Sember (Forestfolk, Book 2)

Chapter 19

As the sun dipped below the horizon, we picked a spot by a cluster of boulders to make camp. We spent the last of the daylight gathering bits of dry wood for a small fire. Since neither of us were affected by the cold or the snow, the campfire was more for light than heat.

When he pulled the flint out of his pack to start the fire, I stopped him. "I'll do it," I said a little too brusquely, trying to ward off the flutters that his proximity was causing.

He leaned back to watch, and I snapped a spark out of my fingers. He grinned and watched me bring the campfire to life, then I pulled my boots off with a groan. The only break we'd taken was when I had my tantrum in the snow.

I wiggled my toes by the fire and sighed happily. I didn't need the heat of the fire, but it still felt good against my abused feet, which were still recovering from my barefoot romp through icy plains.

"Hey!" I said as Jastin grabbed a foot and inspected it.

"Good." He replaced my foot and picked up the other one. "You are healing nicely." With a final pat, he set my foot down and leaned back in a relaxed pose. "I enjoy watching you make fire."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning. Damn him and his charm.

I scooted a bit in a lame effort to put distance between us.

"I enjoy making it," I said, and formed a fireball, tossing it between my hands a few times before reabsorbing it.

His eyes followed the flaming ball, and then looked back at me when it disappeared. "Beautiful," he murmured.

I assumed he was talking about the fireball, so I made another one and rolled it in my hands for a while. On a whim, I tossed it toward him. It startled him, but he still managed to catch it. The ball fizzled and disappeared in his grasp with a puff of smoke.

"Did that hurt?" I asked more out of curiosity than worry. He'd managed to quell my fiery rage, so I was pretty sure he could take the heat of a small blazing ball.

"Not at all," he replied. He formed a snowball and lobbed it to me.

I caught it easily, but it soon melted and dripped through my fingers.

"Throw me another." I increased the heat in my hands so that, when I caught it this time, it puffed directly into steam with a satisfying hiss.

His grin broadened. "I don't think I've had this much fun with my gift before."

"Me either," I admitted. "I mean, Goben's fireproof, and sometimes I'll toss a few at him—"

"He's fireproof?"

I smiled. "Yes. It's kind of perfect, right? I never have to worry about burning him."

"But he could never retaliate."

"Oh, he has. I'm not immune to rocks and pinecones, you know."

Jastin laughed, and I enjoyed the sound.

"What else can you do?" I asked, curious if he was limited to snowballs.

With a lopsided smile and a gleam in his eye, he steepled his fingers together to form a triangle with his thumbs. I watched him concentrate, and then stared at the perfect ice pyramid he set in front of me. I examined the sculpture without touching it so it wouldn't melt. Then he set another transparent shape next to it. A cube. The proportions were perfectly symmetrical. A flawless sphere appeared next.

"These are beautiful," I said as I lowered my head to get a better look at them. "I don't want to ruin them by touching them." The reflection of the campfire danced upon their shiny surfaces, and I scooted around to look at them from all angles. "I definitely can't do anything like this."