With a nod
from Lila, Alex and Griffin came over to her. They bravely moved directly to
her head where it lay immobile on the ground.
Ellie could
see Alex shaking from the effort. As they lay their hands on her, Ellie heard
Alex’s voice in her mind. “
Come back to us, Ellie.”
She snorted,
the dragon part of her still very much in control.
“Come back
to me, my love”.
The dragon
snorted again.
“Te’sorthene.
Please.”
Something
inside Ellie collapsed, like a breaking dam. Her humanity came rushing forward,
overpowering the fierceness, the hatred, the fury. She stayed in monster form,
but Ellie was the one in control now.
Love
,
she thought incredulously.
Love is the answer. If I hold on to my love, I
hold on to my humanity.
She felt
Griffin’s relief as he heard her thoughts. “
I’m in control now,”
she
clarified.
Griffin
relayed the message to Alex, who furrowed his brow dubiously. But Griffin
grinned from ear to ear. Her brother let out a loud, uncharacteristic
whoo
p.
“She’s got it,” he assured Alex. “We can let her up now.”
Alex glanced
back at the enormous dragon beside him, the images of the great beast in full
and dreadful glory still fresh in his mind. But he nodded.
Ellie felt the
forces on her release. Free to move, she shifted into a stand, folding her
immense wings into a resting position on her massive back. The overwhelming
peace left her, but she held on to the love that was so much stronger than the
rage, and she no longer needed any help to feel the peace. She truly had
control. She even felt the fire reignite inside her belly but kept it in check
easily.
She leaned
forward and very gently nuzzled Alex.
He flashed a
cheeky grin her way, relief clearly evident on his handsome face, in the set of
his shoulders. He turned back to the wolves still pinned in place, and Ellie
took a moment to appreciate the extent of Alex’s powers. To be able to keep
control of the entire wolf pack, while also taming her, must’ve taken immense
strength. He’d told her how difficult containing just four attacking wolves had
been.
Alex turned to
address the wolves. “You are defeated,” he declared loudly enough for all of
them to hear. “You have to accept this. Your leader and your greatest asset in
battle is dead. You will leave here and never return. You will never attack
another being. If we hear of any wolf attacking a human, we will hunt you down
and kill you!”
He glared at
each of them, and an unhappy whimper erupted from the pack.
“Silence!” a
female voice suddenly called out from the woods. A pure white wolf, gloriously
beautiful, appeared at the edge of the clearing, the small brown wolf standing
at her side, like it had been at Gideon’s.
Ellie
bristled, but stopped as the wolf morphed into human form. Before them stood a
lovely girl, with blonde hair so pale it looked like moonlight streaming down
her back. Ellie heard Griffin’s indrawn breath.
The girl held
up a hand, almost like a peace offering.
“As my
brother’s sister, I speak for our pack,” she said. “We will abide by the terms
that my brother agreed to.”
Adelaide
quietly confirmed, “Gideon is… was her brother.”
She glanced at
Griffin and opened her mouth as if to expand on something but then closed it
again. Griffin shot her a look of disgust, and she shrugged her shoulders in
return. Ellie stayed out of the mental conversation going on between Adelaide
and Griffin, keeping her sole focus on the girl in front of her.
“If you let us
leave in peace now,” the ethereal figure continued, “you will not need to fear
us again. Nor will any other living being. I swear it.”
Lucy and Lila
both spoke at once—
“Her
intensions are true.”
“She’s
sincere. We can trust her.”
“Griffin?”
Alex glanced at him.
Griffin shook
his head. “Only silence.” He clenched his hands at his sides. “I can’t hear
anything.”
Alex looked up
at Ellie. A moment later, she shifted back into her human form and walked over
to the girl.
“What is your
name?”
“Selene.”
“May I take
your hand?” Ellie asked softly. “I need to know what your powers are before we
make a decision.”
With only a
slight hesitation, Selene offered an elegant wrist.
Ellie closed
her eyes and concentrated. Satisfied, she returned to her family.
“We can trust
her, I think,” she murmured to them.
Looking from
person to person, Alex received nods from each in turn.
“You have our
permission to go,” he said. As he released them from his hold, the pack heaved
a collective breath and then all disappeared into the woods.
Selene watched
the retreat. As the last wolf disappeared, she said, “I wish you well—”
The last word
cut off as Griffin moved to stand in front of her. They stared at each other
intently for a long moment. Finally, Selene reluctantly turned away and
disappeared into the woods.
Ellie had only
just registered the fact that Griffin still stood staring after the girl when
Alex grabbed her, spun her to face him, and then roughly pulled her into his
embrace. “Don’t you ever do anything so rash again. Do you hear me?” He buried
his face in her hair and squeezed her waist tight.
Ellie smiled,
wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a lingering kiss. She pulled
back and grinned at him. “You don’t have to worry anymore. They’re gone. And
we’re all safe and alive.”
“I thought you
were going to kill us all, Ellie, and not just the wolves…” He pulled her back
close, his expression pained. “What if I’d had to kill you? What if Griffin
would’ve had to help me?”
Ellie shook
her head. “We were
all
going to die unless I did something drastic,” she
insisted. “And nothing bad happened to us. You and Griffin… you saved me from
myself. And now I can control it.” Her excitement about this new ability was
clear.
“Are you
sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Alex looked
deeply in her eyes for another heartbeat. And then, blowing out any remaining
fear he’d held inside him in a long breath, he grinned.
“You were
pretty bad ass,” he said. “I mean, how many guys can say their girlfriend turns
into a frickin’ fire-breathing dragon?”
“Yeah?” Ellie
asked. She’d been a little worried about what they would all think of her in
that form. The dragon was slightly terrifying after all.
Alex’s eyes
glowed with a desire that pulsed through her, letting her see exactly how much
he was okay with this part of her. Speaking so only she could hear, he
murmured, “It’s seriously sexy, if you really want to know. Jeez, baby, you are
so damned incredible. You take my breath away.”
Ellie breathed
a ragged sigh of relief, laughing a little. “Oh really?” she practically
purred. “I think we might have to explore this a little further when we get
home.”
She received a
sweet kiss in response.
They turned
their attention to the rest of the family, who gathered around hugging one
another and laughing. Ellie looked for Griffin but didn’t see him. Looking over
her shoulder, she finally found him still standing at the edge of the clearing,
still staring off into the woods. Adelaide came to stand beside her, watching
Griffin with a concerned expression.
“What did you
see, Delia?”
She shook her
head. “I don’t usually share the relationships I see unless they’re pretty well
solidified. But this time…” She shook her head again and sighed. “Honestly,
I’m not entirely sure
what
I saw. Definitely something I’ve never seen
before. There’s definitely a connection there. But it’s all mixed up. Multiple
colors fighting for dominance. Lovers. Friends. Enemies.” She looked at Ellie
with a helpless shrug. “It’s all jumbled up.”
“Thank you for
telling me, Adelaide,” Ellie said quietly.
Ellie walked
over to Griffin and silently took his hand.
“She
can’t
be evil, Ellie,” he murmured.
“I know,” she
agreed quietly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his head turn.
“What did you
see?” he asked, frustrated. “Something was blocking me. I couldn’t follow
along.”
“I saw that
she
was the one removing our powers, not Gideon. His power was the ability to
control anyone, make them do exactly what he wanted. Sort of like what I do,
only he controlled their minds, forcing them to think they’d made the decision
themselves. He was controlling all of the Vyusher…including her. But
she
was the one in the pack with the ability to turn off a power. As soon as
someone uses theirs in her presence, she hones in and takes it away. But she
never wanted to. Gideon was forcing her… forcing all of them, all along.”
Ellie felt
Griffin’s despair building. “So now she’s left to clean up after her bastard of
a brother?” he asked, a bitter edge tainting his words.
Ellie squeezed
his hand and made a conscious effort to stay out of his head. Whatever her
brother was thinking and feeling right now was private. She wouldn’t violate
his trust that way.
“Come on…” She
gave his arm a gentle tug. “Let’s go home.”
Griffin seemed
to physically shake himself out of his thoughts. Turning to his sister, he was
suddenly struck by happiness that they’d managed to survive this ordeal.
Together.
Sensing his
sentiment, Ellie laughed and flung her arms around his neck in a playful hug.
“Me too…” Then more serious, “Thanks for saving me, Griffin.”
“Again,” he
reminded her with a wink.
She stuck her
tongue out at him.
They joined
the rest of the family exchanging more happy embraces. Joining hands, Charlotte
teleported them home.
Ellie was
shocked at how quickly life returned to normal. She, Lila, Adelaide, and Nate
all returned to school. They spent time with their friends, going to movies and
studying in the library. Alex had taken off the full semester of college and
continued to work for Hugh in his law firm. Ellie, Adelaide, and Nate would be
graduating soon, but Lila still had one more year left.
The Jenners
and Pierces moved back into their homes, except for Alex. Her house had never
felt so empty. They really didn’t spend much time there anymore. They preferred
instead to fly over to the others in the evenings, only returning to their home
to sleep and dress. Alex went where Ellie went and vice versa.
In the
evenings they would often discuss their plans for the future. Ramsey had
decided that with his power now under control, he wanted to try going to
school. They decided the best option was for him to start as a senior in high
school in the fall, joining Lila. Alex planned to go to college but was
considering transferring, and Ellie decided to join him wherever he went.
Griffin seemed
to be the only one who didn’t seem to care about making plans. Ellie
surreptitiously watched her brother with growing concern. He continually
blocked his thoughts from her, which wasn’t like him. Although he tried to
behave normally, Ellie could tell something was up. No one else had noticed. They
just didn’t know Griffin as well as she did. When questioned about his future,
he said simply that he would be quite happy to just stay with Hugh and Lucy
since Alex and Ellie would both be away at school.
So Ellie kept
her worries to herself. Griffin would talk to her when he was ready.
“Ellie,” Lucy
called up the stairs. “Are you ready to go? We don’t want to be late!”
“Coming!”
Taking one
last look in the mirror, she patted her hair into place. She grabbed her
mortarboard off the vanity and rushed down the stairs, her face aglow.
Today was her
high school graduation. She had a role to play for the rest of the world so
that she and her Svatura family didn’t have to live as outcasts but could be a
part of society. She’d never been through a graduation ceremony before.
They were all
waiting down by the living room, and Ellie struck a pose as she reached the
bottom of the stairs.
“Oh, very
fashionable,” Adelaide said, tongue-in-cheek. They all laughed.
They piled
into their cars and headed for the football stadium where the ceremony would be
held. The weather dawned clear and bright and glorious for the occasion. Crisp
blue skies and the warmth of the sun shining down on them, despite the chill in
the air.
Ellie, sitting
alphabetically with the other graduates, tried to soak in every part of the
event. As she crossed the field to accept her diploma, her family all cheered
for her, Griffin and Alex cheering the loudest. And then cheered herself as
Adelaide and then Nate received their own diplomas.
Her eyes
filled with tears with the love that swelled up in her. And then she whooped
wildly with the rest of the students as they all threw their caps into the air.
She went around hugging her friends, people she would most likely not see
again. She gave especially big hugs to Jill and Brian and Juliette. She’d never
had “normal” friends before, but thanks to them she did.
After the
ceremony concluded, she rode with Griffin and Alex back to the Jenners’ house,
still amped up from her day. They’d decided to have a private celebratory
dinner together at home.
As she got out
of the car, Alex held her back. “I just wanted one second alone with you
because I know we won’t get another chance for the rest of the night.”
She smiled and
wrapped her arms up around his neck. Standing on tip toe, she placed a
lingering kiss on his mouth.
“I’m so proud
of you,” he said when they came up for air.