Confined (A Tethered Novel, Book 3) (18 page)

“So this is where I come into play, right?” Kyra asked, her
eyes narrowing at Theo.

“Exactly,” he muttered.

“And how do you think your mother or Grandma Twila will like
that?” Kyra asked.

“Who says they have to know?” I asked. I’d been getting
crafty at keeping secrets lately, why stop now?

Kyra raised an eyebrow at me. “Ha, nothing gets by them. I’m
surprised you haven’t figured that out by now.”

“Well, everything happens for a reason too,” Theo started.
“Do you honestly believe you being here and being the only one in town who can
teach her to tame it quickly is a coincidence?”

I watched Kyra as she took in a deep breath and then let it
out slowly. He had a point and she knew it.

“You’re right, dear cousin.” A wicked smile twisted her
plump lips, and her eyes shifted to bore into me. “When should we begin?”

“Now.” I didn’t hesitate when I answered.

There was no way I was walking around like a freaking
ticking time bomb or a ready-to-erupt-any-minute volcano. The sooner I learned
how to control this heightened magick of mine, the better.

Kyra remained where she sat, staring at me. Her eyes
narrowed, and she brought a finger up to her ruby red lips as though she were
lost in thought. While I waited for her to speak, I took in her beauty as a
whole. I’d been right about her being close to my age. She had cocoa-colored
skin that appeared to be flawless and smooth to the touch. Long dark lashes
framed her caramel eyes, and her hair—an ebony color—was pulled back into a
sleek, high bun at the crown of her head.

I knew nothing about the element of Fire, but I did know
this: Fire suited her in every embodiment of the element. Kyra was fierce,
sexy, and fascinating. I wondered for a moment about those qualities and
whether I possessed any of them.

“First we need to discuss what being a Fire Elemental
means—the things associated with our element and some characteristics of our
personalities,” she said as she stood, glaring at me. “This is going to be a
crash course of Fire Elemental 101 for you. I hope you’re ready.”

I met her stare. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

She chuckled. “No, not really.”

Theo walked between us and sat in the seat Kyra had been
reading in. The idea that he was staying created mixed emotions within me. On
one hand, I was glad he wasn’t going to be leaving me alone with her, because I
wasn’t sure if I could trust her yet. She had this mysterious air about her. On
the other hand, I didn’t want Theo to see me making a fool of myself.

His presence was welcomed, but at the same time, it made me
nervous.

“What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of
fire?” Kyra asked, gaining my full attention once more.

I thought for a moment before I spoke. “Light and
colors…red, yellow, orange,” I said, feeling incredibly stupid speaking so
honestly. After all, shouldn’t the first thing to come to mind when I thought
about fire be heat?

“You associate it with colors and light…interesting,” she
said. “For me it’s passion, sexuality, and strength.”

My cheeks grew hot again as I thought of how perfect her
answer seemed. I only wished I’d thought of it first, but instead, I’d been an
idiot and named colors.

“Those all seem fitting,” I said. “Courage and intelligence
could be tossed in there too, I think.”

Her twisted smile turned into a mere smirk, and she placed
her hands on her hips. “How do you handle anger?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, not following the flow of this
conversation at all.

“Are you quick-tempered or do you hold things in?”

“I tend to hold things in, but only for so long…then I’ll
explode.”

“Figures,” she said, like she’d had me pegged all along.
“You’re the simmer and stew until you boil over type. I’m more impulsive and
quick-tempered.”

I took in a deep breath and then released it slowly. “Sounds
like we’re at opposite ends of the Fire element, then.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Which doesn’t matter, I can still help you. Fire is Fire,”
she said with a wave of her hand. “I just wanted to find the core of you.”

“The core of me?”

“What makes your Fire element tick.” She cocked her hip to
the side. “Next we’ll attempt to figure out what special talent you have. Mine
is to compel others to pay attention to me. I fascinate them, which can, more
often than not, lead to obsession, but everything has its drawbacks, right?”

That
was why she seemed so captivating. It was her
talent.

“What do you think mine is?” I asked, anxious to know. “Is
it spontaneously combusting, because that’s what I’m pretty sure I nearly did
in Theo living room?”

“All of us can do that, just like every Air mixed breed can
move objects with wind. As for your true talent, I’m sure it’s somewhere along
the softer side of the Fire element. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably
a healer.”

The first thing I focused on was that she’d used the words
“mixed breed.” Was that what I was now—a mixed breed? Then my thoughts shifted.
I had never thought of fire as having a
softer side
, but I’d also never
thought of myself as having a hidden talent along the lines of a special power.
What was this, the freaking X-Men?

“A healer?” I asked with sarcasm. “Fire is destructive; it
doesn’t heal.”

“No, Kyra’s right,” Theo chimed in. “Fire burns, but after
something burns, generally something new is born from its ashes. Think of a
forest fire. Afterward, there’s new growth; it doesn’t stay charred forever.”

“This isn’t a recap of Earth Science, Theo,” Kyra muttered,
glancing over her shoulder at him. “Not to get all technical or philosophical
or whatever on you, but here’s a better way of looking at it. Fire is known in
its physical form to be destructive, but it’s also well known for warmth and
comfort, right? It’s within those last aspects that its capabilities for
renewed life and healing are possible.”

I stared at her, dumbfounded by how much I had
underestimated her. Kyra was freaking smart!

“Okay, that makes sense,” I said. “I hate to change the
subject, but what’s Theo’s talent? Is this something only Conjurers have or all
Elementals?”

Had Kace and everyone been holding out on me?

“Only mixed breeds.” Kyra answered the last part of my
question. “We’re special like that.”

I wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or if she felt
superior because of this.

“I can control a person’s breath,” Theo said, answering the
question I cared about most.

“How does that work?” I wondered aloud. That was an
interesting
talent to have.

Theo shifted his haunting eyes to me, but didn’t answer my
question. Instead, Kyra cut him off before he could even start.

“Back to Fire Elemental 101,” she said, drawing my attention
back to her. “Here’s the crash course. You need to learn to control your
element as quickly as you can. Don’t fear it, because now that it’s an open
faucet, it will consume you if you fear it, making you run the risk of being
completely destructive, even when you’re trying to help.” She paused, and her
eyes bored into me in an intense way.

How was I
not
supposed to fear this new ability? I
could burst into flames any minute and I had no idea what my special talent
might be. For all we knew, my power could be to melt things with my eyes.

I’d read one too many supernatural books and watched one too
many X-Men movies.

“All you have to do is accept it for what it is. Enjoy the
feeling of it coursing through you—beneath your skin as well as along the
surface. It’s a part of you. It’s natural to you. The fear of it is what’s
foreign and makes it go haywire.” Kyra’s voice softened and a small smile
twisted her lips. “Our magick grew with us little by little,” she said as her
eyes shifted to Theo and then back to me. “We were able to learn its
capabilities gradually as we grew older. For you though, I know it’s completely
different. You’re fully grown, therefore so is your magick, but that doesn’t
mean it has to be out of control.”

I took in another deep breath and released it slowly,
allowing the tense muscles in my neck and shoulders to relax a little as I
exhaled. “No fear. Got it.”

Easier said than done, but I was down for trying.

“Find your magick. Imagine tugging it outward from the
center of you; visualize its vibrant colors,” Kyra instructed.

I hoped this wasn’t her making fun of me for what I’d said
when she asked what came to mind when I thought of fire.

Taking in another deep breath, I stared straight ahead at
one of the twisted trees covered with Spanish moss at the edge of the yard
behind her. It wasn’t hard to latch on to a tendril of magick; due to Theo’s
close proximity, it was already running along the surface of my skin. I closed
my eyes to better envision the colors I’d mentioned earlier and prayed it would
be easy to do what she wanted.

“Once you’ve latched on, open your eyes and tell me what you
see,” Kyra said, her voice soft and hypnotic sounding.

It didn’t happen immediately, but once I forced myself to
relax, little sparks of color began to dance in my mind’s eye. As soon as I
felt like I’d gotten a good grip on a tiny warm tendril of color, I opened my
eyes.

A single smoky red wisp danced in the air before me.

“It’s the same thing I saw the Boo Hag pull from me the
night I was attacked—a smoky red vapor-like thing,” I said.

“Good, now pull another one,” Kyra insisted.

I did as I was told, marveling at how easy it was the second
time around. This wisp was a smoky yellow. I pulled another, and it was a smoky
orange. They danced before me at a mesmerizing pace in sync with my breathing.

“Do you feel the warmth in the center of your chest where
the tendrils are connected to you?” she asked.

I nodded, unable to find my voice to speak.

“Extend one arm and let the ribbons wrap themselves around
it,” she said. “Tell them with your mind.”

Holding out my right arm, I focused on the red one first,
willing it to wrap itself gently around my arm. My breath left my lungs in a
rush when it obeyed instantly and without much effort.

“Do the same with the other two,” Kyra said. I wondered if
she could see the ribbons of vapor for herself, but I was too focused to ask.
“Then I want you to attempt to center all of the ribbons in the palm of your
hand, like crumpling them up into a ball. Push them with your mind as though
you were pushing a sleeve up…but push down toward your hand.”

As I concentrated on what she was telling me to do, I
watched the ribbons slide down my arm and congregate in a small ball no bigger
than the palm of my hand.

“Amazing,” I whispered in awe, afraid to take my eyes off
it, for a fear it would disappear.

“Now I want you to concentrate on that ball. Warm it, heat
it up until it turns to pure fire,” Kyra said. “Like this.”