I rolled my eyes when Barrett threw his hands up in surrender, a haughty grin spreading across his face. I firmly believed Barrett lived for confrontation—always eager for a fight, likely due to the fire-laced blood flowing through his veins. Given the chance, he’d enjoy watching me dance around his flames to elicit some sort of response with my own. It wouldn’t end well for him, though, wouldn’t end well for any of us.
He lifted his hand, and small flames came to life at his fingertips. The smile left my face as I watched them dance, growing slowly until they enveloped his hand. My throat went dry as I watched the fire move lithely against his skin.
“Do you use these abilities when you’re hunting darklings?” I asked, unable to pull my gaze from his lit hand.
He watched me, gauging my reaction. “Not always. The key to what we do in this era of humanity is discreteness. Still, having this arsenal in our back pocket can be the deciding factor between us putting them down, or them slaughtering us.”
There was no greater truth than those words, and after seeing the devastation of Moonhaven’s fall firsthand, I knew he was right.
Barrett doused the flames and drew closer. He took my hand, holding it up between us. “Now, think about your emotions. Focus on the tip of this one finger.” He tapped my pointer finger. “Picture the heat, the fire. Use those emotions as a spark, and once the flame comes to life, level it out and focus on maintaining it. You’ll feel it when it happens.”
My eyes flickered back and forth between him and my finger, my heart dipping as the nerves curdled my stomach. “What if I can’t control it?”
“Don’t hesitate. Fear does not mix well with Stoicheion magic. Ignore your fear. Think of your passionate emotions—love creates a more controlled spark. Think of it like a torch at your fingertip. You can widen or constrict the flow of emotions. You won’t understand it fully until you try it out. Don’t worry, Vincent can put you out if need be.”
Vincent’s grin widened as he threw up a hand from the nearby bench. “Got my bucket right here!”
I rolled my eyes at the water user’s proverbial ‘bucket’. There was no bucket in sight, but I guess he didn’t need one when he could manipulate the moisture in the air around us, the snow beneath our feet.
I drew a deep breath, shoving the fear down where I might not feel it. I could do this. Easy. I closed my eyes, remembering when I’d accidentally set our bed on fire. As the fear tried to resurface, I didn’t allow myself to dwindle on the cause of that meltdown, on the dream that triggered the magic.
What did I feel right now? Barrett had specifically instructed me to ignore my fears and use love instead. So, I focused on Damien, on my feelings toward him. Surely, that would be enough. Passion. Love. Adoration. The warmth cascaded over my skin in the cold air, focusing on that little heat.
Barrett tapped on the tip of my pointer finger. “Good. Now, focus here.”
My finger grew warm, warmer and warmer until it felt hot, my passion and feelings for Damien flowing to one point, sparking to life.
“Open your eyes, Cas.” Damien’s voice was a whisper behind me, and I obliged hesitantly.
The tiniest of flames danced on my fingertip, so small, so... beautiful. The air left my lungs in a sigh of relief and excitement, and a smile spread across my face. “I did it.”
Barrett leaned down to inspect the flame as it flickered. “Excellent, spitfire. I knew you could do it. Now, level out your emotion, and keep the faucet at a trickle for now.”
The flame settled, and I moved my hand slowly, tilting my finger back and forth as the flame shifted and danced in the winter breeze. It was beautiful to watch, a living flame at my fingertips. It was... mesmerizing.
You can do better than that.
Sharp pain pierced my skull, stretching out to the back of my eyes as I clenched them shut. Marcus appeared before me, his chest glowing as the flames consumed him, the strange look of appreciation on his face as he thanked me. The fire stretched out from my hand as I burned him until nothing but ash remained. My hand grew hotter, and I opened my eyes to find the flames growing, enveloping my hand, my other hand coming alight as well.
I gasped, chest heaving as I panicked. “No!”
Damien appeared before me, his eyes locking with mine. “Breathe, Cas. Close the faucet.”
My eyes flickered between the flames and him. I shrank back for fear of burning him, but he held me steadfast. “It’s happening again, Damien. I can’t stop—”
“Breathe, Cas,” he said firmly. “Focus on cutting off the flow.Focus on me, mea luna.You can do this.”
My breaths came in short bursts, uneven, uncontrollable. The fire fell further out of my hold, climbing up my arms as my heart stuttered. Damien hissed, recoiling his hands as the fire reached him. Cold water doused me, soaking me from head to toe, shocking me out of my panic.
The fire died out.
Vincent stood frozen just a few feet from me, face drained of all color, hands outstretched from dousing me in his magic. Silence hung in the air. Barrett didn’t even have a comment to make. My eyes fell to my quivering hands, my palms red.
“I can’t do this anymore…”
CASSIE
The training I desperately needed to complete ended immediately after I lost control. I couldn’t handle it. I was too weak—too weak to control this fractured part of me Marcus had created.
