Changed

Chapter Four

We held a makeshift funeral for Suki that evening. As the sun set, Hail was gathering tinder, and Belle sat motionless beside her adopted child's grave. I hadn't even talked to the woman, but I saw what she did to that Scaevus and I had no intention of interrupting her grieving. So I sat with Hail as I watched him create the perfect blueprint for a fire. I was lost in thought of food, mainly because of my deafening stomach grumbles. 

"Can you light it?" He asked, breaking me out of my hungry daze.

I glanced at him momentarily - just to make sure I heard him correctly, and felt my pockets for some kind of lighter. "No matches or anything sorry!"

"I don't mean artificially, I mean can you light it?"

I furrowed my brows at him. Didn't I just say I had no matches?

"Don't look at me like that, come here."

Seriously expecting him to have hit his head on a nearby branch or something, I reluctantly made my way closer to him. He grabbed my arm, and I hoped he didn't notice my heart free falling right out of my chest. He pulled me closer and straightened my paralyzed limb out towards the fire.

"Uh... Hail," I started, trying desperately not to show my obvious mental freak out at his cold touch.

"Sh. Shut up," he whispered. I obliged, my wide grey-blue eyes showing what my words couldn't.

"Focus. You may not recall your past, but I remember what others knew about you."

"Dude. Explain please!"

"Your power is creating fire out of air, or something like that. And if you are as strong as they say you are, you'll be able to override the forest's power ban," he explained.

This was ridiculous. But hell, I'd play along. It's not like I had anything better to do, and this was the closest I'd been to acceptance in a very long time.

"So how am I going to be doing this?"

"Just think and focus."

"Great advice."

He gave me a slightly pissed off look, and I smirked and concentrated on the pile of barren wood in front of me. I imagined the orange-yellow flames engulfing the dry wood in a hungry battle to reduce it to embers and ashes. I stared at the pile of tinder so hard, I probably wouldn't need a power to burn a hole right through it. Then suddenly a burst of flame shot out from within the logs and I was thrown back into Hail, landing right on top of him in the most cliche way imaginable.

My face landed an inch away from his. He threw me off as if I were toxic but I was too stunned to think anything of it. Did I just make fire?

"Did I do that?" I whispered dumbfounded.

"Sure did hot-head" he winked at me, collecting himself while I sat on the ground about to have an aneurysm.

My pounding heart was in sync with my rapid breathing as I stared gawking at the burning wood.

"Amara," A sudden voice came out of the darkness behind us.

I scrambled up on my feet as I succumbed to obvious embarrassment. Hail however just stood there stoically and chuckled at my awkward attempts not to be awkward.

"Belle?" I questioned, surprised she even talked to me.

"I need to speak to you alone."

I followed her to the far edge of where the light of the now fully ablaze fire reached, just outside of anyone else's view, and glanced back at Hail to find a concerned look plastered on his face.

"I assume you know what you are, correct?" she asked

"Actually no I don't..." I said, and gave her an apologetic look.

"Keep it that way." She snarled.

As I peered up at her to ask her what she meant I found two purple cat-eyes staring back at me.

She wasn't human.