With my long wool coat wrapped tightly around me, I roamed the gardens, taking in the smell of roses that stubbornly clung to the air. A light mist blanketed the ground; it seemed to be halting nature’s natural death process. Plants were still green and flowers in bloom. I regretted leaving my hair down as the wind whipped it back and forth, and I constantly had to wipe the blowing strands away from my face. But when I reached the edge of the forest, the wind died down, and my hair returned to its rightful place.
The forest, not far from the home, had also been meticulously maintained. There were no fallen branches or overgrown bushes, allowing me to move in and out of the trees with ease, but after a short time, the temperature dropped even further, forcing me to turn back. I was about to cross to the paved path leading to the house when I noticed Boaz riding on a huge black stallion with Hunwald trailing behind. My heart quickened.
Boaz attempted to stop the horse directly in front of me, but with little success. The animal stomped and snorted as if it had never been ridden before. Boaz was struggling to keep it still.
“Come with me. I want to show you something,” he said.
“Good morning to you, too.”
Boaz grinned and pulled on the reigns, forcing the horse to face me. The black stallion reared up. “A little help here?”
I laughed. “What do you expect me to do?”
“Surely your parents taught you a calming spell of some kind. It should be an easy task for you to perform on an animal.” The horse reared up again, nearly throwing him off.
I did remember Sable saying something about how to calm an angry animal—or had it been a person? Regardless, I didn’t want to start using magic so soon.
“Please, love. I’m dying here,” Boaz said while the horse repeatedly turned its head to nip at his thigh.
Boaz looked so helpless I just couldn’t say no. One little spell wouldn’t hurt, right?
“Very well, but I’m doing it for the horse’s sake,” I said. “He looks extremely uncomfortable.”
“He looks uncomfortable?”
My smile widened, and I closed my eyes. After a deep breath, I tried to think of something I hated as that was the only way I knew to call upon my abilities. Immediately, an image of a black widow spider appeared. Erik had once used the spiders on me when I was twelve. I’d remained as still as possible while they climbed up my legs, but one of them still bit me. Erik finally removed them when I’d passed out from the poison, making me incapable of using magic even if I’d wanted to. That’s when my hatred for spiders had first begun. I used that hate now to do as Boaz asked.
Like always, the negative emotion made using my abilities possible. My feet tingled as if they were asleep and, slowly, I let the energy crawl up my legs, careful to keep it under control. I approached the excited horse and placed my hand upon its neck. In my mind, over the image of crawling black spiders, I pictured an open pasture full of white daisies. At the far end of the field, a herd of wild horses ran free. Peace, I thought, and transferred the calming image to the horse. Beneath my hand, the bulging neck muscles of the stallion relaxed. The horse stomped a few times before it finally lowered its head. Its eyes glazed over, and it stilled.
Once again, the use of magic gave me an incredible feeling of power. It made me lightheaded but in an enjoyable way. I almost didn’t want to let go of the hate that allowed the power to remain, but the horrible smell it produced forced me to push away the images of the black widows. I didn’t think I would ever get used to the smell.
“Thank you, love, much better,” Boaz said. “Now that I don’t have a horse trying to kill me, I can be more polite. Have you enjoyed your morning?”
“It’s been wonderful. You have an amazing home and grounds to match. I could spend days exploring.”
“I’m glad you find it satisfactory. If you didn’t, I would have to change it all.”
I laughed. “You would do that for me?”
“In a heartbeat.”
When I realized he was serious, I said, “Boaz, this is all fabulous”—I gestured around with my hand—“and so much like a beautiful fairytale, but I must confess, it’s not what I want.”
“And what do you want?”
I glanced past him. In the distance, the morning sun crested the tops of the trees, bathing them in a warm glow. “To be free from our world. To live among the humans as one of them.” I paused. “And I want answers. I have so many questions about myself, my parents, and even you.”
“I will answer what I can. But first, come with me. I want to show you something.” He offered his hand.
I glanced at his open palm, wondering if the creased lines could tell me something about his past.
“Don’t you trust me?” he asked.
I met his gaze high up on the horse. “No, I don’t.”
“If I wanted to hurt you, than I wouldn’t have saved you. Now please, let’s go before it begins to snow.”