9. Chapter 8 #2
“He’s currently on life support thanks to you!” Was it an exaggeration? Sure. But he didn’t seem to get it through his thick skull that he had almost destroyed something she loved.
The garden darkened further. Sparks crackled from the snapdragons, creating pops of orange and red in the darkness as sulfur blanketed the courtyard.
“Shit!” Ivy cried out as a group of sparks combined into a hurling ball of fire. Her eyes clenched shut and threw up her hands, preparing to get singed.
But the burn never came, despite the sound of crackling flames swirling through the air.
Something solid pressed against her body.
Cloves and cardamom flooded her senses. The warm spices soothed her nerves and masked the sulfur and smoke around them.
She peeled her eyes open to see her unwanted companion holding her against his chest with one arm as the other held a long shield made from water in front of them.
The flowers hurled another ball of flame at them, but it turned to mist as it sizzled against the wet surface.
“Does saving you from third-degree burns count as basic decency?” he asked, giving a quick laugh as if the situation they were in was some joke.
The snapdragons behind her spat their next attack, and he whipped her around so the flame hit the shield just in time to protect her. “Feel free to help at any point here!”
Ivy scowled, pushing herself out of his hold. She could think of a witty comeback later. She needed to focus on a way to get them out of the square. This particular variation of snapdragons was known for its prickly attitude. They were beautiful, but came with a bite if not properly cared for.
She scanned the flower beds and their stems, but everything was meticulously maintained.
A flicker of white light caught her attention in the far-left corner.
A streetlamp whose bulb was attempting to come to life, and…
the snapdragons next to the lamp weren’t spitting fire.
Instead, they were pressing themselves against the glass as if trying to bathe in its inconsistent glow.
“That’s it!” Ivy said. “Snapdragons need the light. Sunlight is preferred, however, artificial light can work well enough. ”
“I don’t suppose you can control the weather?”
She rolled her eyes. Instead of wasting time berating him, she reached into her magic and prepared to dive deep to reach the amount she’d need for a luminous spell large enough to quell the flowers’ rage.
As soon as she touched her magic, a golden glow emanated from her palms and connected with the shield, encasing them in a shimmering protective bubble.
The snapdragons closest to them instantly calmed and returned to their tamed form as they soaked in the artificial rays.
“What the hell?” Ivy mumbled.
“Question it later. We need to get close to the other flowers. They like—”
“That won’t work,” she argued. “If we move the light away from this section, they’ll get mad again. We need to make this spell large enough to cover the entire square.”
He tilted his head to the side and grinned. “You realize we’ll need to work together?”
“Being a cocky asshole isn’t helping.”
He rolled his eyes as he moved his outstretched hand in the fountain’s direction.
She watched as dozens of strands of water swirled from the fountain toward them, slipping through the bubble barrier and around his arm before the flow pushed outwards to their shield.
Judging by his gaping mouth, it was new for him, too.
His gaze flicked to her quickly before returning to their assailants. “You going to keep staring at me, or are you going to help?”
She groaned and looked away from him to watch the bubble grow instead.
But it needed more light to get them out.
She reached deeper into her magic, the light in her palms radiating stronger.
The brighter it pulsed and the more water he pulled, the larger their shield grew.
More of the flowers relaxed and shifted out of their dragon forms.
Ivy stepped closer to the boundary of the bubble as it inched closer to all the edges.
One more burst of magic, and then it would be over.
At least she hoped it would. She glanced over her shoulder, where he was drawing the last drop of water from the fountain.
With light in both of her hands, she turned back to the shield in front of her and pressed her palms flat against it.
The shield rushed forward so quickly that she stumbled. The light and water encapsulated the snapdragons, and the sky above them turned bright once more. And the bubble burst.
She shrieked as water crashed over her, soaking every inch of clothing to her skin.
“What. The. Fuck,” she groaned, pushing her hair from her face. Her eyes blinked open to see him striding toward her with a wide grin and water dripping off his chin.
“Are you alright?” he panted as he pushed his soaking wet curls from his forehead. His sweatshirt was equally soaked and hugged his figure tightly.
“Oh, I’m splendid,” she responded in an overly cheerful way, hoping even he could gather that she was anything other than fine. She wrapped her hands around the length of her hair, pulling it over her shoulder to squeeze the water out.
“I’m Ezra, by the way,” he said, stretching his hand out to her.
She glared at it, then back to his face, which still had water droplets sliding down his jaw, and scoffed.
“Didn’t ask.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and it landed against her back with a cold slap.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to change into dry clothes before orientation.
” Ivy strode past him to one of the exits.
Hopefully, she’d find her way out of the maze and back to her apartment before the dean gave her address.
“Wait, I can help you with th—”