Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters) (31 page)

But that wasn’t true. She selfishly wanted him to stay.

“
Leave?” Peter’s voice came from behind her. “No. You said every time you’re in pain and you see me, the pain is gone.” He took her arm and turned her around until they were face to face. “So what if I can protect you against him? I’m prepared to take on whatever I need.”

She
searched his eyes. He seemed so confident. “I thought this would be harder. I never expected you to take my being an Enchanter so—so calmly. I feel like you’re letting me off the hook too easily and I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“You worry too much.”

“I don’t want to be the reason if you die.”

“You won’t be
.”

“
You saw us kill someone. Don’t you see what we are? We’re hunters.”

“You kill
bad Enchanters.”

“You are so stubborn.”

“Yeah. Think we’ve established that we both are. But I’m not backing down.”

“I just want you to be safe
. That’s all. I can’t bring you in this.”

“It’s a little late, don’t you think
? Besides, you think I’m just going to let you take me back home and that be it? Just go about my life when I know you are in danger. Your mom had to convince her Aureole that she and your dad belonged together. You can do the same.” 

Her lips pressed tightly together
and her eyes narrowed at him. “No.”

“You know I’m not going to leave you unprotected.”

“No,” she insisted, but she felt her chin quiver.

“Why are you fighting this so much
? This is the only way.”

“Because I love you, Peter,” she
said. “And I can’t stand the idea of you getting hurt.” She sighed as tears fell down her cheek.

Peter reached
out, brushed them away, and his brown eyes held hers. He placed his cool hands on either side of her face. “When we kissed, it was like…like an explosion. It was so powerful and I just knew it was right. I love you so much that I will fight and die for you. We’re in this together.”

Another tear fell.

“It won’t work,
” she said. “I would have to convince Thomas and Gillian. They don’t exactly like the idea of you, at all.”

He shrugged
. “Savina and Colden would have the final word right? You said they knew your parents loved each other. They can sense it with us, too. We just need to get their approval.”

“Savina told me to stay away from you. And I didn’t.”
She removed his hands from her face, and turned back toward the waves. They grew, but were inviting to her.

“She won’t hurt you,” he said. “Or me.
Can’t we talk about this somewhere else? I think we should go. It looks like a bad storm is coming.”

“It’s okay.
”

Ava
wanted to show him what she could do. If he wasn’t afraid, he really needed to see. She slipped off her shoes, and then eased her feet into the cold water.

“What are you doing
? Ava, don’t go in there.”

Using her mind, the water quickly turned warm, as if turning a knob to hot
, just like the day at the waterfall. She twisted around and held out her hand for him.

“
Did you mean every word you just said?” she asked.

“Of course I did.” He moved closer.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you.”

“
Do you trust me?”

“Yes, I do, but come on
. Seriously, it’s getting worse out here.”

“
Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“I need to show you something.”

Th
e wind whipped through her hair. The water crashed against sand, and as it retreated to the ocean, her feet sank in the wet sand.

“
That water has got to be freezing.”

“
Take off your shoes, and take my hand.”

“What are we doing?”

“You’ll see. Walk slowly into the water.”

He stepped into the freezing water, and
caught her hand, never taking his eyes off her. His hair was messy from the wind. She focused her energy to pass into him.

“Wow,
it’s warm. Are you doing that?”

She could feel herself smile. “Yes.”

“
It’s amazing.” His voice shook. “But shouldn’t we get out before we drown from the waves?”

“No.”

A wave rolled toward them, and grew. Ava forced it to grow higher, making a rogue wave. She held it up for a moment, and then let it collapse around them. She felt Peter tremble.

“
You want to be a part of this? Then you have to see what I’m capable of doing. Come.” Ava slowly moved deeper into the water. She wanted to share all of this with him, even though it was stupid and reckless.

“
Ava,” he wavered.

“Trust me.
”

He nodded
, tightly held her hand, and then moved with her deeper until the water was waist high. She felt him relax.

“
It’s like the water moves with you. It’s so calm around you, but so violent everywhere else.”

She pulled him closer,
until their faces were just inches apart. The water began swirling, faster and faster until it rose above them, like walls. The water spun around them like a whirlpool, barely sprinkling on them. It was like their private bubble.

“This is so unreal,” he said
, watching the water.

“What are you thinking?”

“Wondering how you’re doing this.”

She
tilted her head upwards, and closed her eyes. Their lips touched, igniting the thunderous explosion of her heart, sending the blood throughout her body like lava from a volcano. He held her closer and his lips matched the urgency of hers.

The drive home was rather quiet. The sun had set and the only light that guided her was the bright silver moon that peeked through the many broken clouds. Peter slept in the passenger seat. Sleep tugged at her body and she realized she hadn’t really slept since two days prior.

Ava knew the others were angry
. She didn’t have to have a necklace to know that. Her cell phone showed several missed calls and messages from Melissa. She didn’t even want to think about what Savina and Colden would do to her. She would take Peter home first, and then talk to her friends, though she wasn’t sure what to say to make them understand.

The kiss, the ocean, creating the rogue wave had left Ava on some sort of high. Every bit of it was exhilarating. She couldn’t deny that Peter strengthened her,
and that she deeply loved him. It was unbelievable how easily he accepted her supernatural world. Maybe he was like her father in that he was willing to give up his human life for her. The gesture awed her, but it still left her feeling guilty.

“If you keep chewing on your lip, you’ll make it bleed,” Peter
said, stirring from his sleep.

She sighed. “Sorry
.”

“Why are you still so tense?”

“I’m trying to figure out what to say to them.”

“
Tell them the truth. We’ll make them understand.”

“You’re not coming with me.”

He let out a frustrated groan. “Yes, I am. It will be better if I’m there.”

“
You can’t come. What if Thomas attacks you? Or Gillian tries to manipulate you into hurting yourself? You know she made Melissa almost slash her wrists open.”

“
Stop fighting me,” he said. She could sense irritation in his voice. “Don’t you think Gillian or Thomas would have at least tried something on me by now?”

“That doesn’t mean
they won’t tonight.”

“If you take me home, I’m only going to follow you again.”

Ava shook her head.

How
was she even going to do this? Could Peter still become an Enchanter if two members of the Aureole disagreed? And what about Savina? Would she even listen to Ava? She had failed the mission. Broken her oath and her coven. Prevented her from erasing Peter’s memory.

She felt
Peter’s hand take hers. “We can do this, Ava.”

“If there’s any sign of danger, will you promise to run?”

“Not without you.”

“You’re impossible.
”

He squeezed her hand.
“It will be fine.”

How could he be so sure?

“Stop doubting me, please,” he said.

“Are you reading my thoughts?”

“No, but I can read your face like a book. I know what you’re thinking when I say certain things because you bite your lip or you furrow your eyebrows.”

He knew her well
.

Moments of silence passed
. She didn’t know what Peter was thinking, but she stayed nervous as if her insides would give way at any moment from the stress. She wanted to do this, but was afraid.

Ava
drove into the woods, down the narrow path, through the trees. She tried keeping her breathing normal, but once her necklace glowed, she knew her friends perceived her emotions.

She
edged closer to the cabin, shifted the car in park, and killed the engine.

“
Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked.

He leaned over and softly brushed his lips against hers. “Yes. I’m sure.”

With a nod, she got out, and
they walked hand-in-hand to the door. She took a deep breath and slowly turned the knob and opened it.

“Ava, where have you been?”
Gillian stood from the couch with Jeremy. “Savina was looking for you.” Her glower quickly faded into surprise once she saw Peter. “What the hell is he doing here?”

Melissa and Lance moved closer as Peter came fully into view beside Ava. She clutched his hand so tight.
Her heart pounded so fast she thought it would knock a hole in her chest.

“
I need to talk to all of you.”

“
What happened?” Thomas’ss voice came from down the hall. He abruptly stopped. Anger flashed in his eyes, and his fists clenched.

Ava
tightened her grip on Peter’s hand and stiffened. “Thomas, please listen.”

“You
brought him here?”

She held
out her hand as if to stop him from getting any closer. “Just please listen.”

But it was no use
. Thomas bolted toward her. She braced herself, ready to block him. As she anticipated Thomas’s impact, Peter’s body struck her, forcing her to fall over. She landed on the hardwood floor, turned her head sharply, and saw Peter slam into Thomas, knocking them both to the ground.

They
struggled with each other until Lance seized Thomas and held him back. Melissa hustled to guard Ava and Peter.

“Let me go,
” Thomas yelled. “I want to break him.”

“Calm down.”
Melissa said.

Gillian folded her arms across her chest.
“Are you siding with her now?”

“
G, now is not the time.”

“You’re damn right this isn’t
,” she snapped. “This isn’t the time to be bringing your new boyfriend into our home while he tries to attack us.”

“Are you okay?
” Peter asked Ava, and helped her to her feet.

“Yes.”
She nodded, and looked at him. How could he have knocked Thomas over like that? Could being a Paramortal have extra strength, too?

“You will not hurt her
anymore,” he demanded, glaring at Thomas.

Thomas laughed hard
. “What are you gonna do?”

“I’m stronger than you think.”

Ava glanced sideways at Peter. What was he doing? Was he an idiot? “Stop arguing.”

Thomas rolled his eyes.
“Yeah. I’m sure some measly Ephemeral can defeat me.” Then, his cold blue eyes sliced to Ava. “Is this what you want? To betray our coven for him?”

“
I don’t want to betray us.”

“Well you just did,” Gillian said. “You brought an outsider and told him everything.”

“He won’t hurt us.”

“You’re joking right
? You just saw what he tried to do.”

Melissa moved in between Gillian and Ava.
“He was only protecting Ava, and you know that.”

“
He’s my true love. I need him.”

Gillian rolled her eyes. “Oh c
ut the lame true love garbage. You just don’t want to be a part of us anymore.”

“
That’s not true. Why would you even say that?”

“Oh come on. From the very beginning, you’ve complained about all this. You knew this was your life, and you knew it wa
s dangerous to keep him around.”

“
I want to be with him.”

“He can’t be part of this.”

“Wait, you want this fool to become one of us?” Thomas asked.

“Yes,” Peter
said. “So you’d better get used to me.”

Thomas clenched his jaw. “I could easily turn you into ashes.”

“What like you tried to do with Ava?”

“
Enough,” Ava said. Why was he egging Thomas? “I just needed you all to understand before I go to Savina and Colden.”

Gillian laughed. “Like they’ll ever accept him.”

“You know I do,” Melissa said, still watching Thomas.

Lance
released Thomas. “I do.”

“You’re kidding me.” Thomas shook his head and moved aside.

Jeremy cleared his throat. “I accept him, too.”

“Jeremy,” Gillian screamed. “
How could you even think that?” She glared at Ava. “I can’t believe what’s going on. You’ve broken this coven, do you realize that?”

“
They accepted my dad.”

Thomas cocked an eyebrow. “You’re dad’s
a Halfling,” he said, obviously disbelieving her.

“It’s the truth.”

He shrugged. “If you want to die, then go ahead and flaunt around with him. I can’t promise this won’t end on good terms.” His voice was cold and dark.

“I never wanted to break
us. But if you would just understand.”

“We’ve nothing more to say to you,” Gillian spat. “Traitor.”

“You’re making a huge mistake,” Peter said. His voice was fierce and he glared at Gillian. “You’ll need her.”

“I’ll be the judge of that
. If you’re with her, she’ll be much weaker.”

Melissa
let out a disgusted sigh and then guided Peter and Ava out of the cabin.

Once outside,
Ava exhaled.

“Look, I’m more than willing to support you, you know that
,” Melissa said. “But next time could we at least have some sort of warning?”

“I’m sorry, Mel
.”

“It was my fault.
” Peter said.

Lance came outside and walked down the stairs. “Well, that went well,” he said sarcastically. “What do we do now?”

“I have to speak to Savina,” Ava said.

“
I talked to her when she came.” Melissa said. “I told her that you were with Peter and that he saw everything last night.”

Ava’s stomach dropped.
“You what?”

“I also told her that you two love each other and that it would do you a disservice to erase his mind. Ava, you’re completely miserable without him. You’re stronger with him.”

Ava looked at Peter and then took a deep breath. “What did she say?”

“She said she
felt it, but didn’t think you were ready for him to become one of us.”

“She’s right. I’m scared.”

Peter moved in front of her and softly placed his hands on both sides of her face. “Then we’ll face it together. I love you, and we can do this. I’m not afraid of this or anyone. But above all, I will keep you safe.”

“It isn’t me that I’m worried about.”

“If Thomas really wanted to hurt me, he would’ve done it in there.”

“He’s right,” Lance said. “Thomas just doesn’t want to admit that you two are over and that you weren’t right for each other. His ego’s bruised.”

Ava nodded. “I need to face her. Will you two take Peter home?”

Lance shook his head. “You’re not going alone
.”

“
It will be better if we all go, so they’ll see
we
understand,” Melissa said.

Peter took her hand.
“And I’ve already told you I’m not leaving your side.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.
Let’s go.”

T
hey got in Lance’s car and strapped in.

Ava felt like she was about to walk into a lion’s den.
But she could only hope Savina and Colden would hear them out before deciding anything. And Ava needed to prove that she was ready for Peter to join.

Melissa
twisted around in her seat. “Ava, are you going to talk to Savina about your mom?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know who could have killed her?” Lance asked.

“
No. My dad mentioned before that they couldn’t find some Enchanters from Corbin’s army to imprison. But why were they after my mom?”

“
Maybe the same reason Devon is after us,” Lance said. “I mean, she was a Water Enchanter, right?

“Yes, but they wouldn’t have killed her. Taken her powers, yes.”

“Maybe they were trying to get to you,” Peter said.

“I was only seven. I didn’t have any powers.”

“Right, but couldn’t they have tried taking you and raised you in their army? Then, by the time your powers developed you would have been stronger than what you are now.”

“I hadn’
t thought of that. What if that’s what they’ve been trying to do all along? What if this didn’t start with Devon?”

“Who else could have started it?”
Lance asked.

“
I don’t know, but it would explain how Devon escaped,” Ava said. “Someone had to have helped him. Someone strong enough to bust him out of the Cruciari.”

“I don’t know,” Melissa said. “I mean, if someone else was behind this, where have they been for ten years? Wouldn’t they have tried more than once to get us?”

“Good point,” Lance said, and then shrugged. “Maybe they got killed from some of our Enchanters.”

“Or maybe they were waiting to find someone who could absorb powers,” Ava said.