Falling For Fire

by Talia Jager

  When I woke up the next morning, I was curled up next to Aurora. Peeking over my shoulder, I realized Skye and Neige were gone. Kailani must have come and gotten them since she promised to paint with them today.

  I looked back at Aurora. She looked so incredibly peaceful, unlike any time I had ever seen her. Her long hair framed her face while she slept. Her lips had a pouty look to them that made me smile because my future was looking pretty great. It meant I got to wake up to her beautiful face for the rest of my life.

  Gently I took my arm from around her waist to brush some hair from her face. I let my fingers gently graze her cool cheek which caused her to fidget in her sleep. I did it again, and her eyes opened. She blinked a few times as if she were trying to correct her vision. I tucked some of her hair behind her ear. She turned and looked at me with the softest, sweetest smile I had ever seen. I fell more in love with her at that moment.

  She reached up and touched my cheek. “Morning.”

  I leaned into her hand, kissing her palm. “Good morning, love.”

  She looked out the big glass double doors that led to her huge balcony overlooking Winter. “The sun isn’t above the trees yet.” She groaned and flipped her head into her pillow. “Ugh. So early. Why did you wake me up?”

  “Because you have to get up, dress, eat, and then go meet Keir and Dune for training.”

  “Can I just sleep a little bit longer?” She closed her eyes.

  I chuckled. “No. You can’t.” I moved so I was in front of her and grabbed her hands, pulling her up into a sitting position. “Not today. You’ve got training.”

  She lifted her hands in surrender. “Fine. Fine. Fine. I’ll get up.”

  I leaned over to her and kissed her forehead. She was smiling when I pulled away. I stood and made my way to my bedroom to get ready for the day. “I’ll meet you downstairs for breakfast.”

  I turned back to her, but what I saw had me in a fit of laughter. She had pulled the blankets over her head and curled up in a ball on the bed. I walked back over to the bed, ripped the blankets off of her, then threw her over my shoulder. Now it was her turn to laugh. I set her down in front of her enormous walk-in wardrobe, gave her another kiss, and said, “Get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  In my own chambers, I settled on a pair of orange, yellow, red, and white plaid cargo shorts with a white and red tank top. Once I was dressed, I went looking for Aurora. I checked the great hall, which was empty, and went into the kitchen. She was sitting at the counter in the middle of the kitchen. Her naturally loose ringlet hair hung low down her back, and she wore olive green shorts with a red tank top.

  I walked over and kissed the top of her head. I could hear the smile in her voice. “Hello, my king.”

  “Hello, my queen. So…red again?”

  “It seems as though I have developed an affection for the color.”

  “Well, whatever color you’re wearing, you’ll always look amazing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. What’s for breakfast?”

  “The queen requested strawberry waffles with a side of yogurt topped with raspberries and orange juice,” the Winter faerie cook said.

  “Sounds delicious.”

  “I really liked it in the human realm, so I asked Viola to make it.”

  “And they asked me to help.” Marin brought out the syrup.

  Viola placed our breakfast before us. “I hope you enjoy it.”

  “Thank you, Viola.”

  “You’re welcome, Your Majesties. It’s good to see you working together.”

  I sat and enjoyed a lovely breakfast with Aurora. When we were finished, I placed my lips on hers for a few seconds before she headed to the Summer Land training area. When she walked through the doors, I went to meet up with Lumi. On my way there, I stopped by Kailani’s workspace to check in on Neige and Skye. I found all three of them wearing aprons, sitting on stools in front of easels and painting.

  “How’s it going?”

  Kailani glanced up at me. “Good. We’re having a great time, aren’t we, kids?”

  “Yes!”

  “Kailani is teaching us a bunch of stuff, Sorin,” Skye said with a smile. I loved seeing her so happy.

  “That’s awesome. You guys will have to show me later.” I turned my attention to Kailani. “I have a couple of meetings this morning with Lumi. Then I’m going to join Aurora’s training. Are you okay with keeping an eye on them?”

  “Yeah. I love hanging out with them. I talked to Raina and Tannon about watching them later while I have a couple of tattoo appointments. They’re going to take them ice-skating.”

  “Cool. Were you able to see Keir this morning?”

  Blushing, she answered, “Yes. He had breakfast with the three of us.”

  “Good. You guys all have fun, okay?”

  “Bye, Sorin,” both kids said.

  “Bye, guys. Be good and listen to Kailani. When you’re with Raina and Tannon, listen to them too.”

  “We will.”

  “All right. See you later!”

  “Bye!” All three hollered.

  The morning went by smoothly. Nothing happened that Lumi couldn’t handle.

  When I made my way outside to Aurora’s training, she was sitting on a bench eating some fruit. Keir and Dune were talking a few feet away from her.

  “Productive day?” I asked.

  She turned to look at me and a brilliant smile lit up across her face. “Just taking a small break.”

  “How’s it going?”

  “Good. Dune and Keir said I’m doing well. They’re having Ravi swing by to assess my progress.”

  “That’s awesome! So, you going to show me something?”

  I saw my brother and best friend glance over and smile.

  “Of course, as long as you promise not to laugh.”

  “Why would I laugh?”

  “I’ve only been working on this for two days.”

  “Babe, you are the most gifted bender I know. Whether you have had two days or two hours, I’m sure you have made strides no one has expected you to.”

  She leaned over and gave me a light kiss on the lips. “Thank you. But still no laughing.”

  “I promise.”

  I went and stood next to my brother while Aurora stood with Keir and mimicked his strikes. She had pretty decent fire strength, but for some reason, I thought she would be further along.

  She had a ball of fire in her hand. I threw my arm out, then pulled it back bringing the fire to me. Her eyes went straight to mine. “Hey!”

  I turned to Dune so my back was to Aurora. “I honestly thought she’d be further than she is. Is it because it’s fire?”

  “No. I think she will have the most trouble with earth. Water, fire, and air are constantly moving, but earth will demand stillness and being strong when still.”

  “You think?”

  Then a devious smile popped on his face. “Yes. I do.”

  All of a sudden, my feet came out from under me, and I landed hard. Looking up at Dune, who was laughing uncontrollably, I went to tell off Keir, but when I looked over my shoulder, I saw Keir standing with his arms folded across his chest. Aurora was the one with her arm extended out.

  Right then I realized they had gotten me.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Aurora

  “Was that advanced enough for you?” I asked with an amused smile.

  Sorin hopped up and shot a long stream of fire at me lasting twenty seconds. I stretched out my left leg in front of me, and my right foot was back, so I had a steady stance. My palms were touching with my arms stretched out in front, and my head was down so that when the fire hit my hands, it split off to the sides, not hitting me.

  I looked up at Sorin. “You’ll definitely have to try harder than that.”

  I pulled my hands apart and swung each arm at Sorin, sending short streams of fire with four rapid punches that sent balls of fire, then a kick that sent anot
her short stream of fire. They all came at him so fast and with such precision, he had a hard time deflecting everything. The final kick got him in the shoulder and knocked him off balance.

  We continued our impromptu battle. During a back handspring when my feet were up, they kicked back the fire Sorin had shot at me. I punched my left arm out, sending fire at him, and then swung my right arm at him. Just as he deflected my first hit, the second hit blew into his side with enough force to knock him off his feet.

  He sat up and rested his arms on his knees. “Okay. You have progressed further than I had imagined possible.”

  I bowed slightly with my arms out to the sides. “Thank you.”

  My head turned at the sound of clapping. Standing with Keir and Dune was Ravi, the fire-bending master who taught Sorin. “Well done, Your Majesty.”

  “Thank you, Ravi.” Blood rushed to my face.

  “Dune, Keir, you have done excellent work training the queen. As your former teacher, I am proud of you. It’s amazing how far she’s come in just a couple of days.” Ravi beamed with pride.

  “How do I know when I’ve mastered an element? Other than it turning colors on my arm,” I asked.

  “Usually you have a final test, like fighting the master. If you can beat me in a battle, there’s nothing left for me to teach you, and you’ll be ready to move on.”

  “In just two days?” Keir said. “That’s unheard of.”

  “There’s no set number of days to prove how good one is. It’s the faerie who determines how good he or she is.” He turned to me. “Do you want to take your test now?”

  I swallowed hard. “Do you think I’m ready to?”

  “That’s only a question you can answer, Your Majesty.” Looking at the sun, he said, “I’ll be in the meadow east of the Summer castle. When you’re ready, come find me, alone.”

  I didn’t know why, but I was nervous. After Ravi left, I paced back and forth thinking about all the moves I had learned and if I thought I’d be able to master fire. Never in a million years did I think I’d be an Elemental and would pick up bending other elements so quickly.

  Sorin moved into my way, and I looked up into his eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “It’s only been a couple of days. I don’t want to make an idiot out of myself by testing too early.”

  Sorin laughed. “Babe, you’ve got this. I have complete faith in you.”

  “If it matters, we do too!” Keir yelled from where he was standing.

  Blushing, I bit on my lower lip and then nodded. “Okay. I’ll go, but don’t tell anyone so if I do fail, I won’t be so embarrassed.”

  “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You just test again later on.” He kissed me.

  I whistled. “C’mon, Zev.” The wolf ran up to me, and then together we walked toward the meadow to the east of the Summer castle.

  Ravi was facing away from us as we approached, dressed in some sort of suit. I guessed it was protection from the fire I was about to attack him with. I stopped behind him. “The sun is such a beautiful source of power,” he said. “Fire is too. It’s powerful. Deadly even, but much like water it’s graceful too. Respect all of the elements, Queen Aurora.” He turned toward me. “Are you ready?”

  “I am.”

  “Good.”

  I sent Zev to wait for me where he wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire and then took my place facing Ravi. He didn’t give any warning or ease into it. He spun around, creating a huge circle of fire around us. I started slowly sending off fireballs from my hands and feet. Ravi dodged every one of them. Sweat trickled down my face. Sorin’s words echoed in my mind. I took a deep breath and began sending faster attacks. I squatted, put both hands on the ground, and spun my right leg around, sending out a stream of fire. Ravi jumped and the fire went under him. He started throwing fireballs back, and I deflected each of them.

  With my arms stretched out, I began rotating them, shooting off fireballs which Ravi promptly sent into the air. Frustrated, I blew my hair out of my face. I’d have to get creative.

  Aiming at the circle of fire instead, I sent off two fireballs that bounced off the circle and started zinging around the inside of it. Every time one would come near Ravi it would distract him from my attack. From my hand, I released a flame blast that split into multiple fragments and hit Ravi in the chest. His suit kept him from catching on fire, but he did stumble backward.

  With my arms outstretched and palms up, I brought pillars of fire up from the ground. Over my head, I made a big circle of fire with my hand. I tossed it at Ravi and had it encircle him, keeping him from being able to move.

  He smiled as though he were impressed, but something reminded me of Eira, and I started thinking of the last conversation I had with her where she basically wished me dead. How did she become so cold inside? My fists clenched by my sides.

  Focus, Rory.

  I banged my fists on my legs as if that would get Eira out of my head. My left foot stepped forward, and I brought my right hand, fingers spread apart, up over my head and aimed at Ravi. The orange-red fire streaming out changed to a blue flame. It surprised me so much, I lost my concentration, and the fire died out.

  Ravi stood with a look of shock on his face.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  “I need to gather a few of the masters together.” He put out his hands as if he wanted me to stay where I was, then he ran off.

  What in the world was going on? My arm tingled and I looked at the Elemental markings. The fire one glimmered orange just under the blue water one.

  Zev walked over to me and nuzzled my arm. “Hey, boy.” I stroked his fur and thought of what had just happened. I didn’t know what the blue fire was, but whatever it was made Ravi take off. That worried me. Was there something wrong with me? “Can you go get Sorin for me?” I asked Zev. If I had to stay here, at least I could have Sorin by my side.

  Zev took off. While he was gone, I tried to replicate what had happened, but I could only create the orange-red fire.

  Sorin came into view riding his horse with Zev running just in front of him.

  A few feet from me, he dismounted the horse and came to my side. Sitting next to me, he asked, “What is it? Didn’t you pass?”

  I showed him my arm. “I think I more than passed.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know. He looked at me as though I was a freak, said he had to get some masters, and took off.”

  Sorin gave me a weird look. “What happened before that?”

  “I don’t know. The fire turned blue.”

  “The fire turned blue?” he repeated.

  “Yup.” I snuck a peek at his face to see his reaction, but all I saw was confusion. “Have you ever heard of that happening?”

  “No,” he answered, taking my hand. “But whatever it means, I’m going to be right here, holding your hand.”

  I blinked to keep the tears away as the thought of losing two years with him sprang to my mind again. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  It took until the sun was high in the sky for Ravi to return; with him came four others, one from each land. Sorin and I stood to meet them. They bowed in respect. I wasn’t sure what to say, if anything, so I waited. Feeling my anxiety, Sorin squeezed my hand.

  Ravi took a step forward. The shocked look on his face had been replaced with one of admiration. That helped me calm down some. Whatever it was that had made him run off wasn’t horrible.

  “Your Majesty, I’d like to introduce you to the masters. These are some of the oldest and best benders in the realm,” Ravi said.

  “I haven’t seen you around,” I commented.

  “They live up in the mountains of the neutral land,” Ravi replied.

  “Together?” I was surprised.

  “They do not like the…well, they don’t like the drama that has gone on for such a long time.”

  “We understand. We didn’t like it either. Tha
t’s why we want to change it,” Sorin told them.

  “So what do they have to do with what happened earlier? And what did happen?” I questioned.

  Ravi nodded. “I’m sorry I left in such a hurry. I wanted to discuss this with these masters because it’s not something I’ve ever seen.”

  “The blue fire?”

  “Yes.”

  “I tried to do it again, but I couldn’t. Maybe it was just a one-time thing?”

  “Not likely,” the Summer faerie with long hot-pink hair said. “It is believed to be triggered by something emotional like when the Elemental markings appear.”

  I thought back to when Sorin’s life was in danger. Saving him had activated the Elemental part of me. “Okay, so what exactly did I trigger?”

  “You’re a Blender,” Ravi stated.

  “It’s rare, very rare. Sometimes a faerie comes around who can use the elements together. You seem to be one of those faeries,” said the Winter faerie with ice-blue hair.

  “What does that mean?”

  “You can manipulate ice-fire,” the Winter faerie responded.

  “And most likely you’ll be able to combine other elements as well,” the auburn-haired Autumn faerie added.

  “Like?” Sorin asked. Good thing he did because my head was spinning.

  This time the Spring faerie with long lavender hair answered. “A geyser or hot spring. Magma manipulation. Or a firestorm.” Her smile was reassuring. “I’m Caroun, by the way.”

  I smiled back, still processing what they were saying.

  “Oh yes, introductions would have been proper,” the Winter faerie said, shaking his head. “I’m Albus.”

  The Autumn faerie lowered his head again. “I’m Cormac.”

  “And I’m Lake,” said the Summer faerie. “Do you remember what you were thinking of right before the fire turned blue?”

  I nodded and squeaked, “Eira.”

  “So the thought of her made you mad?” Albus asked, and I nodded. “In time, you will be able to combine the elements without needing the emotions.”

  “Are there others like her?” Sorin asked.

  “None alive that we know of,” Caroun replied. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a faerie who could blend. How long would you say, Lake?”