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“And so are you,” she snapped back. “Or you would be, if you damn well stopped feeling so sorry for yourself and started taking the offense.”
He glared at her. “It’s not like I’m fucking sitting back, issuing the elemental an open invitation—”
“Isn’t it?” she snapped. “Then why the hell aren’t you looking after yourself? Why aren’t you eating? You were told at the Brindle that you must keep strong both physically and mentally if you wanted to keep this thing contained.”
“I’m trying—”
“But not fucking hard enough. You have to get serious about it, Tao, or this thing will win.”
He snorted. “So you’ve seen that? Then what the hell is the point?”
“The point,” she said, jumping to her feet and clenching her fists, “is that nothing is set in stone just yet, and I don’t want you lost for eternity to flame. So, damn it, fight!”
My breath caught at the anger and desperation in her voice. Whatever she’d foreseen had been bad, and fear again stepped through me. I half reached out to her, but Tao beat me to it. He sat up abruptly, caught her hands, and tugged her into a hug that was as fierce as his expression was alarmed.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I promise, I’ll try harder.”
“You fucking better.” She returned his hug for a moment, then pulled back and punched his shoulder. “Now I’m going to prepare you the world’s biggest steak sandwich, and you will consume every fucking inch of it.”
“Promise.”
“Good.” She turned, gave me a weak smile, then headed out.
I waited until she’d left, then met Tao’s gaze. “How did the elemental get loose?”
He half shrugged. “One minute I was heading outside to cool down; the next I’m in some random field staring at you and realizing just how close I’d come to cindering my best friend.”
“But you didn’t.” I dropped down into the seat, then raised my hand. “See, not even the smallest of blisters to show for my ordeal.”
He eyed my fingers for a moment, then said, “I could hear you, you know, but I couldn’t do anything. Not until you caught my hand and drew me out.”
So I’d been right—touch was the key to breaking the elemental’s control. “I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, Tao.”
“But I did, and we both know it.” He took a deep, somewhat unsteady breath and released it slowly. “I think I’ll remember your scream for the rest of my life. And it’s because of that, more than anything, that I’ll fight this thing.” His gaze met mine. “It hates you, Ris. A witch created it to kill you, and the minute you spoke to it out there in the field, that’s all it wanted to do.”
“What it wanted was to return to the fire that created it.”
“Primarily, yes. But if it regains control again, don’t confront it. Because next time, I may not be able to stop it.”
“Then, as Ilianna so politely put it, make sure there isn’t a next time.” I rose to my feet, then leaned over and dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Get better. I have to go hunt a dark spirit.”
“Hunter’s still on your case, huh?”
“Yeah. You rest up, and maybe I’ll regale you with the whole sordid tale when I get back.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
I wouldn’t—if only because in order to tell a story about hunting a dark spirit, I’d actually have to do it. I headed out to the kitchen. The smell of frying steak filled the air, and I took a deep breath, savoring the delicious aroma. My stomach rumbled happily. “Don’t suppose you’re cooking one of those for me?”
She glanced pointedly at the two waiting plates of buttered toast. “I’m vegetarian, remember?”
I grinned as I plopped my butt on the kitchen counter. “Hey, you’re going on a date with a stallion tonight, so miracles can definitely happen.”
She snorted. “Not twice in one day, they won’t.” She studied me for a minute. “Did you sort out your shit with Azriel?”
“No, because he isn’t around.”
“He’s always around, and you know it.”
