Page 30 of Cruel Destinies

“You’ve got a fracture,” I said. “I’ve only practiced healing once, so don’t expect a miracle.”

“I have faith in you,” he said.

Those words made my breath hitch. There was no sarcasm or teasing in his tone, just sincerity. I was struck by how good it felt to have someone believe in me, especially him.

I set the tablet aside and looked around. It was so dark in this corner of the greenhouse. If I was going to heal him, I needed light. Then, I remembered my first lesson with Ms. Heather.Fire.

“This is going to sound strange, but would you conjure a fireball for me?” I asked.

He squinted. “A fireball? In a greenhouse?”

“I need the light,” I explained. “And fire is the purest form of light. Just hold it in your hand so I can access it.”

He shrugged. “Oooo-kay.” Then he held up his right hand, palm open, and a spark ignited, growing and swirling into a bright orange ball of fire.

As I looked at the bright orb, I cleared my mind and focused on my connection to it. Thanks to Tobias, I had plenty of emotional ammo to access the light. I allowed the thrill of kissing him to fill me up, and tendrils of light slithered out of the ball of flame and tapered into my waiting hands. I placed them over Tobias’s calf and willed the light to heal him.

After a few seconds, the glow that had illuminated between my hands and his leg evaporated, and I withdrew my hands.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

Extinguishing the flames he held, Tobias stretched his leg forward and rotated his ankle twice. “Perfect.” He looked up at me with admiring appreciation. “That was amazing, Arya! You’re a natural.”

I snorted a laugh as I got to my feet. “I’m a better harpy than I am a mermaid.”

“I think you’re a pretty great mermaid, too,” he said. “The best I’ve ever met, in fact.”

“Well, that’s not a very high bar, is it,” I joked. “Besides, you’re just saying that to get into my pants.”

He waggled his eyebrows at me, his golden irises heating as they carved into me. “Is it working?”

The way he was looking at me made me yearn to continue where we’d left off. But I wasn’t going to let him off that easily.

“That depends,” I replied coyly, putting my hands on my hips. “Are you going to run away again right after?”

His expression tightened with confliction, but his eyes shimmered with raw emotion.

Without breaking eye contact, he reached out his hand and shook his head. “I’m not running away anymore. I promise.”

I looked at his extended hand suspiciously for a moment. “I’m holding you to that, Prince Dracul. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Never again.” The determination in his eyes tugged at my heart. I knew he meant it, at least at this moment.

I gave him my hand, but when he tried to pull me back onto his lap, I stopped him. He gave me a questioning look.

“Not here,” I asserted. “This was the place you took all your skanks. I’m not one of them.”

He smiled, then nodded slowly. “No, you’re not. So…your room or mine?”

I was about to suggest mine, but the sudden memory of Kendall and me in my bed flashed in my mind. I didn’t want to be distracted with thoughts of him while I was with Tobias.

“Yours. I believe it makes a statement.”

His smile grew, and he rose off his chair and led me by the hand out of the greenhouse. Anticipation was coiled so tightly inside me that the walk back to the dorms was a blur. All I saw were the flirtatious glances we shared as we skittered across the lawn and up the stairs of the main building.

The avian common room was empty, everyone still in their last class, and I was grateful for the privacy of our pre-walk-of-shame. Though there was no shame for either of us in sight.

The instant we crossed the threshold into his room, he pressed me against the door to close it and descended on my mouth with ravenous hunger.

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