Page 55 of The Discovered
Everything inside me stirred at his soft touches, juxtaposed with the way I lay helpless beneath him. As soon as I shifted attention to those universal forces, that power stirred—questioning, lying in wait—but Daelon and I both knew I would never unleash it on him like that.At least not on purpose, I amended, remembering the few times I may have accidentally knocked him on his ass.
There was something oddly poetic about this philosophical truth, that Daelon had articulated to me from the beginning. Power was far more about how it was wielded than its tangible reality.
I relaxed under him, and he shifted his weight off my wrists.
“That’s what I thought.” He smirked as he leaned down and touched his lips to mine in far too short of a kiss.
I couldn’t help but pout as he rolled off of me.
“You slept for like fourteen hours,” he said. “You need to eat.”
My eyes widened slightly. I didn’t think I’d ever slept that long, except for when Daelon first brought me here. The look he gave me held a certain finality, so I sighed and slipped out from under the warm covers.
We sat at the dining room table, where we ate in a comfortable silence. My mind was still wracked with a pleasurable afterglow from the experience yesterday of becoming one with my magick. But like a smoky haze, Lucius’s darkness lingered and taunted, reminding me that our cozy stay in this secluded cabin had an expiration date.
“I really am sorry about yesterday,” he said suddenly.
I swallowed my food, surprised. “Which part?” I wasn’t sure I would ever get a full apology, since Daelon seemed dead set that his methods were the only way he could protect me.
“The parts that caused you pain,” he said. A grimace played at his lips. “But also, the way I went behind your back. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
I nodded, sipping my coffee. I could tell this was hard for him, which made me wonder again what he did as a so-calledwitch trainerbefore all of this. He clearly wasn’t used to being questioned or having to apologize for his decisions. He’d also been pretty ruthless in his command during the fight, and I couldn’t help but question what kind ofterrible thingshe’d had to do for a greater good.
“I’m just having a hard time…” he paused, searching for words. “It’s hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I can’t protect you from everything, everywhere, at all times.”
I sighed. “Well of course you can’t. You can’t hold yourself responsible for such unrealistic expectations. That’s just insane.”
A flash of anger passed through his eyes, but I wasn’t sure where it was directed. “Well, it’s what I want,” he snapped.
He wanted control of the uncontrollable. Daelon found the same comfort in his drive to control as I did to cede my power to him and take a break from it all… it was a complementary coping strategy, but it was one that was impossible to maintain in this world.
“You’re used to getting what you want, aren’t you?” I said, my tone aching to lighten his mood. I was only met with exasperation.
“Yes,” he said, looking away. “In some ways, I guess I am. In other ways I’m used to getting exactly the opposite.” He looked back to me. “Knowing you were attacked while lying right next to me just set me off. I want you to be able to protect yourself when I cannot.” He paused for a moment, closing his eyes as he took in a breath. When he reopened them, they held my gaze with a level of solemnity that scared me. “No,” he said. “It’s not a matter of my want. You must learn to protect yourself when I’m not around.”
“Sometimes you talk as if you’re dying,” I said quietly. “You’re not, are you?”
“No, Áine, I’m not dying,” he sighed, softening his voice. “Just trying to setrealistic expectations.”
He was annoyed, and even though I knew it wasn’t directed at me, it still felt like it was. I didn’t like the way it made me feel—almost like I was failing at something. “I can protect myself. You saw that I can,” I said. “Isn’t that sort of the whole point of being a mysteriously powerful witch?”
Daelon was impassive. “Possibly.” He crossed his arms. “But there are some evil, unnatural forces coming for you. Much more powerful than a group of energy vamps,” he said, his voice low and conspiratorial like other times he alluded to our enemies.
“You don’t think I’m stronger than them? Orhim?”
“Not now. But you will be. I’m going to make sure of it.”
I frowned. Ouch.
Daelon got up suddenly, making me jump. He strode across the room to the window, appearing to fight off another urge to punch a hole through a wall. I wanted to joke about that but thought better of it.
I pushed up from the table, far more deliberately than he had, and approached him. He stiffened when he sensed me behind him. One of his hands was pressed above him to lean on the wall, his other balled at his side. I reached for his fist.
He straightened out his fingers at my touch.
I tugged on his arm. His features were hardened as he regarded me, his jaw tight. He still let me lead him to the couch, a smile breaking through as I tried in vain to push him onto it. His body was like a brick wall. He humored me, letting out a breath as he sat down.
I climbed into his lap, snaking my hands around his neck. His glare finally melted under my gaze, and his arms encircled my waist. I concentrated, allowing what I felt to pass from me to him.
