head as the magic threatened to explode. Without thinking, I brought my hands up to my face. The burning was instant, and the smell of singed hair stung my nostrils. I screamed as the heat scalded my skin. My palms were pulsing with a bright, red glow and instinct tore my hands away. Raw flesh blistered and ripped from my cheeks. Screams echoed from my lips and I fell to my knees.
The lights flickered on and off. Random fluorescent bulbs exploded from the ceiling, raining glass until the room went black. All the candles that lined the wall burst into flame. Flames shot high off their wicks in a rainbow of colors. Blues and greens flickered over the room, mixing with reds and oranges as the temperature spiked.
“Chase, you need to take a breath and calm yourself.”
“Don’t move,” I commanded, pointing a glowing hand towards Marcus as his shadow crept closer.
Marcus froze and I took a few breaths. The scent of burnt hair moved to the back of my throat and stuck to my tongue.
I fought the fire and called my water element. I could hear the babbling brook, trickling over the same stones it had for centuries. The cooling sensation filled my body and the change in temperature stung, causing my muscles to tense. The remaining lights flickered and came back on, but the candlelight didn’t fade. Smoke drifted up from my fingertips, disappearing into the air as water washed my self-inflictions away.
I looked down at the floor and Marcus’ shadow hovered over me.
“I’m sorry. I just…”
“I shouldn’t have pushed. I just don’t want anything to happen to you too.”
“What is happening to me?” I asked, staring down at my hands. The bright red glow had faded, and now a soft blue magic rippled beneath my skin. “I’ve never been able to do what I did tonight: the shifters, the candles, the lights.”
“Your power is progressing at an unnatural rate. It could be the ring, the mark, maybe neither, maybe both. It's growing faster than you can control, and without full control of your emotions...you’re a danger to yourself.”
“And everyone else around me,” I whispered.
The fluorescent lights flickering above us were dimmer than before. Several had burnt out, and others were empty from shattered bulbs. I looked up at Marcus, towering above me, yet somehow managed to look small in this moment.
“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.” Marcus’ brown eyes were calm and sincere, his welcoming aura pulsing around us.
I nodded. I should’ve thanked him for saving me in Drakar, and for taking me in. For everything he’d done. I had never thanked him for any of it because I was always too busy trying to deal with my own problems. Before I could organize a thought and try to share my appreciation, the phone rang. The ring was loud and blared through the room.
Marcus moved with the grace of a man half his size and picked it up. The image I had of him being small vanished as he clutched the tiny receiver in his massive black hand.
“Hello?” His voice was as deep and masculine as ever. “Are you sure?”
I ignored the next part and let the last of my element cycle through me. The water grounded me. I didn’t know how to handle the fire. It was destructive, painful, and unpredictable. I couldn’t imagine being without its rival.
My body ached, but the water coursing through me gave me the energy to stand. Marcus was right–when I lost control, my magic had a power all its own. One I didn’t care to see again, not unless it was on my terms.
“Bad news I’m afraid,” Marcus said.
I cleared my throat and turned to face him. “What’s up?”
“The rogue hunters have had an incident a few states over, in southern Maine. He’s alive, Chase. Riley and the Dark Brothers…”
“Are you sure?” I asked, panic surging through my veins.
Marcus’ dark eyes looked to the floor. “I’m sure. They tried to stop him…they didn’t all make it. I’m going to have to
The lights flickered on and off. Random fluorescent bulbs exploded from the ceiling, raining glass until the room went black. All the candles that lined the wall burst into flame. Flames shot high off their wicks in a rainbow of colors. Blues and greens flickered over the room, mixing with reds and oranges as the temperature spiked.
“Chase, you need to take a breath and calm yourself.”
“Don’t move,” I commanded, pointing a glowing hand towards Marcus as his shadow crept closer.
Marcus froze and I took a few breaths. The scent of burnt hair moved to the back of my throat and stuck to my tongue.
I fought the fire and called my water element. I could hear the babbling brook, trickling over the same stones it had for centuries. The cooling sensation filled my body and the change in temperature stung, causing my muscles to tense. The remaining lights flickered and came back on, but the candlelight didn’t fade. Smoke drifted up from my fingertips, disappearing into the air as water washed my self-inflictions away.
I looked down at the floor and Marcus’ shadow hovered over me.
“I’m sorry. I just…”
“I shouldn’t have pushed. I just don’t want anything to happen to you too.”
“What is happening to me?” I asked, staring down at my hands. The bright red glow had faded, and now a soft blue magic rippled beneath my skin. “I’ve never been able to do what I did tonight: the shifters, the candles, the lights.”
“Your power is progressing at an unnatural rate. It could be the ring, the mark, maybe neither, maybe both. It's growing faster than you can control, and without full control of your emotions...you’re a danger to yourself.”
“And everyone else around me,” I whispered.
The fluorescent lights flickering above us were dimmer than before. Several had burnt out, and others were empty from shattered bulbs. I looked up at Marcus, towering above me, yet somehow managed to look small in this moment.
“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.” Marcus’ brown eyes were calm and sincere, his welcoming aura pulsing around us.
I nodded. I should’ve thanked him for saving me in Drakar, and for taking me in. For everything he’d done. I had never thanked him for any of it because I was always too busy trying to deal with my own problems. Before I could organize a thought and try to share my appreciation, the phone rang. The ring was loud and blared through the room.
Marcus moved with the grace of a man half his size and picked it up. The image I had of him being small vanished as he clutched the tiny receiver in his massive black hand.
“Hello?” His voice was as deep and masculine as ever. “Are you sure?”
I ignored the next part and let the last of my element cycle through me. The water grounded me. I didn’t know how to handle the fire. It was destructive, painful, and unpredictable. I couldn’t imagine being without its rival.
My body ached, but the water coursing through me gave me the energy to stand. Marcus was right–when I lost control, my magic had a power all its own. One I didn’t care to see again, not unless it was on my terms.
“Bad news I’m afraid,” Marcus said.
I cleared my throat and turned to face him. “What’s up?”
“The rogue hunters have had an incident a few states over, in southern Maine. He’s alive, Chase. Riley and the Dark Brothers…”
“Are you sure?” I asked, panic surging through my veins.
Marcus’ dark eyes looked to the floor. “I’m sure. They tried to stop him…they didn’t all make it. I’m going to have to
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