Behind her, she heard Cole command, “Tell Brokk what happened here,” before his footsteps followed her.
* * *
Cole walkedbeside Lexi and around the lake. When they arrived at the other side, he remained in the shadows as Lexi strolled around two large maples located about twenty feet from the water. Del had told her they would be recognizable because they were the only two red maples in a sea of green ones.
Lexi walked closer to the shore. She was all fluid grace and beauty as she moved, but the sad slope of her shoulders and the circles shadowing her eyes revealed the ordeal she’d been through over the past few days.
When she was about ten feet away from the tree trunks, she turned to stare at them. She clasped her hands before her as she bowed her head.
After a few minutes, she lifted her hand and walked forward to kneel between the two trees. Reaching each hand out at her sides, she rested her palms against the ground.
Minutes passed, and she whispered something before rising and strolling toward the lake. When she stopped at the shore, with the water barely touching the toes of her boots, he slipped from the shadows to join her.
The sun shining off the pristine surface of the lake turned the water a brighter blue. Around them, the birds sang as a single fish jumped from the water. It ate a bug before plunging beneath the surface again. The ripples it created were the only imperfections on the lake.
“I spent my entire life playing along this lakeshore and running through these woods. I’ve climbed those maples before, swung from their branches, and stomped across the ground all while never knowing my parents were beneath me,” she said.
“Del and Sahira were trying to protect you.”
“I know, and I understand that, but how do I get past all thelies?”
Enveloping her in his arms, he pulled her against his chest and cradled her there. Her fingers dug into his back as she rested her head over his heart.
He held her as they stared at the glimmering water. He believed they both knew this would be the last moment of peace they’d have for a while.
He waited for her to speak again, and after a while, she did.
“What will happen to me if I don’t return to taking Sahira’s potion?”
“There’s no way to know. Your abilities were suppressed for years, and they’ll most likely be volatile and difficult to contain until you learn to control them. It will be overwhelming and hard, but we’ll get through it together.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lexi’s heartwarmed at Cole’s words. They would get through this together. It would be frightening, it would be difficult, but he would be by her side.
“Do you want to stop taking it?” Cole asked.
“I think it’s been two days since I took it. I’m pretty sure I took it the morning we returned to the Gloaming. I didn’t mean to forget it; I got so sidetracked with the battle, your wounds, and making sure you survived that—”
“Stop,” he said as he brushed the hair back from her forehead. “It’s okay.”
“We can’t have a baby, Cole, especially not with everything we just learned.”
“And we won’t,” he assured her. “Don’t forget, I am also taking something.”
“I know, I just… I should have been more responsible.”
“Even if we did have a baby now, we would figure it out, we would protect it, and wewouldget through all this, but it’s not something you have to worry about, okay?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
“Do you want to stop taking the potion or go back to doing so? This is yourchoice, Lexi.Noonewill force you into anything.”
“It won’t matter after a while. According to my dad, my powers will eventually break through, and you believe they already are.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
