Page 40 of Thrust into the Light

“What the fuck did you say about magic earlier? I was too fucking lost in my thoughts and don’t remember it correctly.”

“There was an air of heavy mind magic on her when I got there. Like someone wanted to attack her, this wasn’t something she did to herself. She said she was looking for her magic the entire time you were gone. As soon as the door shut, she started looking. She stopped looking as soon as she came to.”

FUCKING MIND MAGIC?!?! “I need to go,” I say through clenched teeth.

“You know you can’t hurt her, Zachariah. Think about what that would do to Farlen to have you ripped away from her and sent to a prison cell to live the rest of your long life. All she could ask me when I took her to the clinic is why you were sad. We also have no proof that it was Sarah who did this to her.”

“How do you know I think it was, Sarah?”

“Farlen described her, said she was a very pretty lady, with not pretty yellow eyes. There’s only one female teacher on the roster in the entire academy that matches that description. You need to teach her how to shield her mind. It may not stop Sarah fully, especially because we don’t know how strong Farlens' magic is going to be, but it should help somewhat.”

“Fuck, thank you Daniel.”

“Don’t thank me yet, old friend. I remember feeling some similar things at one point in time, but this isn’t your fault. You can’t protect her from every dangerous situation that gets thrown at her, no matter how badly you want to. All any of us can do is give her the tools to protect herself if any of you aren’t around her. And because of that, we are all failing her. We need to take off the little kid gloves around her. She is a fully legal adult and has the thoughts and feelings of one. She may notknow what everything she is feeling is, but she was quite clear in her vocabulary with me today, though a bit slow. You all are helping her more than you know, but you can’t fucking fall to pieces every time she is hurt. She is stronger than any of you give her credit for. And one day, you will all see it.”

“I know she is strong, Daniel. Look at all the shit she’s been through and she still finds a way to smile and laugh.”

“Yes, a way because of what you all are giving to her. But that is not what I am talking about, and as I told Connor, I am not going to discuss this hunch until I know more. Now why don’t you go find your center and see how she is doing? I hear Payne is fawning over her like she is one of our own younglings.”

“Thanks Daniel, sorry for being an ass when you answered.”

“No need to apologize, Zachariah. You forget, I am also here as a counselor to all the students and staff. If you ever need to talk, just give me a call.” He hangs up the phone. Fuck, I forgot about that part. Though he is pretty good at what he does. I look around at the destruction I caused in the forest. There is going to be a very upset druid when they walk into here. Fuck it, better the trees than some random person. No need to give Daniel anymore work because of me.

I push off from the ground and run towards the training field. I get close enough so I can see them all, but I don’t want to come out of the trees yet. I see Connor and Vashu across the field. They are watching Farlen. Payne is standing there watching her lift a five-pound weight, and anytime her arm starts to wobble he lurches forward but she keeps lifting it. Daniel was right. I don’t think Payne has even noticed his class isn’t running their laps; they are just sitting around talking.

Farlen rubs the top part of her stomach and starts looking around. She isn’t wearing her sunglasses. Fuck, why didn’t they get her any from the house? She broke the ones she was wearing in class. I pull out my phone and send Connor a text.

Me: Where the fuck are her sunglasses?

Connor: Healer Daniel says she doesn’t need them. How do you know she isn’t wearing them?

Me: I can see her. I canceled my class. I couldn’t fucking think straight. What do you mean she doesn’t need them?

Connor: I’ll tell you tonight. She is doing amazing. Do you think Payne has noticed the rest of his class yet?

Me: Nope, I think one of them just fell asleep though. What is Farlen looking for?

Connor: Not sure. She’s a little far for me to hear her, and Payne will have my ass if I move from this spot. She just started looking around a bit ago though.

Farlen is still looking around and rubbing the top part of her stomach. It is hard for me to see the look on her face from here. It’s not the first time in my life, I wish I had a shifter’s eyesight or hearing. Payne looks down at where she is rubbing her stomach. He grabs his phone and sends a message. Connor grabs his phone a second later. My phone vibrates next.

Connor: Payne says she’s fine, her beast is making itself known right now. Says she’s acting like something has her agitated.

I put my phone down and go back to watching Farlen. What has her agitated? Was it what happened earlier? She is still looking around. Payne starts looking around too and notices everyone slacking off. He starts yelling at everyone and they get up and get to running. I chuckle at that. Farlen looks over my way. I should be too far for her to hear me. She starts to move and Payne tries to stop her. She fucking throws him across the field and roars to the sky. Connor starts to move towards her, but she is walking straight to me.

Me: She’s headed my way, I’m in the tree line, get your ass back in place before Payne sees you.

Connor: What the fuck just happened?

Me: Can’t talk right now, she’s almost here.

As Farlen gets closer to the edge of the trees, she begins looking around. At first, she was walking right to where I was standing. Now that I can see her, she looks sad. She starts rubbing her stomach again. She looks into the trees and a single tear falls down her cheek. I rush towards her and brush it awayfrom her face. I can’t just stand there while she’s hurting.

“Why are you crying, gorgeous?”

“Rhi?” she says so quietly.

“I’m here. Why are you crying?”

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