Jack ran his hand over his face and forced himself not to give into the irritation he felt. He leaned in close to her. "On some level, you understand what I'm saying. On some level, you've always known you were different." He paused and raised an eyebrow. "Tell me that's not true.”

Her mouth snapped shut.

He leaned back. "It takes one to know one. My element is fire." He snapped his fingers and opened his palm. In the center burned a small blue flame. It was a parlor trick, but a spectacular one for the uninitiated.

Mira gasped and backed up as much as she could into the pillows. "How are you doing that?”

"It's magick. My magick. It's the magick of fire.”

"It's a trick. Just some stupid trick.”

He concentrated on the flame, letting it spread and lick up his wrist and his inner arm, over his sleeve. Mira gasped. "Yes, it's a trick, but not like you're thinking. Took me awhile to learn this one. Fire is a complicated element, dangerous and unpredictable. It takes a lot of time to master. I have my fair share of scars to show for it.”

"H-how are you doing that?" she asked again.

"I called fire into being in the center of my hand. I'm holding it in check with my mind so it doesn't burn me. It takes a long time to develop the strength of will and the concentration to command fire.”

"That's impossible," she breathed, staring at the flame.

He turned his arm, letting the flame twist around it, gently engulfing it. Fire was like a pet to him, now that he could control the element with confidence. He smiled, watching Mira's face.

"Impossible," she breathed again.

"Your mind has been trained to believe this is impossible, that people can't manipulate their environment and create things from thin air. Reality is so much bigger than you think it is. It's so much more flexible. You can do this too, although with air, not fire.”

"I can create ... air?”

"When there's a lack of it. I meant that with the proper training, you'd be able to create a breeze or a wind.”

Her expression changed from awe to skepticism. "So I guess I'll never suffocate then." She shrugged. "Or get caught in the middle of a lake in a sailboat on a windless day. Oh, can I throw away my hair dryer now? And—”

"Mira?" he purred silkily, ignoring her joke. "You know what happens to fire when it's fed by air?" He held her gaze as he blew on the flame circling his wrist. It flared brilliantly. "We complement each other."

MIRA LOST HER TRAIN OF THOUGHT—ACTUALLY, it was more like it had a wreck somewhere in her head. The first impression that popped into her mind after Jack's words cleared everything else out was fire consumes air.