Page 104 of Destined to Fight

Smith’s mouth flapped a couple times as he tried to figure out what was going on, but then he promptly shut his flap and lowered his gun.

Kade stood and walked over to the SUV. He motioned for Connor to roll his window down, then leaned in to talk while the police figured things out.

“Everyone, out here. Connor, call someone to pick up the car and get it fixed. We all walk into the apartment together.”

Connor nodded in agreement. Everyone else was silent.

Kade went back over to talk to the superior officer and handed him a business card. He told the officer to call if he ever needed help that the department couldn’t give. Kelly found it a little unsettling, but at the same time, Kade was making up for bending the guy’s mind.

Two days later, they were all safely back at the house in Dallas, Siri included. When she learned about what Kade and Kelly shared, she insisted on going with them, but she hadn’t said why.

With all the people after Kelly, Asta’s game of cat and mouse wouldn’t have worked that time, so they snuck her out through the underground tunnels Kade’s father had set up decades ago. Kade hadn’t known about them, but Siri had shared their existence when the group was talking about ways to get out of the apartment.

Only Fabian and Kade accompanied her. Everyone else left as they normally would. They didn’t want others to know about the tunnels in case they were needed later, so an effort was made to make everything appear as normal as possible.

Two of the cars were attacked shortly after they left the apartment, but the onslaughts stopped the moment it was apparent Kelly was not in the vehicles.

Training with Fabian continued every morning, and Kelly spent the afternoons with Ginna, cramming as much information as she could. Kade joined when he could afford the time away from his work. If time permitted, he and Kelly worked on his control of their powers at night.

Kelly had mastered her ability to share things with him at will or shut him off completely. Kade had yet to gain any of those abilities, and it frustrated him no end. Kelly tried everything she could think of to help Kade, but none of her methods worked.

They talked to Ginna about it, and she tried to help, too, but nothing worked.

Just when they were all ready to give up, Siri joined them one night. She talked Kade through the process, suggesting it was similar to the way a vampire controls their power. By the end of that night, he was able to shut his mind from Kelly’s thoughts, a huge win for him. He still couldn’t stop the outgoing messages, but it was a start.

After a week of training and learning all day, every day, Kelly felt completely drained. Her skills with the karambits continued to improve, as did her control over water and the bond between her and Kade. While all of that held promise, she couldn’t shake the frustration around her lack of power over earth and time. Time scared the shit out of her, but she still needed to master it.

Fabian said she needed a day of rest, and Ginna agreed. As much as Kelly didn’t want to, she knew they were right.

Sleeping in that morning was pure heaven, and she silently thanked everyone for making her take the day off. She lay in bed sifting through her thoughts for a while. When she’d had a real job, that’d gotten her into trouble more often than she cared to admit because it always made her late for work. Now, it was nice to be able to relax and process things.

It felt like she was trapped in a time warp, which was ironic. Every day, she trained and studied only to go to bed and do it again the next. She couldn’t leave the house because the city teemed with groups just waiting for her to come out of hiding. Connor and Asta worked to build their following every day, but she felt like they were so far behind their enemies. She hadn’t told anyone—not even Kade—but she knew she would have to make a show of power to gain support. People had to know what she believed in and what she could do, or they wouldn’t follow her.

To solve all that, Kelly planned to start a blog that would somehow only be available to the Arcane community. She wanted to tell them who she was and what she stood for.

Kade, and likely everyone else, would put their feet down. Fabian might even have another cow. How else would they solve this, though? She couldn’t stay trapped in this house for years until it was time for her bonding ceremony. Of course, Fabian would be totally fine with the idea of her being on house arrest because she’d be safe. Kade probably would be, too, but Kelly would slowly go insane. Hell, she already wanted to start counting the days on the wall with a piece of chalk.

Clyde rose from the crook of her knee and came up to greet her with a loud meow. He seemed to feel her turmoil.

“I don’t know how you stay in the house all the time.”

He meowed again in response.

With a sigh, she made herself get up and start the day. She took a quick shower, brushed her hair out and threw it back, and put on her most comfortable sweats before she made her way out to the kitchen.

It was empty for a change, so she rummaged around before finding some English muffins. She popped one in the toaster and browsed her phone while it baked.

Nothing much was new in the human world, as far as she could see. The Arcane world didn’t have a news outlet, so who knew there.

She texted her dad to see how he was doing, then grabbed the butter out of the fridge and found some honey in the pantry.

She jumped and flung butter on the counter as Siri walked in. Even with her improved hearing, the vampire often snuck up on her.

“Good morning, my dear. I do hope you’re enjoying your day off.”

“Morning, Siri. Yes, I am, thank you. I’m glad y’all made me take the day.”

“You deserve it. Have you seen Keegan? I want to speak to the two of you.”

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