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Is control over the elements a gift, or a curse?
Roxy thinks that she is in control of everything: with flames flaring at her fingertips and an equally fiery attitude, what more could she need? But then she meets Brae, a prince from a rival Realm, who turns her assumptions of superiority upside down.
Jasmine has none of Roxy’s confidence or intensity. But she does have a secret - and Brae - and she’s not going to give either up willingly.
Read and Excerpt from Chapter One!
Chapter 1
Roxy:
Fire rose high into the trees on
either side of me, closing in much faster than I'd anticipated. The
air was thick with heat and smoke. I had to keep moving, fast. My
heart hammered against my chest, keeping time with my feet as they
pounded across the uneven ground. Above me, both suns hung high in
the air, shining down mercilessly and adding more heat to that of the
blaze.
I heard, rather than saw, the ball
of flames whizzing through the air behind me, branches crackling to
dust as it went. Moving on instinct, I threw myself to the ground,
feeling the gritted earth graze my already filthy face and arms.
Only one thought ran through my
mind: they were getting closer.
I pushed myself to my feet and set
off again, faster than before. As I ran, I pushed a loose strand of
hair - as red as the inferno surrounding me - away from my face. It
had fallen out of its tie hours ago, but I hadn't stopped for long
enough to fix it.
The flames kept coming, attacking
me from both sides so that I had to duck and weave as I went. As I
darted right, my feet stumbled on the uneven terrain. I couldn't keep
this up for much longer; I needed to stand and fight.
"Come on then. I'm ready for
you," I whispered to myself as I came to a stop. I wheeled
around just in time to see a cloaked figure emerge from the trees to
my left. The cloak gleamed with glittering red swirls that made it
look as though it were aflame. Where there should have been a face, I
saw nothing but darkness.
Slowly, the figure raised his
hands out towards me, toying with me; he thought I was beat. Flames
sprung up at his fingertips and danced across his hands, gradually
increasing in intensity.
But he was being complacent. He
was nowhere close to winning this fight. While he put on his
pyrotechnics show, my own fingertips burst into flames, burning
faster and fiercer. Before he realised what was happening, I cast my
hands out in front of me, sending a ball of fire straight at his
chest. Thrown back by the force of the hit, he lay on the ground,
motionless.
One down, two to go.
The flare receded from my fingers
but the tingling sensation lingered; I was ready to attack as soon as
I needed. Bending over the unconscious figure I pulled a shining
silver ring from the index finger of his left hand. Shoving it into
my pocket I set off again, but this time I headed left, in the
direction the cloaked figure had emerged from.
I'd had enough of being hunted.
It didn't take me long to find the
next one, following the sounds of his gasps for breath, audible even
over the increasing noise of the blaze. He wasn't even trying. I
paused behind a tree, braced on my toes, ready to attack. My fingers
tingled as flames sparked at the tips, before gradually winding down
around my hands, growing hotter and brighter every second. The fire
was only a precaution though; I had other plans for this hunter.
I
heard his footsteps approaching, but stayed still until he finally
lumbered past, then I kicked out with a strong shot to the right,
hitting him square in the side. He stumbled and almost fell to the
ground, but righted himself at the last moment and sent a flare in my
direction. I dodged quickly, swinging round to the side and kicking
out again, this time colliding with his stomach. Before he could
counter I followed rapidly with two more shots, sending the cloaked
figure to the ground, unconscious. I bent over him and tugged the
ring from its finger.
"Not bad. But you really need
to remember to watch your back."
Flames! I spun round to face a
third cloaked figure. Unlike the others his hood was down, so I saw
the arrogant glint in his eyes and the smug smile which dominated his
face, as well as his hair - streaked with the same violent red as
mine - and the blaze dancing menacingly in his hands. He was ready to
strike.
The
shot came faster than I expected, a small ball of fire, whizzing past
my ear as I dodged right to avoid it. Before I could steady myself
another followed and I was forced to throw myself behind the
tree. Come
on Roxy, you can do this.
I breathed deeply, letting the flames rise up inside me. They curled
around my fingers as I emerged and found their target straight on,
hitting him on the shoulder with a blow that made him curse. It would
take a lot more than that though.
Fire flew in both directions.
Sparks hit me relentlessly and I took blows as many times as I made
contact with him. The air was sweltering and the strain of three days
on the run was taking its toll; my muscles screamed. But I couldn't
lose; too much was at stake. He'd been out here just as long as me
and the fatigue showed - his eyes were circled in blue and his
reactions were slower. I knew I could beat him.
When it came to fire we were
evenly matched though. I wasn't going to win with flames. I needed to
try something else, something that would make him mad. I lunged at
him, throwing as many punches as I could manage, making contact with
arms, chest and head. Eventually, my fist collided with his face.
Blood trickling from his lips, he
lost it. "Flames!" he yelled. "Look what you've done!
I'll make you pay for that Roxanne." There was a flash of silver
and I found myself on the floor, a gleaming silver dagger hovering
inches above my body. "Give me your rings," he hissed, his
eyes glinting with victory.
"That's cheating!" I
breathed, wary of raising my chest towards the blade.
He grinned at me wickedly,
pressing down with the full force of his weight. "You need to
stop thinking in terms of the rules, Roxy. We're out in the real
world now. And you're going to pay for touching my face."
While he was busy taunting me I
forced my knee up hard into his gut, and he doubled over in pain.
Before he recovered I'd flipped him off of me and wrenched the knife
out of his slackened grip. Sitting astride him I held the knife up to
his cheek.
"Don't think I won't do it,
Cinaer!" I hissed, letting the blade touch his flesh. I don't
know if it was the cold sincerity in my voice or the shock of being
straddled by a wild, mud covered woman, but he didn't try to argue.
"Give me your ring. Now."
He pulled it off of his finger and
handed it over to me without a word, his lower lip quivering.
"See, that wasn't so hard."
I smiled sweetly and moved the blade away from his face. He let out a
sigh and I got to my feet.
It was over.
"Not bad Firefly."
Another cloaked figure emerged from the trees. "I really thought
he had you for a minute." This man was older than the other, but
he too had his hood down, revealing soft brown eyes and red streaked
hair.
"You could have stepped in
Vincent - he cheated - there were no weapons allowed."
Vincent shrugged. "I wanted
to see what you could do. Outside of the camp people won't always
stick to the rules; you need to be able to adapt, which is what you
managed to do today. I think I can safely say that you've passed with
flying colours."
I grinned with relief.
"But don't think you're not
going to pay for that Cinaer," he added, looking sternly at my
attacker, who had stood up rather tentatively. "The rules were
clear. No weapons; just your powers and your fists. I'll be reporting
this to your mentor."
Cinaer shrugged casually and
walked to join us. "Whatever. We can go now, right?"
Vincent looked at him, exasperated.
"Yes. Roxy, I'll take you
back to base so we can hand over the rings. We can take my bike."
"What about me?" Cinaer
demanded, incredulous. "How do you expect me to get back?"
Vincent smiled. "The same way
you got here. On foot."
"But that will take days!"
Cinaer looked at us in disbelief, appealing for leniency.
"You should get started
then," Vincent told him as we turned to leave. "It will
give you plenty of time to work on an excuse for cheating. Come on
Roxy, let's go."
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