Awakened (Unbound, Book 3)

Chapter Thirty

The rest of the weekend was uneventful. Calin had listened to me without interruption and zero judgments when I'd finished. I felt closer to him afterward, though, like I could say anything. Still, I kept my theories about my mother's death and Zachariah to myself.

Would he understand?

I wasn't ready to find out.

After supper at the Manor, Calin left and I went to bed. Saturday, I woke and went straight to my studio, spending half the day on my project and the other half reacquainting myself with my mother's things. By the time night fell, I fell into bed, barely noticing when Onyx came to lay at my side.

Sunday, I woke feeling energized. Wandering down to the kitchen, I grabbed breakfast to keep from fading and made my way up to the studio. It was the one place in the Manor that didn't set my nerves on edge. If I could, I'd sleep in there, but today I planned on cutting it short. After a couple of hours, that's what I did, though not before building a barrier not even Devland's magic—or blood—could penetrate.

Back in my room, I grabbed my mom's Book of Shadow's and set up a simple circle of candles and elemental properties—a bowl for water, a bowl of dirt for the earth, an extra candle for fire, and a space for air. I wasn't sure what help I would need to create a shield to repel negative energy yet still allow me to sense magical signatures. Calin had been around, mostly, but my conversation with Mrs. Hendrey was proof that he couldn't always be with me.

It wasn't like I could transfer classes so he could constantly hold my hand.

That was a conversation that would never happen with Devland, though I was pretty sure he wouldn't understand even if I tried. Maybe it would produce the only normal parent-child discussion we would have. What do you mean you need to transfer classes? For a boy! You cannot let your life revolve around a boy, Nora.

Yep. It would be fantastic.

With a sigh, I sat at the center of my makeshift circle and imagined the candles were lit. Closing my eyes, I slowed my breathing and listened to the beats of my heart lessoning their pace. Within minutes, I felt the tranquility of calm, once again surprised at how much I'd grown.

Perhaps my mother's amulet or the spell I'd read with Zachariah had helped?

I felt every inch of my body as though each extremity—to the tips of my fingers and toes—was an open-ended nerve. If I did drugs, it was what I'd imagine as an out-of-body experience because even though I felt it, it didn't hurt.

Opening my eyes, I looked around at the colors, all blunted and dull. I raised my arms and extended them in front of me, exhaling to keep the calm. What would a shield look like?

I imagined it would look like Saran Wrap, covering my skin to protect me from negativity like anger. As the air began to sparkle around me, I thought of what I wanted to repel while still allowing me to sense enough to know what was being felt by others without it overwhelming me, as well as being able to sense magic.

I repeated it over and over, watching as the pinkish sparkles in the air coalesced and spread across my skin. I could see the shine of my skin through my clothes and a tickle upon the soles of my feet. It turned to a white shimmer, like dust coating my flesh, then became iridescent as though I'd put sparkles on for a night out on the town.

Slowly, the shine dimmed, my skin appearing kissed by dew.

The room lightened, the colors shining brighter.

I smiled, feeling like a button had been pressed on my control, and I couldn't wait to test it.

*****