Burned

instant and natural. Stevie Rae reached for the gearshift, but her hand paused. Would going back to Rephaim right now really be the smartest thing for her to do?

Sure, on one hand she’d gotten a bunch of info from him about Kalona and Darkness and such.

On the other, she didn’t really trust him. She couldn’t really trust him.

Plus, he messed with her head. When she’d read Kramisha’s poem, she’d been too dang busy obsessing about him to consider anything else—like the fact the poem could be a warning about the bad red fledglings and not just stuff about her and the Raven Mocker.

So what the heck should she do?

She’d told Rephaim she’d come back to check on him, but she wanted to return because of more than just telling him she would. Stevie Rae needed to see him. Needed to? Yes, she admitted reluctantly to herself. She needed to see the Raven Mocker. The admission jarred Stevie Rae.

“I’m Imprinted with him. That means we got a connection, and there’s not much I can do about it,” she muttered to herself while she squeezed the Bug’s steering wheel. “I’m just gonna have to get used to it and deal with it.”

And I have to remember that he is his father’s son.

Fine. Okay. She’d check on him. She’d also ask him questions about Light as well as Darkness, and about two cows. She scowled. Well, bulls. But she should do some digging for herself without Rephaim. She really should evoke her element and see what info she could get on the cow/bulls. That would be using her good sense. Then Stevie Rae grinned and slapped the steering wheel.

“I got it! I’ll stop at that cute old park that’s on the way to Gilcrease. Do a little earth magick, and then check on Rephaim. Easy-peasy!” Of course first she’d duck back into Nyx’s Temple and grab a green candle, some matches, and some sweetgrass. Feeling better now that she had a plan, she was just getting ready to take the Bug outta neutral when she heard the sound of cowboy boots tapping against the asphalt of the parking lot and then Dallas speaking with exaggerated nonchalance.

“I’m just walkin’ out here to Zoey’s car. I’m not sneakin’ up on Stevie Rae and makin’ her jump.”

Stevie Rae rolled down her window and grinned at him. “Hey there, Dallas. I thought Kramisha said you were working out with Dragon.”

“I was. Check it out—Dragon gave me this cool knife. Said it’s a dirk. He also said I might be good with it.”

Stevie Rae watched dubiously as Dallas pulled a pointy, double-edged knife from a leather holder he was wearing strapped around his waist and held it kinda awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure whether it would cut someone else, or cut him.

“It’s real sharp-looking,” Stevie Rae said, trying to sound positive.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m not using it to practice with yet, but Dragon did say I could wear it. For a while. If I was careful.”

“Oh, okay. Cool.” If she lived a million years Stevie Rae was sure she’d never understand guy stuff.

“Yeah, so, I got done with my dirk lessons and ran into Kramisha on my way out of the Field House,” Dallas said while he sheathed the knife. “She said she’d left you here ’cause you were gettin’ ready to take off to go do some earth thing. I thought I’d try to catch you before you left and come along.”

“Oh, well. That’s nice, Dallas, but I’m fine by myself. Actually, it would really help if you grabbed a green candle and some matches for me from Nyx’s Temple and ran them back out here to me. Oh, and if you see some sweetgrass in the temple, bring it here, too, would ya? Don’t know where my mind’s been, but conjuring earth is definitely easier with an earth candle, and I totally forgot one, not to mention the sweetgrass for drawin’ positive energy.”

She was surprised when Dallas didn’t say ’kay and jog away for the stuff. Instead, he just stood there, watching her, with his hands shoved down in his jeans pockets and looked kinda annoyed.

“What?” she asked.

“I’m sorry I’m not a Warrior!” he blurted. “I’m tryin’ the best I can to learn somethin’ from Dragon, but it’s gonna take me a while to get decent at it. I’ve never really cared about all that fightin’ stuff, and I’m sorry!” Dallas repeated, looking more and more upset.

“Dallas, what the heck are you talkin’ about?”

He threw his hands up in frustration. “I’m talkin’ about me not being good enough for you. I know you need more—that you need a Warrior. Hell, Stevie Rae, if I’d been your Warrior, I could’ve been there for you when those kids attacked you and almost killed you. If I were your Warrior, you wouldn’t be sendin’ me off on stupid errands. You’d keep me close to you, so I could protect you during all this stuff you’re goin’ through.”

“I’m doin’ fine protecting myself, and gettin’ me an earth candle and stuff is not a stupid errand.”

“Yeah, okay, but you deserve better than a guy who doesn’t know shit about protecting his woman.”

Stevie Rae’s brows went up to meet her curly blond hair. “Did you just call me your woman?”

“Well, yeah.” He fidgeted, and then added, “But in a good way.”

“Dallas, you couldn’t have stopped what happened on the roof,” she said truthfully. “You know how those kids are.”

“I should have been with you; I should be your Warrior.”

“I don’t need a Warrior!” she yelled, exasperated at his stubbornness and hating the fact that he was so upset.

“Well, you sure as hell don’t need me anymore.” He turned his back on the Bug and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

Stevie Rae looked at his hunched shoulders and felt terrible. She’d done this. She’d hurt him because she’d been pushing him and everyone away to keep Rephaim a secret. Guilty as a rabbit in a carrot patch, she got out of the car and touched his shoulder gently. He didn’t look at her.

“Hey, that’s not true. I do need you.”

“Sure. That’s why you’ve been busy shoving me away.”

“No, I’ve just been busy. Sorry if I’ve come across as mean,” she said.

He turned to her. “Not mean. Just not caring anymore.”

“I care!” she said quickly, and stepped into his arms, hugging him back as tightly as he was hugging her.

Dallas spoke softly into her ear. “Then let me come with you.”

Stevie Rae pulled back so she could look at him, and the “no, you can’t” she’d been ready to say died on her lips. It was like she could see his heart through his eyes, and it was clear that she was breaking it—breaking him. What the hell was she doing hurting this kid because of Rephaim? She’d saved the Raven Mocker. She wasn’t sorry about that. She was sorry that it was affecting the people around her. Well, that’s it, then. I’m not hurtin’ the folks I care about most.

“Okay, yeah, you can come with me,” she told him.

His eyes instantly brightened. “You mean it?”

“ ’Course I mean it. I do need that earth candle, though. Well, and the sweetgrass, too. And it’s still not a stupid errand.”

“Hell, I’ll get you a whole bag of candles and all the grass you want!” Dallas laughed, kissed her, and then, yelling that he’d be right back, sprinted away.

Slowly, Stevie Rae got back into the Bug. She gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead, reciting her mental to-do list aloud like a mantra. “Conjure earth with Dallas. Find out what I