Chapter Fourteen

It's a few minutes later when I hear footsteps approaching me and I know they don't belong to Bryan. He stands in front of me and I don't look at him.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find you?" He asks.

"No." I say. "I knew you'll find me eventually."

He crouches down so we're eye level. "Why are you hiding from me?"

"I'm not hiding from you. Not exactly."

I'm lying and he knows it. I was hiding from him but I did want to be by myself.

"Then what are you doing in here?" He asks. "It's cold and you're not even wearing enough clothes to be out here."

He's right. I only have a simple long sleeve shirt and jeans with my fur boots but I stopped feeling the cold a long time ago.

"I'm fine." I tell him.

"No, you're not." He reaches out to touch my hands. "You're freezing and I know you think the cold doesn't bother you but you're wrong. You need to go inside, right now."

I glare at him. "Why? Why do you suddenly care now?" I move my hands from his and I see the pain that run through his eyes for the briefest second before it's gone.

He sighs, heavily. "I'm sorry for not telling you but I don't want us to end sooner than it has to if I can do something about it."

I know he's right and we should take every possible cautions but something is holding me back from not being upset at him. It's stupid of me for holding a grudge over something so small and I blame it on the fact it's that time of the month.

"Come with me." He says, softly. "Please."

I look into his grey eyes and they're begging for me to move my spot and follow him. I must be beyond cold if he keeps insisting for me to go inside but the thing is I don't feel the coldness. I haven't been out here for very long so I know I don't have hyperthermia.

But looking at how worried Hayes is, I allow him to take my hand and help me off the ground. He covers my hands with his warm ones, warming them up. He leads me back to inside the mansion and into the kitchen. I'm confused why he brought me here but I soon realize why. He gets out the ingredients he uses to make his special hot drink.

It's the same one he made for me the morning after Eli Smith tried to kill me but Hayes was there to save me. Back then, he said he hardly even made it for anyone and I should feel special because I'm the only exception. That was also the day, he told me he was going to break my walls down to get closer to me.

He finish making his special drink and set the hot mug in front of me. I wrap my fingers out the mug, looking at the drink. It's the same way he did it the first time with the whip cream on the top along with the cinnamon.

"Thank you." I tell him.

"Are you going to ask if I poisoned it?" He asks, leaning against the countertop.

I hide the smile that threats to appears on my face.

"I know you well enough I can trust you not to kill me." I take a sip of the drink and remember how the rest of our conversation played out. "But you can help me with this." I point to the whip cream on my top lip with a grin.

He smirks. "You're not going to reject me, are you?"

I shake my head. "Not this time."

I lean forward and press my lips to his. The last time I kissed him was when he left to Europe and I wasn't sure I could handle it but I did and this time isn't any different.

He moves his hands to cup my face as he his kiss me softly and tenderly. He's still in his caution mode. He's still very careful around me. He doesn't want to do anything that will trigger any memories from that night. But as he kisses me, I don't think about that night. All I can think about is how warm he is and the feelings only he can make me feel.

A few seconds later he leans back and stares at me, watching for any signs that I might not have been all that ready.

I smile. "Did you get it all?"

He nods. "You're mustached free." He says still studying me.

I place my hand on top of his. "Stop staring at me, Hayes. I'm perfectly fine." I assure him.

"I can't stop staring at you." He says, grinning. "You're too beautiful to look away from."

I smile at his words even if I don't believe them. I'm far from beautiful right now and yet somehow Hayes doesn't seem to care about how I look. Every now and then he would tease me about my looks but still thought I was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.

I should be happy that even at my worst and doesn't think less of me. Then I notice something.

"You kissed me and you're holding my hand." I point out. "And we're out in the open. Anyone can walk into here and see us."

He nods. "I did kiss you and I am holding your hand." He confirms as if it isn't a big deal anymore.

"Aren't you worried about our secret?" I ask, confused.

"No." He says, shaking his head. "Abe said we can be friends, right?"

I slowly nod my head. "Yeah."

"I'm not wasting it then." He replies, holding my hand tighter. "Far as anyone knows, we're best friends."

I smile. "I knew you would come around. It was only a matter of time when you finally admit we're best friends."

He rolls his grey eyes. "I'm going to regret that, aren't I?"

"I hope not." I say before kissing his cheek. "I'm starting to like it."

Two servants walks into the kitchen, bowing when they see me, and Hayes slowly removes his hand from mine. I know he did it out of habit and it'll take a while for him to get to used to it but I'm just glad he's trying. He watches the servants to see if they had seen us but they pay us no attention as they get ready to serve lunch.

"So, when do we start training?" I ask bringing Hayes' attention back to me.

He drags his eyes away from the two women and looks at me.

"Tonight. If you like."

"I'll like that very much." I smile, mischievously.

He immediately knows what I'm thinking about and he grins as he shakes his head.

"It's not going to be that kind of training. I'll be surprised if you still love me afterward."

"I put up with Guardian Lynn." I point out. "I think I can handle you."

He smirks. "You sure about that."

I nod. "Most definitely. Show me what you can do."

We leave the kitchen and I head to find Lily. I find her in her art room, looking at one of her painting. As I get a better look of it, I notice it's the field we saw earlier this week.

"Does that place mean anything to you?" I ask.

She drags her eyes away from the painting and looks at me. She shakes her head.

"No, it doesn't."

I stare at her and I have a feeling she's hiding something from me. I want to ask her why she's keeping a secret from me but I decided against it because she will tell me when she's ready. I tell myself if it gets to the point where she's haunted by that field, I'll start to demand for answers.

"How are you?" She asks. "Do you still feel drained?"

Lily is referring to what happened earlier this morning. We started a magical fire by accident when we tried to create a rainbow in my room. We tried to put it out in every way we could think of but there was only one way to put out a magical fire. I had to do it and I never used my powers before. And I didn't have my necklace so I only had half my strength. It took a lot of my energy to produce the amount of water to put out the fire and when I finally put it out, I blacked out.

"I'm feeling better." I reply.

"I'm so sorry." She says, looking down. "If I hadn't suggested we use our powers, the fire wouldn't had started."

"It's okay, Lily. I'm to blame too. It isn't just on you. The good thing is, no one got hurt."

She looks at me. "Except you."

"I blacked out, that's it and Hayes caught me before I hit the ground." I remind her.

"That's true but-"

"No, buts." I interrupt her. "Everything's fine." I decide to change the subject. "Did Reid you about our training?"

She nods. "Yeah, he did. It was actually Abe's idea."

I arch an eyebrow. "Really?"

"When Abe found out about the fire, he called a meeting. Let's just put it this way, he wasn't very pleased by my creation."

Knowing Abe, I can only imagine what he said and now I'm glad I blacked out. I didn't want to be in his office. I kinda feel bad for Lily.

"He told Reid and Hayes, they were gonna to be our trainers until we learn how to handle our powers without causing destruction. But until then, we can't get our necklace."

"He took your necklace?" I ask, surprised.

I glanced at where her sun necklace usually is and it's gone.

"Yeah. So, we're both necklace less."

I frown. "Then how are we going to train without them?"

"I asked him the same thing and he told me we need to get the feel of our powers before we add our necklaces in the mix." She informs me.

"But I don't understand how Hayes and Reid can teach us how to use our powers."

"They have their own powers, right?" I nod my head, thinking about the night we saw their powers for the first time. "Someone had to train them to use them, agree. So, maybe they have a specific way in training us."

"I guess that makes sense." I say. "Either way, we'll find out tonight."

Hours later, the boys came to get Lily and I for our first night training. After we ate dinner, Lily and I went to change into comfortable clothes. And now we're heading to the other side of the house where the training will begin. Maya wanted to come watch but she doesn't know we're the seer and siren so she couldn't come.

We step inside the massive room. It's the perfect place to train and I'm sure this is where the rookies will come to get more training if they needed it. There's weight benches on one side of the room, weapons on the far side and a place to practice said weapons and another place to learn fighting combat.

We're lead to the weapon side of the room and Reid gesture for us to sit on the blue mat. We sit cross legged on the mat and wait for the next instruction.

Hayes stands in front of with his arms crossed over his chest. "Before we get into your training, you need to know more about your powers." He tells us.

I exchange a glance with Lily. "What's there to know? Lily has fire abilities and I have water. She can see anything and everything and I can sing."

Reid nods. "There's more than that. Lily being connected to the sun you can create life."

"I know, Abe already told us that but I don't know what he means."

"It means you can control any plant, anything the earth offers. It's all in your control. You can make a flower grow in a blink of an eye or you can save a writhing plant. You can give anything life." Reid explains. "Your fire abilities can be useful or deadly depending on how you use it."

"That's...incredible." Lily says. "But also very frightening."

Playing with fire isn't something you take lightly. It can keep you warm during cold days or it can kill you if you get caught in a engulfing flame.

"Can...can I also save a person's life?" Lily asks.

Reid raises an eyebrow, surprised at her question.

"I'm not sure." He says. "I never heard of it happening before but it could be possible. Why do you ask?"

Lily shrugs. "I was just curious."

As I look at Lily, I know right away, there's more to her curiosity than she lets on. I look away from her when Hayes speaks.

"You, Millie." He says. "are connected to the moon. You have the powers to control animals. Well animal." He corrects himself. "The wolves are under your control. Whatever you tell them to do, they will do it. Not only can you control wolves, you can control humans as well."

"How?" I ask, surprised.

Abe never mentioned me being able to control humans before. He, seemingly, left that piece out.

"You're the siren. Your voice can put anything and anyone in a trance when you sing. You can make them feel what you're feeling in an instant. You don't even have to sing, to get someone under your complete control. All you had to do is look that person in their eyes and command them to do whatever you want."

Having control over a human being, isn't something I think about on a daily basis. It doesn't seem right to invade a person's mind and take over them without them knowing. It isn't right and knowing that I can do it, is terrifying.

"I don't want to do that." I reply, shaking my head. "It's wrong."

"No one is saying you do. It's something you can do if you wanted." Hayes says. "Entering someone's mind isn't as easy as it sounds."

How would he know that?

He wouldn't unless he tried it himself. Did he ever tried it on before? I really hope he didn't. If he did, I wouldn't be very happy with him. The gates of Hell will open on him if I find out he enter my mind without my permission.

"I don't want to know anymore about it." I say. "That power shouldn't exist."

"I agree with her." Lily says. "It sounds inhumane."

"You're not human." Reid points out. "But I know what you mean."

Doing anything like that, we might as well be our immortal enemies, Morches, and Ramadi. They have no heart or mercy for the weak and defenseless. They take whatever they like at whatever cost. They kill for the pleasure of it. It is heartless and cruel but that's how they work and the sick part is, they believe they're right.

"Moving on, you both have a pet." Hayes informs us.

"A pet?" Lily and I say in unison.

Hayes nods his head. "Yes, a pet."

"Where's this pet at? How come we never seen it before?" I ask, lifting an eyebrow.

"They're locked away but they're safe." Reid says. "Eventually, you'll see them again."

"Why are they locked away?" Lily questions.

"Abe ordered it. They're from a different plant. He couldn't have them roaming out the earth without someone seeing them." Hayes replies.

"What do they look like?" I ask.

"Lily's animal is a phoenix and the best way I can describe yours, Millie, is a sea horse." Reid says. "You seen them before we left Arsyn. You cared for them and named them."

Most of our memories for Arsyn came back but not all of them. Thinking about Arsyn, all I can remember is horrible things. The death of our mother, Allison. The raids, the screams, the fires. It wasn't something I wanted to remember but I didn't have a choice. Remember Arsyn, that night, unlocked our hidden lives during last summer.

"What's their names?" Lily says, curious.

"You named your phoenix, Fury, and you called yours, Aqua." Hayes informs us. "Whenever you want to see them, you can call them and they'll come to you. But you need your necklace to do it."

Another thing, we can't do without our necklace. Abe is really holding us back, isn't he? After learning what we needed, our training begins. I go to one side of the mat with Hayes and Lily goes on the other side with Reid.

"So, what do I do, Cipriano?" I ask, smiling.

"I'm going to make you mentally strong. Remember when I said you're going to hate me afterward?"

I nod. "Yes."

He smirks and usually I loved his smirks but this one isn't one I love. It's the smirk I knew I'm going to regret what I said earlier in the kitchen and he knows it.

"I meant it. Don't be surprised if you wake up sore in the morning." He warns me.

He tells me what I'm going to do and I take back my comment I said earlier. Hayes is worse than Guardian Lynn by a long shot.

My jaw drops. "I can't do all that!"

"With me, there's no such thing as can't. Can't is for the ones who refused to do it. They won't do it because they're weak minded." He says. "You, on the other hand, can do it and you will do it."

I cross my arms over my chest. "If I do, what's my reward?"

He grins and this grin is one I love. "I'll think of something that will satisfy you."

I arch an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

Maybe I can do his workout after all. If his grin is an indication of what my reward is going to be then I'll get the work out done with minimal complaints.

"Get to it." He says, indicating with a slight turn of his head for me to start my hard work out.

Before I start, I quickly look over at Lily and she's doing her own workout. It's almost as challenging as mine, more or less. I take a deep breath and pray I didn't die before jumping into my first station.

I'm going to be it this way, Hayes Cipriano is going to be the death of me.