As Logan reaches into the back, I ask Tom, “Who’s this friend we’re visiting?”
“Colin Harris. You’ve met him a couple times when you were younger. His power works with metal. He’s able to move and manipulate anything with metal in it. It’s pretty interesting. He has a…rather large home and is graciously allowing us to stay with him. We need to train and work on Ryanne’s new power. Can it be combined with her magic to strengthen it? What else can it do?”
“The girl doesn’t need any more strength. She can handle herself,” Emma states.
“Emma, as mages we are all given our powers when we need them. She got this power because somewhere down the line, she’s going to need it. You will come into your powers. Don’t worry. You just have to be patient.”
“I know. I know. I’m just a little anxious,” she says as she leans back into David. My brother wraps his arm around her and then looks directly at me. He doesn’t know how to comfort her when she brings up her lack of magic. She sighs and snuggles into his chest. “Unless you’re Ryanne’s size, this whole sitting on the lap thing isn’t very comfortable,” she mumbles.
Logan hands me a sweatshirt. I wrap it around Ryanne’s shoulders. We’ll have to find a way to get her some warmer clothing soon. I move the edge of the jacket over her knees when she curls closer to me, trying to get warm. “So how long are we going to stay at Colin’s?”
“I’m not sure. A couple days. A week tops. Ryanne has talked with a lot of families recently. I think she needs a little break from everything for a little while. I called Colin yesterday to see if there were any mages in his area. He didn’t know of any, but said that we’d be able to stay at his house until we found some more. I thought that it would be a good idea to regroup there and work out the next part of our plan.”
“Well, I guess that sounds like a good idea. We could all use a break,” I say. Everyone in the car mumbles an agreement. Though it’s been Ryanne who’s been doing the most talking recently, we’ve all been alert. There’s always a chance that someone we visit could react violently. Some would yell at Ryanne and threaten her. Liam had to hold me back when that happened. The soulmate in me doesn’t react well when I see these large mages yelling at her. She stands her ground and doesn’t even flinch at their tone which usually gives her the advantage because they aren’t expecting it. She’s handing everything so well. Better than I expected.
“Turn your emotions off,” Ryanne mumbles sleepily to me.
“Sorry,” I whisper, hoping that she’ll fall back asleep. How do you turn your emotions off? I try to push everything back, but I honestly have no idea how to do that. Ryanne sighs and sits up.
“This power sucks,” she complains. “I can’t do anything without knowing what you guys are feeling. So, even though I push your thoughts back, I can still tell what everyone is feeling. I’m a walking invasion of privacy.”
“We’ll find a way to control it, Ry. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t know what I’m feeling because there are so many emotions in my mind. I can push them back into this stupid little box, but which emotions are mine and which belong to everyone else? I think they’re starting to affect me personally. I feel like I’m a ticking time bomb. I have so many emotions in me that keep building on top of each other. Sooner or later, I’m going to explode,” she says.
“We’ll figure everything out soon, Ryanne. We’ll help you,” Tom says. Ryanne bites her lip and slips her arms through my sweatshirt sleeves. It’s way too big on her, but she snuggles into it. I gently grab her chin and make her look at me.
“You okay?”
She stares at me, but doesn’t respond. Instead, she shrugs. I lean forward and kiss her forehead. I try to push soothing thoughts out, hoping that she’ll catch them. She sighs and leans her forehead against mine. “Thank you,” she whispers.
“Anytime, Ry.”
Ryanne settles back against me, but doesn’t try to go back to sleep. I grab her arm and roll the sleeves back, revealing her hands. Lacing our hands together, I continue to push soothing emotions to her. She relaxes and buries her head into my neck. Her warm breath tickles my skin as she breathes in and out. I feel her chuckle against me after reading my emotions.
Tom stops the car in front of a large house. “Oh my sweet baby Jesus, this isn’t a house. This is a freaking hotel,” Incendia says. Ryanne and I turn around and give her a questioning look. She just shrugs and continues to gawk out the window. I can hear Bragden trying to cover a laugh in the front seat.