Enchanter

by Joanne Wadsworth

  A loud creak at my feet.

  Belle stumbled back. “Okay, we’ve got to get you off the floor. Your heat is twisting the boards.”

  “I’m on it.” Guy swung me into his arms.

  “If I do more than warp the boards, get me out of here.” I clung to him.

  Belle took a wide berth around us then motioned to Zayn. “Come help me. There’re a lot of books back there.”

  The two hurried into the darkened recesses.

  I stole another look at the floor. “I can’t believe I did that.”

  “I can’t believe you ’pathed me.” He smiled and nuzzled my hair.

  “What are you doing?” Butterflies abounded in my belly. “I mean, don’t do that.”

  “Mmm, you smell like sunshine, and your hair, it’s a living flame with these strands of gold ablaze within the red.”

  “It’s too curly.”

  “I like curly.”

  “We’re getting rather close.”

  “Close is dangerous.” He pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Sorry, gotta kiss you. Now.”

  “Wha—” His mouth stole over mine and whatever thoughts I had scattered, except for one. I wanted this kiss as much as he did. This moment couldn’t be denied, so I kissed him as deeply as he kissed me. Oh, so wicked. I stroked his silky black hair. “We should have done this sooner,” I mumbled against his lips. “So good.”

  “Hell, yes.” He deepened our kiss.

  I was lost in the sweet taste of him. My heart soared and my soul called to his. More. He was my mate, and it wasn’t a bond to be broken. Except, damn it, we had.

  “We should stop,” he growled as he pulled away.

  “Absolutely. What were you thinking?” Unable to help myself, I traced his full lips with a finger.

  “I wasn’t.” He sucked my finger into his mouth, and I near exploded as heat raced through my veins.

  “Silvie!” Belle screeched from the depths of the library. “Do you mind? Your emotions build on your skill, and you’re causing a heat wave. I’m about to drown in my own sweat over here.”

  “Sorry, Belle.” I glared at Guy. “Sheesh, that was your fault.”

  He grinned.

  “He’s not feeling repentant!” Belle yelled. “Silvie, please think cold thoughts. Lots of them. Right now.”

  “Do I have to?” A shiver chased down my spine. Yuck. Cold thoughts would suck.

  “Yes.” Carrying a burgundy leather book, Belle scurried out of the row. Her long hair lay limp down her back and the front of her blue swing shirt was wet. She tapped the book. “It says here cold thoughts are your first tactical response to lowering your heat. Imagine a snowy day, or ice trickling down your back. Maybe even a whole tub of ice and soaking in it. Whatever it takes, think cold.”

  “Just try it, Silvie.” Panting, Zayn trudged out, his cheeks blotchy and red. “You’re sucking all the moisture right out of the air.”

  “Okay, a tub of ice.” Not wanting to, but not having any choice, I forced the image of a tub into my mind. Clumps of ice floated inside, and I shoved one foot in. Argh. I shuddered in revolt.

  “That’s working.” Belle swept a hand through the air. “The room’s still hot, but there’s less heat coming off you. Whatever you’re thinking, go further with it.”

  “Yeah, you would say that.” I poked my tongue at her, but kept going. In my mind, I lowered my other foot into the tub and stepped fully in. “Shivers, that’s cold.”

  “Are you okay?” Guy tucked me closer against him. “You’ve got goose bumps all over your arms and legs.”

  “Belle’s a cruel empath.”

  “At least I’m a cooler one.” She thumped the book down on the large oak desk and trailed her finger along the thick parchment paper. “It says your mated one will be immune to your heat, but not if you heat something surrounding you. It also records your skill will be a little uncontrollable until your rising, although that’s no surprise. Our skills usually are.”

  The library doors burst open. Silas stormed in, his chest heaving under his loose-sleeved white shirt. He pulled his sword from the scabbard at his side and planted his booted feet wide. “Zayn ’pathed me, sis. You’re mated to a warrior?”

  “Hey.” I waved, albeit feebly. “As it happens, he’s right here.”

  Davio, Peacio’s prince, prowled into the room in his battle leathers. He drew his sword and lifted it toward Guy. “Moyer. Once again we meet.”

  Oh hell. This was all I needed.

  3

  “It’s not what you think.” Great. Now I had to face off against my brother and cousin.

  “It looks exactly like what we’re thinking, Silvie.” Silas raked a hand through his closely cropped red-gold hair. “Zayn warned us you had a problem and to come as quick as we could. That problem is extremely evident.”

  “Guy’s not the problem, and I thought since you all knew each other, you’d be on slightly friendlier terms than this.”

  “We’re not killing him. That’s friendly.” Davio tipped his chin up a notch, which made his brown hair wisped with golden strands brush his shoulders. His dark eyes drew into slits as he stared at Guy. Close to six foot four, he matched my brother in height.

  “He’s tight with Faith and Hope. You wanna upset them?” Mentioning their mates should help, and where was Faith? Didn’t this moment constitute a forewarning?

  “You don’t have to defend me, Silvie.” Guy set me on my feet behind him then raised his sword toward Silas. “We never finished our last battle. It appears you’d like to.”

  “No. No. No.” I shoved in front of him, coming squarely between them all. “Nobody fights my mate, I mean, my released mate.”

  Silas scrutinized me. “Released?”

  “Yes, so just put that weapon away. He’s here helping me, and that’s all.”

  Silas tilted his head toward Guy. “You put yours away first.”

  “If you’re scared, sure.” Guy slid his blade home, although his hand remained firm on the hilt. “Your turn.”

  Huffing, he sheathed his sword. “Why must you keep turning up everywhere?”

  “Because you and Loveria accepted the bond with my princesses. This all comes back to you.”

  “If you’ve finished helping my sister, then feel free to leave.”

  “Your empath just informed us her skill will be a little uncontrollable until she moves through her rising. If my mate requires my aid, she has it.”

  “What skill?” Face flushing, Silas plucked his shirt from his skin. “Is it just me, or is it hot in here?”

  Davio sniffed the air. “I can’t smell smoke, but did someone start a fire?”

  “No,” Belle intervened as she scanned the volume. “Silvie has the fire skill, and like her Carver ancestors, she can generate heat with the barest of thoughts and with the slightest swing in her moods. If she gets truly worked up, she has the ability to start a fire. If her fury takes her, then it says here, we’d all better duck.”

  “The fire skill?” Silas’s blue eyes widened. “Sis, it’s been so long, and you’re skilled? Why didn’t you say?”

  “It only just happened. Guy brought me here because he’s immune to my heat, and I was stuck in plain sight. Belle and Zayn have searched the records and told me how to control my temp.” To Belle, I said, “You had me thinking cold thoughts before and that brought it down, but what happens if I start an actual fire? How do I extinguish that?”

  “Don’t you recall the tales our grandparents told us?” Silas crossed the room and ruffled my hair.

  “Stop that.” I did not have time for his brotherly shenanigans. “I wouldn’t have asked if I’d remembered, silly.”

  “They used to say, once the one with the skill starts a fire, the only way to halt the flames is in the normal manner, with water.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Mr. Brightspark. I get that part. I meant how do I start and stop the fire when it comes from me? Is my skill completely controlled by my thoughts or is th
ere more to it? I hardly want to blow something up by accident, or someone.” No, don’t say it. “Maybe even you.” Yep, I couldn’t help myself.

  “Hmm, blowing someone up?” Guy’s lips lifted. “It’s a shame I’m the only one who’s immune.”

  “Hey, only I’m allowed to tease my brother.” I poked him in the chest, his rock hard chest. He must train daily to get those muscles. “Anyway, I’ve got a handle on my temp right now.” But I wouldn’t for long, if he stuck around. “You can go if you like.”

  “Ahh,” Silas murmured as he rubbed his hands together. “Good job, sis. Dropping this one right out of the gate was a sure winner.”

  “Lucky you.” Davio clapped Silas on the back. “That’s one huge problem averted.”

  Guy scrubbed a hand over his face. “I still have to stick around to be sure. You know how the bond works.”

  “She’s amongst family.” Silas crossed his arms. “We’ll watch over her, and you should ignore the bond. You did release each other.”

  “I think Guy should stay.” Belle propped her butt on the desk. “He’s offered, and it won’t be for long. What we need to do is focus on Silvie’s problem, on how she starts and stops the fire. I haven’t read the answer yet.”

  “It’ll be there.” Faith swept into the room and hooked one thumb into the loop of her low-rise jeans. She slanted her head toward Davio. “Hello, honey.” Well, about time she got here.

  “You should be at school.” Davio held out a hand to her.

  “Silvie will need some serious help soon. I had forewarning.” She crossed to him then leaned in for a kiss.

  “Hey, everyone.” Hope hopped into the room, yanking on one boot as she clutched the other under her arm. “Faith told me to hightail it here. Maslin dropped me off.”

  Her tan Stetson wobbled and Silas nabbed it and set it back on her head. “Maslin was here?” His gaze darkened.

  “Don’t go fixating on Maslin again. You promised.”

  “Your hair’s wet.” He steadied her as she tugged on her other boot. “You went swimming without me?”

  “Yep.” Done with her boots, she cupped his face. “Mmm, kiss. I need one now.”

  Okay, I understood how close Faith was with Davio, and Hope with Silas, but really? I was in crisis. I tapped the ground to get their attention. It didn’t work. “Ah, excuse me, guys. Some serious help, remember?”

  Faith grinned as she pulled back from Davio. “Oops, she’s right. We’ll pick this up later.” She crossed to me. “I asked Hope to come since she can use her water skill to counteract your new ability with fire.” She glanced at Guy. “Thank you for looking after her when it first came in.”

  “Yes, thanks from me too, Guy.” Hope hugged him, then me. “Congrats on your new skill. It’s amazing.”

  “Thanks. I didn’t know all this would happen.” She shouldn’t have hugged Guy. I gripped his hand. Mine.

  Faith winked at me. “I always wondered if a secondary reason existed for your fiery temper. You’ll have to take care not to consume and devour. Your skill’s about to heat up, and when it does, keep a level head.” She struck a look at Silas and Zayn. “It’d be best if you two found some water. We need it, pronto.”

  “Gotcha.” Silas flashed away and Zayn followed in his ’porting airstream.

  Davio turned Faith by the shoulders. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Make sure the windows are shut. We don’t need a breeze stirring the flames.”

  “Flames?” Hmm, I really liked the sound of flames.

  She rubbed my arms. “Don’t get too excited. I need you to remain calm.” She faced Belle. “Could you grab as many of the books from the shelves closest to Silvie and stack them behind the desk. We’re after minimal damage.”

  “I’ll help with that.” Hope chased after Belle.

  “Minimal damage sounds good.” No damage at all sounded even better.

  “Guy.” Faith squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t move from her side. You’ll have to make certain she listens to you when things go beyond her control. The rest of us don’t want to become toast.”

  “Toast?” Okay, I didn’t like the sound of that either.

  “I’ll count you down, Silvie.” Faith gave me a thumbs-up as she backed away.

  “I’m going live now?”

  “Three.”

  “Three already?” Could she not have given me more time? “What happened to counting down from ten? Everyone counts down from ten.”

  “Not me. Two.”

  Heat infused my blood and simmered out. “You could have given me—”

  “One,” she yelled as she dove behind the desk. The other girls lunged in behind her.

  “Your hands!” Davio bellowed as he covered the girls and kept them down.

  Tiny red and orange flames danced on my fingertips. Wow. This was one hot skill. “Am I emitting heat again?”

  “A blast of it,” Faith called out.

  The air swirled and Silas and Zayn flashed in. Between them they carried a metal tub. As they lowered it to the floor, water sloshed over the sides. Zayn ducked behind it. “Looks like we got here just in time. You okay, Silvie?”

  “I’m not sure.” I curled my fingers inward and the fire played over my skin. It didn’t burn, but soothed and stoked my need for more. Oh, I liked. “Actually, yes.”

  “Hope, you there?” Silas crawled toward the desk where he must have guessed she hid. “I’ve got your water.”

  “I’ll come to you.” She squirmed free of Davio. Silas met her halfway and covered her as they crawled back to the tub.

  “Get that water into the air, Hope.” Faith poked her head out.

  “Onto it.” Hope flicked her fingers, and the water lifted. The tubful rose in a gurgling bubble. She wiped the sweat from her brow. “Gee, I’d rather douse myself in this, but I’ve got you covered, Silvie.”

  “I don’t want to be covered.” The flames from my fingers dazzled in their brilliance. Ah, so nice, and with a single thought for more, the fire I’d brought to life spurted and lengthened.

  “Cold thoughts!” Belle screamed. She was such a party-pooper.

  “Right.” Icy water. Ew. No, I couldn’t do that, but a scorching hot day, where sunshine baked the ground, and me. Yes, now that I could do. Oooh, all that delicious warmth would be wonderful. So good.

  “Silvie!”

  I jerked as Guy snapped my name.

  “Look.” He pointed upward.

  From my raised fingertips, the flames shot and skimmed the ceiling. “Holy moly. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  “Not for long.” Hope hit me with the water, square in the face. I knocked into Guy.

  He righted me. “Hope, a little warning, please.”

  “I’ll give her warning,” I spluttered as I shook the water off and relit my fingers.

  “No.” Silas shoved in front of Hope. “Focus on your skill, Silvie, not the others here to aid you.”

  “I just want to singe her a little.” I fed my thoughts with my rising anger, and the flames blazed brighter.

  “You’ll hate yourself if you do.” Guy gripped my wrists and lifted my arms high. My fire licked the ceiling then chased across to the windows draped with red velvet. Oh, I so wanted to see that alight.

  “Pull your fire back, Silvie.” The shout came from Faith.

  “I’ve got this.” Hope pooled water from the ground and it gurgled and rose.

  “No, Hope. This skill has lain dormant for far too long. It’s time to give it free reign.” Eyes closed, I envisaged a raging fire, a heat unlike any I’d ever known before, and it was all mine.

  “Stop!” Davio blared, only I no longer cared.

  “Listen to me, if no one else.” Guy’s black hair streamed behind him from the pulsing waves of my heat. “Find the control you need. Your skill can’t rule you. That’s not who you are.”

  “How would you know who I am? You decided not to stick around long enough to find out.” The floor
boards under me buckled and bent. “I want to burn.”

  “Look at me. I’ll enchant you.” The silver in his eyes swirled to life. “Heat has come and heat must go. Restore all to order, and make this one I hold whole.” He locked our fingers tight together. “I’m here now. Don’t let go of me.”

  He really wasn’t going to leave me? My soul cried out for him. “I won’t.” I fought for control. Cold thoughts. Think only cold thoughts. My blood settled, aided by his spell. Order descended, incredibly fast. “Did I do it?”

  “You did.” Grinning, he smoothed his thumbs inside my palms. “Your fire is out.”

  It was, except the ceiling was scorched beyond repair. “Look at the mess I’ve made.”

  “Get the curtains, Hope. They’re smoking.” Davio raced toward them.

  “Got it.” Hope sent a wash of water at them.

  Zayn ran to help Davio, and the two hauled the soiled mess down.

  “Hey.” Faith twirled me around. “You did it. I can’t believe what I just saw.”

  “I’ve destroyed the library.” The damage I’d caused was intense.

  Belle stared at the disaster. “You just need to learn some control. That’s all.”

  “We’ll watch over you until that day. Don’t worry about the library. It can be repaired,” Silas called from where he aided the others.

  Together the men bundled the curtains up. Sooty water pooled at their feet, and Hope flicked her fingers and drew the water into the tub.

  “How do I gain control?” This disaster couldn’t happen again. Scorched ceilings and warped floor boards. Nah-uh.

  “In the same way we all do.” Guy cupped my cheeks. “Mind over matter, and don’t worry about the mess. I can fix what you’ve damaged.”

  “You can? You’d do that for me? How?”

  “With a spell.” Hands directed upward, he chanted, “Above and below, repair and renew. All must be fused together, both the old and the new.” Two streams of white light zoomed from his hands and arced toward the ceiling. One shimmered across its surface and the other rebounded and hit the floor. “Everyone, close your eyes. The light gains in brightness until it repairs all it needs to.”