Page 4 of Of Bone and Ash

I shrug my shoulders as I study him. I don't know him, and have never seen him before, but I’m not feeling anything threatening coming from him. Oddly enough, it feels almost safe with him here. The boy keeps staring at me, making me feel weird, so I turn and grab my marker. I still have half the coloring page left to fill in, and I want it done before lunch.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” the boy says after a long pause. I smile at him, grab a paper and write my name, then hold it out for him. “Serafina,” he says softly and smiles. “Is that your name?” I nod, and he grins, gesturing for the marker. I watch as he scribbles out a word that I have a hard time reading. After a few attempts, I mouth Ryland at him, and he nods. “Yep. You can call me Ry if you want to,” he mutters, snapping the lid back on the marker and leaning back on his hands, happy to stay there watching as I color.

“Fina?” I hear my Uncle Zane call just as he walks into my room and freezes, his eyes moving from Ry to me. “Are you two good in here? I didn’t hear you wake up, bud,” he says, walking over to Ryland and ruffling his black hair with one of his enormous hands.

A deep rumble comes from my uncle’s chest, the sound soothing as he stares down at us. My uncle is a Dragon Shifter and has always been one of my favorite people. He gives the best hugs, and if I’m really good, he’ll bake cookies. I hear a smaller sound come from Ry and my eyes widen as I watch the two, realizing why Ry is such a big kid.

He’s a Dragon Shifter.

“I woke up and was going to head downstairs but heard someone in the room next to mine and…” Ryland trails off, his shoulders tensing, as the air twists around him with something I don’t like. His once-happy eyes are suddenly cold, and I frown, watching him closely. He looks scared. I clench my hands together when the darkness shifts in my chest, then hold my breath in surprise when Ryland’s dark brown eyes dart to mine, eyebrows rising as he studies me closely. Uncle Zane nods and smiles.

“You can explore all you want, little man. I was going to introduce Fina to you, but it looks like she beat me to it.” He gestures at the paper with our names on it, sitting next to us. “But lunch is just about done. You kids can head downstairs in a few minutes, and it should be ready as long as Remington hasn't burned the sandwiches,” he grumbles under his breath.

Just as he says the words, something loud crashes downstairs, making my heart freeze and my breath hitch as I jump up from my chair in fright. “Shit! You guys come down soon. Hopefully, the food will be ready!” Zane growls, standing and running from the room, muttering something about the Wolf Shifter ruining his kitchen.

I take a deep breath, swallowing the lump in my throat as I try to calm the darkness itching to be set free. After a moment, I look up, realizing Ryland is also on his feet, his nails no longer human-looking. Instead, they are sharp claws that gleam in the sunlight streaming through the window. I reach out, fascinated, wanting to run my fingers over the sharp tips, then stop myself when I realize Ryland's shoulders are heaving, his breaths coming in rapid succession. He’s standing protectively in front of me, legs spread wide, hands loose at his side, his back ramrod straight.

I take a tentative step forward, drawn to the blue magic that flickers around his claws. He’s not looking at me even though I see his head tilt my way, no doubt listening to my steps. There is something about him, something sad, that makes me want to wrap my arms around him and give him a hug. Slowly, I step to his side and tentatively reach out a hand, twining my much smaller fingers with his and squeezing. Ryland grunts, and I hear his sharp exhale as his shoulders relax a little.

My hand tingles where it touches his, the blue magic wrapping around each finger, making me smile as the darkness inside me grows, excited to come out and play. Whatever this magic is, it's similar to mine, and I suddenly don’t feel so alone anymore. After a long, stretched-out moment, Ryland suddenly looks down at our clasped hands and gasps, yanking his hand from mine, panic clear in his dark eyes.

“Shit! Let me see your hand. Zane’s going to kill me,” he mutters, nostrils flared, smoke billowing from them as he reaches for me with claw-tipped hands. He curses again, words that I would get in trouble for saying when he sees his claws and quickly shifts them back into normal looking fingers. “Did I scratch you? Did my magic…” he trails off, his big, warm hand grabbing mine and bringing it between us.

I watch on in surprise. Why is he freaking out?

“You… You're not hurt?” he asks, more to himself than me. I shake my head and smile at him as he frowns, twisting my hand each way to make sure. “How?” he questions, the strain in his voice hurting something in my chest. So I do something I haven't been brave enough to do since that night and slowly release the darkness inside, letting it leak from my fingers. I watch as Ryland's mouth drops open in shock, his eyes taking in the black wisps of magic I haven't had the guts to look at myself until now. In the light of day, I notice the dark, almost oily blue color waving in the depths of the darkness.

It's terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

A hiss of anger jerks me out of my trance, my eyes darting back to him just as his hands move to clasp my shoulders. “You were born with this magic?” he asks, and I frown, looking up at his angry face. “Were you?” he asks, voice softening a little as his hand trembles. I slowly shake my head, and a look of devastation crosses his face as he nods. “Me neither,” he whispers, as he nods and slowly lets my shoulders go, standing to his full height.

Fear suddenly takes over as I realize I just showed him my secret! What if he tells Uncle Zane, or worse, Gabe and Attie? I step back, my heart thumping in my chest as I wring my hands together.

“What's wrong?” Ry asks, looking at me and then at my hands, eyes flashing gold as he quickly looks around the room, searching for any threats. It makes me feel better to know I’m not the only one who does that. I look at the door and then back at my hands, trying to call every speck of darkness back inside, gritting my teeth with the effort it takes. “Are you okay?” Ry asks, stepping forward. I shake my head and look at the door again, then his hands, then mine.

Crap, I need some paper.

“Is someone here hurting you?” he asks with a growl in his voice, and my eyes widen. Does he think we are in danger here? Quickly, I shake my head and mouth NO as I finally shove the last of the black magic down. I can’t do that again. I need to make sure that it never comes out. As long as I keep it a secret, my family will never have to know how big of a monster I truly am.

Ry frowns and then looks at my hands, watching me as I slowly relax. “Lunchtime!” Atlas calls from downstairs. I startle and Ry’s eyes fill with understanding.

“They don't know?” he asks, and I bite my lip, guilt slamming into me as I nod. “Oh,” he whispers, looking at the door and then back at me. “Okay. I won't tell them,” he says, then offers me his hand. I take it without a second thought and smile when he grins and shrugs his shoulders. “It’ll be a secret between friends,” he promises, and my eyes widen.

A friend? I've always wanted one of those!

I smile and nod, my heart slowing as I calm down.

“Let's go get some food. I’m starving,” Ryland murmurs, moving toward the door with long strides and dragging me along with him. I rush to keep up with him, but my legs are too small, and I trip and fall forward. Ryland growls, his hand tightening on mine, keeping me upright. “Don't worry,” he says, the smallest smile lighting up his face, taking away some of the sadness I saw there earlier. “I’ll keep you safe.”

ONE

Ryland

(Thirteen Years Later)

“Report!” I snarl as I walk through the dark blue cloud of magic and deep into the forest. I storm through the twisted trees toward the small group of men in front of me, gathering my long black hair and tying it at the top of my head, needing it out of my eyes to take in everything.

The golden glow of the remaining sunlight slowly darkens in the sky, lengthening the shadows of the warped trees and casting the already haunted forest with an eerie feeling that sets my teeth on edge. We have twenty minutes tops before we need to retreat onto the school grounds. The creaking of the twisted limbs over head doesn't help my racing heart as I stalk toward my team, immediately doing a headcount, ensuring each and every one of my men is accounted for.

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