Page 27 of Gates of Rapture
He ran toward her and her heart warmed up.Was this Thorne?He actually smiled.He was holding her in his arms and twirling her in a circle until her legs and fairly full skirt flowed away from her.She must have looked like a large flag.
When at last she was begging him to stop, he set her down and he was grinning from ear to ear.She quickly adjusted her clothes, pulling the waist of her skirt up and the hem of her top down.
Leto moved up next to her.She heard him giving orders to Gideon and his men, but Grace was focused on her brother.“Thorne, you look so different—and can I say, wow, you actually look happy.”
Thorne extended his arm to Marguerite.“Iamhappy, and here’s the reason why.”
Marguerite led with her belly.Her hair was still short and very blond, which seemed to enhance her large brown eyes.She looked adorable.Grace greeted her with a hug, though she had to lean down to do it.They’d been cellmates in the Convent, and good friends.She’d missed Marguerite.
Thorne’s arm was immediately around hisbreh’s waist, part protective, part possessive, and a big part just wonderful affection.Marguerite put her hand on Thorne’s.
“So you’ve come home,” Marguerite said.“I heard you were on Fourth.”
“I was.”
“What’s it like up there?”
“Beautiful.I stayed at Beatrice’s palace.It was similar to Endelle’s palace but practical, with more hallways and private rooms, a lovely and very large central courtyard with plants from all over the world.And a hanging garden off the second-story balconies.”She felt shy again, since everyone was staring at her.“Oh, I guess I forgot the most important part.Many of the homes, like Beatrice’s, float in the air.”
“No shit,” Marguerite said.She then patted her belly.“Sorry, kids.”She glanced back at Grace and lowered her voice.“We’re trying to curb warrior-speak.But, hey, I’m so glad you’re back.We all are.”
“It’s good to be back.”
Thorne brought Fiona forward next.She was the gold variety of obsidian flame, the first to discover her power.Jean-Pierre and Arthur rounded out the half circle on the left, next to Thorne, with Leto on the right.
As Fiona drew close, Grace felt her obsidian power begin to vibrate and rise through the bottoms of her feet as though originating from deep in the earth.
“What’s happening?”Thorne asked.
Since Marguerite was already close, Grace glanced at each of them.Power vibrated from one to the next, flowing and rippling.As though they’d always done so, they touched shoulders and formed a circle.
“Oh, the babies are kicking like crazy now,” Marguerite murmured.
Grace’s power really began to flow, and she knew it was the same for both Fiona and Marguerite.Without warning, their powers combined, though Grace could tell hers was weak since it still hadn’t been fully released.She had a sense that the men had moved back a couple of steps, taking it in.
Power swirled and rose.She looked up and three flames of color twirled together; gold, red, and blue.
But the sensation began to feel uncomfortable for Grace and not quite right.“No,” she said.A headache crawled up the back of her skull and nearly imploded her brain.“No,” she said louder.“Please stop.”
“I… can’t,” Marguerite whispered.
“Jean-Pierre,” Fiona called out.“Help us.”
But it was Thorne who pushed between Marguerite and Fiona and broke the circle.All that power that had been flowing around and building now seemed to flow into him.
Thorne ended up glowing, but apparently that wasn’t unusual for his version of obsidian flame.Fiona, too, would glow.Grace remembered stories about Fiona—that when she was first learning to use her power, she would light up the Militia Warrior grid room in Apache Junction Two with her golden aura.
At least Grace could breathe again.
She stepped away from Thorne to look at him, to enjoy the silver light of his aura.She hadn’t seen him since his own obsidian power had emerged so many months ago.He lifted his arms wide and turned in a circle.“This feels like heaven.”
Grace’s headache worsened so that she half fell, half collapsed to a sitting position on the sawdust that covered the event grounds.Leto immediately dropped to his knees beside her.“What’s wrong?”
“My head.It really hurts.”
“Gideon,” Leto called out sharply.“Get one of the healers over here.Now.”
“You’re barking,” she said.She turned her head slightly and looked up at him, offering him a smile.
