Chapter 8
“I’m fine. I promise,” I said as I pulled on workout leggings in my closet.
Trace crossed his arms over his muscled chest and glared at me.
Declan chuckled. “You’ve gotta stop that passing-out-when-you-come thing. Freaks people right out.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “I feel great this morning. Better than I have in weeks.”
Dash snorted. “It’s the god of lust over there and his magic dick.”
A ball of purple fire shot in Dash’s direction.
He quickly mumbled a spell, putting it out. “What the fuck, dude?” he snapped at Trace.
Trace just scowled at him. “Watch what you say, and I’ll watch my fire.”
“Let’s all just take a breath,” Colt said. He turned to me. “You’re sure you’re up for practicing with Saoirse?”
I sighed. “For the thousandth time, yes.”
“Just promise that you’ll tell us if anything feels off or if you need to take a break.”
“I will. Cross my heart,” I agreed.
Ronan wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Come on, you adorable little time bomb. Let’s get down there.”
I pinched his side. “I am not a time bomb.”
“I don’t know…you go boom and then pass out,” he argued.
I shoved at his chest. “You’re the worst.”
Ronan just laughed.
We made our way down the stairs and to the backyard, Trace grumbling the whole way. Some walls might have come down, but he was still as surly as ever. He was kind of like Briar in that way. Cantankerous on the outside but ooey gooey on the inside.
As we stepped out into the chilly sunshine, Saoirse beamed. “My darlings. How did everyone sleep?”
“Leighton slept great—”
I punched Dash in the stomach.
“Shit, Mon Coeur. That was hard.”
“You deserved it,” I singsonged.
Saoirse grinned at me. “Give ‘em hell. It keeps them on their toes.”
I moved to the older woman and gave her a quick hug. “How did you sleep?”
“Pretty good. Would’ve been better if Louis was keeping me company.” She shot the guard a mischievous grin. He simply scowled in return.
Colt choked on a laugh. “Thanks for coming today. We want to take it easy. Leighton’s been through a lot—”
“They want to take it easy,” I corrected. “I want to do everything I can to learn about my magic and how to control it.”
Saoirse’s lips twitched. “Understood. Have you had any surfacing of your abilities?”
I winced at the memory of the dinner table last night.
“I’m taking that as a yes,” she said.
I nodded. “I had a bit of Trace’s fire manifest. I didn’t mean for it to, and I almost got Trace and Ronan.”
I looked at them with apology in my eyes.
“Don’t worry, Firecracker. We’re faster than you,” Ronan assured me.
Saoirse tapped her lips. “What brought it on?”
My cheeks flamed.
She laughed. “Ah, yes. Attraction and sexual chemistry can do that.”
I twisted the edge of my workout tank around my finger. “I, uh, feel that a lot, and I don’t want to kill anybody, so how do I control it?”
Saoirse clapped her hands together. “We must harness your magical flow. All of us have a valve of sorts within us. As we grow up, we learn to turn it up or down to control the flow. This is all new to you, so we just need to teach you the feel of it.”
“What about the phoenix mark?” I asked. “That changes things, right?”
It was the thing that no one had mentioned since last night, but I had to know.
Saoirse’s lips pressed together. “It means that you have more force behind your flow. It will be harder to control but not impossible.”
“I’ll work at it every day until I get it,” I promised.
She patted my shoulder. “I know you will. Why don’t we start with seeing what gifts come to the surface?”
“Okay,” I agreed, anxiety grabbing hold. “How do we do that?”
Saoirse guided me farther away from the house until we were standing in the middle of the lawn. “I want you to close your eyes.”
I took a deep breath and did as she instructed.
“Like we’ve done before, I want you to sense for that magical feeling.”
I searched for that faint buzz. It was much easier to pick up on this time, the sensation a lot stronger. “I’ve got it.”
“Good. How does it feel to you?” Saoirse asked.
“Like a ball of energy at my core. A knot, almost.”
“It’s complicated for a lot of anchors because you’re getting gifts from so many different sources. I want you to pick a strand and tug on it.”
I reached into the jumble of energy. It really was like a tangled ball of yarn. I grabbed hold of a golden thread. A jolt rippled through me, but I ignored it, giving a quick tug.
A litany of curses rose around me, and my eyes flew open. Panic surged as I realized my feet were no longer on the ground. “What’s happening?” I shrieked.
A second later, Ronan and Declan were airborne, grabbing hold of me.
“It’s okay,” Declan assured me. “Just take some deep breaths and relax. We’ll get you down.”
“You can fly in your human forms?” I squeaked.
“We can,” Ronan said. “And it looks like you have that gift, too.”
“Nice and easy,” Declan encouraged.
I closed my eyes and breathed deep, trusting that they had me. Slowly, I could feel us lowering back to Earth. When my feet touched the ground, I sank down onto the grass. I pressed my palms to the blades, needing to assure myself that I was, in fact, on land.
“That was magnificent!” Saoirse squealed. “Flying is quite rare in anchors.”
“She could’ve been killed,” Trace growled.
Saoirse simply waved him off. “She’s just fine, as you can see. And she controlled that gift quite quickly.”
I wasn’t so sure control was the word I’d use. It was more that Declan had talked me down from my panic.
“Is there anything that showed you what magic you might be accessing?” Saoirse asked.
I rolled my lips together as I thought about it. “It’s like a ball of glowing threads. The thread I pulled was gold, so I’m guessing that’s Ronan or Colt.” Both of their eyes glowed that gold color when their abilities were manifesting.
Colt nodded thoughtfully. “Since I can’t fly, I’m guessing that’s Ronan.”
He grinned at me. “You’re welcome.”
I shook my head. “I think I prefer having my feet on the ground.”
Ronan chuckled. “Once you get used to it, you’ll love it. It’s the best high.”
“Why don’t we try again?” Saoirse suggested.
My stomach twisted, but I nodded and got to my feet. I closed my eyes and searched for that ball of energy. The mixture of colors was hard to pin down, but when I grabbed one this time, I connected with a silver strand.
The moment I took hold, my entire body jerked. Energy coursed through me, desperate for an outlet. My eyes flew open as silver flames exploded out of my palms. Shards of ice flew in all directions as the silver fire blasted out, right toward Colt.