Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

Kiarra’s cheeks turned pink, aware that any passerby could interpret that a million different ways. She just wanted to stop with all the nonsense and actually talk to Jaxton’s sister. Kiarra turned on her heel and started walking. “Let’s go, then.”

She got a few feet before Jaxton grabbed her hand and pulled her in a different direction. Once they reached a patch of green, with no person closer than ten feet away, Jaxton stopped and Kiarra bumped into his back. Kiarra snatched her hand out of his and glared. “Go, stay, go. Make up your damn mind.”

A woman laughed and Kiarra noticed Millie standing at her side. Millie put out her hand. “I’ve been waiting to meet you, and I’m not disappointed. Any woman who stands up to my brother is a friend of mine.” Millie flashed a grin at Jaxton. “He can be a bit of an arsehole at times.”

Kiarra instantly liked the woman and shook Millie’s hand. “I won’t disagree with that.”

Jaxton made a noise in the back of his throat. “If you’re quite done forming a coalition against me, can we get going? I’d rather not stand out in the open.”

Millie put out an arm and motioned for Kiarra to link hers through. “We have plenty of time to conspire. Shall we?”

Kiarra gingerly put her arm through Millie’s and wondered if this was how female friends acted with one another.

She gave one last glance at Jaxton before Millie started moving. As they went along the street, Millie pointed out the various sights, telling stories like an amateur tour guide. They went down a couple of streets until they reached a section of houses, went up some stairs, and entered a two-story apartment.

Once they were inside, Millie tossed aside her keys and walked into the kitchen. Not knowing what else to do, she followed, and Millie motioned for Kiarra to take a seat at the table. “I’ll just put the kettle on and we can talk properly.”

Jaxton came in and leaned against a counter. “Make something for Kiarra to eat too.”

For some reason, making sure she ate something in private was acceptable, but treating her like someone unable to make decisions for herself in front of Millie was too much. “Most people would ask if I was hungry rather than just ordering something for me to eat.”

Jaxton raised an eyebrow. “But I know you’re hungry, right? So why bother with the extra step?”

“Because maybe I’m not hungry, maybe I only want something to drink. It is too much to ask that I want to control my own eating and drinking habits? Fifteen years of having it all decided for me was quite enough.”

“You bloody well know this isn’t the AMT and I won’t see you hungry again.”

Part of her realized the importance of that last statement, but she was too irritated to care. “That is not the issue. You need to stop ordering me around like a lackey. Or treating me like a child. If I need your help, I’ll ask for it.”

Jaxton remained silent, but continued to stare at her until someone slid a cup of tea and a plate of cookies in front of Kiarra. She’d forgotten that Millie was still in the room.

Millie patted Kiarra on the shoulder. “You are bloody brilliant.” Millie turned and pointed a finger at her brother. “And you need to calm the hell down and become the clever DEFEND commander my brother used to be.”

Jaxton took a cookie from the plate Millie had placed on the table. “Stop meddling, Millicent. This has nothing to do with you.”

Millie made a

face. “Call me that again and see what happens.”

“Millicent.”

A blade whizzed through the air and the point embedded into the cabinet to the left of Jaxton’s head. But Jaxton acted as if nothing had happened and took a bite of his cookie. “You missed.”

Millie turned away from her brother and said, “Kiarra, how would you like a little girl time? If you want, we can get your hair cut, buy some clothes, and have some fun.” Millie waved her hand towards Jaxton. “I know you haven’t had any fun with him, so it’s up to me to show you a good time. Think of it as a Welcome Back to the Outside World celebration. What do you say?”

Jaxton brushed the cookie crumbs off of his hands. “You are not taking her out on the town, Millicent.”

Millie turned and scowled. “I have three more blades and I won’t miss next time.”

Jaxton pulled out the blade near his head. “I only need one to stop you.”

As the siblings continued to squabble, Kiarra felt a pang of jealousy. Millie and Jaxton knew each other well enough to threaten each other with knives, whereas Kiarra had lacked the courage to even hug her own sister.

For now, her tender thoughts about Jaxton on the bus had vanished and she wanted nothing more than to piss him off, and Millie had given her the perfect way to do it. She stood up from her chair and moved toward the door. Millie and Jaxton noticed and stopped bickering.

Jaxton took a step toward her. “You want to see your room?”

Kiarra raised her chin, ignored him, and looked straight at Millie. “I’d love to go out with you.”