounded by blue tiled walls. Okay, not good. I did not feel up to a dip.
“Throw her in!” Faith screamed.
Guy tossed me into the depths and the water closed over my head.
Yuck. I shivered at the bottom of the pool, hating the cold. I pushed upward and broke the surface. Water bubbled and steam rose as I shoved my hair out of my face. “Okay, I would like to point out that cold water sucks.”
“It’s not cold now.” Faith eased out from behind a tall stone column, wiped her brow. “It’s like a sauna in here. That was one hot blast, and with next to no warning.”
Arm outstretched, Guy leaned toward me. “Come here, my little pest.”
I swam and grabbed his hand. He lifted me out and into his arms. Water sluiced to my feet.
“Your skill is gaining in intensity.” He threaded his fingers through mine. “Sometimes you can control it, and other times you can’t. That was certainly one fast flare you had no power over. Your rising must be close.”
When one’s rising began, an overpowering assault wreaked havoc on all our senses. Adrenaline pumped through our bodies causing an all-time high. Hormones swung, and strength-levels three-times greater than normal hit us. I wasn’t ready for that. I hadn’t trained enough. Oh boy, during our rising our power was phenomenal. It was certainly an occasion we honored, celebrated and shared with our closest, but my skill was too unpredictable. “I don’t have a good enough handle on it yet.”
“I know.” Faith came closer. “You’ve cooled again, but if your rising is near, then we need to get you out of Dralion and back home where we don’t have to worry about who sees what you can do. It’s gotta be close.”
“No, you’re wrong. My rising could still be days away. My flares might look worse because I have the fire skill. I simply need to train.”
“Or it could take hours. What if I’m right? You know the drill.”
“Know what drill, Faith?” A man’s booming voice traveled to us as he walked through the side doors. “Hell, it’s hot in here.”
Who was he? Wearing an impeccable red shirt with silver chains looped from his shoulder to his top pocket and long legs encased in tough black leather pants, he appeared a leader of men.
“Ah, there’s my granddaughter.” He gripped Faith in a firm forearm embrace. Gold insignia rings on his thumbs glinted under the overhead lights. “You and Hope are difficult to find, and none of the staff ever seem to know where either of you are.”