A Beautiful Dark

down on the other side of the window. He winked at me. Then he was gone.
    My heart skipped a beat.
    I hadn’t caused the fire after all. It had been Asher the whole time.
    “Skye, I’m sorry,” Ms. Manning said as she straightened back up with the stack of papers in disarray. “We’ll try this again later in the week. I have to go see someone about that radiator.” She smoothed her skirt and readjusted her glasses. The smoke had vanished.
    My footsteps echoed on the stairs as I pounded up three flights to the roof. I hadn’t done it. I hadn’t done anything .
    Asher and Devin were in the exact same positions they had been in the last time I’d pushed through the fire door to the school roof. Asher stood on the ledge of the roof, arms outstretched. The only difference was that this time, his huge inky wings were outstretched, too. Devin leaned against the water tower, his wings tucked away. Not a hint of emotion played on his face.
    “You’re late,” he said flatly, and I wondered if he knew I’d been with Asher alone. Twice now. Devin would most definitely disapprove.
    “I was trying to get some extra credit,” I shot back. “I haven’t exactly been focusing my attention on the right things, lately. You know, before you guys showed up I was actually a straight-A student.”
    “You’ve been focusing on exactly the right things,” said Asher, jumping from the ledge. “You just have to do some re-prioritizing. Maybe A’s shouldn’t matter so much anymore.”
    “Thanks for the advice.”
    Asher’s eyes crinkled in the corners, but he didn’t smile. It was weird seeing him here with Devin, not able to talk the way we had lately.
    “Asher’s right,” Devin said gravely, stepping away from the water tower. “Your powers should be emerging, and you should be able to control them at will.”
    Asher was suddenly behind me, which was strange because I hadn’t seen him move. He whispered in my ear, “Don’t let him freak you out. You can do it.”
    “What are you saying?” Devin’s voice was hard. He looked at Asher, deep unease written all over his face. “Do you know something I don’t?”
    “Hmm, I don’t know.” Asher’s eyes grew hot as flames. “Should we ask Raven?”
    “You leave her out of this.”
    “So she did stop by for a chat?” Asher continued. “What, do you need reinforcements? Can’t do it all on your own?”
    “I said leave her out!”
    “If it involves Skye’s safety”—Asher’s voice was so low it came out as a growl—“you’d better not be hiding anything.”
    The air was getting colder as the sun slipped farther below the mountains, and the edges of the sky tinged with unfathomable darkness. A burst of white light nearly blinded me, and Devin’s mammoth white wings rose from behind him, a gust of wind billowing beneath them. His eyes glazed over, his golden brows furrowed darkly, and his mouth set in a straight, tight line.
    “I dare you,” he said so quietly, evenly, it sent chills trickling down my spine. “I just dare you.”
    Asher stepped forward, his own wings rising behind him as if he was bringing the night with him. “Do you really want to challenge me?” The menace in his voice was terrifying. And then, from beneath his wings, a gust of wind raged forward with such unexpected force that I stumbled backward. It hit Devin square in the chest, and he was knocked against the concrete wall of the roof entrance so hard that he fell to the ground.
    “Stop!” I heard myself yell, but before I could take a step toward him, Devin was on his feet. Asher raised his hands and shoved something invisible in front of him; a ball of fire rocketed from his outstretched hands. In a blur of white, Devin was at Asher’s back, pinning Asher’s arms behind him with one arm, the other wrapped tightly around his neck. Asher choked as the fire hit the side of the concrete building and fizzled out, leaving a wide charred circle the size of a window.
    “Get off of him!” I yelled at Devin, tempted to rush at him and pull his hands away myself. But I knew how stupid it would be to get in the middle of a fight like this. “If you hurt him, I’ll hurt you so badly you won’t be able to find your other realm!” He glanced up at me, faltering. He loosened his grip.
    It was the moment Asher needed. He twisted in Devin’s grasp, spinning him around and gripping his neck in the same choke hold Devin had him in moments before. “You’re going to wish you