Page 93 of Ember and Ash

His eyes darken, and the pull between us is insanely present, so much so that it’s as if we’re drugged every time we’re together. He captures my hand and drags it to his lips, opening my hand and pressing his mouth to the delicate skin of my palm. And then, he’s gone. He’s rifted away, and for long moments, I just stand there, lost in the moment with him that is already gone. I wonder then about more than Celine. I wonder about the hundreds of years he’s lived and the women he’s loved. I wonder if they were all as enamored with him as I am. I wonder if he left them or they left him.

“Ember?”

I turn to find Gabriella standing in the archway, and I’m curious as to how she knew Micah was gone or if she’d simply grown impatient waiting on me. “I can see the connection between you and Micah.”

“I know what the Knowledge Keeper told you. I overheard. Micah knows I overheard.”

“And it means what to you?”

“That I have to kill the serpent before I can ever move on and do right by everyone who needs me. If he lives, I think Jeremy lives, too, even if I kill his human form.”

She considers me a moment, and I sense she wants to say something she reframes as, “Whatever the truth is, control is everything. Let’s make sure you have it.”

She leads me to the center of the octagon and a giant cauldron of water. “If you want me to turn that to fire, that’s a bad idea. What if I burn down the lighthouse? Not that I think I can even make it boil. I tried all morning with Micah and failed.”

She holds out her hand, and water appears out of nowhere and forms a glistening, sparkly, diamond-laced ball above her palm. Magic. The diamonds are magic, just like in the bay this morning. My lips part as I take in the stunning sight, every magical act still astounding to me. “You can’t burn down the lighthouse,” she declares with a smile. “I won’t let you.”

My mind travels back to the passage in the book:

Fire destroys the most powerful of Nephilim, Seraphim, and demons alike when nothing else will. Those who wield the flames are immune to its destruction.

It hits me then that she’s the greatest weapon against me, should a weapon be needed, but the best defense is to never realize my fire as an asset. I don’t need it to kill the serpent. I need to suppress him long enough to allow the Judgement Tree to destroy him.

“I think I need to start by knowing what skills I even possess. Am I stronger than demons? Or some demons and not others? Can they jump higher, punch harder?”

“The species matters. Some are faster. Some jump higher. Some use magic to seduce you, much like a cat puts out pheromones to lure a mouse forward. In most cases, though, you’re fighting an equal in skill with your lack of experience in play, unless you even the playing ground with fire.”

I wave that off. “I may never learn to use fire. Show me how to fight the way you did out on the streets, before you met Micah.”

She drops her hand, and the water disappears. “You won’t if you don’t try.”

“I’m going to the forest with Micah in the morning, where I can use fire without risking a bigger fire. And I won’t be able to use fire many places in the human realm. I need battlefield skills.”

She purses her lips as if to argue, but then lifts her fists. “Let’s go.”

We grapple, and she kicks my ass, walks me through why, and we repeat. At one point, we’re lying on the ground panting, and Gabriella lets out a bubbly laugh. “I love fighting.”

Adrenaline still courses through my body, and I grin. “I think I do, too.”

“You’re a natural, but I expected as much. The Aza would easily have magic memory. You’re so good, so fast, I think your magic is in play. Kind of like the Matrix when he could fight in the alternate world as if he’d fought all his life.”

“You know your movies.”

“We both have the advantage of growing up in the human world. We know how to fit in. It’s natural to us.”

“You’re right. Micah preaches about us staying in touch with our human side.”

“For good reasons. We can’t protect humans if they fear us, but the truth is, most of us live like humans. Well, except when we’re killing demons.” Her eyes soften, and her voice does, too. “He’s different with you around.”

Of course, she means Micah. “What do you mean?”

“He’s never shown open affection with anyone in all the time I’ve known him, but he does with you. It’s good. He’s good. You two are good together.”

A ball of emotion forms like lead in my chest, and I sit up with her following. “Did I say something wrong?” she asks.

“I think you should all be more worried about my destiny.”

“We’re all in on you, or we try and kill you and the demons win.”