Page 12 of Silver
Niam blushed and simply stated that it was private.
Okay, then.
Chapter 10
Silver
I was going to kill Xarius and Niam.
The bruises on Wilston’s back were horrible. I knew logically that they hadn’t known. I had been the one teaching them about wards, so the fault lay with me. But like hell would I ever admit that I was to blame for Wilston’s current state.
“It’s not so bad,” Wilston said after I’d been silent for a few seconds, assessing the damage. We sat in the back of the van as we drove to our next location for the night, only stopping for food. Now that we had Wilston, we needed to keep moving until the other magesshowed up. When we got far enough away from the last known spot they’d found us at, we could stay for longer at one place, which I looked forward to.
“You’re only saying that because you can’t feel it,” I reminded him, speaking softly because he didn’t deserve my snappy attitude.
He was quiet again, so I continued my perusal of his body, something I very much enjoyed. He was sitting cross legged with his back to me. I stopped my wandering eyes when I caught the slightest sound of a sniffle. Was he crying?
I crawled around his body on my knees, and saw to my horror that he was in fact crying. With a shaking hand, I grabbed his chin and forced his gaze to meet mine. “You’re crying,” I said, but he must’ve seen something else in my surprised face than I intended. I slowly saw his eyes close off and then he looked away from me, shutting himself off completely.
Did he think I was judging him for showing his emotions? I would never do that! But Wilston was different and behind the quiet man, lay someone who’d been hurt. He was battling with his own demons just like Xari, Niam, and I.
I’d made so much progress with him just to cause a new wall to appear between us. Not really thinking, but acting out of desperation, and fear of losing him, I straddled his lap, forcing his startled gaze back on mine. I whispered, “Please don’t hide your feelings from me. I hate to see you cry, but I’d hate it even more if I wasn’t there to help you when you’re sad.”
He blinked, looking surprised and vulnerable. The leaders had a lot to pay for when this was over. I knew what kind of shit I’d had to deal with, but Wilston, he likely hadn’t had anyone in his corner.
Not wanting to make him even more uncomfortable with the eye contact, I hugged him, hoping some physical comfort would ease the tears away. I knew he wasn’t hurting right now, pain wise, but I still held on lightly, not wanting to push Niam’s powers.
We stayed like that for so long, until we slowly started to settle down, cuddling on their bed instead of sitting. I had my legs wrapped around him and his head cradled to my chest, as I ran my fingers through his hair. His tears had dried, but we still stayed together. It seemed neither of us was ready to let go of the other just yet.
Somehow, we fell asleep, Xarius and Niam waking us up when we’d reached our next spot for the night. They didn’t say anythingabout us snuggling up together, just woke us up and told us they were making some food soon. Ever since I not so subtly told Xari that he could make the forest part for the van to allow us further in for safety reasons, he’d done it every time. It wasn’t easy driving in forested areas with a van and then the teardrop trailer, too. But now it was. The trees moved out of our way, the ground got smoother, and as we passed through easily, the forest returned to how it looked before, once we’d passed.
We both sat up, sharing a smile. It was nice to see Wilston open up more, and I hoped he would continue to trust me enough to not hold his feelings back around me.
When I exited the van, inspiration hit. Looking around we were in a perfect spot for a longer stay. There was a lake next to us, not a huge one, but big enough to hold fish we could eat. And with Xari’s earth magic, he could make any plant grow wherever he wanted, giving us plenty of opportunities for fruits and vegetables. And we had clean, fresh water, too, since Niam mastered his water magic perfectly.
“Guys,” I said, drawing their attention. “We should make this our safe spot for the next week.” Xari shrugged while Niam noddedexcitedly. He was tired of driving and we all knew they needed time to practice their magic more.
“We can finally bond with Snowflake and Leon!” Niam exclaimed, his excitement exactly as I’d predicted. Snowflake and Leon were summoned. They were invisible but we knew it was them who had caused both of their masters off their feet.
Xari laughed. “You can be visible here.” They became visible and started checking out the location.
“Xari,” I said, looking around the area, an idea forming in my mind. “I need you to make a stone fence around the space we need to be safe in. Include the lake in the enclosure,” I said, gesturing around us. “If you can make the walls three times your own height and all smooth so no one can climb them. Then you and Niam will ward the whole thing and make us invisible and silent to those outside the ward.”
Niam looked both impressed and worried as he looked me up and down. “Was your family, like, dangerous or something? You seem to know so much about hiding things.”
I laughed, picturing my grandma. She was a fierce woman, but dangerous wasn’t the word I would use. Vengeful, certainly. But dangerous, no.
Deciding to remain mysterious, I neglected to answer Niam’s question and instead focused on the other things we would need. “Niam, can you check the lake water? I want to know if it holds fish we can eat and if it’s safe for us to bathe in.”
Niam just nodded and walked over to the lake, using his water magic to scan every inch of the lake.
Wilston came over and stood beside me. “Want us to make dinner now that you’ve put the others to work?” I smirked. The hug had worked. I saw much more personality in Wilston now than I had before.
“I actually have something we need to do. Did you experience your body glowing before we reached you?” I asked. He shook his head in confusion. Removing the locket from my hoodie, I said, “We need to reset the locket so it’s ready for when the next mages arrive.”
“Okay. What should I do?” He didn’t seem worried, more pleased to be helping out.
“Just stand still,” I replied, removing the chain from my neck and placing the locket against his heart. His body lit up, and I knew I’d been right all along. His light awakened the light inside of me, and they sort of connected. I then remembered what Niam had said about a pull between him and Xarius. I felt it then. Like my whole body was lit up by a fire that only Wilston could put out. It was instinctual.
