Page 29 of Fractured Souls
Then I totally laughed becausecome on, that was fucking awesome. Though I quickly forgot about the accessory again when Adriel kissed me and carried me to take a bath. It had been so relaxing that I almost immediately fell asleep in his arms afterwards. Sometimes it still caught me off guard, how sweet he could be.
Unfortunately, the dream had left me completely unsettled, the exact opposite of my previous relaxed state, so as I walked towards the bathroom, I contemplated the easiest way to get coffee. I had to assume that despite the perpetual night they had some type of breakfast here…right? Shit. If they didn’t have coffee, I literally had no idea what I would do. Not to be dramatic, but there was no way I was surviving today without it.
Luckily, after brushing my teeth and getting dressed, I walked out into the main room to find Zander sitting there with coffee.
“Oh my Maker, coffee.” I sighed happily, hands outstretched as he chuckled and poured me a large mug. I sat down next to him on the couch, adding sugar and creamer before taking a large swig, not even caring that it scalded my tongue a bit.
“I usually don’t love coffee this much or need it,” I said, “butshitam I tired.”
“Long night,” Zander noted, sitting back with his own coffee. His words were casual, but I couldn’t help the blush that filled my face. Zander let a low rumble leave his throat before he continued. “Once you two left, the hall was fairly easy to restore back to normal. No one seemed nearly as upset as they had sounded.”
“Really?” I arched a brow. “I could feel how scared they were.”
“Fear is normalized in the Elven realm—it doesn’t surprise me that they can turn it off and on.”
I nodded at his explanation as my own concerns came to the forefront of my mind. “Talking about fear…I had a really upsetting dream. The only problem is that I can’t remember the details, or at least the imagery—just the emotions it invoked. It was saturated with magic, though, and it was like someone was trying to overwhelm me and drown me in fear and a bunch of other negative emotions. There was nothing solid to fight back against; it was like it was seeping under my skin… I don’t know, for some reason that upset me more than the dream with the dark—them.” ThankfullyI stopped myself from saying ‘dark ones.’
Zander sat forward and examined my face thoughtfully. “I’m not sure the two dreams are all that different.”
“What do you mean?”
“When the two of you mated, it caused an explosion of power that may have signaled your location to them. You’re protected here because of Adriel’s magic and his ability to keep your dreams safe, so while you didn’t have a traditional dream, it’s possible it was their way of reaching out to you.”
“Shit,” I murmured. “You’re right. That’s completely possible.”
“We need to work on blocking them out, I’ve just never had to do that before, and obviously accepting them and listening to them like star calls isn’t the right move,” Zander said thoughtfully. “We could work on shielding though.”
“Shielding.” I agreed with a sharp nod before considering what he was saying. “I’ve managed to block some magic before, but obviously this is on a different level. What do we need to do?”
“First of all, have more coffee.” He chuckled softly as I sank into the couch and continued to drink mine, because he was totally right—we did need more coffee. Then we could do the training thing. “I’ll work out a plan for you. I also want to teach you how to dampen or hide your magic around others so you don’t have to deal with their bullshit as often.”
That.That would be amazing.
Trying to distract myself from that hope, one he was no doubt aware of, I arched my brow as I looked towards the open balcony. “Am I crazy or is it way warmer?” I asked him suddenly.
“Yeah, your magic union changed the climate a bit. Not sure if it’s permanent or temporary,” he said as if it was no big deal,but that was a fucking big deal!Adriel and I changed the climate…
Cool. Whatever. Just another Tuesday…or whatever day it was here.
“That’s insane,” I blurted, no longer able to contain myself.
“The mating of a siren to a star elf, water elf, or siren…” He hesitated. “Although the latter isn’t as known or understood anymore, is extremely complicated and usually results in the altering of reality. You two have impacted and changed the universe we now exist in, even if in a small, seemingly unimportant way.”
“And that would happen with two sirens also?” I asked bluntly, unable to help myself.
“Yes.” His eyes darkened. “At least I can presume it would, but to a much larger extent.”
Staring down my coffee, I tried to ignore the blush on my cheeks as I nodded in understanding. “Well, that’s a bit fucking intense for half a cup of coffee.”
Zander barked out a laugh that had me relaxing into the couch, finishing my coffee. I sighed as I placed the mug on the table then turned to face him, pulling my legs up to sit cross-legged. “Alright, so how do we practice shielding?” It was probably a good idea to do it now before the others woke up and I was completely distracted.
“Right. First place your hands in front of you,” he instructed.. I extended my hands, and when his palms slid over mine, I smiled. His touch felt amazing.
“Now, I want you to focus on shielding yourself from my magic,” he said. “I won’t let mine out yet. I want it to take you off guard, so prepare yourself. Imagine a blanket or membrane draping over your skin and fortifying into a shield. Your siren and you are strong enough to push out any magic you don’t want, you just have to learn how. It’s like gaining muscle memory, if that makes sense.”
“Got it,” I said, closing my eyes and analyzing my defenses. Honestly, they weren’t very impressive. My siren, who was yielding a rusty sword and shield, offered me a dry, annoyed look.
I guess thiswasmy freakin’ fault, wasn’t it? I hadn’t been trying to protect myself at all until recently. I mean, I had literally wanted to die, so it had been the least of my worries.
