Page 5 of Petals for Deadly Power

She wished she could stop and contemplate how beautiful the three colors looked together. Lenna’s golden sunshine, Ayla’s silver moonlight, and Hope’s Cardinal-red sparks.

Especially as the hissing creature was nowhere to be seen and it had stopped dragging its body through the floor. Maybe it thrived in darkness alone.

The orb made another noise and Took every single spark away, as if it had swallowed them. Blackness surrounded them, and the three young women Gave another set of sparks, stronger and brighter this time, before the orb absorbed them again.

For a couple of minutes, the three of them Gave, and Gave, and Gave, only to be thrust back to darkness every time the orb ingested their lights.

Lenna could feel the balance of Giving so much without Taking tilting the inner magical balance that kept her safe. Giving and Taking were opposite poles of the same scale, as the North and South Petals, origins of said powers, also were direct opposites. The same happened with Healing and Harming, the powers of the West and East Petals, except these were harder to master and drained the panom wielder faster, in most cases.

Each panom reacted differently when their inner scale was uneven, and the slight blurriness in her mind, beginning of cold sweat on her forehead, and growing dizziness were signs that Lenna was pushing her inner scale more than she should.

There were only a few things she could Take to compensate her inner balance: the invisible shield, which she would only do over her dead fucking body until the hissing beast was gone; her own clothes, which she wouldn’t mind if she didn’t hope they were an extra layer of protection against the creature; and her own health, which was likely to happen sooner rather than later if she Gave much more, anyway.

The lights were swallowed by the orb again, and the last thing Lenna saw before the darkness and the hissing returned was Ayla pressing her palms against her eyes with a painful moan.

“Lenna, Ayla, please stop. You look unwell,” Hope said.

Lenna would have made a comment aboutunwellbeing a very kind and generous description of their ridiculous condition, but she wasn’t sure if she could talk and hold the content of her guts in at the same time.

Hope removed her shield. She Gave herself a sword and ran towards the orb, smashing it in pieces, all their sparks exploding into the room in a nebulous of red, golden, and silver light.

A hissing creature was cornered. Hope tilted her head. Was she considering letting it go?

“Out now. Please,” Lenna begged.

“I’m thinking whether to Harm it, kill it the traditional way, or Take it away,” Hope explained without taking her eyes away from her target.

Right. So many options.

After what seemed like an endless moment, Hope Harmed the beast, twisting its body over itself until it was a pile of pulp. Lenna was glad her sight was blurry. She Took away her invisible shield and felt the slightest improvement.

Hope walked towards Ayla, who was still covering her eyes with her hands with a grimace. She opened her hands until the room became a forest. Grass, moss, and flowers covered the ground, trees towering over bushes and plants. Only someone who had been raised in the woods could recreate one with magic with such precision. It was obvious Hope had lived and grown up in the woods of Verdania for twenty-four years.

Hope hovered her hands in circular motions atop Ayla’s eyes. The green-eyed twin whispered her gratitude, her contorted features relaxing as Hope Healed the consequences of her inner scale being unbalanced. When Ayla could open her eyes slightly and finally take in the forest surrounding them, her body shook with the sudden change in the Badassery Suite.

Hope asked Lenna, “Do you need Healing, Lenna? Or do you think you can Take bits of the forest away until your inner scale is reestablished?”

“I can tidy up this beautiful mess, even though a part of me feels sorry. It’s gorgeous.”

Hope smiled with melancholy. “Thank you.”

“But please Take away the hissing pulp, who thank fuck isn’t hissing anymore. I will owe you a favor for the rest of my existence.”

Hope closed her hand and the leftovers of the beast were gone.

Ciaran had stood all this time in the archway, analyzing everything as he always did. He walked towards a red rose and picked it up with his metallic arm. “We must start planning our next moves.”

3

Hope

Thediningtableinthe living room of the Crystal Clear safehouse was full and busy. The fugitives seated around it were loud and hungry.

Plates clattered around as people served the delicacies Ayla had cooked for them, the way Hope had always cooked: with food, utensils, fire, and patience. Even if the starting ingredients had to be Given because they couldn’t get them in any other way without risking being seen in the markets.

Jake and Lenna sat next to each other. Lenna’s curly-haired best friend, Sasha, was chatting with Lenna in their usual profanity-full talks. Indianna, with her black bob and ever-so-stylish outfits, happily joined in the conversation.

Next to Indianna was Brendon, the blond, stunning man with green eyes who used to work for the most secretive organization of Thyria before becoming one of the most searched for beings on the island. He was next to Ciaran, the pair of them full of ink on their arms and upper bodies. Over the recent weeks, Hope had noticed Ciaran always seemed comfortable around Brendon, as if he could be his true self.

---