Ash Bringer (A Storm of Fire: Paranormal Dragonshifter Romance Book 1)

by Courtney Leigh

  Everly’s vivid plea for help had been strong enough to rouse me from my sleep and those screams haunted me still. I was disturbed by it, gazing into the dancing, orange flames in an attempt to calm my thoughts. Truth was, her suffering had solidified our bond so quickly I wasn’t prepared. I wasn’t prepared to feel her like I did, and I was sure Everly wasn’t prepared either.

  I should have ended it, I thought.

  Just then, like little spiders scurrying along my skin, I felt her nearby. I heard her bare feet padding across the marble floor of the front entrance room, trying to be quiet, but sound wasn’t the only thing giving her away. It was that lavender scent and her pulse in the air. Our bond was like a web. When she was near, everything about her traveled into my awareness, like she was a moth caught in the silk of my trap. I was aggravated at how sensitive I’d become in just a couple days.

  I stayed still, listening to her leave the building and head into the courtyard. Once she was gone, I shifted, looking over my shoulder at the front door as it slowly shut behind her.

  I rose from the seat and made my way after her. As I opened the door, the pink and purple light of the sunset washed over the grassy yard like paint had spilt all over the ground. I caught sight of Everly just past the fountain, heading barefoot into the grass that divided the property from the woods. She was wearing a long, cotton sweater that hung to the middle of her thighs and her hair was in a sloppy, loose braid. She was clutching something in front of her, but I couldn’t see what it was.

  Once Everly was halfway between the courtyard and the woods, I saw a small group of deer emerge from the trees. A dozen of them at least, but they stayed close to the forest. All but one. A young doe who was trotting toward Everly where she stopped on the grass and slowly crouched down to appear smaller. The doe approached her, reaching out with her nose to sniff whatever it was that Everly had brought.

  I watched her break off pieces of what I could now see was a slice of dried bread and give it to the deer like the thing was a longtime pet. Slowly, a couple of the other deer began to cautiously move in and within minutes, Everly had a group of them eating out of her hands.

  I had no idea why I was charmed by the scene, but I was. This woman proved as wild as a defensive panther. She was aggressive. She’d killed with the same hands that fed the deer now.

  I slipped my hands into my pant pockets and observed until the sun had disappeared completely behind the mountains in the distance. It was a bright night. The moon was full. The breeze was steady, but those clouds were coming in like a slow wave. I watched them, picking up slight traces of rain in the air that became stronger with every breath.

  When the deer had finally retreated back into the woods, I watched as Everly stood back up, dusting off her hands, and made her way back to the courtyard. She hadn’t noticed me yet. Her head was down as if she was still fatigued. When she tucked one hand into her sleeve to wipe her eyes, I realized she’d been crying.

  Everly reached the fountain before she looked up to see me standing at the top of the shallow steps, just outside the manor’s entrance. She froze, her muscles growing tense at the sight of me. Her skin was pale, a slight redness framing her grey eyes. I wasn’t sure exactly what happened in the camp before I’d arrived, but it seemed Everly had finally cracked.

  We stared at each other for a long while until her lips pursed into that familiar, angry scowl and she moved quickly to get past me. As soon as she reached for the door handle I sidestepped to block her. She sighed, defeated for once rather than confrontational.

  “You should be resting,” I said.

  “Then let me go rest,” she shot back, trying to get around me.

  I stepped in front of her again. She closed her eyes, aggravated. I had to admit it was still amusing to see her squirm, but rather than play, I remained quiet. After over a century of being with humans, I learned they were much more fragile than my kind. Much less predictable. Sporadic with their emotions. Everly was starting to lose her grip on herself. I could feel it.

  “Why get out of bed at all? Just to feed a deer?”

  “A deer is better company. Now let me through.”

  “In a hurry?”

  “Yes. Draven, I’m tired. Of this. Of everything. Just...please leave me alone. You have me,” she raised her branded wrist. “I obviously can’t get away from you and even if I could, where would I turn? Your people burned my family. You killed the only person that ever meant anything to me after that. The only person who ever cared for me. And the frustrating part is that Taurus isn’t even around for your revenge. For all I know, you’re just doing this to hurt people. To hurt me. You’re so angry at something and I don’t think you even know what it really is. I can’t reason with that, so just...give me a night. You can continue toying with me in the morning.”

  She made one last attempt to find the doorknob and, grabbing her wrist in a non-threatening manner, I pushed her lightly away from the door to get her attention.

  “What did they do to you?” I said softly.

  “You saw what they did to me,” Everly answered.

  My eyes skated slowly down her body as I remembered her ripped clothes. Like she could hear my thoughts, she lifted her chin and smiled, somehow amused.

  “Ah,” she said. “I get it. You don’t really care for my well being. You care that they touched something that was yours. You’re offended.” She pulled her hand away.

  “Insulted is a more appropriate word.”

  “Well, he didn’t get far. As soon as I said your name, he backed off. So I guess you were good for something.”

  I withheld a smirk when those words crossed her lips, but before I could bask in it too long, other questions came to mind.

  “Last night you said Taurus didn’t kill Valerio. How do you know that?”

  She wrinkled her brow as if she barely remembered what she’d said. After giving it some thought, the memory seemed to return to her.

  “Tek,” she said. “The guy that was acting in charge. He wasn’t exactly secretive. He knew exactly who Taurus was. He suggested that someone else was more likely to have killed Valerio and that they let Taurus take the fall for it.”

  “I got in Taurus’s head. I know he killed Valerio. I saw it.”

  “Bullshit. He’s not at fault,” she spat. “Someone else is.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know, but when Taurus left me he said his job was just to be a middle man. To arrange a meeting with rebel leaders and Valerio.”

  “Right,” I snorted. “He definitely got him close. Close enough to kill him.”

  “Really?” she glared, resting her weight on one leg. “Tek told me Taurus got himself arrested. He was running from the Falcons. Whatever happened, Taurus didn’t kill Valerio. I know it. It sounded like he was actually trying to help him for some idiotic reason. If he was anything like you, I can’t imagine why he would ever side with him on anything.”

  The idea wasn’t impossible, but it was unproven. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, the information sitting on my mind like sandpaper inside my skull.

  “Look,” Everly said. “I never knew Valerio, but it’s obvious his death hurt you. Enough to throw blame at the first person you saw. And the second. Who knows? Maybe you blame everyone. You blame anything that isn’t Draak. So you’re punishing me to punish a dead man for something he didn’t do. There is nothing I could ever say to get you to see that because you enjoy it. You enjoy the control and the fear. Nothing can hurt you, right? So why bother being reasonable? Just burn it all down, Ash Bringer. After all, humans are just rats that you need to reproduce. I doubt there’s even a tiny part of you that could ever appreciate someone other than yourself.”

  “I enjoy none of it,” I confessed, surprised by my own honesty.

  Everly didn’t believe me for a second. The distrust in her stare was dark and impenetrable.

  “Could have fooled me,” she said, a glisten forming beneath her already raw eyes.
/>   Tears. She held them back as best she could, but even if she never let them fall, I could hear her heart hesitate with sorrow. My skin tingled with her emotions as they bled between us. She probably didn’t even know it. She didn’t even realize how much she’d unintentionally strengthened our connection when she called out to me. When she was screaming and in pain. When she wanted me to save her. To kill for her. I could feel the beat of her pulse as if it were my own. I wondered if she could feel mine.

  I quietly stepped aside from the door. She lingered, as if expecting me to grab her and pin her to the wall, but I had no intention to. Not that night. Perhaps not any other night. I was entirely unsure.

  When she finally moved by me, that sweet lavender wafted off her, triggering my senses until I was so aware of her that I could even feel a bit of intrigue resonating from her thoughts. I smirked behind the cover of the darkness, walking inside after her. I’d caught her attention. Now I had to figure out what I could do with it.

  “You know,” she said, turning to me just before she disappeared up the stairs. “You’ve won. Whatever it was you wanted to do to me. Hurt me? If that was your intention, trust me. You’ve won. True, I was scared in that camp. I was afraid of what they’d do to me. Of what they’d already done. But what you did to me...you’ve hurt me more than anyone ever has. Probably more than anyone ever will.” She started up the steps. “I can’t imagine what else you want with me.”

  And there it was. Words that made me question everything. They complicated things, and now here I was wondering if I was feeling guilty. Guilty over what I’d done to Everly. What I’d taken from her. The idea that I, an Ash Bringer, felt regret regarding a human was something I never thought I’d admit to, but that’s exactly what I was feeling.

  23

  Everly

  . . .

  I sat up in bed, hair draped in a braid over my shoulder, watching the sunrise cast a grey light over the woods outside my window. Dark clouds had rolled in overnight and a drizzle had started up sometime while I was sleeping and picked up gradually as I watched.

  I’d woken early, unable to sleep with all the thoughts churning in my head. Thoughts about Taurus. About the Falcons. About Valerio. About being sliced up by the sick fucks in that camp.

  I could still feel Tek’s bullet beneath my ribs. I could feel his knife across my skin. On top of all that, I had a moment in Draven’s presence that I didn’t hate him. If he hadn’t come to that camp…

  I stopped myself, unable to think of what might have happened. I rose from the bed and dressed myself in a pair of cotton leggings and a long, baggy shirt. Slipping on my boots, I ventured out in search of food and distraction. Just outside in the hall, I found Keera standing with her usual, gentle posture, fingers tangled together in front of her. She bowed her head at me when I stepped out. She knew how I hated that, but I reminded her by rolling my eyes and brushing by her

  “Everly,” she said. “Are you...are you ok?”

  I sighed and turned to face her. “I’m fine,” I said, the word generic and empty on my tongue.

  “You’re sure?”

  I scoffed. “You’re asking a girl who entered the Red Race if she’s ok after she got a little beat up?”

  Gods, that whole sentence was dirt in my mouth. The two situations couldn’t be more different. The race was voluntary and I had a means to defend myself. What Tek had done, skewering me on the ground and keeping me helpless and vulnerable, was something entirely new to me. I shuddered at the freshness of the memory and turned away. Looking around, I searched for a reason to change the subject.

  “Where’s the runt?” I asked.

  “His father took him to get new clothes. He’s growing fast,” she said sweetly. “I requested to stay back so I could take care of you.”

  “Don’t do me any favors,” I shook my head, continuing down the hall toward the smell of breakfast. Keera followed, her steps small, but quick behind me.

  When we reached the dining hall, two ladies in red were setting out fruit and toast. For once, I sat myself down at the table and reached for an orange. As I began to peel it, Keera sat down beside me and took a piece of toast, spreading soft butter over the top for herself. I glanced at her, tossing a strip of orange peel onto the white table cloth.

  “This your day off or something?” I asked her, trying to cut the silence with dull conversation.

  “I can have any days off that I want,” she said. “My service to Lukan and the others is voluntary. When Lukan chose me, it became a pleasure, not a chore to serve him.”

  “I will never understand how you think. I could never voluntarily serve them.”

  “It’s a little different I suppose when you’ve never known anything else. I owe Lukan a lot. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay him.”

  “You gave him a son. Isn’t that a big deal? Two sons, actually. I thought it was hard for women to give birth to Draak and you did it twice. He has to be thankful for that.”

  “Of course he is. It wasn’t easy,” she said, taking a bite of her toast. “I almost died when Ronan was born and Lukan stayed with me for days until I was whole again. But no matter what, we will never be like the females from their previous world.”

  “Yeah. They’re all dead,” I raised a brow, popping a slice of orange in my mouth.

  “Yes, but what I meant was we’re human. The bond changes us.”

  “I’d say you’re just lucky to be alive and your son is lucky not to be a Pike.”

  “I despise Draak who impregnate women in that way,” Keera said. “To condemn a woman to burn to death for a child that will most likely be killed anyways is the cruelest of abuses.”

  “So you do hate some of them,” I said, taking another bite of orange.

  “Most Draak refuse to associate with beasts like that. They’re not the same as Lukan and his brothers. Those Draak have lost their way. They’re consumed by primal need and nothing more. A Draak can control his body, you know? They choose when to be fertile or not. Any that impregnate a woman without first making her compatible is careless, foolish, or sadistic.”

  “That’s an understatement, but I guess every species has its monsters.”

  “Like the man in the camp? I...I can’t imagine what it felt like to...I could never understand how torture feels. Your strength is inspiring.”

  “Hmf. I’m not strong. I’m stubborn.”

  “You’re strong,” Keera repeated, reaching over to place her hand on my forearm just as I was about to bite into another piece of orange. “It’s the reason Draven hasn’t killed you.”

  “Wonderful,” I said, pulling away.

  “I mean that. Draak value strength. Draven especially, though he’d never say any of that out loud. That’s probably why he’s never really taken to me,” she said, smiling. “I think it’s because I’m submissive, like you say. People tell me I’m soft and sweet. Luken loves that about me, but Draven seems constantly irritated by it.”

  “Lukan is adapting. Draven isn’t. They had something great and lost it. Now the poor Draak men have to settle for weak-boned, emotional humans with short lives. To have children, they have to turn women into something inhuman or we’ll burn up just to give birth to partially deformed, uncontrollable dirty-bloods that they like killing anyways,” I sighed. “I can see where the frustration comes from.”

  “It all sounds so simple when you put it that way.”

  “It is simple. They came to a world that wasn’t theirs and took it. They know they have power over us and they use it in cruel ways. Draven isn’t keeping me alive because I’m strong. He’s keeping me alive because I’m a project. He’ll tire of me soon enough,” I shrugged, taking the last slice of orange in my mouth. “Hell, considering his idea of fun, maybe next time I’ll just lay there like a corpse. That’d take the enjoyment right out of it, don’t you think?”

  Suddenly all my accusations and notions were sour. Draven had saved me, afterall. Still, he’d done such horribl
e things, I couldn’t count him as a good guy. Not yet.

  “Everly, you’re being unfair. Draven would never violate a woman like that. He might be rigid and aggressive, but he’s Lukan’s superior for a reason. He earned that. If you don’t believe me, believe Lukan. He’d never follow anyone he didn’t trust or respect. Draven’s not a kind man by any means, but he is a good one.”

  “I don’t think there are good guys here.”

  “Good and bad isn’t determined by species. Maybe you’re generalizing too much.”

  “I wish it was determined by species. Maybe then it would be easier.”

  “You’re confused because—”

  “I’m more than confused,” I said. “And I’d prefer it if we stopped having this conversation.”

  Keera, despite her resilience, knew when to cut the discussion off. To my relief, she allowed me to eat the rest of my food in silence.

  After breakfast, Keera accompanied me to the first floor foyer just as one of the ladies of the manor ran through in a soaked, red coat, carrying an armful of bloodied towels in her arms.

  “Amear,” Keera said, barking at the young woman. “What’s happened?”

  The woman threw off her rain-drenched hood, letting a head of damp, red waves fall loose around her face.

  “Draven requested more towels,” she said, out of breath and frantic.

  “What for?” Keera asked, appalled.

  “The pregnant mare was attacked by wolves last night.”

  I blinked, my concern hitting a peek. I glanced at Keera as Amear disappeared into another room and, without exchanging words, I followed her into a sizeable storage closet filled with sheets, boxes, and folded, white towels. Amear grabbed a handful, shaking nervously and dropping them on the floor. I bent to pick them up and hand them back to her before she rushed out into the foyer again. I jogged after her.

  I neglected grabbing a coat and followed the woman out into the rain just as it began to pick up. The cold water down my spine shocked me into motion. I made it to the horse pen where I could see a large, dark shape on the ground near the opposite fence, two other forms gathered around it.