Ozzie and Jasper sounded Malovian through and through. They’d grown up here. Arthur and Vara took Jasper’s side, and Arthur pointed at me.
“Emma, you’re with Ozzie and Finlay,” he said. “The rules of the game are just like volleyball, with a little fae magic. You’ll figure it out as you go.”
Finlay wiggled his eyebrows at me and gave a devilish smile. Butterflies zoomed in my gut, and I forced my gaze forward. Okay, so I was on a team with the guy who’d look cute as all hell in a kilt. I hoped I could keep my eyes on the ball.
Arthur tossed the ball of light into the air, and hit it. It soared directly to me. I brought my arm back to return it, but unexpectedly, the ball whizzed to the side. My jaw dropped open as the ball flew in front of Finlay, and he hit it back.
Finlay let out a deep laugh. “You can use your magic to manipulate the ball,” he said. “That’s what makes it fun.”
A smile spread across my face. “You thought it’d be funny to steal the ball away from me?”
“I thought it’d be funny to see your reaction,” he teased. He nudged my side, and a small jolt went through me at his touch.
Arthur hit the ball back with his telepathy powers. Ozzie scrambled to get it, but he wasn’t very good at sports, apparently, because he tripped again and let it drop. The other side cheered, a point scored for them.
“Okay, let’s show them what we’re made of.” I wiped my hands on my shorts and conjured a blue ball of light. I used it to hit the ball with all my might, where it sailed to the other side. Vara manipulated the ball with her magic so Arthur could hit it back, but the spike was weak, and the ball slammed against the net and rebounded. Ozzie, Finlay and I cheered.
“Good one, Emma!” Finlay gave me a high-five. When our hands connected, my skin tingled again. Finlay smacked the ball back as Arthur served another spike, and I’d be lying if I said the way his muscles bulged out of his shirt when he struck the ball didn’t turn me on.
A feeling of guilt overcame me at the sensation, but I forced the feeling away. I could look at other guys now. Hell, I could flirt with them. I was mated to Ethan, but we weren’t together anymore. It wasn’t betraying him to be interested in another guy, for crying out loud. We’d been broken up for months, and I was just as devastated as I’d been the day we’d split up.
I was sick of it. I didn’t want to feel like this any longer. If the only way to get over Ethan was to hook up with another guy, then I was looking at the menu.
Jasper was hitting the ball with his battle magic, while Ozzie bounced the ball off his shield. Their magic seemed equal, so neither one of them were able to overpower the other to make a magical spike. I stole the ball from both of them with my magic— their mouths gaped open as I yanked the ball in front of me and hit it back, jumping over the net and performing a strike that Vara and Arthur couldn’t save.
Everyone erupted into astounded cheers. “That was incredible!” Finlay boomed. “I knew you had it in you. It’s the fiery red hair.”
“Then why isn’t Arthur pulling his weight?” Jasper cracked.
Arthur sent him the finger. Arthur wasn’t very good at sports, either, but he seemed to enjoy playing them. He nearly got the ball to the face during the last play. He’d fallen backward, and Vara had to catch him with a laugh.
Vara gave a knowing smile. “She certainly knows how to win.”
Arthur frowned. “Damn. We should’ve put Emma on our team.”
“Hey, we have Ozzie. He’s practically a handicap,” Finlay joked.
Ozzie scrunched up his face. “That’s not very nice.”
“I’m joking, kiddo. I’ll put you on my shoulders next time, so you can reach the ball,” Finlay replied.
My lips twitched, and Arthur and Vara doubled over laughing. But Jasper frowned and said, “Lighten up, Fin. Don’t be such an ass.”
But Ozzie let out a little giggle. “It’s fine, Jas. Let’s play.”
We played a few more rounds, but with Finlay and I on the same team, we eventually got far ahead of the other team. I took pity on poor Ozzie and let him score the final point. When he got the ball past Jasper (who I was sure let him have it) he cheered dramatically and threw his arms over the top of his head, dancing around like he won the freaking Super Bowl.
Jasper ran around the net. He wrapped his arms around Ozzie and spun him around. They fell in a heap to the grass, laughing hysterically.
“You two are so darling.” Vara stood above them, her hands on her hips as she beamed down.
Ozzie gave the cutest smile and said, “You think I’m darling? I’ve always wanted to bedarling.”
“You’re a lot more than that.” Jasper got up and helped Ozzie to his feet. They kept their hands grasped, for a few moments longer than I expected. When they noticed me watching, Jasper quickly dropped his hold on Ozzie and stepped away.
“You play a mean game of fae ball,” Finlay said to me. “What exactly is it that you do?”
“Figure skating,” I replied. “I’ll be in the Malovian Figure Skating Championships this fall in the Ladies Free Skate.”
