Page 65 of Autumn Secrets

She gently grabbed my hand. “Don’t look so shocked, dear.”

“I’m just…I don’t know. It’s weird to think about you two that way – no offence. I can’t even seemyselfas a light bearer.”

“We are light bearers, but our gifts are a little bit more powerful than others.”

“How?”

Now, Mr Peters clearedhisthroat, and I knew that he was about to reveal something greater than my common sense would be able to comprehend. “We are druids, love.”

I nodded and tried to process this information.Druids?“What does that mean?”

“Well, we are the only ones who have the power to cast spells and bond a guardian to the amulet. A normal caster doesn’t have that amount of power.”

I gaped. “Wow. Okay, so will this ritual be in front of a lot of people? I don’t like being the centre of attention.”

Mrs Peters smiled at me. “Well, that might be a little bit hard to avoid. You see, there will be a circle surrounding you with all the light bearers. They form what we call a ‘protection circle’ around you. This is an old tradition, and symbolises the seasons and nature’s cycle, just like we talked about earlier. They will all have their eyes closed though, so hopefully that will help you a little bit. Mr Peters and I will be inside the circle with you, and when we bond you to the amulet, you need to hold our hands.”

“Okay…”

“Don’t be scared. No one will make you feel uncomfortable. I promise you that.”

I shook my head. “It’s…a lot to take in, but you’re right. I will be fine.”

“You will,” Mr Peters said. “Why don’t we call it a day? Itisa lot to take in. We’ll see you again tomorrow, okay? Take some time to process what we’ve told you.”

“What about, you know, self-defence and all that?”

“Let’s discuss it tomorrow. I already have someone who is willing to teach you a few things. I’ll introduce you to him next week. But please, don’t worry. The last time a light bearer was in an actual fight was before your grandmother. It’s highly unlikely that you would ever have to use any of those skills. It’s more about being a keeper, a protector. Don’t get it into your head that we’re going to war, because there’s absolutely no indication that we are.”

“And the person who’ll be training me, you know him?”

“Of course; his family lives in Lovika Creek, the place you recently visited.”

“Yes, that’s where everything started. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why it happened there? I seemed to have a special connection to that place.”

“You’re right. Lovika Creek is a special place for light bearers,” Mrs Peters said.

I rose to my feet. “Okay, I better get home. I’ll see you tomorrow after school. Thank you for everything.”

The sun was about to set for the day as I slowly walked back towards our house. It was such a special feeling to walk through the forest in autumn. I could feel how everything around me was preparing for the upcoming winter, embracing the silence and getting ready to rest. It was like nature finally had a chance to exhale.

I stopped and closed my eyes, appreciating the silence around me, and that’s when it happened again. I felt the same energy run through me like a wild river, just like it had in the forest the weekend before. The warm sensation spread through my body and out to my fingertips. I opened my eyes and once again my fingertips were glowing. Mesmerised, I brought them up to my face. It was such an amazing feeling. I smiled and circled around where I stood, connecting myself to nature around me. It was like the trees were whispering ‘goodnight’ and I closed my eyes to give them my blessing.

“Time to let go…” I whispered to the forest, as I focused on withdrawing the pulsing energy from my fingertips. I didn’t know how to do it; but I needed to learn how to control it. I wasn’t even sure how to use this gift yet, or what I could use it for. My eyes remained closed, I faced my palms upwards and pictured myself letting go of the light. To my surprise, I could literally feel the light start to fade away. I opened my eyes and was greeted with the same stillness and calm that I’d felt before. Everything was back to normal. I’d done it, all on my own.

I reached the meadow before the riding school and stopped to admire the view at nightfall. The meadow was covered in a light blanket of mist, giving it a haunted, but beautiful appearance. It was magical and, in that moment, I knew that my newfound gift was exactly that: a gift, not a curse. I’d never felt such a sense of belonging like I did right now. This was mytrue home.

When I got back to the house, I texted Lexi and asked about the dress code for the upcoming party, and I giggled to myself when she replied:Like what you would wear to a prom, babe.

I got up from my bed and stepped into my walk-in closet. The only problem was, I’d never been to a prom. This was going to be interesting.

Chapter 20

I visited Mr and Mrs Peters almost every afternoon after school for the rest of the week. It surprised me how easy it was to live a double life. At school I was just me, the new girl who had captured the hottest guy in town. Adrian flirted openly with me, enjoying my crimson cheeks and pounding heart whenever he was near me. With the school’s upcoming soccer games and assignments that were due before the holidays, we didn’t really have time to meet after school, and that was fine by me. I really wanted to focus on the other part of my life. Lexi and the girls were all working with the party committee for school, too busy to even question my quick disappearances after school every day. It amazed me how easy it was to blend the two worlds together.

When the bell rang on Thursday afternoon, I grabbed my belongings and headed straight for the door, just like every other afternoon. I was looking forward to spending another exciting afternoon with Mr and Mrs Peters to learn about my legacy. I’d just unlocked the car and thrown my bag into the passenger seat when I felt that tingling sensation slowly travelling down my spine. I knew this feeling by now, and my head immediately jerked up and searched the parking lot. There was only one person who could make me feel like this. I found him leaning against his car, speaking to someone on his phone almost at the other end of the lot. Our eyes connected straight away, and I felt my belly do a little tap dance. Adrian started walking towards me and as he came closer, he finished off his conversation.

“I’ll talk to you later; I have more important things to do right now.” He gave me a spectacular smile, and I felt my cheeks heat straight away. He put his phone in his back pocket and looked at me with an amused smile. “Where are you running off to?” He leaned over me and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

---