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Zachariah nodded thoughtfully, pacing back and forth in his office. Turning towards me, he stopped. “Of course, I should have thought of this sooner. All Enchanters were able to create not only physical shields, but mental shields. She must have built up the shield throughout the years without even realizing it. Hence why no Ethos could read her emotions either.” I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or himself as he continued to mutter on. “Which means, we need her to drop the shields if we wish to get any information about her past.” Not liking where this train of thought was going, I started to interrupt, but Zachariah cut me off with a stern stare and this time I knew he was talking directly to me.
“You must get to know her. Get her to trust you. Make her someone you are close to. Then, we will have a clearer vision of her past when her shield is dropped.”
Although I knew this would probably be our best-case scenario, I didn’t want to entertain the idea of getting close to someone for purposes other than genuine ones. Before I could speak my aversions to the idea, Zachariah spoke up again, probably Seeing my answer.
“This is what we must do Knox. Think about it. There could be other Enchanters in the world, others who could protect the Divines as they were created to do so. If you will not do this for me because I am asking, do this for your people. Do this for the Divines. We need this information. We need the information only you can gain.”
Swallowing his words, I realized he was right. I had to do this for my people. We had been hiding in fear for far too long without the Enchanters’ protection. With my visions, we could move into a better future. A future that allowed peace and safety for all Divines. Nodding my head in agreement, Zachariah smiled, that crazed look adamant in his eyes.
Walking towards West for my first lesson with Halley, I focused on my goal. Not only would Halley learn more about her power under my guidance, but she was also about to gain a new best friend as well.
Chapter Twenty
Halley
Today was the last day of the week I had my special tutoring sessions, and I couldn’t be happier. So far, Eli’s lesson had been the only helpful lesson towards being an Enchantress and the others had been two surly assholes I had to hold back snapping at. Today’s lesson was with Knox, a Seer, and I knew nothing about him except that Eli considered him his best friend. In fact, Eli had started sitting next to Kalani and me during lunch hour and ninety percent of his stories centered around the antics him and Knox got into.
Approaching the door to the study room, I braced myself for what to expect. Would he be overly excited like Eli? Angry like Wilder? Or an arrogant and uncaring ass like Madden? Truthfully, I hoped for none of the above. Although Eli was a sweetheart and was growing on me, I could only handle so much optimism in my life right now. Pushing open the door, a tall man stood facing the whiteboard, scribbling words on the board. My quiet entrance hadn’t disturbed him, and I took a moment to eye the new man. From only a back view, I could tell that he was tall, at least over six foot. He was large and muscular, but not quite as bulky as Madden. He had smooth brown skin and shaved black hair. And then there was his ass. I tried not to stare but I was a woman, and he had a nice ass to go with all of his other enticing muscles. As I was still ogling his backside, suddenly I was staring at a different part of his anatomy I did not want to be caught looking at. My cheeks reddening, I moved my gaze up and to his face. And what a nice face it was. Sharp cheekbones, a jawline that could cut, and deep brown eyes. Eyes that were staring at me with humor. Well, I guess he caught me staring. Clearing my throat, I stuck out my hand.
“I’m Halley. Nice to meet you.”
Knox moved forward, a swagger to his gait and gripped my hand firmly. “Knox. And it’s very nice to meet you, Halley.” A smirk graced his lips and when he didn’t let go of my hand, I had to wonder,was he flirting with me?To be honest, it had been a while since a man had flirted with me. Too long if my libido had any say in the matter, which at the moment it seemed to. Apparently, being around all of these handsome men day in and day out was doing something to me. I was woman enough to admit that I was insanely attracted to all four of my tutors, at least physically. I could do without Wilder and Madden’s attitudes, but nonetheless they were still appealing to look at. Realizing we were still gripping each other’s hands and it was getting weird, I pulled back and took a seat. Knox took a different approach from the other three men and sat on top of the Professor’s desk in the front. With legs dangling and bracing his weight against his arms, he managed to look casual while also showing he was in charge of this lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed the visual.
Knox began to speak, popping me out of my perusal and I tuned in to listen. I reminded my inner thoughts that these lessons were about learning what I could do as an Enchantress, not ogling those teaching me.
“I realize that these lessons are about learning what it means to be a Divine and what being an Enchantress entails. However, I also know that you just learned about our kind and may be a little in over your head with a group of people who know each other very well and have since a young age. So, I promise that we’ll get to the teaching aspect of these little lessons, but I thought today we could just talk. Get to know each other better.”
I wrinkled my nose at his suggestion. Get to know each other better? That seemed like the last thing I wanted to do. I had never been one to get close to someone. Even now, although Kalani and I were getting closer because of our kindred spirits and Eli’s optimism was forcing itself into my life, I was largely lying to both of them and everyone else here about where I came from. So, talking about myself with Knox and getting to know each other better? Hard pass.
“Look, I appreciate you looking out for my social life, but that’s not really an issue. I’m making friends and I quite like my alone time. So, we can just skip past that. Really, I would love nothing more than to learn more about the Divines and Enchanters.”
Knox’s brows furrowed and he looked upset at my answer. I didn’t want to be rude but talking about myself was something I had no intention of doing in these sessions. Not with Knox or any of the other guys. The frown slipped off his face and he shrugged his shoulders as if it didn’t matter to him. Scooting off the desk and towards the whiteboard, it seemed he was moving on to the teaching aspect of these meetings. A fact I greatly appreciated.
“The first thing we learn as Divines, from the moment we are old enough to understand, is how each gift is useful to the community. As I’m sure you’ve learned in your history class, Enchanters were the protectors of the Divines. Although, don’t get me wrong, Enchanters had almost unlimited uses for their magic. During the war and in the Guard, strong Enchanters were known for their offensive enchantments that would decimate the attackers. But every single Enchanter knew how to shield.”
Knox continued speaking, his features animated as he talked about his people, and I realized that although not as outspoken as Eli, Knox loved being a part of the Divines. In fact, it seemed that every single Divine I had spoken to has a sort of devotion to their people. It was something I didn’t understand, never having a community of my own, but I respected it.
“Although physical shields were mainly used in battle, each Enchanter also had an internal shield. This allowed them protection from Seers and Ethos who wished to manipulate Enchanters for their own gain. Without even realizing it, you already have a mental shield. I’m not sure how, but itisthere.”
I thought on his words, caught off guard. How could I be shielding myself with barely any knowledge of my powers? I asked Knox as much and he shrugged.
“Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. From what I’ve studied, Enchanters usually built their shield up throughout years of practice. Possibly, you could have been building your shield throughout the years and when you accessed your powers, it was already there.”
I considered this and wondered if by cutting myself off from the world, I had created my own shield. With the life Mom and I lived, we had to be guarded. We didn’t let anyone in and even now, I hesitated to allow others into my life, fear of the unknown keeping everyone an arm’s length away.
“The thing about shields is although great to have, sometimes it’s important to let them down. Seers are in charge of making sure the future is safe and knowing all paths of the Divines allows that. So, I figured we should start trying to work on controlling your mental shield. Also, once you have control of your internal shield, a physical shield should be able to follow.”
I nodded along, but I was hesitant. Knox had just informed me that my past and future was safe from Seers looking into it. And isn’t that what I wanted? I didn’t need anyone knowing about my past, knowing about what I had been running from. On the other hand, learning to physically shield would be beneficial to protect myself from the feared Hunters and anyone else who dared to hurt me. I weighed the pros and cons and decided that although I could learn to lower my mental shield, it didn’t mean Ihadto.
“Okay we can try this. How do I go about controlling the shield?”
Knox smiled, but there was something hidden in his eyes, something I couldn’t decipher.
“Let’s start with focusing on your emotions. That’s what drives your powers. Think of something happy and see if you can feel the shield.”
Frowning, I thought of all the happy memories I had. They were far and few between. Closing my eyes, I began to focus, knowing that if happiness was the way to controlling my powers, it’d be decades before I had control.
Chapter Twenty-One
