Page 46 of Commanding Flame and Shield
“August, something—”
His eyes flew open, and he nearly pressed a finger to my lips before catching himself. The reek of wet fur, and decaying grass hit me right as the world turned heavy and predatory. August’s energy expanded, as though he could shield me from this.Maybe he could.
He shook his head in warning, eyes peering into the darkness with unmatched urgency as he stepped in front of me.
Then the night before us stood up, shadow towering more than a foot above, and nearly twice as wide as August between us. And in a heart-wrenching moment of terror, I realized he was staring down a bear. Before I could fully process what I was seeing, the great creature released a rumble that rattled my ribcage, August spun and dove towards me. We collided with shocking force, as his arms wrapped securely around me, and we toppled to the ground. The energy swelled, and the twist of light through my closed eyelids was chaos, before we slammed into hardwood floor.
I blinked. The log ceiling of the cabin stared back at me, August bracing himself, arms under my head and back protectively. His body was pressed down firmly into mine, and I could feel every inch of him as his chest heaved. Slowly, cautiously, he raised onto his arms to survey me.
Those piercing eyes were so round the whites were everywhere, scraping frantically over my body. Then his alarm changed to amusement, and we both huffed out the breaths we were holding. Laughter exploded between us, relieved, raw, and still a bit panicked. He bowed his head to rest it on my shoulder, his face so close to mine I could feel his warmth. His body shook with his laughter, and I could feel his breath, balmy against my neck, sending new goosebumps across my skin.
As the laughter slowly faded between us, he rose to peel himself away. August was straddling my torso, sending a wave of heat chasing away the adrenaline, when his face changed from mirth to a wince of embarrassment. The energy of our now-awoken companions hit me before Alec cleared his throat.
“Did I miss something?” He questioned groggily.
We both erupted into chuckles again, and August slowly shifted himself off my waist and rose to his feet, sliding his sleeves down so he could help me up.
“Well, there was a bear,” August started.
“And August jumped us here to escape,” I finished. Mirroring shit-eating grins permanently etched on our faces, August reached up, thumb tucked in his sleeve, to wipe dirt from my cheek, freezing my ribs in place.
“August, jumped you here?” The surprise underlying Alec’s question made my grin broaden, and I realized August’s had done the same. Alec and Fae were staring at us over the back of the leather sofa, faces bemused with a hint of skepticism. I nodded proudly, and examined my new companion carefully, before finally speaking.
“It’s time to take him home.”
EIGHTEEN
TRACKING
ALVARA
Walking between Alec and August, the city was eerily silent. Occasional prayers still pressed onto my consciousness, but the usual assault of voices was absent, mercifully extinguished by the shields on either side of me, and the amulet around my neck. Anxiety had gradually wound a tight fist in the center of my stomach, and I wasn’t sure if it was my own, or if I was just feeling August’s nerves as his mind raveled and unraveled hollow words he knew would bring Layla no comfort. Despite the inevitable heartache of the evening, August was learning quickly. Fae had ventured out ahead in the city, giving us about a twenty-minute gap to close, and we were leaving it entirely up to August. Every few moments he would pause, inhale, open his palms to the ground to sense the energy, and decisively choose our next direction. He wasn’t as in tune as Fae, and compared to the gifts I had in my arsenal, would seem sluggish if we were in a pinch. But before the timer could sound, he found his mark, and I felt myself release a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Aside from the continuing struggle to wield earth’s energy as a weapon, his arsenal of tools was looking more and more encouraging for whichever path he chose.
Reunited, we walked towards the center of town for a bite to eat at one of August’s favorite restaurants, when a familiar pull called to me on the air. I paused, closing my eyes. Histories whispered my name. I beamed at August and slunk down an alleyway, giggling as Alec and Fae guffawed. The store was a magnificent collection of books, antiques, and artifacts, and I gingerly unclipped my necklace and placed it in my pocket before walking the many dusty aisles. My fingers dragged across each object in their path, and I absorbed each story piece by piece. Swirling images, scents, and sounds absorbed me, and my heartbeat accelerated the smallest amount as my mind soaked up everything. There was nothing of note, per se, but I loved them just the same.
“Is that not overwhelming?” August’s voice was inches from my ear when he spoke, and I jumped despite his familiar tone. A nervous laugh escaped my lips.
“It can be,” I admitted. “But when I have the energy, it’s one of my favorite parts of my gifts. Being able to read all the history in places like this. It’s fun to see the stories.”
He grinned. “Will you show me one day?”
“Yes.” It was a promise. Because I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist August’s touch much longer. He stared at me with that endearing, crooked grin, and beyond the pull to know what his skin felt like beneath my fingers, I knew there was a part of him that wanted to know our own history, too. I could feel it buried between our souls, and it was beginning to drive me mad. He seemed to sense the significance in the vow and ran his now-calloused fingers over his growing beard.
“You like reading old stories.”
“Not all of them. Ghosts and trauma can be jarring. The feelings are too visceral. But places full of items that carry history without spirits are my favorite.” I slid my hand over a stack of books that had once belonged to a Harvard professor, and I laughed aloud. “This one, for example, recorded an affair between a Harvard professor and the dean's wife."
August laughed. “Naughty,” he teased, and then gestured towards my outstretched hand. “That never seems to get less weird,” he noted.
And it never will.Alec added internally. I laughed.
“My Aunt Estelle is a bit of…a collector. I think you’d love her house—you’d go crazy for all the antiques.” The briefest vision of a grand Victorian house the color of April sunshine flashed in his mind. It was burrowed among corn fields, and the interior was brimming with every kind of collector’s item she could get her hands on.
“Will you show me one day?” I smiled, repeating his words back to him.
“Yes.” His was a promise too. And for a lingering moment, our eyes locked again. My cheeks ran warm, and I pulled my gaze away, closing my eyes to soak up a few more stories before we got to the real mission of the day. But his promise, and my own, seemed to hang in the air like ripe fruit begging to be plucked from their branches. My stomach hovered closer to my heart than it should have, and anticipation swelled in my chest.
We parted ways at the entrance of his condominium building. Until he’d said it that way, I hadn’t realized the building we’d rescued them from was one of his many real estate acquisitions. Of all the subjects we had spoken about endlessly in the mountains, the amount of wealth he had built for himself wasn’t one of them. He never mentioned money, instead telling me about the excitement of work, the variety of businesses he owned, and listed countless employees—by name—that he’d raised up and trained until they started their own companies. August loved little more than becoming their patron and watching his people win.
