“What? She’s a whore just like her mother, and you’re going to stand there and defend her?” She scoffed, tossing her long red hair over one shoulder. “You deserve better, baby. You know you do.” She tried to stroke my arm again, but flames erupted around us.
Not from me.
Not from Ignis.
But from Claire.
Tears shone bright in her eyes as flames poured from her hands, sending fae scattering down the pathway to avoid being caught in her emotional outburst.
“Claire,” I murmured, reaching for her.
“No,” she snapped. “Do not touch me.”
I sighed. “Come on, sweetheart. Ignis is just being a bitch.”
“Just being a bitch? One you slept with right before…?” She shook her head, unable to finish.
“It didn’t mean anything,” I vowed. “Not like with you.”
Ignis laughed, the sound mean and cold. “Pretty sure you said the same thing to me about, who was it?” She snapped her fingers. “Mae?”
Fucking flames! “Would you just shut the fuck up?”
“What? Worried she might learn about your reputation, lover? A little late for that.” She sounded so pleased with herself. If Claire hadn’t looked ready to lose her shit, I might have considered teaching Ignis a lesson with my fire.
“Claire.” I kept my voice soft. “Can—”
The entire wall went up in flames.
As did the path.
And the courtyard.
Fuck.
Claire
I had let my guard down. Stupid. So fucking stupid. I knew better.
Titus tried to bond with me over a bet?
He fucked that bitch? Before me?
Everyone hates me.
What am I even doing here?
The fire raged around me, scalding my skin, so foreign and unfamiliar compared to the other flames I’d cast over the last few days. It actually burned me in places, singeing the dress Elana had given me to wear and searing my side.
I jumped away from it, confused.
Why is it hurting me?
Titus roared on the periphery, his body hidden behind the orange-and-yellow wall dancing before me. He seemed to be yelling at me to stop, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know how. The fire didn’t feel right. I tried to call it to me the way he instructed, but all that did was cause it to flare upward toward the building.
Oh no…
People started screaming, the flames climbing and shifting, destroying the vines along the stone walls and creeping into open windows. It reminded me of a snake—lethal and fast.