Kendrick stood and cleared the table in two seconds flat. “What possessed you to try such a thing!”
Meryn was staring at her hand. “That was so cool!”
“Do you have any idea what you could have done?” Kendrick demanded.
“Blown up the table?” Meryn asked, tilting her head to look up at him.
“Meryn, please, my mate, I’m begging you, please never attempt magic again,” Aiden begged.
“But what if it saves me someday?”
Aiden and Kendrick exchanged looks before Kendrick collapsed in a chair. “Cord.” Kendrick pointed to himself and Aiden.
Without a word spoken, Cord simply poured the two of them a shot of Forbidden Fruit.
“This calls for a celebration! My niece can use magic!” Brennus announced proudly.
Kendrick scowled at him. “No, it does not call for celebration. It calls for water sprinklers and asbestos.”
“That shit will kill ya,” Meryn warned.
The queen lifted her tea cup. “Never a dull moment.”
Zoe rested her head against her mate’s chest and let his heartbeat soothe her. “I feel like I can breathe freely for the first time since I was a child.”
“You scared me to death, and seeing you face your fears without me had me feeling helpless, but I wouldn’t exchange your expression of peace for anything,” Gage admitted before kissing the top of her head.
“Even if I may have inadvertently taught Meryn fire magic?” she asked smirking.
“Even then.”
Meryn looked up from where she had been staring at her plate and glanced around the table. “So, on a scale between one and ten, how angry do you think Sascha would get if I set him on fire?”
Cord sighed, then poured more shots.
Chapter Nine
After Meryn’s question ignited laughter and multiple looks of concern, Gage simply stood and carried her toward the door.
“Get her home. We’ll be right behind you,” Ari said, indicating to Priest and Kincaid.
“We’ll see you there,” Gage replied.
“Zoe, keep your foods light tonight and drink Blessed Chamomile. Rest is the best thing for you,” Kendrick advised.
“That sounds wonderful to me. Good night, everyone,” Zoe said, waving. When she caught Amelia’s eye, she mouthed the words, ‘thank you’.
Amelia just nodded.
“I’m going to forget how to walk,” she observed as he turned the corner and started down the long hallway toward the exit.
“That’s fine by me.”
As they walked back, she thought over what she had learned. What amazed her was she had the knowledge the whole time. Amelia didn’t reveal anything she didn’t already know, just framed it in a new light.
“I think the worst part about how I was treated was that it made me doubt my own mind and strength. Their conditioning had me relying on them for everything.”
“You don’t have to concern yourself with them anymore,” he said, his voice harsh.