The tree burns fiercely, flinging wild sparks into the air. The flames are relentless, and even though the branches of the surrounding trees are heavy with snow, it’s only a matter of time before the fire spreads.
I try to smother the magic flames like I did at the frat, but it’s not working. Panic sears up my throat like bile.
A wave of heat slams into me as the inferno surges higher.
I stumble back, but I’m clumsy in the snow, and I topple backward.
Suddenly, Becks steps in front of me. He lifts his hands and the wind begins to swirl, forming a funnel around the burning evergreen. My heart lodges in my throat as the flames inside flare even brighter, but the fire can no longer reach the surrounding trees.
He extends one hand to the side and another gust whips through the clearing, scooping piles of snow into the air.
In one fluid motion, he releases the funnel and sends the snow cascading over the burning tree. Steam hisses upward as the snow melts and evaporates in the heat. He keeps at it, wave after wave, until the flames finally weaken and die out.
I lumber to my feet, breathless.
“What was that you said about my magic being like an atrophied muscle?” I ask, staring at the charred remains of the tree.
Becks huffs a laugh. “Yeah, scratch that. More like champagne in a bottle, ready to explode.”
Seventeen
BECKS
The next several days pass faster than I expect. Haven and I fall into an easy rhythm. I wake up early and work out and then patrol the surrounding area before making breakfast.
I quickly learn the smell of frying bacon is the most surefire way to get Haven out of bed. She usually comes downstairs looking half-asleep, her hair going every which way. One morning she appeared with her shirt on backward and didn’t do more than grunt a few words until she was halfway done with her food.
Locklyn was never a morning person either, but Haven takes it to a new level that I find bafflingly cute.
After breakfast, we work on her magic. She hasn’t been able to bring it out since the first day, but I suspect it’s because she’s scared and holding back. I try not to push her. I saw for myself how explosive her magic is, but if she can harness it, she’ll be a force like no one has ever seen.
I wish her parents had found a way to get her trained sooner. I try not to hold it against them, knowing they only did what they thought was best to protect their daughter.
Lunch usually consists of watching Haven eat the most processed foods on the planet. How someone can put that amount of dehydrated cheese product into their body day after day is beyond me.
To pass the time, we play board games. We’re both insanely competitive, each of us dominating our own favorites. Sometimes we take short walks in the woods when the weather’s decent, or sit by the fire talking about everything and nothing.
It’s strange how fast the silence between us stopped feeling awkward.
Time with Haven just feels easy. No effort, no tension.
At first, I couldn’t help comparing her to Locklyn, but the more time we spend together, the less I see Locklyn at all. The differences are obvious now—the way she moves, talks, laughs. The more I get to know Haven, the more it’s unfair to keep measuring them against each other.
Haven has this goofy side Locklyn doesn’t, but not the same self-control. I’ve managed to drag her into physical training a few times. She knows the basics, but the workout doesn’t light her up like it does Locklyn.
She’s loyal, though. That trait’s the same.
But Haven’s softer.
Not fragile, just open in a way her sister isn’t. She spent her life bouncing around, always having to start over and never staying long enough to make deep friendships. You’d think that kind of instability would make someone guarded, but it hasn’t.
Where Locklyn built walls to survive, Haven opens doors.
Everything about Haven catches my attention. The harder I try to remain distant, the more I want to take in every detail, until I know her completely.
Haven’s in one of her quiet moods this morning as she eats her eggs, but I don’t mind. She’s not angry, just thinking, her gaze unseeing as she stares straight ahead. I remain quiet as I eat beside her, waiting until she’s ready to talk, which she is a few minutes later.
“Maybe we should stop trying to pull out my magic.”
