The Dream Traveler

Chapter Eighteen--That changes everything

He threw his hands in the air, backed up and started walking to the Guild.

"Jaxon." I hollered after him.

I was tired of being kept in the dark, and he was going to finish explaining himself or I'd drag his sorry butt to some desolate planet until he did. He still hadn't turned around.

I cupped my mouth and yelled one more time, "Jaxon!"

He just kept walking.

That's it. I closed my eyes a drained every particle of my being to the traveler's realm and pinpointed a landing in front of him.

I appeared into view just in time for his chest slam into my face. Ow. I rubbed my nose. At least I landed on my feet this time.

"Care to explain?" I said throwing my hands in the air.

"No." He darted around me and kept walking.

I yanked myself through the short distance between us, then dropped in front of him, blocking his path. This time he stopped, crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. His you need to apologize glare stared me right in the face.

Me, apologize? My hands tingled and got hot. I'm the victim here.

His eyes went wide, and he adjusted his stance. "Rings are more than a promise. They show aptitude, talent, and status within our circle." His eyes glowed amber. "In your case, it also shows how crazy I am. When the rest of the circle sees that—?" He pursed his lips and exhaled loud enough for me to hear. "So forgive me if I'm not enthusiastic to hear my ring has marred your skin."

Gran always said I had a bad case of foot in mouth syndrome. "When you say it that way it does sound bad. I didn't mean..." I lifted my gaze to match his. "I'm just so tired of everyone keeping me in the dark."

"Here's a thought, maybe try asking." Jax took a step forward and dragged his fingertips down my arm until he held my clench fist in his hand. "Open your fingers."

I hesitated, wondering if I should.

"Do you want your answer?" he said with a hint of impatience.

"Yes." I unfurled my fingers, and a blue flame ignited over my palm. "How did you—?"

"Not me—you. You're angry. When you clench your fist, energy builds until you release it."

When the flame sputtered like it was about to go out, Jaxon hovered his closed hand above mine. He opened his fingers slowly to reveal a low flame hugging his palm and spilling over the sides of his hand. His flame like a siren's call, coaxed the flames from my palm higher until they mixed with his.

It felt like he was tickling my skin with a feather. I could sense a sadness and disappointment through our link and pushed my flames higher to see what else I could learn from our connection. He jerked his hand back and the flames dissipated.

"You want to know how I feel?" He looked up with bright eyes.

"My fire burns through your veins. I can hear it call me when I'm near you and tear me apart when I'm not. There's nothing I wouldn't do," Jax paused and looked at his feet and then at my leg, "or haven't done already to be with you."

He was referring to the twisted flame running up my leg. "You're talking about..."

"The spiral flame? Yeah." He shuffled his feet and brushed his fingers down my arm. "Funny. They're supposed to be impossible to create."

"Impossible and I don't work well together. Haven't you figured that yet?" I smirked and wiped a lock of hair away from my face. "They can't be all that hard to create."

"I meant impossible, as in legend."

Disbelief hung in the air, choking my thoughts. "But there has to be another woman with a spiral ring."

"Not that I've ever met or heard about." His fingertips caressed the top my hand. "Just you."

I still didn't understand. "But why me?"

"A spiral ring requires a saawel promise, a level ten talent, an ability to wield fire and..." He cupped my face and lifted my chin until my eyes met his. "And the willingness to share everything."

"Share everything?" I laughed out loud at the thought. Besides a dusty old spell book and the stones around my neck, I didn't exactly have much to share. "What do I have that you'd possibly want? I own nothing. Hell, I don't even own the clothes I'm wearing."

"I don't think that's how it works. I'm not a level ten, and you didn't make the saawel promise, I did."

"You made the promise to share."

He nodded. "When your mouth met mine, the call of your hot flames pressed inside of me." He licked his lips. "Lapping at the border of my thoughts, emotions, and control. I couldn't imagine being without you, not even for a second. By the circle, I'd promise anything for a lifetime with you. And when I did, the wall between us crumbled, and you came spiraling in."

"It's not like a regular ring, is it?"

"No, it's not. Women in the Fire Circle don't hold official positions in court. They can voice their thoughts, but it's the men who make the decisions about running the realm."

He didn't...

"That spiral changes how our circle will run—it marks you as my equal in all ways. When I take the throne, so do you."

ANOTHER chapter coming shortly. (I MEAN IT!) :) 

Looking forward to hearing your comments.