I came out of the bathroom to find Draven lying in bed on his side beneath the covers. He must have fallen asleep already. My mood had gone south again, and I decided there was no point in sticking around. Might as well sleep in my bed with the girls.
I moved to the door, and the floorboard creaked beneath my feet.
“Where are you going?” Draven’s voice shot through the silence.
I froze, not expecting him to still be awake.
“I…I thought you were sleeping. I didn’t want to bother you so I—”
“Stay. Please.” He pulled the cover aside and patted the bed, inviting me to join him.
My knees softened, and I felt my temperature rise once more. Despite everything that had happened that morning, the only place I really wanted to be was that little space next to him, under a soft blanket.
“Okay. I’ll just sleep in the chair. Don’t worry about me,” I muttered and took a few steps toward the armchair, not wanting to concede just yet. I didn’t like the idea of granting him a small victory so easily.
“Serena, don’t be foolish. Get in bed like a normal person. Stop trying to ruin your spine in that thing.”
His tone was firm, but there was a peculiar softness underneath, which made me smile as I approached the bed. Maybe he wasn’t mad at me after all, despite what my conscience was telling me. It clearly wasn’t my friend today.
I sighed and lay down on my side, facing him, my body stiff and my heart in my throat. I swallowed it back down as Draven pulled the blanket over me, then snaked his arms around my waist and drew me closer to him.
I abandoned all my defenses and placed my hands on his chest. His heart thumped furiously. I relaxed in his embrace and buried my face in the warm space between his neck and shoulder, breathing him in slowly.
“It’s been a long day, Serena. Just sleep,” he whispered into my hair.
His body heat seeped into mine, and I closed my eyes. I waited to fall asleep while replaying more of the memories he’d shown me during our mind-meld. I watched through his eyes as he saw me for the very first time, back at the fae palace. He’d said that I had just happened to tag along during the spell by accident; that he’d only aimed to get my brother, Vita, and Aida back to Eritopia.
But I could see myself in the palace, laughing with the girls, surrounded by gorgeous fae during the dinner. I felt what he’d felt in that moment—a strange heat pouring through his veins as he stared at me through his flame. He’d been watching for a while before we were zapped into his mansion in Eritopia.
With all the craziness that happened after we kissed, I didn’t even get to talk to Draven about this particular memory. As his memories warped into shapes and colors dripping around me like a psychedelic rain, I slipped into a dream.
Serena
I must’ve slept for a long time. It felt like forever. I peeled my eyes open and noticed the sun still peeking shyly from the east through the window. I realized I’d completely blacked out for almost twenty hours.
Wow.
I breathed in deeply, eerily accustomed to the faint smell of dampness that lingered throughout the house, and quickly went over the previous day’s events in my mind. I started with Draven pulling me into his arms before we fell asleep and moved backward through each key moment.
My guilt still ate away at me for breaking the Daughter’s shell in my desperately foolish attempt to release and retrieve my brother.
I huffed with frustration and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands. My mind raced back to the dead succubi scouts slumped over their horses, silver blood pouring out of their fatal wounds.
My fingers ran over the soft blanket, and I realized I was alone in bed.
I thought of Draven, our kiss, and the unbelievably profound mind-meld. I had never been so close to anyone in my life.
I could still hear his heartbeat drumming in my ears. I could feel his chest burning every time he looked at me.
I seemed to have an effect on him strangely similar to the effect he had on me, but the way he experienced feelings was much more intense, as if he was hypersensitive by nature.
I made a mental note to look for some encyclopedia on Druids downstairs and read up on his species. I still had questions about his memories, but this would have to wait until we were calm and alone again. We had a long day ahead of us before that.
Where is he?
His absence made me groan. I sat up and nearly jumped out of bed at the sight of him quietly sitting in the armchair.
“Sheesh. You startled me!” I snapped, running a hand through my hair as I recovered my breath.
He was fully dressed, with his legs crossed. Tousled hair framed his face.
“I was waiting for you to wake up,” he said.
“Ah, well, I’m up,” I replied with an ounce of sarcasm and got out of bed.
I stretched my arms out and reveled in the sound of my spine crackling, relieving days’ worth of pressure and stress.
“Let me just wash my face,” I said and dashed into the bathroom.
I welcomed the cold water splashing against my face and neck, but I still felt weak and hungry—the kind of hunger that I could only soothe by syphoning. It hit me then that I hadn’t fed since we first got to the mansion. No wonder I was so mellow. I hoped that Jovi or Field were at full operating capacity that morning. I needed some nourishment, and they were the strongest ones in our pack.
The Druid’s energy oozed off him deliciously. I immediately sensed it once I got out of the bathroom. I’d been successful at tuning it out, but I was hungry. I craved his energy the most, but I wasn’t sure whether he’d want me to feed off him.
Draven stood up, and I moved in front of him, close enough to take his hand and place it on my shoulder for guidance. I opened the bedroom door and took a step toward the corridor. His touch sent flickers of electricity through my limbs.
His fingers tightened their grip on me and pulled me back, turning me around in the process. I didn’t have any time to react to his move. I stilled as his lips came down on mine in a gentle kiss.
It was completely unexpected. My raw instincts simmered to the surface, and I opened my mouth to take everything he had to offer. Fire burned in my stomach as he deepened the kiss, our tongues caressing each other.
He wrapped his arms around me, drawing me into his marble-like body, and I softened against him. Pressure built up between us, setting off a rain of sparks. Our kiss reached a new peak of intensity as we devoured each other.
His fingers vanished beneath my shirt, cool against my skin and sending shivers down my spine. I gasped in response and snaked my arms around his neck. His thumbs moved lightly over my ribs, dangerously close to my breasts.
He let out a raspy moan and took me even deeper into the kiss, pushing me against the door frame and using the weight of his body to hold me there. I ran one hand through his hair, while the other hooked around his neck for support. My legs had given up. My core trembled, and my heart pumped incandescent blood through my veins.
I was so hungry for him, I felt my primal side clawing at the inside of my skin begging to claim and consume him. I pushed back into his kiss, biting into his lower lip to send him a message—I wanted him as badly as he wanted me, and I could no longer fight that. He grunted and stilled. His lips parted, and his hot breath fluttered over my face. He captured my mouth again, his fingers digging into my hips, my flesh tender under his touch.
Heat spread through the lower half of my body, and his thigh pushed its way between my legs, further anchoring me to the door frame. I held on for dear life. My mind was devoid of everything but him. I felt his heady, vibrant energy glaze over me, warming my skin like sunshine.
It was right there within my reach, and I nearly gave in and allowed myself to syphon off him without bothering to ask for permission. He was so hot and delicious and consuming like a wild forest fire. Any closer, and I would burn up like a moth in the flame.
The sound of footsteps com
ing downstairs crashed through our heady bubble. Jovi and Field spoke as they went into the banquet room, and the double doors thudded behind them.
Everything stopped.
Draven pulled away, leaving my lips swollen, raw, and wanting more.
His hand pushed against the doorframe just above my head, as he leaned into it for support. He panted, slowly recovering his breath. I was even worse, gasping for air and unsteady on my feet. My whole body trembled, so close, yet too far from his.
We spent several minutes like that, quietly breathing in and out in a peculiar unison as we struggled to regain some kind of composure. I needed to focus on something other than his lips, glistening red from our kiss.
Coffee. I need coffee. Focus on coffee.
I cleared my throat and straightened my back, then took his hand in mine. His palm was warm, and his fingertips brushed against mine, tickling my senses.
“Okay, let’s um…let’s get some breakfast,” I managed to say.
A smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he nodded.
I would have dragged him back into the bedroom in that moment, to do more of what we’d just stopped doing, to find refuge in his arms, and to satisfy the yearning he’d nurtured in my heart, but reality came back with an unpleasant thud. We had work to do.
We reached the banquet hall, and I placed his hand on my shoulder. I didn’t want everyone to see us holding hands. It would have prompted the girls to question me—not that I had a problem with that, but I would have to explain something that I didn’t fully understand myself.
I knew how it felt, but I didn’t yet know how to put it into words.
Vita
As we all gathered in the dining hall for breakfast, I noticed the predominance of puffy eyes in our group. We’d all slept heavily after the previous morning’s ordeal, and I welcomed the feeling of absolute rest—I had no other name for so many consecutive hours spent sleeping. I could see everything in a different light, more clearly and optimistically than before.
Come to think of it, despite the impending doom of Azazel and the threat he posed on our lives, I was strangely content. We were all there, friends and strangers gathered around the table, eating the same breakfast as yesterday and the days before that, gulping down coffee and remembering The Shade and how easy life had been prior to Eritopia. A tinge of melancholy lingered between us, hung between memories of our parents and our play fights after GASP training sessions.
Even so, none of us seemed as lost or as hopeless as our first days in the mansion; our experience here had brought us closer together, as friends and family. We’d even made new friends who were about as weird as we were.
I watched quietly as Aida and Jovi poked fun at each other over their physical training sessions back home, and Serena talked to Bijarki, Anjani, and Draven about the next steps in our mission to defeat Azazel. At the other end of the table, Phoenix ate quietly with the Daughter sitting next to him. She watched him take generous bites out of his pancakes.
“If the Dearghs join our alliance, we’ll have an impressive advantage in the battlefield,” Draven said to Serena.
“What are the Dearghs, anyway? I’ve heard you talking about them, but I have no idea what they are.” Serena stuck a piece of bread in her mouth and chewed.
“The Dearghs are guardians of Eritopia’s volcanoes, servants of nature,” Anjani explained.
At the sound of her voice, Jovi forgot all about his quips with Aida and turned his head to listen to the succubus.
Soon enough, Aida and Field also focused their attention on Anjani. Given the awkwardness between them, and the stolen glances, I had a feeling that Aida was looking for something to focus on other than Field. She’d spent her life admiring him from afar and keeping her distance, but since his breakup with Maura, Field had slowly shifted toward Aida.
“They’re stone giants,” Anjani continued, picking at a pancake with her fingers. “They’re born from the volcanoes, and they spend their whole lives around them. They live for thousands of years, and their lifelines are tied to the volcano that brought them into the world. If the volcano dies out, so do the Dearghs it birthed.”
“How many volcanoes are there on this planet?” asked Jovi, his eyes locked on the succubus.
“There used to be dozens, and each represented a clan of Dearghs. Now, since Azazel has been tearing this world apart, there are only ten active volcanoes left. Ten clans,” she replied.
“What does Azazel have to do with the volcanoes, though?” Serena asked.
“Azazel uses powerful dark magic to conquer Eritopia. This magic draws its energy from nature, and it’s all-consuming when used on a grand scale,” Draven explained. “It takes tremendous amounts of power for him to corrupt his Destroyers, not to mention the war campaigns against the incubi citadels and all his other dirty tricks. Volcanoes are a great source of such power, and Azazel has been abusing them for decades now, draining them out with no regard for what that does to the Dearghs.”
“If anything, Azazel would be much happier if he could wipe out all the Dearghs, like he did with the storm hounds,” Bijarki interjected. A frown settled between his straight eyebrows. “They’re deadly in battle, although it takes forever to get a Deargh angry enough to fight.”
The Dearghs sounded a lot like my fae kind—lovers of the natural elements. They were apparently gentle and peaceful despite their massive size and fire powers.
It hit me then that, with all the madness of yesterday, I hadn’t told the girls or anyone else about my newly awakened fire fae abilities. I spent a few minutes thinking about how I would break the news to them. I didn’t want to tell them and then watch a flame fizzle out in absolute failure in case I didn’t focus enough, so instead I decided to surprise them.
I stood up slowly and picked one of the candles resting at the center of the dining table—a long white wax stick set in a beautiful silver holder with brushed ornate details swirling down to the base.
I looked around. Everyone was engaged in conversations about the Dearghs and the Destroyers and who would win in a fight between the two. Bijarki was the only one watching me.
I took a matchbox and lit the candle, then breathed deeply and followed the steps I’d taken during my previous fae session under the magnolia tree. I emptied my head of everything, shutting out the noises and focusing on Bijarki. He seemed to do the trick for me then, so it was worth trying again. I channeled my attention on him, drawing him into my mind, and placed my palms above the small flame.
It flickered for a while, and I pulled my hands outward, slowly, as if using them to expand the fire. I coaxed my innermost self to connect with it and urged it to grow. Much to my delight, the flame grew into an incandescent fire sphere the size of a soccer ball, sizzling and crackling under my control. I felt my lips turn into a smile. I worked the flame until it grew big enough to stop everyone from talking. It demanded attention with its size and awe-inspiring burn.
I kept my energy focused on the spherical blaze, but my eyes wandered around the table. They were all stunned, eyes wide and mouths gaping, except for Draven, who only stilled and listened carefully.
Serena and Aida were the first to stand up, gasping and clapping their hands as if watching the greatest circus trick ever. By all definitions, it was exactly that—a wonderful little trick—but I had spent so much time trying to make it happen that their sheer joy nurtured my soul. I expanded the flame further as I fed off their positive energy. Everyone else pushed themselves out of their chairs and took a couple of steps back to avoid the heat.
I was impressed by how big I had made it. I let out a long, unwinding sigh and willed the flame into submission. It dimmed slowly and unraveled in a fiery spiral, following the circular motions of my fingers, swirling around like an incandescent ribbon.
Serena burst into laughter and clapped again, and I noticed Jovi, Phoenix, and Field grinning with delight as they watched me literally playing with fire. Bijarki wore a different smile;
fascination flickered in his silver-blue eyes. Anjani had her head cocked to one side, eyes squinting slightly and the corners of her mouth turned upward. The Daughter stared with childish astonishment, reminding me of Serena’s expression when we were only five, and Grandpa Ben showed us one of his fae fireworks across the water on Halloween night.
“Oh, my God, Vita!” Serena exclaimed, finally finding her words.
“You did it! You freaking did it!” Aida chimed in.
My heart burst at the sight of my friends’ unadulterated joy about my achievement. I had been so fortunate to have them in my life. They had encouraged me along the way to never give up, to always keep trying until I did it. So I’d finally done it, and a sense of pride filled me up. I was finally able to show them that all their kind words had led to something great.
I nodded with a sheepish smile and put the flame out, feeling the tips of my fingers buzzing with heat. With a little more practice—well, actually a lot more practice—I would be able to turn these fiery tricks into actual weapons. I was only part-fae, but I still had potential. I’d been raised to believe that hard work added on top of natural talent could make extraordinary things happen, and my little candle trick was the shy beginning of one such endeavor. I could feel it in my gut.
“I totally did.” I grinned.
Anjani described to Draven what I had just done, and I saw a smile pass over his face. I looked around again and saw Bijarki’s gaze soften, a smile blooming on his face too.
“So, from now on we need to be careful with the fae jokes, otherwise you’ll set us on fire, huh?” Jovi grinned, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer.
“Yeah, she’s a fiery sprite all right,” Phoenix quipped.
“Mind your tongue, sentry,” I replied primly, pointing a finger at his chest.