Page 60 of Destined to Fight

“I’m going to call my dad. I told him I was going to call yesterday. What are we doing tomorrow? He’s going to invite us to his place.”

Kade peeked at her from above the laptop screen. “Nae, have him here. We shouldnae risk taking you to an unprotected location.”

A quick look around the house showed her there were no Christmas decorations in sight.

“If he comes here, he is going to be full of questions. There isn’t even a sprig from a pine tree here, much less actual Christmas decorations. Not to mention, I’m going to have to come up with an explanation of who everyone is. Can’t the three of us just go to his place and I can introduce you as, um…” Her mind came to a screeching halt. What would she introduce them as? She could play Kade off as her boyfriend, but Fabian? A friend? Her dad would see through that in an instant; he was too suspicious when it came to her friends, partially because she never had any.

A kind smile was on Fabian’s face as he turned to her. “None of this is an easy explanation to family. You need to consider telling him the truth.”

“Oh, sure, tell the man the truth. That’ll go over really well. He’ll end up pulling his gun and shooting you all. Then, he’ll drag me away from here and hide me in some far-off cave for the rest of my days. I’m the only daughter of a gun-slinging, proud American man. The truth will bend his mind.”

“Something tells me he already knows pieces of it. He raised you, and he must have seen signs that you were an Arcane without realizing it. Especially given how powerful you are. He knows deep down what you are—he just may not want to admit it.” He set a plate of pancakes down next to Kade and motioned for her to sit. “Not to mention, if he shoots Kade, he’ll see undeniable proof of immortals and vampires all at once.”

“Aye, just offer me up for social sacrifice.”

Fabian spoke without emotion. “It seems necessary and beneficial.”

Kade shook his head and kept working.

Kelly made short work of her pancakes and then called her dad to let him know about dinner tomorrow. He was a little hesitant to come to the house, especially when he heard the zip code, but he eventually agreed to join them.

When he’d asked who owned the house, she brushed it off, saying it was a friend’s. Then she had to convince him he wasn’t intruding and talk him into coming all over again.

At the end of the conversation, she was more exhausted than she’d been last night. Inwardly, she wondered why relationships with people had to be so taxing.

Fabian and Kade were waiting patiently in the training room when she finally arrived there mid-morning. The fact that Fabian wasn’t upset about her late arrival was astonishing, but she didn’t mention it to him.

“Let’s get this party started!” Ginna’s voice announced her arrival, and Kelly barely kept herself from jumping.

“Why are you all here?”

“We’re going to do a repeat of last night. Only this time, we’re going to start with you letting your power loose.”

Kelly did an about-face, looking at Ginna to see if she’d heard wrong. “You want to do all of that again? And you want me to direct my power outward this time? I could hurt all of you.”

“Rookie, we’ve had worse. We’re immortal too, remember?”

She had a point. “What do you want me to do with my power?”

“I just want you to direct it outward so we can see which type you’re presenting. From there, we can work on how to control it.”

“Wait, you don’t even know what kind of power I was using last night?”

“I’m good, Rookie, but not that good. I can feel that you’re a mage if you’re leaking all over the place, but I can’t tell what kind unless you unleash it.”

“What if it’s the whole time-thing that I’m using and I stop time? Then what? I’ll just be lost, and you’ll all be frozen.”

Fabian let out one of his chuckles.

“Don’t you laugh at me. This is serious!”

“Easy, easy, don’t lose your cool. If you somehow manage to stop time on your first go, then bring it back in slowly. Don’t yank your power back to you like you did last night, let it seep back into your veins. And don’t try to do anything if time stops, just focus on your power and calling it back. If it’s earth or water, that’s easy enough to deal with. My own affinity is air, and I can handle your unpracticed gifts without an issue.”

“What if I can’t bring it back? What if I lose control?”

“Use the techniques you did last night. Hone in on what Fabian has been teaching you, and remember the way you controlled it last night. Worst case, you run your energy dry and pass out; that will cancel out any power you’re using anyway.”

“Right, so, if I’m stuck in the abyss of time, I’ll just wait until I exhaust myself. Perfect. I really hope it’s just water.”

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