Page 89 of Obsidian and Frost

Starting with a clean wheelie, I let the front wheel hang high, my control tight around the throttle.

Then I surged ahead and stood up on the pegs, arms wide, before I slammed back down and angled into a sideways drift that burned rubber. The second tire caught again and I pushed my weight, employing my vampire speed to leap clean off the saddle.

I landed in a crouch on the bike’s tank to excitable clapping applause from Velra.

A moment later, I vaulted off the tank, letting the bike coast on its own just long enough for me to flip through the air, catch the handlebar mid-spin, then swing myself onto the saddle backward.

Velra whooped, her shadows swirling around her.

I chuckled, twisted back around in one fluid motion, then tore down the road and lined up my bike right next to hers.

I deployed the kickstand, then dismounted and leaned against it with a well-deserved cocky grin.

“Very impressive,” Velra said, throwing her leg over her bike in her purple leather pants. The motorcycle jacket was purple leather as well. And she looked stunning in it.

For my part, I’d just thrown on one of my worn black leather jackets over a white tank and a pair of gray jeans.

“Why, thank you, milady,” I said, giving a deep, dramatic bow.

A thrill ran through me as the whole thing had her laughing. So freely, so happily.

As she settled beside me against my bike, I told her, “What you did with your shadows was incredible. That’s new, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve been working on using my shadow magic for fun.” She smiled to herself. “As per Professor Nyvarra’s advice.”

“Oh,thatwas your extra assignment?”

“It was.”

Sylas hadn’t even known what it was, and Velra hadn’t yet mentioned it. Knowing her, it was so she could make sure she could achieve it before she brought it up—more survival mode stuff with her.

“Well, from what I just saw, it looks like it’s going really well.”

“It really is. It’s really freeing. And it’s kind of opened up new realms of possibility.” An awkward look spread over her face and she looked away, wringing her hands, as she admitted, “It’s also helping me to better control that ability. And my frost as well, because I started trying to use that for fun as well, like building little frost figurines. It takes concentration, precision, and a stable mental state.”

I turned sideways to face her. “We can talk about this without it being weird. There’s no pressure from me for you to hurry up with figuring that out. I mean it.” She met my eyes again, and I kept going. “I like this… us just hanging out like this. And if anything more is to come of it,youmake the move—if or when you’re ready. You doing this, not pulling away, and keeping me in your life… it means a lot to me, and I won’t fuck it up by considering it some consolation prize to be your friend only. Like you, I don’t have friends. Especially not close ones. So it’s special to me to have this.”

She stared at me for a few moments in what seemed to be a mixture of awe and relief, then she leaned against me and took my hand. “It’s special to me too.” She gave my hand a squeeze. “Thank you, Lazriel.”

“Nothing to thank me for.” I nudged her playfully. “And, just for the record, I like you exactly how you are already. I wish you didn’t feel the need to‘fix’this aspect of yourself with your frost and shadow magic, where it sometimes bursts out of control when your emotional state is heightened. But I also get why youwant to, the peace of mind it will give you.” I raised our joined hands and brushed a brief kiss across her knuckles. “So, just know that I have no fucking doubt that you’ll accomplish what you need to there.”

She went to speak, but then my senses—vampiric and wolf alike—shot into an electrified state.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, as I tensed up, my hand tightening in hers a little too much.

I pulled away and strode from our bikes, staring out down the backroad in the distance, zoning in on the internal alarm that had just gone off—the warning of a presence nearby.

Worse.

Us being watched.

“Someone’s here.” My brows knit, as I concentrated and added over my shoulder, “Or, several someones.”

“What? I don’t feel anything. My magic isn’t registering a threat.”

No. It wouldn’t. What I was sensing was on the very outermost fringes of sensory perception. Whatever these assholes were, whoever they were, they were beyond stealth. But my senses were miles beyond most others. Not just the wolf and the vampire combined, but also the Ancient Vampire aspect that I carried with me.

I sucked in a breath and walked back to her.