But I’d never taken Ryan’s pretty baby for a spin.
Her sporty little two-seater purred to life, drowning out the shouts of my monsterous stepfamily.
Ryan had the brilliant idea to jump into the middle of the driveway as I hit reverse.
I focused on her in the mirror and backed out of the garage, deciding a game of chicken could be fun. I almost hoped she called my bluff.
But as expected, she jumped out of the way at the last moment, her curses lost to the rev of the engine.
I gave them all a little wave, grinning at their flabbergasted expressions, and gunned it out of the neighborhood.
Oh, there would be hell to pay later.
So worth it, I thought, navigating the freshly plowed roads with ease.
Tray stood waiting for me on his porch, a broad smile on his face as I parked Ryan’s car haphazardly in the street. Maybe I’d get lucky and someone would scrape along the side of it.
“I sensed your magic,” he said as he sauntered toward me. “What’d you do? Other than steal the queen bitch’s car?”
“I zapped her,” I said, holding up my hands to show him the still-flickering embers. “Is it a protection spell or something?”
He took my wrist to examine the blue sparks. “A protection spell?”
“Like something you did?”
His amused eyes lifted to mine. “No, El. This is all you, baby.” He laced our fingers together, the hum of electricity sizzling between us and intensifying. “Your power is growing by the second.” He sounded excited, tugging me through the threshold into his house and closing the door with his foot.
“It wasn’t doing that until you touched me,” I whispered, marveling at the current heightening between us. “All I did was grab Ryan’s wrist, and it jolted her. Then Carmen tried to poke me, and the same thing happened, only it knocked her out.”
“Your inner fae is coming alive,” he said, leading me into the kitchen. “What did they do?”
“Shoved me,” I muttered. “Kicked me, too.”
His nostrils flared, his grip tightening. “That explains the spell you evoked. It’s instinctual barrier magic. Or protection, as you surmised.”
“But you didn’t cast it?”
He shook his head. “No, you did.”
“How?”
“Natural defense. Similar to the fight-or-flight response. Your fae chose to fight.” He cracked another smile. “Ryan and Carmen are lucky to be alive.”
I told him how I almost hit Ryan with her own car.
Which earned me a harsh laugh in response.
“Too bad,” he drawled. “Wouldn’t have killed her, but I’d enjoy seeing that bitch in a wheelchair.”
As cruel as it sounded, I couldn’t exactly disagree. “We need to take them down, Tray.” Because once I was gone, they’d just find a replacement target. “I can’t let them pull this shit with someone else. The same goes for Dash and Charlie.”
He palmed my cheek, his skin sizzling against mine. “We’ll destroy them,” he vowed, brushing his mouth over mine. “But first, we need to tame your power. Before you burn my house down.”
I frowned. Yeah, I felt hot, but not that hot. “I’m hardly about to explode.”
“No?” He cocked a brow and glanced over my shoulder. “Then why is my dining room on fire?”
I spun around and gasped at the sapphire flames dancing over the wood table.