Blue Flames

Chapter 33

"Crap." I stared wide eyed at the hovering bolt. It was a silver crossbow bolt. Arthur had obviously stopped it using his telekinesis.

People around us were either running away from us or standing in battle ready stances, facing the danger instead of admiring the phoenixes.

Arthur snarled, his anger a palpable wave that crashed into everyone around him.

The phoenix behind us cried again, this time it was a sharp noise that had me looking over my shoulder at it. The moment my eyes met the bird's, my magic stretched almost painfully.

Something clicked into place with a resounding snap in my heart.

I felt like I could see colors for the first time in my life. And I knew. I knew what I should do.

"Keep her safe," Arthur said, speaking to my father. When he would have run toward the gardens to find the bullet's source, I grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" I told him. He stared at me, but my eyes were still glued to the phoenix. 

How funny magic was. I'd always thought the most dangerous aspect of my own magic was the blue flames. They were a powerful weapon. But all this time I had something much, much more interesting. It had always been there, only now, I was aware of it.

In a blink, I used my flames to burn through a big enough hole in the cage for the phoenix to fly through. Which she did. It was a she, I knew. I knew.

The phoenix flew overhead, drawing gasps and shouts from the crowd. Her magnificent wings stretched to their full, impressive span, leaving trails of fire behind her.

She was fast. One moment she was hovering on top of us, the next she was a fiery shooting star against the sky.

"She'll get them." I told Arthur, finally looking at him with a smile. I felt pleasantly lightheaded.

He blinked, but it was my father who spoke. "Your eyes..." he murmured.

"What?" I touched the skin beneath my eyes.

"What happened?" Arthur shook his head, looking at the people around us, "no, don't answer that now."

"The phoenix," Orion said, "were you referring to it?"

"Yes," I felt my magic shake, a vibrant thread of fire and heat pulling my attention away from my father. "here she comes," I looked at the sky a few moments before the beautiful bird flew into sight, with a body clutched in her sharp talons. 

She dropped the body right in front of us and landed next to it. I was aware of the stark silence as I stepped forward. Arthur's hand closed over my wrist, his wary expression trained on the phoenix.

"She's safe," I whispered, "she's safe."

He let go. But stayed close by when I continued forward. The man moaning and wriggling on the ground was a fae. Orion and Arthur both stayed annoyingly close. I scowled and pulled out my sword. Stupid overprotective males.

The fae finally seemed to get his bearings about him and rolled to his feet, clutching the deep gouges on his neck with one hand where the phoenix's talons had grabbed him, and pointing the crossbow at me with the other.

I felt Arthur's telekinetic field around me, nothing would get within a feet from me. It was annoying, but at least no one else was aware of it.

Thankfully, Arthur stopped moving at one point, and I heard him speak to Orion who must have wanted to deal with the situation himself.