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“Halley, I hope your training is going well. Your help will be most beneficial against the Hunters.” Normally, Zachariah’s statement would have never raised a red flag for me, agreeing completely with his words. But now, all I could wonder is if they purposely had four students training her, knowing we couldn’t possibly teach her enough.
“Yes, everything is going great. Learning lots.” Halley responded in a flat voice, not giving anything away.
“Perfect, perfect. As the last Enchantress, I hope you know how important you are to the Divines.” Zachariah’s smile was skewed and Halley returned it with a closed lipped one of her own.
Leaving the room, I followed behind Zachariah, hating that I was stuck in this position. Hating that I felt like a traitor to my people and to my friends at the same time. Hating that I couldn’t turn around and crash my lips to Halley’s. And hating the guilt I felt about what these feelings meant for Eli.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Halley
“I can’t believe you actually broke his hand, that’s so badass.”
Kalani nudged me with her shoulder, her tone lighthearted but I knew she could see how I was really feeling and trying to make me feel better. I didn’twantto hurt others, especially someone like Knox who in the past several weeks had been doing everything possible to figure things out with me. But I knew what kind of situation we were walking into and I had been spending each night I was alone reading up on the attacking enchantments. I hadn’t told anyone which ones because some were vicious and the truth was, as much as I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I’d gladly take down each and every Hunter if it meant my friends were safe.
“It was pretty badass. Even better that I could heal it right after though.” I responded.
Kalani grinned at me and I smiled back. The two of us were holed up in my common area, everyone else off doing their own thing. Maeve was hanging out with some of the Ethos, Madden was getting his evening run in, Knox was still in a meeting with Zachariah, and Eli was finishing up some work from classes. Although I enjoyed when we were all together, I was content to just be with Kalani. We hadn’t gotten any time just the two of us since everything happened and I truly needed this night. I needed to feel like it was still before. Before the Hunters killed my friend and I learned the Council wanted me out of the picture.
“So, are you feeling better about the enchantments? I mean, do you feel you have more control?” Kalani continued the conversation and I huffed.
“I can definitely do more enchantments than even a month ago, but what happens when my emotions are out of control again? I can’t know how I’ll feel when I see the Hunters again and last time I completely blacked out. I don’t want that to happen again.”
Kalani wrapped her arms around me, laying her head against my shoulder and I sagged into the comfort. Sometimes I wondered how I ever went so long without simple human contact. Everything seemed better when you had someone with you.
“You’re putting too much pressure on yourself Halls. No one is expecting you to take out all the Hunters, in fact, I’m pretty sure the guys’ only goal is to keep you safe. And I, for one, totally back up that plan. If it was up to me, both of us would be sitting our pretty asses right on this couch while everyone else fights.”
I took in her words and we were both silent for a while, both lost in our own thoughts. I knew I was putting pressure on myself, but how could I not? Although I knew everyone wanted to keep me safe,Iwanted to keep them safe as well. And despite Kalani’s sweet words, I knew she was thinking about the fact that she wouldn’t be there with us, fearing what would happen while we were away.
After several more minutes, Kalani finally moved away, shaking her head as if ridding herself of whatever thought was stuck.
“Okay, this just got depressing fast. No more thinking about fighting, we’re going to have some fun.”
“What do you have in mind?” I asked, fully on board with whatever she was going to throw my way.
“We’re not going to think about anything important. No complex enchantments, no trying to shift into a scary creature that has a mind of its own, we’re going to do the most absurd enchantments we can find.”
As she spoke, she began moving around the room, finding my book and opening it up. I knew for a fact that she would find what she was looking for. Basically, every enchantment was listed in that book and there were plenty that were more for show than actual use.
Once Kalani found the enchantment she wanted to start with, we both bent over the book and I started laughing.
“You’re serious?” I asked, still chuckling.
Kalani smiled wide before responding. “Oh, one hundred percent serious, Halls. Now get your ass over there and do your thing.”
Following Kalani’s instructions, I stood across the room from her, still laughing as I raised my hands. Happiness spilled through me and my power started swirling, ready for whatever.
? ? ?
“What the fuck?” A gruff voice sounded, barely audible over Kalani and my laughter, which filled the room.
We had started with one enchantment and somehow had ended up attempting new one after new one until the situation everyone had just walked into was created. Currently, flowers and trees were sprouting all over the common area, the fireplace was blazing with rainbow flames, a raincloud was drizzling over the floor, and Kalani was floating in the air.
The entire room was a mess, but I didn’t care as the smile on my face widened until my cheeks hurt. Ignoring the newcomers, I focused on Kalani’s body, not wanting to drop her. After we had decorated the entire room, Kalani had suggested that instead of moving objects, I should try moving her. It had taken much more power and concentration than flinging books across the room, but with the joy spiraling through me, each enchantment came easy enough, a slight glow shimmering over my skin.
“Do you think they’re okay?” Maeve’s quiet voice sounded and Kalani waved from up towards the ceiling, laughing as she responded.
“Oh, come on, don’t act like you’ve never seen a floating person before.” The sarcasm rolling off her tongue sent another fit of laughter through me, Kalani and Maeve both joining in.
