Hyacinth (21 page)

“All right,”
Ellie agreed. “Hold on because this is going to hurt.”

Ellie closed her
eyes. She centered first on the ice-blue light inside Lila. Rather than pulling
it into herself to control it, instead she enhanced it inside Lila, making it
glow white-hot. Together Lila and Ellie pushed that intense light into Selene.
Right into the heart of that scar. Selene grunted, but otherwise remained still
and silent. At first the light was consumed, the black hole inside her
swallowing it up. But Lila and Ellie worked together and waited patiently.

A small whimper
escaped Selene’s lips. “It burns.”

“If I take away
that emotional pain, it’ll keep me from fixing anything,” Lila said.

Ellie gasped.
“You feel that, Lila? Right there?”

“Yup. Delia,
we’re going to need you on this. Part of the issue is that something’s broken
inside her when it comes to relationships,” Lila said.

Ellie split her
concentration, focusing now on the sunny yellow light inside Adelaide,
strengthening it and then working to push that light inside Selene as well. It,
too, vanished inside the darkness.

The four women
sat in concentrated silence. Selene started rocking a little as she fought the
pain searing through her.

“Ellie!” A note
of panic entered Lila’s voice. “It feels as if we’re getting sucked inside
her.”

Adelaide hissed
through her teeth. “Why am I starting to feel the burning?”

“Hold on!” Ellie
took her own violet-blue glow and pushed it into Selene as well. “Selene? Can
you break through the pain and use your ability to enhance powers?” she asked.

Selene gritted
her teeth. With Ellie’s guidance the fuchsia-red glow inside her lit and
together they pushed that inside the blackness, too.

Abruptly a small
crack appeared within the ebony scar, Lila’s ice-blue light shining out of it.
A few moments later the black streak inside Selene splintered like shattered
glass, and the blue, violet, yellow, and red glows from all four girls pierced
the darkness.

Without warning
there was an explosion of light as the black gave way. The brightness became
blindingly intense. All four girls screamed as the force of it burned into all
of them, physically slamming them back. They just barely managed to hold their
contact with each other.

Selene opened
her eyes to see the other three staring back at her.

“Holy smokes,
look at your eyes,” Lila muttered.

“Yours too,”
Selene said. Lila’s eyes, instead of their usual green, were a kaleidoscope of
their four combined colors – bright yellow, ice-blue, violet-blue, and
fuchsia-red – swirling and mixing together in an endless combination of hues.
Looking around, she saw that Ellie’s and Adelaide’s eyes were the same.

“Keep going,”
Adelaide said.

They closed
their eyes again and focused on Selene. The brilliance of the lights inside her
gradually died down. Suddenly they could all see that all four of their glows
were intertwined, shining inside Selene in rays and ribbons of intense color.

Carefully, Ellie
helped Lila and Adelaide pull their powers out of Selene. It was like pulling
apart strings of Christmas lights. The colored strands didn’t want to separate.
But they managed to unravel them gradually. Once Lila and Adelaide were out,
Ellie pulled her own light out of Selene, leaving only Selene’s own glow of power
behind. A few streaks of black remained where the deep scar had been, but only
small remnants. It was as if her soul was a little toasted around the edges.

As soon as Ellie
pulled the last piece of her power away, all four girls took a deep breath.

“Jeez. What the
heck was that?” Adelaide asked.

Ellie ran a hand
over the back of her neck. “I’m not quite sure.”

“Well, one
thing’s for certain,” Selene said. “Whatever happened … it worked."

*****

Selene glided
into the chamber where all of the Council members were already gathered. She
had deliberately changed into her most regal gown, an ice-blue silk concoction,
floor length with billowing sleeves gathered with silver trim at the wrists.
Her bearing was even more regal, with her head held high and her shoulders
thrown back, and confidence oozed from her. She commanded respect the moment
she walked into the room. The Council members ceased their discussions in
midsentence and afforded her their full attention.

“Samuel has had
a premonition that an attack on the Vyusher is imminent. Apparently, they are
only waiting for warmer weather. The time for discussion has passed,” she
announced.

“What do you
suggest we do about it?” Xavier asked.

“I am done with
suggesting,” Selene declared.

“Is that so?”

Selene ignored
him and looked around the chamber.

“I have lost
faith in the ability of this Council to rule our people with any certainty or
direction. I am taking, by right of blood, my place as your Queen and ruler. I
will, of course, consider your view points before I make decisions.”

Xavier looked as
if he were going to burst a blood vessel. “Exactly how do you think you will
rule us? You can’t even lead this Council!”

Selene watched
with impersonal disdain as he puffed out his chest, his eyes glowing golden as
he threatened her with his wolf. Without removing her gaze from him, she
brought her own wolf out, her grey eyes taking on an eerie, reddish-pink glow.

Xavier’s face
showed a small amount of uncertainty.

“I am the
only
one here who knows exactly what Gideon made us do. While the rest of you
escaped happily into oblivion, I had to live through every single second of his
rule. That alone should earn me your respect. The fact that I tried to deter
him every step of the way, tried to save other people from him and protect us
all from him should earn me your trust, even your loyalty.”

“But you
couldn’t defeat him because you are weak,” Xavier argued, still unwilling to
cede control.

Selene graced
him with a cold smile. The rest of the members shifted uncomfortably in their
seats, but Xavier didn’t budge.

“I couldn’t
defeat him because I had no help. But my own powers are stronger now. And we
have the aid of Ellie Aubrey, possibly one of the most powerful
Svatura
in history, as well as her family. But what is most important is that I am
ready now to lead
my
people.”

“We will decide
who is fit to lead the Vyusher.” Xavier threw his arms out wide. Instantly he
shimmered, transforming full into his wolf form.

But before he
could lunge at her, Selene reached into him and flipped off the copper colored
glow that represented his power. Immediately he morphed back to human and stood
before her trembling as she let him feel, just for a moment, that she could
take things a step further and strip him of his powers completely if she so
desired.

Instead, she let
him go and turned to the rest of the Council. “I will not rule as my brother
did, by forcing you do something you would not have done otherwise. But I
will
rule the Vyusher. You can either help me, or you can get out of my way.”

No one objected.
No one even spoke. A certain amount of respect that hadn’t been there before
began to show.

“Very well,”
Selene nodded. “Gather your tribes. We’ll meet in an hour in the main courtyard
where I’ll provide instructions on how we will handle the attack that is
coming.”

“My Lady,”
Thomas called out. “Will you still consider marriage with Dez? As we argued
earlier, the match would be a good one, helping to unite our people.”

“Now is not the
time. But I will consider the suggestion.”

Thomas gave her
a small, respectful bow of his head in acknowledgement.

Receiving no
other objections, Selene swept out of the room. She paused momentarily outside
the chamber doors where Griffin, Ellie, and the rest of the family had
gathered.

She knew they’d
heard everything, as she’d deliberately left her mental barriers down so that
Griffin and Ellie could follow the discussion. Selene cast a guarded glance in
Griffin’s direction and noticed the grim set to his jaw. Beckoning them to
follow, she turned and walked slowly back to her chamber.

Whatever it was
that Lila, Adelaide, and Ellie had healed in that horribly painful, crazy way
had certainly had an effect, Selene acknowledged, a little giddy with the
results. In the past, a similar confrontation would’ve left her stuttering and
shaking. But she felt none of that now. While she still wasn’t sure what the
best decision might be for her people, she was absolutely confident that she
was the best person to lead them through it.

Firelight
flickered and danced in the shadows, casting a warm glow over the otherwise
dark room. Although it was June, it was still chilly at night. Selene thanked
the powers that be that had brought on several late season snow storms,
delaying the attack and giving her time to plan and train the Vyusher. She’d
put college on hold to concentrate on her people and prepare for this moment.
But their time was up. She prayed that the last months of effort and planning
with the Vyusher and Griffin’s family would help this end well.

Selene stood at
the window of her bedroom, the heavy velvet curtains drawn back, allowing her
unhindered access to the view. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked
out to the field beyond the castle’s walls.

“How many?” she
asked Oren. He hadn’t made a sound as he’d entered her chamber, but she knew he
was there just the same.

“We’ve counted
around fifty.” Oren moved to stand beside her and looked out on the scene of
organized chaos.

The
Svatura
amassing outside the castle walls appeared to be in the process of setting up a
camp of sorts. Tents were popping up everywhere, and Selene hoped they’d
brought stuff for cold weather. It was frigid at night, even in summer. Small
campfires dotted the landscape too, and it was obvious the
Svatura
weren’t trying to hide themselves. But Selene guessed that anyone who got close
to their camp would die a gruesome death.

“Have they made
any moves toward the castle?” she asked.

“None.”

Selene gave a
terse nod. “Good. Griffin can conserve his energy and wait to put up the
shield.”

“Exactly what he
said.”

Selene glanced
at Oren out of the corner of her eye. She sensed that he liked Griffin. Her
mouth tightened.

Well I do, too.
Fat lot of good it’s doing me
.

“Have they asked
for anyone yet? Sent someone to speak with us?”

Oren frowned. “Not
yet.” His doubt was obvious.

“Hmm…” Selene
mulled over her options, drumming her fingers on the windowsill in front of her.
“My guess is they will make their move soon. I think it’s time to make our
final preparations,” she decided. “Please alert the others.”

She turned away as
Oren left the room as silently as he’d entered it. Ten minutes later, Selene
strode out of her bedroom to find Oren, Ellie, Griffin, and their family all
waiting for her. A small movement caught her eyes as Desmond stepped up and
joined them, his sea-green eyes serious for once. She gave him a look, and he
winked.

He turned to the
rest of the group and nodded at Griffin. “Gabe.”

Griffin glared
at him silently, and Selene rolled her eyes. She wasn’t quite sure why Dez
insisted on trying to get under Griffin’s skin.

Dez smirked.
“Time to go, folks.”

They moved down
the corridors and towards the High Council’s hall. No one spoke. Selene reached
out to take Ellie’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then she opened the
door, glanced over her shoulder, and gave her friends a final nod.

“If something
happens to me, you know what to do,” she instructed them.

She turned and
walked calmly to stand inside the empty chamber. Only Desmond joined her.
Selene could almost feel Griffin’s gaze burning a hole in her as the door fell
closed behind her. At the last second, she opened her mind to him, preparing
herself to be disappointed when she heard nothing. Then, as she settled herself
in the throne-like chair in the center of the room, she heard him.

“Selene…”

“What?”

A long silence
greeted her. Until she almost thought she’d imagined his call in the first
place.

“Please be
careful,”
he finally said.

Selene allowed
herself a small smile. His words were so much a part of who Griffin was,
cautious and deliberate. She loved that part of him. She loved every part of
him and had for years. From afar. With no hope of her love being requited.
They’d spent the last few months dancing around each other. Not really
interacting unless it was necessary.