The Lotus Trials

Chapter XI

Zander's POV:
"I have to go get her."

"She passed the first trial, Zander. She's going to do great in the rest too."

"Trial one is all about using your head. She passed level one because she's a smart kid. The next part is about who you have as friends and enemies and she and the king were looking awfully close at the mating ball. It sparked whispers and if people figure out she's in the trials... She's already a target as my sister. She can't be the girl involved with the king too."

"And what are you going to do to stop that? If the king does care about her that much then the second you set foot in his pack things will not look good for you or our people. He might not hurt them, but there are plenty of things he provides. And you know she's too stubborn to give up on the trials."

I slumped down into my chair. "I used my Alpha Command on her. I crossed a line. The thing is, I was more pissed off she was with a guy than the fact she had left the pack. I never should have gone that far. And if I realized that was the king before going off on her... I'm one lucky wolf, aren't I, Sienna?"

"There have been men less merciful," she agreed. "I love you, Zander, but you need to see her as more than your baby sister. When these trials are over you need to let her find her way home on her own terms."

"Will she even come home, Si? By now she probably think she has no chance at making an impact in the pack. She probably thinks the trials won't prove a thing to me. I know she's strong. In more ways than one." Sienna was the one person aside from myself who knew about Gemma's superior strength. The trials were about unaffected capability that could be honed for a packs benefit. If she had to use it during the trial it wouldn't be illegal, but she'd be a target. "I just don't want her to have to be."

She sighed, rubbing my shoulders. "If there's one thing I've been hoping for when it comes to Gemma it's that her sass hasn't gotten her in trouble yet."

I chuckled. "Sienna, my love, this family has always run short on miracles."
~~~~~
Gemma's POV:
I felt his eyes searing into me throughout the next lesson. Perhaps it was due to his actions between the shelves a few days before. Perhaps I had wronged him in some way. It wouldn't be the first time.

I think back to a few days ago, picturing the two of us in my bedroom and his...scolding. How I'd still been snappish just moments later. I didn't let my mind wander to my third riddle. His matching dream. Usurpation and murder.

"So, Selene, last time we focused around identifying auras. We didn't discuss blocking them."

"Why do I have to block them? They're just colors."

"Yes. Colors specific to people and their attitudes. Empathy is a pack gift most of us choose to stay quiet about. It can be intrusive. People don't like other people knowing their feelings and it may turn some people away from you."

"Some people? What about everyone else?"

"Others will understand and wonder about their colors, but it's safest to assume everyone is private about these things until they tell you otherwise. People forgive empaths your age, but in the future they might not."

She still looked confused and a little hurt. I had no doubt she would grow up at least as sheltered as I was. "But I want to see people's feelings."

I rested a hand on hers. "Selene, you've heard your father tell you that adults have their own types of conversations, right?"

"Yes," she said, her shoulders slumping.

"Can you try to think of it like that? Can you try to block out the colors for me? We can wait on feelings. They're harder. Just try to put up a wall between you and my color, okay?"

I didn't expect success on day one and I didn't get it. She's young and that sort of comprehension was difficult for me to learn when I was older than her. I saw her eyes start to water after a few tries and reached over the table again. "Hey. This is tough stuff, I know. You did well today. And I think our time's up anyways, right?" I asked, turning to the king.

"It is," he agreed, knowing full well we still had twenty minutes. "Thank you for the lesson, Miss Hart."

"It's my pleasure."

"Thank you, Gem."

I accepted her hug, squeezing her shoulder before reaching for my water bottle and phone. "Gemma." I froze, startled at the more casual address from the king.

He waved me over to the bookshelves, likely noticing me shelve the fairytale compilation before the lesson. "Perhaps you have a proper request this time?"

"Adventure, romance, historical fiction. I'm not picky."

"Let's start with adventure. I was thinking," he continued as I trailed him deeper into the library, noticing that some of the glass walls were obstructed by the massive wooden shelves, "you do well with Selene, despite the frustrations. These lessons clearly won't be ending anytime soon, unless you'll be returning home after the trials. We'll be spending quite a bit of time together. What do you say to dropping the formalities?"

"That meaning?"

"That meaning, no more titles from you. I happen to have heard you and Darien have already crossed that line. Be careful, Gemma. My brother has a bit of a reputation."

"I have no intimate interests aside from my mate," I said. "Not that my romantic decisions are anyone else's business."

"It's a simple warning, Gemma."

"Not to get tangled with your family?"

"You're tangled enough as it is, Miss Hart." I raised a brow. "Gemma," he corrected himself. "So?"

I tilted my head from side to side as if weighing pros and cons. "Well, we can't keep pretending your head isn't getting bigger every time I say 'Yes, Your Majesty'." He scoffed. "If calling you Zeke is all I have to do for that to stop I suppose I can accept this little deal."

He shook his head, extending a book in my direction. "One of my mother's favorites. Perhaps you'll find it just as interesting."

"Thank you, Zeke."

"Careful, sweetheart. I'd hate to start that rumor mill."

I hummed. "Goodnight, Zeke. Oh, and when you see Darien tell him it took three."

"Three? Three what?"

"Goodnight."

"Good—Hart!"

With that we parted ways and I settled into another excellent book.