Justice was next, hugging me with fatherly satisfaction and reminded me that I was the leader of the rebellion whether I wanted to be or not. “Train hard, be ready for May first,” he instructed slowly. “Do you know where the cave opens to the split river?” When I nodded, he continued, “Meet us there at five o'clock on the first and we will take the river together,” he pulled away, grinning at me. I felt premature victory with every fiber in my being. I had my parents now and we would conquer this together.

“Eden, we love you, darling, and I will look forward to meeting you soon every moment until that day,” Delia promised passionately; and even my magic believed her.

“I love you too,” I insisted, looking at them both. They were not parents that gave up their children in order to have a better life; they were parents that sacrificed their family in order for their children to live. Delia was not running from a scorned love; she was running to a life in which she could openly love her family.. Somehow, along the way, I joined their flight. I held my own past to chase me, and my own promise of freedom relentlessly to pursue.

“I love you, Eden, see you soon,” Justice echoed and then they were gone. They slipped out the backyard into the spring twilight and across the yard. I watched them disappear into the wooded area that backed up to Amory's house and wondered where they would go. What would life be like as a couple on the road?

But, when I looked at Jericho, I knew. If we didn't defeat the monarchy and find victory, it would be our future together for as long as we lived.

Then I realized that I was already referring to him and me as “us” and “our.”

----

“Well, that was wild,” Jericho turned to me in the kitchen, after my parents disappeared in the freshly budding trees.

“Yeah,” I agreed, turning to him and desperately wanting his touch.

“Are you Ok?” he asked, taking a tentative step forward.

“Yes, I think I am,” I decided, watching him with hungry eyes and wondering if he could feel how badly I wanted him to put his arms around me.

“What about Morocco? Did things go smoothly with the exchange?” He smiled nervously, uncomfortable with my intense gaze.

“Honestly,” I sighed, “as smoothly as could be expected.”

“What is with you?” he asked, an anxious laugh escaping him.

“What do you mean?” I played naive, feeling like I had an idea of what he was talking about, but I wanted to make him squirm a little.

“You came back.... I don't know.... different somehow.” He was moving towards me, but I was confident he wasn't even conscious of the gravitational pull between us. My magic didn't immediately search him out like it did with Kiran, but my body did. I was used to letting Jericho hold me, so when I needed to be held, I couldn't help but selfishly long for him.

“I don't know what you mean,” I laughed, taking a step forward and then closing the distance between us. I pushed him against the kitchen counter and laid my head against his chest, listening to his heart beat wildly inside the fragile protectiveness of his body. I wrapped my arms around his waist and decided for the next three weeks I would never let him leave my presence and then after that, I might never be without him again.

I wanted what my parents had. I wanted an all-consuming love that encapsulated complete self-sacrifice and offered only an equal amount of love in return. I wanted to be held without an agenda and without a desperate man's motives. I wanted to be respected and have my opinions heard. I knew that Jericho was a man that would offer me all those things and more.

I lifted my head, tipping my chin to him. “I missed you,” I sighed, the tears glossing over my eyes.

“I missed you too,” he whispered, searching for something in my expression that couldn't be defined with words.

“Please, don't ever make me leave you again, unless it is absolutely necessary!” I begged, enthusiastically.

“I think I can agree to that,” he answered playfully.

He stared into my eyes for a few, silent moments more before dipping me back, holding me securely in his arms and kissing me. Our magics met each other in tantamount excitement, mine surprising me by its willingness to find Jericho's.

He lifted me closer to him, pressing firmly into the small of my back and I remembered why I found him sexy the moment I met him. His mouth caressed mine in a sweet, gentle way that promised to behave, but also threatened to push some boundaries.

It was the first time that he kissed me and I got lost in the heady, suffocating sensation of his magic trying to encompass mine. A sigh escaped my lips without conscious awareness, giving him permission to kiss me longer.

I could have stayed wrapped in his arms, thinking only of him for the next three weeks, but someone opening the basement door interrupted our moment and reminded me of the wedding I crash in only three short weeks. A part of me couldn't wait to prevent this wedding from happening, and the other part wanted desperately for Kiran to commit to someone else. Either way, the plan was set in motion and Avalon only had to hold on until that day.

Chapter Thirty-Three

I stared intently at Sebastian, deciding there was something I was missing. We worked on his magic for over an hour but accomplished nothing except one black eye and a bump on the head.

He was reluctant to keep working at it for obvious reasons, but I was determined to give him back his magic. Not only did I have to figure out the process so I could give Avalon his the moment I saw him, but the electricity still buzzed frenetically inside of me. Uncomfortable and exhausted, I needed to get rid myself of even just one magic. I was confident it would make me feel better.

“Maybe it's just not possible,” Sebastian suggested. Appearing utterly defeated , even sighing in exhaustion took concerted effort on his part.

“No, it's possible. It has to be possible!” I argued, trying to figure out a different approach.

Sebastian walked over to the broken porch and sat down heavily. We were back at the old farm. The teams needed a place to spread out and work on combat skills and this place provided the proper isolation and accommodations. Because most of the structures were at least partially destroyed, we didn't worry about breaking anything.

A cool breeze blew across the greening grass, and the sun warmed my face on this perfect spring day. Birds chirped, the leftovers of Angelica's garden bloomed and the farmers on neighboring farms worked hard to prepare the land for planting.

I was happy to be back here, if it weren't for the bloodstained concrete barn floor, and body-sized openings in the center of buildings, that left broken, gaping windows that reminded me of the pain of that night. The devastated farm stood as a constant reminder of what we were working for and motivated the teams to work as hard as possible.

I walked over to Sebastian and sat down next to him. The porch creaked under my added weight and if it weren't for the huge chunk of wood missing from one entire end of it, I would have felt self conscious.

“You're not planning on killing me anymore, are you?” Sebastian asked quietly, staring out across the farm at Caden Halstead and his team working through combat training.

“Are you kidding me? I'm pretty sure I just tried to kill you,” I joked, remembering the nasty bump on his head when I had grown frustrated and impatient.

“Seriously, Eden, I just need to know,” Sebastian looked at me. His eyes were as sunken in as ever. He had lost weight and was sleeping more and more. I saw how miserable he was, but I didn't know how to reconcile that without giving his magic back. Murder had been out of the question for a long time now.

“I don't think I have it in me,” I mumbled, hating that I wasn't the warrior I started out as or the leader this rebellion needed me to be.

“I don't think you do either,” he agreed, a smile playing at his lips. “All right, then you'd better get back to work. I can't stay like this much longer!” He playfully pushed me into standing and I walked a few feet away from him.

There must be a different way than trying physically to force his magic back into him. His electricity stood ready though; accustomed to the tireless trials, it sat on top of my blood wanting to go home and willing to try anything.

Sebastian stood up and walked over to me, following the call of his primed magic. Even though he and his magic were disconnected, Sebastian still reacted to his energy; he could still feel the faint calling that made him move, whether he was conscious of it or not.

I watched the small spark of life that lit his face when I brought his magic full force in my veins and wondered if there was any magic left inside of him. I took all of it, I thought, but he still lived, he still felt magic; he was just impossibly weak. Maybe there wasn't a way to take someone's magic entirely unless you killed him at the end of it. Since Sebastian was still living, part of him was still Immortal and maybe that was the key to giving him back his life's-blood.

“Sebastian, can you feel any magic inside of you? Is there anything left?” I asked, crossing my arms in determination.

“I don't know,” he sighed, “I guess, I'm not dead. So maybe there's still something there.”

“Ok, so let's try something new, the other way is obviously not working,” I motioned for him to walk over to me.

“Really?” He rolled his eyes, his tired voice finding a strong amount of sarcasm.

“Don't be a smart-ass,” I reprimanded then smiled at his spunk. “Ok, instead of me trying to give you your magic, why don't you try to take it from me,” I suggested but he only squinted in return. “I'm serious, there has to be something there, something for you to pull at. I can't make you take your magic, but you might be able to!”

He cracked his neck and stood up straighter, taking the challenge. I gave him my hands, remembering that most other Immortal's needed to touch someone else in order to take their magic. His skin performed like a magnet to his imprisoned energy. His electricity came alive in my skin, pulsing with the hope for freedom and I said a silent prayer that this would work.

“Ok, so when I take someone's magic, I find it first and then I just kind of like pull at it with my own, like a rope....” I tried to explain, assuming he had never stolen anyone's magic before. “Does that make sense?”

“Kind of,” he mumbled, concentrating hard on the task.

We stood silently for several moments. To me it felt like absolutely nothing was happening, but Sebastian's forehead lined with small beads of sweat and his shoulders started to shake.

I wanted to encourage him to try harder, to shout at him not to give up, but I could see that this was taking everything out of him. So, instead of verbalizing my encouragement, I closed my eyes and became as docile as possible.

I reigned in my own magic, and my carnal need to protect the stolen energies. I could feel how weak he was, how hard of a struggle it was for him to stand and fight, but he was determined. He wouldn't give up.

His fingertips began to buzz with the tiniest pull of electricity from me to him. Immediately my magic fought impulsively back without my consent. My hands sent off an explosion of energy that threw him backwards twenty feet. My eyes popped open and I sprinted over to him, afraid I killed him after all.