A Curse of Flames

by Sophia Shade

  “Can’t you feel it?” he asks, leaning in and whispering in my ear.

  I gaze at him, deep into his eyes. His breathing is hard and fast. I want to give into his embrace. Fall into him and follow this feeling wherever it leads me.

  “Hey,” Caleb calls out, voice harsh.

  I snap to attention. What am I doing? I don’t like Erick. He doesn’t like me. He’s not even nice to me. We are barely friends. More like friends by association.

  “Sorry,” I say. Turning to Caleb, I smile weakly and take his hand. “I just got lost in the dark, and that drink… Whoo!”

  “It’s not you, babe,” he says, glaring at Erick. “He knows what he’s doing.”

  “Hey, man,” Erick says, holding up his hands in defense. “I didn’t do anything she didn’t want.”

  “What?” A sick feeling creeps into my stomach. “I didn’t…”

  Ugh, I don’t know what happened, but this is totally killing my night. Spinning away, I try to find one of my friends, but I don’t see either.

  “Dannika?” I call, hating the squeak in my voice.

  Caleb steps up, chest to chest with Erick. “You know what you’re doing, you dick.”

  “Caleb, calm down,” I say. “We are all friends, right? Just chill.”

  “We aren’t just friends,” Erick says to me. His face is set in stone, eyes bright and determined.

  “You’re drunk,” I mutter, looking for any excuse for why this fun night out is rapidly devolving into a nightmare.

  But Caleb’s not having it. He grabs Erick by the shirt with one hand, and then cranks his fist on his other back like he’s about to punch him.

  “Stop,” I scream, pulling on Caleb’s arm. Just then, Dannika and Ella run up.

  “What’s going on?” Dannika asks.

  Driftblossom flits over. “Too much testosterone over here, I ken,” she says. “Yer gonna get us all kicked out!”

  “Erick is the one getting all up on my girl,” Caleb says.

  This time, when he says, “my girl,” I get pissed.

  “You don’t own me,” I snap. “And both of you are ruining what’s supposed to be a fun night out. Maybe you should just go.”

  “What?” Caleb asks, letting go of Erick and turning to stare at me. “I was defending you.”

  “I don’t need you to defend me,” I say. “What I need is one night without any drama or fighting or negativity.”

  He holds his hands up, lips twisted in a scowl. “Whatever. I’m out.”

  As Caleb storms off without saying goodbye, the sick feeling in my stomach gets worse. I cross my arms, glaring at Erick. “You should probably go, too.”

  Dannika pulls at my arm to whisper in my ear, “But he’s the one who brought us here.”

  Erick frowns and shakes his head. “It’s fine, Dannika. I’ll go. You ladies have a nice night.”

  With that, he follows Caleb out the door. I kind of hope they kick each other’s asses out there. They could both use a good punch in the gut.

  Dannika and Ella put their arms around me after the guys are gone.

  “You okay?” Ella asks.

  I purse my lips, watching the boys leave, then turn back to my friends. “Who wants a drink?”

  The next morning I’m so hungover I can barely pull my clothes on for Elemental Application. Dannika and I are both wearing sunglasses, and I have to squint when we take them off before heading onto the field.

  “I think I died last night,” I say.

  “Tell me about it.” She uses her hand like a visor to shade her eyes. “If I never see a pixie fire again, it will be too soon.”

  “It was so good, though.”

  “I know, right? When are we going back?”

  We laugh, continuing over to where the rest of the class is standing. Right then, it hits me just how badly today is going to suck.

  Lucas is on the other side of the field, but he doesn’t look at me. Please don’t pair me with him, I beg the powers that be. I do not want to have to fight for my life with a hangover.

  “I don’t suppose Coach Volcanis will let us spar together so we can take it easy on each other?” I ask her.

  “I wouldn’t count on it.”

  The coach walks toward us. “All right, everyone,” he says. “Dannika, you are with Ferria. Lucas is with Finch. Erick, you partner with Finn. And Imogen…” I gulp. “You partner with Caleb. Everyone else, choose your partner.”

  Crap! This was not a much better pairing. Scanning around, I spot Caleb milling about near the weapons, chewing on his nail. He looks as nervous as I feel. Good. I give him a little finger wave. He visibly relaxes and trots over to me.

  “Hey,” he says.

  “Hey,” I reply, walking out onto the field.

  “About last night,” he says from behind me. “I need to apologize.”

  I don’t reply as I start my stretches and warmups.

  “I didn’t mean to imply you can’t take care of yourself,” he continued. “I just didn’t like him putting his hands all over you. I don’t own you, but you are my girlfriend, right?”

  “Of course I’m your girlfriend,” I say, abandoning my warmup and moving closer to him. “And I need to apologize, too. My eyes were closed. I was so caught up in the moment, I didn’t look to see who it was when he got close. When I felt his hands on me, I thought it was you. I should have been paying better attention.”

  “It’s okay.” He waves it off. “I wasn’t mad at you. It’s a club; people touch and get close. It happens. It was just his attitude that set me off.”

  “But that’s not an excuse to cause a scene and get physical,” I say, leveling my gaze at him. “He and I have nothing going on, and that’s all that matters.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Caleb says, holding out his hand. “Friends?”

  When I reach out to shake his hand, I grin suggestively. “More than friends, I hope.”

  “Oh, you know it,” he says, raising his eyebrows. “I’d kiss and make up, but I don’t think old Volcanis would appreciate it.”

  “I think he’d prefer we fight,” I say with a wink, taking my fighting stance. “I hope you’re ready to get your butt kicked by your girlfriend.”

  Caleb mirrors my position. “Oh yeah? We’ll see about that.”

  At first, he goes easy on me, and I return the favor. We channel our fire, take a few practice shots, but mostly just volley back and forth with first-year attacks. But as Coach Volcanis glares at us, it becomes obvious this isn’t gonna fly.

  “We’re both fire Fae,” I remind Caleb. “We can spar. You won’t hurt me.”

  “Wish I could say the same,” he says with a wink, but there’s something more there. Some hurt behind his words, and I’m thinking that comment wasn’t about physical pain.

  I swallow around the lump forming in my throat, trying to focus on what’s expected of me in class. Caleb and I have never practiced together before. I’ve seen him with other people, so I know he’s good because he always wins, but he’s never tried to beat me before.

  I’m about to end his winning streak. Between my shield and powerful attacks, I might be able to dethrone this prince.

  “I’m not gonna hold back,” I warn him.

  “I expect no less,” he says with a mischievous smile. “Let’s see what you got.”

  It’s near the end of class, and most of the other students have given up. They gather around the sidelines to watch us. At first, I’m not sure why. I mean, we’re just two friends practicing. It’s not like when Lucas tried to kill me. But Dannika is watching us, and she looks worried. I send her a questioning glance.

  She mouths something to me, and then gives me an X symbol with her hands.

  What? I mouth back.

  No! is all I can make out. I shake my head to indicate I don’t understand, but then shrug and turn back to Caleb.

  We lob some fireballs at each other, which we both easily dodge. Then Caleb brings out his fire lance. From what I have
read and observed, a lance is something reserved for certain Fae. It means he’s part of an elite guard that only certain royal Fae can be a part of. I think it’s mostly ceremonial, but he is quite skilled with it.

  He swings the lance over his head and then around his back. He gets into a fighting stance. I haven’t chosen a fighting style or skill yet. I am still behind in that area, mostly relying on the strength of my fireballs and my flame shield for defense.

  I prepare for his attack, planning to use a technique similar to when Lucas attacked me. Deflect with my shield before using my fire and mundane fighting skills to take him down. Out of the corner of my eye, it’s obvious Dannika’s still trying to get my attention. I ignore her at first, trying to focus on my opponent. He comes at me. Over his shoulder, there’s a message written by Dannika.

  She’d used her flames to spell out—He’s a prince!

  Suddenly, it dawns on me what she’s trying to get across. I can’t hurt him. When I bring my suddenly wary gaze back to him, he’s already lunging, but it’s too late for me to respond. His lance lands its mark, knocking me to the ground.

  I hit hard, my breath going out of me and my vision going black.

  “Imogen,” Caleb calls. “Are you all right?”

  Opening my eyes, I gasp for air and nod.

  “I’m fine,” I finally sputter.

  He pulls on my arms, helping me to my feet. Dannika runs up to me, taking my arm. Coach Volcanis also walks over, but he doesn’t say anything.

  “I’m really sorry,” Caleb says. “I thought you were going to block me.”

  “I…” I glance at Dannika, who shakes her head and darts a glance at Volcanis. “I did,” I finally say. “You totally broke through my shield.”

  “Oh,” he says. “Well, yay me, I guess. I just didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “It’s nothing,” I say. “I think I’m still hungover. I totally could have beat you.”

  He laughs. “Sure you could,” he says. “Better luck next time.”

  I give a half-hearted chuckle, letting Dannika lead me off the field. I glance back at Volcanis as we head into the locker room. I’m sure he’s smirking.

  “What the hell was that?” I ask. “I totally forgot if I hurt a Fae royal, I could get banned from school.”

  It was something mentioned in one of my classes, but I never really gave it much thought since I didn’t plan on hurting anyone, much less a royal. I didn’t think playful sparing in class would count.

  “I know,” she says, using her magic to heal my wounds. “I didn’t worry about it when I thought you two were going to take it easy. But when I saw you gearing up for a real match, I knew you’d forgotten.”

  “That kinda sucks for Caleb,” I mutter.

  “For Caleb?” Dannika asks, her eyebrows pulling together.

  “Yeah,” I say. “I mean, surely he knows that. He’ll never know when he wins on his own merit. How is he supposed to improve?”

  Dannika shakes her head. “Don’t worry about him. After he graduates here, his court will give him real physical training in his kingdom.”

  I still feel bad for him, but also consider he acted as though he’d really won. That means he’s either pretending the situation is something other than it is…or he really thinks I can’t beat him. For some reason, that gets under my skin.

  “But there’s one thing I don’t understand still,” I say, continuing when Dannika perks her eyebrow. “Why would Volcanis put us together? Doesn’t he want to see if I’m progressing?”

  “Well, he kept putting you with Lucas, hoping you would get your ass kicked,” she says. “But you kept beating him. I guess he thought if you beat Caleb, he could use that against you.”

  I nod, realization setting in.

  “So it’s not just in my head,” I mumble, a chill lacing up my spine. “Someone definitely wants me kicked out of the school.”

  Chapter 12

  The next day, I’m standing with Ella by the tree I burned down last year in the quad. I never did tell anyone I was the person responsible, and I still feel guilty about it, especially when I see the wee folk families who live in it and are trying to rebuild. But many of the earth Fae students have taken it upon themselves to restore the tree. They use their powers to help it heal and repair itself, and to call upon the earth’s nutrients to give the tree the strength she needs. Ella is one of the students who donates her time when she can. Being a fire Fae, I can’t help, but whenever I know she is going to be working on the tree, I always go with her. I tell her it’s for moral support, but it’s really my own silent penance.

  Ella’s hands are extended. She’s using her powers to help the tree grow more leaves, so it can absorb more sunlight. I’m sitting in the grass nearby.

  “Caleb apologized?” Ella asked. “That’s great.”

  “Yeah,” I say as I pick at a blade of grass. “I thought so, too, until I had to let him win that sparring match.”

  “Oh, it’s not so bad, is it?” she asks. “My mom pretends to let my dad win arguments all the time. Sometimes you have to pick your battles to keep the peace.”

  “I guess,” I say gloomily. “I don’t mind if I have to throw a match to keep from being kicked out. I just wish he knew I let him win.”

  “Why?” she asks. She gently coaxes some leaves to life, not looking at me.

  “Because I don’t want to keep secrets from him,” I say. I’m keeping enough as it is. “We should be able to talk about anything. And besides, he takes the same classes I do. Surely he knows I wasn’t allowed to let him win. So why does he go along with it like he really won fair and square?”

  Ella drops her hands from healing the tree and turns to me, both her hands planted on one hip in a pose models make look so easy in the magazines, but in reality has to be uncomfortable. “It sounds more like your pride talking than anything else.”

  “Maybe,” I mutter. “I mean, I don’t want him to think I can’t handle myself, and I don’t want him to think I’m weak or need his protection.”

  “So tell him,” Ella says. “Communication is the foundation of any healthy relationship.”

  “But what if that hurts his pride?” I ask. “He’s a prince! He is a fancy…lancer, or whatever. I don’t want him to lose face at court if he’s beaten by a Seelie Halfling.”

  Ella sighs and rolls her eyes, then turns back to working on the tree. “I’m glad I’m not seeing anyone. Dating is too complicated.”

  I lay back on the grass and cover my eyes with my arm. “Tell me about it.”

  “Tell you about what?”

  This time, it’s not Ella speaking. I uncover my eyes to see Erick standing over me.

  “Oh…uh, nothing.” Jumping up, I hastily brush the leaves and grass from my butt.

  “She was just telling me about having to throw that sparring match with Caleb yesterday,” Ella said.

  Erick nods. “Yeah, I saw. What about it?”

  “She is debating if she should tell Caleb she threw the fight or let him think he won fair and square,” Ella went on.

  Erick crosses his arms. “Why wouldn’t you tell him the truth?”

  I really don’t want to involve him in this. We haven’t talked since that night in the club when he got a little too close, and I didn’t push him away. Obviously, my friendship—or whatever it is—with Erick is causing tension with Caleb. I don’t need to be getting closer to Erick and making it worse.

  “It’s just complicated, okay?” I say, trying to shut the conversation down. “What are you doing here anyway?”

  “I just came to check on Ella. See how she’s holding up.” He turns to her. “How are you?”

  “Great,” she says. “Hopefully in a few more weeks, the tree will be big enough for the rest of the wee folk to move back home. It will never be the same, though.”

  My heart sinks. I wish there were more I could do to help bring back the tree and the families who lived in it.

  Suddenly, I notice
Caleb walking toward us. I glance back and see Erick is still with Ella.

  Shit! I curse. I don’t want to deal with this.

  “Hey, Imogen,” he says with a big smile. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing,” I say. “Just hanging out with Ella and the big tree here.”

  He glances over my shoulder, the smile sliding from his face. Obviously, he sees Erick standing there, too. “With Ella…”

  “I wasn’t talking to him,” I whisper. “He’s friends with Ella, you know?”

  Caleb grunts. “Yeah, I know. Anyway, where have you been? I haven’t seen you since class yesterday.”

  I shrug, then sit back down on the grass, legs tucked up and resting my forearms on my knees. “I’ve just been hanging out. Not doing much.”

  “Did you want to hang out later?” he asks. “We can go out to Ember Lake and…talk.”

  There’s a fluttering in my tummy, but I can’t ignore I’m still annoyed by what happened in class yesterday. “I don’t know,” I say. “I think I have plans with Dannika. I’ll need to check…”

  “Um, sure,” he says, looking around. “What about tomorrow?”

  “Well, I’m really behind in Fae History.” I pick at the grass beneath my fingers, then quickly stop, remembering it’s kind of insulting to the earth Fae around. “I should study…”

  “Mmm,” he says, pressing his lips together. “Are you mad at me or something?”

  “No,” I lie, not making eye contact.

  “Then what’s wrong?” When I don’t respond, he sits next to me. “I apologized. I thought we were okay.”

  “It’s not you,” I say. “I’m just…really frustrated…”

  “With what?” he asks, planting his hand on the ground behind me and leaning in. “I can help you.”

  “I really don’t think you can,” I hedge.

  “Then what is it?” He puts his other hand under my chin, then uses a hooked finger to turn my face toward him. “Are you mad because you lost the fight yesterday?”

  I don’t answer, just purse my lips.

  He laughs. “Oh, come on, Imogen. It happens! Sometimes you win, sometimes I win. Yesterday just wasn’t your day. I’m sure you’ll do better next time.”