Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four (16 page)

Realization hit hard.

“To control me,” I whispered. But that couldn’t be the truth. He’d only wanted to protect me.

Yet he’d been the one to run when I needed his protection and guidance the most…

“You’re a Kvech, Cheyenne. The sapphire in the Timeless crown, the one who unites us all, leads us and grants us power. Callon wanted all that for himself. His greed for power overtook his love for Nakari. He threw her aside for you…but not for you
—he only wanted your power. He’s no different than Marcus. Yet you still sided with him.”

I shook my head and headed for the door. No, this couldn’t be right. Callon loved me
. He’d sacrificed everything for me. Or had he? Everyone, my parents, my family, even
Colt
had wanted to control me at some point—to gain what they wanted, what they thought was right.

My legs took over as I
hurried toward the meadow. Snowflakes tumbled down around me, and I heard Colt’s voice in the distance. I knew he’d remain close.

“Cheyenne! Cheyenne, wait!”

I didn’t stop, instead heading for the corral. He’d catch up eventually. I needed to clear my head, to process all of this. Mandi whinnied and ran towards the rail as I paused to pet her. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t it be black and white? Shad’s words may have been his version of the truth, but they were forming cracks in my reasoning. Had it all been a lie after all? The family I’d longed for, the family I thought I had…was I just a means to an end?

“Cheyenne, what’s wrong?” Colt said breathlessly as he stopped beside me. “Why’d you run? Did Shad do something?”

“I’m fine, Colt.” I looked up into wary blue eyes, knowing I couldn’t share any of this with him. “I just have to work a few things out for myself.”

He placed his hand over mine on the rail. “Did you find out anything about your dreams?”

“No.”

“So why are you so upset?”

I shook my head and focused my attention on Mandi. I wouldn’t cry, wouldn’t let the heartache show. Shad was lying. He was only trying to make me go back to Marcus.

So why was it so hard to look Colt in the eye?
And why was it so hard to push my feelings aside for him?

Colt’s free hand brushed the hair from my shoulder as his warm fingers lingered on my neck. A touch I’d once craved so much, now filled me with dread.

“You can’t leave us, Cheyenne.”

“I never said I would.”

Colt frowned. “He’s a manipulator, Cheyenne. He’ll say anything to get you to side with him. Maes warned us.”

“I know.” I knew Shad was trying to befriend me. He wanted me to side with him,
and he was a master at his work, but…

“Come on, it’s cold.” Colt tugged my hand and forced me to walk back to the stone building. “I’ll make you a fire in your room and we can warm up.”

I walked beside him, my mind replaying my conversation with Shad. He was a manipulator, but a lot of truth came with the words he spoke. I was more valuable alive than dead. Marcus couldn’t kill me. He needed me to balance out the powers or he’d go mad like his father. But did he truly love me as Shad said? Did he seek comfort in my company? Or was this all a trick?

Marcus had
shown himself to be a different person at the end of my imprisonment, and he’d agreed to my terms. Could he still be reasoned with if I returned? Could I save the Timeless race this way? My original plan had never been given a chance…

“Hold on,” Colt said as he released my hand. “I need to get more wood.”

I nodded as he walked over to the woodpile. A shadow loomed nearby, and the hair on my neck rose.

“Don’t have an empty soul with no purpose,” Shad whispered near my ear. “Don’t be like your mother.”

“Leave her alone!” Colt roared. He dropped the wood, and rushed back to stand beside me, the muscles in his arms tense. “Get out, before I call Brogan.” His chest heaved as his eyes focused on Shad. “Go back to your dog house where you belong.”

I touched Colt’s arm, pulling him with me.

“Let’s go,” I said; he didn’t need to start a fight. I helped him pick up the pieces of firewood. Shad laughed, then slipped into the shadows.

We climbed the stairs and paused at the steel doors
as Shad yelled out his parting thought.

“You know I’m right,” Shad called out. “Listen to your heart, Cheyenne.”

The steel doors squeaked as Colt closed them behind us. I dumped the wood into my bucket and brushed the snow from my hair and coat. I hung the jacket on the hook and turned to meet Maes’s cold stare.

Had he read my thoughts? All the rolling feelings in my head after talking with Shad…

“Stay away from him, Cheyenne,” Maes said with an icy coolness that caused the hair to rise on my neck. I pushed the fear aside.

“He’s the one who keeps finding me,” I replied.

“He doesn’t know anything about your dreams. He’s a salesman. He’ll only tell you what you want to hear.”

There he was, reading my thoughts again.

“At least he’s giving me information, unlike everyone else,” I said.

Maes’
s eyes narrowed.

“It’s not like you bothered to tell me what Marcus said about Andre, did you?” He stepped closer
, and I blinked.

I hadn’t talked to him yet, and apparently Colt felt it was up to me to say something.

“Why do I need to tell you things when you can read them from my thoughts?”

He barred his teeth. “I only read what you refuse to disclose!”

“I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t think you’d believe me!” I snapped. “I can’t help to protect Andre if I’m not here.”

“Protect me from what?” Andre
asked as the steel door squealed in protest.

I cringed.

She hung up her coat, taking her position beside Maes. She lifted a brow.

“I said, protect me from what, Cheyenne?” she asked again.

Maes’s stare kept me from moving. I sighed, and looked down at the grey stones.

“From Marcus,” I said.

“Ah,” Andre replied. “But why me especially? It’s not like I said anything about his awful haircut or terrible dress sense lately.”

“Because Marcus wants to hurt Maes.”

Silence fell for a few moments. Then Colt rested his hand on my shoulder.

“So, he wants to make me the next Raina,” Andre said quietly. “Can’t say I’m a big fan of the beehive look.”

I looked up into her calm blue eyes. “You know about Raina?”

Andre glanced at Maes. “Of course I do. Maes told me.”

“Then you understand why I didn’t want to say anything?”

“Not really, but that was your call. Anyway, you shouldn’t worry. Neither Maes nor
I will allow it to happen.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner.”

Andre stepped closer, her hands resting on my shoulders.

“I know you were frightened Brogan and the others would throw you out. But I’ve got your back, Tresez scar and all. Don’t forget that.”

She drew me into a hug and I couldn’t hold back as I held her tightly. Someone believed in me…
Andre
believed in me. A tear slipped down my cheek.

“Thank you,” I whispered as she drew back. I glanced at Maes. “I’m sorry.”

Maes didn’t reply, but gave a nod.

I turned and followed Colt up the stairs to my room. At least now Andre knew the danger, and I’d make sure she remained safe at all costs.

Colt started a fire and I warmed myself by it.

“Don’t let Shad get to you, Cheyenne. It’s like Maes said, he’s a salesman, and he’s only going to tell you what you want to hear.”

I rubbed my hands together near the flames. Colt and Maes might’ve been right about Shad being a salesman; however, he didn’t tell me anything I wanted to hear. He’d reminded me of the past, the lies and deception. He’d reminded me that both Marcus and Callon had wanted me for my powers, nothing more.

My vision began to grow hazy, and I stilled. A fine mist settled around me, and I was
no longer in my room with Colt. In the distance, I heard low murmurs, and I stood up, following the sounds.

A dim light illuminated my way
, and I stopped before a dilapidated wooden building. The voices hushed for a moment and a shadow appeared near the doorway. It raised a hand to silence their conversation, but then turned away and the murmurs began again.

I inched closer. Who was hiding and what were they afraid of?

“We have to stop him,” a man’s voice said. “This has gone further than we should’ve allowed.”

“And how do you plan on stopping his rampage? He won’t allow us to get close to him, not with Cheyenne around,” another said.

“We can’t get close to him, only Colt can,” a French accent added. “You have to stop him. You have to convince Cheyenne he’s wrong.”

Maes? I knew his voice, and the others
; Brogan and Dex. They were trying to stop Marcus, but why send in Colt? Marcus would never allow him close to me.

Then my eyes grew wide. This could only mean one thing. I’d gone back to Marcus
, and he was on a rampage!

I stepped inside the doorway
, and the shadowy figures emerged. Maes, Brogan, Colt, and Dex were covered in cloaks, their heads poking out from heavy hoods.

“He’ll see through my disguise, even if I can get Cheyenne alone. She won’t see what he’s doing to her. We’re the ones who drove her to this choice
. It’s our fault,” Colt said, lowering his head.

“No!” Brogan growled. “She’s the one who keeps making the same stupid choices as her mother…”

“I’m making stupid choices?” I heard my voice reply, but it wasn’t me who was speaking.

I turned to see a misty vision of myself emerge through the fog.

“It’s your pushing and prodding that led me to this choice, Brogan,” the other me said. “You’re the ones who said I needed to marry him, that I had to do it to save the clans. And now you’re upset?”

“No!” Dex said as he stepped closer. “This isn’t the way and you know it. You have to stop
Ca—”

“Stop me?” A hooded silhouette appeared beside me. “Stop me from what?”

I knew that voice! A chill swept over me, and my breath caught as he pulled down his hood.

Callon began circling the group.

“You—you’ve gone m—mad with power, Callon,” Dex stumbled over his words.

“I’ve gone mad?” he
repeated. “After all the years I’ve devoted to the Timeless race, and you say I’ve gone mad? Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

Colt stepped
in front of Callon, making him pause.

“What you’re doing isn’t right,” Colt said, and Callon glanced
at my misty image. Colt continued, “You’ve let the power take over, and you’re using Cheyenne—”

Colt’s words were cut short, as I shot a gust of wind at his chest. Callon smiled—a dark, horrible smile—and reached his hand out to his brother.

“I’ll make this quick, Colt,” he whispered.

“No!” I screamed and ran forward. “Callon, no!”

Arms came around me, holding me back.

“Cheyenne! Cheyenne!” Colt’s voice snapped me back to reality. He grasped my face between his hands. “Cheyenne, it’s me
. It’s Colt! Calm down, you’re dreaming!”

I blinked. I was back in my room, on my knees before the crackling fire, and Colt was holding my face.

You’ve no place to run, Cheyenne,
the familiar voice whispered in my mind.
Even Callon would use you for your powers.

“No,” I whispered. “It’s not true.”

“Cheyenne?” Colt said, his gaze growing strained.

You’ll destroy him, my angel. He’s not strong enough…

“Look at me!” Colt demanded.  “What just happened? Tell me, Cheyenne!”

I shook my head and looked down. How could I tel
l him what I’d just seen? That his brother had gone mad with power, and I’d been the one to kill him…no, this vision was better left unspoken.

“It’s nothing,” I whispered. “Just a bad dream.”

“It wasn’t a dream,” Colt argued. “It was a vision.”

“No, it was a dream. Something that will never come to pass.”

I pushed myself into his arms, holding on tight. It was just a bad dream, because I’d never allow it to happen. Not now, not in the future, not ever. Marcus was the only one who’d ever share powers with me, the only one who wouldn’t go mad because he already had.

I just had to learn how to control him before he controlled me.

Chapter 11

I fiddled with the hem on my knitted sweater as I sat alone in the kitchen. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Shad for a while now. I knew he was lurking, but I also knew I wasn’t ready to speak with him again. Not after my last nightmare.

Seeing Callon consumed with power had almost brought me to my knees. But why was I having this vision now? I hadn’t married Callon
—I’d married Marcus—yet there were similarities somehow. If I’d married Callon, would this have been the outcome? Was this what Marcus was trying to show me? That the choice I’d made was the right one? But why would Marcus go to such lengths to convince me of something I’d already done? Maybe he was trying to support my decision when he knew no one else did, and when the one person I needed the most had left me alone…

Shad’s last words buzzed in my ear.
Don’t have an empty soul with no purpose.

I sighed, and clenched my fists. I had a purpose. I’d fulfilled it, too, but it wasn’t completed yet. Perhaps returning to Marcus was the answer after all. But if I did, I’d bring Brogan’s words to fruition. I’d become a more dangerous threat to the Timeless race, unless I could make sure Marcus never
found a way to control me. But I’d never learn that without using my powers, and they’d forbidden me to use them. Unless I used them in secret, though that seemed to have gone out the window, too.

What was I supposed to do?!

I glanced down the hall. It seemed no one was around. I could possibly sneak away for a little while and play with my powers, learn what I was truly capable of. I had to do something. I had a purpose, a goal that needed to be accomplished, and I wasn’t going to get it done by moping around.

My jaw tensed. I’d prove them all wrong. Bridge or no bridge with Marcus, I’d use my powers to defeat him. I’d hit him where he’d least expect it. I’d step up where the others had fallen
away. No matter what it could cost me.

I
was padding quietly down the hall when low whispers caught my attention. I guess I wasn’t as alone as I’d thought. I slowed my pace, determined where the voices were coming from, and stopped just outside the great room. I leaned against the wall, straining to hear. I just needed to pass by without being seen. I didn’t need any followers.

“Listen, Nakari,” Andre
was saying. “I know this is difficult for you. It’s been the same for all of us, but you’ve got to start looking beyond your jealousy. Cheyenne never wanted to hurt you, or anyone else. All she’s tried to do is fight, and while her choices have been a little questionable, you can’t make change without risk. You need to give her a chance.”

Nakari sighed, but didn’t reply.

“Callon’s tried for so long to bring peace, but without the Kvech to unite the clans, he can’t win. Cheyenne’s gone solo, but the path she’s chosen still has hope. So you need to put your feelings aside and help me support her.”

“You think I can just brush everything aside?” Nakari’s voice was curt, but I could tell she was fighting back tears. “I could just about forgive him for breaking our engagement, after years of helping each other through our darkest times, so he could keep his promise of peace. But how can I forgive Cheyenne for breaking Callon’s heart, for throwing away everything he sacrificed for her…”

“You forgave Callon,” Andre said. “You forgave him because you believed in him. So now you need to believe in Cheyenne.”

It grew quiet, and then footsteps sounded. I pressed myself up against the wall, hiding in the shadows as Andre and Nakari headed up the stairs. I stayed still for a few moments more. Andre was supporting me with more than just words; she was working towards changing everyone’s attitude. She wanted them to support me as well.

I smiled. I wasn’t about to let her down—or the others. I’d train, I’d learn, and I’d win. New determination set in as I hurried towards the front entry, pausing only to grab a jacket. The steel doors creaked, and I exited to the bright sunshine. I had to cover my eyes from the glare off the snow. No one was around; it was my chance to turn the tables on Marcus. I ran for the corral. Mandi would help me get far enough away for me to test out the new powers I’d gained.

Mandi ran at a fast pace, feeling the excitement I had inside. I was finally beginning to see the shift in the tide, and I wasn’t about to let it stop. Progress, momentum, it was on my side and it was about time.
Marcus wasn’t coming for me. I’d be coming for him!

I didn’t need to direct Mandi where to go
. She knew as her legs easily carried us through the snow. She brought me to the meadow surrounded by high mountains, the one place where I’d found some peace.

I dismounted and set her off to graze. I waited a few moments for Shad to arrive
. I’d seen his shadow in the trees. I knew he wouldn’t leave me alone. He wanted every chance he could get to whisper in my ear, to try and sway me to his thoughts, his ways.

The crunch
of snow caught my ear, and I smirked.

Shad was waiting near the edge of the forest, in his Tresez form. What was he waiting for? Maybe he was unsure what I was up to.

I glanced towards the mountain river, the sun’s rays glistening off the water. What should I try first? I could easily create a whirlwind, a water funnel perhaps. Or bring down the winds from the mountains. Mandi snorted, and it reminded me that if I did too much, the chances of her bolting would be high, which meant I’d have a long walk home in the snow. Something small would have to do.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on my fingers, flexing them. It took but a moment for that familiar tingle to run through
me. The long dormant beast stirred. There was no anger in it, though. It was calm, waiting for its release. I was the one in control now.

I stretched my arms out over the meadow and opened my eyes, willing the snow to rise. The snow rolled beneath my fingers as I created a vertical column towards the sky. I twisted it and forced it to take a shape, a white butterfly.

With the flick of my fingers, the wings fluttered in the blue sky. I easily moved it around the meadow with one hand. How different my power had become. If I could imagine it, I could make it real. There was no struggle. It just came out willingly, gracefully.

I circled
the butterfly above the mountain lake and brought it back behind me. Shad tilted his head as it neared his hiding spot, unsure what to make of my creation. He watched in awe as the magic unfolded before him.

I closed my eyes
, imagining what it would feel like to fly, when what felt like a snowball hit my back. I lost my hold on my creation, and watched as thousands of tiny particles of snow drifted down from the sky, dumping a layer of white across Shad’s hair and shoulders. The dog had thrown a snowball to distract me.

He’d moved closer, and his amber-rimmed eyes studied me, unsure.

“Power doesn’t have to cause destruction,” I said. “It can create beauty as well.”

A
fine mist drifted from my lips, and I rubbed my hands together. Having them exposed to the frigid air hurt. I blew on them, trying to warm them before I attempted something new.

Shad remained quiet. He’d changed his clothes,
and was wearing a blue sweater that looked very familiar.

“Stealing clothes from Daniel?” I asked.

He looked down at his sweater, tugging at the sleeve.

“What? This old thing?” he shrugged.

Without warning, the familiar blue hue began to grow in my palms, and my eyes grew wide, as suddenly my hands lit on fire.

I threw them out
in front of me, and shoved them in the snow, trying to put out the flames. Shad ran to my side.

“What happened?” He stared down at my hands. “Did I see that right? Did your hands just catch fire?”

“I—I don’t know!” I bunched my fingers into a fist, forcing snow between them.

“Does it hurt?” He grabbed my wrist.

I stared up at him and blinked. Other than aching from the cold a few moments ago, there was no pain.

“No,” I whispered.

“Pull them out,” Shad said. “Pull them out and let’s take a look.”

Why was he smirking like that? I could have some serious burns! I might not even be able to use my powers anymore. And what would my family say? There’d be no way to hide this; they’d know I’d been training.

I closed my eyes, not sure if I wanted to see my ruined palms, and slowly pulled my hands from the icy wetness. I held them out before me, keeping my gaze away.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

Shad didn’t answer. Great, it had to be downright awful.

I sighed, and slowly opened my eyes. A blue and orange flame flickered in my palms, like from a gas stove. I gasped, and suddenly flames ran up my coat sleeve. A shriek left my lips as Shad tackled me into a snow bank. He shoved me face forward. My heart raced. What was happening to me?!

“Calm down, Cheyenne,” he said. “If you panic, the flames will spread.”

“It’s a hell of a lot easier for you to say, Shad!” I screamed. “You’re not the one on fire!”

“You’re such a baby! Close your eyes. You were holding the flames just fine when you didn’t know they were there!” he barked back.

I stilled.

“I was what?!” I asked.

“I said you were holding the flames in your hands. Just stay calm.”

I glanced across the meadow at Mandi. Her head had perked up and she was watching me. Calm, he said. I just needed to be calm.

“Get off me.”

“Are you going to stay calm?”

“Do I sound calm?” My voice grated, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.

He moved back slowly, watching me closely. I sat up, my hands still buried in the snow bank, and stared at what was left of my jacket and sweater. Black charred fabric reached up to my elbows. I wasn’t going to be able to explain this one when I got back.

I took a breath and pulled my hands out. A deep blue hue mixed with flecks of orange and red rippled in my palms. I was holding fire in the palm of my hands. I was in awe. The skin below showed no burns. In fact, the only thing I felt was warmth running through my veins. The chill I’d had earlier had disappeared.

How was I doing this? This had to be one of Marcus’s gifts from our marriage. A gift that could be a great help during battle. I just needed to learn to control it.

“Can you stand?” Shad offered his hand to help me up.

“I think so.”

The moment his fingers touched my arm, flames shot up them again, reaching my shoulders. I immediately fell into the snow and rolled over on my back. Angry amber-rimmed eyes locked on mine. He bared his teeth.

“What’d you do that for?!” He rubbed his hand over a raw patch of skin that hadn’t been there earlier.

I’d burned him.

“I—I didn’t do that on purpose!”

He huffed, kicking snow in my direction, then headed back towards the boulder.

I lay still, calming my racing heart. I glanced at what was left of my jacket. Even if I snuck back into the house, I’d have to burn the rest of the jacket to hide the evidence. However, at this rate, I might not have a jacket by the time I returned.

I sat up and held my hands out before me again. The fire was gone. I flipped them back and forth, amazed.

“It’s gone,” I said.

“I can see that,” Shad sneered.

How had I done this in the first place? All I’d done was rub my hands together to keep them warm… I rubbed them together again, and blew on them. I pulled them back, nothing. I tried again, still nothing.

I glanced over at Shad. He sat still, his arms crossed.

“It’s not working,” I said.

“Is that all you did before?” he asked.

“Yeah, I was cold. I was trying to warm my hands.”

He didn’t reply, but instead looked up at the sun.

“You need to head back,” he said, and started walking towards the forest.

“It’s early,” I replied
. “I’ve got plenty of time.”

He glanced back over his shoulder.

“Not when you have to walk.” He shifted and took off into the forest.

I looked
around. Mandi had disappeared.

“Dang.”

I followed his path into the forest. It was going to be a long, cold walk back.

My mind whirled through what had just happened. I’d held fire in my hand, maybe not perfectly, but I’d held it nonetheless. The options o
f what I could do with this new power were limitless—once I learned to control it.

Remaining calm was a key point. It was only when I’d opened my eyes and seen I was holding fire in my palms without getting burned that I panicked and lost control. And when Shad had touched me…

I bit my lip. I’d burned him, and it could happen again if anyone else got too close. It was tough secluding myself from my family, but I needed to stay away from them for their own protection.