Page 31 of Hollowed

“Doit once more,” he encouraged, inclining his head toward me, his bright eyes fixed firmly on my own.Hewaved his hand, and the world shimmered and turned purple once more as his head disappeared and the spirit veil surrounded us again.Hisvoice became disembodied but firm. “Thistime, focus on trying to push the flames out from yourself.Targetsomething.Atree, a blade of grass—try to power your flames toward it.”

“But—”

“Youwill destroy nothing here, remember?” he said, waving one of his hands to the purple haze surrounding us. “So, pick something and try to burn it.Thegoal is to make your flames leave your body.”

Inodded, silently admonishing myself for ever thinking he would want to kiss me asIsquared my shoulders and recalled the feeling of the flames across my body.Thistime,Iused my embarrassment to fuel the flames, and even quicker than before,Ibecame the fire.Focusingon a small divot in the ground a few yards away,Iraised my hand and concentrated on pushing the flame away from my body asAlexanderhad instructed.

Surprisingly, the fire obeyed on the first try.Flickeringout from my palm in a dancing movement, the flames twirled and moved centimeters away from my body, stretching and twining asIfocused on the clump of earth.Theyextended a few more centimeters before collapsing and rushing back into my hand.

Grittingmy teeth,Iturned my thoughts back to my mother, and the flames came back to life.Theymoved from my hand once more, reaching nearly halfway to the divot this time before rushing back.

Idropped my hand, clenching my jaw asIinhaled a deep breath.IfIcould not do more than simply stand here and burn,Iwas no good to anyone.Ilet my gaze flick briefly toAlexander, who was watching with his arms crossed over his chest as he shifted his stance.Mybody curled in on itself at the thought of disappointing him.

Withrenewed vigor,Isqueezed my other hand into a fist, grinding my teeth asIfocused once more.Icould do this.Iwould not disappoint another person.

Theflames shot from my hand in a tight ball of fire, digging into the ground whereIhad aimed.Thiswas no trickle of magic, or tendril of flame.Thiswas a sphere of fire and despite whatAlexanderhad said, the ground smoldered, the grass catching alight.

Myeyes widened, and in an instant, my flames disappeared.Icould not burn down more of this land.

“Oh, my gods,”Iwhispered.

Alexanderrushed into action, grabbing the blanket to smother the flames quickly before they could spread.

“IthoughtIcould not burn anything in here,”Isaid, my heart launching into my throat.WhatifIhad aimed at something else?WhatifIhad accidentally focused my fire on him?IfIcould burn the grassinside this spirit veil, was it safe to be practicing here?

Hewaved a hand and the purple haze dropped, revealing the bright day once more.Helooked up, kneeling beside the scorched patch of earth. “Youshould not have been able to.”

Iswallowed hard, fighting to keep upright and not collapse to my knees. “WhatdoIdo now?”

“Fornow, let’s go back inside.Ineed to look at some books,” he said, standing with the blanket.Heheld it out to me, but then immediately pulled it back with a grimace. “Let’sfind you something to wear first.”

Iblushed as his eyes roamed over my body for the first time.Icould have swornIsaw a hint of appreciation.Hecleared his throat and held his arm out toward the house. “Afteryou.”

Walkingback to the house,IknewIhad not imagined the feeling of his eyes on my back.

Fourteen

Dressedonce again,Isat down at the kitchen table, looking up atAlexander, who stood by the bookshelf, his fingers trailing across the spines.Itracked every movement, entranced by how the books seemed to rush toward him on the shelf, welcoming his touch.Myleg was bouncing uncontrollably beneath the table, andIwiped my sweaty palms on my new black cotton dress asIforced my attention away from his hand. “Whatare you looking for?”

“Bookson elemental magic or even journals from other magic users that might contain anything we can use.”Hetapped the spines of several books and they floated from the shelves, stacking themselves neatly on the table beside me.Hepaused, his hand outstretched for another book as he looked over at me. “Areyou all right?”

“Icould have hurt you,”Isaid, somehow managing to keep his gaze despite the flush creeping up my chest and the tears burning in the back of my throat.

Thelast book he’d been looking at left the shelf, joining the others on the table with a thud.Heturned his back to the books still waiting on the shelf and sat down.Hemet my gaze and raised both eyebrows. “Youcould not have hurt me,Katrina.”

“Youalso saidIcould not harm anything within the veil you cast,”Ipointed out, twisting my fingers.

“Youshould not have been able to.”Despitehis kindness, the look on his face reminded meIwas still dealing with theDullahan, the legendary protector ofSleepyHollow.

“WhydidI?”

“Iam not sure.Thatis whyIneed to search through these,” he said, nodding down at the stack of books. “Butfirst,Iwant to ask you more about the town.”

“Youtruly thinkIcan stop the sluagh from being summoned?ThatIcan protect the town from being destroyed?”Iasked, tilting my head to read the titles on the spines of the books.Mostwere in languagesIvaguely recognized but couldn’t understand.Ilooked back up at him, searching his face for any indication of lies in his words. “Truly?”

“Withcontinued training, yes,Ido,” he said, then raised an eyebrow. “Doyou not think you can?”

“Myemotions are all over the place,”Isaid, shaking my head.Thesluagh were supposedly deadly, andIwas far from confident in being able to even face them, let alone defeat them. “EvenifIdo manage to figure out which emotion triggers my powers the most,IdoubtIcan channel that emotion consistently.”

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