Page 21 of First Ritual

Wild lashed his magic ahead to knock three times on a set of wood and iron double doors.

A muffled voice answered, “Enter.”

Wild stopped before the closed doors. I eyed the tension in his shoulders. They were heaving slightly.

Oh.

Was he crying? This guy was an emotional wreck.

“Are you all right, Tempest?” he asked, voice shaking. “Your cheek.”

Jeez, the guy was super shaken. Wouldn’t have called that from his initial calm, confidence at all. I touched my fingers to my cheek and trickled magic through my apothecary affinity. Zaps, like tiny lightning bolts, prickled my skin. “It’s Bronte, and my cheek is fine now. All healed. Are you okay? Does blood bring up bad memories?”

I nearly missed his hissed reply, “No, I’m not fucking okay.”

An angry crier.

I rested a hand on his back and patted a few times. “There, there.”

He stiffened at my touch, and I winced. My twin had been the natural consoler. She would’ve pulled off the words “there, there” and the patting thing, for sure.

I removed my hand. “Look, can I get anything to help? A tissue? A friend? Do you have friends?” Oops. “I mean, I saw three people at the table with you that looked like friends even though none of you were smiling. Can I find one of them to, uh, give you a hug or…?”

That was the end to my ideas. I had nothing.

Wild turned, looming over me in the confines of the tunnel. My heart skipped a beat at his expression. There wasn’t any trace of tears. He looked… furious.

I drew in a shaking breath.

The dude was total chaos.

I nearly tripped over myself putting distance between us. My back thumped against the esteemed’s door. Instead of diffusing the situation, me running away caused his gaze to snap to mine.

Was that a growl? My chest rose. “Wild… what’s going on? You need to calm down.”

He blinked a few times, and the growl cut off. “What’s going on?”

I lifted my hands, palms out in a placating gesture. “You brought me to the esteemed rooms, hopefully so someone could answer my questions about the two guys trying to kill each other just before. Remember?”

Something flickered in his gaze, and he straightened. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

This went beyond concerning. “Look, I don’t know you, but sometimes our magic takes a direction we don’t anticipate. We have a responsibility to deal with chaos, and if we can’t do that alone, we need to find help. Maybe a friend can help you figure out the imbalance and recenter?” I was a total hypocrite. In my defense, I’d never had anyone to turn to whenever chaos did hit.

I saw the uncertainty in his gaze.

I rubbed my chest as Wild lifted his hand to do the same. He frowned, watching my movement.

I paused and lowered my hand. “What is it?”

“Tempest—”

“Bronte.”

Wild growled again.

Maybe I shouldn’t argue with the chaotic magus. I sighed. “What?”

He searched my face, then peered past me to the door. “I’m sorry for scaring you earlier. That wasn’t my intention. I…”

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