Ashes (Fire Within Series Book 3)

by Ella M. Lee

  “All the glass is polarized,” he had told me during my first tour of the finished space, pointing at a panel on the wall. “We can let the light in or dim it down to opaque black.”

  “Neat,” I had said, spinning in a circle, studying the wooden beams and the marble-finished bathroom and the wood-burning stove in the corner of the office. It was an excellent blend of homey and modern, some sort of upscale take on a classic ski lodge. And for once, the temperature was cool but not arctic.

  “I made some of these choices for you, lamb,” Nicolas had said. “I know my old apartment wasn’t quite your style. I thought we could blend some of our tastes together here.”

  “That’s very sweet of you,” I had said. “I love it. Your new home is perfect.”

  He had wrapped me in his arms and kissed my cheek affectionately. “Please call it our home, Fiona.”

  I was applying sealant to some of our outdoor wooden beams one mild spring day when Teng called my name from inside. I pulled off my gloves and jogged up the stairs.

  “What’s up?” I asked, stopping in his doorway, surprised to find that Daniel was also there.

  “Claudius wants to see you,” Daniel said, giving me a serious look.

  When I had told Dan about my awkward and abortive conversation with Claudius, the two of us had laughed. Claudius hadn’t said another word to me, nor had Nicolas mentioned anything, so I figured that was the end of Claudius’s interest in me.

  “What does he want?” I asked.

  Daniel shrugged. “No idea, but he wants to see you this evening in his office, at six o’clock.”

  “Where is Nicolas?” I asked. He might know what this was about. At worst, he would at least have advice for me.

  “He’s in Hong Kong,” Daniel said.

  I sighed and pulled out my phone to text Nicolas.

  We just got a summons from Claudius. He wants to see me tonight at six for a meeting in his office. Do you know anything about this?

  Luckily, Nicolas responded quickly.

  No. Did he ask for you alone?

  Yes. Should I go? Can you see anything?

  I can’t see anything, but that isn’t unusual. It’s very hard to see you sometimes. He likely wants to check up after your last talk. He always tries to steal my people two or three times.

  I’m nervous about this.

  It will be fine, lamb. You’re strong enough to handle the meeting. Claudius has his flaws, but you don’t have to worry about him hurting you in any way. He’s very honourable. I’ll be in the clan house and you can come find me right after.

  I frowned at my screen. “Nicolas says it’s probably fine.”

  “If you don’t want to go, I can respond to Claudius for you,” Daniel said.

  “Should I go?” I asked.

  Daniel tossed his head back and forth, making the blue highlights in his hair shimmer. “We’re going to need as much goodwill as possible with Claudius when we go through with Shatterfall. He is one of our most likely allies. I’d like to do anything we can to show him he can trust us and rely on us.”

  “Okay, fine,” I said, but I wasn’t looking forward to avoiding Claudius’s sharp questions and piercing glare.

  I calmed my shaking as I stepped through Keisha’s portal and back onto our quiet, empty floor in the Water clan house. I was dressed in demure gray again, a sheath dress from Theory that I had seen Athena wear once and then ran out to buy for myself because I liked it so much. My heels clicked on the polished floor of the hall as I made my way toward the elevator.

  Taking a deep breath, I pressed the button for Claudius’s floor. I tapped my foot. What could I say to immediately shut down any offer he came up with? When the doors opened, I was surprised to find myself greeted by four Water security team members. I didn’t know any of them personally, but I had seen them all around.

  I tensed, but they stood off to the side and didn’t seem interested in me. I hadn’t been to Claudius’s office enough times to know if extra security was normal. Perhaps the night Nicolas and I had come was quieter than usual?

  Quiet murmuring coming from the other side of the closed office door made me hesitate. Who else could possibly be there? Nicolas? But wouldn’t he have told me? Usually I could sense people’s magic, but Claudius’s wards were so bright and powerful that they were obscuring my detection abilities.

  When I finally steeled myself to knock, Claudius invited me inside immediately.

  I shut the door behind myself and looked up.

  And froze.

  Claudius stood at his bar, pouring drinks, looking calm and pleasant.

  Leaning against the desk, his hands steepled and his long legs crossed at the ankle, was Stephan.

  The photograph Nicolas showed us was the only time I’d seen Stephan’s face, but I would know him anywhere. His looks, his lean frame, even the tilt of his head as he studied me—they were all distinctly Nicolas’s. His eyes were a different color, with none of Nicolas’s warm tawny hue, but they were equally intelligent and assessing. His smile was different, too, but no less wolfish. He could not have looked more relaxed right now, and that worried me more than anything else.

  Panic gripped me, sending cascades of anxiety through my body.

  “Fiona, come in, come in,” Claudius said.

  I was already in the room. I automatically took a couple of steps closer before stopping myself. My heart was racing. Half of me wanted to bolt back out the door, sprint down the hall, and throw myself into the safety of Nicolas’s arms.

  But the other half? The other half of me wanted to launch myself at Stephan and rip his throat out. This was the man who had tortured Nicolas for months. The man who had hurt him, who had watched his agony, who had denied him even basic things like food and water, who had treated Nicolas like he was less than human.

  Had he looked like this during those experiments? Had he been leaning casually, smiling, appearing as though he didn’t have a care in the world? Had he been pleased by what he saw?

  Tearing his eyes out and crushing them under my heels sounded like a fabulous idea.

  My heart beat harder, loud and strong in my ears. I was trembling.

  I needed to calm down.

  There was no way I could attack a pinnacle member of Smoke in front of a pinnacle member of Water. I’d be tried and executed. Actually, no. I’d be smashed into pieces right here. I didn’t need to ask in order to know that Stephan was deadly. If Nicolas was deadly, then Stephan was the same.

  I swallowed, taking a deep breath and pressing my palms together so tightly that they hurt.

  Claudius handed a glass to the taller man and said to me, “Can I get you a drink?”

  I cleared my throat twice. “No.”

  Claudius went to stand on the other side of his desk. “Fiona Ember, meet Stephan Wong-Lau. Stephan, this is Fiona, as requested.”

  As requested?

  I didn’t know what was happening here, but I knew I was completely fucked.

  Could I leave? Could I just walk out the door? Would either of these men—or the guards outside—stop me? Could I take out my phone under the guise of checking my work and send an S.O.S. to Nicolas?

  Did I even want Nicolas here? Would he tear out Stephan’s eyes?

  I had no idea what to do.

  “Fiona, it’s good to meet you,” Stephan said. His voice was slightly higher than Nicolas’s, but it had the same rich tone. His accent was almost Australian, crisp and professional. “You are Daniel Shing’s lieutenant, are you not?”

  “I am,” I said shakily.

  “Ah, excellent,” he said. He took a step forward and offered me his hand.

  I stepped back. Never, ever let him touch you, Nicolas had said. I had no intention of getting near him.

  After an awkward couple of seconds, Stephan withdrew his hand. His eyes narrowed on me, interested. He pressed his fingertips together again, and I shivered. The gesture was so close to what Nicolas did that it was eerie and unnerving.<
br />
  “I was hoping the two of us could speak frankly,” Stephan said, offering me another snakelike smile.

  “About what?” I asked.

  “This is unorthodox,” he said, “but I’m interested in recruiting Daniel.”

  Yeah, right. More likely: I am interested in stuffing Daniel in a box and hacking him into pieces to figure out where transmuted lightning magic comes from.

  “For Smoke?” I said. I brought my eyes to Claudius. “Is that even allowed?”

  “Stephan is correct. It is quite unorthodox, but not unheard of,” Claudius said. “He is going through the proper channels by including a Water pinnacle member in the conversation.” He paused, giving Stephan a patient look. “Of course, we aim to have peaceful relations with our friends in Smoke.”

  Stephan laughed lightly, picking up his glass from the desk. “Of course. Thus, here I am, being positively angelic. I wanted to speak with Daniel directly, but he declined my invitation.”

  “I know,” I said.

  Stephan sighed. “Therefore, I was hoping I could appeal to your sensibility. I have heard the two of you are close. Would you be willing to speak to him on my behalf?”

  “No,” I said.

  Stephan wasn’t as good as Nicolas at hiding his reactions. His jaw clenched, and his hand tightened around the crystal glass holding his drink, his fingers going white.

  “That is… not ideal,” he said. “Although not unanticipated.” He swirled the glass, and the large squares of ice in it made tinkling sounds against the tense silence of the room. “Why is it, do you think, that everyone is so in love with Nicolas Demarais?”

  “Trouble,” Claudius murmured.

  Stephan sighed as the door behind me banged open. I jumped, spinning.

  Nicolas.

  He looked pale and deadly, his eyes blazing. He was wearing his block-sync, but I didn’t need to see his magic to know it was a furious storm around him. His expression told me that he was ready to murder whoever got in his way.

  He didn’t even spare a glance for Stephan. He just walked to where I was, took both my forearms in his hands, and said to Claudius, “We’ll be going now.”

  “Oh, but stay,” Stephan said, his voice now a purr.

  Nicolas ignored him, pushing me toward the door.

  “Stephan!” I heard Claudius say behind me.

  I turned my head and craned to see around Nicolas. Stephan had activated his personal shield. It hung close to him like a whitish haze rippling in the breeze.

  Out, turn left, keep going down the hall, Nicolas said in my mind. Now.

  “Nicolas!” Claudius called. “Stephan, Nicolas, let’s calm down.”

  “I’m sorry, Claudius,” Nicolas said. He pulled the door shut behind us and threw a shield over it.

  With speed I rarely saw from him, he pulled his knife out. I gasped, freezing in place.

  “Fiona!” he hissed, thrusting his chin toward the end of the hall. I followed his instruction, nearly tripping over my heels as I launched myself down the hall. I spun, watching Nicolas. He hadn’t followed me. Instead, he made a long cut on his left arm and let his blood pool on the ground.

  What the fuck?

  There was a blast from the other side of the door. Nicolas was powerful, but his shield wouldn’t hold up to two pinnacle magicians with far more experience.

  With sweeping motions, he drew his blood in a circle around himself, so that its diameter reached from the doorway to the opposite wall. There was commotion at the other end of the hall—the guards coming to investigate. Quickly, Nicolas drew a complex rune in the center of the circle and jumped out of it, just as another blast shook the hall and his shield shattered.

  He had one more moment to touch his hand to the edge of his circle and imbue it with magic before Stephan and Claudius were through the door, colliding with the guards who were sprinting down the hall toward us.

  In a flair of light, the magic of the circle activated around them. A shield stronger than I had ever seen from Nicolas before rose in a column around the gaggle of magicians.

  A trap.

  Nicolas sometimes used circles—as Smoke magicians did—to strengthen his Water magic. This was circlework of high order, done in blood. He had likely used blood because it was the only water-based liquid immediately available, but it would also strengthen the magic. Even against two pinnacle members, it would hold for a little while.

  “Nicolas!” Stephan yelled, his face contorted with frustration and anger. He banged on the shield with his fist. Claudius had a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. Smoke magic filled the circle.

  “Why are you always running?” Stephan called.

  Nicolas didn’t look back at Stephan’s words; he sprinted to me and caught me in his arms, pulling me alongside him to the stairwell. He glanced back only once, and a catlike smile lit his face.

  We don’t have much time, he said. Follow me.

  He crashed down the stairs, and I followed, ripping my heels off and carrying them in my hand as I went. We had only gone down three stories when Nicolas stopped me from vaulting past him.

  He faced the wall of the stairwell and examined it for three frantic seconds. Most stairwells in buildings like this were concrete or drywall, but this one had smooth interlocking stone tiles covered in intricate wards.

  Nicolas pressed his fingers against a few in sequence, and I drew a sharp breath as the wall opened up, a panel sliding aside, providing just enough room for a person to slip through. Nicolas stepped inside and pulled me after him, quickly sliding the panel shut once again and leaving us in total darkness.

  Chapter 28

  We were pressed into a space not much larger than what I imagined a coffin would feel like. I took a shaky breath, trembling.

  Calm, lamb, Nicolas told me. His arms were banded around me from behind, holding me against him closely.

  Won’t they find us here? I asked. Nicolas had a block-sync on, but I didn’t.

  No, he said. There is so much power here that they won’t be able to see your magic.

  Claudius doesn’t know about this place? I asked.

  No, Nicolas said. I designed the building and was on site during construction. There are a few hiding places I have that no one else knows about. With the wards on these walls, no one will ever find this space.

  There was commotion in the stairwell. It was muffled, but I could hear footsteps and gruff, annoyed voices.

  Relax, Nicolas told me, his tone calm and reassuring.

  How did you know to come get me? I asked.

  It occurred to me that I should have been able to see you in this case, he said, and when I spent a moment examining why I couldn’t, I realized the lack of visions felt off to me. There’s a certain way my abilities feel when I try to use them on myself or my family that’s different from when there are simply no visions available for a given event. This felt more like family involvement. That told me Stephan might be there. And even if he wasn’t, it told me I was probably supposed to be there.

  Thanks, because I had no idea what to do, I said.

  What did Stephan say to you before I arrived? Nicolas asked. Did he touch you?

  I shook my head. No. He offered his hand, but I didn’t get near him.

  I walked Nicolas through the conversation, half distracted by the ongoing commotion on the other side of the wall.

  Nicolas’s arms tightened around me. Stephan wants Daniel to join Smoke? Like hell.

  Yeah, that’s what I thought, I said. This means we’re fucked, doesn’t it? Won’t Claudius kill you for what just happened? You basically attacked him.

  No, no, Nicolas said. Claudius is used to my overreactions. He’ll be annoyed, but nothing more. I didn’t hurt anyone or damage anything. He knows what happens when he forces me and Stephan together. It’s Stephan I’m worried about. I still don’t know what he wants, exactly, but these actions can’t be anything other than veiled threats.

  He moved slightly, and I te
nsed.

  It’s all right, he said. I’m only getting my phone.

  I tilted my head to study his face in the cold light of his screen. He was grim and serious, completely focused.

  What now? I said.

  I’m arranging for Keisha to get us home. She shouldn’t make so many portals in a row, but we can’t get out of the building without being noticed right now. Nicolas met my gaze for just a moment. Hang on.

  He placed a gentle kiss at my temple, and I swallowed, trying to calm my still-racing heart.

  There were no more sounds coming from the other side of the wall, and I took a few more shaky breaths. I watched Nicolas’s screen. He didn’t explain what had happened, he simply typed the magic words: “urgent extraction.” I could see Daniel and Sylvio actively responding, and Nicolas was planning a safe time and place.

  I closed my eyes and leaned into him, breathing in his delicious scent of citrus and herbs and rain.

  We stood there for twenty minutes or more. Occasionally, Nicolas would brush his lips over my hair or cheek. I wrapped one hand around his and tried to be as calm as possible.

  Eventually, Nicolas’s phone rang, vibrating quietly in his pocket. He checked the screen. It was Claudius. He smiled wryly and pressed the button that would send the call to voicemail.

  All right, lamb, time to go, Nicolas said. We’re going to take the stairs up to the thirty-fifth floor and leave from Teng’s apartment. I think we’re well in the clear. If anything happens, you keep going. Get upstairs and get home. I can handle myself. Do you understand me?

  I nodded. Yes. I hate that, but yes.

  Very slowly and carefully, Nicolas opened the panel once again, and I shielded my eyes from the bright light of the deserted stairwell.

  It took Nicolas only seconds to get us out and slide the panel shut. He reached a hand out to me and pulled me up the stairs alongside himself.

  I spent the whole climb paranoid that Stephan and Claudius would jump out from one of the stairwell doors, but we encountered no one. We moved so quickly that I was gasping for the air by the time we crossed our own shield on the thirty-fifth floor, but we had miraculously not been caught.