Emma didn’t know the level she was standing on, in the bottomless pit; she didn’t even know if it was divided in levels to start with; she didn’t even know if she was standing upright.
Emma only knew that she was in some area of blackness deeper than the surface level she was used to; she only knew that she needed an insane amount of power to defeat the mage; she only knew that she might not be able to control what insane power she might grab from the pit; she only knew that she needed to save her people and think of the consequences latter.
So, without much alarums and excursions, she piped the totality of her keen senses into the pit, staggering when the bout of power hit her squarely on the face. She had expected it, but hadn’t been prepared for the next consequence.
Emma felt herself fall mindlessly into the pit, plunge headlong into the vast darkness, but somehow, the memory of her friends waiting to be used by the mage tethered her into place. Her hands suddenly found an invisible rope at that point-as if calling forth the memory had called forth the rope too-and she climbed out of the pit, and entered into her fleshy conscious state.
Emma was amazed at what she saw when she opened her eyes.
There was a wall of fire that surrounded Prescott and Annabel, that seperated them from she and Amelia.
Could her magic really have reasoned with the tether that had held her in place? She smiled in appreciation at the thought. And then she returned her attention to Amelia. Her sister was shocked, or rather Slediv was.
Slediv(in Amelia’s body) watched the wall of fire that surrounded the duo he had knocked out minutes ago, and wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew. It had been a while he had made sacrifices to his gods. He didn’t think they would help him now with powers. He had to return to renew his vows. This opponent was stronger.
“Already getting weak feet?” Emma asked him, stepping closer to Amelia.
The smile on her lips got more prominent when she watched Amelia stagger back in fright. Emma knew the reason for it; she was surrounded with fire too.
She could only see Amelia because she had punctured holes into the fire wall with her fingers; unfazed that the fire didn’t hurt her. It had rather soothed her, because it came from her.
Not wanting to appear as a coward, not wanting to create the impression that she was hiding from her enemy, Emma embraced the fire into herself, and commanded its attention and concentration to her hands and feet. She felt the soothing balm of the fire running through her veins, obeying her command hastily. She was a mistress of her fire.
“Do you fare better now?” She mocked Slediv, who was looking at her blandly now; more confident than before
“Yes. I can see you fare better now.”
Emma nodded after she spoke, and then gestured at Slediv with her hand. “Come on then. You wanted to fight?”
She was suddenly sporting a sword of fire in her right hand-to combat the sword that Slediv held in Amelia’s-and then a ball of fire in her left hand.
“It’s a fair play now. Come on, let’s dance.” Emma said, prancing with a certain agility she didn’t know she had, such that before Slediv could make the choice of attacking or retreating, she already had her arm around Amelia’s neck. The arm in question is as free from the sword it supported, while the ball of fire in the other hand rendered Slediv’s sword of ice to water.
Slediv gasped through Amelia when a ring of fire surrounded them too. He couldn’t believe how fast Emma was. She could even rival the ancients! Another elusive specie which had come to play with the sighting of this girl.
“You can’t kill your sister…” He spke through gritted teeth, refusing to back down yet.
Emma shrugged her shoulders. “I wasn’t planning on killing her, but I could mar you for life.”
Before Slediv could think on the meaning of Emma’s words, on the possibility of that statement, he noticed with fright-a singular emotion that he hadn’t felt for more than fifty years-a burning within his spirit. What he had put into Amelia had been a sliver, a part of him. If Emma successfully killed it, she would have killed a part of him.
Slediv’s sliver tried to fight Emma’s magic roughly by running around Amelia’s cerebrum, knowing that Emma wouldn’t want to render her sister useless mentally, but it was all futile under the sleekness of Emma’s white light.
With every turn, she was always there, always waiting for him as if she anticipated his every move. The battle was over, before it began.
__________
Curtis was aware that he was being watched by his father.
The old man thought the glances he bestowed on his son, Claire and Jan, was subtle, but Curtis knew.
When he couldn’t take it any longer, when he couldn’t take the pregnant silence in the room any longer, he dropped the fork on his plate carelessly, not wincing when it made a clanging noise and stopped everyone from continuing with their dinner.
“Is there a problem, Curtis?” He heard his father ask, and shrugged his shoulders. “You tell me Dad. You have been glancing at the three of us, since you came back from your trip. Your non subtle looks are making us uncomfortable. If you have something to say, then you should go ahead with it.”
Arnold opened his mouth, then shut it, not knowing how to go about the questions he wanted to ask.
Why was his mate back so soon?
When he had returned from the trip the first time and had found the mansion empty, the emptiness had resonated in his heart, and had almost triumphed over his ambitions, but for his strong will. He had even chosen to train himself to accept her leave from him, knowing that she would be back when all things were settled. But now, she was back, and had even cooked for him? Did something happen in the pack?
“Why is she here?” He finally settled on a neutral topic, looking at Claire-another factor in the equation that he didn’t understand. What was the daughter of his brother’s beta doing here? Did her father send her over to help his course? If that was so, what was the catch?
Yes, Beta Caden had helped him with his plans of exiling Emma out of the pack, just as Claire had, but that had been so the girl would be Derek’s Luna. What was the catch now?
“She is my mate.”
Arnold’s fork left his own hand at Curtis’ statement.
Was this some lame joke? After Legardo had confessed that Penny was his daughter whom he had sent to infiltrate the pack, Arnold had been working on the idea to bring up a marriage alliance between the girl and his son. Now this happens? He didn’t want Claire! Of what use was the latter to his plans? He would need to convince his son to reject her.
“She cannot be. I have already set your betrothal to Penny, remember?” Arnold didn’t want to add that Penny was Legardo’s daughter; he didn’t trust Claire not to blurt out that piece of information to his brother when she returned there. Because she was surely not staying here.
Curtis exchanged glances with his mother, a knowing one that bespoke of respect and reluctant gratitude. When he had walked out on his mother and Claire, seething at the betrayal, he had walked to the attic where he usually stayed to think alone.
Problem was that his mother already knew of the location. She was the only one who did. She had found him, and had convinced him to work with her plan, to work with Claire. His mother had guessed that his father would try to force a mate on him, and looking at his father’s furious face, he knew that she was right.
This could only mean that Legado hadn’t told Arnold that Diana’s mate(remember Penny is Diana) was Clem; a brother to the girl that was already his mate. It couldn’t have worked out even if he wanted to align with his father. The gods must have foreseen this event happening.
Arnold watched his son exchange glances with his mate, and furrowed his eyebrows. What were these two planning? Was Claire even a mate?
“Dad, I’m sorry, but I can’t deny myself a mate. I will have to disobey you on this matter.”
Arnold hit the table in anger, annoyed the more when none of its occupants flinched. What had changed since they left?
“Arnold, we came back because we saw that there is no hope for the Blue moon’s pack against Legardo’s wiles. The pack is in ruins already, and the war hasn’t even started. We came back to join the winning party.” Jan suddenly spoke, causing shock to override Arnold’s features; shock laced with tentative happiness.
“Luckily, Claire, our son’s mate, sees the situation as it is, and had decided to join the cause. She will make a good spy.” Jan said, knocking the final nail on the coffin.