The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4)(111)

“Are you really going to give up so easily?” Seth asked with a heavy sigh.

“Easily?” Zoelyn snapped. She shook her head in frustration, but refused to look at him. She didn’t want to see what expression he had. “I’ve been working for three weeks with Jala, and another week with you and I still can’t sense anything about the magic or control my abilities at all. I don’t have the talent for it.”

She heard the sound of his chair scraping on the floor and his soft footsteps moving behind her. “You have the talent. All Undrae do. You just need proper motivation,” Seth said in a low voice as he paused behind her chair. She had expected him to move around her, to force her to look him in the eyes, but instead he leaned over her and grabbed her arm in his iron like grip.

“What are you doing?” Zoelyn demanded as he ran a finger down her bare hand. She had taken the gloves off to work with the stones, and the way he was staring at her made her nervous.

Seth smiled at her coldly and grabbed her other arm effectively pinning her in place. “Motivating you,” he whispered. His gaze rose from her to the child across the room. “Legacy, come here.” His voice rose as he beckoned the child over with a nod.

“No,” Zoelyn gasped her eyes flickering to her bare hand and Jala’s son who was already approaching with an innocent look on his face.

“No, Seth, don’t do this,” Zoelyn begged. She struggled in her chair in an attempt to loosen his grip on her arm, but he didn’t budge.

“Legacy do you have faith in Zoey?” Seth asked calmly as the child stopped to watch them with confusion growing in his violet eyes.

Legacy nodded slowly and crossed his arms over his tiny chest. “Are you hurting her, Seth? She doesn’t look happy.” There was a note of reproach in the child’s voice as he continued to watch them.

“Legacy, get back please. Go back to your toys.” Zoelyn’s voice rose with her desperation and Legacy’s expression darkened.

“Zoey is my friend, Seth,” Legacy warned, his eyes narrowing. There was no hint of his age in his tone of voice or the look in his eyes, and Zoelyn knew the boy was dead serious. Legacy had a very fixed idea of right and wrong in his mind, and the expression he was giving Seth left no doubt on how he viewed the current situation.

“I’m not hurting her, Legacy. I’m keeping her from running. She is very afraid right now and she has lost all faith in herself,” Seth explained calmly as he knelt down beside her chair. He still held her arms pinned and by his relaxed posture it was taking very little effort to hold her in place. “Zoey has given up on herself, Legacy. She thinks she is a failure and I disagree. What do you think?”

“Momma says you never give up on what you believe in.” Legacy spoke cautiously and was still watching Seth with suspicion.

The Demon nodded and gave the child another smile. “I want to help her. Will you help me with that?” he asked sweetly. “No, Legacy please don’t,” Zoelyn pleaded. She could feel the beginning of tears welling in her eyes.

“All you have to do is touch her hand, Legacy,” Seth continued in the same sweet voice.

“Momma says never to touch Zoey,” Legacy informed him stubbornly.

“Your momma is right, Legacy, I will hurt you without meaning to,” Zoelyn gasped as she pulled against Seth’s grip once more.

Seth nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Do you remember when your father started teaching you swords, Legacy?” he asked.

“Yes,” Legacy replied hesitantly with a slow nod.

“Do you remember how you did really badly until Finn made you angry and then you started really trying to hit him and you got better?”

Seth prompted.

“He said bad things about my Momma,” Legacy said with a trace of anger in his voice.

“He said that because he wanted you to be angry so you would try to fight in earnest. He didn’t mean those things any more than I want you to get hurt by Zoelyn’s powers. You needed motivation to hit your father, and Zoelyn needs a reason to control her powers. She doesn’t want to hurt you at all, and she will do everything to keep from hurting you,” Seth explained.

“Legacy, I can’t help it. I can’t control the powers. Please, no,” Zoelyn sobbed and shook her head frantically at the child.

“She is scared,” Seth explained in a soothing voice and smiled at Legacy. “We need to show her that she can control her power if she really, really wants to.”