Reflection Pond Read Online Free

from me?” Her tone was dismissive.
    Rowan ignored it. “That girl doesn’t belong here.”
    “That’s not really your decision.”
    “And what about the Elders?” he challenged.
    Hazel opened her eyes now, caught Rowan in them as one might trap a butterfly with a pin. “Of course I will address this with them.”
    “When?”
    “Not your concern, child,” she said the word like an expletive.
    Almost two years and still she thought nothing of him. Rowan tamped down the fury inside of him. “I am not a child.”
    “But not yet a member of the city. You have no power here.”
    “But the girl,” he said again.
    “Is not your concern.”
    Lights flashed behind Rowan’s eyes and his mind fogged with Hazel’s power. He clenched his jaw, trying to fight it, but Rowan held no defensive energy. His body gave up long before he did.
    Hazel gasped and his head cleared. “I apologize,” she said, her face a mask of feigned disbelief.
    Rowan didn’t buy any of it. He’d seen Hazel manipulate an entire city with her mock innocence. His jaw clicked as he released the pressure. “As you wish,” he said, snubbing her apology. He turned on his heel and left Hazel to gloat over her power.
     
    ***
     
    Callie went from the humid shelter of the caves to a wonderland as picturesque as an Irish countryside. The city was beautiful, from the gentle rolling hills blanketed in bright grass to the cottages with their thatch roofs and smoke pouring from their chimneys. To Callie’s right, multistory, statuesque buildings stretched toward the sky, their bases blending into the earth. Vines heavy with fruit and flowers crossed over their fronts, jamming the roofs and obscuring the structure underneath. There were trees everywhere, huge weeping willows, Japanese maples in a riot of shades including violet, pink, and blue, oaks, pines, ash, and a multitude of flowering trees. Flowers lined the compacted dirt path that wound through the city. A river wove between the cottages. The sky was a perfect blue, cloudless and uniform from skyline to skyline. A cheery yellow sun warmed her.
    The residents of the city gaped as she and Ash wound between the cottages and eventually reached the larger buildings that faced them, following the dirt path. Callie stared back, unable to stop herself. It seemed that all the women had long, flowing hair and pretty, oval faces. Several male heads turned in her direction and Callie face flushed at the attention. Their dress ranged from jeans to tunics to t-shirts.
    “Who are you people?” she whispered.
    Ash ignored Callie’s mutterings and led her between the buildings that blotted out the sun. The temperature dropped and Callie rubbed her arms.
    “Who lives here?”
    “Elders, mostly. Some staff, other important people.” Ash said.
    Most of structures looked identical, soaring facades covered with greenery and blooms. Callie knew she’d never find her way out unassisted. From a distance, the city didn’t look big, but once inside it, the buildings blocked any view of the surrounding fields, forest, and cottages.
    Ash stopped in front of a towering building, gesturing grandly. Cobblestone steps adorned the front of a spacious porch. An inlaid gem tree sparkled from the arched double doors.
    “This,” Ash said with reverence, “is the palace.”
    It was four stories, every inch covered in ivy. A sprawling second floor balcony spilling with flowers obscured most of the jutting turrets that reached toward the sky, windows glittering in the afternoon sun.
    A noisy huddle of people waited just inside.
    Excitement weighed heavy in the air and the voices quieted as Callie and Ash entered. The gazes of the gathered crowd were warm as sunlight on bare skin, their faces curious and beautiful. It reminded Callie of the time she’d traveled with a friend to a fashion show where all the models had flawless, airbrushed skin. The women here looked perfect with bright, gem colored eyes and flowing hair. The men