Igniting the Flame (The Ignited Girl Series Book 2)

by EJ Everette

  “Excuse me? I am going to see Charlie, now. It’s been a lifetime. He is probably worried sick about me and I need to see him, to know he is okay, after everything I have been through. You all can do as you like, but I am going home.” It probably makes me look like a toddler throwing a damn fit, but I even stomp my foot at the end to stress just how serious I am.

  “I understand that, I really do. But we just pulled you from a demon realm after killing quite a few of its inhabitants and for sure pissing off whoever took you. The last thing we need to do is go rushing right back to your house, leading anyone who follows us straight to your family.” Mitch has a point, but I don’t fucking like it.

  “He is right, angel. We need to head back to the ranch first, debrief, and figure out the best way to move forward. I promise you we will get Charlie to you as soon as we think it is safe. For both of you.” Dean’s reasoning only further convinces me that they are right. I will do anything to protect Charlie, even if it means waiting a little bit longer to see him.

  “But… I need to see Charlie. I get it, I do. And I appreciate you all thinking about his safety as well as mine, but… I miss my brother.”

  “We know, love. Trust me, we understand. Like Dean said, we will get Charlie to you the second we know he will be safe. But we have to protect you in the meantime, especially after all we just went through. We need time to discuss what happened, talk through some of the questions we all have, and make a plan to prevent it from ever happening again.”

  “Fine,” I grumble at Rip’s words. “How do we get back to the ranch, then? And I expect food of some sort, especially if it is a greasy burrito from a drive thru. Chance is NOT cooking. We both deserve gross trucker chow after all that time in the dungeon, right kidnap buddy?” I link my arm with a confused but smirking Chance, following after the guys who apparently left a car behind just up the street.

  “Junk food is not my thing, at all,” the broody giant says to me, quietly so only we can hear, “but I am happy to make us something when we get home. I’m fine.”

  “Chance, you’re doing life all wrong, my friend. If junk food isn’t around, I don’t want to be there. Trust me. It’s like Deeter’s number one contribution to the realms, for sure. One breakfast burrito can change your life. Just try it. For me. Please.” I look up to give him a pouty lip but his molten eyes have me biting down on the same lip. His gaze tracks the movement, darkening even more at the pout caught between my teeth.

  “For you, my dark beauty, I’ll do anything.” Why do I feel like that statement has more than one meaning?

  37

  Dean

  Despite weeks of little to no sleep plagued with nightmares and the fear of losing the person who has become the most important reason for my existence, there is something incredibly soothing about seeing my angel sit at the table in our home scarfing down some gross burrito she insisted we get her before she agreed to talk. We had almost lost her, too many times already, and yet here she is, ranch sauce smeared across her cheek, the most adorable mess I have ever seen. I do not claim to know why the gods have granted something so perfect to me, but I plan to take full advantage of every second we have together from now on. Today we will discuss all of the schematics, the hows and whys of what we have been through recently, but after that, I am done holding back.

  Watching as Reid, pulled from his manic breakdown by this same beauty, rubs his thumb across the offending condiment left over from her burrito, removing it from her face and then sucking the ranch off of his thumb, I see it in her eyes as well. There is desire there, I know there is. Rationally, my brain is more than aware of all the obstacles we still have to face. The council has said she has to come to us, and we all agreed that telling her about the bonds, the full extent of what they mean for each of us, would feel like trapping her. After everything my angel has lived through, none of us want her to think we are forcing her into something she is not prepared for. Each of us aches, in more than just our hearts, to complete the bonds with our fated one more and more with every passing day. Still, Gray has only hinted at some of the pain she has experienced in life and we have all vowed we will not be a part of adding to her trauma.

  So instead I sit here, uncomfortably hard in my trousers, as Reid winks at her all too sexy pink cheeks. I watch as she tries to hide just how fucking hot she is for him right now, knowing I have seen her look this way with all of us at some point, and I wait as patiently as I can. Shifting in my seat in an attempt to subtly adjust myself, I let myself feel a little bit of happiness as we all gather around the table. We are home. We are all safe, together, and though we lost Rip there for a few, we are alive.

  “Now that the princess has finished her meal,” Rip smiles over at Gray, still pink behind a curtain of hair she uses to hide her reactions from us, or so she believes, “I think it is time to discuss a few things. Are we all in agreement?” Gods I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that he was gone for a few minutes. It felt like hours went by as we stood around watching Gray kneel next to him in some sort of trance, hoping beyond hope she could bring him back. When we saw her reach for Reid, it was like each of us was pulled at once to do the same. The sensation of her pulling at my energy source was weird, not going to lie, but soon I felt this overwhelming need to give her all of me, everything I had. Plus, it was fucking wicked to see those flames moving across her skin, and ours, as she channeled the power we sent to her. In fact, I am fairly certain I know what my next tattoo is going to be. Now to convince Gray to get it with me.

  “I think we need to agree to take it one step at a time,” Chance says from the other end of the table. Gray pouted and pleaded, finally convincing him to give in and order one of her special burritos from the drive thru we hit up on our way back to the ranch. I know he really doesn’t want to admit it, but I can tell from the way he basically licked himself clean afterwards that the man loved it. Sucker. “As you can imagine, some things may be difficult for each of us to talk about just yet. We can always share more later.” His eyes go directly to Gray who, thankfully, has lifted her head so we can all see her gorgeous face once again. She smiles softly at him and not for the first time I wonder just what went on while they were imprisoned in Gash. Hopefully, they will fill us all in soon.

  “Very well, I agree. Now,” Rip moves to continue his statement but Gray clears her throat, interrupting him yet again. Girl needs to watch it, I know that look in his eyes. It is absolutely the same as mine right now. Now that I know she has been dreaming about me, my hands are itching to touch her and show her just how special I can make my angel feel. Her smart mouth only makes me more antsy.

  “I saw my Mom,” she blurts out before Rip can continue. Fuck. If she saw the princess, then that means…

  “How?” I ask because curiosity has me desperate for answers. We know Princess Keilitara was murdered. We were part of the team sent to track down the ones who killed her after the King found out. If her mom was able to reach her, even in death, then maybe my parents…

  “At first, it was like a dream. I would black out after… well after they finished with me, and she would just be there. I thought it was all in my head, but she talked to me like she was really there, in the present. Then, she came back, every time I fell asleep, she was with me.” Gray trails off, but I know that look. She misses the hell out of her mom and seeing her was both a blessing and a curse. I give zero fucks about the formality of this little meeting Rip has arranged, leaving my seat across from her before rounding the table, lifting her up, then pulling her back down this time in my lap.

  She seems a bit shocked at first, but soon she is leaning into me, her sweet honeysuckle smell filling my lungs as I breathe her in. I am glad she felt safe enough, comfortable enough, to shower when we first got here, especially since she is currently wearing one of my shirts and a pair of Rip’s sweats, but thankfully she still smells like Gray. My arms band around my angel, squeezing gently to indicate she can continue if she wants. My sou
l has calmed, the beast inside of me that is always there, finally feeling some relief.

  “She… she told me about her life and who I was, am. All the things you said,” she looks at Rip with guilt in her eyes but none of us blame her for doubting. That was a huge heaping amount of shit to take in, but she is so strong, she handled it way better than I would have, honestly. “Once I got over the initial shock of finally seeing her again, she started to teach me about my ability to heal. I… I needed to heal myself pretty regularly, so I had a ton of practice.” A resounding wave of growls come from every chest around the table. Knowing she was probably hurt while she was down there is one thing, but hearing her say it, feeling her tremble in my arms, my beast roars within me calling for blood. More blood than he has ever wanted before, buckets, pools, and rivers of blood for anyone who dares hurt our angel.

  “Gray, doll, you do not have to… you only need to tell us what you are comfortable telling us. We will not pressure anything from you. When you are ready, we can talk more, but for now…” Mitch soothes her from across the table but I see his eyes. His bear is raging inside of him just like my beast. We are going to have to set up rotations to keep one of us from sneaking off on a death mission just to rip a few throats out. I tighten my hands in Gray’s shirt, my shirt, trying my best to control my anger. Her soft hands move up and down my arms, calming me enough that I can at least look up at her.

  “I’m okay, Dean,” she says my name but I think her words are meant for all of us. “You got me out. I’m okay. I mean, I happen to be a pretty badass powerful goddess, so they may have done their worst, but I survived like I always do. Like I always will.”

  The room remains quiet for a few solid minutes as we all rein in whatever wrath we were planning to unleash. Finally, after everyone’s breathing seems to return to somewhat normal, Gray speaks up again.

  “So, I have a ton of questions, obviously, but something happened while I was in the cell… something I am really afraid to talk about but I need to tell you because I am scared. I don’t… I don’t know how you will feel about me afterward, but if I expect answers from all of you, then I have to be truthful, too.” Her face drops, her eyes tracing the small pattern her delicate fingers are absentmindedly etching into my skin. There is nothing that compares to the feel of her hands, though I can imagine what it will be like when I can finally make love to her the way I have been dying to since that day on the beach.

  “Gray, wifey, there is nothing you will tell us that will change how we feel about you. Trust me. We have all done things, lived through things, we are ashamed of. They did not change who we are, and whatever you have to say will not change who you are.” Reid’s hand moves her hair from her face. He is sitting to my left and since Gray is angled away from him on my lap, he has to lean forward to capture her face completely. He turns her chin so she can see the truth in his eyes.

  “Every being in this room has their own demons. Some of us more than others.” Oh Chance. He is right, some of us have it much worse than others. Chance’s shame is his own, though. None of us think any different of him for what he went through. It was never his fault, he was not in control, and Mitch forgave him the minute we realized he had been taken over. Still, he knows best what it is like to live with tremendous guilt and shame, though we have all had our fair share of blood on our hands over the years.

  Gray nods, her smile not quite reaching her eyes, before she turns from Reid to address us all. I feel her shift indicating she wants to stand up, and though every part of me wants to keep her bound against me, I scoot back to allow her off my lap. She stands, walking away from all of us like she did that day on the back deck, giving herself some distance while she builds up the courage to tell us whatever is on her mind. I watch her take a few deep breaths, her eyes squeezing themselves tightly shut while she mumbles words to herself. Her back straightens, then, her head coming up, turning to meet each set of eyes one at a time. My hands are sweating with nerves as I wipe them on my clothing. Please do not say you are leaving us, angel. Do not tell us you want out, away from us. I will not survive it, I know it.

  “When I was… when Mom came to me for the last time, she was real. I mean, she was real each of the other times she was in my dreams, but this time she was like, touchable. Ugh, I am saying this all wrong.” She grunts, her arms thrown in the air in frustration, but she shakes it off, determination taking over her face. “I could touch her. She came to me when I was awake. I was in a really bad place, mentally and physically, and I was just about to give up, when she was just there. She told me she would never be able to return to me again, but that it was time to get out of there and that I had so much more ahead of me. Then she touched me and I… I can’t really explain it but I felt so much power come from her directly into me. I burst into flames, well the ones you have seen since you found us, but they didn’t burn. Then she was gone. Just gone.” My strong goddess wipes one stray tear she allowed to fall from her cheek, takes a deep breath, then continues.

  “After that, I felt different. More alive, but not sure what to do to get out. Long story mostly shorter, that’s when I realized I could siphon things to take their energy. I tried everything I could find in the cell, but dust, dried blood, and rock don’t do much for me. Then it dawned on me that I could probably take from… from a living being.So when one of the puss-pugger demons showed up with my meal, I… I attacked him. I took energy from him.” She looks so distraught that I have to grip the chair beneath me to keep from pulling her back to me.

  “Puss-pugger demon?” Chance asks, confusion on his face though I see the pain in his eyes reflected back in each of my brothers. Our girl really went through so much we do not even know.

  “You know, the short ones that look like pugs, the dogs with all the rolls and that were all covered in sores and puss. Nasty things.” Her body shakes in disgust and despite the serious tone of the moment, the guys and I all share a small smile.

  “They are called pittance demons, love,” Rip corrects her. She just shrugs her shoulders as if puss-pugger worked better for her anyway and I kind of agree with her.

  “You did the right thing, wifey. You had to get out of that cell. There is nothing wrong with siphoning some energy from a demon. You should not be so hard on yourself.”

  “That’s just it, Reid. I didn’t siphon some energy from it. I siphoned it all. Every last drop. Its entire life force. I killed it with my bare hands, and I liked it. I could have stopped a few times, but something inside of me wanted me to keep going, to drain the helpless creature until its life was over and I listened. I was so weak. Even as I felt its energy course through me I felt powerful, unstoppable… evil.”

  Gray thrusts her face into her hands as tears pour from her eyes in loud sobs. We exchange looks, wondering silently if one of us should go to her, but even as Mitch starts to get out of his chair, she throws an arm out, her hand stopping any advance.

  “No! Stay away. You shouldn’t be around me. I almost didn’t bring Rip back because I knew once I felt your energies I would crave more. I did, you know,” she pulls her face up to look at us though her skin is now red and blotchy from crying. “I felt the pull to take every last drop from all of you, the men who showed up and saved me, my own guardians. You aren’t demons. You aren’t evil, but I wanted your lifeforce like I have never wanted anything else. It took everything in me to pull away from you instead of draining you dry. You need to stay away from me!”

  Fuck it. I stand up, my chair falling behind me at the quick movement, and by the time I get to her, all four of my brothers are there as well. She pushes us, feeble attempts to get free, but we remain. All of us touch her wherever we can, hands on her shoulders, in her hair. Reid drops to his knees before her to wrap his hands around her legs and I do the same to hug her around the waist. We hold her as she shakes beneath us, her grief and fear taking everything out of her, but that is okay. We can be strong for her.

  “Gray, love, look at me.” Rip sta
nds in front of her, pushing wet hair from her as she refuses to look up. “Damnit Gray, look at me now!” He snaps, her head jerking up at his command. “You saved yourself. You saved Chance. You saved me, and since the moment you came into our lives, you have been saving us all in ways you may not yet comprehend, but you are incredible. There is not an evil drop in you, but if you are worried about your power, we will help you.”

  “We can train, as often as you want. We will work on control and figuring out how to overcome whatever is pushing at you. Each of us has had similar situations, doll. Temptation is always a factor with power. Kingdoms and empires rise and fall because of it. You are not a victim. Hear me?” Mitch’s big hands are rubbing her shoulders as she keeps her eyes locked with Rip still. “You are a mighty warrior, princess among gods and goddesses, and we are your guardians. We will always be here to guide you, keep you from falling, and hold you when you are weak.”

  Gray says nothing, but I feel her body sink a little at his words. I am not sure whether this is from relief or grief or what, but at least her crying begins to ease up, stopping completely after a few minutes. We all wait a little longer before finally easing off of her now that she seems capable of standing on her own. Just as I am getting to my feet, the sound of the front door closing brings us all out of our emotional state. The guys and I get into battle stances, Chance pulling Gray behind us so she is cornered, all of us standing between her and whatever threat just entered our safe place.

  Footsteps reach us seconds before a familiar face comes into view. What the hell?

  “Uncle?” I step forward, the guys easing up just slightly behind me, allowing me to take the lead but nowhere near ready to let their guard down just yet. “What, what are you doing here? Were we supposed to meet today?” My brain is working itself trying to remember what day it is, but I know I am not set to meet with him again for at least a few more weeks.