Authors: T.M. Franklin
Ava snorted. “Sweet talker.”
Caleb yawned, unable to hold it back.
“Go to sleep,” she told him. “We can talk more tomorrow.”
“You sure?” His voice was already heavy with exhaustion.
She stroked his hair. “I’m fine. Go to sleep.” After a moment, she leaned in and whispered against his cheek, “I love you.”
“Mmm . . . you, too.” And he was out like a light.
Ava, however, wasn’t so lucky. She lay there for what felt like hours, unable to slow her racing mind. When a quiet knock sounded at the door, she slipped out of bed, surprised to find Emma on the other side.
“Got a minute?” she asked. “I thought we could go outside. Take a walk and talk?”
They made their way out of the building, and followed the same path to the park that Ava had walked with Gideon the day before. Ava felt peaceful for the first time in weeks, and simply allowed herself a moment to enjoy the feeling. Emma seemed to be content to walk in silence, breathing deeply in the cool night air.
When they got to the park, Emma took a seat on one of the swings and motioned for Ava to take the other one. With a smile, she said, “I’d like to help you.”
Ava dragged her feet in the gravel under the swing. “That’s what you said. Help me how?”
“Lift the rest of your psychic block. Put things right, like I did for Caleb.”
Ava froze, her fingers gripping the cold metal chain. “You agree with Caleb. You think it’s still there.” She’d thought she’d destroyed it months ago at the Rogue lair; she’d felt it crumble down. It was how she had saved Caleb. How she’d killed Arthur. She shivered at the memory.
“Yeah, at least bits and pieces of one,” Emma said. “I can’t believe I didn’t feel it before—of course, you kind of warned me against swimming around in your head.” She grinned. “But it’s there. It’s weak, broken in places, but it’s there.”
Ava let the swing move again, Emma’s words sinking in as she pushed slowly back and forth. “And you can . . . you can remove it? All the way?”
Emma was silent for a moment, and Ava glanced at her. She had her eyes closed, breathing deeply, and Ava could feel her prodding—a flicker of a touch in her mind before she pulled away.
“I can,” Emma said.
“Will it—” Ava swallowed, remembering Caleb’s screams of pain. “Will it hurt?”
“Not if you help me,” Emma replied, reaching out to touch her hand. “Caleb fought me. That’s why
. . .
” She looked away, swallowing thickly. “I didn’t want to hurt him.”
Ava felt uneasy; the idea of anyone messing with her mind didn’t sit well with her—especially not someone who’d until recently been working with the Rogues. Still . . .
“What will happen when it’s gone?” she asked.
Emma shrugged. “I’m not sure. I can’t tell exactly what it’s designed to block.”
“Maybe my strength . . . my speed?” Ava couldn’t ignore a rush of excitement at the idea.
“Could be. Or maybe more psychic gifts?” Emma bit her lip. “Or, it’s possible nothing will happen. No way to know for sure until it’s gone.”
A nervous thrill ran through Ava—half eager, half terrified.
“It’s up to you,” Emma said.
“I think
. . .
” Ava twisted the swing until she faced Emma head on. “I think I’d like you to try.”
Emma’s face lit up with a sunny smile. “Great! Okay, close your eyes—”
“Wait a second. You want to do it right now?”
Emma’s smile fell a little. “Well, yeah. Don’t you?”
“I figured you’d need to prepare or something.” Nerves fluttered in Ava’s stomach.
“I don’t. Do you?” Emma cocked a brow, a smile teasing at her lips.
“No,” Ava replied defensively. “I can do it. I’m . . . I’m ready.” Tiernan was going to kill her for doing this on her own. Not to mention Caleb. Still, she squared her shoulders and closed her eyes. “Now what?”
Emma turned to face her, reaching out to lay her hands gently on Ava’s head, fingers spread wide. “Try to relax,” she said, breathing deeply to demonstrate. “And when you feel me, don’t fight me. It’ll go against your instincts, but let me in. I’ll try to show you the block, and you can help me remove it.”
“But how—”
“Just breathe,” Emma said, her voice barely a whisper. “Stay calm. You’ll feel it.”
Ava concentrated on breathing deep and slow, willing her muscles to relax and her pulse to slow. After a moment, she felt Emma’s gift and gasped at the intrusion, her gift flaring up in defense.
“Shhhh
. . .
” Emma murmured. “Don’t fight it.”
Ava exhaled slowly, corralling her gift, almost reassuring it. She felt Emma prodding in her mind, a quiet pressure—not unpleasant, but a little unsettling.
“There,” Emma said. “Do you feel it?”
“No, I—I don’t know
. . .
”
“I’m going to try and lift it now. Help me if you can.”
Ava felt what she could only describe as a pull . . . then a push . . . deep within her mind. “I can feel it.”
“Use your gift,” Emma whispered, tension evident in her voice. “See if you can help me.”
Ava called on her power, feeling it well within her, almost eager to follow her directions. She focused on the point in her consciousness where she could feel the block and urged her gift to work with Emma’s.
“That’s it,” Emma said. “Keep going.”
Ava’s jaw clenched as she concentrated, the harsh breaths from both girls cutting through the air around them.
“Almost there,” Emma whispered.
With a rush, Ava felt it lift and disappear. Her gift swelled, consuming her wholly for the first time, and she fell forward off the swing and landed on her hands and knees in the gravel.
Emma dropped to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
Ava nodded, breathing heavily, her gift sparking along her skin—along every nerve ending. She’d thought it remarkable before, but now . . . now it rushed through her, thickening her blood, filling her with sizzling energy.
“It’s just . . . so
much
.” She tried to catch her breath, overwhelmed.
Emma helped her up, got her situated back in the swing, and knelt before her. “Try and breathe through it,” she said. “It’s part of you, but it’s been held back for so long. You have to get used to it.”
Ava nodded again, closing her eyes and trying to get hold of her heaving breaths.
“Don’t hold it back,” Emma said. “Let it be. Just . . . let it be.”
“You’re quoting the Beatles now?” Ava gasped out.
“Who?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She opened her eyes and stopped fighting. Instead of pushing back, she let her gift swell and felt it reaching out, beyond her skin—beyond her body. She watched in awe as the gravel all around the swing set began to float, higher and higher. Her necklace warmed against her skin and started to hum with vibrations.
“That’s it.” Emma smiled encouragingly. “That’s it.”
Ava let it go . . . the gravel floating and swirling around them, forming intricate patterns—spirals and stars—smaller pebbles orbiting larger ones. She laughed, her gift reaching further, larger rocks lifting into the air, the swing set itself shaking, tugging against its moorings.
“Now, try and bring it down,” Emma said quietly. “You’re not fighting
against
it. It’s you. It’s like putting down a pencil when you’re done writing.”
Ava nodded, letting the gift wrap around her, withdrawing to within the boundaries of her skin once again. The swing set settled, and slowly the rocks . . . then the pebbles lowered to the earth, the last settling into place with a quiet plink as the necklace stilled, its warmth lingering comfortingly.
“Wow,” Ava said, voice cracking. She cleared her throat with a choked giggle. “Wow, that was amazing!”
Emma’s smile fell, her brow creasing in concern.
“What?” Ava asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Your nose.”
Ava reached up with a trembling hand to touch it, surprised when her fingers came away red and wet. “I’m bleeding.”
Emma fumbled in her coat pocket, pulled out a crumpled tissue, and pressed it to Ava’s nose. “Just an aftereffect of lifting the block,” she said in an attempt to reassure Ava. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s only natural.”
That made sense. Ava took the tissue and pressed it more firmly against her nose. She had a feeling Emma had released more than her gift. Her body felt stronger, vibrant with energy, although her mind felt tired, her head aching.
“You should rest,” Emma said, helping her to her feet.
Ava let herself be led back to the main building. She was more than ready to curl up next to Caleb and sleep. She sniffed slightly. Tomorrow, she’d see just what Emma had freed up.
Yeah
,
What’s a little nosebleed, anyway?
Chapter 13
“I don’t understand why we need to wait for Tiernan,” Caleb said grumpily, sipping coffee from a paper cup as Ava led him to the training area behind the Guardians’ common building. His head no longer hurt, but he was a bit irritated at being dragged out of bed shortly after dawn. He’d liked the feeling of Ava pressed along his side, her head pillowed on his chest as their gifts mingled, wrapping them in soothing warmth, and had hoped to indulge that feeling until at least noon.
Ava, however, had other ideas. She’d bounced out of bed, a bundle of nervous energy, words tumbling out as she told him Emma had lifted the rest of her psychic block and she felt strong and fast and powerful and . . .
“Come on, Caleb, I want to go try it out!”
Which was why he was huddled in his coat in the frosty morning air when there were other things he’d much rather be doing, thank you very much. He eyed Ava a little hungrily and let out a heavy sigh. It had been so long that they’d been apart. He craved some time alone with her now that the immediate danger had passed.
Is that so wrong?
“I have a bit of a score to settle with Tiernan,” she said, bending over to stretch her leg muscles and then straightening up to reach over her head. “That guy is more of a slave driver than you!” She grinned, leaning up to kiss the corner of Caleb’s mouth. “No offense.”
“None taken,” he said wryly, chasing her mouth when she pulled away.
She smiled, letting him pull her close into a deeper kiss, a victorious rush of endorphins kicking in when he felt her tremble, her fingers tightening on his jacket as her knees buckled a little. She didn’t move away when he released her, instead leaning her forehead against his shoulder with a shaky sigh.
“What are we going to do?”
There was something in the question, the whispered words accompanying her sigh, that made him realize the toll everything had taken on her. Not only the running and the fighting, but the understanding that she wasn’t who she thought she was—and all that that entailed.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m not leaving you again. We’re in this together.” She leaned closer, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, as he did the same, one hand stroking up her back to tangle in her hair.
A throat cleared and they pulled apart in time to see Tiernan approaching with Adam in tow.
Ava propped her fists on her hips, arching a brow at the presence of the dampener. “What? You don’t trust me?”
Tiernan smirked. “Not as far as I can throw you.” He considered that. “Although, now that I think of it, I could probably throw you pretty far, so I should say, not as far as
you
could throw you.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
Tiernan shrugged, making his way over to the largest weight block on the grass and looking at her expectantly. “Well? You dragged me out of bed at this ungodly hour, are you ready or not?”
Ava started toward him, but Caleb stopped her with a hand on her wrist.
“You sure about this?” he asked quietly. Tiernan was the strongest of the Protectors, and with Adam present to dampen her telekinesis, Ava would have no weapon against him if her strength failed her yet again. “Maybe you should try it with me first.”
“Yeah. If you don’t think you can handle it,” Tiernan called out, goading her.
She cast him an irritated glance before turning back to Caleb. “I’m sure. It’ll be fine. I promise.”
Caleb wasn’t convinced, but he watched her approach the block, reaching out to strengthen her power with his own. She smiled back at him, obviously feeling it, and he nodded in encouragement.
Adam didn’t interfere and seemed to be focused on dampening Ava’s telekinesis, nothing else. He stood off to the side with his hands in his pockets, watching the proceedings with mild interest.