Ch. 30
Ash, Eric, Toni and I all helped prepare the bouquets and hanging flowers for the summit. The flowers
were all beautiful pastels of pink, blue and purple with dark green ents to pop.
"I me you." Ash groaned as he wrapped the green ribbon on his 10th clear vase
"Rightfully so." I nodded my head feeling bad for dragging Ash and Eric into this.
"I''m just d you''re okay. I was worried something happened on mount Ignis that no one wanted to tell
me about." Eric chimed in.
"No way, little dude. Everything went great there. I got my dragon now. She''s super powerful too.
Wanna see something cool?" I smiled at him eagerly.
He''s such a cute kid. His eyes widened with excitement as he nodded his head. A big grin crossed his
face.
I ced my index finger on a leaf of the flower focusing on the ice magic that Yukina blessed me with. I
turned the leaf into ice so pure that you could see through it. Eric''s dark blue eyes could be seen
through the leaf.
"That''s awesome!" He shouted as he inspected the leaf more. "Is that because of your dragon?" He
poked the leaf. "It''s cold."
"It''s ice. I was blessed with the original ice dragon''s magic." I wiggled my eyebrows at him. "You
impressed by your big sister?"
"Yeah, although I still wouldn''t take you to my friends. You''re too embarrassing." He teased me.
I feigned hurt, cing my hand over my chest and scuffing.
"Listen, I really am sorry that I worried you." I ced my hand over his arm. He didn''t deserve to be
worried because of me. He''s too innocent.
"Don''t do it again." Eric deadpanned, but then smiled real big.
"You got it." I squeezed his arm.
We worked and sang and talked the rest of the day. Toni had to go early to train with his dad and mom
let him go. Eric left around 3 to go train his magic with his tutor. It was just Ash and I for an hour before
our own training.
"I don''t think my fingers can tie another bow." Iined, bending my fingers.
"You''re telling me." Ash showed me how raw his fingers were.
"I''m sorry. This is my fault." I sighed, feeling guilty again.
"I should havee and found you when you didn''t show up around midnight. I just didn''t know where
you were or what you were doing." He winked implying Toni and I were doing naughty things. Which at
one point we were, so he''s not wrong.
"Shut up." I threw a stem at him, and heughed.
"Honestly, I thought I was going to find you with a mark this morning." He shrugged his shoulders.
"I''m not ready for that. I told him after the summit he can im me." He''s the first person I told that to.
"Really?" He smiled at me and I nodded my head. "Good. You deserve all the love and happiness. Toni
seems to make you really happy after just a week of knowing him."
"I know. It''s odd. Although I guess not really. The mate bond just makes everything so much more…" I
didn''t know the word I was looking for.
"Deeper? Intense?" Ash suggested.
"Yes, both of those." I nodded my head, thinking about my deepening bond with Toni.
"I''m jealous, Ember. I really want that already. I want to find my mate." Ash looked at the flowers
fidgeting with a petal of an orchid.
"You''ll find her. I''m sure of it. Maybe she''lle during the summit." I suggested and his face lit up.
"Could you imagine? That would be amazing."
We worked for another 30 minutes before heading to our training. The summit will be this Saturday
already. Kings and queens from all over will being. There really is a chance that Ash will find his
mate then.
I want that for him, but at the same time I know it will separate us both more. It''s a thing of life I guess.
You grow up and have your own lives. It''s natural, I just wish we could stay next door to each other all
our lives.
Eryn had us training with swords today. I was okay with those. Ash on the other hand was a beast with
a sword in hand. Dad then trained us both. It was harder than I thought to produce fire. Even though I
knew how, applying what I had learned was hard to do. Dad helped me work on it most of the evening
while Ash practiced with his healing fire.
Charles hade over wanting to speak with me. When I finished with my training and went and found
him. He was holding mom''s baby bump in his hands. He was talking down to Charlie. He''s so excited
to have a kid of his own with mom. Not to say he didn''t see Ash, Ember, or Eric as his own. This time
though it will actually be his.
"Hey, you wanted to talk?" I called Charles, snapping him out of that tender moment with mom. He
cleared his throat, bringing back that dominant tone of his.
"Yeah, let''s go out back and talk." He gestured to the back doors that led to therge patio.
I followed him out, leaning against the railing. The sun was setting, hues of orange and red swirled in
the sky setting it aze. A sunset that set the sky on fire.
"So what''s up?" I asked, although I was already sure what this would be about.
"Look, I shouldn''t have reacted the way I did when you told me Toni was your mate. It''s just hard. I saw
how Gabe was fighting his guilt for years after what Toni''s Mom did to him. I know it isn''t Toni''s fault,
but he''s a product of her and it gets hard for me to separate the two. I know that''s my problem and not
his or yours. I will work on it." He sighed. He didn''t look at me once while he spoke. As far as apologies
go this was the best he could. Admitting he''s wrong is something big for Charles.
"Thank you. I hope you can get past that prejudice you have towards him. He''s a good guy." I poked his
cheek, being annoying and trying to get him to look at me.
He rolled his eyes, but faced me.
"I know, you''re right. Now let''s go eat. I''m starving." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and
squeezed me into a bear hug.
Dinner was peaceful and full ofughter. Mostly at my expense, but I was fine with that. I was just
happy they weren''t still mad at me. After dinner we all cleaned up and went to our rooms. Eric gave me
a big hug before he went off to his room. He reminded me of our movie date Friday. I won''t forget.
"So you got more jokes to say before we go to bed?" I closed Ash''s bedroom door behind me, eyeing
him curiously.
"Nah, I got them all out at dinner. I need an audience for my good jokes." yful Ash.
"I need to keep you away from people then. Maybe you''ll stop teasing me so much." I stuck my tongue
out at him and he did the same. We both chuckled.
I plopped on the bed with him, sitting back till I touched the wall. I grabbed one of his pillows and held it
tightly against my chest.
"I''m a little nervous to see Dex again." I admitted to him, not looking at him.
"I get that. Not being sure if you can keep your mind safe is scary. Wear the ne, bubble your
mind and remember your training with mom yesterday." Ash encouraged me. I kept picking at the string
on the corner of the pillow case.
"I don''t get why he wants to keep messing with me." I sighed.
"Because you''re beautiful and strong. Ember, any guy would be crazy not to go after you. He just so
happens to have the ability to make you want him too." He picked up my legs and put them over his so
he can stretch his legs out on the bed.
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"I hate having to worry about it." I sighed, dropping my head into the pillow.
"Then don''t worry. Worrying isn''t going to do anything. Just wait and see what happens. Remember
you''re stronger now. You have all your magic now." He patted my leg encouragingly.
"It''s hard for me not to worry. You know I hate the unknown. I''m not one to just go with the flow." I
reminded him from behind the pillow.
"Ember, get your face out of my pillow and talk seriously." He sounded like Dad. I pulled the pillow
down and scowled at him. "Yikes." He made a face.
"Oh shut up." I rolled my eyes.
"Maybe if you make that face at him he won''t want you anymore." Heughed and I threw the pillow at
him. He caught it, and threw it back at me.
"No, but seriously. What do I do if he traps me again?" His sky blue eyes went still, taking my worries
more seriously now.
"Then you snap out of it like you did. Just remember Toni and find him in your mind. Do what mom
taught you. Oh also avoid Josh tomorrow if you can." I scrunched my face at hisst sentence.
"Why?" I poked his knee.
"I had a vision. Unless you want your friendship ruined, make sure you''re not alone with him." I grinned
so big.
"Why didn''t you tell me you were having visions already?!" I shook him yfully and he almost fell off
the bed.
We knew it would happen, but I assumed he would tell me whenever it did. Why didn''t he tell me
sooner? Doesn''t he know I''m here for him just like he''s there for me?
"I had my first onest night." He shrugged his shoulders like it wasn''t a big deal.
"Dude! You had a freaking vision of the future. That''s fucking amazing!" I shook him some more
excitedly. "Be excited with me. We''re a pair of powerful freaks." Heughed at that.
"Alright, alright. I''m excited." He shook his head at me. "It was weird. Levi exined that I can''t tell the
vision in detail or it could change the future. It''s not written in stone. He did tell me some visions are
fated toe true though. As in no matter what you try to prevent it, it will still ur. I am not sure I like
knowing the future though." He sighed. "It feels like too big of a responsibility. Plus I''m too impulsive to
not act on these things."
Iughed at him, because he was right. He''s way too impulsive.
"Maybe this will mature you." I stoppedughing when I realized he wasn''t smiling. "Hey, it''s okay. You''ll
get a handle on this. I''m here too. You''re not alone." He nodded his head.
"Let''s go to sleep."
I plopped the pillow next to him and we fell asleep holding hands like we did when we were kids.