22
" My mind flashes back to the Shadow Garden years ago, to the pangs of envy in my stomach as I watched Sebastian and Lucia before growing a flower with my hands. I recall the overpowering grief spilling out of me the night I created the ball of fire, the desperate yearning for my mother a few weeks ago when I grew a rose, my longing for Sebastian when I changed the colors in the Maze. Heightened emotion. That must be the trigger to my gift.
I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing my thoughts away from the fire in this room and back to the nightclub in Windsor. Swaying in Sebastian's arms, my head nestled beneath his chin, our faces nearly meeting---
My eyes fly open as the sizzling sensation returns to my hands. I watch win awe as tiny cracks begin to form in my fingertips--and water comes sprouting from them.
Teddy howls in shock as I move may hands over the wastebasket, the water from my fingers extinguishing the fire, until all that remains is a smoky aftermath. Teddy leaps into my arms, licking my face in relief.
"We're okay, buddy. We're okay." I hold his furry little body close, and after setting him down, I stare at my hands in wonder. They've returned to normal. the cracks are gone. What I've just done is completely insane... but also a miracle. "
― Alexandra Monir , Suspicion
23
" Lady Beatrice insisted that she was no witch, but an Elemental. This is an unfamiliar term to most, but certainly not one invented by the late duchess. References to Elementalism are found as far back as in Greek mythology and Ancient Egyptian writings.
An Elemental is known as a child of nature. Unlike mere humans, they are one with the four elements, able to manipulate the air, earth, water, and fire around them. There are those who find it a frightening concept, but I have interviewed two of the late duchess's acquaintances who profess that she used her gift for good. A Wickersham tenant farmer who was growing destitute from the lack of thriving crops recalls that Lady Beatrice visited his land, and shortly after her departure, the soil came back to life and grew fertile. "
― Alexandra Monir , Suspicion
24
" I told Lucia how I felt, how I thought she was wrong about you. It was the one thing that came between us."
My breath catches in my throat. So then...he cared. He cared enough about me to stand up to his beautiful, powerful girlfriend.
"I thought what you did that day in the Shadow Garden was...incredible," Sebastian continues. "It was magic. Afterward, I kept waiting for you to come back. I wanted to ask you to show me more---but you never did."
"And now?" I ask, my chin quivering. "What do you think now, after everything you've seen and read?"
Sebastian touches my shoulder briefly, and I feel a tremor where his hand was.
"I've seen enough to know that you're still the Ginny I remembered from when we were kids. Open, honest, and incapable of hurting anyone. Maybe you are an Elemental, maybe not." He leans in closer. "But I'm not afraid. "
― Alexandra Monir , Suspicion
25
" "The falling leaves drift by the window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips, the summer kisses,
The sunburned hands I used to hold.
The singer's raspy, haunting voice tugs at my chest. Sebastian's arms return too my waist, and I lean against him as we sway to the music. The accordion joins in on the chorus, and it is so beautiful, so heart-wrenching, that everything else in the room seems to fade away until there is only me, Sebastian, and the song.
Since you went away, the days grow long,
And soon I'll hear old winter's song.
But I miss you most of all, my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall.
My eyes meet Sebastian's, and I know we're both thinking the same thing. This song could be about us, about the summer we said goodbye. "
― Alexandra Monir , Suspicion
26
" I clutch her hand, my insides tightening and twisting with a grief too painful to bear. And suddenly, I feel a frighteningly familiar searing sensation in my hands. I pull away from Lucia, and a scream rises in my throat at the sight of the lines in my palms--sparking and blazing a fiery orange. Panicking, I close my hands into fists, but the sparks leap from my hands up into the air, forming a single large flame suspended between our two bodies. The flame casts an eerie glow over Lucia, from the wild look in her eyes to the spade-shaped birthmark on her wrist.
"What's happening?" Lucia cries, following my gaze. "How--how are you doing that?"
I back away from her, trembling. Without warning, my hands return to normal. The space between us is once again dark and empty. "
― Alexandra Monir , Suspicion