“Come,” Baikal, unsurprisingly, ordered. “And,” he motioned to his cousin, “if you’re so upset about it, show up with your Onus as well. As long as you’re all gone before ten. Rabbit has a show tomorrow, and I…”
Something glared from within the bamboo stalks, catching Flix’s attention and distracting him from listening to the rest of what Baikal was saying. If not for that single beam of sunlight catching the metallic object aimed their way, he wouldn’t have noticed anyone hiding within the forest at all.
His brain registered that it was a blaster a second too late, the sound of the gun going off ripping through the air a second before a bullet sailed toward them.
Right at Rabbit.
Even after years and years of working around his secret, of keeping it hush and not letting himself slip in front of anyoneever, no matter the circumstances, Flix found himself acting on impulse.
Without thought, his left hand shot out, bolts of bluish-white electricity sparking from the tips of his fingers even as his free hand latched onto Rabbit’s arm and pulled him out of the way. The lightning bolts zapped forward, connecting with the bullet when it was only a couple of feet from them. It exploded into a rain of silver dust.
The two other students who’d been studying screamed and rushed out of the forest.
Kazimir rushed into action, spotting the shooter within the trees and racing after him, pulling his own weapon and letting off a round that sent wood bursting and scattering. He chased after the shooter when he ran deeper into the woods without checking to see if any of them were tagging along.
They were not.
Rabbit was too busy getting a hold of himself, and Baikal was in the process of staring Flix down as though the two of them had never met before.
“I can explain…” Flix held up his hands and then dropped them, swearing. “Fuck.”
Baikal set his gaze on Rabbit. “You knew.”
“I have no interest in your position,” Flix quickly said. “I only kept it a secret to avoid any misunderstandings.”
“Void, he just saved my life,” Rabbit reminded, only for his boyfriend to narrow his eyes.
“You and I are going to discuss this later,” Baikal stated, “alone. As for you, Flix, you have until Kazimir returns to explain everything. If you fail to do so, our friendship be damned, I’ll act as a Dominus should.”
It was actually kind of him to give Flix the chance at all. Seeing as how he’d only just taken over his father’s position as Dominus of the Brumal, there were many who were stillchallenging Baikal’s leadership. Being difficult on the sidelines while pretending to be supportive. They’d spent the past couple of months trying to weed them out, but it was time-consuming.
Knowing there was a second Shout with powers amongst them would potentially present another option for the role. Which wouldn’t be good for Baikal’s claim. Still, those who were opposed typically used his young age as the reasoning, so jumping to Flix wouldn’t make much of a difference.
“I can create and manipulate electricity,” Flix began.
“For how long?”
“A while now.”
“Who else knows?”
“Just my Onus and Rabbit.”
Baikal narrowed his eyes. “You’re trying to protect your parents. If you lie to me again—”
“They’re loyal,” he insisted. “That’s part of the reason they wanted me to keep it from you in the first place. If you didn’t trust me, you’d send me away, and I can’t help you if I’m on the other side of the planet.”
Baikal considered that and then moved on to the next question. “How do you leach?”
“Little by little here and there.”
“The fires.” It clicked for him. “That’s why you’re so into starting them. It’s not because you’re a pyromaniac at all, is it.”
“No.” Flix could care less about starting fires. But it’d been a good excuse to use, a necessary fib so he could expel larger amounts of the pent-up energy without it being suspicious. “I can go a month without draining any power, but it’s difficult and risky.”
“Hey!” Kaz called out then, stepping from the forest. He was dragging someone by their shirt across the ground, leaving droplets of blood in their wake.
Flix held his breath and waited for Baikal to pass his verdict now that time was up. Their talk had been brief, but they’d mostly covered everything of import, so hopefully, it would be enough.
