Page 50 of Enchanting Her Monsters
Then I realize his wings are on fire. I expect them to burn me, so I recoil. But other than heat, I don’t feel like I’m being hurt.
“Calder! Are you okay?” I ask.
“Fine,” he grunts and yanks his wings away from me. “Fuck, Jade, did I burn you?”
I touch my arms and hair, then I turn for him and pat my sides. “I don’t think so.”
“How?” He keeps inspecting me for damage. “I swore my wings touched you, didn’t they?”
“Maybe?”
He looks disturbed by that revelation.
“What the fuck?” Darius barks as he charges out of his house, staring at the scattered lightning rod pieces smoldering in his yard. “Woman, you owe me a new rod!”
Protectively, Calder moves in front of me and growls, “Back off, hellhound.”
I peek around the phoenix to see that we’ve gathered a crowd again.
Amira waves her hand and mumbles a chant and the flames on the grass are snuffed. “You told her she could use it as a target.”
“I didn’t think she hadthatmuch juice.” Darius shakes his head, studying the damage. “You better use that power to fight our enemies.”
“I will.”
He gives me a once over. “Not bad.” With an approving grin, he spins and disappears back into the house as he takes Amira’s hand in his.
My jaw drops in shock. I didn’t know he could smile.
Calder turns and gazes into my eyes. He smooths back my hair as the guys approach to check on me. “She wasn’t burned by my flame,” he says. “Does that mean…”
“We don’t know what it means. Your flames probably didn’t touch her,” Maxum cuts him off and grunts. He glares at me, probably reading the look in my eyes. “Witch, I’m not going to test to see if you’re flame proof.”
“It could be a small test… and you can heal me, right?” I offer. I should know this for any potential battles, shouldn’t I?
“Absolutely not!” Maxum slashes his hand through the air. “I will not hurt you!” He waves his fist at the others. “And none of you fucking try it!” He storms off before anyone can argue with him.
This feels like more than just seeing if I will get a tiny burn.
I want to ask what it could be, but I understand if something is bothering Maxum, I have to talk to him about it alone.
Calder clears his throat to draw my attention away from Maxum's retreating backside. “Jade? Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”
I check myself again, but don’t even see singe marks on my clothing. “I’m good.”
“Guys?” Calder looks to Arran and Flint. “Can we have a minute?”
My mates give me a quick kiss to reassure themselves I’m okay before they leave me alone with the phoenix.
I stare up at him, curious to hear what he has to say. He appears nervous and sad while he studies my face, like he’s trying to remember what he wanted to say.
When he doesn’t speak for at least a minute, I say, “If you’re worried about me, I’m okay. I’m fully aware I might get hurt playing with my magic. This isn’t your fault.”
“Well, it is. I was supposed to be teaching you control.”
“And that doesn’t happen the first try.” I shrug, then tilt my head, attempting to read him. “What’s really upsetting you?”
Calder drops to his knees in front of me, staring up at me with a pained expression. Surprisingly, he takes hold of my hands. I will myself to remain calm. Whatever this is, I need to let him process it.
