lava. My body began to heat to his touch.
“I was so worried about you,” he murmured into my hair. “So very worried.” He kissed me again. “But now you’re back – and the stone – it will heal your mother. I promise you. She’ll be safe now.”
He reached into my pocket, taking out the gleaming sapphire. “Look,” he said. I gasped in surprise. The stone was heating up to the touch, beginning to glow with an unearthly radiance. Tiny flames seemed to be burning within the stone itself, lighting it from within.
“Vesta’s power,” whispered Chance. “Vesta’s flame. You see it all before you now.”
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed.
He handed it to me, and a volt of electricity shot through me. I had experienced a stone’s power before – but nothing like this blinding shock of intensity coursing through me. I felt as if my blood had been replaced with fire in my veins; I felt the power of the stone coursing into my body, making me stronger, making me more – dare I think it – like Vesta.
“Put this on your mother’s body,” said Chance, stepping back.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“This is something for you and your mother to deal with together,” Chance said, shaking his head. “I know how much you care for her.” He lifted my hand to his lips. “Farewell, my darling,” he said. “I’ll wait in the living room.”
I entered my mother’s bedroom. She was weak but conscious, propped up on a pile of pillows. She smiled when she saw me. “Honey…” she whispered, the effort so great that she seemed to fall back as she spoke. “I missed you…”
“It’s okay, Mom.” I went over to her, wrapping my arms around her, pressing the gleaming stone at the small of her back. “You’re safe now. You’ll be better from here on out – I promise you.”
“What’s going on?”
She suddenly bolted up straight, her eyes widening in shock. A golden shimmer seemed to pass through her body. “What’s that?”
Immediately the color began returning to her cheeks – a slow pink flush at first, followed by the ripe red of true vigor. Her eyes grew bright; her hair returned to its customary luster. Her fever cooled; her lips parted in a smile.
“I was so worried about you, Mom!” Tears sprang to my eyes as I held her tight. “But I found a way to save you.”
“I knew you would,” my mother said, her voice shaking. “But I didn’t expect that…”
“What?” I looked up in surprise. What did my mother mean – I knew you would? I hadn’t told her anything – about Vesta, about the Embodiments, about anything that might confuse her or make her think I was crazy.
A voice from behind me provided an answer: “I think it’s time you tell your mother everything. There’s so much she needs to know. A parent should know.”
“Chance?” He had reappeared, a broad smile on his face.
“But it’s different with Antonio,” I protested. “He’s already…well, you know! And my mother…” I sighed.
“Don’t worry.” Chance leaned in and kissed me lightly on the forehead. “You doubt yourself too much. Your mother may know far more than you think she does. And whatever you need me for, Mac – I’ll be there for you, waiting. I’ll keep my phone on. Just call if you need anything at all.” He embraced me and kissed me tenderly on the lips, his kiss full of gentleness – so different from his customary savage desire. A kiss almost like Varun’s.
“I missed you,” I whispered.
“I missed you too,” replied Chance. “But right now, your mom needs you. I’ll wait until later – I’ll see you outside.” He bowed to my mother and left the room.
“Mac – what’s all this about?” My mother looked up at me, confused. “Did you go to the ocean?”
“What?” I looked up at her in shock. How did she know about the ocean?
“I may have been ill, Mac, but I’m not deaf. I heard you talking to Antonio in the other room. And now I want to know where you found this…miraculous stone.”
“I was with Varun,” I said, hardly knowing where to start. How could I explain magic to my mother, or Embodiments, or anything at all? She’d probably think she was in some sort of feverish haze – or that I was.
“I was…getting the stone from the ocean,” I continued. “It’s…special. Kind of – supernatural, I guess. I mean…it’s not like normal scientific medicine. It’s different. But it made you better, Mom. That’s what’s important.”
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