Page 82 of Poison Sun

“No,” I say, both to Blaze and the wind, yanking my hands out of his.

Frustration splashes across his face, but at least the wind shuts up.

“Fine,” he says. “Any other ideas?”

“Fire shields?” It comes out more like a question than a statement. “We can use our fire to repel the rain and throw off the lightning.”

“How do we make fire shields?” he asks.

“Just call on your fire magic, and… picture it surrounding you like a shield,” I say. “Want to give it a test run right now? Before we cross?”

He nods, determination etching his features. “Let’s do it.”

Closing my eyes, I focus on the warm, flickering energy within me. I envision a flame, small and fierce, growing from the palm of my hand. Then, with a deep breath, I push that image outward, expanding it until it envelops me in its warm embrace.

I open my eyes to see a shimmering veil of fire circling me, the rain hissing as it evaporates on contact.

“Amazing,” Blaze says, his eyes wide with awe and excitement.

Then, focusing on the palm of his hand, he mirrors my actions.

Come on, I think. Work.

A fiery shield springs up around him, wilder than mine, with sparks flying off in random directions. But it holds strong, so it should be just as effective. The shield is simply a reflection of his personality. Bold, wild, daring, and brave.

Everything I’ve always wanted to be, but didn’t feel like I was until leaving the Blood Coven to fight for the good of the world instead of for personal gain at the expense of civilization as we know it.

“Looks like it works,” he says, his grin breaking through the tension.

We share a nod, and without another word, begin to move forward. There are a few groups of trees throughout the valley, but for the most part, we’re exposed to whatever the elements throw at us.

The shields hold strong, repelling the rain and lighting our path through the dark, stormy valley. It takes effort to hold them up, but we’re doing it.

Then, the air grows thicker, the sky darker, the temperature colder. The lightning becomes more aggressive, striking closer and closer.

A bolt strikes alarmingly close, zapping the ground merely ten feet ahead.

I jump, and my shield sputters, giving the rain a hole to pelt down on my face.

A glance at Blaze shows that his shield is weaker than when we started, too.

Fire travel to the end of the valley, the wind urges as it swirls around me. Leave him. Save yourself. Let the lightning take care of him. He’d do it to you.

Panic seizes me, rain slapping my face as I imagine doing everything the wind’s howling in my ears.

Blaze grabs my arm, pulling me out of the trance and pointing to a cluster of trees. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s get under there. Take a moment to regroup.”

“Good plan,” I say, and we sprint toward the makeshift shelter, our fire shields flickering against the increasing ferocity of the rain and wind.

As we duck under the dense foliage, relief fills me to the bone. The rain’s assault softens, and for a moment, we can take a second to catch our breath.

But as I steady myself, the wind’s already picking up speed, sending the leaves at the edges of our shelter swirling into the storm.

“This won’t hold for long,” I say.

Blaze looks around, his expression grim. “This storm clearly isn’t natural,” he says. “I don’t think it will stop until we get across the valley.”

As if to punctuate his point, a bolt of lightning strikes a tree nearby, splitting it down the center with a deafening crack.

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