Dark Fire

by Bethany Wicker

  He stuck his out in response. “Your parents are going to be thrilled when they find out.”

  “I can’t tell if that was sarcasm or if you were serious,” I admitted.

  He chuckled. “It was probably a little bit of both. Mr. Nate is always going to look down on the guy who dates his daughter and Mrs. Ava is going to have a million questions for you. I guess their temporary absence gives you time to think up some responses and have a good defense for your case planned ahead of time.”

  “You act like I’m going on trial.” I laughed, but it turned into a cough when I saw the seriousness on his face.

  “You will be in a way, but it’s okay. They aren’t going to do anything since you’re soulmates. That gives you a free buy-in.”

  “Oh, don’t listen to him. They aren’t that bad,” Kyler reassured.

  “Aren’t they?” Jeremiah mocked and Kyler threw a blue flame at him, which he easily dodged. With that, he took the hint and let us be.

  “I still can’t believe I’m a level five fire wielder. I’d always wanted blue flames but wished I could’ve acquired it some other way. I still have bad dreams of the sword.”

  “Hopefully, that’ll go away once it’s destroyed. Uncle Jay says they’re waiting on your parents and Jeremiah’s to destroy it.”

  “I hope the nightmares go away. I don’t want to have to live with those dark dreams all my life.”

  “Do you want me to stay in your room from now on? We are soulmates after all.”

  She laughed again and I watched as she thought it over. “I wouldn’t mind it. Despite the nightmare, the best sleep I got was the night that we slept in the same bed. Just know that my parents won’t be too happy when they catch wind of it.”

  I swallowed hard. “Do you think they’re going to be upset that I’m your mate? Being half-human?”

  “Not at all. I think I have plenty enough elemental in me for the both of us. Besides, there’s nothing they can do about it.”

  That didn’t really calm my nerves like she hoped it would. It actually made me a little more nervous. I didn’t want her parents to be disappointed in me, but at the same time, I was happy that Kyler had parents that cared.

  “Is six months still how long they have to wait before they can travel?”

  She nodded her head. “Yep. That’s when it’s safest for Marcus to travel. It sucks because I don’t even know what he looks like.”

  “I would say you guys should invest in cell phones, but there aren’t even towers out here that would give you guys service. My phone hasn’t worked since I arrived here.”

  “Cell phones? We have landlines.”

  “Yeah, but with cell phones you can take and send pictures.”

  “We have cameras for that.”

  “Your cameras can send pictures?”

  “Well, no, but at least we have them to savor memories.”

  “True.” I kissed her nose and she sighed.

  “I’m happy you’re here with me at least. The elementals are annoying me with all of their questions about the human world. It’s easier to avoid them when I’m with you.”

  “Well, I’m glad I’m good for something,” I joked.

  “Yeah, who knew?” she teased back.

  “Haha.” I pulled her in for another kiss.

  She tasted like the raspberries she’d eaten before we came outside and it made the moment even sweeter. I was so happy that I waited for my soulmate instead of dating around in Easterly. I was certain that nothing could compare to this.

  Chapter Thirty-Six: Kyler

  Six months passed and according to my parents, I was still on the front page of the humans’ newspapers. My face was printed in every single wanted ad that was out there. Coach Black and Mrs. Hildebrand were even in some of the interviews. Because of that, I was stuck at Westville and the elemental’s island it sat on. The humans still believed I set the school on fire with something called lighter fluid and that was why the flames were blue. They never actually saw me light it, just witnessed me watching as it burned. At least I hadn’t exposed elementals in my lapse of sanity.

  My family finally arrived on the island about a week ago and I finally got the chance to meet Marcus. He was six months old now and the cutest baby I’d ever seen. Not that I saw many babies. Plus, I was a little bias, but he was still adorable. He had the cutest laugh and dimples and was starting to try to talk. I loved feeding him and watching him fall asleep in my arms. He had my heart and I was excited for Remy and me to have children. That wouldn’t be for a few more years though. We had to get out of Westville first and find us a house to settle in.

  Mom and Dad were sick of all the questions they received about me on a daily basis that they’d decided to remain on the island too. Mom was fuming about it because it put a huge damper on her plan to bridge the gap between humans and elementals. She was also upset that Marcus wouldn’t be able to see the human society any time soon.

  Mr. Jay wanted to keep me at Westville for two more years because of the incident. The up side was that Remy would be there with me. He wanted to attend the school to adapt to our culture. It wasn’t too different from his though so I was certain he would do fine.

  There was still some lingering darkness in my mind and Mr. Jay was going to help me work through that. He hoped it wasn’t permanent. Since my mom didn’t have the same problem as me, I was the guinea pig, just like poor Remy.

  Remy being my soulmate was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. He was amazing in every sense of the word. I loved him and he loved me. We were soulmates and nothing could change that.

  Mr. Jay was still fascinated by Remy being half-human and secretly wanted him at Westville to study. It was something they were all curious about. Remy was the first teenage offspring of an elemental and a human to ever exist. That we knew of at least. It was also strange that Mr. Jay was Remy’s uncle. They were pretty close and growing closer every day. Xavier was also excited to have a new cousin and they hung out on a regular basis.

  Remy still hadn’t gone back to his house and apparently the bank had found out who was the real owner. It was repossessed so he didn't even have a house to go back to. Dad snuck in to the house using his darkness and got all of Remy’s possessions that he could. The thing Remy was most thankful for were the pictures of his parents. It was handy being an elemental, especially with an affinity to darkness.

  My dad had taken the news of Remy being my soulmate surprisingly well. There weren’t even any death threats. Mom wouldn’t stop asking him questions about how he felt and tried to determine if there were any obvious differences about being half-human, but we hadn’t found any yet. The thing we were most worried about was the aging. I hoped he would live as long as me and not a short one like humans had.

  My previous beliefs about humans were squashed by Remy and I didn’t care he wasn’t a full elemental. I only felt terrible for treating him so poorly in the beginning. He and Nova tried so hard to befriend me and I kept pushing them away. It only took a life threatening experience to knock some sense into me.

  As for Nova, I still thought of her every day, but Mom brought some good news concerning her well-being. My mom managed to collect pictures of her from the local newspapers and it turned out that the emergency medical team was able to revive her. Nova was still blind and had the white eyes to prove it in all of the photos. The cops thought I did that to her no matter how much Nova argued otherwise. In the newspaper my mom found, the article said that her parents were helping fund the search for me. They didn’t believe Nova either and wanted retribution for their daughter.

  The pictures Mom found hung in my room at Westville. I would cherish them along with the memories I had of Nova. I wished I could visit her, but it wouldn’t be safe for me. I would probably never see her again and hoped she would adjust to her blindness quickly.

  Mom didn’t tell me sooner because she knew I would rush over to see Nova without thinking. Now that I’d come to terms with
her death, Mom broke the news that she was alive since I would be more rational about it. I couldn’t blame her for withholding the truth until now because I was a hot-head who acted on impulse most of the time. I would’ve gone see her, but instead, it was the good news that I’d needed, even if Nova could no longer see.

  Mom went to see Nova once and said she was doing well despite everything. After that one visit, Nova’s parents got a restraining order against mine. They’d already had one against me. Her parents would spend the rest of their lives blaming me, but I couldn’t tell them it was because of the sword. That would just make things worse.

  As for the sword, it was destroyed by Mom, Dad, and Jeremiah’s parents, Aunt Harper and Uncle Maddox. It was the first time I’d seen them in a while and it was a good visit despite their reason for coming. They were able to meet Remy and were as amazed by him as Mr. Jay was. They’d decided to remain in the human society, but Jeremiah was still allowed to attend school with us. They wanted to do it in place of my mom since she couldn’t thanks to my new status.

  The best thing about the sword being gone was that I no longer had any more nightmares. I’d barely gotten any sleep in the six months we were waiting for my parents to arrive. Remy’s presence didn’t even help most of those nights.

  After the sword was destroyed, Mom and Aunt Harper showed Remy, Jeremiah, and me their secret room. It was the one I found the sword in and they explained that it was now our secret hideout. They were passing down the torch, but it didn’t make much sense since we were about to graduate. Jeremiah only had one more year left and Remy and I had two. They reasoned that they wanted us to pass it down to our children next and keep it in the family. I was okay with that as long as there wasn’t anything else destructive hiding in the shadows. Mom and Aunt Harper reassured us that there wasn’t.

  Despite all that happened, Remy and I had a bright future ahead of us and I was looking forward to each day. The lingering darkness wouldn’t deter or hinder me. The rising of the sun every day would keep my head held high and with Remy at my side, even rain couldn’t break me. For the first time ever, I knew where I belonged and I, too, could enjoy the pretty days and nice weather like Mr. Jay did.

  I also learned that it didn’t matter if a person was human or elemental. We all shared the same future and the bridge could be repaired if there were more people like Nova and my mom. I hoped we would live to see that day come where everyone lived in peace. Skin color, blood type, eye color, species type. None of it mattered because all of our lives would come to an end eventually. I would spend the remainder of my days with an open mind and looked forward to a brighter future.

  Bethany Wicker resides in Louisiana and is a new mom who loves to read and write any chance she gets. Her sun conure, Apollo and her two dogs, Jasper and Drake, usually keep her company while she writes, throwing in ideas of their own. She has a loving husband, Lucien, a beautiful daughter named Henley, and an amazing family who support her passion for writing. Her inspiration comes from her friends, family, and the support from BB. She loves young adult fiction of all sorts and thanks God for giving her the strength to finish novels of her own. She is obsessed with Disney, Dr. Pepper, and White Chocolate Mochas, especially from Starbucks. She also loves food and is always excited to try new things.

  Looking for more from this author… check out her other novel, Unexpected Alpha:

  Female Alphas are unheard of in werewolf society, and the Sapphire Pack is no different. So when Lena’s father dies, no one is more shocked than she to discover that his Alpha powers have transferred to her. Lena has her hands full protecting her pack from hunters and rogue wolves, while simultaneously facing prejudices and power-hungry males who want to mate with her just to steal her title.

  But when the uber-sexy Kane enters the picture, Lena gets a lot more than she bargained for. He irritates her to no end, while giving her butterflies at the same time. With his interference and her new-found power bubbling under her skin, something inside her changes, leaving her confused as to what she truly is. She soon discovers that searching for answers is most difficult when the last person she can trust is the only one who has them.