“How did you find me?” I asked Ember once we were back at my room.
“Huh?”
“When Flint had me in that passageway—people hardly ever use that one…don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful you came, I was just interested to know how you knew I was there. Or was it really just a coincidence?” If it had been, it was the luckiest thing ever.
Ember bit her bottom lip, averting her eyes for a moment. “No, it wasn’t just a coincidence.”
“Okay, so how…?”
She straightened up, looking me squarely in the eye. “Okay, don’t be mad, but before training started Aidan kind of asked me to look out for you. My brother’s a guardian, so Aidan kind of knows my family and—”
“Wait, so you’ve only been pretending to be friends with me?”
Ember shook her head vehemently. “No, Sera, it’s not like that I promise. I mean, sure, maybe if Aidan hadn’t asked me to seek you out on that first day we might not have hit it off straight away, but that’s not the reason we’re friends. In case you haven’t noticed by the way three of the hottest guys at Court are totally in love with you, you’re actually a likeable person.”
I frowned in annoyance. I suppose I couldn’t be too mad at her, considering she’d helped me get away from Flint earlier, but I still felt like I’d been gut punched. “So…tonight?”
She shrugged. “You didn’t come back from the baths so I went to check everything was okay—last time that happened you were hooking up with Fenix, so I wasn’t really worried.”
“Oh my god! You saw that?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry, it’s not like I stayed to watch. Anyway, on my way there I heard you and Flint and well…you know the rest.”
I offered her a grateful smile, any trace of hurt completely disappearing with the reminder of what she’d done for me tonight. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” She held her arms out and I stepped into the offered hug.
Ember left not long after that, leaving me alone with Dante. He came over to me, resting his hands on my shoulders.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. I’m not a delicate flower, Dante,” I said with an eye roll.
“But you are,” he whispered. “Well, not delicate exactly. But precious. So, so precious to us, Sera. And rare. I don’t think you realize just how special you are. There’s no one like you, Sera—it’s why we all love you.”
I felt a lump lodge in my throat at his beautiful words, the sincerity lining his features telling me he meant every one of them. “You shouldn’t,” I said quietly. “Being with me isn’t doing any of you any favors.”
“I don’t care. And I know Fenix and Aidan don’t either.”
He kissed me, and it wasn’t long before I got completely lost in him, forgetting all the reasons why it was a bad idea, why I shouldn’t be with these three guys.
We stumbled over to my bed, falling onto it in a tangle of limbs. His shirt disappeared and I savored the way his lean muscles felt under my fingertips as I ran my hands over his body. My clothes were next to go, the mix of appreciation and desire swirling in his hazel eyes making me feel like the most beautiful creature in all the world. I reached for him and pulled him back toward me, our lips melding together once again. His hands roamed my body and I revelled in the feel of his warm touch on my naked skin.
My hands reached for the waistband of his pants but he caught my wrists to halt the action. Even before he spoke I knew what he was going to say. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I am,” I told him firmly. “I want this, Dante.”
He studied me for a long moment, as if weighing up the truth of my words. Finally, the corner of his mouth ticked up and he nodded. And so the pants came off.
“Are you sure you won’t regret this?” he asked me quietly. His face was just inches from mine as his body hovered over me, his weight resting on his forearms.
I pressed my palm to his cheek, offering a gentle smile. “I could never regret anything with you.”
He smiled his shy smile in response before lowering his lips to mine once more.
I’d meant what I said. There were a lot of things I regretted in my life, but this would never be one of them. I’d already decided what I needed to do and it pained me to know I wouldn’t have a memory like this with Aidan or Fenix, but knowing I was loved by them would be enough. It would have to be enough.
*
I woke up the next morning with Dante’s body wrapped around me and a smile on my face.
Blinking my eyes open, I was surprised to find the familiar figures of my two other boyfriends hanging about in my room.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” Aidan said, “I see Dante did a good job of looking after you last night.”
I let out a breath of laughter and sat up in the bed; I wasn’t entirely sure why I felt the need to cover myself with the sheet seeing as how they’d all seen me naked before—it was just one of those things.
“I’m glad you’re all here, actually—there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“If this is going to be a serious conversation, can you please put some clothes on?” Fenix asked. “This is very distracting.”
I obliged by quickly getting dressed and threw Dante’s clothes to him as well.
“Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking—I think you guys should all be king…together?”
“What? How would that even be possible?” Fenix asked.
“Well, it’s the people of the Court that decide, right? Well, Fenix, you’ve got all the support of the nobility, and Aidan, you’ve got all the support of the guardians…and Dante…”
“Is loved by everyone,” Aidan finished for me, flashing his brother a wry smile.
“Exactly.”
“But I’m too young to be king,” Dante pointed out. “No one would want someone as inexperienced as me.”
I nodded. “That’s why you should co-rule with these guys.”
“Wait, so if we did this, if we managed to convince the people to elect us as co-rulers,” Aidan said, “then that would mean we could have you as our queen.”
I glanced away, not able to meet any of their gazes. “Um, well, actually…”
“What?” I flinched at the sound of Fenix’s demanding tone and turned to find his eyes boring into me. “What’s going on, Sera?”
I took a deep breath, fixing my glance on each of them in turn before I told them, “I’m going to go back to the human world.”
11
Australia wasn’t so bad. It was nothing like I’d imagined it would be—no kangaroos or crocodiles roaming the streets—in fact, Melbourne was just a normal city, not all that different from New York…just much smaller. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should be disappointed by that, but the main thing was I was able to blend in fine; there were a ton of people here from other countries so no one even batted an eye about my accent and they certainly didn’t recognize me as an escaped convict.
In fact, I’d kind of gotten everything I’d wanted when I made my plan upon first getting to prison—a life for myself on the other side of the world. But of course, that wasn’t really what I wanted anymore…
Not a day went by where I didn’t think about my princes—or were they kings now?—and wonder what they were up to. Were they safe? Had my plan for them panned out? Had they moved on? It had been months since I left, for all I knew they’d taken the throne together and each had queens now…
And that was what hurt the most. I knew I’d done the right thing; leaving was the best for everyone. The only reason I’d been in the Fire Court in the first place was to learn how to control my fire magic. Well, I could do that now so it was safe for me to be out in the human world again.
I stood around in the kitchen of the little apartment I shared with four other people—okay so it wasn’t exactly my perfect dream life but it was alright—flicking through the newspaper someone had left on the counter. I lifte
d my cup of coffee to my lips and grimaced when I realized I’d let it get cold. No one was around so I used a little charm to get it steaming again in all of two seconds.
And then I spilled half the cup over the bench when I column of fire erupted in my living room, scaring the absolute shit out of me. Emerging from the flames were Aidan, Dante and Fenix.
I ran around the counter and launched myself at them, winding up in a weird cross between a group hug and football huddle.
“Well, I guess that answers the question of whether she’d be happy to see us,” Aidan said.
“Of course I’m happy to see you! But what are you doing here?”
Dante smiled. “What do you think we’re doing here? We’ve come to get you.”
I shook my head. “But I already told you why I can’t be in the Fire Court. People didn’t want me there. They especially didn’t want me there with you guys.”
Fenix stepped forward. “Sera, we want you there. You were right about us co-ruling. We put it to the Court and they made the decision a couple of weeks ago. And as far as I’m concerned, if the people can trust our judgement when it comes to ruling the Court, they should be able to trust our judgement when it comes to who we love. And we love you.”
I smiled, my heart full to bursting from his words.
“Plus,” Aidan added, “we have a visitor at Court who wants to see you, and she’s not really the kind of person who takes no for an answer.”
My brows shot up. “She wants to see me?”
All three of them nodded.
“Who is this person?”
The corner of Fenix’s mouth curved up. “Come back with us and find out.”
I shook my head in wry amusement. They had me; I was too curious now to protest any further.
The flames had gone out after delivering the guys into my living room, so Aidan summoned some more and before I knew it I was being escorted back to the Fire Court.
The flames delivered us to the baths, which I found off considering I was supposed to be meeting someone. Were they expecting me to clean up first?
I heard the sound of unfamiliar voices and realizes we weren’t alone in here. Turning around, I saw a rather unexpected sight: an extraordinarily beautiful with ochre skin and long black hair was bathing in one of the pools; she wasn’t naked, but wore a kind of halter bikini thing and a sarong-type skirt that seemed to somehow move normally in the water. She was surrounded by four gorgeous guys, and even though none of them were touching her, the way they were all interacting made me absolutely certain she was intimate with all of them.
“Your Highness,” Fenix said to the girl as we approached the pool.
She ceased her conversation and glanced up at us. “So you’re the one I’ve heard so much about?” she asked as her eyes raked over me.
“Um…I guess?”
“Sera, this is Princess Delta of the Undines,” Fenix said.
“Oh, okay…nice to meet you, I guess?”
The princess’s eyes sparkled in amusement and she turned back to address her guys. “Okay, leave us for a minute, it’s time for some girl talk.”
One of her boys narrowed his eyes on us as though deeply affronted. “We’re not leaving you alone with a salamander. She could—”
The princess rolled her eyes. “Okay, Tasman, fine—just go further over there. I promise, if she tries to burn me alive you have permission to throw your trident at her.”
Aidan stepped forward, his eyes narrowed on Tasman. “That trident goes anywhere near her and you’ll all be fucking cinders.”
This time it was me rolling my eyes. “Okay, calm the fuck down—I’m not going to do anything so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Aidan, Fenix and Dante backed away to a corner of the room behind me, while the princess’s guys retreated behind her.
Satisfied that we had some semblance of privacy, the princess turned to me and spoke. “When Wade returned from a visit here to tell me three of the salamander princes had fallen for the same girl, I was floored. They’ve always had this thing against sharing partners—made no secret of the fact they disapproved of the way we do things in the Sea Court—so when I heard about you, I just had to meet you.” She let out a soft sigh. “Imagine my disappointment when I came all the way over here to find you’d skipped town.”
“I didn’t really have much of a choice,” I told her.
“And why is that?”
“Exactly as you said—Aidan, Fenix and Dante are the right guys to rule this Court, but there’s no way they’d have been elected if I were still in the picture. The salamanders just don’t understand the concept of sharing a partner, or loving more than one person.”
She nodded. “But they’re kings now. You can come back.”
I shrugged. “There’s the fact that I’m half-human. That’s a big problem for a lot of people…most people, really. I don’t want to be the thorn in their side for their entire reign…”
The princess nodded thoughtfully. “We had a similar problem when it came out that two of my consorts were also involved with each other. It took a long time for people to wrap their heads around it, and I know there are some who still aren’t completely…comfortable with it.”
I just barely managed not to roll my eyes. Of course gay rights didn’t exist here—why was I not surprised?
“What did you do?”
The princess shrugged. “Nothing. It wasn’t any of their business. Besides, the gods chose my consorts, so questioning their place by my side basically amounts to questioning the gods’ wisdom.”
“I guess that’s the difference, then—the gods have nothing to do with my relationship with Aidan, Dante and Fenix, or with my place here at Court.”
“I don’t believe that,” she said, pinning me with a hard look. “The gods might be resting, but I’ve seen first hand how much their power and influence still impacts this world. Fenix, Aidan and Dante are better rulers together, and they’re even stronger with you by their sides. That’s why the gods brought you here, and why they brought you all together.”
“But you had a way to prove your consorts were worthy…”
She offered me a soft smile. “What do you think the Testing is? Once you get through that you’ll become the first ever halfling to earn a place amongst the salamanders. No one will be able to say you’re not worthy after that.”
I’m sure they still will, I thought.
*
Once the election for the new kings had been finalized, the queen had retired and no longer had a say in the running of things, which was a good thing when it came to the matter of my Testing. The Testing for all the other fledglings had been held months ago—the day after I’d left Court—and there was no doubt in my mind that if it were up to the old queen, I’d have forever missed my chance. As it was, my boyfriends took a more lenient view.
I was beyond relieved to know Ember had made it through, but absolutely shocked to learn Char hadn’t.
“How is that even possible,” I’d asked Fenix when he told me. “She was probably the best in the whole training group.”
He shrugged. “The Testing isn’t based solely on magical skill. Yes, it helps to be prepared for whatever you might come up against, but ultimately it comes down to who you are rather than what you’re good at.”
If he’d thought that would give me a confidence boost, it didn’t.
This can’t be real—nothing I’d learned about fire magic had ever led me to believe it was capable of messing with the time-space continuum, so that was what I kept telling myself: this can’t be real, this can’t be real. Except it felt so, so real.
I tried to think of the last thing I could remember; I’d been standing in a circle of flames, ready to begin my Testing. So, did that mean this was it? What the hell kind of messed up test was this that it would make me re-live the worst day of my life?
I was in my old foster-family’s kitchen—the one I’d burned down almost two years ago—and there was my
foster brother, stalking toward me with that predatory glint in his eye. I remember being so scared and angry in that moment, letting the fire consume me and allowing the flames to explode and take him down with the house around him.
But I wasn’t angry this time. Or scared. I was determined.
I let him come toward me, and when he was close enough I gripped onto his arm, using the same disabling charm both Flint and Char had used on me. My foster brother didn’t have any magic for me to switch off, but he was physically strong and my charm robbed him of that advantage. I held on until he was so weak he was passing out on the kitchen floor, and then I strode to the front door and walked out of the house.
The next thing I knew, I was back at the Fire Court, the ring of flames I’d been standing in before my Testing now a circle of ash. Before I could even really register what had happened, I was attacked on three fronts: Aidan, Dante and Fenix all eager to celebrate my success.
*
I would love to say everything magically turned around for me and the salamanders suddenly started loving me, but life’s not really like that. My boyfriends may have been the kings of this Court, but they couldn’t make people think or feel a certain way, and I wouldn’t want them to if they could. I was slowly winning people over, small gesture by small gesture, one day at a time.
Aidan suggested the people would warm up once I’d produced an heir, but I shot that down lightning-fast. That definitely wouldn’t be happening any time soon—I’d brought a few things back with me from the human world to make sure of it. And even though I loved my guys and would definitely want to have kids some day, there was one thing I knew for absolute certain: there was no way in hell I’d be having nine of them.
*
The Fiercest Flame is a standalone novella from Ashlee Nicole Bye’s Midnight and Dawn universe. Find out where you can read more stories from this world, plus other books by Ashlee Nicole Bye at www.ashleenicolebye.com/books
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