* * *
The coffee he set next to her was the first indication to Ava that Lawson was in the room with her. She looked up. The sun was there. Awareness brought buzzing sounds. Bees. They were outside. She could hear them like they floated right next to her.
Lawson kissed her cheek. “How long have you been in here?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. I’ve got to concentrate.”
“Okay.” If he was miffed at her tone, he didn’t sound like it. “I’m going to go look into some things. Will you stop at some point and eat?”
“Probably not.” Why lie about it?
* * *
“Ava, you’ve been in here two days.”
Had she? Hadn’t he just put down coffee? She looked to her left. There were piles of plates. Okay, when and how had that happened?
Try more basil…
The earth had lots of ideas and none of them were exactly right. Before she tried any of it on herself, the whole world seemed to object. How was she supposed to know which the right one was?
It was like she had a million cooks in the kitchen with her.
“Ava, are you listening?”
Lawson had dark circles under his eyes and a frown directed at her she wasn’t used to seeing from him.
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not.”
He touched the back of her head. “Can you try?”
“Sure.” She set down what she was working on. “What do you need?”
“I need you to eat, to sleep. I need you to take a break.”
How did he expect her to do that? “They’ll never shut up long enough for me to get any rest. I might as well keep going.”
Ava…
“I mean, the damn fly in the living room has been jutting around for hours.”
Her husband touched the bottom of her chin, turning her to look at him. “It’s not that you have wrong powers. You have too many of them. I’ve been traveling around. People like you have always existed. All of our powers come from the earth. They always did. The only difference is you’re too cued into it. Don’t try to cure the powers or curse them away, you need to dull them.”
That was what she’d been trying to do. He seemed so sincere in trying to help her that she hated to tell him she’d been entirely on that task. “Have you found anyone who has successfully done that?”
“No.” He ran a hand through his hair. “That doesn’t mean it can’t exist.”
She climbed into the bed hours later. Her knees had threatened to give out, and maybe she’d exhausted herself enough that she could rest. He rolled over, opening his arms, and she climbed into them. His sandalwood smell was so comforting. So Lawson. So…
Ava sat straight up in the bed, and he waved his hand to don the room in light. “Ava? Come lie back down. There’s nothing you have to do right now except kiss me and sleep.”
“Powers are personal. You tell me all the time.” Her brain lagged, but she knew what she was talking about. Or, at least she did as she spoke the words.
He played with the bottom of her hair. “Right.”
“You smell like sandalwood. It… let’s say I love the scent. When I smell it now, I get all warm inside, like I want to roll around in the scent because it reminds me of you.”
He raised both his dark eyebrows. “Awesome.”
“No, I mean, the reason no one has one answer for curing this other than the curse is that it’s got to be personal. I have favorite things. Chamomile. Sandalwood.” She jumped to her feet. “I need to make a tea.”
Lawson grabbed her arm. “I’m not following you.”
“That’s okay. I am.”
She dashed from the room. One of two things were possible. She’d either lost her mind completely or maybe she solved her own problem.
They’d soon know.
* * *
The night didn’t make a sound she could hear. Ava closed her eyes and pushed her thoughts outward. If she worked at it, she could hear the fireflies talking, but she had to… try. A week. It had taken her another seven days after she’d figured out what to do to actually do it. Sandalwood. Chamomile. Lilacs. Essence of rose. Garlic. All of it made non-toxic and turned into a tea. It didn’t taste good but it had… worked. She was centered in her head, and the outside world wasn’t pounding on her. Lawson’s soul was still nestled right where she could feel it.
Lawson sat across from her. “Well?”
She grinned at him. “So far so good.”
He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “For real?”
“Yes.”
Lawson got up and in a second, he flipped her over his shoulder. She squealed. “What are you doing?”
“Putting you in our bed. I knew you could do this, and I have to tell you that you did it faster than I thought you would. I’m proud of you, tiny. But I want you beneath the covers with me either sleeping or making love. You can pick.”
Ava thought about it while they rounded the corner. Sex had been the farthest thing from her mind. But now? Butterflies filled her stomach. “One then the other?”
“Maybe a couple of rounds of each.”
A thought dawned on her. “Hold on. Put me down.”
Lawson skidded to a stop outside their bedroom, doing just as she asked. There was one thing she had to test. Ava thought about floating, and then she did. Her husband grinned at her. “Still working.”
Maybe this would all be okay. “I love you. Thank you for basically keeping me alive for the last week.”
“Yeah, well. I love you, too.” He winked at her. “Come down and make it up to me.”
She’d do just that.
Ava stood outside the Prestige. She’d never heard of the place the year before and now they were going to leave her father inside. He wasn’t the only resident of the institution she knew. Elmer was doing better, thanks to her instructions to his doctor. They were working on figuring out a potion for him, and if the rumors were true, Mitchell Sharpe was spending some time there, too.
He needed some help having been hexed for so long. Monica had used a light hex on him, re-administering it every day for over a year. There were ramifications for that that no one knew how to fix.
Zoe turned to her, leaning her head on Ava’s shoulder. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“They’ll keep him safe.” And everyone else safe from his powers. Their mother was going to be joining him, living nearby. This was the deal she’d cut to stay out of jail. One cursing Lawson could ignore, two was a problem. She’d fade out of public life, and Zoe would step into it.
Lawson popped into sight. “Sorry I’m late.”
She grinned at him. “That’s okay. We walked him inside, and then they shooed us out. We didn’t want to see them take his powers anyway.”
He moved to her other side as Elijah floated over. Everything had changed from the moment Mitchell had left her at the altar. Out of the ashes of her life had come this other existence she’d hardly recognize if she hadn’t lived it, day by day.
Her powers tickled the side of her mind, and she looked at Zoe. “How long have you known?”
Her sister blushed. “I’m never going to get used to you being able to do that.”
“Fill me in.” Lawson nudged her. “I can’t hear what you do.”
She pointed at her sister. “She’s pregnant.”
Elijah kissed his wife. “Yeah, she is.”
Even if things weren’t perfect, even if she was going to spend time visiting an institution to see her parents, she wouldn’t change a thing about how this worked out. She’d married an Enforcer and was now teaching others how to do potions.
She wasn’t quite Gary, but maybe someday she would be.
Ava gasped. There weren’t just two heartbeats in her sister. There were three. “Twins, Zo-Zo.”
“What?” Elijah jumped up.
The birds sang in the trees, the clouds moved in the sky, her husband squeezed her fingers. All was just… right.
Did you like Ava’s story? Please consider leaving a review. They really help authors get the word out about their books. Oh, and keep your ear out there for Curse Reversed, Mitchell’s story. I couldn’t just leave him in Prestige Yep that’s what I said. Prestige. Didn’t I mention that? Poor Mitchell. We’ve got to get him out there.…
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About the Author
As a teenager, I would hide in my room to read my favorite romance novels when I was supposed to be doing my homework. I hope, these days, that my parents think it was worth it.
I am the mother of three adorable boys and I am fortunate to be married to my best friend. I live in Austin Texas where I am determined to eat all the barbecue in town.
I am in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and try to use all of these elements in my writing. I've been told I'm a little bloodthirsty so I hope that when you read my work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. I love to write series because I love to see characters develop over time and it always makes me happy to see my favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.
In my world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.
I'd love to hear from you! Please visit my website at www.rebeccaroyce.com to sign up for my newsletter and learn about my books!
* * *
Cheers!!
Rebecca
Other books by Rebecca Royce…
Wings of Artemis
Kidnapped By Her Husbands
Rescued by Their Wife
Crashing Into Destiny
Meeting Them
Reclaiming Their Love
Loving Them
Ship Called Malice
Saving Them
Dark Demise (coming soon)
* * *
Last Hope
Tradition Be Damned
Past Be Damned
Destiny Be Damned
Compassion Be Damned (coming soon)
* * *
Dragon Wars
Forever
Eternal
Always
Evermore
Endless
* * *
Wards and Wands
Hexed and Vexed
Curse Reversed (coming soon)
* * *
Safe Haven
Everywhere and Nowhere
More coming soon….
* * *
Soul Bound
Prisoner of the Dragons
More coming soon….
* * *
Shadow Promised
Strange Days
Weird Nights
Bizarre Years
More coming soon…
* * *
The Warrior
Initiation
Driven
Subversive
Redemption
Justice
* * *
Warrior World (spin off of The Warrior)
Deacon
Micah (coming soon)
* * *
The Westervelt Wolves
Her Wolf
Summer’s Wolf
Wolf Reborn
Wolf’s Valentine
Wolf’s Magic
Alpha Wolf
Angel’s Wolf
Darkest Wolf
Lone Wolf
* * *
Fallen Alpha
Alpha Rising
Alpha’s Sacrifice
Alpha’s Truth
Alpha Enticing
Hidden Alpha (coming soon)
* * *
The Capes
Seductive Powers
Adrenaline Rush
Last Ascension
* * *
The Conditioned
Eye Contact
Embraced
More coming soon…
* * *
The Outsiders
Love Beyond Time
Love Beyond Sanity
Love Beyond Loyalty
Love Beyond Sight
Love Beyond Expectations
Love Beyond Oceans
Love Beyond Flames
Love Beyond Lies (coming soon)
* * *
Cascade
Haunted Redemption
Phoenix Everlasting
Fragility Unearthed
Persuasion Enraptured
* * *
Giovanna’s Love Story
Unconventional (coming soon)
* * *
Stand Alone Titles
Planet Bear (coming soon)
Under The Lights
No Quitting Allowed
Mr. Wrong
Bite Marks
Bitten Surrender
The Vampire and The Virgin
Demon Within