When he reaches for me again, I’m ready. I duck under his arm and land a quick jab to his gut. He gasps for air as I shoot toward the exit.
I’m about to enter the smoke cloud in front of the door when Carter gets a handful of my cloak and yanks. I stumble back, the clasp around my neck choking me.
Surprisingly strong arms band around me from behind, then Carter’s hot breath fans across my cheek.
“That was dirty,” he growls, a drop of his spit hitting my cheek. “We weren’t finished yet.”
A wave of revulsion hits me the same time panic lights me up inside.
I know how to get out of his hold. I’ve been taking self-defense and kickboxing since I was old enough to walk. I just need to drop my weight at the same time I deliver a backward elbow strike to his gut to loosen his hold enough to escape. I’ve done it a million times in class, but I’ve never had to actually use it in the real world.
I start the maneuver to break free, and it works just like it’s supposed to, but the moment I’m free a scream pierces the air.
The jack-o’-lanterns lining the walls erupt at once, bursting into violent purple and magenta flames that crackle and spit like living things. Sparks rain from their jagged mouths. The carved grins twist as the fire swallows them whole.
I freeze, knowing that without meaning to my magic has ignited the pumpkins.
True terror hits me as I watch my worst fear come to life.
I’ve used my magic in public.
A purple spark from one of the flaming pumpkins hits a girl and her hair lights on fire. The guy next to her immediately grabs a blanket and smothers it, but I don’t have time to be relieved. Pandemonium breaks loose. Partygoers start screaming and running for the exit, pushing and shoving each other to escape the blaze.
I should be too, but how can I flee when I’m the one who started the fire?
Someone runs straight into me and we both hit the floor. The wind gets knocked out of me and I lie stunned on the ground. The burly blond who slammed into me scrambles to his feet and, in his rush to flee, steps on my thigh.
Pain radiates through my leg as I struggle to my feet.
There’s only one exit to the room and it bottlenecks quickly. I don’t know what’s happened to Carter, and I certainly don’t care. If anyone is going to get hurt in this room, I want it to be him, but he was probably the first one out the door.
The slimeball.
The purple and magenta flames have spread to the thick curtains on either side of the floor-to-ceiling window and are licking their way up. A couple guys try to put it out, but their attempts are fanning the fire, helping it spread rather than smothering it.
My self-preservation wars with the need to do the right thing.
I almost turn around and flee with everyone else, but the house is packed. If the fire isn’t contained, people aren’t just going to get hurt, they’re going to die.
Pulling up the hood of my cloak, I peek around to make sure no one is looking.
Everyone is trying to escape the flames. A few brave ones are attempting to put them out. The important part is that no one is paying attention to me.
Smoke from the fire is mixing with the fog machine, making it difficult to see and hard to breathe. Panic claws at my throat, but I shove it down.
Those purple and magenta flames are magical, which means they’ll obey me?—
at least in theory—but only if I can get myself centered.
In an effort to protect me, my parents didn’t let me train with my magic. They feared it would draw the wrong kind of attention. Now I’m at a disadvantage, because when I do lose control, it’s that much harder to rein it in.
I squeeze my eyes shut, desperate to block it all out—the shrieks of panicked partygoers, the acrid smoke burning my lungs, the hungry crackle of fire devouring everything in its path. I reach for that buried part of me I keep locked away, hidden from the world and even from myself.
The moment I reach for it, it surges toward me, like it’s been dying for me to call it forth.
A new round of fearful shouts fills the air, and even with my eyes closed I know the flames have flared, swelling all at once in reaction to my magic bursting to the surface.
Exactly the opposite of what I want.
