The Red Wolf's Daughter (Book 3 Part 2: The Making of the Siran)

Chapter 43

"Are you able to make the water harder as if it is not flowing so smoothly around your fingers?" Giselle asked and cocked her head while she stared at me after a few minutes of watching me move the water from side to side and up and down, the water answering happily.

She furrowed her brows and cocked her head further to the side, pursing her lips in annoyance. "Or is that something that you are actually able to do, or do you even know what I mean?"

"I should be able to do it, and I do know what you mean, Giselle," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted ever so slightly while I stared at the water, silently asking the water to harden, and sure enough, the water started to harden and stayed still in a long piece between each of my hands.

It stopped flowing in midair, and I breathed a small sigh of relief while I slowly nodded, making sure that I kept it stable and the way it should be. "Do you want to feel it, Giselle?" I asked and glanced at her before I looked at the water again when I felt it shift.

"Are you sure?" Giselle asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She pressed her lips into a thin line and looked at me before she looked at it. "I don't want to mess you up if it doesn't work." She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, silently hesitating.

I bit back a small chuckle. "Go ahead, and do it," I said and subtly nodded. "You wanted me to harden it, and I want you to feel it hard." I wrinkled my nose and pursed my lips in annoyance, my cheeks turning red. "That does not sound right at all, but still, you can do it."

Giselle laughed and slowly nodded, silently telling me that she understood. "However, I understood what you meant." She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat before she reached out and touched it.

Her eyes grew wide, and she jerked her hand back as soon as she touched the water. "That is wrong," she said and shook her hand, earning a laugh from me. She wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips in annoyance while she shook her hand some more. "It doesn't feel like ice. Why doesn't it feel like ice?"

"I don't know," I said and cleared my throat, biting back another laugh while I shook my head. "I just know that it doesn't feel right and didn't feel right when my brother did it with me."

I released the water back into the bowl and looked at Giselle when the water that I had in my hand disappeared from view. "Was there anything else you wanted to see me do?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yes," she said and nodded in confirmation. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. "Can you create a butterfly from water?"

I raised an eyebrow in question while I cocked my head and studied her, growing still. "What do you mean?" I asked while I furrowed my brows and pressed my lips into a thin line. "Like making a butterfly figure or something like that?"

"Yes," she said and nodded in confirmation. "Like a figurine or something of that nature. Can you do it?"

I stayed silent, hesitating, for I had no idea if I could do it or not, and I didn't want Giselle to be mad at me if it didn't work.

Giselle bit back a small smile and tucked her head closer to her chest, her eyes turning softer. "Do you think you are able to at least try?" she asked while she cocked her head and studied me. "For me, please?"

I sighed in defeat and moved a hand through my hair before I slowly nodded and pressed my lips into a thin line. "Ok," I said, my voice barely above a whisper before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat with my cheeks turning red. "I will try, but I don't know if it will work or not..."

"That's ok," Giselle said while she shook her head with a small smile on her face. "I don't mind if it will work or not. I just want to see if you will be able to do it." She paused and cleared her throat while she shifted in her seat. "I think that you need to start believing in yourself and finding yourself if you want to help Caroline," she said and gestured to the female that was still asleep in bed.

I bit back a small snort and nodded while I moved a hand through my hair and across my face. "I know," I said, with another sigh in my voice. "That is an understatement of the century, A- Giselle," I said, catching myself before I called her my "aunt" with my cheeks turning red.

Giselle bit back a small smile and leaned back in her seat. "Were you trying to call me your aunt?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

Sadness and pain filled her eyes while she studied me, and I could tell that she wanted me to answer that question and answer truthfully, even though a part of me only wanted to lie for my sake...

I bit back a small sigh and slowly nodded, deciding against it. "Yes," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "I wanted to call you "Aunt Giselle," even though I know that you are not my actual aunt. You have her face, but..."

I shrugged and grimaced. "I don't want you to be mad at me if I do call you "Aunt Giselle" or to get you confused with my family or anything like that."

Giselle bit back a small laugh and shook her head. "Sweetheart, don't think like that," she said. She held out her hands for me to take, and I looked at them before I looked her in the eyes with wide eyes and a lump in my throat.

I didn't say a word and didn't put my hands in hers, even though a part of me wanted to.

Instead, I placed my hands in my lap and closed them into fists, and they shook while I tried to make sure that my emotions didn't get the best of me while I stared at this woman who had the same face as my aunt and acted like her with her calm gentle nature, even with the world that she lived in.

Giselle bit back a small sigh and tucked her head closer to her chest. She didn't say a word while she looked at my hands and then looked at me, keeping her hands on the table while she waited for me to put my hands in hers.

Finally, I hesitated before I did what she wanted me to do and placed my hands in hers, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound hard and fast in my chest, my throat closing.

Her grasp was warm and comforting while she stared at me, and she rubbed her thumbs across the back of my hands, leaving a trace of warmth behind. "If you feel comfortable with it, you can call me "Aunt Giselle," or "Aunt Gigi," Ky," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "We are your family, Kyler." She shrugged and grimaced. "Well, Cooper, Rhett, Jonah, and I, even if Cooper will not allow you to call him "Dad."" She rolled her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line.

I bit back a small laugh and slowly nodded, blinking back tears. "I know," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, my cheeks turning red while I looked away from her. "But, what if you aren't comfortable with it?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper and looked at her again.

Giselle bit back a small smile and tucked her head closer to her chest, her eyes flashing a little with pain and sadness. "I will always be comfortable with it, Kyler," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You can call me "Aunt Giselle" at any time, but that is if you will be comfortable with it. I do not mind at all one way or another."

She cleared her throat and squeezed my hand again before she let go, my heart aching because I didn't want that to happen, just yet. "Now," she said and raised an eyebrow in question while she cocked her head and offered me a small smile. "Why don't you go ahead and create a water butterfly for me and see if you can do it, ok?"

A lump appeared in my throat, and I slowly nodded. "Ok," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh before I turned my attention to the water, and with a flick of my wrist, I created a small ball of water and started to transform it into a butterfly.

Just for my Aunt Giselle...