He exhales harshly, a bitter groan escaping his lips. “Okay,Fi.” But the way he says the nickname makes me feel even worse. “How long have you known you’re an Essentari?”
Suddenly, realization strikes, and I’mfurious.
“You think Iknew? And kept it from you? My best friend?” Myvoice rises as I force myself to my feet. Pain wracks my body, blinding and all-consuming, but I grit my teeth and push through it before jabbing my finger into his naked chest.
Wait.
Where the hell did his shirt go?
“I don’t know. You tell me.” He grabs my finger and shoves it away.
“Screw you, Char.” My hands curl into fists, trembling at my sides. “Screw you.”
“Yeah, Fi? That’s all you have to say?”
“I’ve never lied to you. Never. Why would I start now?” I can’t stand the way he’s looking at me. Like he doesn’t trust me. Like he doesn’tknowme.
“Maybe you’re gunning for the top spot.” He clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “Maybe you’re more ambitious than I ever gave you credit for. Maybe you plan to—”
“Oh, will you just shut up!” I yell. “IfI’m an Essentari—”
“If?” He barks out a harsh laugh, one full of so much hostility and rage that I want nothing more than to slap him right across the face, if only to knock some damn sense into him.
This isn’t Char.
This isn’tmyChar.
“You’re kidding, right?” he continues. “I just saw you turn into a fucking ball of fire. Fire, Fi! Burned your damn clothes to ash. By the gods, I could barely touch you after you fainted.” He grinds the words out, and my eyes go wide,panicked.
I scan my body, which is now covered byhisshirt, and my cheeks flame at what that means. I was naked.
Char saw menaked.
“You’re an Essentari. And not just any Essentari, a Pyroflame.” He turns away from me, resting his arm against the brick wall andleaning into it.
APyroflame. An Essentari that can harness the element of fire.
Our village has never had one before, and we’ve been thankful for it. Pyroflames are known to be unstable. Those who form a connection with an element tend to have similar qualities. We don’t know much about how it works, but I know fire is uncontrollable. It’svolatile…just likeIam. Of course, of all the elements,thisis the one I would resonate with most.
Lucky me.
“Well, I didn’t know,” I say softly, moving my fingers to massage my temples, my gaze fixed on the dry dirt beneath my feet.
Am I really a Pyroflame?
How is that possible?
I’ve only ever felt…normal. No, not normal. Weak. Pathetic. Certainly not powerful like the Essentari are.
Those who command the elements are strong. They have to be in order to wield such power, which is probably why everything hurts so much. My entire body aches like never before, as if channeling the flames pushed each muscle past its breaking point.
Char is quiet for a long time, and my thoughts—my questions—start to consume me.
“You need to leave,” he finally says, and my entire body tenses.
“What?” My eyes snap to his back.
“You heard what Norin said. He knows what you are. And it won’t be long until everyone in our year knows it, too.” He lets out a long sigh. “You won’t make it to trial day. They’re going to kill you. Tonight. Tomorrow. I don’t know when. But they will kill you, Fi.”
