Elemental Hunger

I tried on the dress, and it fit—a little too well. "Holy hot blazes," I muttered.

I gaped at the girl in the bathroom mirror. That person looked so feminine. The navy fabric shimmered in the bright electricity, turning my dark eyes more blue than brown. Tiny straps stretched over my shoulders, revealing my pale skin.

And I had a chest. For the first time that I could remember, I looked like a girl. I stared at her, completely bewildered by what I saw. Was this how Adam saw me? Hanai?

She wasn't me.

I scrubbed my face and neck, desperate to become myself again. When I looked up, the foreign beauty stared back.

Heaving a sigh, I ran my wet hands over my hair. It stood up in spikes but instead of giving me a boyish appearance, I somehow looked even more fragile. Delicate.

Beautiful.

My pulse raced along with a river of fire through my veins.

I couldn't go to the chartering ceremony in that dress. Turning around to find something to change into, I almost slammed into Cat. She wore a gorgeous burgundy dress with white lace at the collar and cuffs. It showed all the right curves, but not too much. She'd always been pure girl and actually looked comfortable in the monstrosity of a dress.

"Gabby, honey," she breathed. "Oh, you're so beautiful. Is that what you're wearing tonight?"

I laughed, but it wasn't happy. More like maniacal. "No blazing way."

"Why not? You look wonderful. The blue really compliments your skin."

"Yes, it does," Adam said from behind her. He wore black slacks with a starched white shirt. His tie—navy—hung loose around his neck. His eyes traveled over my body several times.

I squirmed. This sucked. I didn't want him looking at me like that. Maybe yesterday, I would've liked it. Maybe I would have even wanted him to. But not today.

"It looks better than I imagined, Gabby. That bulky sweatshirt never did you justice."

"Shut up," I growled. "I'm not wearing it. It's too tight."

"That's how it's supposed to fit," he argued.

"How would you know? Are you familiar with women's clothing?"

He smiled. "I know what looks good. And you, my Firemaker, look good."

"She looks beautiful," Cat corrected, her voice dripping with disdain.

I glared at her too. Couldn't she see she wasn't helping?

"I mean, if you like it, Gabby," she said. "I don't care what you wear tonight."

"Good. Because I'm wearing jeans. I can't even breathe in this thing."

Adam increased the airflow in the bathroom. "Better?"

"No," I said, even though it was. I pushed past him.

"Come on." Adam drew me into a tight hug. I let him because I thought it might give me away if I torched his traitorous hide. Hanai appeared in the doorway as I stood stiffly in Adam's arms.

"What's going on?" he asked, pausing in the motion of tying his necktie.

Adam stepped to the side, sliding his hand around my back. "Gabby doesn't want to wear the dress."

Hanai's eyes widened, and he stared much too long. In all the wrong places. Stupid. Blazing. Boys.

He cleared his throat. "Um, yeah," he squeaked. "You look great. You should definitely wear that."