Cursed (Enchanted Gods #1) - K.K. Allen Page 0,70

walk off.

“I’ll be right back,” Alec says, his eyes on their departing figures. “I’m going to find them a ride home.”

“Wait.” I grab his wrist. “It was just a water balloon.” I smile. “It’s really not a big deal. Don’t send them home. It will only cause a bigger scene and give them more reason to hate me.”

He sighs and looks to be giving in.

I tug at his hand. “Walk with me to the water?”

Hesitating, he throws the girls a parting glance then takes my hand. We walk toward the water, sinking our feet sinking into the sand once we reach the edge. Fireworks are still exploding in the distance, but this time, there are thunderous pops and screams accompanying them. We both look toward the noise.

Iris and Ava are running around the bonfire, giggling.

“Are they holding fireworks?” I can’t hold back from the horror that makes it into my voice.

“What the hell is wrong with them?” Alec says nothing else. It’s all in his expression as he charges off toward the bonfire, where the girls are screaming and laughing hysterically. One of them trips and falls, but she gets back up again and continues to run.

When Alec catches up with them, things seem to settle down, so I turn back toward the water. But almost as soon as I’ve turned around, I hear another outburst of screams. I turn back to the fire to see Alec, Ava, and Iris fighting. Their voices grow louder and louder.

“Go home,” Alec roars. “You’ve been nothing but trouble all night.”

Iris turns her dagger-like eyes on him. “It’s a party, Alec. Lighten up.”

“Someone is going to get hurt.”

Iris steps closer to him and glares. “You’re the one who’s going to get hurt, hanging out with that Summer girl. I warned you about her, Alec. But you won’t listen. She’s a witch. Just like her grandmother.” The disgust in Iris’s voice is clear.

And there it is. That word. Witch. Fire builds up inside me.

“Because what you’re saying is crazy,” Alec says in my defense.

Iris continues to blast me with her hateful words, and Alec continues to defend me. I try to turn off their conversation, but I’m already bristling with anger. I can feel the temperature in my body rising higher and higher like a bubbling cauldron. This is new. Not euphoric like when I used my powers before. This is different. Strange. Angry.

Something in the sky pulls my focus. Dark, ominous clouds swarm in to cover the entire beach. I panic, knowing I need to find a way to calm down before I lose control completely.

Iris throws herself into Alec’s arms and slams her mouth onto his to kiss him. Anger spirals inside of me. It’s too much. My hands ball into tight fists, and before I know what’s happening, a ball of energy explodes from my chest and hurtles straight toward the threesome.

My mouth grows wide in horror as I watch the scene unfold in slow motion. Iris reels back from my blast as she’s propelled toward the bonfire.

Terror fills Alec’s expression as he lunges for Iris and wraps his arms around her body. He yanks her back from the raging fire, and they crash onto the sand. Fire whooshes to life as if it's just been fueled with gas, then a thunderous growl shakes the sky overhead. Guests are already fleeing the hot, deafening flames, scattering in all directions.

Instinctively, I move toward the fire to help, although I don’t know how. But the moment I try to take my first step, I realize just how far my feet have slipped beneath the surface. I try to yank them free, but I’m trapped, held prisoner by the grip of wet sand. With every wave that moves over the shore, I sink deeper. My new strength is no match for the force keeping me here. I give another tug of my leg to try to free one foot, but I lose my balance. Then a great force propels me forward, and I fall face-first onto the shore.

Screams, gasps, and cries burst from the crowd of guests, who are running in all directions. When I look back toward Alec and Iris, I see that the wind has taken control of the fire completely. I can’t even see them anymore. The bonfire has nearly tripled in size, its wild flames the shape of arms, reaching outward as if trying to sweep anyone and anything into its deadly inferno.

I grab my necklace and close my eyes, my