Jaded Jewels (The Coveted Saga 2)

Iris shook her head in disagreement. "She's supposed to have the same power as Isis, according to the prophecy. Isis had to come into contact with a power before she could mimic it. There's nothing in existence strong enough to see through bodyguards. Especially not the ones that are as powerful as the one's guarding Graven. Their power grows as he grows."

Isis? Ah, crap. Now I understood why they were so freakishly fascinated by me.

I couldn't believe they thought I was the descendent Isis promised them. I couldn't be the savior they'd been waiting centuries for. I couldn't be the one that was going to protect them all. I couldn't be that powerful.

I had been crushed into nearly nothing just a day ago. I couldn't be the one they needed to lead them into any kind of battle. I didn't even know how to use my powers yet. I didn't even know what my powers were, or how I was making them work. I had only accidentally used them. I wasn't ready to be this great warrior they had been waiting for. I wasn't ready to be responsible for their lives.

Tallis interrupted my silent panic attack as he glanced toward Aster, an odd smile forming on his lips.

"What if she didn't have to come into contact with the power?" Tallis asked.

Iris shook her head, her mind a million miles away as she spoke. "Isis couldn't drain anyone until the day she met a drainer. She had to feel the power to be able to use it."

Tallis smiled bigger, like he knew something we didn't. "I mean... What if she didn't have to come into contact with the power, just the essence of the power?" He pointed towards Aster's protruding belly before he continued. "I know the girl is going to be a seer. What if she can see through guards?"

Iris looked at him, staring blankly for a minute, before she replied, "I don't find it possible. It would shift the whole balance of power. Even bodyguards can't penetrate through the bodyguard powers."

Tallis walked over and stood close to Henry. "It makes perfect sense. Henry is half bodyguard, half witch. His two sides combined in a way that made him able to track Aria's scent through a bodyguard. Imagine a seer that is half bodyguard. Possibilities change."

All the talk about bodyguards forced my mind to wander for a second. I still had not told them about McKee and his family being traitors, and I needed to soon.

Iris sucked in a sharp breath.

"Unbelievable," she murmured in a reverent whisper. "This will be something for the books. We just tilted the scales in our favor for a change. Aria can see when they are coming and she and Henry can tell when they are close. This gives us an advantage, for the first time in ages."

I hadn't even had time to process their words when another vision hit me.

Lokan—him and his army. He knew I had transformed. I could see him working on a spell to destroy soul mates. He hated soul mates so badly that he had found a way to destroy the magic between them. All he needed was to find the center of magic. The only one to ever know where it was had been Isis, so he was searching blindly. He was looking for something else, too. I wasn't sure what exactly—It was all still fuzzy. I hadn't learned to control it, but I did see enough to know we were in trouble.

"What did you see this time?" Jaslene reached out to touch my arm. I suppose my horror must have shone on my face.

Swallowing hard, I murmured, "We have less than a month to prepare. Lokan knows I've changed. He's coming, and he won't be taking prisoners."

Chapter 17

Finally

Sometimes life is a series of disasters, so you work extra hard to enjoy the small moments when the storm is calm.

Tallis and I were heading back to my room, when Jaslene stopped us. "Aria, can I have a moment with you?"

Tallis went on up to the room, and I followed my mother to an isolated corner. "Is something wrong, Mom?" I asked, dreading the answer.

Why couldn't I just have one minute away from the chaos?

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that this burden has been laid on you. But I also want you to know that I truly believe you can handle it. Isis chose you for a reason."

I really didn't want to think about all of this right now. My life was already complicated enough. I had just turned eighteen, and now I've had a prophecy thrust at my feet.

"I wish I knew why she chose me." Mom's eyes softened as she affectionately patted my cheek. Before she had the chance to try and come up with an answer, I asked her something I needed to learn. "How do you force a vision of the future? I want to see how the battle is going to go."

Her smile was that a mother gives a learning child. "It doesn't work that way, Aria. The future changes constantly based on the decisions we make. You can only see decisions and intentions usually. On occasion you can see a possible version of a future—if it is something that can be changed. Seers can also see the present, which is something you'll take a while to learn. Forcing visions takes decades of practice, and even then, you can only see so much."

"What good is it to see the present? How is that ever going to help anything?"

Jaslene laughed. "You'd be surprised at how handy such a thing can be. Seers use that ability to have eyes in the back of their heads, so to speak. You can see through walls, and know where everyone is all at once. That's how I always knew what your brothers and sisters were up to in the guardian village. I was the only one that could see them, of course, because of my link to them. I was never able to see you though. I knew you were going to be special, but I didn't know to what extent. In all my wildest dreams, I wouldn't have imagined this."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I still don't understand exactly how I'm using my magic. It just sort of happens."