Descending Darkness(51)

When he doesn’t get back up right away, I realize that the fight is over. I reach down and help Conner up. “Sorry,” I say when I see his wince.

Bragden runs up to me and picks me up. “I told you you could do it!”

When he puts me back on the ground, I am instantly knocked off my feet again as Emma barrels into me. “That was amazing. You’re totally my hero now!” She gets off of me and jumps up. Reaching a hand out, she says, “Oh and sorry for tackling you again.”

“That’s okay. I’m good down here actually,” I tell her. Since I am no longer moving, I realize how much pain I am actually in. My stomach and shoulder are throbbing, and my forearms are numb from blocking their hits. I close my eyes and use my arm to block out the bright lights in the room. “Goodness gracious guys, did you have to use me as a punching bag?” My voice comes out more winded than I wanted it to.

Bragden and Conner mumble their apologies. I hear the others making their way over to us. Bragden sits down next to me. “So, in order to make you believe in yourself, I have to make you angry.” I try laughing, but it comes out all wrong. I am still trying to catch my breath. Sparring with two large guys takes a lot out of a girl.

Someone grabs onto my arm. I open my eyes and find Logan standing over me. The throbbing in my stomach and shoulder fades while feeling returns to my arms. I smile at him and sit up in a seated position. Colton stops right beside me. Looking down at me, he asks, “Are you okay?” I hop up and look around the room.

“Yep, now I want to electrocute something.”

“You want to what?” Colton asks me. I laugh at the expression on his face. I realize that it is a strange sentence, but I want to use my magic.

“I said that I want to electrocute something. I’m pumped up now and want to use my magic.”

Colton walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. I lean back against him as he says, “You should rest a little, Ry. You’re tired.” I open my mouth to argue with him. “Don’t argue with me. I can tell that you’re tired. You can work on your magic later.” He starts walking backward, pulling me with him.

“Hmph, you suck,” I whisper to him jokingly.

“But you love me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I say as I call my magic to me. I may not get to train with it today, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use it right now. I surprise him when I shock him in the chest like I’ve done so many times with Bragden. He stares at me with wide eyes, and I start skipping backward out of the training room.

Bragden starts laughing. “Now, you know what it’s like!” I grin at him and wait for him to come after me. When he turns around and faces me again, I see the coy smile that I was waiting for. I turn around and run out of the room. I hear his footsteps following me as I run through the forest. I enter the backyard and run up the stairs and wait on the porch. I don’t see Colton, but that doesn’t mean anything.

A couple seconds later, something barrels into me. I take a couple steps backward before I’m spun around and pressed against Colton’s invisible chest. I laugh as he whispers in my ear, “Gotcha.” I look down and see that I am now invisible too. He bends down and flings me over his shoulder. I scream as Colton opens the backdoor and walks inside.

“Put me down!” I say through my laughter. He ignores me and runs up the stairs. It still shocks me that all these guys are able to easily support my weight. He makes it to the top of the stairs and casually walks into our room. I am still hitting his back, trying to get him to put me down. When the door is closed, he releases me and becomes visible.

I am still smiling when he reaches out and crushes me to him. That isn’t the reaction I was expecting to get after shocking him, but I’ll take it. I lean into him and kiss him back. The arms around my waist tighten as he picks me up, bringing me up to his height. When I wrap my legs around his waist for leverage, he deepens the kiss. One of his hands is placed on my lower back while another lightly pulls my hair.

What happened to taking it slow? As if reading my mind, Colton pulls back and rests his forehead against mine. I unwind my legs from his waist and let him place me back on the ground. Resting my hand on his chest, I smile as I feel his racing heartbeat.

“Don’t worry so much, Ry,” Colton tells me. “Everything will play out like it should.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I have faith in you,” he whispers to me, his voice so full of love. I lean back and look into his eyes and see the truth behind his words. I’m going to do whatever I have to do to make sure that look stays in his eyes.