He huffs a laugh. “Fire is easy. I haven’t even tried magma yet.”
Oh, shit. That’s right.
“Would you like some moral support?”
I want to support him, of course, but I also need a distraction. Or, just want one.
“Would you?” His eyes go all puppy-dog like Zeph’s do sometimes, and I’m a goner.
“Of course.”
We head out the door on the other side of the facility and walk to the border of the treeline, where we stop, and he turns to me with a frown. “I don’t want to screw up more of the grounds, so if I can get the lava to flow, I’m going to stop. I just want to know I can do it if I have to.”
I smile up at him. Very responsible of my hothead. “You can do it.”
He lets out a long breath and waves me back. “Just in case.”
I keep back several paces before he levels a hand, palm down, and closes his eyes. I try to keep my eyes on his hands and not his sharp jawline that I want to nibble as it flexes, making the black ink flames that barely touch it dance.
I press my lips between my teeth to stifle a growing giggle when the ground beneath my feet begins to rumble, ever so slightly, drawing my attention to it a second before the earth spits liquid fire up into the air.
“Holy shit!” I jump back in shock and fear as more lava spurts and flows from just a foot or two in front of Erich’s feet.
“Fuck,” he hisses and jumps backward as well, the lava seeming to stop its flow the moment he moves, though what’s already been pulled up continues to trudge slowly, smoke billowing along its bright orange path. When the edges begin to darken, the movement begins to halt, and I let out a relieved breath.
I turn to him, blinking. “Well, you did it.”
His head is shaking before I finish. “I can’t control it, though. I can draw it out, but once it’s flowing, it’s a free-for-all.”
“You only tried it once,” I reassure him, placing my hand on his upper arm.
“It’s too dangerous to keep experimenting with right now. This is a last resort move.”
“That’s very responsible of you.” I link arms with him as we walk back to the grounds. “But don’t hesitate if crap hits the fan.”
Erich laughs, and I feel some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate. “Roger that, boss.”
Once we pass through the doors, we’re met with the sight of Zephyr floating in the air, a giant orb of purple so dark it’s nearly black hovering between his hands, arms extended in front of him.
I stop in my tracks, but Erich rushes forward, a glint of fear in his eyes, staying just outside the gravitational pull that’s sucking grass, leaves, rocks, and chunks of earth into the core of the orb. He moves back and forth like he’s ready to catch Zeph if he falls. When my eyes meet an amused Andrew’s, I realize that Zeph must have this under control.
Andrew wouldn’t let him get hurt. He’s likely firmly inside our love’s mind.
Taking pity on Erich’s poor nerves, I jog over to him and tell him as much when he takes me into his protective arms.
“He’s got this,” I say, enjoying how the tide has changed for them.
This close, I can feel the pull of Zeph’s power, and I find myself digging my heels into the ground a bit. And that’s when Zeph turns to us, looks down at me, his eyes swirling with that same dark energy. There’s no white, no lilac, just darkness with purple wavering around his lashes. He lets out a“Ha!”and the orb between his hands vanishes with a strange sound, almostlike a muffled zipper, and his eyes return to normal as he slowly lowers to the ground, an enormous grin on his face.
“That was brilliant!” he shouts before rushing over and scooping me into his arms, away from a gaping Erich. “Did you see me, darlin’?”
I can’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm. “I did! You were amazing.”
He leans in and pecks my lips before reaching over and pulling Erich into our embrace, kissing his jaw like I’d wanted to do earlier.
Great minds think alike.
“That they do,” Andrew says from behind me, bemused.
