AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By the time we walk inside, my entire body is trembling. Devin pulls me toward the couch. Dawson is waiting in the living room for us. When we sit down, Devin tugs me onto his lap. I don’t argue, I need to touch him right now.
“Show her,” Devin demands.
Damian holds out a tablet toward me. I look at the screen as he hits the play button. The first thing I see is my father’s face, which isn’t a surprise. I knew that this was about him. But it’s the person he has chained up to his left that has me gasping.
Kai is standing next to my father, his arms and legs chained up with iron. I can see the agony on his face as he tries not to show how much his bindings are hurting him. I grind my teeth together, my heart pounding faster with rage as I look at my father.
“Tomorrow, at ten o’clock, Kailor Davenport will be executed for treason. He has made it known that his loyalties do not lie with his king or our people. Instead, he’s chosen to side with a filthy hybrid and the wolf shifters.” King Hastingssmilesas he speaks like he’s happy to be announcing Kai’s execution.
He’s known Kai since he was a baby. Kai spent as much time at our house as he did his own. He and Nico were the best of friends and Kai’s dad worked closely with King Hastings. For him to talk so callously hurts my stomach. He’s still talking, but I only pick up parts of what he’s saying. “…the execution is mandatory for all dark fae to watch,” he says. My entire body trembles with anger as I look at the man on the screen.
The screen is suddenly pulled from my vision. Damian stops the video and Devin turns me so that he can look at me, grabbing ahold of my hands. It’s not until then that I realize it’s not just me that’s trembling—it’s the ground.
The earthquake is so strong that I can hear things falling off of shelves, but I’m powerless to do anything about it. I try to focus on Devin, but every time I blink I can see Kai’s face. I can see King Hastings smiling smugly about the execution.
Devin strokes his hands down my arms. “Baby, just look at me, okay?”
I nod, trying to breathe slowly to get my anger under control. But even looking at Devin and trying to get my anger under control, it takes me longer than it should to stop the earthquake.
Devin pulls me into his arms, squeezing me against him. As he does, the earthquake completely ceases. It’s over as quickly as it began, but I’m aware of the fact that it took me far too long to get it under control.
“Devin—” Damian begins.
Devin cuts him off. “Not now.”
He just keeps me wrapped in his arms, gently drawing circles on my lower back with his thumb.
I sit there, wrapped in Devin’s embrace, unsure what I’m supposed to even think. Did I seriously just cause a powerful earthquake?
I pull back to look at Devin. “Does that mean it wasn’t a fluke?”
He slowly shakes his head back and forth. “No. You’re a really powerful elemental.”
“Devin,” Damian says again.
We turn to look at his older brother. Damian’s eyes are wide as he looks at me. Dawson stands beside him, wearing a matching expression.
“That was a very strong earthquake.” Damian just stares at me, but he shifts his gaze to Devin. Nobody says anything else after that, but their emotions are all over the place. It takes me a few seconds to realize that theyarestill talking—they’re just talking through their mind link.
Tears well up in my eyes as I realize the reason they don’t want me to hear what they’re saying. It’s because they’re talking aboutme.
Devin senses the change in my emotions. He glances at me and his face falls. “Tori.” He pulls me into his arms and squeezes me against him. “Baby, please don’t be sad. This wasn’t your fault. You can’t control your magic.”
“She has to get control. That can’t keep happening. Somebody is bound to get hurt,” Damian insists.
Devin turns toward his brother and glares at him. “How is Tori supposed to learn? There is no elemental here to help teach her. Until that earth elemental gets here to teach her, she’s on her own. Talking down to her isn’t going to help anything. You’re just making Tori feel bad for no reason.”
“It’s okay, Devin.” I wipe under my eyes. “It’s my fault. I’m the one who got upset. I need to learn.”
“But it’s not your fault,” Devin insists, turning to face me. “How are you supposed to learn to control something when you have no idea how it even works? Damian knows that. He’s just talking out of fear right now.”
I know that, but he’s scared ofme. The thought makes me feel sick to my stomach. I never wanted anybody to be scared of me the way they are my father.
“Why are my elemental powers so strong?” I ask. “It doesn’t make sense. Amelia said that my mom wasn’t strong in her elemental powers. She was mostly a wolf shifter. Wouldn’t it make sense that I’d be more like a shifter?”
“I don’t know.” Devin slides his hand down my arm and laces our fingers together. “But we will figure this out. You don’t have to be scared.”
I glance behind him, toward Damian and Dawson. They’re both still just staring at me with wide eyes. I focus my gaze back on Devin. “Your brothers are scared of me, so why shouldn’t I be scared of myself?”
