Alexandria morphs into a completely different person again, pointing at me. My right arm stings like someone opened it up and took a curling iron to the muscle. Dreyna moves behind me, resting her hand on my shoulder.

“Not yet, Andi,” Cathain advises. “I need answers first.”

The pain stops immediately. Apparently, Andi can temperature-tweak my body liquid. Not enough to cause permanent damage, but definitely enough to leave a lasting impression. Not cool.

“If Matthew finds out,” Dreyna pleads quietly.

Her escalating fear makes me realize this information session is getting seriously out of hand. If Andrea is the calm personality, I prefer her to Andi. To bring her back should be a simple matter of manipulating her emotions using my negation gift. I concentrate on removing the childlike desire to play. Without it, she may not feel inclined to fry my insides.

“What do you want Dreyna for?” Cathain camouflages the anger in her tone, but she’s radiating rage.

My head is a bee hive. The buzzing is deafening. I wince out my response. “To filter energy to my mother.” So rude. I wasn’t even going to lie.

“Why would you need to do that?”

“To wake her up,” I admit, grimacing as the swarm buzzes on.

“That’s the only reason you came here?” Cathain persists.

Yes. I want to say yes. Something tells me learning how I vaccinated Mel will be the end of their polite inquiry. If it turns out I actually immunized her, we’re probably looking at a lights out situation. “No,” I concede.

I clench my hands tightly, the flame rising inside me protectively. My tanks are bubbling over. It won’t take long before we’re all engulfed in a fiery blaze.

“Your father would not approve of this,” Dreyna’s hand tightens on my shoulder.

Alexandria’s smile twists into something terrifying. I send another wave of emotional inhibitors to stop her from accosting Dreyna.

“What else were you doing?” Cathain presses.

Come on, Wayward Thought Train, where are you? Let’s go for a ride! “Trying to help Ryan and Mel.” Crap. Zip it, mouth.

“Trying to help them do what?”

I imagine my father’s face when I tell him Mom woke up. I picture the celebration we’ll have. Cake. We’ll have delicious cake. I’m sure of it. While it’s an amazing thought, it’s not strong enough to stop me from answering Cathain. “To reconnect the bond I broke.”

“You’ve broken their bond?”

I give up deflection. It’s impossible. “Yes, I severed the connection.”

She tilts her head to the side, considering. “Were you successful in reforming their bond?”

“No.”

“No?” Her brow lifts while Alexandria watches, utterly mesmerized by what I’m saying. “So, where does that leave Mel?”

I bite my tongue until I taste blood, but it traitorously replies, “She’s immune.”

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They both gasp.

“Sheyla, sweet Sheyla,” Cathain patronizes. “You’re trying to interfere in something you aren’t ready to be part of. Now, you’ll have to choose.”

“I’ve interfered in nothing. I don’t even know who you are!”

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Daddy won’t like this,” Alexandria notes.

Dreyna’s concern rushes through me. The Amazon Coterie was adamant about not choosing sides nor being placed in a situation where allegiances needed to be made. Is this why? Would an integral part of their team be caught in the crossfire?

With every passing moment, it’s more difficult to restrain Andi, the playful personality. She’s resisting my emotional control. If she wrestles her way free, I won’t be able to contain my flame. It’s already felt her power once. A second showing will be explosively problematic.

“She’s fondling my emotions, and I don’t like it,” Alexandria complains.

“How can you tell?” Cathain clips.

“I can’t use my power.”

“Well, this is an alarming discovery,” Cathain announces coldly. “You’re choosing sides. We have rules against that.”

“You mean rules against people choosing a side that isn’t yours,” I correct her.

“No sides are being chosen here,” Dreyna interjects. “Matthew has told your father this. He has told you, and you have extracted the absolute truth of those words from this girl through an unnecessary show of your powers.”

The ripple is growing inside her. The prospect of involving Matthew has triggered a defensive response. She’ll need it, too. Cathain stands instantly from the chair and glares at Dreyna, who backs up a single step, lowering her head obediently.

“I’m honestly not choosing sides.”

Cathain grins. “Maybe you’d like to join our side?”

“I’d be more inclined to accept an invitation. Bully tactics aren’t helping your cause.”

Dreyna whimpers. Hopefully, she has enough sense to fasten her seatbelt because I’m almost ready for liftoff. I squeeze my hands to relieve the building pressure.

“We act only in the name of what will be the new governing authority,” Cathain counters. “You’d be wise to choose our path regardless of your reason.”

It’s a moot point. They didn’t come here to convince me to take their side. They came to see for themselves what threat I am to their cause. There’s no way to leave without a reciprocal show of power. They won’t allow it, but they don’t realize how dangerous losing my control would be. Provoke the Pyro doesn’t have a winner, only losers.

“Your leader should’ve chosen better representatives if he’s looking to grow his numbers.” I let the fire steadily rise in preparation. “Whether I follow you or not is my choice.” I inhale deeply, the flames dancing just below the surface. “Why would I follow you? You’ve interrogated me for no reason, physically tortured me, which I luckily stopped, and you have this poor woman so terrified she has no idea she could obliterate you without breaking a sweat.” Reservoirs are full. Last chance, ladies. “I’ll pass on your invitation, thanks.”

“We’ve earned the privilege to take our rightful place. What have you done to show your worth? Parlor tricks?” Cathain’s overconfident. “The Tribunal has been reigning supreme far too long. Our right is to rule. Every opportunity to instill that control will be utilized. We advocate for the cause. We are the cause.”

It’s Dreyna who stops me when what I really want is to make sure no Sumair or Solathair ever has to deal with them as an opposing force. I could do that. Strip their powers and leave them floundering like fishes, all in the name of my own cause, the cause for humanity. She pours patience into me. Buckets and buckets.

If I vaccinate them, whatever the reason, any Sumair will view that as an aggressive act against their kind. I’ll turn them into martyrs. My forced humanity will be the catalyst instigating the war.

I sheathe my shears, but my flame isn’t prepared to recede after hearing Cathain’s final attempt to ignite it. “Hey, I think you were right,” she chirps. “We don’t need Dreyna anymore.”

“What will you do with her?” My voice shakes, not from fear of what they might do to her but anger they’d use her to gain control of me. Worse, she’d let them.

“It’s not her you should fret over.” Alexandria stands from the chair, moving closer. Cathain follows suit.

“You’re coming with us,” Cathain informs me.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“It wasn’t a request.”

They want to invoke my flame. Smothering it is no longer an option. They’re set to get a firsthand account of just how brightly I burn. Not even my emergency shut-off switch can save me. The elevated temperature has fused the lever in an on position. I see the cheerleaders in orange and red uniforms shaking their pom-poms in a choreographed dance routine. Are they cheering for the home or away team?

Dreyna proves to be much stronger than I expected. When the explosive fire shoots out from my body, she redirects the energy throughout the room, countering the effects with her own power. Water. As the smoke chokes me, I lose consciousness.