Someone slaps me, so hard I jerk upright, mind still on fire, breath panting smoke into the air. Ash hovers beside me, Rena clinging to my hand, though she looks terrified and ready to run.
I cough out another puff of smoke before gagging on the taste. Ash thumps me between the shoulder blades while I bend in half over my knees, finding myself lying on the floor.
Rena blubbers a moment, trying to speak, but indecipherable as her voice rises to a wail. Ash glares at her, snapping her fingers in my cousin's face, breaking her fearful spiral.
"Enough!" Rena whimpers, lower lip catching between her teeth, brown eyes huge as they lock on Ash. "Hush, you." My aunt returns her attention to me, examining me carefully with her sharp blue gaze. "How do you feel?" She grips my chin in hand, turnin
