“No, but you do. I don’t want him to sense my power.” He paused and glanced around, surveying the area. “It might be better if he thinks you’re alone.”

“So we’re setting a trap.”

“Yeah. See if he’ll come after you again.”

“Lucky me.”

Gabriel studied him again, as if trying to figure him out. “Do you not want to do this? We can say screw it and get coffee or whatever.”

Yes. Let’s.

Wait. No. Talking would be a bad idea.

Nick cocked an eyebrow. “You want to run from a fight?”

“No, Nick!” Gabriel snapped, closing the distance between them. “I want you to tell me what the f**k is going on.”

Nick ignored him. He flipped open the lighter and struck the igniter. Then he dropped and touched the flame to the dead leaves trapped under the damp ones. The fire caught immediately, sending smoke curling between them, turning the air hazy.

“Go,” Nick said. “Hide.”

Gabriel swore, but he turned his back and walked. He didn’t go far. Nick could still sense his presence nearby—like he could still sense his agitation. No, his fury.

It was probably a good thing Nick had the car keys.

He fed oxygen to the fire, and thicker smoke bloomed from the smoldering leaves. Nick called for a gentle breeze to push the smoke toward the strip mall, despite Gabriel’s assurance that Tyler would sense the presence of his element.

It wasn’t necessary—or maybe it worked too well. In less than a minute, Nick sensed another presence in the woods. He pulled wind through the trees, asking the air for information.

Nicotine and male sweat. Curiosity and irritation. Tyler.

Nick thought of the way his skin had practically melted off his wrist, but he held his ground.

“Starting a little fire?” said Tyler.

“Something like that,” said Nick. He kept his attention on the burning leaves. Tyler hadn’t reacted to the fire, and Nick sensed no power in the space between them. Maybe he was wrong.

“Don’t tell me,” said Tyler. “You think you owe me one for messing with your brother.”

What? Who else had Tyler—

Oh. Oh. The lighter in his hand, the fire on the ground—

Tyler thought he was Gabriel.

Infuriating. Even Tyler knew he couldn’t stand up for himself.

Sudden wind whipped through the trees, responding to Nick’s anger. It swirled around them, buffeting the flames, pulling the smoke into the beginning of a spiral.

“Wrong,” said Nick. “I think I owe you one for messing with me.”

He had the satisfaction of seeing Tyler look startled, but then his expression settled into something closer to determination.

He started forward, heedless of the wind and the flames.

Nick instinctively took a step back—but he didn’t need to.

His wind grabbed the flames and pulled them high, feeding oxygen to the fire, creating a barrier between him and Tyler.

Tyler stopped, but his eyes narrowed. “You think a little wind and fire are going to scare me?”

“Looks like it’s scaring you now.” Nick held his ground, but his heart was in his throat. He remembered the pain of his wrist under Tyler’s grip. The smell of his skin burning. He fed power into the wind, letting it draw the fire higher, until the flames began to pull sideways, spreading to surround Tyler.

This was like the leaves with Quinn. Only terrifying, as he realized that leaves wouldn’t hurt anyone, and a spinning plume of fire could have very real consequences.

Focus.

“Think you’re something?” said Tyler. “You want to call elements against me? Fuck you, Merrick.”

And then he sent the fire driving outward.

Nick felt it—maybe the air warned him, or maybe Tyler was stronger than Nick had imagined. But the circle of fire flared outward, reaching for him, full of murderous rage.

Nick sent the wind a flare of power himself, full of vengeful rage about every single thing Tyler had ever done to him. The circle paused, hesitating in a vibrant red glow that encircled Tyler.

Then it snapped, collapsing inward, attacking Tyler with fire.

The other boy’s clothes lit up like he’d been doused in kerosene.

Then the tight coil of wind caught his body and flipped him in the air. He came down in the leaves, a pile of burning clothes and rage.

Holy shit. Gabriel really had set him on fire.

Or maybe Nick had.

The leaves caught, sending black smoke to swarm around them. Between the smoke and the fire, Nick was going to lose sight of Tyler in a moment.

And if Tyler wasn’t a full Elemental, he was going to die in minutes.

From the way Tyler’s face contorted, it might only be seconds. He looked like he was screaming, but he wasn’t making a sound. His hands scrabbled at his throat.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Nick hadn’t come here to kill someone.

Where the hell was Gabriel?

Nick was torn between sucking the oxygen out of the air and forcing it into Tyler’s lungs. Was he burning to death or suffocating? It didn’t matter. The atmosphere was too focused on destruction now. Thunder rolled overhead. Lightning hit a tree.

Ozone charged the air and flaming branches rained around them.

Tyler’s eyes rolled back in his head. Another lightning strike somewhere off to Nick’s left.

“Damn it, Gabriel,” Nick called. “Stop! Help me!”

Tyler’s cheeks were red and raw. His eyes fell closed. Nick reached forward and grabbed the other boy’s jacket. The zipper was hot from the flames and burned his palms. Nick flung all of his power into the space between them. He did this with Gabriel all the time—stopped fires before they caused too much damage. He could do it now.