Page 10 of Hellfire

Our sex life over the last two weeks consisted of quickies in the shower before we collapsed in bed only to get up and go back out the next day to restore the Veil. Any free time we had off at night, we spent with Blaze as a group, keeping him company while he healed from his ordeal. The bar excursion was our first outing in forever.

I wasn’t complaining. I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it saved Blaze.

“Not yet, Wildfire.” Cole’s rough voice made my nipples harden. “Eat your fill of dessert first, and then we’ll leave.”

Fine by me. I was done with magick, tools, and protective barriers. I wanted to spend as much time away from the Academy as possible and feel like I had a bit of a break.

During the first semester, we tried to come here once a week for an afternoon date with churros, dipping sauce, and hot chocolates. Our little ritual to relax after a long day of classes or work. We certainly made the most of the Academy dropping its curfew and leave restrictions. It was nice to get away from the students for a moment and just be myself.

The icy wind outside hadn’t been kind, driving more customers than usual inside, and the cafe was packed. We missed out on our usual seat in the back on the booth-style seats and took the only one left by the window.

I hated the window seats. Cars backed up at the roundabout outside, waiting for a pedestrian to cross, and it distracted me. The same was true if we went to a pub for dinner and the TVs blared sports, and I couldn’t stop looking at it, rather than enjoy my date. I had to twist my chair to focus on my boyfriend.

The cold tinted mine and Cole’s cheeks and noses pink. Heaters inside the café pumped the space with warm air, and it infused my body, making me sweat from all my layers.

“It’s hot.” I peeled off my scarf and coat and rested them on the back of my chair, using my new purse to fan my face.

Cole did the same, removing a layer, and I admired the flex of muscle beneath the hoodie hugging his defined arms. “You excited for your first day back tomorrow?”

“Yes and no.” I dipped a churro in the hazelnut sauce and took a bite. “Yes, because I’m excited to learn more, graduate and be free of the rules.” Not that I obeyed the whole teacher-student fraternizing policy anymore. “No, because Blaze isn’t teaching, and I need another holiday.” I said that part joking and part serious.

“I know what you mean.” Cole sipped at his coffee. “Minus the Blaze part.”

I scraped the excess sauce off my dessert. “How was he this morning?”

“Agitated and anxious.” Cole’s coffee cup clinked on the saucer.

Damn. He seemed upbeat at the Winter Ball. Or did he put on a brave act? He surprised everyone and drank at the event, and now that I thought about it, he probably masked his nerves.

My hunger disintegrated, and I lowered my churro to the plate. “I’ll visit him tonight.”

“It’ll be good for him.” Cole swirled a churro as if he lost his hunger too. “He’s not opening up, and I hate to see him bottle it up.”

I picked at the fringe wool of my scarf. “I’ll petition Venellan again this afternoon to get Blaze’s teaching position back.”

Cole stretched his arm forward to catch my hand. “This is up to Blaze to fix, not you.”

I scratched my head, torn on what to do, because he needed to know we were there for him, even if he didn’t want to talk. “My grandfather is the problem.”

Cole stroked my hand with his thumb. “And we’ll get him once we’ve cleaned out the Academy.”

Everything moved too slow for my liking, and my impatience swelled. The ghul curse was meant to kill my grandfather, and now he absorbed Blaze’s magick, potentially saving his life. I rubbed my forehead, wishing for this nightmare to end.

“Focus on what we can control.” Cole lifted his spare hand and flicked up a finger for everything he reeled off. “Blitzing your studies, strengthening your magick, your mental health, and hypnotizing and handling snakes.”

I loved how much he supported me.

He lifted another churro to my mouth. “Let Talon, Blaze, and me worry about catching the infiltrator and your grandfather.”

When I freed my mouth to speak, I said, “Good idea. Your mom is visiting this week. Are you excited?”

His mom received word that he searched for her and contacted him a fortnight ago, arranging a meeting.

The seriousness on his face evaporated into childlike enthusiasm that melted me. “Yeah. You’re coming, right?”

“Of course.” I made time in my schedule this weekend for when she arrived. This was important to my man, and I wouldn’t miss it, even if the world went to hell.

Knowing his mother was alive and didn’t intentionally abandon him lifted a burden from his heart, and the change was evident. He didn’t seem choked up about his past, carrying resentment at his treatment at the hands of the foster system that should have cared for him. He stuck to his promise to forgive Blaze and dropped his grudge, cracking jokes with him at the Winter Ball, sliding back into his old friendship. I didn’t detect a prickle of jealousy or insecurity when I spent time withmy other men, Cole’s confidence and security in our relationship elevating to a level where it wasn’t a problem for him. In a way, he was a new man, freed of some of his emotional baggage.

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