Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) (42 page)

Missi
turned to leave. She was wearing a dark gray sleeveless shirt, and Leesa found her eyes drawn to a blue tattoo on the back of
Missi’s
right shoulder. The tattoo was
heart-shaped
and looked like it was fashioned
out
of blue flames. The blue fire immediately made Leesa think of Rave. She hadn’t seen him in over a week, which was at least a week to
o
long as far as
she was concerned. I
f she ever got brave enough to get
a tattoo, she
decided she
would get one similar to
Missi’s
. A heart made out of blue fire would
be the perfect symbol if her love for Rave
.
She smiled as she wondered what kind of tattoo Rave could get to display his love for her—something that depicted wizardry and
grafhym
blood would be difficult to design. They would probably be better off just getting matching blue flame heart tattoos.

She closed the door and looked down at t
he
letter
in her hand. It
was
an ordinary
white
envelope
, addressed in a
n unfamiliar
h
andwriting
, postmarked from Massachusetts. There
was no return address.
She didn’t know anyone in Massachusetts
, as far as she could recall
.
She
carried the letter over to
her desk
and sat down
.

Sliding her finger carefully under the sealed flap, she tore the top of the envelope open.
Inside was a single, folded piece of white paper. She could see
the
dim outline of writing inside the folded pa
ge
.
The first thing
she looked at when she opened
the letter was
the signature. What she saw mad
e her heart leap. The letter was from Rave!

The note was a short
one—only
five or six lines—
but Leesa didn’t care. She was amazed to get anything at all from him. She wondered if he had ever sent a letter before in his
entire
long life. She was willing to be
t
that he hadn’t.

Hoping that everything was okay, she looked up at the top of the page. As she began to read, her heart began to beat
even faster
. Rave had gotten permission to see her, if she could meet him at park near Springfield where she had practiced her magic with Dominic
a month or so ago
. Rave had written “so if you
can
spare a day away from your classes and can find a way to get up there” he
woul
d be waiting
in
the park on Wednesday
from sunrise on
.

Her mouth curved into a wide smile.
If she could
spare day
away
from her classes
—of course she could!
If she could find a way to get up there
—she’d start walking
right
now if it was the only way to get there by Wednesday. Surely he knew her well enough to know she would be there. All he really needed to have written was that he would be at the park on Wednesday
and would love to see her there. That would have been more than enough to get her there. She loved how cute and considerate his note was, though.

She loved the way he ended the letter even more—“All my love, Rave.”

After reading the letter a few more times and enjoying every word, she carefully folded it back up and returned it to its envelope. She placed it in her desk drawer—a letter from Rave was a definite keepsake! She knew she might never get another.

She moved to her comput
er and logged on. It was time
find out about renting a car….

Stars still sparkled in the predawn sky
when Leesa turned onto
the
I-91 and headed north toward Hartford, and to Springfield beyond. Rave had said he’d be at the park
at sunrise
, and
she was determined
to arrive as soon after dawn
as possible.
Getting up so early was no big deal when it meant having extra time to spend with Rave.

She could barely keep her foot from pressing the gas pedal to the floor and seeing just how fa
st her little rented Ford Focus
could go.
She managed to restrain herself and keep her speed at seventy miles per hour, which kept her even with the few cars sharing the highway with her. The cost of a speedin
g ticket didn’
t bother her—not when she was on her way to see Rave—but getting stopped by a cop would delay her trip, and that was not something she wanted to risk.

She had rented the car yesterday afternoon, not caring about the expense of an extra day, so she could leave Middletown before dawn. Printed directions to Robinson State Park lay on the passenger seat beside her. She
thought
she would
probably
remember how to get there, but she was taking no chances.

Since it was still at least an hour before rush hour clogged the freeways, she sped through Hartford with no trouble. Twenty minutes later, when she crossed the Massachusetts state line, the sun was just beginning to paint the eastern sky with wispy fingers of gold and orange. The clouds were small and thin, portending a beautiful day.

Leesa smiled. She wouldn’t have minded if the day was
going to be
filled with thunderstorms—in just a few minutes, she
would be snuggling in
Rave’s arms
.

Just south of Springfield,
she turned off
the interstate, exiting onto a local highway and heading west. She watched in her rearview mirror as the sun climbed over the horizon, heralding a
new day. The cost of the rising sun
was the rapid fading of the beautiful colors that had painted the clouds a few moments before.

Following her directions carefully, Leesa finally turned into the entrance of the riverfront Robinson
State Park. Even at this ea
rly hour, there were at least
half
a
dozen cars parked
in the lot along the river. Leesa could see two joggers running on the riverside walkway, and she guessed there were more runners farther up along the path.

She turned left, away from the river, toward the less popular parking area and grassy field where she a
nd Dominic had practiced magic
with
Rave
watching
. The parking lot was empty, but as she brought the Focus to a halt at the edge of the lot, she saw Rave, Bali,
Dral
and Bain standing together on the grass, about fifty feet from the paved area.

Leesa switched off the engine and flew out the door. She raced across the grass
as fast as her limp would allow
and leaped up into Rave’s arms, wrapping her arms around
his neck and her legs around his
waist. He caught and held her easily.
She scarcely noticed the cold morning air on her face and hands.

For a moment, she just hugged him tightly, her cheek pressed against his
. Rave’s skin was far less warm than normal, but she didn’t care. She was just happy to be holding him.

Finally, she pulled her head back and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Hi, handsome,” she said, smiling.

“And a good morning to you, gorgeous,” Rave said.

“I’ve missed you,”
Leesa
said, and then
snuggled against him again.
After a few moments
, she pulled her head back
and looked at the other volkaanes. They were all facing away from her and
Rave—
whether
it was to give them some
privacy or to watch out for any sign
s
of danger, she didn’t know. She guessed it was probably a bit of both.

“Good morning to all of you,” she said, still keeping her arms and legs wrapped around Rave.

Balin turned
and smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Leesa.”

Dral
and Bain twisted their heads around
and
gave her quick “hellos,” then turned back to
keep
watch
on
their surroundings.

Leesa pulled one hand from around Rave’s neck and placed her palm on his cheek.

“You’re still not very warm,” she said. “My magic has not returned to full strength, either.” She looked at Balin. “Has anyone figured out how long this might last?” she asked him.

Balin shook his head.
“Unfortunately, no.
All we can do is
wait
.”

Leesa frowned. “I don’t like waiting—not when it means you all have to stay so far away.”

She finally
unwrapped
her legs from around Rave’s waist and he lowered her to the ground. She entwined her arms around one of his, staying close against him.

“Did I mention t
hat I’ve missed you?”

Rave grinned. “I kind of got that idea from your greeting.
I’ve missed you, too.”

“So, how long do I have you for today?”

“All day
,” Rave said.
“We have to leave at sundown.”

Leesa smiled.
“Awesome—a whole
day!”

“What would you like to do?”

Leesa pulled her hair out of the ponytail she had gathered it into this morning and let it fall free over her shoulders.

“First, how about you give me a ride
through those tree
s over there,” she said, nodding towards the woods that bordered the grassy field. “It’s been way too long since I felt the wind blowing through my hair.” She rose up on her toes and kissed Rave’s cheek. “Then, as long as your heat is
still
so low, we can talk about doing some kissing. I’d ask to do that first, but I don’t want to see
m
pushy or overeager.”