Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Marigold

We were walking back to the castle when I felt it for the first time. I stumbled to a stop, nearly running into Stone.

“What’s wrong?” Stone asked but I couldn’t answer.

I felt a pleasant warmth roll over my body. My fingertips were buzzing with energy. I felt something shift inside me, something I hadn’t felt for over ten years.

“Woah, your eyes are glowing.” Stone was gawking at me. I felt the long awaited tingling sensation on my face and I knew what Stone was seeing. My eyes were glowing a bright green as they did whenever I used my magic; gone was the dullness that saddened them for so many years.

Without moving my hands, my hair was freed from the hair tie, falling over my shoulders in dark waves; a fresh and clean shine returning to my auburn locks. I felt a warm, pink blush color my cheeks and liven up my ghostly skin tone. I looked down at my fingers and green sparks were radiating from them.

I grinned up at Stone. My magic had returned, I was free.

“Fox did it.” Stone observed breathlessly.

“He did it.” I whispered, unable to fully believe it myself.

“Now you look like a fae.” Stone was grinning stupidly and it was contagious. I laughed out loud,

“Seen lots of fae, have we?” I teased.

“Counting you…one.” Stone shrugged,

“What can you do?” He asked, bouncing on his heels.

“That’s like asking a woman her age or a man his shoe size.” I pouted.

“Really?”

“Kinda.”

“Oh well I’m sorry, I was just excited.” Stone tried to calm himself down, looking like a chastised puppy.

“I’ll give you a pass.” I voluntarily touched Stone’s arm and his entire face lit up.

I turned towards the woods and held out my hand, twirling my wrist and watching as the tree branches danced out of the treeline. I wiggled my fingers and the branches twisted towards us.

“I’m a nature fae.” I said, returning the tree branches to their home.

“Can you like talk to squirrels and stuff?” Stone asked. I rolled my eyes at him,

“Yes.”

“Well that will come in handy when we’re in wolf form.” Stone said the first smart thing since I got my magic back. I looked at him with my head cocked and eyebrows raised. He was right, my abilities would make things easier with the pack since I wouldn’t be able to mindlink.

What a coincidence.

“Come on, this must mean that Finn is coming out of the portal.” I was suddenly very eager to see him, the return of my magic bringing with it the supernatural feelings of the mate bond.

“How do you know?” Stone asked, struggling to keep up as I practically ran back to the castle.

“Any deal he made wouldn’t be complete until he returned to this realm. It’s a fail safe of my father’s design, so he can make a deal but not follow through with it by keeping the person prisoner in the fae realm.” I explained.

“That’s rude.” Stone grunted. We burst through the doors to the castle just as Finn came flying up the basement steps.

“Are you alright?” Finn asked me breathlessly, hurrying to my side. He stumbled to a stop in front of me as he took in my new apparence,

“I guess it worked, then.” Finn grinned, pleased with himself.

“It did. Thank you.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, suddenly feeling bashful.

“Get your things, we’re getting you out of here.” Finn ordered. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, suddenly faced with a whole new set of choices that I wasn’t prepared for.

Finn sensed my anxieties, placing a calming hand on my shoulder. I flinched, surprised by the warmth his touch brought me, but didn’t try to escape it.

“We’ll get a hotel room tonight and sort everything out.” He assured me. I nodded just as Alpha Torrin entered the room.

“What’s going on here?” He asked. Finn stepped to the side so I had a good view of Alpha Torrin, but he was still standing protectively beside me. Alpha Torrin’s eyes widened when they landed on me, astonished at my non-slave like apparence.

“You actually did it?” Alpha Torrin practically gasped, glaring at Finn.

“I did. And now we will all be leaving.” Finn snapped.

“No, I’ll need to discuss this with King Titan myself.” Alpha Torrin stammared.

“You had your chance to attend the meeting with me, you declined. A new deal has been struck and Marigold is leaving.” Finn’s voice was stern but Alpha Torrin still argued. The Alphas began growling at each other and I could tell a fight was stirring.

For the first time over a decade, I could actually do something about it. I felt my eyes begin to heat up as I reached out towards the door. The sound of window glass shattering finally brought the Alphas attention away from each other. A series of large vines snaked through the room, their sights set on Alpha Torrin. I clenched my hand into a fist just as the vines wrapped Torrin in their grasp and lifted him into the air; at my mercy, he dangled a foot off the ground.

Finn looked at me in complete shock, Stone was laughing, and Torrin was seething.

“Put me down, girl!” Alpha Torrin screamed.

“You’re doing this?” Finn asked. I shrugged lazily at him before addressing Torrin,

“Your deal with my father is broken. As you can see, you no longer control me and I will be leaving.” I opened my fist and the vines released Alpha Torrin. I smirked as he hit the ground with a resounding thud.

I turned on my heels and hurried towards the servant quarters to grab my things. I felt Stone behind me the entire time, keeping guard. I quickly stuffed what little belongings I had into a garbage bag.

“That’s all you have?” Stone asked, taking the bag from my hands.

“A slave doesn’t need much.” I answered snarkily. Stone frowned and led the way back to the grand hall. Torrin was nowhere in sight. Finn was in the driveway with a car waiting for us.

Finn’s face lit up when he saw me. He opened the back door and gestured me inside. Stone put my stuff in the trunk and sat in the driver’s seat.

“Do you want me to sit up front or back here with you?” Finn asked, eyeing the seat next to me longingly.

“It’s up to you.” I shrugged like I didn’t care, which couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Finn attempted to squash his excitement as he sat next to me in the back of the car.