Page 81 of Sweets and Sycamores
The heat enveloped her with each step she took closer to the fire. Allie grasped at her magic, wrapping herself in what she hoped was some sort of protective shield. She bent the power to her will as Dom had taught her, praying she had learned enough to extinguish the monstrous fire. Allie took a gulp of air and stepped between the flames.
It’s not burning me, it’s not burning me, it’s not burning me.
It was, surprisingly, not burning her.
The scorching heat clung to her limbs, yet was bearable enough for her to keep walking. As soon as she stood in the flames closest to Brandon’s house, Allie readied her magic, wove it with the wildfire, and started to pull.
She pulled and pulled until the burning terror was far away enough from Brandon’s house not to be considered an immediate danger.
Magic buzzed through her veins, heating her from the inside out. Allie managed to keep the flames away, but the strain on her power lit a fire inside her. With every pull, her breathing hitched, hot air scratching her throat and frying her lungs. But she couldn’t give up now; she couldn’t let the wind feed the flames.
Allie fell to her knees, gasping for air, not once stopping the pull of that magical thread.
“Roll the thread back.”
Dom’s words came to her like a caress as she did exactly what he’d taught her, stuffing the scalding fire inside her. She was an elemental Witch; she could take it. She had to. For Brandon. She had to. She…
Allie’s eyelids became heavy, gluing together from the sticky sweat coating her skin. She coughed the burn from her lungs, panted for air through her open mouth. The flames laughed at her, dancing around carelessly with horrendous cracking sounds, grabbing at her with searing claws.
If this was the last thing she did, she had to do it well. Allie wanted to protect what was dear to her, and never before did she have enough power to do that.
Grasping at the last piece of thread, that ball of yarn sizzling hot, Allie thought about Dom. About his kind green eyes, his deliciously broody mood, his huge heart. She hoped with everything she was that he would find the magic rupture behind a waterfall. Mia would tell him.
Allie kept pulling.
Just a little more.
Just until she was sure the fire could be put out by other means.
Just…
Chapter 30
WE’RE STRONGER TOGETHER
“How did we go there to deliver pastries and fresh produce and leave with two bags of food?” Brandon mused, casually propping his wrist on the steering wheel.
“Beats me,” Dom muttered. “Drive faster.”
“Relax, D. Allie’s not going anywhere,” his friend teased him.
Except she was. She was going back to Pearls Fields after Hallows Eve, and that was too damn soon. They didn’t have enough time to learn what they could be. Dominic felt his heart shrink to the size of an almond.
“Just drive. In silence,” he insisted to no avail. Brandon took jabs at his newly discovered soul, the fact that he was capable of feelingsomethingwith that “stone-cold heart,” and how Allie was kinder, prettier, and just so much better than Dom’s ex.
Like he didn’t know.
But it didn’t matter because Allie compared to no one. She was unique, and warm, and lit up his entire life.
“Can you just?—”
“What the hell is that?” Brandon’s voice rose, his brows furrowing. Dominic followed his look to the left, where dark smoke covered the clear sky they were leaving behind. “It’s coming from… Is it…” His voice cracked.
“It’s not. Drive faster,” Dom ordered, this time for an entirely different reason.
It couldn’t be Riverbend. It could not. Dom refused to entertain the idea even for a second. Riverbend was Brandon’s home, and his home was safe. It had to be safe.
The deadly silence Dominic had wished for filled the car like a slick presence, licking at his face and arms. He contemplated throwing all his magic at the twirl of smoke, but he was too far away to have any impact. Better to preserve it. Just in case. Both men fidgeted incessantly as each minute brought them closer to Sycamore Falls.
