ARC: The Seers (22 page)

“Yep,” I nodded. “Anything that anyone around me can do.”

“But if you’re alone, you can’t do anything?”

“That’s right.”

“And the Iris takes it all into overdrive?”

“Pretty much,” I laughed.

“Wow,” he said, looking me over quickly with a squint.

“That’s right,” I smiled, making a show of flipping my hair. “I’m awesome.”

He chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Something like that. Must be hard though,” he said after a moment.

“What?” I asked, feeling oddly exposed all of a sudden.

“Seems like a lot of pressure, that’s all.”

I looked out the window at the grass and foliage as it whisked by. “It’s… fine.” When I saw him glance at me though the reflection on the glass, I pursed my lips and tried to ignore the skepticism on his face. “You wouldn’t understand,” I mumbled, sinking further into the seat.

“No,” he shook his head, resting back casually. “What would I know about the pressure of living up to expectations…?”

I sighed, but didn’t say anything. I knew he’d understand but I wasn’t in the mood to share. Or maybe it was that I didn’t want to actually admit my insecurities out loud, but either way, I decided it was time for a change of subject.

“I think I’ve done enough explaining for one day, now it’s your turn,” I said, shifting in my seat to face him. “Let’s talk about how you made me look like some floozy, who would sneak off to a private cottage with a guy she’d only just met.”

“To McGary and Ryan?” I raised my eyebrows with an affirmative glare. “I did no such thing.”

“Oh please,” I scoffed, “it was more than clear what you were implying.”

“I was merely implying that they were intruding on something intended to be a private encounter. Anything else they may have derived was nothing but speculation. Besides, I really don’t see the problem,” he shrugged. “I had to tell them something that they would accept without question, and that might be a touch embarrassing.”

“A touch? I’d say it’s well more than a tou–”

“Not for you,” he interrupted, “embarrassing for them.”

“Well congratulations, you covered us all.”

“It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable – and what, pray tell,” he added, with his mouth in a grin as he pretended to be offended, “is so embarrassing about being found with me? You could do a lot worse, if I do say so.”

“This is not about you, it’s about me! I don’t need rumors going around the manor about how you and I snuck off for a…” I waved my hand, looking for a word.

“Shag?” he suggested, his grin turning to a full on smile when I blushed.

“I was going to say
tryst
, thank you,” I informed him, raising my chin with a scowl when he chuckled.

“A rumor would require those who saw us tell someone what they saw, and to do that they would have to admit to being there, which is the last thing they will want to do. If I thought you would be in any danger from them, I would not have involved you. Believe it or not, I am not one to sully a lady’s good name so carelessly. You can rest assured that your reputation will remain unscathed.”

“It’d better,” I huffed, though deep down I knew he was right. McGary and Ryan weren’t about to open themselves up to questions by spreading gossip, and as for the two of them, I didn’t give a rat’s tail what they thought.

As we pulled onto the long driveway for the manor, I was looking forward to getting out of the small car and stretching my legs… until I felt an all too familiar ability brush my mind and I looked up to find Shannon and her mother standing at the entrance of the manor, apparently waiting for the valet to bring their car.

“Oh no…” I breathed, closing my eyes for a second.

“What’s wrong?” Bastian asked, his brow somewhere between worried and confused.

“Your girlfriend is up there and for some reason she hates me,” I said, the truth coming out before I could stop it.

He looked up ahead to the figures standing at the top of the drive, his expression flipping instantly from confusion to an eye roll of annoyance. “Shannon is not my girlfriend.”

“Really? Sure sounded like you two had a thing… from what I heard, anyway,” I said, remembering the overheard conversation in the bathroom.

“I can assure you there is no ‘thing’ – much as she and her mother may wish otherwise,” he added with a slight grimace.

“Oh,” I said, strangely happy to hear it. “Well, good. You could do better.” He huffed a laugh. “But if you aren’t together, then why does she hate me so much?”

He shook his head with a smile, though there was more distaste in it than humor. “That’s easy; you stole her thunder.”

“Her what?”

“Shannon is a Healer like her father, however unlike most of the other women in the Bhunaidh, she is a full Holder, and as such she is quite powerful. I’m sure you know how rare it is for a woman to have an ability that is as developed as her male counterparts.” I happened to think it was crap, but I was aware of it, so I nodded. “The strength of her ability makes her rare, which makes her a big deal around here. She is always in the spotlight at gatherings like this, not to mention being number one on my mother’s personal list of girls to marry me off to… that is, until the daughter of
Bronntanas
blew in.”

“Wait, she’s jealous? Are you kidding me?
That’s
the reason she’s been treating me like scum on the floor?”

“Shannon and I have known one another since we were too young to recall, and she has never been one to tolerate anyone getting in her way. And unfortunately for you, she sees you as just that.”

“Can you just drive around and let me off somewhere else?” I asked, mortified that I was actually nauseous at the thought of having to walk by her to get inside.

“What are you worried about?” When I didn’t answer, his voice grew softer. “Listen to me, don’t let her get to you. She is not worth a second of your time. Shannon and her mother represent the worst sort here in this association of hypocrisy and condescension. Brush it off.”

“I am,” I answered without looking up. “I mean, I want to… I’m just… I’m not used to…” My voice died off and I gave up, not knowing what was worse: wanting to hide from Shannon, or having actually admitted it to someone else.

“No,” he said, a sneaky grin in his eyes. “I have a better idea.” He pulled up to the entrance of the manor, just as calm as could be, while I tried to keep from looking like a cat about to be thrown in a bathtub.

“What are you doing?” I hissed as he grabbed the handle of his door.

“Don’t worry, it will be fun.”

“I’ve done this a few times now, and it has never been fun.”

“That was because you didn’t have your secret weapon,” he said, stepping out of the car, then leaned back in back in with a wink. “Me.”

Oh right, because having them see me with you will make things better…

I didn’t dare look anywhere other than at the dashboard as he came around the car and opened my door for me, leaving me no choice but to stomp down my cowardice and step out.

“Bastian, please, I don’t want to do this,” I whispered, not knowing what he had planned, but twitching at the thought of what it might be.

“You don’t have to do anything,” he said softly. “All you have to do…” He paused, pulling my arm through his as he assumed the usual self-assured mask that he was never in public without, “is smile.”

Unable to make myself do anything other than comply, I put on my best happy face and let him lead me away from the car and toward the manor. As Bastian handed the car keys to the valet, I ventured my first glance over to the two women watching us with the same cocktail of emotions you might have while watching footage of a natural disaster: shock, horror, disbelief, fear, with just a tad of vulnerability. As I turned my eyes back toward the entryway, my smile became natural as a wave of rippling triumph washed over me. I knew that taking pleasure in the discomfort of others was kind of evil, but at that moment, I didn’t care. Far as I was concerned, they deserved it. As Bastian and I walked past, I was able to lift my head up and walk tall for what felt like the first time since we’d arrived at Adare, and it felt amazing. After all the things she called me, and despite all the reasons she thought I was beneath her, I’d gotten the thing that she wanted most. Or at least she thought that I had, and that was all that mattered. I wasn’t going to be her doormat any more, and I was done taking her crap. I was back in control – I was free.

Take that, bitch…

CHAPTER 21

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh…” Chloe breathed in wonder as she stepped into my room at Adare for the first time.

“Pretty cool, right?” I asked, enjoying the “kid on Christmas morning” look on her face.

“
Cool
?” she repeated, looking at me like I’d lost it. “It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!”

“Here you go,” Alex said, setting her small suitcase on the ground next to the bed. “Enjoy your stay, miss,” he smiled, tipping his imaginary bellman’s cap.

“Thank you Alex,” Chloe said dreamily, not even looking at him as she continued her wide-eyed appraisal of the room.

“If you are waiting to be tipped, you might be here awhile,” I snickered, as Alex took a spot by my side. With a grin, he bent his knee, bringing his foot up from behind and kicking me in the butt. I swatted his hand away with a playful shove, only giving in because Jocelyn stepped into the room behind us.

“All right,” he said, closing the door. “Is everything brought in?”

“That’s all of it,” Chloe said, skipping over. “I only had the one bag.”

“Good,” Jocelyn nodded. He looked Chloe over for a moment as she did her best to appear calm and attentive. He took a slow stride toward her, lowering his head and looking out gently but sternly from beneath his brow. “Now: rules. You are not to leave this room.”

“Yes, I know,” Chloe said obediently.

“The only way you are allowed outside these walls is if Alex is with you and hiding you.”

“Of course,” she nodded.

“It is imperative that you are not seen. No one can know you are here.”

“I understand.”

“And the same goes for the rest of you,” he looked over at Alex and I as he pointed to Chloe. “She is not here.”

“Got it,” I said as Alex nodded.

With a deep breath Jocelyn stepped back, looking satisfied. Honestly I was surprised he’d even allowed Chloe to stay with us, and hadn’t sent her back to St Brigid’s with Mr Anderson. He’d said it was because we might need her time walking again, and I guess that was true, though I was pretty sure it wasn’t the real reason. More likely he realized that it was downright cruel to bring the poor girl all the way out here and get her hopes up only to send her straight back home again. There was no harm in letting her stay as long as she kept her head down, and I was happy to have her with us. Sure my room would be a bit more crowded and we’d have to share a bed, but the room and bed were more than big enough for the both of us. There was also the minor issue of the lack of privacy should Alex finally be able to spend the night, but that also wasn’t a big deal, considering that he still had a room to himself that we could… make use of.

“As for the rest of us,” Jocelyn went on, “we will await word from Bastian regarding the shew. He is trying to determine if and when he can get it here, and believes he will know by tomorrow morning at the latest, so until then, go about your day as usual. Speaking of which,” he glanced at his watch, “we are due at lunch any minute.” He looked over to me as he opened the door. “We will see you there, don’t be late.”

“I won’t,” I assured him, concealing an eye roll. As he walked out into the hall, Alex followed behind him, but not before brushing his hand against mine with a heart tickling goodbye smile. A moment later, they were both gone.

“This is so amazing!” Chloe squealed under her breath the second the door closed. “It’s like I’ve gone to heaven!” She floated over to the bed and fell backwards onto it with her arms stretched wide.

“I’m glad it didn’t disappoint,” I smiled, going to the mirror to look myself over. “I’ll come back after lunch and we can hang out. Will you be OK until then?”

“I’ll be perfect,” she sighed, rolling over on her stomach, letting her feet dangle behind her like a child. “Don’t hurry back on my account, I’ll have plenty to do!”

“There’s really not much to do here, is there?” Chloe asked the next morning as we sat on my bed, picking at the last of our room service breakfasts.

Lunch the previous day had taken a lot longer than I had anticipated, flowing right into a guided tour of the gardens that I couldn’t weasel out of, then straight into dinner, which left Chloe on her own in the room for the better part of seven hours. When I’d finally gotten back after dinner, we were both wiped out and had decided to go right to bed. By the time we woke up the next morning, I could tell the charm and allure of the castle setting had worn thin for poor Chloe, and boredom was starting to take over.

“Sorry, hon,” I said, popping the last of my toast in my mouth.

“Oh, no,” she said quickly, as though determined to stick to her “this is the best thing ever” mindset, “don’t be sorry, it’s fine, really. I simply should have packed better, you know… brought… more to do…”

“Don’t worry,” I told her, pushing my tray away and folding my legs up under me. “So far, there is nothing planned for today, so we can hang out all morning. And later, Alex can swing by and maybe get you out and about for a little while.”

“That’d be nice,” she admitted, sliding off the bed and going over to the window. “Looks like it might be a clear day, maybe we could go outside. What is the garden like this time of year?”

She looked to me for an answer, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was distracted by the rustling I heard at the door. When she saw me listening, Chloe also went still, tuning her ear and quickly drawing the same conclusion I had – there was someone out there. My pulse began to pound, but I stayed still, not sure what to do. Who was it? Not a friend or they would have knocked. Was someone listening to us? Were they trying to get in? Should I call for help?

We stared at the door until something began to force its way through the gap between it and the floor, which is when we both caught our breath. Jumping off the bed, I waved toward Chloe who took the signal and ran for the bathroom, shutting herself in. Determined to catch the intruder in the act, I ran silently over to the door, took a shaky breath, and flung it open to find… Steven. He was crouched down, attempting to slide a note under the door, looking up at me like someone had just popped a balloon right behind his head.

“Steven!” I sighed, rubbing my face. “What are you doing down there? You scared me.”

He stood timidly, still holding the note in his hand. “S-sorry, I didn’t w-want to dis-sturb you.”

“Don’t be silly,” I smiled. “What’s going on? Is everything OK?”

“I h-have a me-essage from B-Bastian.”

“Oh,” I took the folded piece of paper from his hand, “great. Here,” I said, poking my head out and checking the hall quickly, “you should come in before someone sees you.”

He nodded and stepped in, scanning the hall once more himself before shutting the door. “Th-thank you.”

“It’s OK, Chloe,” I called toward the bathroom as I opened the note. She peeked out, but hesitated when she was someone with me. “It’s fine,” I motioned for her to come out.

“I thought no one was supposed to know I’m here,” she whispered, still hanging back.

“It’s all right, Steven’s a friend. Steven, this is Chloe Quinn, she came up to lend us her time walking ability. Chloe, this is Steven Bloch, he is Bastian’s brother.”

“Nice to meet you,” Chloe said, finally coming to join us.

“It’s a p-pl-leasure,” Steven said, taking her hand and bending over it politely.

I grinned to myself when I heard Chloe gasp and saw her cheeks flush at his show of chivalry. She might have to be stuck in one room for the duration of the trip, but at least she was able to get a little of the old world regality I knew she’d hoped to find at this place. That was nice at least.

“Becca,” I began to read Bastian’s note aloud. “I’m sorry to say the gift I promised you won’t arrive until tomorrow, but the books for your project arrived today, and I would be most happy to go over them with you this evening, if you are free. Best Regards, Bastian.” I lowered the letter, feeling my face wrinkle in confusion. “Gift? Project? I mean, I get that he was trying to be discreet, but if I can’t even understand it…”

“Your father req-quested books fr-rom the a-archives,” Steven said. “They have ar-rived and y-you and Bastian are su-upposed to go th-through them.”

“Right,” I sighed, “I forgot that was my job. So I guess that makes my ‘gift’ Ciaran’s shew stone. Well,” I refolded the letter and tossed it onto my dresser, “I guess that’s better than nothing. Thanks, Steven.”

“You’re we-elcome,” he smiled, turning to leave.

“Do you want to stay? We were just going to hang out here and maybe watch a movie?”

“I wo-ould, but ha-ave to get b-back before they s-see I’m gone.”

“Yeah sure, more important things to do, I get it,” I squinted jokingly. “Well, if you get bored, we’ll be here.”

“Th-thank you.”

I opened the door and leaned into the hall to make sure it was clear before Steven gave us a farewell smile and slipped out of the room like a shadow, hugging the wall as he hurried out of sight.

As I locked the door behind him, I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s nice to see him helping out,” I said, “the poor kid’s had it rou–” but my throat seized up when I turned back around and saw the stricken look of horror on Chloe’s face. She hadn’t moved since coming to stand by us from the bathroom, and the terrified look in her teary eyes made her seem fragile as glass.

“I…” she rasped, her voice thin as a reed, “I…”

“Chloe?” I took her trembling hands in mine. “Chloe, honey, what’s wrong?”

She didn’t move, continuing to stare blankly at the door. “I… I don’t… I…”

I started to panic. “Chloe,” I begged, fear making my voice harsh. “Tell me what’s wrong. What happened?” My own hands started to shake as I led her over to the bed to sit down. I’d never seen anyone like this before, what in God’s name had happened? She was fine a minute ago. I quickly decided that she had one last chance to talk to me, or I was calling for help. “Chloe, please…”

Finally looking away from the door and over to me, she blinked rapidly, the tears that had been sitting on her lids spilling down. “I… He…” she stammered again, this time picking up her hand and showing it to me. It was the hand that Steven had taken.

Wait a minute.

She’d been fine… Steven had come in… touched her hand… She’d gasped… blushed… hadn’t spoken since… fell apart the second he left…

No… freaking… way…

“Chloe, look at me,” I said gently, taking her shoulders and turning her to face me. “Did you just…” I paused as her eyes met mine, “…Is he your…”

Instead of answering, she began to hyperventilate, but having been there myself, that was all the answer I needed. No doubt about it – she had bonded. Steven was Chloe’s Anam.

“OK,” I sighed, trying not to smile. “OK, take it easy, sweetie.” I began rubbing my hands up and down her arms trying to sooth her. “Everything’s fine, just breathe.”

She looked up at me with a face both crazed and confused and started to ramble. “It’s not fine! How can you say it’s fine? It’s not fine! It’s horrible, and it won’t stop, and this isn’t right! Wait!” Her head snapped up suddenly. “He’s a Holder, this can’t be right! You and Alex are supposed to be the only ones like that, not me. I’m supposed to have a normal person, so this is a mistake, right?” she asked, almost hopeful as though she’d found some loophole.

“Sweetie, Steven’s not a Holder.”

“But you said he’s Bastian’s brother?”

“He is, but for some reason he was born without an ability,” I told her, clearly bursting her bubble. “He’s just a regular guy.”

“But… but…” she stuttered, her panic setting back in.

I lifted her chin, hoping to get her to focus on the positive. “Chloe, I knew it’s sudden, but this is a good thing! You’ve found your Anam, it’s what you’ve always wanted! What you’ve been waiting for!”

“No!” she jumped up off the bed and started pacing back and forth in front of me, “no, this isn’t right, it wasn’t supposed to feel like this! It was supposed to be wonderful and romantic and amazing, not terrifying and nerve-racking and… are you
smiling
?”

Damn it, I was.
“N-no…”

“How is this funny? This isn’t funny!”

“I know that, I’m sorry,” I assured her, standing and leading her back to the bed, biting back my grin. I hated myself for letting her think I would laugh at her state, but something about it was just so oddly cute – not to mention amusingly ironic.

“What do I do? Tell me what to do,” she pleaded. “I changed my mind, I don’t like this, how do I make it go away?”

“It doesn’t go away,” I said, sitting her down again next to me, desperately searching for the right thing to say, “or I mean, it changes. Well, not changes, really, but gets better…” God I sucked at this! I’d been through this, I should know what to tell her, but for some reason I couldn’t put what I was thinking into words. Then it hit me. “You know what?” I said, perking up as suddenly I knew exactly what to do. “Why don’t we call Alex?” If there was anyone who always knew the right thing to say, it was him.

I hurried over to the phone and dialed the number to his room, crossing all my fingers that he would be there.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Hey, it’s me, you need to come to my room.”

“Is everything OK?”

“Not really. I mean it’s nothing bad, exactly, I just… need help.”

“Be right there.”

“He’s on his way,” I said, hanging up and turning back to Chloe – or at least where she had been a second ago. “Chloe? Chloe!” I yelped when I saw her at the door with her hand on the knob. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted with a whine as I took her hand off the handle. “I feel like I should be out there, he’s out there. I don’t know how I know, I just do. I can feel it. It’s like this thing,” she fisted her hand over her chest.

“Yeah,” I said, leading her away from the door and into a chair across the room. “That happens when he’s nearby, you’ll get used to it.”

“Oh…” she whimpered, hugging herself tightly as she began to whisper hysterically, “this isn’t right, this can’t be right. Are you sure I can’t go out for just a moment?” She looked up at me, then quickly shook her head. “No! No I don’t want to. I can’t see him, what would I say? Oh, this is horrible, why did I ever want this? I didn’t want this, this wasn’t what was supposed to happen…”

Knock, knock, knock!

I ran over to the door, letting out a breath of relief when I saw a nervous Alex standing behind it. “You’re just in time,” I told him quietly as he stepped in.

“What’s going on?” he asked, scanning the room quickly and seeing the trembling form in the far chair. “Chloe?” he said, hurrying over and taking a knee in front of her chair. “What happened?”

“It’s horrible…” she squeaked. When she didn’t continue, he put a consoling hand on her knee and looked over to me.

“Well,” I said walking over. “Steven came to bring me a message a little while ago. He and Chloe met.”

“OK,” he said, his brow furrowing as he tried to understand. “And?”

“And… they shook hands…” I said, raising my eyebrows to stress the point.

The confusion on his face remained for a fraction of a second before it fell to a blank stare. He looked at me, then to Chloe, then back to me. “You don’t mean…” he trailed off, finishing the thought with his eyes. I nodded, once again biting my lips to keep from grinning. At my confirmation, a spark lit behind his eyes as well, and he bent his head down to try and hide his smile.

But it wasn’t hidden well enough. “You’re laughing too?” Chloe yelled as she shot up out of her chair. “Why is everyone laughing? This is not funny!”

“Of course it’s not,” Alex assured her, quickly getting himself back under control. He took her hands and brought her back down to the chair, pulling the nearby ottoman over and sitting in front of her. “I know it’s not funny. It’s scary, and it’s intimidating, and it’s overwhelming.” She nodded with a sniff. “I know. But I promise it won’t stay that way forever. It’s difficult now because it’s new, but soon you’ll adjust, and when you do, you’ll realize that it truly is everything that you’d dreamed it would be. That and so much more. You’ll have a connection with someone like you’ve never imagined possible, and all you’ll wonder is how you’d gone so long without it.” Chloe’s shoulders relaxed as she absorbed his words, her red eyes watching him calmly while I tried to blink away the mist I felt filling my own. “He will become your entire life,” Alex went on, “not replacing, but enhancing everything you already love, making your world richer just by being there. You can’t go without them, and it’s scary. I’m not going to lie to you, that part never fully goes away. But in the end, you wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

When he finished, Chloe took a deep breath as though letting his words resonate, while I did my best to fight the choking knot in my throat. I’d known he would know what to say to Chloe to calm her, but I hadn’t expected him to turn me inside out in the process.

“Thanks,” Chloe finally said with a weak smile.

“No problem,” he tapped her under the chin. “Just give it time. Now,” he said standing and pulling her up with him, “why don’t you go freshen up a little bit…” He wiped one of the tear tracks off of her chin with the back of his hand, “and we can all go out for a walk and get some air.”

With a nod and another sniff, Chloe left for the bathroom, while Alex turned and walked slowly my way.

I crossed my arms, avoiding his eyes with a shy stubbornness. “You suck,” I mumbled, my voice thick with the tears I was still trying to subtly blink away.

Smiling, he took my face into his hand and pulled me to him, wiping away the lone tear I’d let escape with his thumb. He brought his lips down to meet mine in a kiss so warm and soft I wanted to wrap myself in it like a blanket and never leave. After a lingering moment he broke the kiss and pulled back ever so slightly, his lips grazing mine as he spoke, “I love you, too.”

With the sound of the faucet in the bathroom turning off as our cue, we separated, him kissing my head quickly before he went while I wiped away what was left of the moisture in my eyes.

“So,” I said, clearing my throat, “what do we do now?”