It made me sad, too. My father rolled up his sleeves and gave me a wink. “We control the elements. We have a deep connection with the world.” He raised his hand above his head, and the clouds seemed to fade and the sun burned brighter. He then lowered them, and the grass grew taller at his feet. “We control the seasons,” he added while snapping his fingers, making a flurry of leaves fall from a nearby tree. “We are responsible for maintaining the cycles of the planet and the health of the world in general. It gets harder the more modern our cities become, but there are allies working to combat it by living in tandem with the earth instead of working against it.”
“I thought that you said that you could make wards and that was pretty much it?” I really wasn’t understanding.
He nodded fast. “Those things I showed you are not things that I can do usually, because all of that power, I filter out to others.”
I chewed on my lip as I considered what he said. “Do I have to send my powers off?”
“We need to see what you can do first.” He nodded toward the sky. “Make it rain.”
At first I thought he was kidding, but they both stayed so silent and still staring at me that I had to realize they weren’t. “Um...I don’t know how to make it rain. I can’t...”
I’d told them what I’d been able to do, and at no point had I made it rain. My father hardened his jaw. “Can’t is a bad word. Don’t say can’t or you really won’t be able to. The words we say have power. Move the weather, make it rain, because you can. Period.”
I stared up at the sky. He might as well have told me to sprout wings and fly away. Or suddenly melt into the ground. At that moment, I could have made vines and shot them at his face, but I wasn’t sure I had any clearer idea how to make it rain.
I closed my eyes and pushed...whatever it was that was supposedly within me. Before, my powers were instinctual. When I wanted to save Cypress, the moon came to me. When we fucked, vines jumped from my mind as if conjured by lust.
But I wasn’t sure I could just stand here and make the rain fall from the sky because my father demanded it of me. “Is there a problem, Princess?” Cypress asked in a gruff voice. My eyes popped open, and even though I wasn’t quite sure I should show any sort of excitement at seeing my assassin, I couldn’t help the grin that crossed my face.
Cypress leaned against a tree, smirking at me. “Just trying to conjure some rain,” I replied before biting my lip. He rubbed at the scruff on his jaw before eyeing my parents. “Seems I’m feeling a bit uninspired.”
He licked his lips.
“What happened the last time your powers manifested?” my father asked, making my cheeks turn crimson.
“Ah...I’m not sure I remember the circumstances exactly.” I rocked back on my feet.
Cypress shook his head. “Sure you do.” He walked toward me slowly. “We were on the roof. Under the moon.”
I smiled tightly. “Oh sure. Yes, I remember now.”
“Thought you might.” He smiled, his broader than my own, before he placed a hand on my back. Both of my parents’ gazes traveled right to where he touched me. At that moment, I didn’t give a shit. They could throw me out if they didn’t like it. “Now, go ahead and make that rain come.”
His hand was warm where he touched me. I leaned into him and stared at the clouds. My father wanted rain clouds. I knew what they looked like. They reminded me of Cypress’s eyes when he got angry with me, when I knew he was about to explode. They moved in above us, fast. My mother gasped and then clapped her hands. I stared, openmouthed. Had I done that? I hadn’t felt a thing.
“Good work, Layne,” Cypress whispered in my ear before he stepped back. “I had no doubt you could do it. You are the most powerful person here.” When he said that, it was more for my parent’s benefit, but why?
There were so many things I didn’t understand about social interaction. But I’d made the rain come. It poured down on our heads, and although I was wet and uncomfortable, it was a top ten experience for me. I’d never forget it.
Chapter Sixteen
Cypress
“Here is your reward,” her father said while tossing a bag of coins on his desk. I knew he was going to call me to his office. It didn’t take a genius to see the chemistry and attraction between Layne and me. We were like fire, burning down anything in our path.
This might have started as a job, but it had turned into so much more.
“Thank you,” I replied while picking up the pouch and weighing it in my palm. “I’d like to discuss the matter of Layne’s protection moving forward.”
“I figured as much,” the pompous asshole replied. “But I think our kingdom no longer needs your services.”
I’d expected this. He didn’t like my presence here. My prior affiliation with the Assassins Guild made him anxious, and he definitely didn’t like the lingering looks his daughter liked to toss my way, but I didn’t really give a fuck. Layne was going to figure out what she was capable of, and we were going to get the hell out of this place. She was fucking powerful, and I refused to let her parents siphon those powers like Bhaltair did.
“I was thinking about staying for a while,” I replied. “I think it’s good to have me around.”
A vein bulged in the king’s head, and I smirked at how easily he lost his chill. “I’m not ignorant, assassin. I see what’s going on here, but I don’t think you fully understand the ramifications of what this means.”
I lifted my eyebrows
