The silence in the car is deafening. The tension, palatable. Do I care?
No.
I don’t. I’m precisely where I want to be. Going precisely where I want to go. With precisely who I want to be with.
My head is on Gabriel’s lap as we drive away from the smoldering wreck that was once The Orchard. We’re leaving it behind for good. I’ve left a crater in the ground in its place, and in the distance, we can still see the smoke in the sky. We had no time at all to even attempt to put it out. Not that there was anything left to put out. I’d seen to that. Helicopters and sirens descended on us within minutes. We had to run. My fire is a vibrant red. I couldn’t change it once it was made. We leaped into various cars and fled into the night.
Gabriel’s hand runs through my ash filled hair as I lay across the back seat of Grayson’s Mercedes. I’m utterly exhausted and my muscles ache from Theo’s torture. Up front, Hendrix is driving. Grayson’s in the passenger seat with his elbow resting on the door and his attention far from here. He watches the sunrise, deep in thought and occasionally peers up into the sky to see if we’re being followed by any of the helicopters, but we’re not. He then uses the rear-view mirror to look at me cradled in his brothers loving arms. There’s something ticking over in his dark mind. I can tell in the way he looks at me. I roll over and bury my face into Gabriel’s stomach. I lay still. Tired. Aching. But immensely satisfied. Connor and Billy are in the car behind and all around us in various vehicles are the Nomad survivors. And a couple of Traitor prisoners, too.
No Theo though.
Everyone was thrown backwards through the air by the sheer intensity of my explosion. He got out of there and left his men behind while everyone was distracted. He was terrified, Gabriel said. He took one look at what I was doing and fled.
I, on the other hand, strolled out of that inferno like a demon leaving hell. And the look of horror on Grayson’s face as he took in the sight of his precious mansion smothered in my fire was a little slice of heaven.
He cut me off from my magic and threatened to kill me. To kill Amara. To tear us all apart for what I’d done. I’d never seen him so unhinged and unrestrained. It wasn’t my fault, I told him. I lost control. I couldn’t help it. My fire… it was just too strong. I warned him. I told him that the house wasn’t safe. That we were at risk. And look what happened. Theo tortured me. Not my fault. I did what I had to do to survive. He grabbed Billy’s gun and pointed it straight at my head, and for a second, I really thought he was going to pull the trigger. Gabriel stood between us and surprisingly, so did Hendrix. But it was the distant wailing of sirens that snapped him out of his rage. The fire reflected in his eyes and ash fell slowly from the sky like flakes of filthy snow. Then we turned and ran.
I think I’m getting better at lying.
After a while, Gabriel slides his fingers along my arm and leans down to kiss my temple. I look up at him, all blue-eyed and devoted. But a little sadness lingers there. Disappointment too, I think.
‘She okay?’ Grayson asks.
‘You mean after you almost shot her in the face?’
‘I was angry. I would never have pulled the trigger.’
‘She’s asleep,’ Gabriel lies, looking me straight in the eye. ‘She’s completely spent.’
‘She did that on purpose,’ Grayson says darkly. ‘She destroyed our home intentionally.’
‘She did no such thing,’ Gabriel replies, as if that’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. ‘She saved us tonight. Theo came at us with an army and if she hadn’t have been there, we’d be the only ones left. In chains at his camp having our fingers chopped off.’
‘What? Instead of on the run with the authorities descending on what’s left of my house which was clearly destroyed by otherworldly forces?’ There’s a long silence and I watch Gabriel locked in a stare with his brother. ‘For centuries, we’ve managed to stay hidden. She’s been out of her uncle’s’ cellar for less than six months, and she’s more than likely just exposed us all. That power is too much for her. She’s not emotionally stable enough to think clearly in regard to using it,’ Grayson says.
‘She didn’t mean to destroy the house like that. It was an accident. Remember when she had a nightmare and set fire to her room?’
‘She didn’t lose control this time. I know it. She destroyed that place with precision and malice.’
‘That’s not true.’
I hear Grayson turn in his leather seat. ‘You heard her laughing,’ he says quietly. ‘I know you did because I heard it too. That laugh, echoing out from the blaze. The same one we heard when she killed the Traitors at the camp. Just as her hair started turning. And we heard it again tonight.’
Gabriel shuffles forwards a little, anger piercing not only his tone but his entire body. ‘The Nomads would probably all be dead if it wasn’t for her. She was tortured mercilessly by our father tonight. So much so, she manifested a new realm of power. And you know the first thing she did? She saved us. All of us. Before getting herself to safety or defending herself, she sent that lightning down to the Traitors to save us. And your way of thanking her, was to threaten her best friend and attempt to blow her head off. Have you any idea the pain she must have had to endure for it to bring about a manifestation? I’m only glad that it wasn’t you that got to hurt her in order to make that manifestation happen.’
‘Don’t get me started on that manifestation,’ he hisses. ‘That was something else entirely. She conjured lightning from the sky, Gabriel! From the sky! She didn’t just create it. She summoned it.’
‘She’s the Arcane, Grayson. She’s not like the rest of us. She has unlimited access to every aspect of magic. Once manifested, she can use it all. Maybe you should remember that next time you threaten her or the people she loves.’
‘She turns on me, I’ll destroy you all. I promise you-’
‘Yeah yeah. I know,’ Gabriel murmurs tiredly. Well, we have heard it a hundred times before. ‘We haven’t seen an Arcane since Rebecca. And I’m sure you remember what she was capable of. Lilly’s the same. She is the most powerful person alive. We have no idea the full potential of an Arcane. Rebecca wasn’t exactly a sharer, was she?’
‘Lilly is a Broken Arcane.’
‘I’m fully aware.’
‘Her personality is in two,’ Grayson insists, and I know he’s looking at me. ‘I know that of all the things you fear, her giving into the Break frightens you most of all. We lived with a Broken brother for centuries. When Tobias disappeared, we all slept a little easier knowing he wasn’t under our roof any longer. Imagine a Broken Arcane! I’m telling you, Lilly cannot control what she can create. And the more power she gains, the bigger risk we are all in if she turns. We can’t trust her.’
‘Speak for yourself.’ Gabriel sits back and looks down at me. ‘I trust her completely. I know she is strong enough to not give in to her Break. She’s the strongest person I have ever known.’ God, I absolutely adore him. ‘But saying that, she loves me. Even if she did Break, she wouldn’t hurt me. You…’ He tuts, shaking his head. ‘Well, you she hates. And she has every reason to. As do I, Brother. Maybe if you backed off, gave her back her freedom and showed her some respect, she wouldn’t be such a risk to you. Because one day, she will get her magic back from you. And you better hope she’s merciful. I sure as hell wouldn’t be.’
Gabriel is locked in a stare with him. Unblinking. Unfazed. Strong and confident.
‘You know as well as I do,’ Grayson says darkly. ‘She is capable of real cruelty when she believes it’s justified. Broken or not. That nasty streak Toby put there, coupled with all that magic and her Broken side clawing to get out? It’s a disaster waiting to happen.’
‘Any cruelty she hands to you is well deserved.’
‘And when you do something she deems as a betrayal, what then? She said she wasn’t staying in the house for a year. The next day she reduces our home to rubble. All our possessions. Priceless pieces of art.’
‘It’s just stuff, Grayson. Everything I care about is in my arms.’ He tightens his hold on me.
‘What about our mother’s stuff? Hmm? Her jewelry. Her clothes. Her library. It’s all gone. It’s never coming back. Our last link to the woman who raised us. Loved us. Your girlfriend turned it all to ash because she’s in a rush to kill herself and do a spell she simply isn’t ready to do. And now look where we are. Homeless. Out in the open. Defenseless. How can we finish translating the journal now? Our books are in the wind. Literally. It’s a good job I had the journal and what we have translated so far, on my person tonight.’
I see a flicker of doubt in Gabriel’s eyes. And I feel a swell of guilt and regret in my chest.
‘She didn’t do it intentionally,’ he concludes, less absolute than he was a moment ago. ‘She wouldn’t put everyone at risk like this. She wouldn’t-’
‘That girl is dark and dangerous,’ Grayson tells him. ‘One wrong word. One misguided touch. And she will turn on you.’
‘You have no idea who she is. None.’
‘Those are the words that her uncle said to me moments before she burnt him alive and watched with a smile on her face, Gabriel. You weren’t there the night we found her, I was. I saw her. The real her. I know she’s been through hell. Things have happened to her I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Truly. But he was right. She has a darkness in her. And she is dangerous. Branding her was honestly the safest thing I could have done for all of us. And you better help me convince her of that before her temper and desire for vengeance destroys us all.’ He finishes the conversation, not willing to discuss it any further.
The leather in Grayson’s seat creaks as he turns to talk to Hendrix, giving him instructions on where to turn next. They engage in a mumbled conversation about the journey ahead, and Gabriel lowers his face to me.
After reading the guilt in my eyes, he sighs, leans down and gently kisses the top of my head.
‘I’m sorry,’ I whisper.
‘No. You’re not.’ His eyes go black. ‘Go to sleep, my love,’ he orders in a quiet whisper before I can protest.
Everything goes black as I fall into a deep and heavy sleep.
