Page 68 of Compass Points
She pushed his shoulder back. “Yes, you idiot, I went through almost losing you!” The force of her own words surprised her. She knew she’d been ignoring this for too long, but she hadn’t expected it to erupt now of all times.
Luc’s lip curved up at the corner. “Well, I’m sorry about that. I’ll work to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
She shook her head. She knew she sounded ridiculous. They were about to try and replace the Norden Point. They needed to figure out what the being inhabiting Aiden was and what it had planned. And on top of that, they needed to stop the mist from spreading farther. The danger was undoubtedly piling up. She knew that neither she nor Luc could guarantee their safety. But she also knew they could ensure that they could stand together to fight whatever they were up against.
Rose leaned in. Her intentions must have been evident because Luc’s lips met hers midway. She barely felt the warmth of his lips before slipping her tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss. Luc’s breath caught and then his hand slid up her waist, tugging her closer as she stood between his legs. She felt a thrill of excitement as his hand cupped the back of her neck. His long fingers stretched, wanting to tangle in her hair, then sliding up her nape when he realized it was tied up in a twist.
With an effort, their mouths parted, breath still mingling, and eyes locked. His smile was bright and promised much more if she only said the word. And yet…she seemed to remember that they had something else to do.
They had to make sure everyone saw them together before they left. They couldn’t let Aiden’s sly attack on them make them appear weak. She kissed his lips again, pulling herself out of the haze.
“Hold that thought,” she said.
“You say the most frustrating things.” He smiled ruefully as he let his hand drop, freeing her to put a little distance between them while she laid out their next steps.
“We have to make sure we’re seen at the fireworks display before we can get away. We can’t let Aiden chase us out of this public event. Not if we want to challenge him tomorrow.”
“You’re right, of course,” he replied as he jumped off the desk.
She was happy to see how quickly his strength rebounded. No one would suspect he’d been attacked this evening.
“Let’s get this over with,” he said with a wicked smile as he moved toward her, passing her to open the door. “I’ve got a held thought waiting to be explored further at Suden house tonight.”
Chapter Forty
The lake was so perfect at night. It held a quiet calm that she had yet to see anywhere else.
The fireworks were just starting when they made it to the small sandy beach before Norden house. The Norden Point was out on the dock with a few others, clearly in charge of the show. Rose held Luc’s arm and leaned her head on his shoulder as she watched the display. He smoothly disentangled his arm to slip it around her waist and pull her closer.
Explosions of color and sound filled the sky. Each crack and burst across the quiet lake was a surprise and delight. Rose enjoyed the display while fondly remembering the few balls she had experienced as a young girl. Even when she hadn’t gone, she and Grandpa still tried to stay awake late enough to watch the fireworks.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a dark shadow dash by the familiar shed on the beach. She peered closer. It looked like a black cat dashing away from the lake’s edge and the noise of the fireworks. She’d assume it was Arie if he hadn’t said he’d be gone the rest of the night. Just as she was about to dismiss it, she heard a shout from the beach.
One of the fireworks had slipped before takeoff. It shot off in the wrong direction, back toward the lawn instead of safely out over the lake. All the fae stood in stunned silence and apparent inaction as it rocketed toward the shed. The way the firework perfectly hit the roof and exploded on impact was uncanny.
She wouldn’t have thought a firework could cause so much damage quickly, but she didn’t have time to process it as the shed erupted in flames. The familiarity of the fire froze her. The echo of her childhood home going up in flames was too much to bear.
She stared at Aiden, who looked on, seemingly unconcerned, at the shed. Rose knew no one was inside but could not let its burning stand. A glance told her no one else was doing anything about it, so she decided to handle it herself.
She pulled her water magic up through her body. She could feel it instinctively reaching toward Compass Lake. It rushed through her, faster than expected, as she pulled a cresting wave from the lake and guided it toward the burning structure. She crashed wave after wave from the lake over the shed until the flames were thoroughly doused. She had no sense of how long she worked or how much magic she spent. Caught up in the rightness of the ground beneath her feet and the water magic she called, she still felt Luc’s strength at her back as he protectively caged her vulnerability while she worked. She wasn’t even close to spending all of her strength when she finished—the power from the Norden Point seat flowed into her as she called.
Her display seemed to have distracted and stalled the fireworks. She could feel Aiden and the rest of the fae courts’ eyes on her as she returned to herself.
“My apologies for the interruption. Care to continue?” she called out toward the other Compass Points congregated at the lake’s edge.
“I think we’ve had just about enough excitement for one night,” was Aiden’s terse response. It was too dark to see, but she’d bet money his eyes were flashing grey.
“Oh, that won’t do, not on the Summer Solstice,” she nearly sang, her confidence building by the minute. “Carter,” she called to the Vesten Point, standing slightly to the side. “Can you give me some light? I’ve got another display for us to enjoy.”
Carter scanned the crowd, the people eager to see what Rose would do. Carter shrugged, not making eye contact with the Norden Point behind him as he did what Rose asked. He may not be the loudest, but Rose suspected there was a depth to him that many missed.
The Vesten Point looked at Juliette, who nodded. He threw multiple balls of fire into the air, and Juliette’s wind magic kept them floating out over the water so that the lake’s edge was visible to the audience on the beach.
Rose pulled the water magic back to her as she started her second display. This one was much more enjoyable than the first as she started small, with a burst of water shooting straight into the sky in front of Norden house. Then she made a row of spouts, one shooting after the other as they chased each other across the lake. The audience gasped and cheered as she built up steam, joining the spouts with bursts and eruptions of water in time. She had created her own fireworks display out of the lakewater, and even the lake seemed to enjoy it.
As she built up toward a finale of waterworks, she couldn’t help but relish the feel of the Norden magic. Her water rushed through her, stronger than ever, and she loved every minute. She was the rightful Norden Point, standing on the beach of her seat of power.
“So about that held thought,” Rose said to Luc when they made it to his room.
