I walked up to my room, suddenly feeling really awkward about my sweat-sticky body. “How do you want to do this?”

  Michael began to look a little sheepish. “Excellent question. I’ve… never actually given a massage before. Maybe I should watch some YouTube videos first.”

  We sat on the couch in the space just outside the guest room, the same one that folded out into a bed for Michael. He typed “How to give a massage at home” into the search bar, scrolling through the videos, trying to find the ones that looked most reliable. I couldn’t help but notice that all the people on the massage tables were naked, covered only by a sheet. A blush crept up my neck. I was so in my own thoughts about it that I didn’t even notice Michael put the phone away.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  I startled at his voice, blush deepening. “No!” I cleared my throat. “Sorry, don’t know why I yelled. No, nothing wrong at all.”

  He gave a knowing look at me. “If this is about your skin beneath my hands—”

  “Michael!” I reprimanded, earning a chuckle when I slapped his arm.

  “I love surprising you,” he said, winking at me.

  “You’re incorrigible,” I complained.

  He merely bowed his head, accepting the adjective as his own. “I can give you a massage over your shirt if that would be more comfortable for you, or I can schedule you a proper massage instead.” I knew he’d do it, too.

  And that was why I said, “I’ll be fine, just give me a few minutes to get ready.” I stood and walked to the bedroom, not giving myself time to debate whether this was a good idea. Closing the door, I then folded over the quilt, leaving the top sheet undisturbed. I quickly stripped down and climbed under the sheet.

  Someone knocked about a minute later.

  “Come in,” I said, hoping he didn’t hear the tremor in my voice. I heard the door open behind me, but those weren’t Michael’s steps. “Syla?”

  “I trained as a masseuse just before Nikola tricked me. And just what do you think you’re doing, young lady?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

  “Nothing! God Syla, you’re embarrassing me!” I hid my head under the pillow, hearing her muffled laughter.

  She lifted the pillow. “I know it, I know it, just teasing you. Michael looked just as nervous as you, watching videos of massages and looking at his hands as if they were completely foreign to him. I saved you both, you’re welcome.”

  I was positive my blush couldn’t get any worse. “Sylaaaaa.”

  “Oh, just calm down.” She went over to her nightstand, grabbing a bottle of lotion. “Let’s get you taken care of, shall we? Then you can clean up and come back downstairs. I think Antun is picking a movie.”

  ? ?? ?

  It was the next evening. Throughout the day at the office – when my enhanced senses would pick up the undertones of passing perfume or hear someone’s heartbeat as loud as if I was using a stethoscope – I thought about how different I was now. Beyond the super senses, mind-reading had become more manageable as well. I could filter voices out and pick and choose who I heard, if anyone. The advanced healing was automatic, and it seemed to be working just fine as long as I kept up with my mana intake.

  I hadn’t had an opportunity to sit down and test hypnosis. Unfortunately, I needed to be around a person for at least an hour before our minds would tether and I could trance someone. At least, that’s how it was for Michael – Nikola could hypnotize without even meeting a person. But in any case, there was no one at home viable to test it on – we were all vampires, and hypnosis only worked on mortals as far as we knew.

  All that left was flight, the one power I knew for certain had not come in yet. How did I know, you ask? If falling from the sky after being dropped by a vampire god didn’t make it kick in, what would? For as patient as I was, this was one power that I wanted to get on top of quickly. Michael had said that he wasn’t very graceful when he first flew and that he had to practice to get to the point where he could fly smoothly, and I did not want an audience for my first flight.

  Regardless, everyone had gathered in the living room and were now discussing my powers. It had only been days ago since the Sirens of Spring, and Antun insisted I needed to train my powers.

  “I have a theory that flight depends on mana circulation, not just raw supply. Michael’s flight came in at a normal time interval, so it seems to me that beyond just having lots of mana, it’s about how you circulate it in your body.” Antun shifted his body on the chair. “Imagine it like a second circulatory system. No matter the mana volume it’ll keep flowing.”

  I could kind of picture what he was talking about. It sounded fanciful, but then again, I was a vampire, and less than a year ago I didn’t even believe in them, so it stood to reason that Antun’s theory had a shot at being right.

  “Don’t overdo it, Love, but keep supplying that system and the rest will catch up.”

  “So you’re saying that I have to hurry up and wait?” I asked tiredly.

  “Essentially,” Antun answered with a sympathetic grin. “But it’s only a theory. Anyone else have any ideas?”

  Michael lifted a finger to answer. “I have no idea about mana circulation, but for me it just happened one day. I was walking home from work one night and out of nowhere, a dog started chasing me. I booked it as fast as I could but after a few long strides, my feet stopped hitting the ground. I was running in the air as I floated up and up.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  “I somehow managed to dive into an alley, the dog running past too fast and losing my scent. Clinging to a fire escape, still floating, I remembered trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Out of nowhere, the levitation stopped and I dropped onto the fire escape, metal clanging beneath me.” He shook his head. “That was probably the most surprising power that manifested. At least the most surprising way.”

  “That actually makes me wonder if it is tied to emotion or adrenaline, something primal that forces the instincts to surface,” Syla said, finger tapping her chin as she thought. “I know the whole fight was full of adrenaline, but maybe it just hasn’t come in yet. We could see if emotions have anything to do with them instead of adrenaline, too.”

  “I’m just imagining an angry Drew flying around all crazy,” Michael said with a grin. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you truly angry.”

  “I mask it well. I get plenty angry at work… frequently… I suppose irritated-to-an-excessive-degree would be more fitting than angry…” Ugh, I’m drifting off topic. We all are. I tried to stay patient, but I could feel the gap widening between theory and progress.

  Antun must’ve felt the gap too. “Why don’t we go outside and see if we can’t coax it out of you, Love? Maybe it just needs the right encouragement.” I looked out the window – dusk was falling, and soon it would be completely dark out. I nodded agreement, standing up and heading for the stairs.

  Down the stairs and out the back door, we walked out into the fresh air, a slight breeze prickling my skin with goosebumps. The back of Antun’s property was open to the forest beyond, leaves rustling in the wind as I walked out onto the grass, the others close behind. Part of me wondered if I could will the gift forward. I supposed it was worth a try. At least as much of a try as Syla’s emotions theory and Antun’s circulatory system theory would get. I tried to see if I could sense the mana within me, but it was like telling me to sense my own blood flow. Wait, without a pumping heart, how do vampires bleed? I supposed it was another question to add to the unending list.

  Jumping was as good a place to start as any. I grabbed a chair from the patio table, setting it out in the grass. I stepped up onto the metal seat, remembering games of jumping off chairs as a kid, pretending I could fly. I felt silly doing essentially the same thing as an adult with the expectation of actually flying. I counted down in my head, jumping as high as I could… and landed on the grass. A part of me was sincerely disappointed that it didn’t work, but maybe I just had to try again.

  I got back up onto the chair, jumped, and landed. Again and again, I tried, feeling stupider the longer I went on. I changed strategies, stretching my body up and out as far as I could before falling off the chair. I continuously landed stumbling on my feet as I barely caught myself.

  Michael tried to staunch his laughter but couldn’t hide the smile in his eyes as he watched me jump off the chair over and over again like a child.

  I stretched my head and neck out, fingers flexing at my sides as I leaned out into open air, hoping to… have something happen, not land over and over again. I nearly toppled all the way down that time, having to catch myself with my hands as well.

  Antun, trying to mask his own amusement, said, “Keep trying. The old adage “If at first you don’t succeed” has merit to it, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. Maybe try that particular method on the ground so you can practice your breakfalls on the ones that don’t work. It might help it feel less pointless. I see that look in your eyes – you think these attempts are pointless. Well, it’s more pointless to do nothing, isn’t it?”

  He had me with that. So, continue I did, but with every failure, embarrassment tightened in my chest.

  Syla had been silent the whole time, her arms crossed as she watched every attempt intently. “Drew, it might be a bit daft but maybe add your arms?” She demonstrated by waving her arms up and down like wings. “Darling, don’t look at me like that, I’m being serious.”

  I couldn’t help but look incredulously at my friend. She really thought that could possibly help at all? I just shook my head, wiggling my arms as I thought This is just getting more and more ridiculous. I swear to God, if this actually works, I’m going to be pissed.

  I got back up onto the chair. Now I’ve really lost it. The only thing worse would be jumping from a greater height. I let out a breath, disbelieving of myself. I took a deep breath, lifted my arms as I squatted, then leapt into the air as I flapped my arms. I looked just as foolish as you might imagine.

  Michael snorted and couldn’t hide the chuckle behind his hand. I glared at him and he just shrugged in reply, making a little heart shape with his hands, brows shrugging as much as his shoulders had. That made me snort, helping to relax at least part of the embarrassment from my shoulders.

  Antun finally said, “That’s enough for tonight, I think.”

  I gratefully picked up the chair, panting from all the jumping I’d done, and deposited it back in its place.

  Antun gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Maybe it’ll come when you stop trying to make it perform.”

  A part of me found comfort in the statement, knowing that it wasn’t my fault. But the rest of me thought it was maddening, proverbially pulling out my hair and gnashing my teeth in frustration and impatience.

  I sighed heavily, still catching my breath. “Fine. Guess I’ll take the bus like a normal undead citizen.”

  Laughter ruptured around me, the tension breaking fully. Michael came over and pecked a kiss to the top of my head before wrapping me in a side hug. “My girlfriend is funny,” he chuckled out.

  “Thanks, I try,” I said with a feigned hair-flip, making Michael laugh again.

  He tilted my chin up and kissed me, totally uncaring about an audience. He looked like he wanted to say something more but decided not to, opting for a smile instead. Poking me in the side and making me squeak was a favorite pastime of his and now was no exception. I slapped at the hand that poked me, hitting only air and making Michael laugh even harder.

  His laugh was infectious, and soon enough we were all laughing as we walked back inside. I told them all I’d be back and went to the guestroom that Syla and I were sharing, needing a little space. I closed the door and sat in the stuffed armchair in the corner of the room, letting out a long breath until my lungs were empty. Tilting my head back, I closed my eyes, counting my breaths in and out, pausing to hold for just a moment between each breath.

  Eyes opening, they landed on the picture that Antun had commissioned for my Christmas gift – Selene’s terrace balcony, covered in dark red roses as she stood in a flowing gown, face lifted toward the moon. I wondered when I’d see Selene again. She said that it wasn’t the last time, but when was the next time?

  I took another breath. Just another time I got left behind. That’s what was so upsetting tonight – it wasn’t the flying that upset me, it was the feeling of being left behind. I felt half-mortal still while the others were completely supernatural, effortlessly so. I’d never effortlessly done anything before. For me, progress had always come only after struggle, and that truth stung more than I cared to admit.

  I continued to breathe slowly and steadily, coming to a sort of acceptance within myself. Perhaps tonight had been a flop, and maybe flight was going to take a long time to come in. But I wasn’t a quitter. I wouldn’t be flapping my arms and jumping off chairs again like that, but maybe I could be patient this time too.

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