The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) by Alison Pensy Read Free Book Online Page A

keep control. She felt truly relaxed. She felt cool.
She didn't want the power back; fear spiked through her at the
thought. She wanted to feel like this again for all time. Faedra
hadn't taken her eyes from Derian's as his words permeated her
brain. As the realization dawned on her what was about to happen, a
tear slid down her cheek. She drew in a deep breath and gave the
king a barely perceptible nod.
    Derian nodded back and slowly released her
hand.
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    Faedra sucked in a sharp gasp as the roaring
flames engulfed her again. No slow build up, no warning, the power
just slammed into her, around her, smothering her with its
intensity. She staggered back a couple of steps and leaned over,
resting her hands above her knees to steady herself. The roar. The
heat. The burning. It was all back with a vengeance. She sensed her
Guardian's worry and looked to her side.
    "Don't touch me!" she screamed, as he reached
out to put a hand on her back. Faen drew his hand away, his eyes
wide. "I'll burn you," she murmured, softer this time, as she saw
the dismay on her beautiful Guardian's face. "Just give me a minute
to get this under control again."
    She dropped her head, panting. Unchecked
tears were flowing now, evaporating half way down her cheeks with a
sizzle. Derian had given her a glimpse of what it felt like to be
normal again, or as normal as she could be after her eighteenth
birthday. She had almost forgotten what it felt like. She didn't
want to go back to this, it was too much. Her emotions were getting
the better of her, she didn't have a hope of getting her powers
back in check when she felt this upset, this desperate.
    A panicked squeal made her lift her head. A
tree beside the fountain had burst into flames and the water in the
font bubbled angrily. Eadlin's eyes darted from the tree, to
Faedra, to her father. She moved closer to him, her terrified gaze
connecting with the Custodian's, as she did. A fresh wave of
emotions swamped Faedra, this time they were her own. Disgust at
herself topping the list. Then her eyes widened as she absorbed the
fact that steam was flowing off the visitors. Jalia noticed it,
too, and grabbed hold of her daughter and husband, dragging them
back further. Faedra turned to her father and her Guardian, both of
whom had taken several steps back. Both sets of eyes filled with
anxiety.
    This was not good. Oh, this was so not good.
If she was to have any chance of getting some semblance of control
over the power that took her over more than a year ago, she had to
get away from the five pairs of eyes that were gawking at her.
Between them, the energies were too intense, ranging from worry to
fear. She could tolerate people being worried about her but she
loathed herself when people feared her. She was just a young woman,
she wasn't a monster. She wasn't.
    Faedra cast her teary gaze around the
assemblage. She swallowed, hard. "I'm...so sorry. I...can't..." She
let out a strangled sob before taking off. It was as if Derian had
opened Pandora's Box. She couldn't get the power under control
again. Faedra was terrified. There was one place she could go that
she knew she wouldn't hurt the occupants. She disappeared inside
the castle and prayed she didn't raze it to the ground before
reaching her destination. The doors to her father's study flew open
without her touching them. Right now, Faedra didn't dare touch
anything for fear of setting the place on fire. If she didn't have
to retrieve a certain object, she wouldn't be inside the castle at
all. She had to hurry. Faedra held her hand up and the doors to an
ornate cabinet flew open. The roar in her head was getting louder.
Would she spontaneously combust? She came to a stop in front of the
cabinet and eyed its contents.
    Faedra drew in a long breath and scrunched
her eyes closed. The flames were raging in her brain, but she had
to pull them back from her hand if this was going to work. With
gritted teeth, she summoned forth every ounce