Free elemental 02 - blaze by Larissa Ladd Page A

Aira nodded, thinking of the Tower, the suggestion of a rite of passage, of difficult choices. She looked at the cards advising the potential of grief and heartbreak and wondered if that meant she would definitely be betrayed—that Alex had dark intentions for her, or was working with someone who did. Or that he was simply connected in some way to a potential for betrayal and heartache. She had to make a decision at some point, the cards were clear on that. But was it the present moment, or some future instant? Aira groaned and scooped up the cards, adding them back to the deck and began to shuffle it again. She looked up at him, letting her mind drift as she shuffled, looking for clarity.
    “She gave me a recipe that should help you with the power surges.”
    Aira raised an eyebrow.
    “It should at least help you function.”
    Aira nodded. If her grandmother had given Dylan the recipe, she had to trust it was going to work—at least a little bit. “I’ll drink it in a minute.”
    Dylan watched her for a moment as she finished shuffling and began blindly spreading them. She looked down at the cards, seeing most of the same cards once again. She was clearly too close to the problem. She tried to read deeper into the cards. She understood the choice she was going to have to make involved not only Alex, but the mysterious third influence, which was fleshed out with the King of Swords in this spread. Aira shook her head and sighed, scooping the cards up and putting them back into the deck, straightening them and putting them back into the case. She bit her bottom lip, deciding she would have to decide for herself; the cards weren’t going to give her the answer she sought.
    “Let’s see that potion,” Aira said, standing and putting the deck away in her underwear drawer once more. She avoided looking too closely at Dylan; just being in his proximity made her feel distracted. He handed her the mug.
    “It has chamomile, lemon balm, passionflower, apple, and a little vervain. It’ll taste weird, but it should do the trick—infused with water and earth aligned ingredients.”
    Aira nodded, sipping it. It was warm, but not overly hot. It didn’t taste as bad as some of the potions her grandmother had given her over the years; it was slightly sweet, almost a little minty from the lemon balm and vervain. As she drank it in, she began to feel the power coursing through her begin to recede to a low, constant hum. It wasn’t like being normal, but at least it was something she could deal with. Her thoughts slowed, the wind outside began to abate. Aira finished off the drink quickly, grimacing at the lingering sweetness clinging to the back of her throat. It wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever drank, but she would be glad when the need for it was no longer so strong.
    “I think you’ll need to make that for me again before we go out,” Aira said. Although she could feel the magic of the potion working through her, she could already feel the elemental energy transforming her beginning to go to work overwhelming it. Her innate magic did not like to be suppressed and grounded—not when it was going to be at its peak within twenty-four hours. She took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go to the mall.”
    ***
    Aira was able to maintain her self-control while they were shopping, but with great difficulty. She kept her gaze on the ground in front of her, glancing up at the store signs to find the ones she wanted. The potion Dylan had given her had suppressed the power coursing through her body, but it had done little to subdue the lust. In addition to the close proximity of Aiden and Dylan, her desire-hazed brain latched onto the various good-looking men in close proximity. She was easily distracted, losing her train of thoughts whenever she spotted someone even slightly attractive, forgetting what store she was looking for. Dylan and Aiden tried not to touch her; she was still overly sensitive, her nerves lighting up to every