“Stay back.” He doesn’t glance my way as he urges me to keep my distance.
Something inside me tingles to life. Something powerful and unexpected. It demands to be released. It grows into a steady humming sound within my ears.
I don’t know what it is. It scares me, what might live within myself. The unknown power that fumes to life on its own is completely terrifying.
But it won’t be ignored.
As cautiously as possible I raise my hands toward the ground at Ryder’s feet and hope whatever is about to happen won’t harm him.
Burning heat scorches through my arms, stinging through my veins until a fire is ripping from my palms. My eyes narrow, attempting to keep the heat and smoke from my vision as I focus on the base of the green grass. Flames singe the magic-infused binds that hold him. The grass burns into ashen chars. Ryder’s wide eyes meet mine, but I don’t stop until the glinting iron begins to fall from his body. It drifts down from him like leaves in the wind; lifeless and harmless.
I put all my energy into harnessing the power back. My hands sweep away from him and another few yards of land are burnt up under the pressure of my reckless magic.
The heat subsides, dwindling until my palms fume with tendrils of smoke.
“I’m a fire fae,” I say with a gasp.
A stunned expression is all Ryder gives me.
“Maybe.” He kicks away from the remaining strands of weeds.
“What do you mean? I’m just like Darrio.”
Adamantly, Ryder shakes his head at me.
“Darrio has never shot fire from his hands. He’s not a fucking dragon, Kara.”
My brows crease in confusion.
“What are you talking about? I saw him burn that soldier’s face off when we first met.” The fuming anger Darrio held flashes through my mind.
“Yeah, on contact he burnt the guys face off. Stronger fire fae can release flames, but Darrio burns on contact. Everyone’s different. You with your wings from the gods and your fire straight from hell; that’s definitely different. It’s hard to say what else you’re capable of.”
His fingers hesitantly skim across mine. Sweat coats my palms and my skin still stings a little.
Why is nothing about me simple? Why can’t they just tell me what I am and what I can do?
“So I’m still a mystery.” I nod, pushing the annoyance from my voice as he stares down on me.
An odd look is held in his features. A pained look like he knows what I’m feeling.
But he doesn’t comment on it.
He slips his hand into mine. A feeling of reassurance falls over me as he pulls me closer to him.
“Come on. We have more ground to cover before the Blood Moon comes.”
Hand in hand, we walk for miles, shuddering here and there. My legs ache from the hike through the thick landscape. It’s exhausting. I find myself leaning into Ryder the farther we walk.
The tired feeling crushing my body is forgotten when a shrieking cry that I’ve heard for the past several nights sounds through the air.
The cries of the nix.
The sky is a deep orange color, the sun still lying on the horizon.
“Why are they here? I thought they were nocturnal creatures?”
Ryder’s spine stiffens.
