Fire of Life (Fiery Soul Series Book 1)

Chapter 8

Despite the disruptive dream, Bria intends to survive the day. While Rebecca is at swim practice, she convinces the dorm mistress that a lit candle accidentally dropped on the bedding and burnt a sizable part. While filling out paperwork, the judgmental stare from the dorm mistress sends an uneasy chill down her spine.

Thankfully, it's only a manipulation of the truth since she dropped a candle last week. Fortunately, the worst backlash is that she should be more careful, which allows plenty of time to think of next year's excuse.

As the candles softly illuminate the room, the flickering light and calming scent of honeysuckle soothe her chaotic world. Lily suggested the smell, but she suspects a little bias since it's her boss's favorite. However, the slow feed of energy trailing into her body matters the most to her. While most practitioners of the arcane arts use outside energies, the source of the pyro magic comes from within her fiery core. Her body is like an elemental battery that recharges from ambient sources, which is the sun and any open flame. The slow feed helps her control the influx and output to prevent accidents.

For now, she makes the bed, prepares for class, and watches Rebecca drift in like a ghost towards the coffee pot that Bria set up with a nice roast. The time together allows them to understand each routine, which helps to ascertain the diverse needs that someone courteous can respond within reason.

Smooth jazz fills the background as she bops energetically to the chaotic rhythm. The music pleases Bria both personally and professionally; she flows through the room with a boogie, which amuses her roommate at the animation. Then the radio screeches to a halt and sends alarms throughout the room.

An ominous prerecorded message fills the listeners with doom as they drone on about a biker gang known as the Men of Sin. The sense of urgency to avoid dark areas and to use rape whistles builds a foreboding layer of terror in the room. Then, jazz music unceremoniously barrages the room with cheer and joy again. Rebecca shakes her head as she sips her delicious coffee.

"So much for a quiet town," she remarks before turning to Bria. "Hey, is everything okay?"

Suddenly, the room turns gravely silent for Bria as she stares suspiciously at her roommate. In the history of her world, the beautiful joys of a birthday never happened after her eighth. Every year, a new horror unleashes that makes a happy life difficult, which now includes Rebecca possibly discovering her secret. She still doesn't know how to deal with the person that knows, so these moments add clouds of confusion inside her mind.

The dark shadows of guilt and shame fill her heart because of her roommate's kindness, but the fear of persecution runs rampant. While she never ventured to the pyre by wagon, the rush to judgment makes her feel the same dread. Her earliest dose was when her maternal grandmother shunned her and howled venomous versions of Christian ideologies to claim she's a devil child. Since learning Rebecca's father is a minister, the same fear replays continuously in her mind. Instead of answering, she grabs her bag and rushes out the door.

"Good talk," Rebecca quips.

A chill runs through Bria's spine after hearing those words, for which she cannot blame her roommate. Through the week, they've grown fond of each other, and now she gives a cold shoulder in return. Siobhan wouldn't be proud.

On the scenic route, Bria ventures around as she collects her thoughts for the day. The night in the clearing replays in her mind, and she wonders how to come back from that. In comparison to the boyfriends she's had in the past, Eric isn't as brutish or self-serving. Those men tried to pressure her into sex, but she wasn't willing to give up her virginity. It wasn't for any reason like saving herself for marriage or any romantic trope. Like many things in her life, the motivation comes back to her mum.
Although she never reached the birds and bees phase, her mum would regularly remind her never to let people pressure her into something she's unsure o.