Free Starbound by J.L. Weil Page B

gut twist. It was bad enough that he had Elena stuck to him.
    Biting my tongue, I decided to suck up my irritation and try to have fun for Olivia’s sake. Maybe it hadn’t been a great idea to force my way back into the circle. Being this close to Seth was driving me bonkers.
    I ripped my gaze from his. If it took all the strength I had inside me, I was going to avoid being caught by those startling green eyes. Instead, I concentrated on centering my energy and feeling the burn of power trickle in my veins.
    There was magick in this place. I could feel it seeping from the ground, swirling in the air, and vibrating from the tree roots. As the five of us joined hands, sparks ignited on contact. It was a thrill feeling our magick flow from one another. Together we had more power and control. Together we were united.
    Olivia had the most knowledge, so it was no surprise she cast the spell. Her voice was musical, steady, and true. “If there be a perfect match, this spell under moonlight will surely catch the one who is meant to be and shall be revealed to me. I cast this spell from a part of me, one of five, free will of who I see.”
    A gentle breeze picked up my hair and tingles ran down my spine. I watched in awe as a fire of blue flames erupted at the center of the circle. The flickering flares were cool to the skin, emitting magick, not heat. Inside my blood was singing in rejoice. It had been so long since I’d given in to the magick. It engulfed me with love and trust.
    I missed this .
    “I’ll go first,” Olivia offered. The material of her long, black dress draped on the ground. She plucked a strand of her hair and dropped into the center of the dancing blue flames.
    Zeke snickered beside me. “I pity the poor sap that gets saddled to Olivia.”
    Olivia tapered her eyes. “Just wait, Zeke. I’ll be laughing when some girl knocks you on your ass.”
    We all waited for something to materialize out of the unearthly flames. A shimmer. A face. When seconds turned to minutes and nothing happened, I felt cheated. It was a reminder that having goddess blood didn’t mean you always got what you wanted at the snap of your fingers.
    “You go next,” Olivia prompted, looking at me. There was a tint of disappointment in her crystal-violet eyes.
    My heart went out to her. She, out of all of us, had probably wanted to know the most. Maybe this spell wouldn’t work on any of us, and it would be just a big waste of magick. I took a deep breath. Did I really want to know who I was destined to spend all eternity with?
    “You don’t have to do this, Kats,” Seth said, staring intently at me over the blue fire. His voice was hard and icy.
    It instantly put my back up. God, I hoped my starsoul was drop-me-dead-gorgeous, just so I could rub it in Seth’s face—hell, Elena’s too. I plucked a piece of hair, eyes defiant, and dangled it over the glowing flicker. Then I looked at Seth and Elena on the other side of the circle and let the single piece of hair slip from my fingers.
    Shifting my gaze to the blue light swirling within the circle, my heart was in my throat. I didn’t know why I was so nervous, but my palms were damp. Was I really about to see the guy of my dreams?
    At first I thought that the spell was going to be another dud. The azure flames held steady, frolicking in time with my pounding heart. And then it happened, a twirling motion in the fire that slowly began to emit a colored smoke. My eyes clashed with Seth’s over the ethereal light, and I lifted my chin. Nervous or not, I wasn’t about to show it, yet he looked just as anxious. Or maybe I was mistaken and it was just because Elena was whispering something in his ear. I probably had it wrong. Why would Seth care whose face would be revealed?
    Slowly the sapphire mist began to curl and take form. I sat at the edge of my seat with clasped hands. The face reflecting from the smoke was… No! No! No! It wasn’t possible .
    My breathing became labored. I