Chapter Forty-Eight

Once I agree to his terms, Adrian decides to give Serene and me a bit of time alone together, saying that he is going to run next door to pick up a few things for the night. He unabashedly kisses me before he exits, leaving me flustered in front of Serene. As soon as Adrian leaves, she turns to me with a teasing look, wiggling her eyebrows.

“So, you really embraced the whole mate thing well. I’m surprised you weren’t more freaked out.” She admits, pulling her feet into the couch beneath her.

I purse my lips, grateful for the light conversation. It’s a welcome change compared to the heavy topic of Hybrids and the impending Madness that plagues Jasper; all things that I feel like I’m helplessly spectating. “I usually would have been weirded out, but it kind of makes sense,” I explain, tucking my knees beneath my chin. “Considering everything I’m learning about, it’s kind of the most logical thing to process.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. God, everything is so complicated in this world. Maybe we can all go on a double date sometime, at least,” Serene smiles wanly, directing her gaze to the sunset outside. Though it’s not visible from the direction the windows are facing, the orange and pink hues illuminate the snow on the mountains, reminding me of sorbet I used to eat in the summer as a kid. Sorbet I shared with Jasper. I always thought it was gross that he liked the green flavor the best. “Oh, Lydie. Are you crying?”

I’m surprised to hear her question, reaching to touch my cheek as my emotions finally come to the surface, unable to be pushed down anymore. There’s just too much to process calmly and thinking about Jasper makes the dam break. I shrug, finding my voice sounding strained from the lump in my throat. “What’s going to happen to Jas?”

Serene leans forward to rub my back, letting me cry. She seems to understand the suppressed emotions and there is no judgment in her words, the way my old friends might have had. I feel safe talking to her, letting her know my true feelings. Now that Adrian is gone, I don’t feel like I have to pretend to be strong anymore. “I don’t know,” She says, her honesty hurting more than a sugar-coated lie. “I know you want to help him through this; so do I. I may have only just met him, but I can tell what a good guy he is and I don’t flatter men very often.”

I sniffle, turning to look at her through the brimming tears in my vision. “There has to be something I can do to help him,” I sputter, my lip wobbling uncontrollably. “He’s my best friend. He’s always been the one looking out for me, and now I need to do that for him. I’ll do anything it takes to help cure him.”

“I know, Lydie. Come here,” Serene’s sympathy is genuine as she opens her arms, drawing me in for a solacing hug. I cry against her shoulder for a while, trying to catch my breath as the panic sets in at the thought of losing him. I just got him back, and I want to protect him if I can. If there’s any chance to save him from the same fate as his mom, I would give my left kidney to do it.

I haven’t cried like this since I lost my mom when it was Jasper’s shoulder I was crying on. He never let me see his sadness or anger, only ever presenting me with his brave, goofy faces. He was always the strong one; even now, he’s carrying the burden that he may succumb to this unknown disease and smiling through it anyway. He’s too good of a person to face something like this; it’s too cruel. Once I manage to catch my breath again, I pull away from Serene’s embrace and wipe my face on the sleeve of my sweatshirt, trying to compose myself. “Sorry,” I mumble, my throat sore from sobbing.

Serene’s face is as understanding as a saint as she shakes her head. “Don’t be. I know we just met, but I’m here to help you, okay? You can come to me any time.”

I sniffle and nod, giving her a grateful look. I know it won’t be much longer before Adrian returns, so I have to take the leap now and ask her while we’re still alone. “I know what I promised Adrian, but I have to know; is there any chance I can help Jasper if my magic is awakened?”

Serene stares at me, her eyes going wide in surprise. “You would actually consider doing that? Even though you agreed you wouldn’t mess with it?”

I nod again, this time with more resolve. “Yes. If I have to go behind Adrian’s back, I’ll do it if it means I can help.”

She takes my words to heart and leans back in her seat, contemplating as she stares at the ceiling. Apparently going behind your Mates’ back is a big deal or something because she looks concerned by my confession. “Well, Adrian would probably kill me if he found out, but there’s a possibility it might work. I’ll have to look into the severity of Jasper’s Madness, but since both of your parents have elite magic in their blood, so do you. Almost nothing would be impossible for you.”

My heart skips a beat at the promising news and I lean forward in my seat, unable to hide my eagerness. “So, you’re saying there’s a chance that I can save Jas?”

Serene winces at my dedication, grabbing the thread of hope with both hands. “Maybe, but don’t get too excited just yet. I have to look into it more before I can say for sure.” She says cautiously.

I try to restrain myself and sit back against my cushion, wiping the last of the tears from my eyes. “Thank you so much, Serene. I’d owe you my life for looking into it. And don’t worry about Adrian; I won’t let him hurt you.” I say, hoping that I can keep that promise. I’m sure that he wouldn’t hurt her, especially if I can convince him that it was my idea.

She gives me a dubious look, rubbing her hands together as if warding off a chill. “I know. Getting you away from him for long enough is going to be the challenge.” That’s true, considering that he is even going to be staying with me now. Maybe I should have waited to extend that invitation for a while.
“Maybe we can convince him that I’ll be safe with you,” I suggest, gesturing to the room around us. “We still need to go shopping for decor, right? That’s a good excuse to spend more time together. He gets bored shopping, so if he thinks you can keep me safe then maybe he’ll let us go without him.”

Serene looks thoughtful, rubbing her chin as she considers the option. “It might work. Especially since I’m pretty strong for a mid-grade Sorceress, if I do say so myself.”

“Oh, that’s right,” I revel, leaning to look at her curiously. “You never told me what kinds of magic you have.”

She tried to hide her grin in a failed attempt to seem humble. “I’m a practicing abjuration, which is protection magic. My Uncle uses conjuration magic though, so I learned a little bit of that from him too.”

I don’t try to conceal my amazement; I had no idea there were so many different types of Sorcerers. “That’s awesome,” My tone makes her smile. “So you can like, summon things too?” She nods, grinning at my sudden interest in the craft. “Wow, so you could definitely protect me, especially just from humans,” I say, rolling my eyes at the word as if I hadn’t believed myself to be human until this point too. “What kind of powers would I have?”

Serene’s beam is traded for something more considerate. “That’s harder to explain. Some people believe that Purebloods can do all sorts of spells that range from necromancy to divination and anything in between. It would be easiest to test your abilities once you’re awakened to your magic to see what you’re capable of.”

I glance around the living room, twisting in my seat to look at the kitchen behind us. I don’t know for sure how much time has passed, but I get the feeling that Adrian is about to be back. “Let’s talk about it more later,” I whisper, turning back to face her. She gives me a curious look, considering how interested I was moments before. I cast her a wink and then continue in a normal tone, “So, when should we plan to shop? I’d like to look at some options online too before I decide. I might turn the guest room into a home gym too.”

“Oh, yeah,” Serene chimes, seeming to suddenly understand the sudden change. “Let’s look up some websites before I leave. Do you have a laptop?”

I nod and get up to retrieve my computer from my tote bag that I use for school work. As I’m crossing the kitchen on my way back to Serene, The front door opens with a cold breeze as Adrian walks back in. I give him an innocent smile, holding the laptop up for him to see. “Welcome back. Care to look at some decor with us?”