“Thank you, guys.” I gave them all a look of gratitude. I was so lucky, having such wonderful Coven-mates to support me!
“Come on,” Kaitlyn said, grinning at me. “There’s no time to lose—let’s get packing!”
58
It took the rest of the day, but we got my mom completely moved out of our old apartment by the time the sun was setting. Which was a good thing, since Mr. Groperson had started growling through his locked door that he was going to call the police if we weren’t off his premises by sundown.
“He’s bluffing,” Avery sneered. “I mean, what is he going to say—that you magicked his junk onto his face and that’s why he wants you out?”
“They’ll believe him if they see him,” Megan pointed out. “Are there any Others on the police force?” she asked him.
He frowned.
“You know, I’m not sure. But you’re right, Princess Latimer—it’s probably better if we keep Emma’s new powers on the down-low for as long as we can.”
Luckily, Megan’s Aunt Deli and my mom hit it off right away. Aunt Deli was a hippie-type of woman who loved nature and holistic healing. She was a Null—someone who comes from a magical family but has no magic of her own—but she was really sweet and kind. When she heard why my mom had to move out so suddenly, she laughed until she was bright red in the face.
“That Carl Groperson is a nasty piece of work,” she said, when she finally stopped laughing and was wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. “He got what was coming to him—Emma isn’t the first woman he’s harassed.”
That made me feel a little better about what I had accidentally done to the nasty landlord with my magic. Although I was still worried there might be consequences down the line.
But at least for now, my mom was happily settled in a spacious room at the top of the house which had a big, comfy bed and a nice little desk where she could do her transcription work. By the time we were leaving to head back to Nocturne Academy, she had promised to attend Aunt Deli’s yoga class and the two of them were talking about making a big pot of veggie soup and some homemade bread for dinner. I got the feeling that both of them had been lonely living all by themselves, and had the sense that this was going to be a good match.
So I pushed my fears about the future to the side as well as I could and decided to go to bed early. I was exhausted from the crazy day of emotional ups and downs, not to mention all the physical work of packing and moving my mom’s stuff out of the old apartment and into the new place.
But before I went to my room, Lachlan caught my hand.
“Tomorrow is your first lesson, little one,” he told me, his emerald eyes blazing into mine. “Be ready—we’re going to need to work hard to focus that magic of yours.”
“I’m ready,” I promised and yawned. “But right now, I’m just so tired.”
“Of course you are,” Bran murmured. He and Lachlan put out their arms to me and I went to them, feeling comforted and protected as they enfolded me in a warm, three-way hug.
“Thank you,” I said to both of them. “For sticking by me.”
“Always,” Bran murmured and Lachlan said,
“We will never leave your side, little one.” He pulled back and looked at me intently. “Just be ready to work tomorrow. Mastering your magic is not going to be easy or pain free, I’m afraid. You’re simply too powerful for your own good.”
I bit my lip, wondering what he meant by that.
All too soon, I found out.
59
“The first thing we need is a talisman—something you can use to focus your magic,” Lachlan said as we sat on one of the Norm Dorm’s ratty old couches together the next day. Bran was on the other side of me, which surprised me a bit. I’d thought that Lachlan was going to teach me alone. But since I loved being between my guys, I wasn’t complaining.
“Where do I get one of those?” I asked. I had a sudden thought and added, apprehensively, “I don’t have to go to the Realm to get one—do I?”
“No.” Bran shook his head. “Lachlan is going to make you one.”
“From something that is important to us both,” Lachlan said. Reaching up, he unfastened the glittering emerald stud he always wore in his left ear and cupped it in his palm.
“But…that must have cost a fortune!” I protested. The emerald was large and clear and gorgeously cut.
“It did,” Lachlan said calmly. “I bought it with my first earnings when I moved away from my mother’s house. Bran?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Wordlessly, Bran took off the small silver ring he’d been wearing on his pinky.
“Oh, Bran—no!” I exclaimed. “Your mother left you that—it’s a family heirloom.”
“And we are family now,” he said gently. “The three of us are bound together, Emma. I can’t think of a better use for the ring.”
“I feel the same way,” Lachlan said firmly. He took the ring and cupped it with the emerald stud in one hand. He covered it with his other hand and closed his eyes, his face tight with concentration.
I supposed he must be doing some kind of a spell or at least calling on his magic. His left leg was touching my right and I thought I could feel a faint tingling running through him. For a long, breathless moment, he looked like someone who was concentrating fiercely with a single-minded purpose on a very difficult task. Then he opened his hands and showed me what was in them.
The silver ring had been changed into a flat crescent moon about the size of a silver dollar. It had a faint bluish patina that reminded me of Bran’s eyes. From its top tip, on a golden chain, hung the emerald like a pendant or a star.
“Oh…” I whispered, not daring to touch it. “It’s beautiful!”
“Do you have a chain you can wear it on?” Lachlan asked me. “It will work better if you keep it close to your skin.”
“I do! Wait a minute.” I jumped up and ran to my bedroom. I had a simple gold chain my mom had gotten me for my sixteenth birthday. She hadn’t said anything about how much it cost, but I knew she must have saved for months to get it. I brought it back out to the Common Room and Lachlan carefully slipped the crescent moon with its emerald star pendant onto the chain. I lifted my hair and Bran fastened it around my neck.
It settled right in the hollow of my throat and felt as light as a feather.
“Thank you.” I took both their hands in mine and squeezed them. “Thank you both, so much!”
“This is a gift freely given,” Lachlan said, sounding like he was reciting some kind of formal vow. “There is no debt incurred between us.”
“Um, okay. Is that something you always have to say when you give something to someone in the Realm?” I asked.
“Yes.” Bran nodded. “As Lachlan told you yesterday, Fae magic is largely transactional. Unless you state otherwise, if you give something to someone or do some service for them, you’re expecting to be paid for it.”
“Like the life-debt that was between the two of you,” I said, remembering. “You guys never did tell me that story.”