by Jaymin Eve
No one knew how my “mother” managed to get her cracked-out hands on me. There was so much they didn’t know, and it was fucking frustrating.
Ilia shrugged, her red curls bouncing around as she reached up to drag a pillow under her head. “There’s literally not a paper trail or fucking breadcrumb left behind in regard to your adoption. Whoever organized it did a very good job covering it up.”
Of course they did.
Crossing to my drawers, I dug around in my pathetic underwear section and pulled out my old bikini. Asher had said to wear a swimsuit and this was all I had, a ten-buck pair that I’d grabbed from a Walmart.
I wasn’t shy about my body, and Ilia wasn’t paying attention to me, so I shimmied out of my underwear and into the bikini. I threw on a pair of black leggings and a white shirt over the top and slipped my feet into my flip-flops. The weather outside was freezing, with snow forecast, but the beach area was perpetually summer.
“Are you going to put on makeup?” Ilia asked, sitting up. She looked tired, and I wondered if it was Josh or something else keeping her up. “I mean, it doesn’t hurt to look hot for Asher.”
I shook my head. “We’ll probably spend most of our time in the water, and panda eyes are not my best look.”
Ilia nodded, grimacing. “Good thinking. Besides, you really don’t need anything. You’re lucky to have such gorgeous lashes and eyes. And you know how I feel about the freckles...”
I pressed a hand to my chest. “Aw, you’re such a great friend. I mean, if we’re throwing compliments around, you look like you were hand carved by the gods themselves. As does Asher. Which is very disconcerting for someone who’s normal, like me.”
Ilia was up off the bed, her face fierce. “Girl. Friend. Don’t let me hear you say that again. There’s nothing normal about you, and even if there was, you’re not less than Asher. Not less than anyone.”
I opened my mouth, but she cut me off. “I get it, I really do. It’s not even that he’s built like a god, which everyone can agree on, or that he rules the Academy. It’s that he’s an extra powerful supernatural, and you’re still trying to find your way … figure out your race and energy. I get the insecurities. But unless he’s literally out there singlehandedly saving orphans or some shit, he’s no better than the rest of us.”
I shot her a grateful smile. “You’re right. I’m not going to stress about him being out of my league. I mean, we’re only meeting to see if we can explore my water magic affinity. So … nothing to worry about.”
Ilia didn’t say anything, but I could tell from her smile she thought I was full of it.
Something we could both agree on.
17
The sky was a dark, stormy mess as I crossed through the commons and made my way toward the water world. The snow had arrived in the short time I’d been in my room.
As I got closer to the water world, I felt the pull in my blood.
It hadn’t been like this in my old life; being around all of this magic was changing me.
Into what, only time would tell.
I was a little early and there was no sign of Asher when I arrived, so I decided to head inside. The moment I set foot in the glass walkway, I let out a low sigh. Strolling along casually, I didn’t think, I just enjoyed the cool air and endless blue lights splashing across me. It was only when I reached the doorway, stopping just outside of it, that I admitted to myself that I wanted to try stepping through again.
Not being perfect used to bother me a lot. Like … a lot. It was why I hadn’t blinked an eye at Jesse and his eating preferences. I was that child who lined all my pencils in a perfect row and followed the same routine when stepping on the cracked tiles in our kitchen. A shrink would have probably commented on my need to control the few things I could in my life, because I lived in an out-of-control environment.
Either way, my OCD tendencies had been beaten out of me by the time I reached my teen years, and eventually my mind let it go and allowed me to flow with the never-ending chaos of life. But, occasionally, a little tic would return, and not making it through the doorway had been bothering me.
“Hey there, door of Sonaris,” I said conversationally. I hadn’t had a chance to do any research on the god yet—the schoolwork I had already was keeping me busy. I’d have to wing it. “So … about the other day. I’m not sure what I did wrong with your door, but I promise I mean no harm. From a water-loving chick to a water-loving god, I’d appreciate if you let me in.”
And I was probably officially crazy. In my old life, I hadn’t been religious; talking to God was not something I ever did. But three days into this new “supernatural” world and suddenly I was a believer.
There was no answer, which was a good thing—an answer would have actually caused a heart attack—so I pushed forward toward the dark, arched door. It was scary doing this on my own—if something went wrong there was no help. But this new life meant I had to try and be brave, at least some of the time. And it wasn’t like darkness was new to me; magic was just a new version of it that I had to learn and understand.
When I hit the doorway the sensation was the same as before, a cloying jelly that choked off my senses and sent panic fluttering through my veins. I pushed myself for longer than I had yesterday. I mean, it felt like an eternity before I backed out, choking and coughing.
Shaking my head, I paused at the sight of Asher, one arm propped against the wall, doing that long lean that had my eyes travelling the length of him. He wore just a pair of board shorts and a fitted black shirt, the edges of some symbolic ink extending down his right biceps to his forearm. It was all black and geometric, and I tried not to drool over the way it bisected his muscled and tanned skin. He looked like a surfer, all sun-kissed and golden.
“Almost made it that time,” he said, straightening and moving closer.
Wiping at my face to try and dispel the lingering feel of jelly, I coughed to clear my throat. “Almost?”
Asher nodded. “Yep, you basically disappeared from sight completely. You need to trust in yourself … in the journey.”
This time he didn’t sound condescending, but I still got pissed off for no reason whatsoever. “Maybe I didn’t want to be as awesome as Asher and achieve this in my first week!” I put my hands on my hips and glared. “Showing everyone else up.”
His dimples appeared, and my heart started to pound hard enough that I could hear it in my ears. “Maddison James, you’ve got a lot to learn.”
What the fuck did that mean?
He waved his hand and cleared the doorway.
“How do you do that?” I demanded.
His dimples disappeared along with his smile, but the twinkle remained in his eyes. “When we’re friends, I’ll tell you.”
A laugh escaped me, and with it came the knowledge that my anger toward him was more about my frustration with my own limitations, and only a little bit because of this insane attraction I felt toward him.
“When we become friends? What? We’re not friends yet?” I slammed my hand dramatically against my chest. “You’ve wounded me. I drew our initials in my friendship tree. I’m going to have to cut that entire branch down now.”
I strode past him, entering the doorway without an issue. Stupid Asher and his stupid magic abilities. He caught up, and I was thankful he didn’t mention my “friendship tree.” Some days I needed to just keep my mouth shut.
When we stepped onto the beach, sunlight streaming across my skin, warming me, I kicked off my flip-flops and ran toward the water. Everything about this place felt so real. From the whooshing crash of waves, to the seagulls in the distance, and the scent of briny water…
“For someone raised as a human,” Asher said, when we were both facing the water, “you’ve adapted remarkably well to the supernatural world.”
I shrugged, and a chuckle escaped. “I keep waiting to freak out, like all the weird here will eventually overwhelm me and I’ll wonder if I’ve lost my mind. But it never comes. I just
get up and go out into this new crazy world and love every second of it. Is there something wrong with me? Should I be reacting in a different way?”
Asher stared out across the water. “Maybe you’ve just finally found a place to belong.”
My throat got tight, because he’d nailed it. Growing up with my fucked-up life, I’d always counted my blessings: I managed to avoid rape, choosing who I gave my body to; I managed to avoid selling myself, choosing to wait tables for stupid hours while living in crappy shoebox apartments; I managed to avoid gangs and violence, having no interest in saving the bad boy. I’d had more than a few friends over the years who’d tried to save the bad boy. All of them got dead, because some people are beyond saving.
So, all in all, I considered my upbringing a sad but not totally horrific set of circumstances. My scars were so much lighter than most people in the same life as me. But, having experienced this new world for less than a week, I felt the absolute depth of everything I’d been missing out on. It gave me a new determination; I was going to fight for this new life. Fight and win.
“Want to try the water thing again?” Asher asked, startling me from the darkness creeping through my head.
Swallowing roughly, I nodded. “Yes, let’s do it. My power was supposed to have been unlocked this morning, but Louis was delayed, so we’re still working with … one arm tied behind my back.”
“That’s okay. It didn’t seem to matter on Wednesday.”
Asher took a step forward, and as visible energy rose around him, a chill ran down my arms. When his bare feet hit the water, that chill increased, spreading across my torso and down my legs. “I’m going to try and use my energy to release some of yours,” Asher said slowly, his voice deeper, a stronger accent creeping in. “Water magic is in my blood. I can control this element in almost all ways, including but not limited to drowning someone with the very water in their bodies.”
That should have scared the shit out of me, because I knew next to nothing about this scary, enigmatic supernatural. I didn’t know if he was a good guy or one of those bad boys in need of saving. But … I wasn’t scared. I was enthralled and thrilled and trying my best not to step forward and drag my fingertips across his skin.
The draw … it had to be his magic. That was the only thing that made sense.
Asher lifted his arms and water rose with him, streaming around in whirls and arcs, following his command. Holymotherfuckingshit. Like … if I’d ever seen something sexier than that, I couldn’t recall it.
Asher started to talk, and it wasn’t in English.
“What—what does that mean?” I choked out as I stumbled closer, the water kissing the edge of my toes.
Asher grinned, those perfect white teeth almost predatory. “It means, get your ass in the water.”
A cool sensation licked across my feet and I almost sighed. The contrast from the heat of the sun to the icy water was delicious. The tingles were there again, but less forceful this time. Like they knew me now, and this was just a greeting. To get to Asher, I had to push through the whirls of water around him.
Now I understood why we needed a swimsuit. Stepping back to the sand, I shrugged out of the tights and shirt, checked my boobs were still behaving themselves in the top, and then strode forward. The bikini was not a skimpy one, no ass cheeks in sight, but still … I was quite exposed. This didn’t freak me out, but I was slightly uncomfortable.
Asher’s eyes locked on mine, and it might have been an illusion of the sun and water, but I thought the silver had almost completely melted through the green now. I was thankful that he didn’t rake his gaze across me, while also immediately wondering if maybe he thought my body wasn’t worth noticing. Yeah, I was a complicated mess.
Fuck it. I was here to learn about my magic, not worry about my figure. Stepping forward with more confidence, I focused on the ocean and those tingles in my blood. Water completely soaked me as I pushed closer to him, and sent my hair flying around in pink waves. Stopping a few inches away, I shivered, and not from the cold. There was so much energy around Asher right now—even as a clueless person, I could feel it.
“Is the heat rising in your body, the heat of power?” he asked. “I know you’re learning about it in your beginner magic classes, that foreign heat that swirls and changes as you manipulate the energy.”
I nodded, because I did feel it. It was much less than that night I’d shoved a full-grown man across the room, but it was definitely there. “I feel it,” I said softly.
Asher held his hand out to me, and with only a brief hesitation I moved forward and took it. Almost immediately my body locked up and a cry burst from my lips before I could stop it. I tried to jerk my hand away, but we seem to have been fused together.
“What is happening?” I screamed.
Asher looked fierce, visible power flowing around him.
He didn’t release me. “Your power is fighting mine,” he bit out through gritted teeth. “The battle … you’re strong.”
I tried to free myself again. “Let me go!” I demanded.
Asher shook his head and blinked, like he was breaking free from a trance, and then he severed our connection in one swift movement. This sent me flying back and I landed way out in the deep water. As I sank into the darkness, I struggled to get my brain back online; everything was out of order, and my thoughts were all confused.
A shadow zipped across the front of my vision, and for a moment I panicked. I was out in a magic ocean with magic creatures, and while Asher had said that nothing in here would hurt us, fear isn’t always rational. The shadow zipped around me again, and the heat that was still in my center burned hotter. Then the world became crystal clear. Like I was wearing goggles … only I wasn’t.
What in the…?
That had never happened before.
The shadow, which was no longer a shadow in my new vision, came closer. It was a dolphin, only different to any that I’d seen in pictures—light pink in color, with a longer snout and large, intelligent eyes.
Kinda looked like a Pokemon character, but … you know, not cartoon.
It pushed closer to me, and I found myself reaching out toward it. I had no fear now. That had faded the moment my power turned this dark and murky world into a bright and clear wonderland.
The dolphin was soft and hard at the same time … rubbery. I stroked one finger along its side. Movement from nearby drew my attention, and I almost sucked in a lungful of water as Asher lazily drifted toward us. He arched a brow at the dolphin, and I noticed that it was now situated right by my side, almost under my arm. My lungs were starting to protest, so I leaned down and pressed my lips to its nose before kicking my legs to rise up through the crystal-clear waters. Light steadily grew around us until I broke the surface.
Asher joined me not even a split second later.
“So,” I said, casually, both of us bobbing in the swell. “That got weird fast.”
Asher let out a low laugh, and I tried not to watch the water sliding down his face. He looked good wet.
“It was interesting. But the most interesting part is how your power and mine appear to be enemies. I’d really like to know why.”
“Maybe it’s the lock on my power yours didn’t like?” I said, thinking about it. “I’m feeling a little different now. You cracked the cage for sure … I can finally feel that heat.”
Asher regarded me for a beat. “I didn’t crack it enough. Most of your power is still locked down. But one thing is clear: you’re strong. Eventually your power would have shredded its prison.”
That was basically what Ilia had told me, that each year my power surges increased and eventually I would explode and hurt humans.
“I think we’ve pushed you enough for tonight,” Asher said.
Exhaustion hit me so hard that I almost went under the water. Asher reached for me, then hesitated, and a horrible thought occurred to me. “Will that happen every time we touch for an extended period of time?” I asked, trying to
hide my disappointment.
Not being able to touch Asher shouldn’t be a huge deal. I mean, he was virtually a stranger to me, but I’d never liked restrictions. Or unfair rules.
“We’ve touched before,” I reminded both of us. I’d literally crashed into his arms the first time I met him.
“I remember,” he said, “and I felt a reaction both times, but it was mostly through clothing, or brief contact. This was different.”
“Is that why you singled me out in class?” I asked. “Because there’s some sort of power reaction between us? You’re not the level of asshole I expected, which makes me think you’re being nice for a reason…?”
The accusation spilled out, and I wanted to slowly sink under the water, because what the hell was wrong with me?
Asher threw his head back and laughed. “I think that’s the first time someone has called me an asshole to my face. Surprisingly amusing.”
Thank the supernatural gods he hadn’t been offended. “Sorry, I sometimes talk before I think. It’s a problem I’m not working on.”
Mirth danced across his face. “I’m pretty sure I would have noticed you even if our powers weren’t colliding,” he said.
The heat in my body increased, and this time it had nothing to do with my energy. Then, with a hooded stare, his humor wiped clean, Asher nodded toward the sand. “We should get out of here,” he said.
It took me a moment to pull myself together, and then I was following.
18
That night I couldn’t sleep. Images ran through my mind: Asher’s hand on mine, the energy between us, the clarity under the water. Confusion and lust and heat kept me tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning.
I finally drifted off around 3:00 A.M., only to wake five hours later to a heavy pounding on my door. “Girl, get your ass up. We’re going shopping!”
I groaned and rolled over. “Go away,” I shouted back, my voice muffled against the pillow.