The Order of the Elements 01 - Breaking Point (34 page)

Ethan wondered why Cassius didn’t just ask her to search one of their memories of the incident.

I don’t think she has any control over her powers right now. Not even her Element, that storm is still going strong. If she were back to normal, the storm wouldn’t be so bad right now. Not to mention, I don’t think she has the strength to even try, Lucy answered his stray thought.

The storm was still just as fierce as it had been the moment he noticed it. Thunder and lightning crashed constantly, and rain still cascaded from the black clouds in the sky.
That makes sense,
he replied.

Phoebe nodded and turned back to Morgan again. Morgan hesitated for a fraction of a second before closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to her temples. Ethan was instantly amazed. The memory started playing in his mind immediately. There were obvious mistakes, of course. He was seeing this memory from Morgan’s perspective. She had been sitting on the opposite side of the arena. He could even see himself standing across the room.

The memory played out until the point that Phoebe passed out. Ethan glanced at Phoebe on the dais. She looked like she was in shock. Cassius thanked Morgan for her assistance and asked Sebastian to escort her back down the stairs. Only when they had left and the door was closed securely behind them did anyone speak.

“What happened?” Phoebe whispered. It seemed the shock of the memory had at least brought her vision back into focus and given her a small portion of strength back.

Cassius frowned. “I need to know how much of that you remember, if any.”

Phoebe squeezed her eyes shut and thought deeply for a minute. Then she slowly shook her head. “Not anything, really. I only remember Kali talking when we were in the middle of the floor. I felt like my blood was boiling and then…nothing.” She opened her eyes. Ethan was surprised to see tears there. “What did I do?”

He didn’t need her talent to know that what had happened horrified her. Cynthia sat down next to Dorian and took one of Phoebe’s hands. Lucy took Phoebe’s other hand.

“Do you remember what Kali said?” Cassius asked.

Phoebe’s expression tightened, and her eyes quickly darted to Dorian and then down. “Yes,” she answered quietly. Ethan could tell whatever it was, she didn’t want to repeat it. “She…she said that…that next time she would do a better job of getting rid of Jared and Evan like she was going to do to me. She said it would be funny to see if Dorian would like me as much when I was a pile of ashes.” She winced. “And she was fantasizing about it all…vividly.”

Evan and Jared clenched their fists tightly. Evan even took a couple steps toward the door. His temper was probably about as unstable as Phoebe’s at that moment. Cynthia’s figure went rigid, and Lucy frowned.

Cassius nodded. “Is that everything?” The tone he used indicated that he knew there was more she wasn’t saying.

Phoebe sighed. “No, she was also thinking about…she and Dorian…celebrating my…demise. Again, very vividly.” Phoebe had worded her sentence carefully, but there was no need.

If he hadn’t been supporting Phoebe, Ethan was positive that Dorian would have left right at that moment to kill Kali himself. His eyes flashed, and his hands started shaking. Phoebe took her hands from Lucy and Cynthia and held Dorian’s securely. “You’ll do no such thing,” she said firmly.

Apparently Ethan was right. He knew Kali didn’t know Phoebe’s talent, but still, to imagine something so grotesque was unsettling. Was she so intent on Dorian that she would do whatever it took to get him? Was Phoebe’s life in danger? No, he was sure she would be safe. Dorian would never let anything happen to her. But what about the rest of them? How far was Kali willing to go? He glanced at Lucy. She looked very troubled. Would she be the next target of Kali’s one track mind?

No, I don’t think so. Kali may be vile, but her focus is on Phoebe and Dorian. They’re the ones who need to be worried, Lucy thought.

Even so, I won’t let anything happen to you.

Ethan reached across the dais and took her hand. She scooted around until she was leaning against him with her head on his shoulder. He instantly felt better about her safety. She was where she was supposed to be, safe with him.

Dorian shifted, and Phoebe looked alarmed. “Dorian, no. Please. I need you here.”

Dorian looked down at Phoebe’s face. Apparently whatever he had decided to do had been put off. He settled back into his original position and pulled Phoebe closer to him. Satisfied, Phoebe turned to Cassius. “What happened?” she asked.

Ethan could tell her reserve of energy was draining as she settled back into Dorian’s chest. Her eyes slid out of focus again, and she closed them, though she was still listening. Cassius explained his theory to Phoebe slowly. He answered all her questions, and her expression became more troubled as Cassius continued. When he finished talking, the room became silent for a few minutes.

Phoebe sighed. “They all hate me now, don’t they, or are at least scared to death of me. How am I supposed to help if something like this is going to happen to me? Is there one part of my life here that Kali won’t destroy?” She spoke her last sentence so quietly that Ethan wasn’t even sure she meant to say it out loud.

Cassius frowned. “Everyone is a bit uneasy, and unfortunately, I cannot completely explain what happened because that would mean telling everyone about your talent, which I do not think is a wise idea. However, there are ways to earn their trust again, and the time will come for that. And there is a way to prevent this from happening again without inhibiting your ability to use your talent.”

Evan spoke up. “What do you mean? Is there a way to control her talent?”

Cassius returned to his book. “There is an elixir in here that will prevent you from feeling emotions and hearing thoughts unless you are specifically using your talent to do so.”

Cynthia looked confused. “Why didn’t you give it to her in the first place?”

Cassius now looked ashamed of himself. “I thought I could help her to control it without the elixir, but it is clear now that was a mistake, and I have expected far too much. No one with this talent has ever been able to use it effectively without the elixir. With hers being so much more powerful, I should never have taken the chance. Phoebe is strong, but even the best of us fall now and then. I also failed to take into account Kali’s ability to bring out strong emotions in those around her.”

“Dorian,” Phoebe warned in answer to some thought the rest of us couldn’t hear.

Cassius sighed. “I will deal with Kali. Jared and Evan, if you are up to it, I would like to ask you to go to the infirmary and bring the witches here. I will need them to make the elixir. Phoebe, you will need to take this every six weeks to maintain its effectiveness. I know you are exhausted, so I want you to rest now. I have called off classes for the next week to give you all time to recuperate.”

24. Realization

It was clear that they were being dismissed from Cassius’s office for the time being. Phoebe nodded in acknowledgment of Cassius’s instructions before Dorian shifted quickly and stood with Phoebe cradled in his arms. Evan and Jared each wished her well before heading back to the infirmary. Dorian walked with Phoebe to a wing of the Annexus Ethan wasn’t familiar with.

“Where are you taking her?” he asked as Dorian walked away.

He didn’t stop walking, so Ethan matched his pace to keep up with him. He heard Lucy and Cynthia fall into step behind him. “To my room. I would like to keep an eye on her,” he replied.

“Why?” Ethan pressed.

Dorian turned his head. He looked irritated. “I would like to make sure she rests and remains safe.”

“Are you sure that’s advisable?”

What’s wrong with you? She’ll be perfectly fine with Dorian, Lucy asked, breaking into his thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Dorian asked roughly. He was clearly not happy about Ethan’s line of questioning.

“Well, you are the source of a fair amount of stress when it comes to Phoebe. Perhaps it would be better if she were with us.”

Oh, I see; this is bringing out your family protection instinct. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to provoke him. He really will keep Phoebe safe, Lucy said as she sifted through his thoughts.

Dorian stopped and turned to glare at Ethan. Perhaps Lucy was right; provoking Dorian was probably not a wise idea. “Don’t think for one second that I do not blame myself for what happened. I should never have allowed them so close to each other, but everyone insisted on a regular tournament.” His expression became fierce. “I
will
keep her safe, no matter anyone else’s opinion.”

“So will I.”

“Ethan,” Phoebe said softly. “I’ll be fine, really. Go get some rest.” He could barely hear her by the time she quit speaking.

She needed to rest, so he let her go with Dorian. Before he even walked away, Ethan was sure Phoebe was deeply asleep.

“Can we come see her later?” Cynthia asked before Dorian rounded a corner.

He nodded. “When she’s up for visitors, I’ll send someone to tell you.”

Dorian turned and continued on with Phoebe. Ethan watched the empty hallway anxiously for another minute before Lucy broke into his thoughts.

“She’s going to be fine, Ethan,” she said softly, her voice a low hum.

Cynthia shook her head. “I don’t know about that. Kali is being more difficult than I could have imagined possible, especially for a daughter of a Guardian.”

“I don’t get it. Why can’t she just give up on Dorian? I think it’s pretty obvious who he prefers, isn’t it?” Ethan asked as Lucy finally steered him in the direction of their rooms.

Cynthia shrugged. “I know people from the Cove can be difficult, but she’s going above and beyond the normal air of superiority that everyone is used to. She almost acts like Dorian is her property or something, like she owns him.”

“So what are we going to do?” Lucy asked.

“We’re going to keep them apart, of course. I’m sure Dorian will maintain, if not widen, the gap between the two of them, so it probably won’t be too difficult. Who knows, maybe he’ll even pull Phoebe out of the training arena completely and train her one-on-one,” Cynthia suggested.

That was definitely a possibility. It probably wasn’t a bad idea, either. Ethan didn’t think Phoebe and Kali could get along even if they actually tried. “Knowing Dorian, he may do just that.”

They headed back to their room to sit out the rest of the day. The storm was still awful outside, so there wasn’t much else to do. Jared and Evan returned a little over an hour later. On the rare occasions that they had both free time and the energy to do anything, Lucy, Cynthia, Jared, and Evan liked to pick Ethan’s and Phoebe’s brains about everything in the Realm of Non-Magic. Phones and televisions had already been thoroughly covered, and they were now interested in cars.

Lucy never really said much during these times because she could see all the images in Ethan’s thoughts, and therefore, it was easier for her to figure out how they worked. Even so, she usually paid attention, but for the rest of that evening she seemed distracted. Ethan would have explored her thoughts, but everyone kept him very busy with questions, and he couldn’t concentrate long enough to catch the drift of what she was thinking about.

They waited for a message from Dorian to arrive. Ethan wasn’t very hopeful. Jared and Evan had said that Dorian wouldn’t even let them wake Phoebe up to give her the elixir. He had promised that he would give it to her when she woke up, and he was sure that wouldn’t happen before morning. Lucy remained quiet and thoughtful the rest of the evening, and when she left to go to bed, she was so focused on going to sleep that Ethan couldn’t get anything more from her.

He was mystified. He had no idea why she was being so quiet. She wasn’t usually very vocal, but she spoke to him quite a lot through their connection. This was the first time he could remember her keeping her thoughts to herself. There were some things he couldn’t hear in her thoughts due to the ban—those were the things she wasn’t allowed to tell him—but she had never before intentionally kept him out.

He wasn’t able to ponder it for long. The long hours of the day caught up with him, and he fell asleep quickly. Just like any other night, he spent a few minutes in the darkened and empty garden. He traveled the familiar pathways to the fountain in the middle and sat down on the bench. The blond haired woman wasn’t there, and he fell deeper into sleep.

The next morning, Ethan was surprised to wake up and find the sun streaming in through the window in the sitting room. He ran over to look out, and sure enough it was dazzlingly beautiful outside. He then realized that the reason he had woken up in the first place was clinging to his arm.

“Sorry about that,” he muttered as he gently took the gnome from his arm and set him on the table.

The gnome looked very relieved to be back on his feet. Ethan had to sit down on the chair in front of the table to be able to see the tiny visitor properly.

“Oh, no, sir, you do not need to apologize. I am the messenger Link. I should have waited until you were awake to deliver my message!” the wide-eyed little gnome squeaked in a thick accent Ethan couldn’t decipher.

“Link, huh?” Ethan said. “You have a message?”

Link didn’t move. If anything, his eyes went wider still. Ethan panicked for a minute. “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

Link shook his head quickly, which caused his ears to flap from under the little plaid beret he was wearing. Ethan would have laughed, but he didn’t want to offend the tiny creature. “No, sir, not wrong. You are only the second human to address me by name, sir. I am honored!”

“Only the second human? Who was the first?”

This gnome didn’t look that young; surely someone had been kind enough to call him by his name before. Although, now that Ethan thought about it, this was the first time he had ever spoken to a gnome. As far as he knew from what Jared and Evan had told him, gnomes couldn’t even talk. Not in English, anyway. They had their own kind of communication system but they never spoke to humans. So the fact that one was speaking was enough to surprise Ethan into stupidity.