Page 78 of Sapphire Flame
Her heart slammed in her chest. She knew she didn’t have a handle on what she had to do, and she did not want to experience the electrical fire again.
“Landris? We need to talk because I need more information. I’m going to leave the spell, so don’t hit me with those firecrackers again.”
“Done.”
Natalie didn’t even speak the word ‘end’ aloud. She thought it and became visible. She glided through the air back to Landris. He had a red mark on one cheek and Grant was rubbing his jaw.
Grant scowled. “Are you all right?”
She rolled her eyes. “You can keep fighting with Landris if you want, but I wish you’d stop. I don’t want your protection, at least not in this situation. The fiery electrical rain hurts, but I need it. Okay? So, let it go.”
“Are you sure? Because we can stop this now.”
“Like hell we’re going to do that. Besides, if you think this little bit of discomfort is anything, I suspect Kryder will throw a lot worse at us. What I don’t need is you losing your cool every time I get hurt. Got it?”
“Shit. You’re right. I apologize, but my wolf thinks its sacrilege for you to be in any kind of pain.”
Natalie finally understood the real dilemma. “Because I’m your woman.”
“Yes. It’s an overwhelming instinct, at least where you’re concerned. This is Natalie-specific.”
Because she’d already accessed her wolf, she was feeling the depth of emotion and suffering behind his words. “Thanks for sharing that. I’ll try to keep it in mind. This isn’t simple on any level.”
His lips turned down. He looked grim. “No. It’s not.”
“Then I apologize for not understanding your wolf right now. I’ll try to do better.” Tendrils of his hair had come loose because of grappling with Landris. For a moment, all she wanted to do was smooth his hair back in place, maybe take hold of his long wolf braid and never let go.
She gave herself a mental shake and turned to Landris. The red mark had already faded.Altershealed quickly. “I’ve been trying to put the spell in a mental box, which feels right. I’ve also brought my wolf to the surface and she gives me a warning when the spell starts to fade. But when I approach the future, it’s as though everything disintegrates. I can’t seem to find the bridge I need.”
“Keep using your wolf. She’s very special. She will do a host of things for you, if you let her. Try being more wolf in the situation than fae.”
She nodded, then invoked the spell. The moment she was invisible, she moved the opposite direction away from Grant and Landris. Once more, she knelt in the sand, palms on thighs. The spell was now permanently in the box, so that was good.
She invoked her wolf again and for a moment practiced aligning more closely with her. She could feel her wolf-sign moving across the backs of her hands then up her arms.
Taking deep breaths, she focused on the future but at the same time also kept her thoughts centered on her wolf. She aimed for twenty minutes in the future at her studio.
This time, she held it together: The spell within her mind, the wolf-sign up to her shoulders, and her studio in twenty minutes. She could feel the future open. Excitement coursed through her.
But like a water balloon hitting concrete, her control vanished, and she lost her visibility. Landris’s electrical shower rained down on her like a thousand needles.
She allowed herself one groan of agony then invoked the invisibility spell once more. She glided behind Grant and crossed to the far side of the sandpit as far away from Landris as she could manage.
She tried again. This time when the future began to reveal itself, she kept her emotions in check. Her wolf glided farther, this time up her neck and over her chest.
She held the moment for ten seconds, then fifteen.
When she felt the water balloon begin to fall and her invisibility fade, she decided to act against the electrical shower.
She sped over the sand and once more invoked the spell. She darted off to the side just as the shower of painful sparks landed three feet away.
This time, she groaned her relief.
“Well done,” Landris called out. “You’re learning.”
“You’re right. Pain is a great teacher,” she responded.
Grant stood several feet away from Landris. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he scowled. His lips were pressed into a grim line. She was coming to understand him.
