See How She Fights (The Chronicles of Izzy #2)(33)

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” I asked.

“Nope,” he said.

“Well, looks like we are ready. Should we grab anyone else?” I asked the guys.

“I think Conall might want to be there,” Kennan said with a bit of reservation.

“Why?” I couldn’t imagine why Conall would want to be there. I mean, we were getting closer but we were still far from being bosom buddies.

“Because you remind him of Cait and he will do anything he can to save you from the fate she suffered,” Kennan said as we left the room.

“Yeah, but after I dropped the whole ‘Cait-isn’t-your-Seer’ bomb on him earlier, I figured he would need some time. You know, to adjust to the idea that he still has someone out there.” I looked between Ian and Kennan as they started snickering. I turned back around to find Conall waiting at the foot of the stairs. “So, adjustment period finished then I presume?”

“No, but I have a duty to perform and I will not neglect it for my own petty problems,” he said, walking halfway up the stairs to meet us.

“You don’t have to come tonight, you know? I have plenty of backup here,” I said, looking at his strained eye. Seriously, it was so hard to look at his one eye. It felt like my vision was always shifted to the periphery.

“I have been assigned to you until this whole mess is over, so I will do what I must to ensure your safety.”

Man, he was just a ball of laughs. He was quite possibly the most literal person I’d ever met. He had started out being all rogue-like but had ended up as serious as his father. That was quite the transformation for just a few days’ time.

“Well, don’t come if you are going to be such a stick in the mud. This is a party, Bro,” Ian said, roughing my hair. We made our way to the bottom of the stairs and I saw Molly standing nearby trying to straighten her hair in the mirror.

“Ready, Molly?” I asked.

“Yep, right as rain,” she said, walking to my side and looping her arm in mine. “We need to talk and soon,” she added in my head so the others couldn’t hear.

“Spill, I need the distraction,” I answered silently.

“We kissed. I mean like fireworks exploding, kissed. Then I got mad at him for kissing me and freaked out. Then he yelled at me,” she said in my mind. She looked at me and her eyes were filled with terror.

“You need to stop yanking the poor guy around, Molly. He loves you, surely you know that,” I said back, eyeing her steadily.

“Not ready to deal with that yet,” she said silently before Kennan interrupted.

“What are you girls talking about?”

We were so busted.

“Nothing,” we said in unison.

“Sure, that’s not suspicious behavior at all,” Kennan said.

“Whatever. Where are we supposed to be going for this thing?” I asked the group. Surely one of them would have some sort of idea where we were supposed to be.

“If you will follow me,” Conall said. He walked down the hall that led to the gardens.

**********





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


I looked around me as we stepped into the garden and saw that a platform had been raised in the center of the winding maze of plants. Situated around the platform were several chairs. I wondered at Isadora’s foresight and questioned if I would ever have half of her talent, or self-control for that matter. Our group made its way down to the platform. The closer we got, the more terrified I became. I didn’t know what to expect, but if Kennan said it hurt then I knew it absolutely did.

“You’ll be fine,” Kennan whispered into my hair.

“I know this has to happen but it doesn’t change the fact that I am terrified. I am kind of freaking out right now,” I said, looking at the platform.

In the center there was some sort of chair. It reminded me of one I had laid upon the one and only time I’d gone to get a massage. It had a hole where I would put my face. I wondered if I would handle being ensconced this time better than I had the last. Next to the chair was a man looking over a table filled with instruments.

As my steps drew me nearer, he turned toward me. I felt the weight of his gaze as it assessed me, determining my worth. Deep in my soul, I felt a pressure that threatened to pry me apart. In the back of my mind, a tickling sensation began. I felt the strangest sense of déjà vu when I looked upon him. I was sure I had met him somewhere. His eyes crinkled on the sides in an almost smile and I felt a wave of serenity pass through me, replacing the pressure that had been there moments before.

I stood, transfixed by the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I gazed up and up into an inhumanly handsome face. He took my breath away. His dark hair hung to his chin and he had the top portion pulled back out of his eyes. He reminded me of an Italian samurai, if such a thing could ever exist.

“You must be Izzy,” the Symbol-smith said with a soothing voice.

“I am, and you are?” I asked, entranced by the man in front of me. This man held magic, of that I was sure. But there was something more there. There was something familiar in the cadence of his voice.

“I am called Aberto, it is a great pleasure to finally meet you, Milady,” he bowed deeply. The word “finally” rang around me as if he had been waiting for a long time.