His pearly whit
es appear as he eagerly replies,
“
Then
it
’
s
true, you
’
ve lost your fire.
”
He makes a clicking sound with his tongue as if in disbelief. If I did have my fire element right about now it would be a blazing. Instead my ice energy is beginning to frost the ground at my feet. I know I just need patience
, but
this guy is getting on my last nerve.
I still keep my hand up ready and waiting. Then Zaylen says as he licks his lips.
“
I don
’
t care what they
say;
you still look lick-able to me.
”
I feel Marc
’
s fierce reaction and Zaylen
’
s exhale is frosty.
Oh, hell, it
’
s getting cold out here
.
Marc
’
s arm swings toward
our ba
i
ting host with the purpose of freezing his mouth shut. David catches his arm before it
’
s
too late and comments quietly,
“
Let it ride, for now.
”
After
a
n
intense
jaw grinding moment
, Marc relaxes just a bit
, but
his gaze never leaves Zaylen.
As quick as a wink Zaylen yells out
,
“
Verberabilissime!
”
and silver discs instantaneously shoot out. It must have been a voice command, releasing the discs. Zaylen and I both have our hands up as the small silver discs start flying through the air.
My immediate reaction brings my ice
element exploding
from me.
It radiates fiercely through
, as
my hands luster with ice and
the
crystal
daggers release flashing towards the metal discs, shattering each and every one.
Zaylen stands next to me with his hands flaming fire, the blazing
fireball
s hitting their
mark just
as fast as I. A faint
déjà
vu memory seeps into my
conscious;
we once stood together doing this very thing when I was much younger.
I gradually turn to Zaylen, studying his expression when I
’
m hit with a re
velation, I remember who he is.
“
Z?
”
he turns looking bac
k at me,
with a mischievous grin
,
“
I
’
ve been wondering how long it would take for you to remember.
”
“
Yes, the Arcane, you were what eleven, or twelve years old and I was eight at the time. I had gone on a trip with my father to the Arcane for a week during the summer, he had business to attend to, so I wandered about and that
’
s when I met you.
”
A
twinge of a
self satisfying smile blossoms at
my lips,
“
How could I have forgotten?
We found that elemental range, similar to this and that
’
s where we lived most of time, wow!
”
His mirthful laugh rains around us,
“
When I met
“
our
”
Megan here, and soon found out that you were life long friends, I just had to invite you,
it
’
s
been too long, Alyssa.
”
My relief is evident as my gaze sends a radiant smile over to Marc which allows him to unclench his freezing fists.
Zaylen leans next to the building and
points an accusing finger at me,
“
I know one thing hasn
’
t changed, and that
’
s your voracious appetite for competition.
”
“
And your
“
voracious appetite
,
”
for honing your unique skills, so
,
what have you uncovered recently with your abilities, Zaylen?
”
Megan runs her hands flippantly over his shirt,
“
Hey, I
’
m the only one here to
“
uncover
”
anything of Zaylen
’
s.
”
I give her my famous eye roll and follow with,
“
By all means Megan, you go right ahead and uncover him to you
r
hearts content.
”
Her tongue flicks slowly along his tattoo down the side of his neck,
“
Oh… I plan to and many other things.
”
“
Zaylen, sounds l
ike you have a challenge, later,
”
I muse. Noting
the erotic tension building by the second, I decide it
’s time to walk back toward
the party when suddenly Zaylen calls out,
“
I can still see auras, Alyssa.
”
That
stops me, peaking my interest
,
“
A
fter my year at the Arcane I understand the colors that surround everyone and their meanings
; yours
is still just how I remember it, you glow.
”
“
So what does it mean?
”
H
e pushes himself off the building and immediately shifts to me. Pointing at David, studying him briefly,
“
His is green, perhaps if he seeks his true abilities he will find, he is a natural healer.
”
Zaylen
’
s attention turns to Marc,
“
Welcom
e to the witch world my brother.
”
He
gives a slight bow towards him,
“
Blue is what I see of you.
You
’
re
a born
survivor;
you are one of two of your kind.
”
He pauses and studies Marc a moment more, and then flashes a smile to me.
“
And y
ou are his
lifemate
.
”
With Zaylen
’
s abilities, reading minds, seeing auras, and deciphering their meanings, plus his fire element, I am pretty impressed and now I
’
m even more anxious about attending the Arcane.
Repeating myself with an inspired enthusiasm,
“
What does my aura tell you Zaylen?
”
Our eyes meet and he intensely studies my soul.
“
Alyssa, yours is golden in color which is truly rare. There are only a handful of witches with an aura such as yours.
”
He
pauses;
never taking his
eyes away, his intensity rises as he continues to say,
“
I see blackness etched around your golden glow. Be careful when you sleep
.
”
H
is demeanor becomes more daunting.
“
The darkness lies beneath your feet.
”
I
’
m feeling the intensity of my ice wash over my body, taking a quick glance at David to see if he caught the reference to sleep, and then back to Zaylen who is deep in thought.
His d
ark hair falls over his
face;
he takes his hand and brushes it away from his sight.
“
Alyssa, there are ten thousand states of mind. Hallucinatory
…
hallucinations are real. Dreams are real and some things are more than real.
”
Megan shifts behind Zaylen grabbing him around the waist and asks sweetly,
“
What does my aura tell you, lover boy?
”
Zaylen turns himself around and tilts her chin up and smiles,
“
Yours is red my love, and that means that you are hot in many different ways, all of them ending with the physical body.
”
Marc and David hold back their laughter, with little success. Megan snaps her fingers in the air shaking her hips,
“
Hell
yeah
, the universe knows what I
’
m about and proud of it.
”
Zaylen reaches over and takes my
hand, kissing it and whispers,
“
Au revoir
.
”
He shifts
away;
all that
’
s left is a
fine fume
of smoke. Megan waves and vanishes after him.
I walk over to Marc and David wrapping my arms around them both and say,
“
Let
’
s get back to the party.
”
I shift next to the pool, about the same spot I sat at earlier. Marc and David appear next to me.
“
I
’
m going for a drink.
”
David glances at me with this
“
we need to talk
”
look before he shift
s away. I start walking toward
the house and scan the area for Lisa and Dawson.
“
Do you see Lisa and Dawson?
”
Marc
points over to
a patio and responds,
“
Over there.
”
Seeing them dancing away with about forty or so other witches looks like fun. Some are dancing on the tables while
others are spread out all over, it’s a mad mayhem of dancers.
Marc
’
s ample hands tenderly drift around my waist, pressing his body closer to mine, as I begin to relax more into
the magick of his touch. A tiny
tug inside
me
still holds a hint of hesitation about us. I don
’
t want to have any flash backs of him kissing
her
.
Peering through my dark lashes, I watch our bodies move lustfully together, his fingers travel down my back
,
and then
following
the
woven seam on my shirt his hand slides underneath. Initially
closing my eyes
,
as my heart stirs with an undeniable longing as he traces over my c
rescent mark,
I feel a
n abrupt
sensation coursing
through me as I run my hands around him eventually resting them loosely over his broad shoulders. I lay my head against his
chest
, listening to the overpowering beat of his heart.
He gently grabs the back of my hair, making me look up. Brushing his lips against mine, he waits for me to respond. Our lips touch
,
exploring the others wholly,
and I open
my eyes to find his deep gaze intimately
aware of me.
My eyes flutter shut and the forsaken anguish sails away,
and
I begin kissing him back. My hands tangle through his hair as our kiss starts to
spike every need with me
. All I want is him, as his embrace surrounds me, the untamed party, and the others dancing
in
a rave beside us ebbs
off
into the audacious night.
Stopping our kiss finds us both breathless. He traces my lips with his finger.
“
I never want to be more than a breath away from you.
”
I have missed him so much
.
“
Hey, looks
like you two kissed and made up,
”
Lisa says giggling.
“
Yeah
, I thought we were going to have to lock you two up in a room together, but it appea
rs you enjoy doing it in public,
”
Megan says slyly
.