Fire Stones - By Kailin Gow Page 0,11

felt awkwardly silent. Any talk of the Erosion always turned serious.

But Brandon forced out a laugh. “Yeah, well – I'd probably know a lot more if I bothered to show up to history class. But post-Erosion history – I just figure it's all a bunch of islands, now; what else is there to know? Boring! I'm more into the physical than the academic, if you catch my drift.”

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Chance. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and loose black pants – as dark as his jet-black hair – leaning against the wall. My heart started racing at the sight of him. Only Chance could make sports clothes look elegant, I thought proudly. But I noted with concern that he was glowering, staring at Brandon with intense interest and something like anger.

Our coach, on the other hand, seemed to mistake this interest for a keen desire to be first to the mat. “Come on, Cutter,” he said. “You're up first. Whom do you want to challenge this time.”

Chance lost no time as he strode forth. “Brandon,” he said simply.

Brandon looked up in surprise. “Guess I pissed him off...” he said, with a laugh, looking slightly bewildered as he headed to the mat. “Looks like I'm in for a beating.”

But to my surprise, even the strong, powerful Chance couldn't easily pin Brandon to the mat. Chance's brute force – savage and passionate – was evenly matched by Brandon's grace and agility. Brandon had trained as a martial artist – that much I knew. But I was surprised to see quite how good he was – he had been modest earlier. Brandon managed to dart out of the way, dodging Chance's pummeling blows, even as he lacked the offensive strength to match Chance's pure primal power. It was only when the coach blew the whistle to end the match, effectively declaring a draw due to lack of time, that the two stopped fighting, facing each other to shake hands formally, their lithe bodies dripping with sweat. Chance looked over at me, his expression inscrutable.

Was he jealous of Brandon?

Brandon winked at me, and my cheeks turned pink. I knew he was only joking – after all, he was Varun's friend, and even if Chance and I were keeping our romance on the down low at school, Brandon wasn't about to make a move on his good friend's ex. But I knew too that Chance could be jealous, even possessive. And given that Brandon's mom worked at the Cutter Imperial with mine, I knew Brandon would be around me more than Chance would be comfortable with.

Yet jealousy, it seemed, only made Chance more passionate than ever. No sooner had we left the gym than Chance pulled me aside into a corridor, pressing me up against the wall. His mouth was hot on mine, seeking my lips with savage intensity. His hands were tangled in my hair, pulling me into him with just the right balance of roughness and romance. He pulled away slowly, his eyes still boring into me.

“What was that for?” I smiled, overjoyed to be in his arms once again.

“It's been too long,” Chance murmured. “I missed you. I called you yesterday, but your phone was off. I tried your land-line, but your mom said you were in bed, asleep with a cold. That didn't sound like you – you're not avoiding me, are you?” His dark eyes were grave with worry.

“No, of course not!” I kissed him, my mouth convincing him as much as my words. “It's only...I didn't want to worry you. Something happened Saturday night. I went looking for the stones of Vesta. Well, not so much looking – as following. The Book started giving me directions.”

Chance's eyes began to shine brilliantly. “You've found one?”

“Yes,” I began warily. “But it was dangerous. I almost died – there were these sharks, and...”

A loud cough interrupted our conversation. I turned bright red to see the interlopers, who stood awkwardly at our side. Brandon was there, shuffling his feet, evidently not wanting to intrude. And next to him stood Varun, his sea-blue eyes glued to my own.

I could feel Chance's body tensed against my own. “What do you want?” he growled.

Brandon looked at the two of us, his eyes moving up and down our bodies. Well, so much for discreet, I thought. “I'm here to see Mac,” he said. “I want to talk to her about something.

Chance and I exchanged glances.

“I'll see