Ellora's Sun

Chapter Twenty One

"My way might take a little longer, but it's better than risking her safety." Christoph narrowed his eyes. He was taller than Stefan by an inch or two, but Stefan did not seem intimidated by Christoph's large stature. He kept his composure, giving him another little shrug of his shoulders.

Adelaide looked between them, rolling her eyes at their constant bickering. She knew that Stefan had nothing to do with Christoph's mother's death, and she knew that deep down Christoph knew that as well. But he wasn't willing to give up on the image he had painted Stefan in, and so they continued to bicker.

"Well I, for one, want to learn how to fight." She stepped in between them, raising a hand in the air and offering a small laugh. Stefan's expression didn't change, though she thought she saw his lips twitch slightly. Christoph, however, looked at her as if she said something offensive. When she didn't amend her statement or say anything, he frowned and crossed his arms.

"Fine, you guys try it your way. But I'm not going to participate in berating Adelaide." Christoph stated, taking a step away from them and towards the kitchen.

"Great, then you and Lorenzo can make dinner." Stefan offered with a polite smile before quickly turning his back to Christoph, leaving no room for argument. He started talking Adelaide through his idea, leaving Christoph and Lorenzo to head into the kitchen. Adelaide sent Christoph an apologetic look as he pouted, but she was eager to start training with Stefan and quickly turned her attention back to him.

"Before you learn offensive fighting, you need to be able to defend yourself against incoming attacks," Stefan explained. Adelaide nodded along eagerly, "if you can use it right, your magic can heighten your senses. You'll move quicker, hear better, see more clearly, be more aware of your surroundings."

"Okay..." Adelaide thought back to when she first got all of her magic, after the ritual. She remembered hearing everything around her, so much so that it became overwhelming. But that was one time, she wasn't sure how to do it on command, "how do I do that?"

"Close your eyes," Stefan instructed, putting his hands on either of her shoulders. She listened, squaring her feet beneath her and squeezing her eyes shut. She felt his hands disappear, and when he spoke his voice moved farther from her, "follow the sound of my voice. Picture where I am in the room."

Adelaide listened, recalling the layout of the room. With her eyes closed, she felt her other senses heighten to compensate. She heard the faint sound of Christoph moving around in the kitchen, and the sound of Stefan's footsteps as he moved around the room. As he spoke, she heard his voice moving away from her and towards the direction of the TV.

"You're over there." Adelaide told him, point a finger behind her where she'd heard him. Stefan didn't respond, but the sound of his footsteps disappeared. Adelaide almost opened her eyes in confusion when she couldn't hear him anymore, but suddenly she heard him across the room.

"What about now?"

Stefan's voice was in front of her and to the left, but she hadn't heard him move across the room. Adelaide scrunched her eyebrows as she focused harder, sure that she had missed his movements. She heard his shoulder brush against a photograph hanging on the wall, and she pointed in the direction she knew the photographs were.

"There."

His footsteps and voice disappeared again, and for a moment all she could hear was Christoph and Lorenzo in the kitchen. Then she heard the subtle sound of pages rustling again, and her head whipped around in the direction of the noise. With her eyes still shut, Adelaide threw her hands in the air to deflect the incoming books. She couldn't see, but her hearing was so clear she could imagine it perfectly. This time, instead of stopping them, she tried deflecting the books in the direction she thought Stefan had been standing. She heard them hit the wall and thud to the ground in defeat.