by Lola Gabriel
“Have you put a spell on me?” Theo rasped in her ear as his lips trailed along the lines of her face. “Am I being seduced by your magic?”
“If you are,” she whispered back, “I’m under the same spell.”
He pounced upon her, his heavy form pushing Scarlet into the thick cushions of the couch as his hands explored the curves of her tiny form, missing nowhere as though he’d been there before. Indeed, there was a magic in Theo’s touch, one which was both elating and forbidden, possibly making it more desirable. Fearless, he traced the crevices of her trembling body with his tongue, pausing to kiss the taut skin of her breasts as he moved lower to taste her.
Scarlet moaned softly, knowing that the connection she shared with Theo had nothing to do with reason. They were not two beings pushed together by circumstance, but by fate itself. Her legs locked around his ears as Theo brought her to a climax she had never known, and then he slowly retraced his kisses up her body before stopping at her lips.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he murmured before joining himself to her with a heaving thrust. The combination of pleasure and shock overwhelmed Scarlet, and she grasped at Theo’s strong back, her fingers splayed over the muscles of his shoulders.
They fell into a choreographed dance of passion, their limbs entwined as they rose higher into their desire for one another. In unison, they released, unable to hold back the sentiments they shared for one another. Theo wrapped a strong arm about Scarlet’s waist, his nose nuzzled into her neck as they found their breaths.
“Don’t think this means I don’t want answers,” Theo told her. “I still demand to know what happened at the park.”
She turned her head to look at him, her pulse racing again. “Why would you sleep with me if you think I’m a terrorist?”
Theo propped himself up and stared at her, a bemused smirk on his face. “Who says I think you’re a terrorist?”
“Well, isn’t that the definition of someone who sets a fire, intending to hurt other people?”
“I do not think you had anything to do with it,” Theo replied, pulling himself up. “I think you just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
She inhaled and nodded. Yes! That would explain everything. I just say I was there but that I didn’t do it!
“Exactly!”
“But I think you know who did it,” he continued, slipping a strand of hair away from her face. “And I think you’re covering for whoever it was.”
“I—”
“I’ll do my best to protect your friends, Scarlet. I know there is a radical group of witches who still harbor grudges toward my family and the other dragons.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Scarlet said. “I mean, I’ve heard of them, of course…”
“You’re not a part of this group?”
“No! I… I’m not,” Scarlet insisted. “I had nothing to do with the fire.”
Theo frowned. “Then why were you willing to take the blame for it?”
Miserably, Scarlet hung her head.
“It’s just better this way, Theo,” she murmured. “I can’t tell you anything else.”
“Scarlet, if I bring you before my father, justice will be swift and merciless.”
“I know.”
“Is this person you’re protecting worth it? Would she do it for you?”
“Yes!” Scarlet replied without hesitation. “She would.”
His eyes widened. “She’s family, then.”
Scarlet paled. “Please, Theo, do whatever you have to with me. If you don’t, I will just turn myself in.”
“You foolish girl,” he laughed mirthlessly. “I can’t just hand you over to my father.”
“I’ll go alone. No one needs to know that you’ve hidden me.”
“I am not worried about punishment, Scarlet.”
“Then what are you worried about? We can put this to rest once and for all.”
Theo shook his head.
“No,” he growled, tightening his grip around her waist. “I will not sacrifice you.”
“It’s the only way,” Scarlet pleaded. “I can’t hide here forever, and eventually, the scouts will go back out again looking for me.”
“We will find a way through this, even if you won’t tell me everything you know.”
“Why?” she whispered, her brow furrowed “Why would you do that for me?”
Theo chuckled. “Because you are my soulmate, of course.”
Her body relaxed at the declaration, the words sinking into her psyche to calm her nerves and fill her with a glimmer of hope.
“Thank you, Theo,” she breathed.
“Do not thank me yet,” he replied shortly. “We still have a great deal to contend with.” She nodded and eyed him appreciatively.
“I’ll do whatever you say,” Scarlet promised. “But if things get too complicated, I’ll turn myself in, all right?”
“No,” Theo said flatly. “No, you won’t. You’ll stay here for now, and I’ll figure out what to do.”
“Here? Are you sure that’s the safest place?” she asked. The idea of being surrounded by dragons was more than slightly unnerving, especially when she had no idea how long she might be there.
“No one will be looking for you here,” Theo assured her. “I cannot think of a better place.” Scarlet reasoned that he had a point.
“Will you stay with me?” she asked plaintively, and his huge shoulders sagged slightly.
“I will stay with you as much as possible,” he answered. “But I cannot arouse suspicion. Even now, I should be with my father. He has been calling me nonstop since the fire. I turned off my phone.”
“Go, then,” Scarlet told him, her smile fading. “Go and pretend like everything is fine.” She pulled the throw around her naked form as Theo ambled to his feet reluctantly.
“Scarlet,” he said quietly. “I will not force you to tell me what happened, but I want you to know that your secrets will always be safe with me.”
She darted her gaze away, the desire to explain almost smothering her.
“I know,” she murmured. “But I can’t. Not yet.”
“As you wish.” He wriggled back into his clothes before crouching to meet her at face level. “Do not fret,” he said. “We will clear your name of this.” He kissed her gently on the lips before disappearing from the guest house.
And then what? Scarlet asked herself. Even if I am cleared of this, what will happen? There was no doubt in her mind that the Tallants would forbid the relationship between a witch and dragon, the bad blood between them spanning millennia. One earth-shattering problem at a time, Scarlet, she chided herself, snuggling back into the sofa. At least for that moment, she could pretend that everything would be fine.
7
Theo had hoped to make his way back into the estate without notice, but it was nearly impossible when the warriors had all returned back, covered in soot and much weakened.
“Where the hell have you been?” Bran demanded when he appeared at the back door. “Your father is livid!”
“I was just on my way to see him, Bran,” Theo answered smoothly. “I had a lot to deal with, as you know.”
“I did not see you at the park, either,” Bran protested.
Theo simply ignored him and made his way toward Carlyle’s office. As he approached, he heard voices growing louder from within.
“—what he said! I want the scouts! Every single scout. Bring them in from overseas if you must, but find that girl!”
Theo tensed and entered the office unannounced. The Head of Scouts, Latham, stood with his head down as Carlyle continued to berate him.
“Ah! There he is, the fool who called off the scouts!” the older Tallant barked. “Do you care to tell me the meaning of this?”
“Latham, leave us,” Theo instructed, sauntering toward a chair to make himself comfortable. Latham cast Carlyle a quick look, waiting for a nod of approval before turning to leave. “Oh, and Latham, the order remains
. The scouts are not to look for Scarlet Gale until further notice,” Theo added, as if it were an afterthought.
“Theo?” Latham asked, his voice slightly squeaky.
“What is this, Theo?” Carlyle questioned, with ire clouding his face. “That woman needs to be found.”
“Not if she isn’t responsible, Father. I have word that this is the work of a rogue group of begrudging witches.”
“Word from whom?”
“Latham, heed my orders,” Theo told him warningly. “I do not need to tell you what will happen if you don’t comply.”
Latham paled and nodded, ducking out of the room before either Tallant could utter another word.
“I warned you this could happen!” Carlyle roared at his son.
“You warned me?” Theo barked back. “How many years have I been telling you that these festivals only bring grief? It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. You should have called off the entire affair when you got warning of this.”
“It is tradition.” Carlyle snarled.
“It is your ego. This is the one time a year that you can throw our existence into the faces of the mortals while collecting on it. Are you happy now?”
Father and son glowered at one another until a knock on the door distracted them.
“Enter!” Carlyle snapped.
Asher, Theo’s brother, poked his head inside the office, his mouth pulled into a firm line.
“I can hear you two all the way down the hall,” he chided them. “We are supposed to unite in the time of a crisis, not fall apart.”
“No one is falling apart,” Theo replied staunchly. “We are merely discussing the best way to go forward with this.”
“The best way is to have the scouts find this woman and whatever other witches might be involved—”
“You do not know that Scarlet Gale is a witch,” Theo interrupted, “let alone that she has anything to do with what’s going on.”
“That is why we must find her,” Carlyle retorted. “What has gotten into you, Theo? This happened on your watch.”
“This festival is your doing,” Theo reminded him. “Particularly when you were on notice about what might happen.”
“What?” Asher choked. “You were on alert about this?” Carlyle scowled at both his sons.
“What’s done is done,” he said. “There is no point in fretting about how we might have changed matters. All that we can do now is find those responsible and bring them to justice. Starting with the girl. I am ordering the scouts back to work.”
“I will only call them off again,” Theo said evenly. The apprehension in his blood was reaching smothering levels. Carlyle’s brown eyes narrowed.
“You have not given me one good reason to have the scouts stay,” he said slowly. “What do you know that I do not?”
“I know that utilizing the scouts for such a trivial matter is stupid,” Theo answered. “I know that there is a coven of witches out there who want us dead and have not yet succeeded, so I would rather have the scouts on alert if they should try to finish the job, wouldn’t you?”
“Theo is right, Father,” Asher piped in before Carlyle answered. “There is no reason to monopolize the scouts for one girl. This was clearly not the act of a single person.”
“What do you suggest, Asher?” Carlyle demanded. “That we sit back and wait for them to attack again?”
“There have been two brimstone attacks in two days,” Theo said. “One right here at the estate. I daresay our problem is much closer to home than some unwitting girl on the run.”
“I agree,” Asher said, and Carlyle’s scowl deepened.
“Fine,” he spat. “But I will allot a team to look for Scarlet Gale. I will not let her get away with whatever part she might have in the matter.”
Theo held himself from cringing. A team is not as bad as an army. I cannot fight with Father on this compromise without making myself look suspicious.
“Very well,” Theo said, rising from his spot. “I will see what else I can learn about this coven.”
“You do that. I have to worry about the mortals now,” Carlyle sighed. “The newspapers are filled with accounts about how the warriors morphed before their eyes.”
“You will spin it well, Father,” Theo told him. “You always do.” The compliment gave Carlyle an unexpected smirk, and he nodded.
“I am quite good at manipulating those fools, aren’t I?” he chortled. Theo didn’t bother to answer as he followed Asher out of the office.
“Tell me what you need,” Asher said. “I came to check up on you, not Father. I had a feeling you were getting an earful.”
“He’s got some gall blaming me for this,” Theo muttered, but he wasn’t about to rehash his entire claim to Asher. They were brothers, after all. Asher was just as accustomed to his father’s tactics as Theo.
And they think Eden and I are his favorites. I would loathe to see how he handles those he despises. The thought made Theo shudder. He knew exactly what his father did with those who crossed him. He is Osric’s son.
“I don’t envy you, brother,” Asher sighed as they started back down the hall. “I have no idea how you’re going to clean up this mess. So public. It puts our entire way at risk, doesn’t it?”
“Not if Father handles it properly. It isn’t the first time the public has unwittingly witnessed the dragons.”
“Maybe not,” Asher agreed. “But at this magnitude? Not only are there witness accounts, but the police and fire department are also involved. Whoever is to blame for this seemed to know exactly what they were doing.”
“Like Father said, we can’t change anything.” Theo’s tone was strained, but if Asher noticed, he didn’t comment.
“Where are you going now?” Asher asked as Theo moved deeper into the manor.
“I’m going to pay Bruno a visit.”
Although Bruno wasn’t in the sick bay, Eden was, looking stressed while she dealt with the influx of brimstone-affected dragons.
“I need more healers,” she warned Theo without preamble. “They’re draining me.”
“I’ll see to it,” he assured her. “Where is Bruno?”
“I moved him into one of the guest suites. I needed the beds.”
Theo nodded, looking around at the injured dragons in disbelief.
There is no way that Scarlet is capable of such a thing, he told himself. I can’t believe I ever thought she was. Then why did everyone think they saw her? Could it just be a simple case of mistaken identity?
He didn’t want to second-guess what Scarlet had said to him, but he couldn’t deny that something was nagging at him; something elusive. To be fair, Scarlet hadn’t told him much. It was only fair that he was questioning everything.
“I will arrange for more healers,” he promised Eden before turning toward the stairs.
“Please!” Eden called beggingly after him.
Theo found Bruno alone in one of the suites in the east wing, looking much healthier than the last time he’d seen the warrior.
“Theo!” Bruno exclaimed, looking somewhat sheepish. “How are you?”
“I have been better,” Theo replied, but even as he said it, he thought of Scarlet waiting for him. This whole situation is bittersweet; finding my soulmate under these circumstances.
“I’d tell you I was ready for the Festival, but I guess that’s a moot point now.” Theo gave Bruno a frosty smile.
“I want to talk to you about the day you were injured,” he said. “What can you tell me about what happened in the arena?”
Bruno eyed him warily. “I already told you. I don’t know what happened. We were sparring as usual, and suddenly, I was on my ass. I’ve never been hurt so badly in a training exercise.”
“You were fighting with Lester?”
“Yes, but that’s something we’ve done a thousand times before.”
“I know. But you were poisoned with brimstone, and I want to know where it came from. Did you notic
e anyone there that didn’t belong? A woman, perhaps?”
Bruno’s brow furrowed, and he cocked his head to the side. “I don’t think— Oh! Yes, there was the stable girl. I hadn’t seen her before, and I remember thinking that she didn’t look big enough to handle the horses.”
“What stable girl?” Theo leaned closer, his eyes bright with excitement. “Can you describe her?”
“Comely thing. Dark red hair, big blue eyes. She seemed ill-at-ease being there, but who can blame her. The fights are not for the weak at heart.”
“I see,” Theo mumbled, his heart sinking into his stomach. “Is there anything else you can remember about her? Did you speak with her?”
Bruno shook his head. “No. I was training. We were focussed, like we always are.”
Theo gritted his teeth. “Thank you, Bruno. I’ll call on you if I need anything else.”
“Do you think that this woman had something to do with the fire at the Festival?”
“I don’t know,” Theo responded quietly. “But I certainly hope not.”
Yet as he turned away, he had a terrible feeling that he was harboring a terrorist in his guest house.
8
The battery of Scarlet’s cell phone was in the red, but she had to try to reach her sister one last time before the device went dead.
Come on, Bea, she willed her twin, hoping that somehow, through their deep connection, Beatrice might be able to hear her. Just give me a sign that you’re okay. That’s all I need. Again, the phone went through to voicemail, leaving Scarlet feeling worried and scared. What if the scouts find her anyway? What if she turns herself in?
A dozen terrible thoughts filled Scarlet’s mind, none to be alleviated, much less by Theo storming back into the guest house, his face blazing with indignation.
“You lied to me again!” he howled, slamming the door. Scarlet bolted upright, the phone falling from her hand.
“About what?” she asked.
“Have you lied so many times that you can’t keep them straight?” Theo scoffed, and Scarlet’s face twisted in confusion.
“I— What are you talking about?”