Nora gave another smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You know you don’t have to stay and watch. I’m sure you’re tired.”
I shook my head. “Nope, I’ll stay for this.”
Chelsey beamed. “Aww, that’s cute.”
“You guys make sure a cute couple,” Marie added. “I’m jealous.”
Jade pulled at Nora’s arm, tugging her a few feet away from us. “This will be fun,” Chelsey beamed. “You are going to be impressed.”
I looked at Chelsey and Marie for a moment before looking over at Jade and Nora. I watched Jade roll her shoulders, taking on a relaxed stance that she’d done many times before. You could see how calm she was.
Nora was a little stiffer, almost unsure of herself. She nodded toward Jade, who pulled her hands up, and I watched fire flicker in her palms. I’d seen my sister use her magic before, but to protect. Watching her use it like this was different.
She threw fire toward Nora, and I felt my heart stop, expecting Nora to move. But she didn’t. She pulled her hand up, catching the fire like a ball. She rotated the fire in her hands before shifting and letting it fall to the ground. A scorch mark remained.
My mouth dropped.
Jade then raised her hands, and I watched blue flicker across them. This blue was like streams of electricity, the color not quite blue but not entirely green either.
“Jade has the ability to use fire, and Nora is like ice,” Chelsey explained. “We’ve been having her work on pulling it out and aiming. She’s actually done amazingly with the short time we’ve had. They are opposite, but you can tell how their magic twirls around each other. Only witches who have a strong connection are able to do that. The fact that they can, goes to show their friendship.”
I watched Nora throw her magic forward, and Jade moved out of her way, the blue light flashing past her. It streamed past them, slamming into the tree line, and disappeared. I watched as Jade smiled at Nora, tossing another flame at her. Jade moved quickly, her feet leaving the air as she jumped back out of the way this time.
“They work so well together. It’s amazing.”Marie added. “It normally takes months before people get comfortable like this.”
Nora ran at Jade and I watched Jade block her punches in perfect form. Nora then grabbed Jade’s arm and they both went tumbling to the ground. As rough as they were being, you could tell they were also being careful. They were aware of each other’s weakness and using it but not causing pain.
From the way they looked at each other, I could see they had their own way of communicating, shaped by years of friendship. I could see the look in their eyes as they moved around each other. The way their fingers moved, or their heads shifted. All tells to each other.
“They don’t need to talk to read each other,” I said, knowing. Brandon, Asher, Westley, and I were all the same. Wedidn’t need to talk to know how the others were feeling or what they were thinking.
I was mesmerized as I watched them go back and forth. Nora and Jade were both moving like they had done this a million times before. I even watched Nora’s shoulders relax after a while.
It was a side of her I hadn’t seen. She was confident and sure of herself. She looked beautiful.
Chapter 17 - Nora
I stared at the target across from the training ground and tried to focus. I was trying to improve my aiming. The target already had black spots from my attempts. It was only a few feet away, and I was getting close to the center.
I sighed, my fingers curling into tight fists as I stared at the center. I was getting better, but not good enough.
“That was good.”
I jumped and turned, finding Kaleb standing behind me. He had a bag thrown over his shoulder and was wearing workout gear. I didn’t even realize he was here. I hadn’t even heard a car pull up. “What are you doing here?”
Kaleb threw his bag down. “I came to do some training and get a quick run in.” His eyes looked at the target. “You’re doing pretty good.”
I shrugged. “A little, but not really. I’m not getting anywhere.” The other day, I had been excited because I was still improving, but hand-to-hand combat was different than individually.
“Do you want help?”
“No,” I said, too quickly. I watched him slowly nod, not seeming fazed by my quick response.
“Well, I’m going to go for my run.” He walked away, tossing his bag on the ground near the sandpit a few yards away. I chewed on my cheek, hating the tug in my chest. I watched him take off and stared after him for a solid minute.
“Pay attention,” I said, pulling my eyes back to the target. “Focus.”
I continued working on my aim, but I didn’t get any better. I tried it repeatedly. The more I tried, the more frustrated I got. I wasn’t getting any closer to the center, and I felt my arms shake as I aimed, not even hitting the target this time.
