Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch (23 page)

“Thank you so much!” I enthusiastically said as I hastily but carefully took it out of the box and h
o
ld it up to the sun. I smiled in awe as the crystal sparkled and started twirling around, casting out a mixture of blue and green light
s
everywhere as the sun caught it by its rays.
As I laid it on my lap
to unclasp the lock, Adrien hurriedly reached out and took it from me. I instantly looked up at him with
both
a
puzzled
and annoyed
look on my face.
He held mirth in his eyes as he twirled his
finger in a circle
motion
, signaling me to turn around. I grinned at him and did as he told me to. I hurriedly lifted my hair out of the way so he could easily put the necklace in place.
When he was done,
I turned back around and bent my head down
until my chin was touching my chest
, frowning when I couldn’t get a good look at
it
.

He chuckled. “It’s beautiful,” he smiled one of his crooked smiles as I turned to look at him.
I
instantly
felt my cheeks warm up when I saw hi
m
.

“Should we leave you two alone now?” Cole suddenly said with a mischievous glint
in his eyes
.
I turned to him and playfully slapped his arm.
He just waggled his eyebrows to which Elise shook out in laughter.
I turned back to ignore them both and saw that
Adrien
was slightly blushing as well, refusing to look at any of us.

After a few hours i
n the park, Adrien decided that it was time I go home. So we now made our way to my house. As soon as he parked the car, I saw Nana waiting outside the porch. I smiled and waved at her.
The moment the car came to a full stop,
I felt something. Someone was watching us. I immediately stiffened as my eyes started scanning the surroundings. Nothing.

“Sky?” Adrien called out as he laid a hand on one of my shoulders.

I turned to him and shook my head. “I thought I felt something.”
I said quietly. His jaw immediately tensed and before I knew it, Cole and Elise were out of the car. They happily waved at Nana
,
but I
noticed
that they both weren’t
as
relaxed as they pretended to be. I knew enough by now that something was definitely wrong.
I tried to calm my
galloping
heart as I
attempted
to locate where that presence was coming from. I couldn’t do it, calming down was impossible in this situation.

Adrien opened his door and swiftly went to my side, opening the door for me.
I stepped out of the car and we all went towards the house together. They all surrounded me, making sure I was securely in the middle of the small procession.

Once we were safely inside the house, I
immediately
hugged Nana. I started panicking as I held her tight. If
something
happened
now,
she shouldn’t be here.
I couldn’t afford
to have her
in the middle of any of this. She smiled and hugged me back,
saying a greeting
t
o
everyone behind me.

“How was the party, Dear?” she asked as I loosened my hold on her. I tried to calm my frantic breathing so I won’t alarm her. I instantly fel
t
Adrien’s aura soothing me
,
and I felt the anxiety
slowly
leave my body.

“It was a blast, Nana. We totally had fun,” I lied through my teeth
,
but she didn’t seem to notice.
She just smiled as she motioned
at
everyone else to sit down.

“Gran, it’s nice seeing you again.” Elise hurried over and hugged her tightly, turning her around
to face
the opposite direction as she
winked at me. I thanked her with my eyes as she slowly led Nana inside the kitchen
. “I really didn’t get to taste what you baked last time. How about a rerun?
You can let me help you this time, right?
”
she happily
went on and on
as she
linked her
arm
on Andrea’s
.

When Nana was finally out of the room, I turned back to Adrien and found him nodding at Cole. Without any hesitation, Cole instantly disappeared.
I gasped,
right away
forgetting about their
teleportation
ability
.
“Be careful,” I called out
when I was able to recover from my surprise,
hoping he heard me.

I let out a ragged breath and
slowly made my way to one of the couc
hes in our living room. I immediately sat and felt Adrien sitting right beside me.

“Adrien, my Nana… if anything happens…
she’s here,
” I
began
, not looking at him
while I let the words slur their way out of my mouth.

“Calm down, Sky. Breathe deeply and block out all thoughts so you can focus,” he said calmly. I looked at him and
felt
that he was displaying a tranquil presence
around
him, totally the opposite of how he
was
feeling
just a minute ago.
“You can do this,” he said in a
n assuring,
firm voice.
I nodded and did exactly what he told me to. I took deep, calm breaths to relax and slowly closed my eyes to focus. At first I felt nothing
, but I wasn’t about to quit.
I repeated the whole process again as
I told myself to
give it another shot
.

Everything was peaceful then. I suddenly felt particularly sensitive to everything around me. I felt and heard Adrien’s steady
pulse and
even
breathing beside me, making me blush as I hurriedly moved farther away
. I saw
the kitchen
and smelled what Nana was
actually
baking in the oven. I saw
her happily rolling out a fresh sheet of dough as Elise sat on one of the chairs,
contentedly looking at her
as she poured more flour
on the board
. I saw her stiffen and smile almost at the same time. Did she feel my presence? She slightly nodded and I gasped.
This feels so unreal.
I ordered myself to go on f
a
rther, out of the house.
I saw the trees surrounding our neighbor’s house slightly bend their branches as the wind
briskly
passed by them. I saw a cat
purr
ing and stretching out on the floor mat
directly
outside
th
a
t
house. I
slowly
went
further still, trying to find something that was out of place. I immediately stopped as I saw Cole leaning on one of the neighbor’s fences, calmly but intensely surveying that part of the neighborhood.
H
e suddenly smiled and
made a small salute as he felt my presence.

I tried going farther away, feeling myself going around in circles
,
almost
getting myself dizzy in the process
. I whirled past every house, every yard, every parked
vehicle
and every flower bush
but
still nothing.
I was about to give up when I caught sight of two
mysterious shadows
lurking
in a nearby
neighborhood
. They tried to blend in with
a small crowd of families who were spending the rest of the afternoon in a playground
. My breath caught up in my throat as I saw Rhiannon and Alastor calmly walking
through the crowd
, their eyes watchful of anything suspicious. I felt myself frown when Alastor suddenly stopped in his tracks and slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them, I
instantly
froze as he stared right back at me
, his eyes alight with
anger
and amusement
.

I
wheezed
as I immediately opened my eyes, wanting so bad to get away from him and that place.
I was instantly back in our living room, breathing in and out violently as I felt Adrien’s aura calming me down.
He scooted closer to me and held both my hands as he continued to work his magic on me
, forming small circles on my hands with his thumbs
. I instantly calmed down after that.

“Adrien, I saw him
in a playground near here
. He actually looked right at me
like he knew I was there
,” I narrated as my breathing
gradual
ly returned to normal.

“I know, Sky. I saw and felt everything,”
he said quietly.
“You did well,”
I turned to look at him
. He
smiled at me before
his brows furrowed as he was
intensely trying to
concentrate on something
.

“What is it?” I asked as my face instantly crumpled with concern.

“
Nothing
,
” he replied, still
with that focused expression he had on earlier.
I nodded, trying to ignore
that feeling that he was hiding something from me.

He still held on to that
expression as he released my hands. After a few moments, h
e let out an exasperated breath but still said nothing.
“Adrien? You’ll tell me if something’s wrong, right? Especially if it involves me
,
”
I
quietly said. He turned his attention
back
to me then, and I fixed my eyes on him, reading his
face
.
And a
fter awhile
,
he just nodded.

“Sky,
y
ou’re not going to like
hearing any of
this
, but
I think we should take you away from here,” he said grimly.

My eyes
instantly
widened with what I just heard
.
He can’t be serious.
I looked at him to study his expression. Oh my God
.
H
e was!
“
Adrien, if I leave, they’re probably going to hurt everyone I care about. I can’t live with that,
”
I began. “Don’t make me.” I
looked straight into
hi
s eyes
, pleading him with my
own
.

He looked like he was about to argue, but he let out a
ragg
ed breath after a few m
oments
.
And
I knew then that I’
ve
won.
If Alastor and Rhiannon were coming for me, they can come and have me.
I gulped.
I can’t believe I just said that. But it’s true.
I wouldn’t risk Nana or any of my friend’s safety by leaving Rattford Cliffs.
I
w
ouldn’t
forgive myself if I
just ra
n away
. I know I had to do something.

“Then you’ll have to agree to be watched all the time,” he suddenly said. I gasped
. “You are not allowed to be alone, Sky, especially no
w that Rhiannon already saw you
—
”
he explained.

“What do you mean by that?” I interrupted him
mid
-
sentence
.