Deviation: Altera Realm Trilogy Book 2 (39 page)

Syney smiled at Noelle. “Just for a few hours?” she asked.

Noelle stared at her. “Why do you want my room?”

She sighed and shifted the bag in her hands. “It’s not like you use it anymore.”

“I’m here now,” Noelle said, gesturing around the room. “And you’re beyond nervous with whatever you’re up to. I can feel it.”

Sighing, Syney took a seat at the edge of Noelle’s bed. “I want to call forth Amelia and ask her if she knows how to break the connection I get when I heal someone.”

“Call forth?” Noelle asked, sitting next to her.

“Adam showed me how to do it. You can call the spirit of someone who’s on the other side.”

“I know this whole ‘feelings’ thing is annoying, but you don’t have to go through all this trouble. I can deal with it, really.”

Syney stared at her.

“Oh,” Noelle said. “I get it. This isn’t about me.”

Syney shook her head. She needed to do this, and her room was occupied since Adam had moved in with her and was confined to bedrest for a while. Adam hadn’t healed completely; although all his major injuries had, he still had some broken ribs. He was very painfully trying to sleep everything off for a
few days. He also still had a black eye, which Syney actually liked. It made him look tough, she had told him. He had tried to laugh but grimaced instead. She still couldn’t believe how brutally Prince Brian and his friends had beaten him. Gabe had nearly made good on his word to kill those responsible but had held back when Syney said killing them would only derail their plans. She also had a bad feeling that Brian and the others weren’t the ones who were really behind the attack. He had agreed then continued to berate Syney for involving Leaf with everything. No matter how many times Syney swore she hadn’t told him anything and wouldn’t even answer the questions he asked, Gabe still yelled at her as if she were a kid. Adam had stepped in, or at least interjected from the bed, and told them to calm down. “Leaf’s the reason I’m alive,” Adam had said, putting an end to the matter entirely.

Syney thought of Adam lying in pain in their bed and knew she had to call forth Amelia and ask what she knew. She wasn’t sure she wanted to have a heart-to-heart with her mom, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She loved Adam and wanted to give him her whole heart. That meant getting rid of Hunter completely, whether or not he thought she was his. Her joining with Adam was set for the following month, and something needed to be done now.

“I can’t do this in front of him, and I have nowhere else to go,” Syney said quietly.

Noelle nodded and stood. “I’ll go to Gabe’s room. Be careful.”

“It’s not dangerous. I promise.”

“Yes, it is,” Noelle said, shaking her head. “My mother told me of spells to bring back the dead, and she always warned me that the dead can’t lie.”

Syney laughed; she couldn’t help it.

“It’s not funny.”

“Sorry.”

Noelle sighed. “It means you might hear some things you don’t want to.”

Syney nodded. “But I have to do this.”

“OK. I’ll see you later?”

“Sure.”

Noelle gave her one last hard look before leaving the room.

Finally alone, Syney pulled out the candles and book she had taken from Adam’s things. He had his own little stash of magical stuff he had brought into the palace with him. She sat on the floor and did the spell twice. Both times nothing happened. The Andrews had shown up pretty quickly when Adam had done the spell, which meant something was wrong, but she had no idea what it was. She didn’t even have anyone she could ask. Gabe was out of the question. She didn’t want him involved at all, especially with his attitude lately. Adam
was the only other person who knew the spell, but he had even said it wouldn’t work with his own parents. She wondered whether it was a Magic User thing. Maybe they had a different spell that called them forth. Heaving a sigh, she stood as a bright white light filled the bedroom. Suddenly a woman not much older than Syney stood in the center of the room.

Syney looked her over, immediately recognizing her. She had only seen her once, in a dream but there was no mistaking the extremely long, pin straight black hair and deep ruby eyes. “You’re Faye, right?”

The woman smiled and nodded, tucking her black hair behind her ear. “It’s nice to meet you finally.”

“You, too But I’m a little confused. I called for Amelia,” Syney said slowly.

Faye’s face fell a little. “She didn’t want to come. I’m sorry.”

“She didn’t want to come? Are you serious?”

Faye nodded.

“That doesn’t work for me, because I have some serious questions for her. I need to know something about her powers, which I now have.”

“She knows that. That’s why she won’t come.”

Syney have a short laugh and sat on the bed. “My own mother doesn’t want to help me. That’s pretty bad.”

“She has her reasons. I don’t agree with them, but we don’t always see eye to eye,” Faye said, looking around. “This is Noelle’s room, right?”

Syney looked at her, feeling uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

“Nice girl. She’s good for Gabriel. And you’re good for Adam.”

She stared at her for a moment. “Is that why Amelia won’t come? Because of Adam?” It didn’t make any sense to her, but the way Faye had said it, it clearly had something to do with it.

Faye looked away. “She has her own opinions regarding what you should do in your life. I told her she needed to butt out.” She gave Syney a smirk. “My mother was always interfering with my life. You should have seen her when Gabriel and I joined. It was the first thing I ever did without her input.”

“I have to break this healing connection I have. Do you know anything about it?” Syney asked desperately.

“No. I wish I did, but Amelia and I never talked about her powers.” Faye sat next to her. “The answer must be in a book somewhere. Have you tried going through the Vilori book in the library?”

“Adam did. It discusses the connection but not how to break it.”

Faye smiled at the mention of Adam’s name. “He’s been so helpful to you.”

Syney nodded and looked at her hands. The ring Adam had given her was on her ring finger. It had struck her as odd when he had given it to her—not so
much the fact that he did but that he’d said it had been his mother’s. It looked so much like the necklace Gabe had given her for her birthday. She pulled the ring off her finger and showed it to Faye. “Is this yours?”

Faye’s smile fell as she looked at it. She slowly looked up at Syney and nodded.

“Adam said it was his mother’s.”

She got up and walked a few feet away. When she finally looked back at Syney, she wasn’t crying but was pretty close to it. She nodded and took a deep breath.

Syney stared at her while thoughts ran through her mind. Adam was Faye’s son and Faye was married to Gabe. That would mean…“Is Adam…Gabe’s son?”

Faye just nodded in response.

“I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t Gabe just tell him that he’s…his son,” Syney said, not really understanding it herself. He had raised Adam since he was a kid; why not just admit that he was his father? Wouldn’t it make them closer?

“Gabriel never wanted a family. I begged him for a child. He was always out and moving around. I needed something of him to stay with me in the Vampire City.” She sighed. “He was so attentive to both of us, but Goddess forbid I leave him alone with his own son. I tried, but he always turned into a nervous wreak. Adam was less than a year old when I died. Gabriel did what he could, I think.”

“Adam tried calling you forth. Why not come and…let him at least have one parent?”

“I did something before I died that kept me from crossing over. I quite literally wasn’t there to come.” She looked away and brushed some tears off her face.

Syney’s heart broke for her as her anger rose for Gabe. Adam needed parents, not a good-for-nothing guardian. She looked at Faye. “Adam’s a really great guy.”

Faye turned her scarlet eyes on her. “I know. I’m so proud of him. And he’s become a better person since he met you. I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“I didn’t do much. Trust me.”

Faye walked over and knelt in front of her. “You change people, Syney. Whether or not you want, you do.”

Syney frowned. “Sometimes not for the better, unfortunately.”

“Adam has become better, though. He was more like Gabriel before. I’d even say you saved his life.”

Syney smiled. “I love him, and I promise to love him and take care of him until the end.”

Faye smiled back. “That’s all I need.”

They stared at each other for a while before another bright light shone in the room to the right of them. They both looked at Amelia, who frowned back at them. But at least she was there, Syney thought.

“You break it with a spell,” Amelia said. “But the connection must be active, and you both have to say the spell.”

Syney stood and walked over to her. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. There’s so much more there than just a connection. You and Hunter are meant to be together, and you know that.”

“I don’t know anything but what I have right now. And I’m happy. Why is it so hard for my mother to be OK with that?” Syney snapped.

Amelia opened her mouth then closed it with a sigh. “Fine.
Rumpere nexu
. Just say it three times. I just hope you don’t regret this.”

Syney looked back at Faye and smiled. “I’ll be good to him.”

“I know you will.” Faye returned the smile before disappearing.

Syney looked back at Amelia, who was still frowning.

“I’ve seen your future, you know,” Amelia said.

“I don’t live in the future. I live now, and right now I’m getting married to Adam, and I’m happy about it. He may annoy the crap out of me sometimes, but I still love him.”

Amelia’s lips turned into a straight line as she stared at Syney for a moment before disappearing. Syney rolled her eyes and sighed. So much for having a good relationship with her mother. At least her soon-to-be mother in law liked her. She grabbed the candles and the spell book and headed back to her room. This had taken much less time than she’d expected, and she’d gotten her desired results. Amelia had been so excited to talk to her the first time they’d met. What a stark difference, Syney thought, as she walked down the long hallways. Today she had seemed almost angry at Syney, which made no sense. It was her life, not her mother’s. It hurt, though, to have her talk that way, to not support her. She actually had been eager to see Amelia. And this was what she’d gotten? It wasn’t fair.

Syney stopped short when she walked into the room and saw Gabe sitting on her couch, a book in his hand. He looked at her and smirked.
This is going to be hard
, she thought, shutting the door. She knew she should tell Adam. He deserved to know, and after more than a hundred years, it was obvious Gabe wasn’t going to do it himself. Syney was nervous, though. It wasn’t really her secret to tell, but how could she keep this to herself?

“Hey,” Adam said. He was sitting up in bed, shirtless, with a large bandage wrapped around his chest. He had an old book in his hand and a smile on his face.

Syney dropped her bag by the door and climbed into bed next to him. “Whatcha reading?” she asked, after getting a quick kiss.

“The Vilori power book. I figured we need every edge we can get,” he said, closing the book and placing it on the nightstand. He grimaced when he turned.

“Still hurts pretty bad?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but I’m still here, so I’m not complaining.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Syney asked, relaxing into the pillows.

“You can give him more blood.”

They both looked at Gabe.

“We talked about it and agreed that it’s the best thing,” Gabe said.

Adam laughed and shook his head. “No, we did not agree. And it was mostly you talking and telling me what to do. As always.”

“It’s not my fault I always know what’s best.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Oh, don’t talk like that!” Syney said automatically. “He’s—” She stopped herself. “He might be right. I mean, I could give you more.”

He looked at her and took her hand. “You don’t have to. It’s not a big deal. I’ll be out of bed soon. I’m feeling better every day.”

She ran a hand through his hair and rested her head on his shoulder. “Anything you need, you know that.”

“And on that cue…”Gabe said, standing up and heading out of the room.

“Thank God,” Adam sad with a sigh. “He’s been annoying the hell out of me for days.”

Syney’s chest tightened a little. “He’s not that bad.”

“This is Gabe we’re talking about, Syn. You know he’s that bad.”

She wanted to argue, but he was right. Gabe was one of those people who annoyed the crap out of you, but you kept them around because they were so embedded in your life that you really couldn’t kick them out of it.

Adam shook his head. “I think he’s getting antsy for something to happen. Everything’s moving too slow for him.”

Syney sat up. “I might have some good news then. Our joining is scheduled for next month.”

He smiled at her. “Sounds exciting.”

“Oh, it will be. And I have a surprise for you.”

He closed his eyes and crossed his fingers. “Please be naked.”

She laughed at him. “That doesn’t need a surprise!”

He looked at her. “What is it?”

She took a deep breath. “I found out how to break the connection I have with Hunter.”

Adam’s smile slowly fell. “You did?”

“Uh-huh. You don’t seem happy about it,” Syney said frowning.

He sighed and looked at their intertwined hands. “I’ve just been thinking about it.”

“And…”she prompted.

“
And
I think that maybe you should keep the connection open.”

“Why?”

He hesitated for a moment. “It might be a good thing to have a way to communicate with the troops while they’re out there. We could get updates and things.”

Syney stared at him before shaking her head. “No. I’m sorry. I get what you’re saying, but I just can’t. I want to start a life with you, and I can’t do that without first doing this.”

“I love you.”