The Lightning-Struck Heart (Tales From Verania 1)

I tried to pull my magic toward me, and on the edges of my vision, the green and gold fluttered. I stood, pushing my chair back.

“Sit down,” Eloise said.

I opened my mouth to tell her to fuck off and then torch this whole fucking village, but instead, I sat down.

“No magic,” she said.

The green and gold flitted away as if they were never there at all.

“I seriously despise you,” I said truthfully.

She didn’t give a damn. “The scorch marks,” she said. “Near the tree the fire geckos lit.”

“Lightning from Dark wizards,” I said. “I took their magic and made it my own.”

I thought that would instill the fear of the gods in her, but it only made her cheeks flush and her breath short. “He will be so pleased,” she murmured. “What we have brought to him.”

“Who?”

“Our Great Father,” she said and the people of Tarker Mills bowed their heads in supplication.

“The Great….” I trailed off, my gaze dropping to the sash. Particularly the beast etched near the top. It all clicked into place. “The dragon. You worship the dragon?”

“He descended from on high,” she said as Tarker Mills quietly agreed with her. “He came to us and we knew we’d found our salvation.”

I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense. The dragon hasn’t been in Verania that long. How long have you known about it?”

“Fifty-seven glorious days,” Eloise said.

“Fifty-seven days,” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“You turned your entire town into a cult in fifty-seven days.”

“Not a cult,” she snapped. “A religion.”

“Fifty-seven days,” I said. “You built an entire religion in less than two months!”

“You sound impressed.”

“I am impressed,” I admitted. “You must be a special kind of crazy if you can create that kind of idolatry in such a short amount of time.”

She stood swiftly. “I’m not crazy.”

“Kind of crazy,” Gary said.

“A lot crazy,” Tiggy said.

“Crazy and you force-fed your neighbors a compulsion mix,” I said. “Come on. Let me use my magic. You’re a lady and you look like a grandma, but I still want to hit you right now.”

“Do some magic,” Ryan whispered to me, right in my ear. “Slowly. So I can watch.”

“When we get out of here, I’m going to do so much magic all over you,” I told him. “You’re going to be covered in it.” At that moment, I really wished I’d been born mute and had never set eyes on Ryan Foxheart.

“Make it stop!” Gary wailed.

“Yeah. Cover me in your magic.” Ryan was blushing so hard, I thought his face was about to explode. “I want to stop talking. You have no idea how much I want to stop talking.” He leaned closer and I could feel his breath on my face. It smelled of corn and eroticism.