Mentally, I’m biting my fist and spilling curses at myself for ever thinking this was a good idea. I mean, none of it has been good for my sanity—not living in the same cabin, or training out here. But it’s a test of my self-control.
Which is hanging by a measly thread.
Goddess!
Her voluptuous curves are delicious, inviting, and tempting, my fingers aching with the urge to touch her—an urge I’m stifling, because I can’t do that. Not now. She established her boundaries already, and pursuing anything with me is off the table.
I still can’t help how my inner wolf feels, reacts to her, and how strongly the bond hums beneath my skin, like a lingering signal that my mate is here, that our bodies could be—
“Damian…? I’m ready.”
I gulp hard when her soft, timid voice jolts me out of my daze and brings me back to the present moment, where she’s standing in front of me, wringing her hands together like she has any reason to be nervous.
That’s when I step closer, feeling foolish for being a coward, and realizing that she needs my strength, not my hesitancy. I reach for her hands, instantly becoming aware of the mate bond more severely when a bolt of electricity surges through my arms.
I keep my composure—barely—and hold her gaze as I stare into her eyes. She appears flustered and disoriented, but I don’t want to confuse her. She’ll regret it later, and I’ll be damned if I make that mistake again.
“Relax, Sophie,” I console, smoothing her knuckles with my thumbs as I step back. “Exhale, close your eyes, and try to find the center of your power.”
“The center?” She frowns when I release her hands, and I nod as I take another step back and splay out my hands.
“Yes. The core or source of your power is deep within your subconscious mind. Your magic always reacts to danger, but there is a source within you that becomes triggered. You need to find that.”
Sophie, with her lips pursed, nods tentatively as she opens her palms and stares at them for a long moment. Her long, dark lashes flutter as she blinks fervently, before she closes her eyes and lets out a breath through puckered lips.
A long moment passes in which she’s just breathing, frowning, and straightening her face as if she’s mentally traveling through a maze only she can see—a maze which leads to the core of her powers, and then she gasps when she seems to find it.
Her eyes open up, and they’re no longer brown, but scarlet, her palms flickering with sparks of fire, the air surrounding her turning hot.
She blinks, and her eyes become a russet brown, glowing with the heat of her magic, and this time when she looks at my face, she doesn’t appear disoriented.
“Damian,” she calls my name with an echo in her voice. “I think I found it.”
“Good. This is good, Sophie.” I step to the side, pointing at the river. “Do you think you can direct your magic into the river?”
“I can try,” she says, and the mere fact that she’s speaking, responding to me, and nodding her head means that she’s in control now. Her magic isn’t consuming her, and that’s why she isn’t surrounded by flames, and they’re contained to her palms.
She lifts her hands now, directing her palms to the river and exhaling slowly, like her breath controls the flow of magic, when bolts of flames flicker outward and hit the surface of the water. Although faint, it’s enough to cause a ripple, to cause a stir. And the best part?
She’s doing this on her own. Her magic isn’t forced to come out, pressured by the emergence of a threat. Tonight, things are calm in the valley, and there’s no pressure from the council, either.
My lips curl to a smirk as she turns to face me, russet-brown eyes glowing fiercely, but controlled, and sparkling with wonder as she wiggles her fingers.
“It feels so much…calmer,” she observes. “It isn’t frightening. It’s…liberating.”
I keep smirking as I step in front of her, stretching out one arm to gather water into my field.
“Would you like to try blending our powers? Like the way we did before?” I ask, and notice the hesitation crossing her eyes. “Don’t worry. Water won’t extinguish your fire. Your power seems to adapt and shape mine, turning it into something…different. We don’t have to if—”
“No. I want to,” she says firmly as she turns to face me fully. She gives me a nod, then holds her hands out.
Unlike my ability to wield water, an external element, Sophie’s magic is different, and she’s able to draw out fire from within her, create flames out of nothing but sheer willpower.
It’s extraordinary to see, and while I’m not really sure how we did it the first time, I rely on instinct and let my magic guide me forward.
The water I wield like a vortex around my hand lifts, reaching for Sophie’s flames, warily at first, until the first drop tastes the heat of the licking fire. Her magic responds, diving into the water and lighting it up from the inside out.
My hand warms, and my eyes meet Sophie’s as our magic combines in the air between us, dancing and whirling with a lifeforce that isn’t controlled, but is free to explore, free to whirl and become one. Water turns to iridescent red, glowing gold in some places, and fiery in others, becoming hot.
