Smolder by Abigail Livinghouse (best young adult book series TXT) 📕

"Time to get up lazy bones!" It was Aurora.

I groaned, rolling over so that my face was buried in Dimitri's chest. He laughed, caressing my hair which I was positive looked like a bird's nest.

"Don't make me come in there!" She threatened, however I couldn't possibly imagine the bubbly Aurora to bring any harm onto us. That didn't mean I was about to ignore her.

I swung my legs over the bed and stood, stretching out my muscles with a few cracks. Dimitri opened the door to a smiling purple haired Aurora.  She wore the same black dress as yesterday it seemed and was once again barefoot.

"Up and at'em!" She said giddily.

I rubbed my eyes, barely keeping a yawn at bay. Dimitri and I had slept in our clothes out of habit and exhaustion, so we were pretty much ready for wherever it was she wanted to take us.

"Brush your teeth and comb your hair! Meet me downstairs in the lobby when you're done." Aurora ordered with relish, and skipped away.

"What was that about?" I asked Dimitri after he'd closed the door. He shrugged.

"Who knows? She's always like that."

I wrinkled my nose. "Really?"

He chuckled, reached out, and ruffled my already tangled hair. I squealed and went to duck away, but he just wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. I ended up laughing as I was enveloped in Dimitri's warm, inviting embrace.

"C'mon, let's 'brush our teeth and comb our hair'!" Dimitri mimicked Aurora. I snorted.

"Yes, sir."

***

Downstairs Aurora was waiting in the lobby as promised, with Lilith on her left, Felix on her right, and the rest of the Prophets gathered around talking. Maddie was with the triplets while her brother was off with Izzy and Isaac. When Felix saw us, he smiled broadly.

"Sirenia, Dimitri, so glad you two could finally join us. You're not ones for keeping with time schedules are you?" He asked. There was an obvious edge to his voice.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what was making him tense. It had to do with the world beyond the Haven, that I was sure of. And considering he had all of the Prophets gathered in one place, it most likely had something to do with us too. My shoulders straightened, my fire at full attention, I ignored his snide remark and waited to hear what we were really here for.

Seeing as I wasn't about to take his bait, he sighed. "Well, today is your first day of training. Mr. Veksler is quite familiar with the way things work by now. He'll be put into one group with Isaac, Madrassa and Matthew, Rachael, Rachelle, and Raegen. You, Sirenia, you'll be with Lilith, Aurora, Isaiah, and myself. Lilith and Aurora will be your trainers, I am your teacher."

I scowled and opened my mouth to protest, but Felix waved a non-compromising hand at me. "No buts. You'll be just fine separated for a few hours. The experienced group will be off practicing, you and Isaiah will start with basic training."

Dimitri didn't seem to be in the mood for arguing and I had to admit that I wasn't either. He hugged me, pecked my cheek, and gave me a quick smile before splitting off with the group members Felix had given him. I stayed put, giving Felix a less than appreciative look. He shook his head, smirking.

"Sooner or later, you're going to have to learn to accept the decisions I make on your behalf." He said, exasperated.

I shrugged. Aurora clapped her hands and bounced once on the balls of her feet. "This is going to be so much fun!"

Felix led us to the back of the apartment complex where a sizeable grassy area waited for us, ideal for whatever training they had in mind. It was a cloudy day, the sky the color of the concrete wall I could see a few miles away from the apartments. I heard Lilith take in a sharp breath and saw her grab her sister's arm, not so much for comfort but it seemed to make sure she was really there. As if Lilith wasn't about to go on her ability to sense people alone, without any confirmation.

"This is a fine spot." Felix stopped us.

There was a car barely visible rusting away in the tall grass about ten feet ahead. Izzy cocked his head to the side.

"What's that for?" He asked.

"Practice." Lilith said to him. Her eyes were staring right at him too.

Izzy still looked confused, but Felix came over and patted me on the back. "Oh don't worry, you'll understand after Sirenia demonstrates."

My eyebrows rose. "Excuse me?"

"Lilith." Felix nodded to the blind girl.

She released her sister and stepped forward immediately at his command, still many feet away from the car and not even directly on target. She took a deep breath, outstretched her hand, and like the fire that pours from my palms, a blast of what looked like fog came shooting out of hers when she exhaled.

Lilith's bluish gray fog collided with the car and there was a screeching noise of metal being strained, before we could see the finished product. An old car, coated in a thick layer of ice. Completely frozen. The whole thing had taken about three seconds tops. It was one of the most astounding things I had ever seen.

I was surprised my eyes didn't jump out of their sockets. Izzy was staring in complete amazement, and there was a light of excitement blooming in his baby blue eyes.

"That was incredible!" He exclaimed.

Lilith ignored him, returning to stand beside Aurora. Izzy looked incredulously at each of us, his hands outstretched in front of him.

"How can you not be amazed by what you just saw?! How can you not think that's the most awesome thing you've ever seen?!"

For some reason when he said that, it pissed me off. I stepped forward and grabbed his shirt front in my fist before anyone could do anything, my nose an inch from his. "You think this is funny? You think this is all a big game and the winner gets some prize? You haven't been out in the world much, have you? You wanna know how I know? Because you don't get it."

Izzy's eyes had widened so much that he looked like a deer caught in headlights. He might as well be.

"You don't get that people are dying. That there are corpses fucking eating people out there beyond that wall, and you could give a damn! 'Let's just prance around inside this big old concrete box until the world fixes itself'. Well I have some news, it's not going to fix itself. It's going to remain one huge hellhole for a long time. It's been like that for years, and I see no reason why that would change. But you skipping around here like you're a fucking child at a carnival isn't helping anything."

"Scolding him for his lightheartedness isn't helping anything either." Felix interjected.

I whirled on him, releasing Izzy. I was out of breath after my tirade, and I knew I didn't have the energy to take on Felix. Instead I just stood there, breathing heavy and waiting for what my teacher and the two twins had to say.

"She has a point." Lilith agreed.

I stared at her, astonished she spoke and completely baffled that it was on my behalf. Aurora was looking at her sister with the same bewildered expression.

Lilith didn't say anything for a few seconds, not realizing we were staring at her. But when no one spoke, she did, explaining herself.

"Siren's right. Wandering around the Haven without a care in the world won't solve anything. Of course, neither will yelling at Izzy. But", she paused, probably waiting for someone to object.

"But", Lilith went on. "He's not taking this seriously", she turned in Izzy's general direction. He flinched when her blank gaze rested on him. "Your brother was very kind in risking his life to save yours. One would say Isaac was stupid for leaving safety just to rescue his twin, who was ignorant enough not to find his way back to his brother in the first place. No matter, if you don't take this seriously and pay attention, you'll be answering to me."

Lilith's icy cold threat hung dangerously in the air. Izzy swallowed, and I swore I could hear it.

Felix clapped, which made Izzy jump. Lilith was still staring at him, I noticed. "Now that that's settled, let's get continue."

Lilith retreated from where she stood and took my hand, leading me to stand where she had. Her touch was surprisingly warm. She released me and gestured to the frozen car.

"Burn it." Lilith deadpanned.

I rose my eyebrows. "What?"

"Burn it." She repeated. "Show us what you can do."

I didn't need any further instructions, my fire was itching to be released. I couldn't even remember the last time I used it. I outstretched my hand, stared at the car, and flames immediately poured deliciously from my palm. I let out a grateful breath, feeling the ecstasy of heat coming from my body. Steam rapidly rose from the ice as flames devoured it, until the car was cracking and sizzling.

"Very good. You could take out a fleet of the Dead with your made-up technique, Sirenia. I'm impressed." Felix praised.

My eyes narrowed, noting the compliment but also the underlying insult. "'Made-up'?"

Felix shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. "You never had any formal training. You're eighteen and you don't even know as much as Madrassa and Matthew."

"That's not my fault." I snapped at him. "How was I supposed to know there was a group of Prophets looking for me?"

"You couldn't." Aurora spoke up for the first time since we got outside. Her blue eyes were soft and kind, definitely not looking to stroke this conflict. "You had no idea, neither did my sister and I. We didn't know until two years ago. So don't worry, you'll catch up in no time."

She offered me an optimistic smile, and my temper and ego deflated a bit. I knew I was letting my emotions get the better of me. What had happened with Trenton and Dimitri's sickness was all catching up to me at once. Felix came up to me and put his arm around my shoulders. I resisted the urge to shake him off.

"Perhaps you need a break."

He led me away from the burning car and the three Prophets calmly watching us, until we came around the other side of the building where the rest of the Prophets were practicing. Dimitri was talking with Maddie as they sat on a crumbling concrete pillar that had toppled over. Maddie swinging her legs back and forth as she talked happily. She looked over Dimitri's shoulder and her face brightened when she saw us.

"Sirenia!" She scrambled down from the column and hugged me around the waist. She then backed up a step, still smiling. "So how was your first lesson?"

I hadn't really learned anything, but I returned her smile and answered with fake excitement. "It went great! I can't wait for another."

My false enthusiasm made Maddie's smile get even bigger. "That's awesome! Felix's a great teacher."

I looked at our "teacher" who smirked at me, just like the know-it-all he was. I grimaced. "Yeah, he's definitely something."

Dimitri sauntered over and as if it was as natural as breathing, gave me a peck on the cheek and took my hand. I felt myself blush as he led me away to sit on the pillar Maddie had vacated.

"So I'm guessing it didn't go as well as you'd hoped?" He asked, gently rubbing my knuckles with his thumb. It was pretty soothing, and I had to resist the urge to rest my head on his shoulder. I sighed.

"Yeah, sort of. Can I ask you something?"

He nodded, completely open to whatever I had to say.

"Does Lilith have a bad temper?"

From Dimitri's puzzled look, I knew that I had been out of