Page 3 of A Blaze of Fire
The velvety sound of his voice snapped me out of my trance. I pulled away and ripped my hand out of his, extinguishing the fire that had spread all over my body.
He chuckled and winked. “Relax, Violet, I won’t tell my brother.”
I punched him.Hard.
Alec whirled on me in shock as he gripped his jaw. “What the hell was that?”
“Stop playing games, Alec!” I shouted. “This is life or death for me. You might not care, but I do. I can’t take this lightly. If I don’t learn how to wield these two elements, I’m screwed! Do you know how scared I am right now?” I blurted.
His expression turned grave. “I know how serious this is, Violet. You don’t have to spell it out for me. And trust me, your fear is obvious.”
“Then stop screwing around and teach me what you know before I run back to Ansel,” I threatened.
His face hardened. “You do that, and war will erupt between the Seelie and Unseelie.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and popped a hip. “Then make sure it doesn’t happen.”
2
VIOLET
Itossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep because I was plagued with thoughts of Ansel. He had to be okay. He just had to be. I pulled the pillow from under my head and covered my face, screaming into it so no one could hear me. Thatno onebeing Alec.
We’d trained all afternoon and long into the evening to no avail. Not only did I miss Ansel’s comforting presence, but I was beginning to lose hope. Everyone had been telling me I had this orb inside me with all this untapped power, but now that I needed it, it was nowhere to be found. I felt useless.
After throwing a mini hissy fit, I stopped screaming and flung the pillow across the tiny cot where I slept. Alec had stuck me in this dingy basement without even a decent bed. Plus, the wool blanket made my skin itch. I tossed the blanket off me and swung my legs over the cot. It was the middle of the night, but sleep wasn’t coming and from the sounds of my gurgling stomach, I was hungry.
I crept out of the pocket-sized bedroom where I was imprisoned and tiptoed to the modest kitchenette. Opening the door to the mini fridge, I squinted against the harsh lights. When I heard someone clear their throat behind me, I screamed.
Nearly jumping out of my skin, I whirled around to find Alec standing in the … we’ll call it a living room … shirtless and barefoot, wearing only a pair of cotton pajama pants. His abdomen was smooth and cut in all the right places. He was an Adonis. I couldn’t help but stare.
He cleared his throat again, snapping me back into focus. “What the hell are you doing?”
I scratched the back of my head. “I … I was thirsty.”Yeah, I’m thirsty, all right.
My eyes widened at my internal commentary and I smacked myself in the face. Hard. “Ow!” I rubbed my cheek.
Alec raised a brow. “Are you okay? Is this some weird human thing I don’t know about?”
“No … I mean yes, I’m fine. I just, I need something to eat. You know, you forget to feed me sometimes,” I grumbled. I turned back around to the mini fridge and glanced at the mostly empty shelves. There was a pack of sandwich meat, sliced cheese, mayonnaise, a head of lettuce, and one tomato. I glanced around and found a loaf of bread on the short countertop. It wasn’t gourmet, but at least I could make a sandwich.
I scrounged around for a plate and began to construct my sandwich while Alec silently watched me from afar. I felt the weight of his divergent eyes on my skin and I fumbled the bread, suddenly nervous.
Why was I nervous? I hated Alec. We hated each other. Being in close proximity wasn’t healthy. The sooner we got this over with, the sooner I could get away from him. At least I hoped I could.
“Do I make you nervous?” Alec whispered in my ear from behind my left shoulder.
I flinched and nearly dropped the knife I was using to slather the bread with mayo. I closed my eyes and tightened my hold on the knife.One wrong move, and I stab him.
“I guess I do,” he murmured.
“No. You don’t,” I gritted between my teeth. “You just showed up out of nowhere.”
Alec closed me in against the counter with one hand on either side of me, his chest against my back. “When we go to the Unseelie Court, you can’t be afraid, Violet,” he whispered. “We smell fear.”
“That’s weird.”
“If you thinkI’mevil, just wait. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
