Page 317 of Sigils & Spells

Every inch of this secret wood was precious, beautiful, but I did not dare step foot there. Not when I was so volatile—and that seemed to be always just lately.

No, I remained in my place. The stone strewn, hard-packed dirt surrounding the boulders was my domain.

Nausea crept up my throat, and I turned my back to the stunning view below and faced the huge rock that had become my personal whipping post.

The longer I tried to tamp down my magic, the angrier it became. Thunder filled my ears, and I closed my eyes against the terrible sound. When I opened them once more, looking down, it was to find my entire body aflame.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Tana? Tana! Where are you?”

“I saw her come this way.”

“Tana!”

“Perhaps she wants to be alone.”

I heard Rio and Magnus calling my name. They were with someone else, and I had a sneaking suspicion who it was. I froze.

Shit.

I did not want them to see me like this, but there was nothing to be done. My magic had been cooped up too long.

Pain blinded me a moment, and I tossed my head back and screamed, unable to keep it inside me.

I felt my body levitate off the ground, and my frightened gaze spanned the three figures walking toward me, stopping when I saw him.

Brandon.

Shit.

I had to expel some of my power before they got any closer or I would burn them all.

Turning to the rock formation, still bearing the ash and scorch marks of previous encounters, I allowed a single bolt of flame to explode from me like a rocket, hitting the boulder with so much force it would have cracked it if the thing had not already been magicked to withstand such trauma.

Of course, I forgot about the tremendous toll this took on my body, and even as Rio screamed for me, the water witch had conjured a wave from the moisture in the air to land on my body, dousing the flames that still covered me.

“Tana! Are you okay?”

But I could not answer. I was too weak to even blink. I wanted to comfort her, tell her I was okay, but then Brandon was there, lifting me against his wickedly hot body and warming my freezing form. I was still clothed. Most of my wardrobe had temporary spells, making them fireproof—a necessity for the classes I took where other elementals worked their flames with, unfortunately, very little aim.

“You’re gonna be fine, Tana McKenna. I got you now,mo spréach,” he growled close to my ear.

And for some reason, I believed him. The out-of-control spiral I’d been on seemed to halt in the wake of the dragon shifter’s embrace. My magic rose inside me, wanting to wrap around the beast of a man, but I reined it in. I could never be like regular girls, crushing on boys and falling in love.

I had a job to do, and besides, my control over my magic was unreliable. Look at what I had to do just to get by, for fuck’s sake. Sentinels were off limits to witches, anyway. And I was not like most witches.

I was a ticking time bomb.

CHAPTER5

“I don’t understandwhat was going on, Tana?” Rio asked.

Her blue hair was swirling around her shoulders as if she was under water, and I had to admit it was cool. Magnus and Brandon were both standing in my small bedroom, taking up way too much space.

Fucking alphahole shifters.

Always sucking the air out of a room.

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