Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 16

"Noreena? Honey?" My mother's hand landed on my shoulder and I tensed, not having noticed her approaching footfalls.

Finally looking around, I could see that the clearing was untended but not destroyed. The beauty on the surface had been peeled away to embrace what lie within like an onion peeled of layers to reach its core. It was amazing. Baffling. Conflicting.

Was this a lesson?

Was I supposed to learn from some mistake here?

Allowing my fears to rule me was giving away a piece of me: my control. Facing what frightened me gave away something different: my guilt. That was worth more.

"Hey, Nora," my mother whispered, and I finally turned around to face her.

Our gazes met. The emotional dam I'd kept at bay for four years broke. She wrapped me in her arms and smoothed my hair away from my face. The pain streaked down my cheeks to soak the front of her shirt. We sat where we stood while she held me until the sobs withered and faded.

"What are you doing here, Mom?" I finally sniffed and pulled away.

There was no way that I would be able to explain this away. What mother doesn't want to know why their child is fractured?

"I've always jogged here," she said and leaned back in the grass to rest her weight on her elbows. She stretched her legs in front of her, crossing them at her ankles, and tipped her head up so that the sun haloed her head.

For the first time, it dawned on me that the rays of light were penetrating the shadows of the clearing, no longer protected by the overhanging branches that had always cooled. The fire had disintegrated them.

"Jogging? You jog now?"

"For years."

"Years?" I gulped. "So, you know? Why didn't you...?"

"Why didn't you?" She arched her eyebrow, still staring up at the sky. "I'm not psychic, but I don't need to be able to read your mind to know that something happened out here. I just don't know what that something is."

"It's nothing."

"I don't believe that." She sat up. "You don't have to tell me."

I stared at her in wonder. How could she not want me to tell her what had happened? It would be so much easier if she demanded me to tell her the truth; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to. "You've known for four years and haven't said anything?"

"I told you I don't know what happened."

"Just that something happened."

"Yes." She nodded and then cocked her head to the side to look at me. "Do you want to tell me?"

"No." I shook my head and looked around.

"Okay." She leaned back again and neither of us spoke while she closed her eyes.

Finally, the silence that settled as she didn't elaborate grated on my nerves, prompting me to start talking again. I looked down and ran my fingers through the overgrown, lush green grass beside me. "Mom, have you ever done something that you regret? Like, something you wish you hadn't thought to try in the first place?"

"Who hasn't?" She laughed. "That's life for you."

"What about magic? Have you ever done something that went wrong with magic?"

"Sure, Noreena, nobody's perfect."

"Doesn't that scare you? To know that your abilities can get out of control?"