Page 80 of Blood of the Sands

“How about fire?”

Her eyes widened.

“Being able to light a fire with nothing more than your hands is a good skill for survival,” I pointed out.

Keera chewed her lip. “You’ve seen what happens when I lose control. I’m not sure fire is the best idea.”

And all of a sudden, the warrior that came with me a snarl on her face wore the face of vulnerability I recognized all too well.

“That’s why you have me to help. I’m as powerful as you, and I can reign it in if things go awry.” It was potentially an exaggeration. From what I had seen, Keera was the only person I had met whose power was my equal. My own magic might not be able to negate hers, but I had pulled her back to herself once before. The more accustomed I became to her magic, the ebb and flow working into my mind with each hour we spent together, the more convinced I was I could lead her back to the center of her power once more.

“We’ll start with just controlling the fire, not lighting it.”

We combed the area for dry brush to fuel the fire, arranging it into a small pile that wouldn’t burn too intensely but would give Keera enough to work with.

“I’m going to light the fire. See if you can feel my magic as I do it, so you’ll be able to emulate it yourself later,” I instructed.

I held my hand over the fuel, reaching into the knot of threads at the base of my skull, preparing to pull one loose and unleash a lick of power to initiate the flames. As I did, a flow, like a trickle of water, poured over my mind as Keera reached out hesitantly. At the cool touch, caressing a part of me that most people couldn’t even see, I shuddered.

Lord Alasdar, with his gift for sensing magic and touching others’ minds, reached into my power often, but it didn’t feel like this. Where his touch was clinical, running hard fingers over the knots of power in my mind, Keera was curious, testing them with a flow of magic that held hidden depths.

I ignored her, pulling on a string and letting fire flare to life under my palm. The brush caught instantly, building to a small but merry crackle.

“Now, see if you can push and pull the fire a little,” I instructed.

Keera reached out a hand, and I didn’t miss the way it trembled. I clenched my fists. Fear of oneself was something I understood all too well.

I opened my mouth, ready to tell her to bite her tongue to ground her if she needed to, but the words stuck in my throat. There was another way to ground her that I knew would work for her from experience.

“Here,” I laid a still-gloved hand on her outstretched forearm. She jumped but didn’t pull away. Even through her sleeve and my leather gloves I could feel her warmth. My head felt light at the contact—a being that wasn’t my horse not recoiling from my touch—but I pulled my attention back to the rushing current of power that Keera’s skin failed to contain completely.

“Pull the fire to you.”

Taking a deep breath, Keera did as I asked. A gasp escaped her as a tendril pulled toward her fingertips, like a snake charmed by a melody.

“This is easier than rocks,” she murmured.

“It’s because fire is almost alive, just like the desert,” I explained. “See if you can shape it into a ball.”

Keera turned her palm upwards, twisting her forearm under my touch. Eagerly, the fire jumped toward her waiting hand, the tendril starting to curl up into an orb. I chanced a glance at Keera’s face. Her brow furrowed in concentration, and a hint of pink tongue poked between her lips. Warmth swept through my traitorous body—probably from the fire—and I turned my attention back to her handful of flames.

A perfect ball of fire now hovered a few inches above her fingers.

“Good. Now, see if you can make it ebb and flow with your breath.”

She took a deep breath in, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it. The flame didn’t respond. She shook her head, and a few tendrils of hair brushed against my shoulder. I hadn’t realized I had moved so close, my body nearly encircling hers, although our only point of contact was still my hand on her arm.

“It’s not working.”

“You only tried once,” I pointed out, nearly smiling at her desire to master this right away. Still, I sent a tendril of my power to brush against hers. “Try again, and I’ll help.”

Keera took another breath, ribs expanding to nearly brush my own chest. I breathed with her, letting my mind meld into her power. Tracing up the stream of her essence, I encountered the problem nearly immediately. A dam held the majority of the limitless well of her magic back, keeping it from fueling the fire she held further.

Matching my breathing to her own, I prodded at it gently, trying to allow her to let more of her power through. I realized my mistake immediately.

Keera shuddered, and her even breaths cut off in a sharp gasp. Instead of widening the gap, her magic flowed through, and the entire dam fractured under the light pressure of my touch. Unthinking, I threw my body on top of Keera, throwing both hands out toward the sudden tower of flames where our small campfire had just been. My shield of power flew up just in time to protect us from the worst of the explosion, a roar of flames rushing over us without touching us.

It died out just as quickly as it had come, and I opened my eyes to find Keera staring up at me with wide eyes. I laid over her, every inch of my body pressed against hers as I had shielded us from the flame. My mind stuttered, and I felt clearly how she was no longer the skin and bones creature I had thrown over the back of my horse, despite the layers of fabric between us. This time, I knew the heat that washed through me was not just from the fire.