Chapter Thirty-Two
“How long do you think she’ll be out?”
I almost smiled at the worried tone in Holly’s voice. She sounded like she wasn’t in pain, which meant she was going to be alright. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that the lights were dimmer this time, and they didn’t hurt my eyes as much.
Holly and Finn were standing near the open door, and Tanya and Ezra were curled up together on a small loveseat, watching the two argue. I noticed that Tanya had a small bandage on her neck, and one of her wings looked a little crumpled. Ezra had a black eye and a split lip, but was otherwise unharmed. Holly and Finn both looked fine, and I wondered if they had supernatural healing that kept them from being injured too long.
Finn and Holly were arguing in quiet voices, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I got the feeling that Holly wasn’t happy with him. She kept inching closer and closer to his face, and she even jabbed a finger sharply into his chest. It looked like her nail sliced right through his shirt and even drew blood.
Tanya was the first to notice that I was awake.
“Ronnie!” she squealed, jumping off the loveseat. She threw her arms around me and pulled me close. “You’re awake. We thought for sure you’d be out a while longer.”
“What happened?”
“Well, Andrew is dead, if that’s what you’re wondering. I guess he kind of…imploded. Your energy burned him out or something, and he just…poof!” She frowned. “I heard from Annie that your mother was there on the roof, helping you fight,” she said softly. “She said that you’d probably have some questions for her when you woke up, and I’m supposed to tell you to meet her down in the…morgue.” She stumbled over the last word and I gave her the largest smile I could manage, though it was still pretty small.
I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and was surprised by how good I felt. My muscles were stiff and a little sore and I had a killer headache, but other than that, I wasn’t in any real pain. When I swung my legs over the side of the bed and jumped to my feet, the room began to sway alarmingly, and before I could fall, Finn was there to catch me.
His strong arm wrapped around my waist, steadying me until I could stand on my own. When I looked up into his face, I was surprised at the amount of emotion in his eyes. Normally Finn tried his hardest to hide those feelings away from everyone. Now he wasn’t even trying, and it showed.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly. His arm was warm and comforting, and I almost curled into his side, but forced myself to pull away. He looked sad, but didn’t say anything about it. He just nodded once in understanding, and took a quick step back. “I’m sorry.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry, but we can talk later. Right now, I need to find Annie so she can fill me in on everything that’s happened.” I looked at Tanya. “You said she was waiting for me in the morgue?” Strangely enough, the word morgue didn’t even remotely bother me, even though it had severely creeped me out at first. Now it was just another inevitable part of my life, one that I’d come to accept.
“Yes. She said to meet her as soon as you were feeling okay. Do you feel okay?” Tanya asked anxiously. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you waited a little bit. You could get some more rest, eat something first, or just relax.”
I shook my head. “I have to ask Annie about certain things. Certain things involving my heritage. I need to know about my mother, about Andrew, about my power, about everything I can. I’d rather not put this kind of talk off. Some things work out best when dealt with quickly.”
“Someone’s been reading fortune cookies,” Ezra said with a smile.
Tanya and Holly both laughed, and I felt my cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. I ducked my head so they wouldn’t notice, but when they continued to laugh, I figured they probably did. When I reached the door, Finn joined me in the hallway with a silent, stony expression on his face.
After only a few steps down the hall, it became clear that Finn wasn’t going to be the first to speak, and I would have to do it. So I began, “Are we gonna talk or not? Or are you just gonna ignore me?”
“I thought you wanted to wait. This is more important, right?”
“Is it?”
He stopped, and so did I, making sure to stare at his feet and not his face. I didn’t want to see anything in those eyes that always seemed to be so full of emotion. I didn’t want to know if he was angry, or if he was sad, or maybe if he was just trying to pretend he didn’t care.
When he firmly but gently gripped my chin, I felt a shiver of pleasure run down my spine. When our eyes connected, a low warmth spread throughout my body, and my knees felt weak, and they threatened to buckle beneath me. My hands gripped Finn’s broad forearms to keep myself steady, and his lips tilted up into the barest of smiles. “Are you alright?”
I stepped away from him. “I’m fine. Listen, Finn, about that kiss–”
“I just wanted one, in case one of us didn’t make it through that fight. But, since both of us did…” He stepped closer and lightly caressed the side of my cheek. “I think I’d like a second one. If that’s alright with you?” He looked so much more uncertain and confused than I’d ever seen him, and it was probably about my silence as much as about his own feelings.
Finn wasn’t used to having feelings for girls. At least, not anything other than physical feelings. He was probably as confused about his feelings for me as I was. Right now, I didn’t know what to do about Finn. Obviously there was something between the two of us, and there had been since he rescued me from Andrew’s place. Now those feelings had grown into something noticeable to everyone we knew, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted.
Which meant I needed time.
“Finn, to be honest, I really don’t know how I feel right now, about anything.”
The second the words left my mouth, I saw an immediate change in Finn. His eyes hardened into the guy he was when we first meant, and I quickly backtracked. I didn’t want to chase Finn away for good; I just needed some time.
“Finn, I care about you, a lot. Really, I do. I just murdered my father, and the ghost of my mother helped me do it. I have a lot going on in my mind right now, and I’m really sorry, but worrying about whether or not I’m falling in love with a temperamental werewolf can’t be the most important thing on my mind right now. I’m not asking you to wait indefinitely; I just need some time.”
His eyes softened, and he nodded, though he didn’t look happy to do it. “I understand. Take all the time you need.” Surprisingly, he bent down and kissed my cheek. His lips lingered against my skin, and the hairs on my arms rose and tingled as his breath tickled my skin.
Annie was waiting for me at the door to the morgue, but she waved for me to join her with her good hand. Her left arm was in a sling from the fall, and there was a white bandage on her forehead, but she was otherwise unharmed. “We’re being summoned to the Council room. Marcel wants to hear all of this as well. We’d best not keep them waiting.”
*****
Not for the first time, I found myself staring up at the three Council leaders. Each of them looked at me with a different expression on their face. Kevin, the vampire that wanted to have me killed after I was rescued, was looking at me with such loathing it almost scared me. Lisa, the witch that had searched my mind and discovered the truth about my heritage, was looking at me with surprise and concern.
But Marcel, the leader of the Council in this region, was looking at me with admiration and compassion. This man wasn’t scared of me or what I was capable of, and he wasn’t wary or mistrustful of me. “Congratulations are in order. You have managed to rid the world of a very dangerous man, Veronica Parker.” I glanced at Annie out of the corner of my eyes, and Marcel nodded. “I’m sure we’re all very curious to know what went on up on that roof. Annie?”
She looked at me. “Your mother’s spirit has been hanging around since she died. She was waiting for a chance to tell you everything you needed to kn
ow. That takes massive amounts of power. When she lent that power to you on the roof, she took it from what little she had left. Ronnie, your mother may not be able to contact you again. Only time will tell whether she’ll be able to appear to you once more. My guess is no.”
The thought of never seeing my mother again hurt, but I forced myself to swallow that pain and focus on what she was saying now.
“When that ball of pure energy struck Andrew, it destroyed him on impact. He’d already used up too much of his power trying to destroy you, and it left him open and defenseless against your final attack. After he destroyed himself, I banished his spirit while I was lying in the mud. We have nothing more to worry about from Andrew. Ever. He’s gone, Ronnie, and you don’t have to worry about being used ever again.”
I looked at the Council members. The three of them were whispering heatedly with one another, and I began to worry. Were they arguing about me? When Marcel smiled, my insides unknotted a little, and I took a deep breath, readying myself for what he had to say.
“Veronica, this Council has been deliberating since the fight about what to do with you, and though our decision is not unanimous, one has been reached. During your short stay here, you managed to get some control over your powers, and with a little more practice, who knows? You may be free to leave by the end of the month.”
I looked at the Council members that were sitting before me. Lisa looked resigned, and Kevin still looked angry and ready to fight, but one look at Marcel and I knew what he wanted me to say.
And it was what I wanted to say.
With a smile, I said, “I’m not going anywhere…”
The End.
About the Author:
The Arena Wars
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