Flames of Mars (Celestial Shifters Book 2)

by Tjalara Draper

Autumn’s eyes grew as round as saucers as the hulking prince stooped to her eye level.

  “Autumn, what did you steal?” Violet asked.

  Autumn grimaced, and her face turned white as a sheet. “I didn’t steal anything. Is he kidding?” She shot a desperate glance at Tio. “I’ve never met this guy . . . this shifter . . . this prince before in my life.”

  Nathan leaned closer to Thane and Sagan. “Do either of you know anything about this?”

  “Nothing,” said Thane.

  Sagan shook his head.

  “Tio, is there a chance your brother could be mistaken?”

  Crossing his arms, Tio studied Autumn as he asked the question in Jiovis. En’gorr shook his head and barked a reply.

  “There’s no mistake,” said Tio, frowning. “He says he knows without a doubt it was you.”

  En’gorr stood up straight, and behind the living-metal teeth of his mask, it almost looked as if he was grinning. “Zhivotza.”

  Tio’s eyes bugged.

  “Oooh-kay. This is new,” said Thane.

  “What?” Autumn’s gaze danced around the group. “What did he just say?”

  “Wait a second. I’ve heard that word before.” Violet squinted and tapped her forehead. “But I can’t remember where.”

  “What does it mean?” Gus asked.

  Violet shook her head. “No idea.”

  “Tio,” said Autumn through gritted teeth, “you better tell me what your brother just said, or I swear I’ll—”

  En’gorr’s entire being began to ripple. The decorative armor melted and morphed into softer human flesh, and the metallic gold hue shifted to a rich ebony. Once the hazing was complete, a tall mountain of a man stood in front of Autumn.

  Her hand flew to her mouth.

  “Oh,” said Violet, her lips barely moving. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Aw, hell no!” exclaimed Gus. “I knew it! I just knew you’d find yourself seriously screwed one day, Autumn!”

  “Wait a minute, so you do know him?” Nathan asked.

  “How do you guys—” began Thane just as Gus burst into hysterical laughter.

  “How do we know him?” Gus said between maniacal cackles. He jabbed a finger at En’gorr Droth. “This is the guy from the UV party with the green dragon body paint. He tried to kill us!” His mirth abruptly died on the last two words.

  “Wait,” interjected Tio. “That was you guys?”

  Gus ignored the question and rounded on Autumn, releasing a barrage of nonsensical insults.

  “Hey!” Nathan stepped between them. “That’s enough.” He grabbed Gus by the shoulder and manhandled him away from Autumn, who was now hiding behind Violet—except Autumn’s fearful expression was directed at the hulking En’gorr, who was still in human form.

  Violet’s face was calm, and her hands remained by her sides, but teal flames had already ignited over her palms.

  En’gorr’s eyes panned between Autumn and Violet’s hands. To Nathan’s surprise, the prince didn’t seem angry or even hostile. Instead, his expression held only curiosity and a hint of amusement.

  “Somebody had better start explaining what’s going on.” Nathan pushed Gus over to Thane and Sagan. No one said a word. With an impatient grunt, Nathan pointed to Tio. “Explain.”

  Tio shuffled his feet. “I wasn’t actually there. I just heard about what happened when my brother and his guards came home from the club that night. All I know is they had an altercation with some people and something was stolen from my brother.”

  “An altercation?” Gus yelled. Both Thane and Sagan clamped a hand around his biceps before he could take another step. “Altercation, my ass! This guy attacked us! He attacked Autumn. He had his hand around her throat and was trying to kill her!”

  “Hold on,” said Nathan. “He had his hand around her throat?”

  Gus turned his glare on Nathan. “Yes! And when I tried to stop him, he threw me up against the wall and gave me a concussion. And then—”

  Nathan held up a hand. “Wait, go back.” He turned to Autumn. “Are you sure it was your throat he grabbed?”

  Autumn looked at him as if he’d just suggested she grow a second head. “I’m pretty sure.”

  It was Nathan’s turn to grimace. Thane sucked in a breath through his teeth and half squinted one eye.

  “What?” Violet looked between Nathan and Thane. “What does it mean?”

  Nathan scratched the top of his head. “Well, if he was holding on to Autumn’s throat, then the good news is he wasn’t trying to kill her.”

  “What?” exclaimed Autumn, Gus, and Violet in unison.

  En’gorr puffed out his broad chest, and Tio chuckled.

  “You’ve got to be kidding!” Autumn stepped out from behind Violet. “That guy had a strong grip on my neck. If that’s the good news, then what’s the bad news?”

  “Uh . . .” Nathan rubbed the back of his neck and turned to Thane. “Do you wanna explain?”

  “No way.” Thane shook his head in big sweeps. “Nope. All yours, buddy.”

  “It’s really bad, isn’t it?” said Violet.

  “Well”—Nathan tilted his head from side to side—“it depends on how you look at it.”

  By now, En’gorr and Tio were discussing something in their language. Even the three other Jiovis warriors were conversing in hushed tones.

  Autumn stamped her foot. “Just spit it out, Nathan.”

  “You know how generally in the Erathi culture, when . . . uh gee, how do I explain this?” Nathan sighed. “Okay, look. When a guy likes a girl, he usually starts with the small stuff, like asking for her phone number or taking her to the movies, and then eventually . . . uh, you know.” He made an incomprehensible gesture with his hands.

  “No! I have no idea what you’re saying,” exclaimed Autumn.

  Nathan groaned and dragged a hand down his face. “Okay, let me put it this way. When a Jiovis guy likes, well . . . what’s usually a Jiovis girl, instead of starting with the hand holding, they go straight to their version of ‘down on one knee.’”

  Violet’s hand flew to her mouth.

  “No way!” Gus threw his head back and guffawed.

  Autumn looked at everyone in turn. “What am I missing? I don’t understand.”

  Nathan’s grimace deepened.

  “He was hitting on you, Autumn,” said Thane. “Not only was he hitting on you, he was basically proclaiming his . . . undying commitment to you.”

  Gus nearly doubled over with laughter.

  Autumn’s eyes bugged. “What do you mean ‘his commitment’? The dude was cutting off my air supply.”

  “Yeah, well, the Jiovis shifters are not only fierce warriors but also fierce lovers,” said Nathan.

  Autumn paled.

  “Uh, sorry,” said Nathan after a beat. “That statement didn’t help, did it?”

  With lips pursed as if she’d bitten into a lemon, Autumn shook her head.

  “I don’t get it.” Violet waved a hand over her throat. “Why the neck? How is that significant?”

  Thane pointed to the Jiovis warriors. “See those silvery-green shields over their necks? Those shields are made from Metallikite, which is the strongest metal known to man and shifter. The Metallikite protects the Jiovis’s most vulnerable organ: their heart.”

  Violet’s brow wrinkled in confusion.

  “Anatomically speaking,” Thane went on, “while the Erathi hearts are located in their chest, the Jiovis shifters’ hearts are located in their throat. Much like the Erathi, the Jiovis heart is considered the most vulnerable organ, both physically and emotionally. So when a Jiovis proclaims their love for another, they clutch their chosen partner’s heart as a sign they will protect their lover’s most sacred and delicate organ.”

  A pregnant pause fell over the group as the new information settled in.

  Violet was the first to break the silence. “So, that word he said . . . what he called Autumn . . .”

  “
Zhivotza?”

  “Yeah, that one. That’s what he was calling her back at the UV party.”

  Thane nodded. “The Jiovis’s sense of smell allows them to confirm pretty much straightaway who their . . .”—his gaze flicked to Autumn—“life partner is. Zhivotza means ‘drug’ or ‘medicine,’ as well as ‘life source.’ It’s also used as a term of endearment for a Jiovis’s soulmate.”

  A whimper escaped Autumn, and her head fell into her hands.

  At that moment, one of En’gorr’s silver warriors released an agonized groan, then collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. The copper one knelt by his fallen companion’s side before looking up at En’gorr with a concerned expression.

  “He needs help.” Gus broke free from Thane and Sagan, but before he could reach the fallen shifter, the second silver Jiovis drew a sword and blocked his path.

  Sagan immediately bolted between Gus and the tip of the shifter’s blade.

  Nathan threw his arms out—one to block Thane and the other to stop Violet and Autumn from running to Gus’s aid—as a flurry of shouts erupted around him. Autumn was shouting after her brother, Gus was demanding that they take the wounded shifter to the infirmary, and both Tio and Thane were yelling in Jiovis, presumably explaining Gus’s sudden action.

  The competing voices only grew louder until En’gorr roared a Jiovis command. In an instant, everybody grew silent.

  “Please, we only want to help.” The thundering rush of adrenaline in Nathan’s ears muted his own voice. “Tio, please tell your broth—His Highness that there is a medical clinic here where he and his companions can rest and recover.”

  Tio, who was clamped on to the prince’s arm that held the scepter, slowly spoke, gesturing to Gus and then in the direction of the compound’s infirmary.

  The silence that followed was deafening. Nathan’s thumping heartbeat threatened to crack a rib.

  Finally En’gorr nodded and signaled to his men. The silver one with the sword threw a final glare at Sagan, then sheathed his weapon to go help the copper shifter raise and carry their comrade.

  En’gorr leaned into Nathan’s face and spat out several harsh words.

  “He said—”

  “No need to translate,” Nathan cut Tio off. “I know a threat when I hear one.”

  “Not threat,” said En’gorr Droth. His eyes narrowed. “Is promise.”

  21

  Dirty Little Secret

  “Hey, Autumn,” said Thane from the other end of the dinner table, “wanna tell us the story of when you stole something from the Jiovis prince?”

  Violet, along with everyone else at the table, stopped eating and turned to Autumn.

  “Actually, I’d like to hear that story too,” added Tio.

  Autumn met Thane’s and Tio’s gazes with a cool expression. Her ability to not crumble under scrutiny never ceased to impress Violet.

  Nathan and Gus had gone to the infirmary with the four Jiovis shifters while Lazareth had rounded up the rest of the group—Violet, Autumn, Sagan, Thane, and Tio—and insisted they all have some dinner at his house. Conversation had remained at a minimum until Thane finally became the one brave enough to dive into the topic that was doubtless on everyone’s mind.

  After an extended pause, Autumn exhaled a long breath. “Fine.” She dug into her jacket, pulled out a gold clutch, and put it on the table. “Here’s my dirty little secret.”

  Violet recognized the clutch as the one Autumn had taken with her to the UV party—the night that had gone horribly wrong. She took the clutch and opened it, then instantly had to blink against the bright orange light coming from inside.

  “Whoa, it’s . . . pretty.” Violet pulled out what looked like a glass coaster, about the diameter of a soda can and maybe a quarter of an inch thick. The source of the orange light was a series of etchings along the outer third of the disc, leaving the center transparent and pale. Fascinated, she ran her fingertip along the glowing dots, lines, and squiggles. “What is it?”

  “That’s a spangle,” said Sagan, and Autumn nodded.

  “A spangle? What’s that?” Violet asked. Thane and Lazareth looked similarly confused.

  Sagan held his hand out, and Violet gave him the disc. “My father has been searching for these for as long as I can remember. From what I understand, his obsession has gone beyond insane.” He inspected it closely, flipping it over to view each side. “This is the first time I’ve seen one up close.”

  “You’ve seen others?” Autumn’s eyebrows flew up to her hairline.

  “Two others,” admitted Sagan. “The silver one and the pearl one.”

  “Whoa.” Autumn stared off into the middle distance, lost in some faraway thought.

  Sagan quirked an eyebrow. “How did you even find out about these?”

  She shrugged. “I came across the term spangle on one of the hacking forums.”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Tio, “I remember those forums. But . . .” His forehead creased into a frown. “If I remember correctly, those forums were full of conspiracy nutters rambling on about hacker urban legends and myths.”

  “Yeah,” said Autumn. “I began dabbling in the conspiracies just for something to do. There are only so many social media accounts and government facilities you can hack into before things start to get boring.”

  Lazareth chuckled. “Only our Autumn would find things like that boring.” He stood up and began clearing everyone’s empty plates.

  Autumn grinned before continuing. “Anyway, I decided to search further into some of these legends, and I came across several forums where whispers of these special types of discs had begun to circulate. There were a whole bunch of rumors on what these discs did and what kind of information might be on them. As far as anyone knew, there was only a handful of them, and it was like searching for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

  “So, of course, my not-so-humble self thought, Challenge accepted. The only catch was that these discs couldn’t be obtained online. You had to physically find one, or in my case—” she cleared her throat “—convince your friends to go to a UV party to steal it from the guy who turned out to be the biggest dude in the room, and who happened to have a penchant for choking girls.”

  “You forgot the part where he also turned out to be the prince of a shifter race associated with Jupiter and developed an epic crush on you,” said Tio.

  Violet groaned. “That night was the worst. How did you even know he was going to have the spangle with him?”

  “I didn’t, but I figured it was worth the risk. I wasn’t sure when my next opportunity would be.”

  “Risk is an understatement,” Violet grumbled.

  “Yeah . . .” Autumn’s tone was regretful. “There was no way I could have foreseen how that night would go. And I never would have guessed he would one day show up at my place.”

  “So what’s on the disc?” Thane asked.

  Autumn shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s not like I can plug it into a USB port or load it into a DVD drive. Either I haven’t yet come across the correct hardware to read it, or I’ve been led up the garden path, and all I managed to steal from Tio’s brother was a glorified paperweight.”

  “Hey,” Tio interjected, “that ‘glorified paperweight’ has been in my family for generations. It’s practically a Jiovis relic and might one day be mine—you know, if my brother unfortunately meets his demise.”

  “Do you know what it does?” Violet asked.

  “Um . . .” Tio eyed the spangle, which still rested in Sagan’s hand. “I can’t say that I do, and to be honest, this is the first I’ve heard of anyone making this much fuss over it. En’gorr just treats it like you would a brooch or a key ring. It’s just a trinket he’s carried around with him since our father passed away.”

  “Do you know what it does, Sagan?” Thane asked.

  Up until that moment, Sagan had been staring at the spangle in contemplative silence. “I don’t know what they do. But I do know if my father gets hi
s hands on all of them, it’ll be bad. Really bad. I’ve heard him say that the one who holds all the spangles holds the power to change worlds.”

  “Worlds?” Tio quirked an eyebrow. “As in plural?”

  Sagan shrugged. “My father has a longstanding reputation of not outgrowing the stories we were told as children.”

  “How many spangles are there?” Violet asked.

  “It’s believed there are only ten, one for each of the shifter races.”

  Thane’s brows furrowed. “And you said your father only has two of them?”

  “Two that I’ve seen, but that was a few years ago. Who knows if he’s acquired more since.”

  “Well, it sounds like he’s hellbent on getting all of them,” said Violet, “especially if he was willing to attack Tio’s brother’s camp.”

  Sagan grimaced. “Then pray he never finds Maple Shire. I don’t want to find out what he plans to do if he succeeds in collecting all of them.” He put the orange spangle on top of the golden clutch and slid it across the table to Autumn.

  Lazareth had just begun serving dessert when Nathan walked in with Tio’s big brother—although big was an understatement. En’gorr Droth was enormous. Even if he was Tio’s family, the guy set Violet on edge, especially when flashbacks of the UV party flickered through her mind.

  Nathan went over to the kitchen counter, where Lazareth had set out the night’s dinner dishes, and En’gorr’s attention immediately landed on Autumn. Violet’s dreadlocked friend shifted slightly in her seat.

  Having the somewhat uncouth adoration of a Jiovis shifter would be bewildering for anyone. Shifters of any sort would complicate any human girl’s love life. Violet was beginning to be glad she didn’t have to deal with that kind of situation when a sudden thought made her breath hitch.

  She shot a glance at Thane. By now it was common knowledge he was a Veniri, but she’d never seen him in his shifted form. Nathan’s Veniri side sometimes surfaced when he was really agitated, and he’d hazed several times during their training sessions. Even Tio had joined them during training a few times and had shown her his metallic Jiovis form.

  But Thane was—in her mind at least—still human. She peered at him as he ate his bowlful of Lazareth’s famous fig-and-lychee cheesecake. No telltale sign showed he was a Veniri. No scales, no glittering spikes, no claws, no—