Page 136 of A Whisper of Cinders

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Iwake up feeling hollow, but fire rages within me. Aramis is still there, fast asleep, but I can’t stay here any longer. It surprises me that I fell back asleep, but he came back early in the morning and I don’t think it’s much later.

He seemed so genuine and kind and as mad about me as I am about him. Or was. And last night… No, I can’t go there. Tears escape my eyes again, but I quickly wipe them away. I have to turn off my feelings or I will drown in them.

I put on sports attire and lace up my shoes with shaking hands, softly opening and closing the door. The hallway blurs past me and by the time I reach the dojo, my pulse is a dull roar in my ears and my stomach is knotted so tight, I am seconds away from throwing up.

I need something other than the ache and rage consuming me from inside out. To my surprise, Conláed is standing in the center of the mat, looking up as I descend the stairs. As if he knew I was coming. “Are you okay?”

I keep my face in a straight line, put on my mask and lock in everything I’m feeling. “Fine.”

He watches me as I take off my shoes, his face softening. “Maily…”

“Fight me. Distract me.”

He takes a step forward. “Mai.”

I close my eyes, but only for a second. “Please, Con. I can’t,” I whisper, my voice breaking.

I walk past him to the centre of the mat and do some stretches, warming up my body. He moves to stand in front of me and takes on a defensive stance. “Do your worst.”

And so I do. He catches every punch or kick I throw at him with ease, but doesn’t raise a single hand to do the same. My rage and sorrow make me sloppy, but I don’t care.

Conláed’s eyes go wide as my flames come to the surface, and at first, I don’t really understand why. He should be used to fire, he is fire.

“Impossible.”

“What is?”

My current temper? Because, yes, that’s true. But he is not staring at me, he looks around me. I lower my arms and look around too and at first, I don’t see anything strange, the flames look a little wilder maybe, but again, my current mood is the cause of that. But when I catch hints of purple woven through them, I go still.

Purple flames?

I’ve never seen something like that, but I am still fairly new to the fae world. The fact that Conláed is astonished as well, tells me this is not something he can do.

“Ah, I thought I would find you here.”

My fire disappears instantly, but the flames inside me roar, caused by the fae that is currently at the top of the stairs, with his kind smile and perfectly tousled waves.

“Stop,” I whisper, my voice full of barely contained rage.

“I didn’t quite hear you, gorgeous. What did you say?”

Conláed blocks Aramis out of sight but I watch right through him. “Feather.”

Flames crawling over my hands, my arms, until I am fire. He grabs my face between thumb and index finger and directs my attention to him. “Mai. What’s wrong?”

Tears burn in my eyes as I whisper, “Get him out of here.”

Conláed has no idea what I’ve learned, why I am this emotional wreck, yet he turns around and walks towards Aramis without any further questions.

Trying to contain my powers feels impossible, which is kind of ironic, since I can’t summon the faintest spark when needed. But now? I could burn this whole building to the ground without giving it a single thought.

So tempering my rage is the best thing I can do, but seeing the reason for my rage adds fuel to my fire and that is not what I need right now.

“Is she okay?”

“It might be better if you come back another time.”