Fire Proof

Chapter Twenty

"Quid agis?" Aislee hisses and I quickly but quietly shut my door. "You should not be telling Lupi what we are!"

"Nice to see you too, sis." I mutter. I'm thrilled she's here, but at the same time I'm extremely upset by her presence.

She glares at me, her ice blue eyes on fire. "What is wrong with you?" She hisses. "Do you not remember Mother's warning?"

I shrug, even though I fully remember what Mother said to me the day we left. But living here, I've come to see that it's not all bad.

She takes a few steps closer and I hold still as a statue. "What about everything Mother taught us? Are you just going to throw that all out over a boy?"

I feel my palms heat up, and I want nothing more than to chuck a flame ball at her head. She should know better than to be messing with a Fire like this.

"Well maybe," I spit back at her, "Mother was wrong!"

She takes a step back, her eyes wide. I extinguish the fire in my hands and blink. I don't think either of us were expecting that out of me.

After a moment, she recovers. "I saw you, in the clearing in woods. I saw you eat strange foods and talk to a strange Wolf before getting shot at by hostiles!"

My eyes form slits. "Well if you were just watching us, why didn't you come help us?" My voice raises slightly. "In fact, if you've been alive all this time, why didn't you come get us?! We've only been in this pack for a couple of months! Where were you for the last four years?"

She opens her mouth to answer but a knock on my bedroom door cuts her off. "Azari?" Jasmin calls and my eyes stretch wide open. Both of us freeze. "Honey, are you alright? Who are you talking to?"

"She heard us?!" Aislee hisses and I glare at her stupidity.

"Wolf hearing?" I remind her under my breath.

"All good!" I call out, hoping it's enough to send Jasmin on her way.

"Can I come in?"

I panic, my eyes darting around the room for some excuse to keep her out. "Um. . . I'd rather you don't. I'm, um, getting changed!" I shuffle around, trying to create the sound clothes would make.

"Alright, Honey, if you're sure you're fine. Just let me know if you need anything." I hear her footsteps fade and let out a breath I didn't realize I've been holding. When any noise from Jasmin is gone, I whirl back around to face my sister.

She beats me to it, "Azari, I know you're upset, but just listen to me!" I huff, but don't interrupt. "When I got trapped under that rockfall during the attack, I was knocked out for an entire week. When someone finally dig me out, everything had changed.

"Half the Caves were collapsed or destroyed. They used more than just their wolves, they used bombs and catapults! It was horrifying. When I became strong enough, I went to the woods to search for you, praying you made it. But I couldn't find you anywhere! I did try, I swear."

I keep my gaze hard as I cut in. "Four years, Aislee, four years! We never left that forest. So, I'm sorry, but I don't believe you."

She looks down, and I know that means she didn't tell me everything. "Just come home, Azari. Let yourself be a dragon once again!"

I roll my eyes, "I never stopped being a dragon, Aislee."

"You could be a free dragon." Her eyes hold a glint that makes me not so sure what she's saying is true. "Come back to where you belong. Where you were born and where you should be!"