Here's the next chapter! :D I really hope you guys like it! :D Please vote and comment for it! :D I'm still dedicating the chapters to my loyal readers so please, pretty pretty please, read it, vote and comment for it! Picture of Raven on the side. ;D
Chapter 39
Soft fingers combed through Kayla’s long dark hair, untangling the mess of waves. Kayla stared blankly at the mirror, her eyes taking in nothing, even as Sapphire worked on her hair. Despite her disorientation, Kayla was impressed at Sapphire’s seemingly amazing skill with hair and how she was able to make Kayla look like such an orderly person when she was really a mess inside.
“Do you like it?” Sapphire asked, interrupting Kayla’s train of thought.
Shaking her head slightly to focus on herself, Kayla stared into the glass. She almost didn’t recognize herself in the mirror; she had taken a shower and changed into a long white dress. Her hair was twisted and coiled into an elaborately braided hairstyle that fell halfway down her back. Déjà vu overwhelmed her for a second as she realized that her reflection reminded her very much of her wedding day.
Stop it, she told herself sternly. You’re getting sentimental.
Sapphire’s concerned eyes met Kayla’s in the glass. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to nod in gratitude to her friend.
“Yes, it looks very nice,” she said simply, almost regretting the tone of formality in her voice. “Thank you.”
“You look fantastic,” Dahlia said, clapping her hands together. “You look-”
“Like a bride?” Kayla interrupted, trying to supress the bitterness in her tone. “Yeah, I figured as much.”
“No,” Dahlia corrected, frowning slightly. “I was going to say ‘beautiful’.”
Kayla sighed, feeling frustrated, guilty and messed up all at once. It wasn’t Sapphire’s or Dahlia’s fault and yet she was taking it out on them. She didn’t care two hoots about her appearance at Luna’s coronation, but she knew that Luna would, so she had allowed Sapphire to pick out her dress and literally give her a makeover; all three girls were wearing white dresses and makeup. But of course, she couldn’t quite get a smile to complete the image.
Both Dahlia and Sapphire did look stunning, like models. Dahlia wore a light white dress with two silky layers with the outer one split down the front while Sapphire was dressed in a fine silk dress that flowed to her ankles and made her look older and more mature than she really was. Kayla had a pretty good feeling that if they went with the boys to the coronation, namely Troy and Tamarak, the four would look like they were going to prom.
“Where did you learn to style hair, Sapphire?” Dahlia asked, toying with one blonde curl.
Sapphire winked at her as she secured a last strand of Kayla’s dark hair with a jewel-encrusted pin and stood back to survey her handiwork. Apparently satisfied with the result, she turned back to Dahlia, brushing imaginary hairs off her hands.
“I had a lot of free time,” she said. “Trust me, when you’re stuck in the Catacombs of Paris for about six years, you have a lot of free time on your hands.”
Dahlia grinned teasingly. “Even when you’ve got your boyfriend there?”
She realized her slip up the second the words came out and flushed immediately. Sapphire froze momentarily and then gave a smile, but Kayla noticed that it looked rather forced.
“Tamarak wasn’t always Sapphire’s boyfriend,” Kayla jumped in quickly to try and save her friend the embarrassment. “They didn’t start going out until they were about seventeen, eighteen maybe.”
Sapphire hesitated then added, “It was a great year,” she admitted, staring at her reflection in the glass.
Kayla and Dahlia exchanged a frustrated look; both of them much preferred Tamarak to Romulus, although neither of them had much influence over Sapphire’s decision. Sapphire caught the look and rolled her eyes.
“I know you guys prefer Tam,” she said simply, playing with an eyebrow pencil.
They exchanged a sheepish look and then Dahlia said, “Yeah, I do. He’s much nicer than Romulus. I don’t know what you see in him, Romulus, I mean.”
Sapphire studied the pencil for a while before saying, “Well, I don’t know what you see in Troy or what Kayla sees- saw- in Benjamin.”
“Touché,” Dahlia admitted. “But character wise, Romulus can sometimes be incredibly arrogant and proud.”
Sapphire hesitated. “So is Kayla, but she’s still my best friend.”
Kayla punched Sapphire teasingly in the arm, but it didn’t have as much jokiness as it usually did. “Did you just call me arrogant and proud?”
“Yeah, she did,” Dahlia said, smiling. “But that should be a compliment; apparently Sapphire likes guys that way.”
It was Sapphire’s turn to swat at Dahlia, who danced out of the way with a laugh. It made Kayla feel a little pleased about how well they were getting along; they had a lot in common and not just appearance.
“Are we meeting the guys there?” Dahlia asked, changing the subject and looking carefully at Sapphire to see her reaction.
Sapphire gave her a mocking glare, but there was humour behind the look too. “Yeah, all four of them: Tam, Troy, Cedric and Hunter.”
“What about Romeo and his twin?” Dahlia teased.
Sapphire shot her another look, this one sterner. “Both guys are on patrol duty. So no matchmaking, you two. I’ve got revenge up my sleeve if you try anything.”
“Like what?” Dahlia bantered.
“Troy and Cedric,” Sapphire countered, putting away her makeup. “So keep that tongue of yours still!”
Dahlia flinched at Sapphire’s words and Kayla gave a start; she clearly hadn’t realized Cedric’s feelings for Dahlia.
“What do you mean, Cedric likes Dahlia?” Kayla asked curiously.
Dahlia blushed pink. “I didn’t ask him to.”
“You haven’t turned him down yet,” Sapphire pointed out.
“I didn’t have a chance,” Dahlia stammered, but she realized that that wasn’t true. She merely hadn’t wanted to upset him or endanger their lives whilst they were on a quest.
Kayla frowned. “How do you know that he likes you?” She directed the question to Dahlia, but both girls answered.
“He told me,” Sapphire said at the same time as Dahlia muttered, “He kissed me.”
“Whoa,” Kayla said, pushing back her chair and turning to face them properly. “Troy is going to freak!”
Dahlia blushed even darker. “He knows.”
“He knows?” Kayla exclaimed. “That you’re cheating?”
“No!” Dahlia protested vehemently. “It’s not like that. Cedric hasn’t made another move, not since the mission in which we found Remus.”
“Wait, so he kissed you twice?” It was Sapphire’s turn to be stunned. “Not just that time when he was drunk?”
Dahlia buried her face in her hands. “It wasn’t like I was cheating,” she muttered. “He was kissing me. I wasn’t kissing him.”
“But Troy knows? And he’s okay with it?” Kayla repeated.
“Yes… no…” Dahlia said and then rectified her words. “He knows that Cedric kissed me and no, he’s not okay with it. Why do you think they haven’t been getting along well?”
Kayla pointed at Dahlia with a finger. “You’d better clear this up with Cedric and let him know you’re not interested,” she said firmly. “You really better not mess with my brother’s feelings like this.”
“Is this the older sibling talk?” Dahlia teased, but when Kayla refused to back down, she sighed. “Okay, the next time he brings it up, I’ll turn him down. Hopefully it won’t be in the middle of a battle.”
“Either way, you shouldn’t string him along,” Kayla said, realizing all of a sudden that what she was saying applied to both girls. “It’s not fair to them.”
There was silence for a moment and then Dahlia and Sapphire said simultaneously, “I know.”
Luna smoothed out her silver dress once more even though the fabric already hung in perfect folds. Her silver eyes caught sight of her reflection in the glass mirror; she almost didn’t recognize herself. A young Meteorite stared back at her. She didn’t look anything like she had even a month ago. Only her eyes were the same. Her white-blonde hair was braided back around her silver diadem and her sparkling silver dress was covered with her camouflage cloak.
“It’ll be fine, Luna,” Io said gently. “You have nothing to worry about. Europa, the rest of your bodyguards and I will be there all the time. If there’s an emergency, Raven is fully prepared to be your decoy.”
As if that’s going to make me feel better, Luna thought wryly. Out loud, she addressed Raven, “I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
Raven rolled her expressive green eyes that reminded Luna of emeralds. “We’ve been through this, Luna,” she said. “I’ve been your decoy for the past few days; do you honestly think that I’ll change my mind after all that we’ve been through?”
“That’s exactly why I think you’d change your mind,” Luna replied. “Because of what you’ve been through. Don’t you think that staring death in the face puts jeopardizing your own life into perspective?”
Raven crossed her arms over her chest. “Luna, come on. You know full well that if you die, the Moon Children wouldn’t help us much longer. Plus, I’m the only one who can legitimately be your decoy. None of the Moon Children or the magicians looks like you. And with Kathryn out of commission, an illusion is not an option.”
Luna pursed her lips into a thin line. “I know.”
Raven squeezed Luna’s hand comfortingly; the two had formed a bond after Raven continually risked her life again and again for Luna’s wellbeing. “And I can’t become Kathryn and make the illusion of you,” she added. “It takes far more energy than just becoming you.”
“You don’t have much to spare,” Luna answered for her. She hesitated, then said, “Take some from me.”
“What, energy?” Raven asked.
Luna nodded. “Magic reserves. It works best between magicians of the same element; we’re both Magicians of Air so there should be no issues.”
Raven withdrew her hand. “You need all the magic you can get, especially if you’re attacked.”
“And if I’m attacked, you’re going to need energy to pretend to be me to save my life and your own,” Luna countered. “Come on, Raven. You know it makes sense.”
Raven scowled, but both girls knew that Luna was making sense. With a reluctant nod, Raven took Luna’s hand again. Luna closed her eyes and then pushed her magical aura out, letting it envelope Raven within its folds. She had done this before, but the most memorable time was when she had been helping Sapphire heal Dahlia.
At Raven’s sharp intake of breath, Luna guessed that the shape-shifter was receiving the power. She maintained the connection for a while, just enough for her limbs to get a little shaky before releasing Raven’s hand. Taking a few deep breaths, she sat down on the bench that the Moon Children had put in the erected tent behind the stage.
“Are you okay?” Raven asked, rubbing her hands together. “That was a strong transfer.”
“I’m good,” Luna assured her at the same moment that Io came up with two glasses of water.
“Drink up,” she instructed them. “I’ve been making sure that Raven is fine for long enough to know that the two of you need some fluids in your systems.”
Touched that Io actually knew about magicians’ weaknesses, Luna took the glass from the Moon Children with a murmured thanks and sipped the liquid. It did make her feel a little less dizzy although she never would have told Raven that.
Io left the tent, presumably to find out when Luna was supposed to go on stage for the coronation. Raven sat down next to Luna, her brow furrowed, like she was thinking hard. After a moment, Luna poked her hand.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” she said.
Raven rolled her eyes at Luna. “Like you don’t already know,” she teased, fiddling with the long white skirt of her dress.
Luna raised her eyebrows. “Sometimes, it’s still nicer to be told than to have people assume that I already know the answer.”
Raven shrugged, then muttered, “It’s the House of Glamours.”
“Ah…” Luna said slowly, dragging out the word. “The mental traps.”
Raven grimaced guiltily. “Not all of it was me, mind you. The voices were both me and Jared’s potions; the physical traps that had mechanics combined with magic were Elliot’s doing; Kathryn created the illusions of Dahlia and Sapphire; but I was…”
“Jenna,” Luna supplied.
“Yeah,” Raven mumbled, staring at her feet. “I didn’t want to become her but Romulus told us that she and Benjamin were Kayla’s worst fears. We postponed that challenge until it was the last because we knew that it would be the hardest that she had to face, but I almost hoped that she wouldn’t have to meet it; we knew how hard it was going to hit her. I just didn’t know that she was going to cause an earthquake!”
Luna chewed her bottom lip. “Everyone, well, all of Kayla’s good friends, knew that if there was going to be a challenge that she couldn’t beat it was going to be one with those two in it.”
“I know,” Raven muttered. “But she would have defeated, in fact she did defeat Kathryn’s illusion of Benjamin. She can face him in battle.”
There was a long pause. “I don’t know,” Luna replied. “His declaration of love was what undid it all for her. If she was able to pretend to herself before that she was over him, she can’t anymore. Whatever went on in the House of Glamours, Kayla knows the truth know; she still loves Benjamin. And even with my diviner powers, I can’t tell if she can fight him.”
There was a silence. “Does he love her?” Raven asked quietly.
Luna studied her hands in her lap, thinking about one of her previous visions, the one that had proved that Benjamin was really on their side… or at least he had been when Dahlia had charmed with/without magic none of them were sure, to save Dahlia, Tamarak, Hunter and Raven and transport them back to the Isle of Avalon via a wind.
Finally she said slowly, “Only Benjamin can tell you that.”