Page 11 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

Fraser tugged me back into the cave, picked up a rock and threw it down hard enough for it to clatter. When we walked back out Ezra and Nour were standing apart,although her flushed cheeks and pouty lips would have told me what they’d been doing even if we hadn’t had an accidental peek.

‘Bea.’ Ezra cleared his throat. ‘Everything okay? Fraser said you were upset.’

‘It’s all a bit overwhelming,’ I admitted. ‘We talked about my magic as well as the Flame.’

‘And?’ Nour pressed.

‘She said I have telekinesis, telepathy and telempathy.’ I spoke the last word quietly. Nour would understand the implications.

‘You’ll want to keep the last one quiet,’ she advised softly.

I grimaced. ‘I know.’

‘Why?’ Ezra asked.

‘It’s the ability to manipulate other people’s emotions. It’s judged to be on the darker end of the magical spectrum,’ I explained.

‘Bea wouldneverbe dark,’ Ezra protested.

‘It’s not about what she’ddo,’ Fraser interjected, ‘it’s about how she’d be perceived. She’s already struggled with the stigma of being Bleakman’s granddaughter.’

‘And the Flame?’ Ezra asked.

‘Apparently it’s not gone, not truly,’ I told him. ‘There’s the tiniestember somewhere – but it needs to bond with a part of my soul to bring it back to full force.’

‘That’s not so bad,’ he said optimistically. ‘You can do that, right?’

‘Maybe – but there are two issues. One, it has to judge me worthy.’

‘And two?’

‘Two, it takes a piece of my soul forever.’

Fraser shook his head. ‘No. Absolutely not.’

My hands went to my hips and my eyes narrowed. ‘Excuse me?’

‘You’re not losing a piece of yoursoulsimply to give us some extra magic.’

‘It’s not just a solstice blessing,’ I retorted, exasperated. ‘It’s the freaking Eternal Flame, Fraser. It’s my heritage – this is what I was born and raised to do.’

‘We’ll find you something else to be raised to do,’ he said stubbornly. ‘This is yoursoulwe’re talking about, Beatrix!’

‘Exactly,’ I hissed back. ‘Mysoul.Mychoice.’

His jaw worked as he glared at me. ‘I need to swim,’ he bit out, then he turned on his heel and stalked towards the cliff edge. He dived off, making me gasp. As he leapt, he shimmered and shifted into his seal form. I watched, heart in my mouth, until he was safely in the ocean below.

I blew out a harsh breath. ‘Well, that didn’t go as well asit could have done,’ I said ruefully. ‘And he’s lost his clothes!’

‘Give him time,’ Nour advised ‘You’re not talking about giving away something physical to the Flame that he can understand but something nebulous. Ethereal.’

I stilled as I realised that she was both right and very wrong. Itwassomething he could understand, I supposed, a little like giving away his pelt. That was what his mother had done and it had killed her. Suddenly I understood why he’d responded so vehemently.

Ezra interrupted my thoughts. ‘Where’s Maddie? Is she still down there? Is she okay?’

I nodded. ‘Maddie’s fine and Eva’s with her – actually, Maddie looks better than she’s done in weeks. Adele is letting her use the flame.’

‘That’s a relief,’ he said though Nour frowned.

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