Free Stealing Phoenix by Joss Stirling Page A

disappearing into the kitchen, muttering something about making drinks for us and putting together a round of sandwiches. The calm after the confusion of the past twenty-four hours was a welcome oasis. I found some of my tension untwisting like a tie-dye T-shirt coming out of the wash to reveal a new pattern on the surface. I had a soulfinder. I’d been in such a panic about discovering this that I’d not really stopped to think. I’d been acting like someone carrying the plague trying to cut themselves off from the healthy. That was still probably the right thing to do, but I had to consider this more slowly, work out what was the next best step. I’d only had an hour or so with him, but already it felt so good to be close to Yves that even when he was in the kitchen I was missing him. Though he irritated the hell out of me, I kind of liked it. The sparks of attraction flew between us even when we were yelling at each other. Maybe even more so then.
    ‘Does that feel any better?’ Xav released my arm.
    The blister had shrivelled up to lie flat against the new skin forming underneath. The redness had faded. I flexed my fingers to find that the tight pain I’d had since yesterday was almost completely dulled. ‘That’s amazing.’
    ‘Happy to help.’ He took out a dressing from a first-aid kit. ‘I’ll put this on your blister but I think the rest of the arm will be OK.’ He fastened it with tape then stood back, rubbing his temples.
    ‘Are you OK, Doctor?’
    He laughed. ‘Bad headache. Get them when I push my gift.’
    ‘So do I.’ It slipped out before I realized what I’d said.
    Xav didn’t seem surprised that I was another Savant. ‘What do you do? Not put out fires obviously.’
    I pretended to examine my new dressing. ‘This and that.’
    ‘She stops time—or slows it.’ Yves had appeared in the door to see if we were done.
    ‘Neat.’ Xav chucked the old bandage in the bin. ‘Useful.’
    ‘Yeah, allows her to be one of the sharpest thieves I’ve ever seen in action.’
    ‘Shut up!’ I hissed, outraged that he would share this about me.
    ‘Oh yes, and she’s my soulfinder. Lunch is served.’ After dropping that bombshell, Yves headed back to the kitchen.
    Xav was speechless. He stared at me as if I’d just crash-landed from a flying saucer.
    ‘Phee, Xav, hurry up or I’ll eat it all,’ shouted the jerk from the kitchen.
    Xav patted me awkwardly on the shoulder. ‘You have my commiserations. He may act like a twit sometimes, but he’s the nice one in our family, so it could’ve been worse.’

 
    I locked the door after Xav, saying I needed a moment, then sank to the floor, head on my knees. Not even hunger was going to drive me out of here. If I had Yves’s power, I’d blow up that plate of sandwiches and make sure it splattered all over his face. But all I had was a gift that didn’t work too well on him, not even giving me enough time to escape.
    A tap on the door. ‘Phee, are you OK in there?’ Yves.
    I banged my head softly on the wood behind me.
    ‘Look, sorry I came out with it like that. I tell my brothers everything—we’re really close. I should’ve thought what you might think.’
    Yeah, you should’ve.
    ‘He won’t mind if I don’t mind—about the stealing thing.’
    Well done him. God, I was so tired of all this. Yves had clearly not smoothed out his rough edges when it came to handling girls if he thought this excuse for an apology would sweeten my sour mood. A trickle of flame poured under the door then spun to form a little ball of fire. Was he trying to burn me out? I yelped and scurried backwards, but then saw that the carpet was not even singed.
    ‘For you,’ said Yves quietly.
    The ball began to spin faster, then split into three different spheres, flame-yellow, white-hot, and blue like a gas ring— three little planets revolving around each other. Suddenly, they flared open, forming into the shape of flowers in bloom. They came to rest at my