Breathless: A Firelight Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) Read Online Free Page A

me running. But I can’t suddenly turn around and act as though I wasn’t just running from him like some sort of desperate criminal.
    “Hey!” I hear him call after me, his feet hitting the ground with solid whacks. “Wait!”
    I keep running, arms pumping, dodging trees, ducking branches. A quick glimpse behind me shows he’s right there. So close I imagine that I can feel his breath on my hair.
    And then my foot catches something and I’m falling. I hit the ground, my palms taking the brunt of the fall. Palms scraped and stinging, I roll onto my back, looking up at him looming over me, legs braced wide. He’s not even out of breath. And I thought I was in shape. Maybe I need to adopt whatever exercise regime he uses.
    Presented with the reality of him this close, I can hardly bring myself to meet his gaze. Looking away, I actually feel myself cringing.
    “Easy. I won’t hurt you.” He holds his hands apart, bouncing them in the air like he’s trying to calm a wild beast. Me . I swallow, not liking the comparison even if it does fit to some extent. No, I need to act like a normal girl. Not prey.
    Determined to do that very thing, I rise to my feet and dust leaves and dirt off me, cringing at the way my fingers tremble. I hope he doesn’t notice.
    “Why were you chasing me?”
    He lowers his hands. “Why were you running?”
    I lift my chin and shrug, pretending not to notice the way his eyes move over me, missing nothing.
    He takes his time studying my hair. The dark, blue-streaked mass falls sleekly, stopping just above my waist. I toss it back over my shoulders, trying to break his focus.
    He blinks and snaps his gaze back to my face. “You’re the girl from yesterday.”
    I give a small nod.
    “You saved my sister.”
    Something swells to life inside me at this. Anna is his sister.
    It shouldn’t matter. Shouldn’t make my pulse quicken. It’s not as though this makes him suddenly available.
    It shouldn’t matter, but it does.
    “Thank you.”
    I shrug again, my face heating with embarrassment at the way his dark brown eyes go all soft and tender. I know it’s just appreciation, gratitude, but I bask in it. It’s so unfamiliar for a boy to look at me with such intensity.
    Back home I’m just plain Az. Well liked, yes. But I’ve known every boy in the pride since birth. I’m one of a dozen water draki. Not the most common talent, but not rare either. Not like Jacinda.
    I can’t remember standing in front of anyone and feelingso vulnerable, stripped bare with a look. It’s a dangerous feeling. Especially with someone I’m supposed to keep at arm’s length.
    I spin on my heels. “I have to go.”
    “Wait! Please!”
    I hesitate at the please , grabbing on to a tree like I need it to keep me upright.
    Harsh air slips past my lips as I wait, listen, looking ahead blindly.
    “There’s a party tonight. Back here. At the pond.” His voice strokes me like velvet, and my skin responds, contracting, quivering, pulling tight like I just dove into frigid waters, eager to fade into my draki skin. God . I close a hand over my forearm, squeeze tightly, punishing myself. Not now. Definitely not now .
    “You’re welcome to come.” Pause. “I’d like you to come.”
    I turn my face, but don’t look back. Not at that face. That body. His voice is more than enough. Too much. The familiar draki pull is there, tugging at my chest, willing me over the precipice. A purr rumbles through me and it startles me. The only other times I’ve manifested unwillingly were from fear. This time I’m not afraid, and yet the urge to manifest is overwhelming. I’ve heard the whispers but never experienced it myself. I know that desire can make the draki surface, draw it from where it lurks deep inside. It’s another fierce emotion, just like fear. If I had any doubtbefore, I don’t anymore. This boy isn’t safe. Just look at me. I’m too volatile around him.
    “Will you come?” he asks.
    That nervous little