Amelia nodded. "Good idea."
The men exchanged concerned looks.
Beth buried her face in her hands. "Two of them; there's two."
Gavriel rubbed her back. "There, there dear."
Amelia looked over at Meryn and winked, and Meryn winked back.
"Gods help us all," Aiden muttered biting into his ninth taco.
*****
"Here you go," Keelan said, indicating the room next to Darian's. Now that she was up here, it hurt knowing that they would be in separate rooms, without saying so much as 'goodnight' to each other. Keelan opened the door and showed her around the two-room suite.
"Did you need help with the suitcases?" he asked, pointing to the large, silver rolling case.
Amelia laughed. "That's my makeup."
Keelan blinked. "And?"
"Just makeup."
"Wow. You promised Meryn and Beth makeovers tomorrow; would you like me to float this down for you and put it in Aiden's office?"
"Why Aiden's office?" she asked confused.
Keelan laughed. "It's actually Meryn and Beth's office, but Aiden would be in a foul mood for hours whenever we called it that, so we just call it Aiden's office to keep everyone happy."
"That would be great. I've never really mastered floating."
"What is your gift?" Keelan asked, sitting on the bed.
"Well, besides the generic stuff like candle lighting and fire balls, I'm an empath. I can use earth magic, though I haven't used that since I was a kid. I almost triggered a major earthquake when I was two. Caiden had to bind my powers since we lived close to a fault line." She sat next to him on the bed.
"Two powers, that's impressive. I have two as well. Premonition and air magic. I can float things or harden the air to create a shield. My brother, Kendrick, has four," he said proudly.
"You have the same powers as my eldest brother, Caiden. I knew Kendrick was powerful, but had no idea he had mastered four. I don't think anyone back home does either." Amelia was shocked. Even the elders usually had only mastered three.
"The guys here know and now you. He's very secretive about his powers. He said all he wants to do is record our history and read the archives."
"We need more men like your brother. Council politics are obnoxious. To use Meryn's Hogwarts analogy, it's like all the elders do is stand around whipping out their wands, trying to see who's the most powerful." Amelia had seen politics at work back home every time Caiden tried to get something for the unit warriors. Their first question was always how many prestigious bloodlines served in the units.
"So that hasn't changed, huh? The politics was one of the reasons I left Storm Keep. I couldn't live there anymore and keep my mouth shut. Kendrick is fine. He can just bury his head in some dusty manuscripts from a thousand years ago about the disadvantages of using water magic in an arid climate, but when it comes to people living in the here and now, he just doesn't care."
"You said you got into a disagreement with Kendrick before you left, what was it about?" Amelia turned and sat crossed-legged in front of him.
Keelan leaned back on his hands. "He didn't want me to join Alpha."
"You mean he didn't want you to be a unit warrior?"
He shook his head. "No, he didn't want me to join Alpha. He said he had a dream and that I would die as an Alpha Unit warrior, but here I am nearly two hundred years later, alive and kicking."
Amelia nodded enthusiastically. "Tell me about it! My brother Caiden practically ordered me to come back to Storm Keep because he saw me quote fall into darkness unquote."
Keelan laughed. "Premonitions are so vague, they might as well be useless. Well, for the most part they're vague." His voice got quiet and his expression became serious.
"What is it, Keelan?"
"I'll have to remember to thank Fate later for bringing you here, not just for Darian who has been like a brother, but for me as well."
Amelia raised a brow.
He smiled softly. "No, not like that. You're a witch who isn't a unit warrior. You've lived in Storm Keep and know how it can be there. Hell, you even know my brother. You'd understand..."
"Understand what?"
"The frustration our magic can cause."
"I take it your frustration is around premonitions?" She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.
Keelan nodded, and his eyes became unfocused. "I've been having the same nightmare every night, and every night, I try to change what happens in different ways, but nothing helps. I just wish that whatever or whoever is trying to send me a message would just come out and say it."
"You mean instead of 'fall into darkness', 'avoid assholes running stop signs'?" she asked.
Keelan laughed, his eyes coming back into focus. "Exactly! I knew you'd understand."
"All we can do is what we can, when we can. We'll face whatever it is to come, and if we get stuck, we can always call our brothers." She winked at him.
Keelan stood and stretched. "You know what? You're right." He turned to leave and paused. He turned back to her. "Darian really does care, you know?"
"I do know. Empath, remember?" She tapped her temple.
He winced. "Gods, that has to be awful. Remind me to kick his ass later."
"It wouldn't be so bad if we'd just met, but I've been dreaming of him my whole life. What if he just doesn't want me?" That was her biggest fear, that she wouldn't be enough to make him want to live, that her shortcomings would destroy his soul.