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  She turned toward the voice. Hr eyes focused on a face. It was Nimbus. His brows creased in concern for her. She tried to recall what he’d asked her as she completed her scrutiny of Jaden’s new barricade. Iris blinked. Her brain couldn’t cope with her consciousness being split anymore. She summoned her entire mind from the Gallery.

  “Yes. I’m all right. Just tired. And . . .” her eyes dropped to the ground. She didn’t know how to explain her current feelings. She wasn’t sure what her current feelings were.

  “And we barely know each other?” Nimbus supplied.

  Iris nodded without realizing what she agreed to. Her eyes remained fixated on the ground. She wished she could curl up in her bed with some music to lull her to sleep. Or at least to give her something else to concentrate on other than her internal thoughts.

  “It’s all right. How about we talk for a few minutes? Then I’ll go sleep in the other room.”

  “Okay,” Iris whispered.

  Nimbus pulled her into a tight hug. Warmth filled her as she relaxed into his arms. He kissed the top of her head, released her, and took her hand in his. Iris allowed him to lead her to the first bedroom.

  “Why don’t you get ready for bed. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He smiled as he closed the door behind him.

  Iris stared after Nimbus. She hadn’t wanted him to go, but she didn’t know how to tell him. It seemed she still wasn’t good at expressing her feelings or wants to someone she liked. Iris gave her head a little shake and came out of her own internal contemplations. She glanced around the room for a few moments before pulling random clothes out of the pillowcase Violet had the foresight to fill for her.

  After a few moments of digging, Iris found her pajamas and bathroom items. She tossed them on the bed before shoving everything back in the sack and dropping it at the foot of the bed. She’d put everything into the supplied drawers later. Nimbus knocked on the door as she finished changing.

  “Come in,” she called.

  He helped tuck her into bed before laying down on top of the covers next to her. Iris snuggled into his shoulder. They lay in silence for a few minutes. Nimbus stroked her hair. Tucked it behind her ear. She concentrated on him. Listened to his long, slow exhales. Appreciated the warmth emanating from his body. It helped ground her and keep her mind from transporting her back to the castle.

  Iris tilted her head to look at Nimbus. She opened her mouth to ask him something, but nothing came out. Thankfully, Nimbus filled the silence before awkwardness descended.

  “I’m sure you have hundreds of questions for me. I’ve already asked as many about you of Cirrus and Aerianna in the last week. And Violet has a habit of talking about you at family functions,” he added with a half-smile. “So, what would you like to know?”

  “Everything.”

  “Where would you like me to start?”

  Iris considered his question with care. She disregarded the mundane questions about likes and dislikes she could learn in due time before landing on the one question that made the most sense to her. “When did you discover you were a magic user?”

  “Not long after I turned sixteen.”

  “Wow. So young. How? I mean how did you discover you were a magic user?”

  “Like you guys, I had some odd dreams. Mostly I ignored them. I’m not sure how it happened, but I couldn’t ignore them anymore and one day my stupid request for a pot to wash itself worked. It took me a long time to figure out what was going on and once I did—I hate to admit—I was a bit on the reckless side. When I left for college, I realized my actions were extremely dangerous and could cause my own demise, so I stopped.”

  “You just stopped? No negative consequences?”

  “None. I didn’t use magic for almost three years. Not until I discovered Cirrus could do magic. He taught me everything you taught him. Thank you, by the way. You’re a great teacher.”

  “You’re welcome, I think?”

  “I mean it. I couldn’t access the flows of power embedded in the Earth before Cirrus showed me how. That might be why my subconscious didn’t take over and perform magic without me wanting it to like yours did.”

  “Did Cirrus tell you that?”

  “He did. I’m glad you started using magic again.”

  “Me too. If you couldn’t access the surrounding flows, then how did you perform tasks and such?”

  “I tapped into each individual object’s essence. In a way, it made me more aware of each request I made, but it’s much easier to accomplish tasks by having a direct link to the power flowing all around us.”

  “I agree.” Iris thought about her next question before asking, “When did you and Cirrus figure out you could both do magic?”

  “I surprised him on his eighteenth birthday. He’d asked me to come home so he could introduce me to Violet but I told him I couldn’t make it. It was the truth. I had classes. My internship. He sounded so dejected on the phone, I went home for the weekend even though I couldn’t make it to his dinner celebration.”

  “That was nice of you.”

  “When I got home, I parked a few houses down so Cirrus wouldn’t know I was there and snuck into the house. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up the moment I stepped inside. I didn’t know what it meant, so I shrugged it off as I tried to think of the best way to surprise him. When I walked into his room, he was levitating two books and the picture of us as kids. They all dropped to the bed when he saw me. I’ll never forget the shock on his face.” Nimbus chuckled at the memory. He turned toward Iris and she snuggled closer to him.

  “What did he say?”

  “I’m not sure. There was a lot of stuttering. I requested the picture of us levitate back to where it belonged and said something like; ‘when your big brother surprises you on your eighteenth birthday, hi is a good opening line, wouldn’t you agree?’ I’m sure you can imagine his excitement. He asked me a slew of questions in quick succession before mentioning you and all of your friends. He started teaching me the next day.”

  “Why did you guys keep it a secret for so long?”

  “I asked him to. I had my own life, friends, career aspirations. You guys were part of his life. I didn’t want to intrude. And I had no desire to meet any of you until the last few weeks—even though Cirrus asked me if I wanted to every time we got together to train. Still, he kept me up to date on everything and occasionally asked me for advice. You mean a lot to him. To both of us. And I wish I’d said yes to meeting you sooner.”

  Iris tilted her head to look at Nimbus. He smiled back at her. She leveraged her body closer and kissed him before nestling back against his chest. Nimbus went back to stroking her hair. She felt safe in his arms. Comforted. He kissed her head, and she drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning Iris woke alone. She didn’t remember Nimbus leaving. She was by herself—with her thoughts. It wasn’t a good place to be. Panic welled within her. It clenched at her chest. Made breathing difficult. She rolled over and sobbed into her pillow. Curled in on herself as the weight of her choices—her life—dropped onto her like a boulder. How was she going to keep everyone safe when she couldn’t even keep herself safe?

  “Iris? Iris, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

  Nimbus was at her side. He pulled her from the tight ball she’d formed and cradled her to him. Her sobs wouldn’t stop. She clung to him. He was the embodiment of everything she had to lose in life. How was she supposed to keep him safe? Keep her friends safe? More. How was she supposed to keep everyone alive?

  “Want to talk about it?” Nimbus asked as he rocked her back and forth in his arms.

  Iris shook her head. She took a deep breath. Tried to stop the tears. Her sobs subsided. Nimbus opened himself to the flows of power surrounding them. He handed her a tissue a moment later. Iris wiped her eyes and tried to pull her life back together.

  “You sure you don’t want to talk about it? It may help.”

  Iris drew in a deep breath and expelled it in one go. She
wondered if Cirrus told him it was better for her to discuss her problems early or if they were similar in their need to help an upset friend. Iris curled her bottom lip under her top teeth and shook her head.

  “Please know you can tell me anything. You don’t have to be strong in front of me. Or for me. I’ll always be here for you, as will your friends. You don’t have to take on this burden alone.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Iris managed in a whisper. “That I’m dragging everyone down with me. That none of you will survive.”

  “Iris, we’ve all had plenty of opportunities to leave and none of us have. We’re not bound to you for life and it’s our decision if we stay or go.”

  “Unless you die,” she said. She wasn’t sure if Cirrus had told him about her being an Oculus Prismatic. It didn’t matter if he had. She didn’t feel like discussing what being an Oculus Prismatic meant at the moment. How her friends were bound to her. How he was now bound to her—unless another Oculus Prismatic snatched him away.

  “Death is a part of life we all must face. It is a possibility, but not one I’m concerned about. I’m strong in my abilities just as you and your friends are. You’ve been behind enemy lines, so you can share your experiences with the rest of us and train us better because of it.”

  Iris’s lower lip trembled. Tears welled in her eyes as her thoughts turned back to the pain of a few days previous and how she still couldn’t believe Jaden was capable of such malicious torture. Worse. That Zarina and Morrigan could allow it to continue. Her breathing became shallow as her body remembered what it’d gone through.

  Nimbus tilted her chin up. It brought her eyes into focus on his face. She honed in on his eyes. They calmed her heart. Dampened her growing fear and anxiety. The left corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. Her body relaxed. He was right. They could do this. She was stronger because of the ordeal she’d experienced and if she was stronger, her friends would become stronger too. She took a deep breath. Another one.

  Wanting to think about anything other than her potential to be the reason all of her friends died, Iris asked Nimbus more questions about his life. It turned out he was in a doctoral program at Stanford which meant he was only a few hours away in traffic.

  “Or a few seconds through a doorway,” Iris reminded him with a smile. She fell silent and thought about something Brett told her at the end of senior year. “You used to form doorways home to Pacific, didn’t you?”

  “Once a month or so, yes. Why?”

  “I remember Brett saying he thought Cirrus was the strongest magic user of our friends because he sensed a strong magic user at your house. He was referring to you. I see that now.”

  “I’m strong, but I think you edge me out a little.”

  “You can tell?”

  “Mm-hm. It’s easier to determine when I have physical contact with a person. And I think being on Gemina Terra helps too. Magic seems different here. Like it flows freely rather than tries to stay concealed.”

  “I feel it too.”

  Iris smiled at Nimbus. He smiled back. Her eyes twitched. She leaned in to kiss him and he returned the kiss with passion. They broke apart and his smile broadened.

  “What?”

  “Purple. I like purple.” He leaned in and kissed her again.

  Iris tilted her forehead against Nimbus’s and let his warmth wash over her. He squeezed the outside of her shoulder. Rubbed her back as she caressed his side. Iris’s stomach brought her back to reality a few seconds later. “I’m going to take a shower,” she told Nimbus. He relaxed his grip on her and she climbed out of bed. His hand trailed her arm until the last second.

  Chapter 3

  The shower was a large basin of collected rainwater supported on pillars. Almost like a water tower. The sun probably heated the water during the day but it was cold at the moment. Iris readied her body to accept flows of power. They came to her without the need to draw them in. She thought about a ball of fire within a containment field below the water tank. It appeared before she concentrated on making the request.

  A few minutes later, Iris turned the cup-like apparatus that was a shower head and warm water rained down. She showered, dressed quickly, and headed to the front door. A knock sounded in the Gallery before she made it out of her new apartment.

  “Hey, Kylee. What’s up?” Iris asked as she entered the Gallery.

  “Hey! I wanted to let you know there’s a crowd of elves heading our way. From the looks of it, they’re bringing food.”

  “Thanks! I was just about to head back to the meeting platform to see about breakfast. I guess I don’t need to anymore. Can you help knock on a few doors so we can tell everyone to meet on the platform in front of my place for breakfast?”

  “Sure,” Kylee agreed and moved to the second row of doors to knock on her siblings’ doors.

  Once everyone answered, Iris asked them all to come upstairs as quick as possible. She left the Gallery and knocked on the shower door.

  “Yeah?” Nimbus called.

  “There’s an envoy coming from the elves. You almost done?”

  Nimbus turned off the water in response. “I’ll be out in a minute. Wait for me?”

  “Of course.”

  By the time she and Nimbus walked out of their rooms, arms wrapped around each other’s waists, all of her friends had gathered. Iris glanced around the platform at her friends as they awaited the elves who were ascending from the second level to the first.

  Cirrus caught her eye. He looked from his big brother to Iris, grinned, and winked. Trickles of heat slowly crept up her neck. Cirrus laughed. The noise caught Nimbus’s attention. With a quick glance at Cirrus, Nimbus quieted his brother before looking down at Iris. Her eyes twitched as the heat moving through her body pooled in her cheeks.

  Nimbus squeezed her hip and bent down to whisper in her ear. “Do I need to know something, here? Was there more going on than magic practice at my house?” A hint of jealousy tinged his words.

  Iris furrowed her brows before she remembered the first time she saw Nimbus. She shook her head in the negative. She’d almost forgotten about telling Cirrus he could say whatever he wanted about her and Violet being home alone in the dark with him so he wouldn’t fall behind in the game he and Nimbus played. It made schooling her emotions—and therefore cheeks and eyes back into their proper hues—more difficult.

  Violet helped her out by giving Cirrus a slight dig in the ribs before whispering, “Be nice,” to him. By the time the emissary of elves crested the stairs to the meeting platform in front of her unit, Iris’s eyes settled back on blue and the warmth in her cheeks dissipated.

  Another formal greeting took place between the elves and Nimbus before a magnificent breakfast was laid out. Everyone helped themselves to the wonderful spread and found a place to sit in small groups. Each cluster contained at least one person from Earth and a few elves. A pair that appeared to be father and son joined Nimbus and Iris. They looked like Cirrus with slightly more pigmentation to their hair and skin. They even had the stoic demeanor Cirrus could get when things took a serious turn.

  “Welcome, friends!” the older elf said as he sat down across from Nimbus. “I trust my people have been treating you all well.”

  He grinned as a questioning look passed between the couple from Earth.

  “Let me introduce myself. I am Tiernan, King of the Elves and this is my son, Prince Esras. We were away hunting when your party arrived. Vitharr sent our fastest runners as soon as you entered Mothar Crann. We only returned late last night. I wanted to come meet you then, but my wife told me I would have to wait until morning.” His smile broadened, and he continued talking.

  “You, sir,” he nodded at Nimbus. “Are the talk of the whole elven kin and I can see why. You look just like him, my great uncle. He,” Tiernan pointed a thumb behind him to indicate he meant Cirrus. “He looks just like my grandfather.” The party of four heard Cirrus laugh at something an elf he sat with said. “Sounds like h
im, too,” Tiernan added with a chuckle.

  “Well, now you are here, there has been talk about the crown being passed back to you. You were the heir, not my grandfather. But you never returned from a trip you set out on,” Tiernan said matter-of-factly. It was as though he thought Nimbus had returned to Gemina Terra to claim a crown he knew nothing about.

  Iris noticed Esras stiffen ever so slightly when Tiernan suggested Nimbus might want to take the crown.

  “Thank you for the greeting. The elves have been most hospitable. We are in your debt,” Nimbus said with a small bow.

  Tiernan waved off Nimbus’s last statement, so he continued.

  “I have not returned to Gemina Terra to claim a throne my spirit should have possessed in its previous life,” Nimbus told the pair before addressing Esras directly. It appeared he noticed Esras stiffen at his father’s comment just as Iris had. “I have no desire for what should be passed to you.”

  Nimbus held Esras’s gaze for a few moments before turning back to Tiernan. “All I want is to learn your ways and always have a place here to call my own. A place amongst those my spirit claims kinship with.”

  “That we can give you. Though it will take time for you to remember our ways, I am sure you will. You have an old spirit just as she does,” he said with a grin. “Along with a love that will last an eternity, it seems.”

  “The Queen of the Faeries said the same thing. It is difficult to believe,” Iris told Tiernan.

  “Even so,” Nimbus added. “It may explain why my feelings for you run so deep after such a short time.” He smiled at her as he took her hand in both of his.

  “I would say it does. After you went missing my grandfather pursued her hand. She turned him down the same as she turned down every other suitor. When he asked her why she told him her love for his missing brother was one that spanned time and the universe itself. That their spirits had been bound since she could remember. For lifetimes, she told him. As such, she could not in good faith marry another and condemn them to a life with someone incapable of loving any but my great uncle.”