Drew led Kelia down the long hallway and to the room on the right. He had only been here once, as a boy, before he was turned into a Shadow. This was the room he had stayed in.
Opening the door, he was hit with a strong scent of sage. His small bed was in the corner, a chair to the side. It looked just as he remembered it. Outside the window was nothing but an angry, dark sky.
“Go in the room,” Drew told her, nodding toward the door.
The room was small. When he followed her inside, he realized it barely contained the two of them comfortably. As a boy, he thought it was much more spacious. At least, it had been the biggest room he had stayed in his whole life.
Kelia remained silent. It seemed like they were okay, but how could they be when there was still so much left unsaid between them? He hadn’t touched her the way he used to in weeks. And he wanted to. God, he wanted to. But how could he?
“Why does your aunt have a shack in the middle of nowhere?” she asked, staring out at the sky. One arm was crossed over her chest, holding the other. She did not seem affected by the cold even though there was a lingering chill.
“My aunt always has a backup plan in case things go awry,” Drew said as he came up behind her. “She loves the earth, loves planting her roots, but she always says no place is ever truly safe.”
“Has she not lived here for a long time?” Kelia asked, turning to look at Drew over her shoulder.
“For as long as I can remember, but she has another escape route if she should ever need it. She’s always two steps ahead, it seems.”
His gaze lingered on her skin, to the sculpt of her cheeks, her lips. He wanted to reach out, to caress her face with the back of his fingers, but he could not bring himself to touch her. Not yet.
“You need the concoction, Kelia.” The word felt foreign in his mouth, as though he hadn’t actually said it for a while. As though it didn’t quite belong to him the way it once had. “You should probably lie down.”
“Surely it can wait. It doesn’t feel much worse than sea sickness right now.”
“That’s only because of what Emma gave you to hold you over. It will wear off soon, and things will go downhill quickly from there. Please.” There was a pleading in his voice he once would have hid. “Take it before things get worse.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed, and Drew noticed goosebumps up and down her arms. Not as impervious to the cold as he had thought.
She eyed the potion bottle warily. “What will it do to me?”
“Heal you,” Drew said. “That is all, I promise you.” He winced at his own words. What right did he have to make her promises anymore? “My aunt is a cantankerous woman, and, yet, she finds the oddest comrades. Earth witches do get along better with water witches simply because the elements are complementary. However, I believe she has an ally with the Sirens. Or, at least, one of the Sirens respects her enough to give her the ability to heal Siren’s poison in a Sea Shadow.”
The bed squeaked as she shifted her weight.
“I must be heavier now that I’m a Shadow,” she said.
“You’re perfect,” Drew said before he could stop himself. “No matter what you are.”
A sudden heaviness filled the room. If they didn’t hurry, they were going to get swallowed up in it. He forced himself to clear his throat and took the potion in his hand.
“You heard Adelaide,” he said. “You must take every last drop.”
“Will it make me sick?” she asked. “I’m tired of being sick.”
The corner of Drew’s lip flickered up as he took the cork in the vial and removed it. He was hit with the overwhelming scent of grass and dirt. Whatever Adelaide put together, it must have come primarily from the earth.
“I do not know, darling,” he told her, offering her the vial. “All that matters to me is that you will heal after ingesting it. Siren’s poison is a facade. It tastes delicious, it gets you addicted to it. Once it’s in your system, it’s hard to rid yourself of it. It’s a slow, festering death. Not something I would want you to endure.”
Kelia took the vial from him and stared at the murky green liquid.
“Please. Take it.”
Kelia shot her eyes to Drew and nodded. She downed the liquid. Her eyes clenched tightly together, and as she ingested the substance, her throat bobbed furiously. But she kept it down. That was what mattered.
“Will you, uh…” Kelia swallowed again, wrinkling her nose as she did so. “Will you stay with me? Until this gets out of my system?”
“Of course.” He reached out and took her hand in his. “Of course, darling.”
Within moments, Kelia fell asleep. Before Drew even had a chance to think, footsteps tapped outside the door and in walked his aunt and Emma, both with concern written on their faces.
“What?” he asked, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
“Is that how you greet your aunt who just saved your lover’s life?” Adelaide asked. She leaned her body against the wall opposite the bed while Emma sat at the foot of the bed, her eyes focused only on Kelia.
“Is she all right?” Emma asked, her eyes cutting over to Drew.
“She took every last drop,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not sure how I’ll know she’s all right.”
“You’ll know,” Adelaide quipped. “We need to talk, boy. Things have changed. You cannot stay here any longer.”
“You just said—”
“I know what I said. But it would seem Emma is much more powerful than I have given her credit for. A witch has been undoing my spells. I was only able to put this shelter together after realizing mine had been discovered.”
Drew placed his hands on his knees. He wondered when they would discuss what had happened back at his aunt’s cottage.
“You believe a witch could undo your spells?” He did not bother to hide his disbelief. “You have only had Emma as an apprentice—”
“I’ve had two apprentices in my lifetime,” Adelaide corrected. “One was Emma. The other was a daft girl who ran off and married some Spanish explorer at the first opportunity she got.”
“And you think she is breaking your spells?”
“Besides Emma, she is the only person who would be able to.”
“What denomination is she?” Emma asked, though her eyes remained focused on Kelia.
“Fire,” Adelaide replied.
“No wonder.”
“What does this have to do with what we’re facing at hand?” Drew asked.
“Besides the fact that you must train Kelia?” Adelaide asked.
“I am already well aware of that,” Drew muttered. “She is raw. She has skill but she needs to develop it.”
“Unfortunately, you are her only teacher,” Adelaide said.
“I’ve managed to stay alive for a hundred years—”
“Because the Queen fancies herself in love with you,” Adelaide cut in. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself off of the wall. "And because you had someone actually
willing to train you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
As he looked around the room, no one kept eye contact with him except for his aunt. She leveled her gaze at him and crossed his arms.
“Even if you do get over your infatuation with her enough to train her, how much help do you think you’ll be?” his aunt pressed. “Really, Drew, please tell me you are not so stupid as to think you are the most skilled Shadow alive.”
“I am one of the oldest,” Drew shot back, “and while I might not adhere to certain logic because I am not a witch, I am still more powerful than every Shadow alive.”
“Not anymore,” Adelaide said. “Not with her beside you.” She nodded to Kelia. “No Shadow has a weakness like yours.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Drew spit out. “I just rid myself of her?”
“Ridding yourself of her would be like ridding yourself of a limb,” Adelaide said. “You would be weaker still.”
“We need to focus,” Emma put in. “Kelia needs to gain her strength.”
“There is more to it than just this wench—”
“Watch it
,” Drew said, his fangs extracting before he could stop them. “You may ridicule my feelings for her all you want, but you will not insult her. Am I clear?”
Adelaide glared at Drew but did not contradict him.
“You say there’s a powerful witch breaking your spells,” Emma said, standing from the foot of the bed to pace the small room. With both Emma and Adelaide inside, Drew felt as though there was hardly room to breathe, let alone move around in. “What can we do about her?”
“There’s only one thing to do,” Adelaide said. “We need the Sirens.”
Emma stopped walking, and Drew snorted, shaking his head.
“The Sirens?” He curled stray blond hair from Kelia’s braid behind her ear. She didn’t move underneath his touch. In fact, the only way he knew she was still alive was the gentle rise and fall of her chest. “You want us to befriend a Siren? That’s impossible.”
“More than one,” Adelaide said, picking at her fingernails. “I don’t think we’ll accomplish anything with just one. And yes, it may be impossible, but it is necessary we try.”
“A water witch to to go against a fire witch,” Emma murmured. She had a tone that sounded as though she was deep in thought about something, so while Drew wanted to interject more, he held his tongue, waiting to see what Emma had to say. “That is the logical decision. But how do we get the assistance of a Siren? They are all loyal to the Queen.”
“Are they?” Adelaide dropped her hand to her jutted hip. “Just like all Shadows are loyal to her?” She looked between Drew and Emma. “You search hard enough, you’ll find a sea witch who wants to kill the Queen as much as you do. How do you think I was able to concoct an antidote to the Siren’s poison? I have an ally I can put you in touch with.”
“Who?” Emma asked.
“Her name is Bethany,” Adelaide responded. “She has suffered great losses at the hands of the Queen.”
“Impossible,” Drew said. “The Queen did not take from anyone what she did from me.”
“Would you quit feeling sorry for yourself, boy? The Sirens used to be humans, just like you. Witches, actually. She took them and condemned them to the sea. No more land. No more way to walk. She took something from them, too, and they’re searching for their freedom just the way you are. Perhaps if you see things with their eyes, you might be able to find enough of them willing to help you.”
“It’s not just me who needs help, Aunt,” Drew said. He put his hand on his thigh, trying to smooth down wrinkles in the material. “If there’s a witch breaking your spells, you are not safe here any longer, either.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” She rolled her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. Heavy thunder echoed outside but there was no sign of rain just yet.
“What do we do about the fire witch?” Drew asked.
“We can’t do anything about someone we don’t know.” Adelaide rubbed the bridge of her nose. Despite the fact that his aunt was old—much older than he was—Drew had never seen her look tired before until now. It made him feel uncomfortable. He looked away, back at Kelia. "We need to find out more about her magic."
“Is there a way to run a trace on her?” Emma asked. She resumed pacing, rubbing her hands together. “If you believe it was your other student, perhaps we can look more into her—”
“We cannot.”
“Why not?”
“She died years ago,” Adelaide said. “I do not know if she passed on her powers to a child. I hope not, because she was so fickle to begin with. Powerful, but fickle.”
“It can’t hurt,” Drew said. “We can’t sit around doing nothing. Not when there’s so much at stake. None of us can stay on this island anymore. Not even you.”
“I can take care of myself, boy.”
Raindrops tapped on the roof and windows of the shack. One fell on the tip of Drew’s nose. He looked up to see rain leaking through the roof. He would have to fix that as quickly as possible so Kelia wouldn’t catch a cold.
She can’t catch a cold
.
Reality hit him once again that she was no longer human.
“You,” Adelaide continued. “You must train Kelia.”
“I know—”
“You don’t know.” Adelaide walked toward Drew, her footsteps heavy but serious. “I see how you look at her, as if she’s too fragile for this world. She’s too close to you, Drew. You’ll be tempted to take it easy because, in your mind, you believe you’ll always be around to protect her.”
“I have learned that lesson the hard way, Aunt,” he told her, each word timed to match her footstep. “She was taken from me, poisoned. There was a reason I turned her.”
“She needs to be trained hard. She cannot be an Infant much longer or she will not survive this.”
Drew held back the growl building in his chest. “I understand.”
Adelaide shot a look over at Emma, whose face remained inscrutable. Both women stepped from the room without saying anything else.
Another raindrop hit his shoulder.
He would need to fix that now. It would be a good opportunity to figure out how he was going to survive training Kelia tomorrow.