Page 100 of Witchbane

Ari leapt off the bed and bounded to me, wrapping little arms around me and kissing my hair. “Was oopsie. Is okay, Daddy. Oopsies happen.”

“I set the house on fire!”

“A book.”

The book was still partially in one piece, only half an upper edge having been lost. There was a sizable scorched hole in the rug beneath. “Your Papa is gonna kill me.”

“Papa love Daddy,” Ari said. “Was oopsie.”

I wondered how many oopsies Ari had had in their young life. “Did Papa help you learn to control your oopsies?”

“Uncle Kiran mostly. Papa help more with hugs and kisses.” Ari demonstrated by hugging me tight and delivering more kisses to my hair.

I hugged them back hard, my heart still racing. “I accidentally opened portals in my sleep for a while. Randomly setting people on fire would be bad.” Even if Carl would look pretty dancing in flames.

Ari lifted one of my hands, cupping it in their little one. “Is easy. Think hot.”

“Oh no. I’m not playing with fire.” The idea of accidentally setting my kid on fire was terrifying.

“No play,” Ari agreed. “Control.” They stared at me with those giant mismatched eyes which I loved the moment I first saw them. I knew Ari saw so much more than a child their age should. And there was trust there. Ari trusted me. I had to trust them, right? “Think warm.”

I stared at our combined hands, their little hand beneath mine, and thought warm, not like fire warm, but toasty beneath a blanket warm. Our hands heated up. I gasped, realizing it was legit and while a flame hadn’t formed, I could feel it. A tiny push in one direction and there could be a spark.

Ari gave me a giant smile. “Warm doesn’t have to be hot. But can be cold. Think cold.”

I followed my kid’s instructions and thought cold. The change was instant, almost a full freeze and my hand ached with the cold.

“Cold strong for you,” Ari said. “Uncle Kiran says warm stronger for me. Cold strong for you. Thinks frozen too long.”

I sucked in deep breaths and willed away the cold. It was stupidly easy. And that worried me. What if I did that in my sleep? What if I could still open portals, just not to Underhill? What other powers had been locked away and were now awake and out of control?

I wrapped my arms around Ari, holding them in a tight hug, feeling a bit lost and scared, despite being home and in the center of the pack.

“Oopsies happen. It’s okay,” Ari comforted me with hugs and kisses.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” I whispered, running a hand through Ari’s soft curls. It was grounding to have them in my arms. This kid, filled with power, already had control of this sort of thing. I could do that too, right? I wasn’t a kid still learning the basics of life, nor was I the insane amount of power they had churning through them. I could handle this.

“Uncle Kiran and Papa will help teach Daddy,” Ari said. They stared at the damaged color book.

“I’m sorry, Ari. I’ll get you another one. One without bad words.”

“Bad words?” Little lips formed a mimic of “fuck” and I immediately put my fingertips on their lips.

“That is not a word for little ones. I’m sorry I said it. I’ll try to remember not to say it. It’s not a nice word.”

“Nice word.”

“Yeah, there are a handful of words that express fear, anger, and frustration. Some are not nice.”

“Who makes them not nice?” Ari wanted to know, as if thinking words were living things who might come alive and bite them.

“The context makes them not nice.” I stared at Ari, who looked maybe five or six, though I had no real age reference. Liam hadn’t given me a set time frame, and had made it sound like Ari could create their own image wherever they thought they should be. I’d have to ask Liam if he knew. “How about Papa helps me explain context later. Right now, I have to apologize for burning his rug and figure out how to get a new one. Where is your Papa?”

“Outside?”

“Is that a question or an answer?” I lifted Ari as I got up, letting them wrap themselves around me again. I picked up the fallen coloring book, not wanting my kid to have it again. I’d find them something better. Maybe something with veggie gardens and tea leaves.

I felt Ari slide along our bond. It actually made me shiver as they followed the link of it, which stretched into the distance, like they knew exactly which strand was Liam.