The Cypher Wheel Read Free

her
posture screaming defeat.
    “Yes, you can, and, no, you will not,” Faen
whispered. His expression emphasizing his determination to get back
the girl he loved from where she was hiding behind a carefully
erected wall.
    Faedra's eyes glistened. “No, I can't. I can't risk
hurting anyone. Faen, you don't understand… this energy, it's
almost consuming me. Every minute of every day all I hear is a roar
inside my head, like the blast of a furnace. Sometimes I think I'll
go crazy. I just want it to be quiet, I want it to stop. I don't
know how much longer I can take this.”
    Faen uncrossed his legs and slid off the bed in one
fluid motion. He stood in front of her and took her hands in
his.
    “I know you can do it and I know you will not hurt
anyone. I will prove it to you right now.”
    She looked up into his eyes, giving him a wordless
apology as she extricated herself from his grip and took a step
back.
    Undeterred, Faen took a step forward, taking hold of
her hands again as he did so.
    Faedra gave him a puzzled look as she withdrew again
and took another step back. When Faen took another step forward and
reached for her hands again, she carefully put them behind her back
and matched his forward step with another backwards one.
    “What are you doing?” she asked. The determination on
his face sparking concern in her heart; Faedra just couldn't bear
to hurt him anymore.
    He took another step forward, giving her a reassuring
smile as he did, to which Faedra repeated her backwards step but
found herself blocked by her bedroom wall.
    She pressed her back into the wall, reveling in the
coolness of it for just a second before her heat warmed the entire
surface. Faen moved in so close he was but an inch away from her
body. She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and held it. He
could feel the heat she was radiating as her emotions started to
rise, but, as yet, it was just pleasantly warm. He knew she was
fighting to control the power that was ever present in her body and
hoped his gamble would pay off.
    “Breathe,” he whispered, his warm breath fanning over
her face.
    “Faen,” she warned, as he took both of her arms,
peeled them away from behind her back and placed each one of her
hands around his neck. She opened her eyes. “I don't want to hurt
you.”
    “You won't,” he stated.
    “How can you say that? Have you been walking around
this place with your eyes closed? I burn everything I touch.” She
tried to pull her hands away from his neck but he held them in
place.
    Faen could see her eyes pleading with him, but he
also sensed she wanted him to hold her, wanted to feel normal
again.
    “I have been watching you very closely and in the
past few days you have not burned or scorched anything, and I have
not kissed you in six months. My patience just ran out.” He brushed
her cheeks as he tucked errant strands of hair behind each ear and
cupped her face in his hands. Her skin heated under his palms, but
not uncomfortably so.
    “Concentrate on the glass of water on your bedside
table,” he said as he lowered his head until his lips were just
millimeters away from hers. “Ready?”
    “No,” she whimpered.
    “Too bad,” Faen whispered a split second before
brushing her lips, gently at first. Allowing her time to
adjust.
    He felt her tense for a second under his touch; heat
rose to her lips, almost painful, then ebbed away. She relaxed into
him. He deepened their kiss for a few seconds more before pulling
back. He didn't want to push her too far the first time. He also
wanted to keep his lips intact.
    Faedra's eyes were locked onto his, full of fear and
panic. He gave her a warm smile.
    “See, no harm done. No blisters.”
    A bubbling noise distracted them and Faen turned to
see what it was. Faedra leaned to one side of her Guardian to seek
out the cause of noise. The glass of water on her bedside cabinet
was boiling so fiercely that water was splashing over the rim and
onto the wood.
    “Well, that worked