A dream.
I snuggled into him, enjoying the cool feel of his chest against my hands. He made a sound in his sleep. Something between a moan and a groan. I slid my hand up over his shoulder, smoothing over the back of his neck, not stopping until my fingers touched his hair. Lifting my lips to his, I kissed him.
His tongue immediately danced with mine. Fire heated me, inside and out. This time, I let go of everything and lost myself to the feeling of being in Oanen’s arms. Of his desperate kiss.
A sharp smell tickled my nose. Burned hair, like the day I’d tried to leave the barrier.
The remembered smell jerked me from my dream that wasn’t a dream. I opened my eyes and saw we were on the couch, but it was daylight.
With a gasp, I pulled back from Oanen.
“Best way to wake up,” he rumbled, a sleepy grin tugging his lips. He opened his eyes, and the hint of his grin faded.
“Your eyes are glowing again,” he said softly.
I flew off the couch and ran for the bathroom. This time, I caught the glow before it faded. I clutched the sink, staring as the normal brown replaced the vibrant orange. Then I started to shake.
“Megan, it’s okay,” Oanen said from behind me. “Your eyes are amazing no matter what the color.”
I faced him, my gaze falling on the scorch mark on his pale blue t-shirt. A handprint on his right shoulder.
“My eyes aren’t the only thing changing, though, are they. Turn around and show me your back.”
His expression, always so carefully guarded, changed ever so slightly. Worry.
“Megan, it’s fine,” he said.
My stomach cramped with fear and self-loathing.
“Turn around, Oanen, or leave.”
He sighed and turned around. The skin on the back of his neck was red as if sun burned. That wasn’t the worst of it. Some of his hair had melted all the way to his scalp. I could see the outline of three of my fingers.
“This can’t be real,” I said to myself. “This isn’t happening.”
He turned toward me.
“Megan, we all go through some awkward changes. This is no different. You’ll be fine.”
“Me? I could have hurt you.”
“No. You can’t. You’ll see. By lunch, you won’t even be able to tell anything happened.”
My thoughts jumped, connecting what he said with what I needed to do. Lunch. The Academy. Talk to Adira.
“Yeah. Sure,” I agreed, feeling sick. “You’re right. It’ll be fine. I need to—” I swallowed hard. “I need to get ready. I’ll see you at school, okay?”
He stepped forward and pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly.
“I know you’re panicking. I can hear it,” he said against my temple.
“After what I just did, I’m allowed some panic time.”
“Fine. But if you don’t show up at the Academy, I will come, and I will find you. Because one little burn hasn’t changed a thing. I still want you.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead then left.
Five
I still hadn’t stopped shaking by the time I pulled into the Academy parking lot. What the hell had I done? Although the practical, human-centric part of my brain wanted to dwell on the fact that I’d kissed Oanen first thing in the morning without brushing my teeth, the bigger non-human issue won.
“I almost cooked my damn boyfriend,” I said under my breath. Who did that? What the hell was wrong with me?
Weeks ago, my mom had come to this place and registered me as a student. I’d seen the file Adira had on me. “Fury. Fourth Generation,” it had read. Although additional information had been almost non-existent, the note had been there. Made by Adira. Likely, the very person my mom had talked to. Maybe Adira knew more. But, would she be willing to share what she knew? Probably not. And that really pissed me off.
I got out of the car and slammed the door, the early morning noise startling the few birds still in the skeletal, late-fall trees. Their flight brought my attention to the roof.
Oanen stood at the edge, looking down at me. My pulse jumped at the sight of him.
Crap.
Another car pulled into the lot as we studied each other. I needed a way to distract him for a few minutes so he wouldn’t try to meet up with me in the hall. I really wanted to talk to Adira alone.
“I forgot my lunch again,” I called. “I hope you had time to pack me something good. And a brownie. I really could go for another one of those.”
“Yeah,” a guy said with a laugh. “Now we’re talking.”
I glanced back at the guy and girl crossing the parking lot.
“Heathen,” the girl said, giving me, then him, a glare.
“What?” he said. “Brownie wings are considered a delicacy by just about everyone. It’s not like the brownie dies. Why do you think so many of them don’t have wings?”
The guy winked as he passed me. The girl stomped ahead. I stood there in complete horrified shock. I would never be able to eat the chocolate dessert again.
Recalling Oanen and my request for the brownie, I looked up; but he was gone. Hopefully, on his way to get me lunch instead of wandering the halls.
Impatient to find Adira before Oanen found me, I jogged into school and headed toward her office. Oanen didn’t appear in the halls, and I reached Adira’s door without problem. Pausing for a moment, I took a deep breath to shake off some of my agitation before knocking.
“Come in,” she called.
I opened the door, relieved she was in early, and quickly took the seat across from her desk.
“Good morning, Megan,” she said, closing the folder in front of her. “You look upset. Is everything all right?”
“No.”
Now that I sat in front of her, I realized the stupidity of my action. Did I really want to admit I had a dream about making out with Oanen then woke up to find out I’d actually been making out with him and burned him in the process? No. I one hundred percent did not want to talk to her about that.
“What happened?” she asked when I remained quiet.
“I, uh, think I almost started a fire in my sleep.”
She smiled her usual, kind smile.
“There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Your house has been warded against fire, the same as the Academy, Roost, and any other public place. That means the structure and everything within it will never suffer any damage from flames created normally or magically.”
“Oh.” Her calm answer confirmed two things. She did know what I’d become because she hadn’t denied the possibility that I could start a fire. And, whatever I would become did indeed have the ability to burn things.
“You see?” she said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Oh, I had plenty to worry about. If the house and everything inside of it was protected, then how had I managed to burn Oanen? Instead of demanding answers that I knew she’d be unlikely to give, I struggled to find a hole in her logic.
“How can I cook then? I mean, the stove is technically damaging everything I cook, isn’t it?”
“The flames aren’t damaging the food. They heat the pan which cooks the food. A loophole.”
Maybe Oanen was a loophole, too, somehow. I needed to know how to make him not a loophole.
A piece of what she’d said finally registered. Why ward all the public places against fire along with my home? And why point that out to me? Because whatever was happening was going to get worse?
“I’m worried I might accidently hurt someone because I have no idea what’s happening to me. But you do. And I’m struggling not to be completely pissed off that you’re not telling me what I need to know.” I met her steady gaze. “Not just what I am now but what I’ll become. My true form. And it must be pretty bad if you’ve warded most of the town against me.”
She folded her hands on the desk and leaned toward me with worry in her gaze.