Braving the Elements (Darkness #2)(12)

I’d had enough. Of all of this. My whole life I’d tried to keep half of myself from people. Tried to hide and save face. Feared to completely be myself.

Well, screw that. I was sick of it. I didn’t lose my old life to end up in the same rut!

Fire surged, feeding off the last week of fear and uncertainty.

One big tear wobbled down my face. The redheaded girl laughed and said, “Uh oh, poor baby’s going to run to her master.”

Yes, I sure was. I was going to pull this weed out by the root. Then I might come back and punch her squarely in the jaw.

I pushed the pain of defeat down; let it harden my resolve. Let’s dance, Stefan!

“Where are you going?” Charles asked as the knuckles around my dagger turned white.

“To light some fireworks.”

If I didn’t stand up for myself, then what did I have left? Nothing. I’d be useless and broken.

My sword flashed a bright gold, my wobbly emotions not applying the brakes to the flow of magic.

“Sasha,” Charles said, warning in his voice. “Crying is probably better.”

My dagger started to smoke. Charles worried that too much magic was trying to force its way in. It wasn’t. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I had complete control. But then, I was heading into danger. That had always been the recipe, had it not? I rose to the occasion when there was surviving to do.

Didn’t matter why, though; I had an agenda.

Passed reason, I turned to Charles, my blade deepening in color. I opened myself up a crack more. Smoke billowed now, the blade grinning madly as its color pushed into a deep gold.

“If I were you, I would get lost. This is probably one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done.”

“Then why are you grinning? You know I can’t, Sasha. Don’t do this,” Charles pleaded.

Before I exited the large classroom, I leveled with him. “Do you think I’m his pet, Charles? Do you think I’m here because he has a sexual interest in me?”

The large man hesitated, glancing back at the spectators.

“All rightie, then. Good chat.” I about-faced.

My blade turned a molten, burnished gold. The color of Stefan’s power. Let everyone see we were equal.

In power level, anyway.

Consulting my inner guide, also known as that nagging part of me that always strived to reach Stefan and was always aware of his presence, I turned my body toward the center of the house. The sun peeked out from behind the horizon, splattering my face and lifting my spirits. I loved the darkness, but I also craved the light. The night called to my magic, the day to my spirit.

Focusing on that part deep inside me that connected with Stefan, I brought it out and held it up, analyzing it. Analyzing him.

He worried. Something troubled him. Fear ate at the corners of his brain, distracting him.

I opened a large white door, the wood swinging on silent hinges. He had just stood up from his seat around a large table, eyes expectant, knowing I’d be walking in. Everyone else at the table followed his gaze. He held his sword in his left hand.

“Sasha, you need to calm down. Whatever’s the matter, we can discuss it.” He sounded so calm. A human lunatic with a knife wanted to poke holes in his stupid body, and he addressed me as if I asked about a petition.

“Is her dagger white?” someone whispered. Another gasped.

“Is she Trek’s creation? Is he controlling her?” a lady trilled.

He had been in the middle of a meeting. I didn’t care.

I had the knife, the power, the anger, the angst…I just needed a way to begin the duel. Somehow olé didn’t seem appropriate. Maybe I should slap him with a white glove…

“Can we speak of this in private?” Stefan tried again.

“Why, so you can pat me on the head, put me in chains, and tell everyone what a great pet I am?”

“They’ve been calling her pet all week, Boss,” Charles mumbled from the door. “Should I remove her?”

“Try it, Charles. Try to remove his majesty’s pet. See what happens.” Pain threatened to consume me, wobbling my lower lip. A single tear worked out of my eye. Not the time for vulnerability!

“This clan knows I do not take pets. I do not adhere to that practice.” Stefan stood tall, that danged connection calling me. Begging me to step forward and merge my body with his. To find the peace I sought within his arms.

I took a step back, my heart dropping an inch. My chest filled with lead, covering over that connection. Hiding it.

Stefan took a step, a strange apprehension peeking through his controlled mask. “What did you just do?”

“I’ve thought about your earlier offer for room and board. Thank you, but I decline. I think I’ll take my chances on my own.”

The door slammed behind me. Charles stood in front of it with a grim face and sorrowful eyes. He shook his head. “I can’t let you run away, Sasha. You remember what happened the last time.”

“We can’t let the enemy get hold of you.” Stefan’s voice grated. “They’re searching. You’ve nearly died by their hand twice. It’s me you have the problem with. Come with me now, we’ll speak about this.”

“So I’m a prisoner, is that it?”

“This is your home, now.”

“Living with a bunch of people who think I am a possession does not make this my home. Tell me, Stefan, how would you feel if your home consisted of a bunch of people who thought you were no better than someone’s dog? A dangerous dog, at that. A prized trophy, guarded constantly. They probably think I’m a sex slave, too. Can’t learn magic, human, no skills—I don’t belong here. I hear it all the time. I didn’t belong in my old life, either. Not with my old family, not with my old boyfriend—what does that make me, Stefan?” Pain welled up from down deep. “Unwanted. How could this possibly be a home?” Will I ever have one? Will I ever fit?