“Ash, look at me.”
Her mouth tight, she lifted her gaze and froze. Black scales glimmered like onyx armor over his skin, and his enormous claws had extended. His pupils had reduced to molten slits. “Icanblock you out,” he said, his voice roughened with power. “My scales are fire-resistant. Again.”
He didn’t give her time to think, much less summon her power. He came at her, a blur in black, his growl booming like an enraged beast?—
“Eeep!” She stumbled back, lifting her hands once more, and lightning erupted, wrapping around his dark figure. The force made him stagger a step.
“Again.”
She swallowed hard.
“Get with it, Ash!” his voice rumbled as if coming from a distance. He sprinted around the arena like the wind while she just stood there. “Never falter. If you do, it means death.”
Her pulse hammered. Ash dug deep, forcing her prickling powers to gather again then she took another shot, missing him entirely. Lightning slammed into the wall, the explosion ricocheting across the arena with a deafening crack. More rubble rained down.
The charge drained out of her, leaving her hollow and shaking.
He stopped in front of her, his scales retreating, smoke curling faintly off his skin. “Okay?”
Then she saw he hadn’t escaped the blast entirely. Angry red welts marred his gold-hued skin, some of them actually bleeding.
“I hurt you,” she gasped, pain and dread swamping her.
“Ash.” He cupped her face with a callused palm. “I didn’t shield. I wanted to feel it, feel the strength of your power.”
“Youwanted to feel it?” she yelled, thumping his chest with her fists. “You should’ve warned me!”
“Then you would have held back.” He caught her wrists. “You take down the threat before it realizes you’re a force to be reckoned with. Try again?”
She shook her head and sank to her jelly knees. “I can’t. I’m drained.”
“All right. Remember, once you master control and summoning, it will always answer you.”
He fetched another bottle from the fridge, handed it to her, and crouched near her while she drank.
“Ash?” he said quietly.
Something in his tone set every alarm bell ringing, and she braced herself, lowering her bottle slowly.
“Lemuria is dangerous?—”
“I know.” She held his gaze. “And I know you’re scared for me. I am, too.”
His troubled claret eyes held hers. “I can’t take a chance with you, Ash, not when I just found you.”
Her belly tightened, already sensing where this was going. “Good thing I have my powers, then.”
“Ash—”
“No!” She shot to her feet, dread twisting her gut. “Before, I didn’t understand us, what we meant to each other, so it was fine to separate. But now I do. Everything’s changed.”
“It has changed,” he countered, rising. “Those bastards are after you. I won’t lose you. You’ll remain here?—”
“Oh, brilliant. So my life becomes a cautionary tale?” She gave a short, brittle laugh.
“Ash—”
“Don’t.” Anger and hurt swept through her that he would dare leave her behind. Power tingled under her skin as she clenched her hands. “Call this what it is,” she snapped. “Youbeingoverprotective! You’re locking me in this castle like some bloody fragile flower. I saw what happened—I care about those children and those women!”
