Chapter 338

Jackson walks at my side as we all together troop out of the castle. He doesn’t need to say anything at all for me to know that he’s dead proud of me, and thinks I’m amazing, and eloquent, and finally stepping into my power. No, I can tell all of that simply by the way he stands steady at my side, by how his wolf prowls around mine in a predatory circle, snarling with a happy possessiveness that fills me with a great deal of joy.

Rafe walks at my other side, his shoulders back and his chin high. He looks down at me as Jesse moves ahead with the Captain, leading us to where we went yesterday with mom and Cora.

“Proud of you, trouble,” Rafe murmurs, just loud enough for me to hear, brushing the back of my hand with his. “You look like mom, but you talk like dad. Scary stuff.”

I beam up at my brother, laughing a little, taking his words for the high compliment that they are.

“Does that mean you look like dad and talk like mom?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

He bursts out laughing and knocks his shoulder into me, sending me bouncing into Jackson, who holds me steady. But I just grin and look at my brother, who shakes his head at me. “Yeah, if I start telling everyone how adorable they are and start calling them ‘Meatball,’ then you can start to worry.”

I grin and glance over my shoulder at where Daphne and Tony follow, whispering eagerly with Ben. Luca walks alongside them, stoic and quiet. I send a questioning pulse down our bond and he immediately sends back a warm beat of support. I nod to him and turn my attention forward, knowing I’m liable to trip in the falling dark, but still – even as I do, I can tell that Luca’s walls are up again.

That whatever is happening with me, I can tell that Luca’s uncomfortable with it, even if he doesn’t want to be.

When we get to the secluded area, the sun very nearly down at this point, Jesse hesitates, gesturing towards the mostly-burned pile of wood from the bonfire yesterday. “Ari, what do you want to do here?” he asks. “Should we go into the woods and get more, or –“

“Oh, no, that will do!” I say, quite cheerful, moving to my cousin’s side. “That’s plenty.”

“How?” the Captain asks, frowning at me. “You said fire capable of burning down cities – and that’s all you need?”

“I just need something to burn to start the fire,” I say casually, gesturing towards Jacks with my thumb, “everything else comes from him.”

Jackson gives the Captain a happy little nod before taking my hand.

The Captain sighs, looking down at our joined hands but clearly willing himself to get used to it. “All right, whatever. Go ahead, Cadet – you’ve got my attention, show me what you’ve got.”

“Okay!” I say, reaching out my other hand to take Jesse’s.

He looks at me in surprise. “You don’t want –“

“Nope, want you right here,” I say, giving his hand a squeeze and looking over my shoulder. “Luca, could you stand behind?” I ask. He nods and comes forward in silence, raising a hand and placing it on the back of my neck like Jesse did yesterday. As he does I feel him let the wall down – just a little bit, just enough.

I give my mate a grin before peering for Tony. “Will you stand close?” I ask, my eyebrows going up. “In case I need you?”

He nods and takes a step closer to me. “Cooler’s right here, babe.”

The Captain raises his eyebrows at Tony’s perhaps too-casual nickname, and Tony laughs for a second – I think having forgotten that we’re not in magic class with the Queen and the Duchess and the same jokes don’t carry. Rafe, Daphne, and Ben all stand together a few steps away, Daphne and Ben looking desperately interested, Rafe just looking proud.

Settled and confident, I take a deep breath. “Everyone ready?” I ask, eager to show the captain but also excited to work with the magic again. My wolf yips happily in my soul, pouncing around, ready for the show.

“Fire first,” I murmur, letting everyone in on the plans. “Then wind and shadows.”

Then without another word I begin to draw on my magic and my bonds with my mates, starting to burn. It all happens very quickly this time, the fire leaping to life and then beginning to swirl in the air. Jesse holds off for a minute, letting the conflagration grow higher and higher as I pull on both Jackson’s magic to give it power and my connection to Luca to let it fly.

At night, the whole thing is a great deal more powerful and stunning, a red and burning whirlwind that reaches for the sky. I play with it more this time, making it hotter so that we can all feel the heat radiating off of it, experimenting with the brightness and the colors, pushing it this way and that to see how much I can move it around. I’m quite pleased when I see that I can use Luca’s wind to blow it like an actual tornado, whipping it around the open space before us, though of course I’m careful to keep it from getting too close.

“Hooolly fuck,” the Captain whispers. I glance over at him, desperately pleased to be able to make such a stunning point. He looks over at me as well. “Can you…can you talk to me while you do that?”

“Sure,” I say with a shrug. “It doesn’t need my full concentration.”

“What more can you do with it?” He asks, eager. “Can it go…wide, as well as tall?”

I tilt my head to the side, experimenting, and am desperately pleased when the fire goes wide and low, creating a wide ring on the ground instead of a tall funnel.

“God damn it,” the Captain says, his face bursting into a grin. Then he looks over at me. “How…how big can it get?”

I glance over at Jackson who looks down at me, quite casual. “I’ve got…acres of power left in me, Ari. I’m not kidding when I say this is a croissant.”

When I look back at the Captain his face is twisted in confusion. “A croissant?”

I laugh. “He just means it can get big. Really big.”

I squeeze my mate’s hand, loving him a great deal.

“You ready for the good part?” I ask the Captain.

His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “This isn’t the good part?”

“Jesse?” I say, turning to him with a smile. “If you would?”

“Oh, it would be my pleasure,” he murmurs. And then he sends his power coursing through me.

All of our eyes snap to the fire when it instantly turns black, and we gasp. Because at night it becomes perfectly clear –

Even though we see the movement ahead of us, and feel the heat of my flames on our faces?

With Jesse’s shadows, it’s basically invisible.

“Yup,” the Captain says, his eyes shining with excitement even as his voice is low with awe. “You were right, Sinclair. This changes everything.”

The Captain hurries off after we safely lower the flames to the ground, murmuring something about needing to make some calls. But he nods to me and doesn’t mention anything further about expulsion so…I think in this case, we call it a win.

As soon as he’s gone Daphne gives a little shriek of joy and throws herself at me, wrapping me up in a hug and nearly taking both of us to the ground in her excitement. “That was so cool! I’m so excited! And I’m going to get so much funding to buy cool fireproof fabric!” she gasps and pushes me away, staring into my face. “I might even need a new sewing machine.”

I laugh, delighted that this development benefits her as well, and pull my friend into another hug. “Get all the machines you want,” I whisper, “you know Jesse will buy them if the school won’t.”

She gasps and pushes me away, blushing. “You shut your mouth!”

I quickly give her a wink and draw my fingers over my lips like a zipper, letting her know the secret’s safe with me. She laughs and turns to the man in question, talking to him excitedly about the shadows and something about mittens? I don’t understand, but I turn towards the rest of my friends anyway.

We spend a few minutes talking excitedly about the potential for invisible night-time fire, but all the while I keep half of my focus on Luca, realizing that he’s quiet. And starting to realize, a little bit, that it’s deliberate.

“Okay,” I say with a happy sigh. “Can we go back upstairs? I didn’t even get all the way through my cheeseburger.”

Everyone agrees to it, happily trooping forward, but I hang back until it’s just me and Luca at the back.

Jackson looks over his shoulder with a frown, of course, but I send a little pleading nudge down the bond, asking him for a moment. He grumbles about it, inwardly, but does as I ask and walks with Jesse and Rafe back towards the castle.

Leaving Luca and I alone for a much-needed chat.