Now I wondered what the other spells I’d learned meant.
“It may not work for you.” I didn't want to disappoint him, but if he couldn't draw from a well deep inside like those where I came from, then he might not be able to?—
He disappeared from beneath my hands and reappeared in front of the fireplace.
“I believe it’s time for me to giveyoua lesson, Wildfire,” he purred.
17
Merrick
“Forget that,” Reyla huffed, though the sparkle in her eyes told me she wasn’t irritated one bit. “Why did it work for you the first time when I can barely get it to work one in ten times when I try?”
I flitted to stand beside her, the faint hum of the spell still buzzing through my veins. She sucked in a gasp and stepped back too quickly, her heel catching on the edge of the rug. Her balance wavered, her arms flipping outward as she tried to catch herself.
I tugged her into my arms, against my chest. “Careful there, Wildfire. Obviously, I've impressed you so much with my flitting ability that you're feeling faint.”
Her glare was as sharp as one of her blades, but there was no bite behind it. “Don’t get cocky just because you managed it on your first try. You may find it doesn't work again for you for years.”
“I’ve done it twice now, not once.” Grinning, I tightened my arms around her. “I was meant to be good at this.”
She smacked my chest, though her grin matched mine. “Ass.”
“No, that's the other man. I'm the witty, charming, and infinitely sexier one.”
“You really are full of yourself, aren't you?”
“It comes with the crown and the throne.”
Her pout was so cute, I wanted to taste it on her mouth. “It’s not fair. Flitting is hard for me. It should be hard for you too.”
“Says the woman who was able to call shadows the first night she was taught. Flitting is simple compared to that.” Her scowl eased. “It took me years to summon enough power to command even one element.”
That did it. Her shoulders loosened. “Years? You're teasing me, right? You always seem so poised. Patient. In control.”
“Do continue naming all my stellar qualities. If you run out of them, I could mention a few.”
She huffed, but her lips curled up. “You're the guardian.”
“While someone else is the assassin.”
“The harmony.”
“To their chaos.”
“Empathy.”
“Ruthlessness,” I said.
“When you were split, he took the darker attributes like despair, destruction, and intimidation, while you were left with hope, restoration, and inspiration.”
I blinked to show her she was right.
“To survive what's coming, you need both,” she said sadly.
I blinked again, and I could see that the unfairness of my probable fate was sinking through her skin, making her sad as well, and that was the last thing I wanted for my wildfire. She deserved to blaze brightly, to scorch across this world to make it anew. Notmourn me. I was nothing when compared to her, and I accepted that.
“I'm no closer to figuring this out,” she said. “For the last few days, I've lounged in bed when I could be researching in the library or… I don't know. Doingsomething. I'd do anything, Merrick. Know this. I don't want to remember you. I want to see you each and every day as you stand by my side, to build memories with you every single day of our very long lives. I want to lie in bed with you and talk about our day. Laugh. Grow old together.”
