“Maybe next time, you two could join us,” Barrett added with a wink as he passed me to follow her.
“Barrett!” I balked, searching for anything I could throw at him.
Thalia chuckled as she ascended the stairs. Damien bit back the urge to laugh, but I heard the low huff that escaped him.
“Damien!”
He gave me an incredulous look. “What?”
I slumped and followed after them.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of if it got you feelin’ a certain way, spitfire,” Barrett teased.
“Oh my God.” I groaned. “I’m going to set you on fire, Barrett.”
Barrett let out a bark of laughter. “I look forward to it.”
Damien rested against a nearby maple tree as he observed us from a distance. He’d insisted on being here instead of helping Alec and Xander train recruits. After how our last attempt to train with flame magic had gone, I didn’t blame him.
I stood in the center of the clearing, transfixed on my hand. Small flames danced in my palm, the wind causing them to shift and ripple. They were mesmerizing.
“Now that we know you’ve got the basics down, there are techniques for using flame Stoicheion, and you’ll notice when you start to learn the other Stoicheion that there are similarities. You can shoot the fire as a projectile.” Barrett allowed the flames to climb up his arm, his skin nearly glowing wherever the fire crept. He turned, shooting his hand out as fire erupted from his palm, sending a blast into a nearby target.
“Or you can use it as an extension of yourself.” He spun around, the flames extending out from his arms like a whip as he swept them through the air. They stretched out to slam into another target, pulverizing it, the remnants dousing in the snow as they crumbled.
“I’d have Vincent show you the similarities between flame and water, but Vincent’s not gonna be able to make it today. Something came up last minute with Anna. He’ll be here Tuesday, so you can try then.”
My stomach dipped. “Is Anna okay? Is the baby okay?”
“She’s fine. It’s more of a precautionary visit with Johnson. I spoke with Anna a couple hours ago. Her blood pressure was a little high and Vincent freaked and wanted her checked out,” Barrett said, and my shoulders sagged.
Anna had told me how protective Vincent had gotten over her. It was sweet to think about someone who was a trained killer doting over his mate. I wished I could’ve experienced that with Damien, wished I could’ve experienced the joys of pregnancy and bringing a child into the world with him. I knew there was never any chance of it, but I’d always wanted to start a family, be a mother.
Barrett’s voice pulled me back. “You ready, spitfire?”
I nodded, eyes falling to my hands as the flames swayed at my fingertips. There was no time to dwell on the things I couldn’t do. I needed to focus on what I could. He’d taught me before to imagine a faucet, but last night I’d let instinct take over. Now that I wasn’t in danger, the ability sat just out of my reach.
I imagined it as a ball I could throw. My gaze drifted to the target he’d hit, the hole left in the middle of it still smoldering. I turned, solidifying my stance as I focused on the target beside it. I grasped my hand around the flame, imagining the ball, and I launched it forward.
The flame hit one of the target’s legs, and it fell over with a thud, steam shooting up from the snow-covered ground. My shoulders slumped. Well, that was a graceful failure.
“It’s ok, spitfire. Don’t get too down on yourself.” A teasing grin spread across Barrett’s face. “Try not to think of it as a baseball.”
He walked up behind me and took my hand. I stiffened, the flames still alive as they moved over my skin, and I nearly recoiled from his grasp for fear of burning him, but he didn’t pull back, and I realized the flames didn’t harm him.
“You can touch them?” I asked, eyes darting to his face beside me.
“I can walk through any fire and not burn if I’m aware and maintain control. You can do the same,” Barrett said coolly. I remembered when I’d been engulfed in the flames at the metal shop. I wondered just what else the Stoicheion could do with the elements they wielded.
“Now, I want you to hold your hand out, and, just like you did last night, shoot the flames from your palm in a blast, more like a gun. Just like how I showed you.”
My gaze fell forward to the target now on its side, Barrett’s hand a calm brace on my wrist as he helped me aim. I inhaled deeply, imagining the barrel, the flames building, waiting to be unleashed.
“Set it loose,” Barrett whispered.
I imagined pulling an invisible trigger, releasing it, and the fire erupted from my palm, slamming into the center of the target. Barrett released me, and I stood there, staring at the smoldering hole I’d just created.
My gaze snapped to Damien, giddiness rising in my chest as I smiled in triumph at him. “I did it!”
