Flare of Promise (AMT #4)

by Jessie Donovan

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  AMT Series

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Sacrificed to the Dragone excerpt

  Books by Jessie Donovan

  Author's Note

  Copyright

  Flare of Promise

  (Asylums for Magical Threats #4)

  By Jessie Donovan

  To my AMT readers

  Thank you for your patience in waiting for this story.

  Want to stay up to date on releases? Please join my newsletter on my website by clicking here.

  Books in this series:

  Asylums for Magical Threats

  Blaze of Secrets (AMT #1)

  Frozen Desires (AMT #2)

  Shadow of Temptation (AMT #3)

  Flare of Promise (AMT #4)

  Flare of Promise Synopsis:

  Two years ago, Petra Brandt faked her death and broke her fiancé’s heart to save her brother. While she never stopped loving him, she accepted her new life as a mercenary. At least, until the day she learns Will’s life is in danger. Blackmailing a few people along the way to help her, Petra devises a plan to free her former love and save his life.

  After a rogue first-born kills his fiancée with elemental fire, Dr. William Evans dedicates his life to ridding the world of magic. What he didn’t expect was to develop his own magical ability and become a research subject himself. A strange man offers him a deal for his freedom, and Will takes it. However, his choice reconnects him with the woman he believed to be dead.

  Will and Petra must work together to survive. But can they overcome their past full of lies, secrets, and betrayals? Or will their love only remain a distant memory?

  Chapter One

  “The spreading illness had finally reached a village a few hundred miles from where Loreley lived with her family, which meant it would soon be in her hometown. The humans didn’t know the sickness was beyond the ability of their doctors; only magic could stop the life-taking curse currently killing off both humans and Feiru (FEY-roo) by the thousands.

  The only ones with strong enough magic to break the curse were called the Four Talents. The four legendary elemental magic users controlled the particles in the air. Together, they could battle the sickness and win. Yet as word spread of their unique powers, the humans tried everything in their power to capture the Talents to use as weapons in their own wars and petty arguments.

  To succeed, the Four Talents needed an army to protect them. Those with special magical abilities that showed up later in life, such as Loreley’s ability to control others with song, only appeared when the Four Talents needed help fighting off the sickness. No matter how difficult it might be to say goodbye to her family, Loreley’s ability marked her as special. Some might see a latent ability as a curse, but Loreley viewed it as a gift. And not just any gift, but one that could help save the world.”

  —From the Legend of Loreley the Siren

  Present Day

  Sichuan Province, China

  Petra Brandt lay on the ground next to Millie Ward, her friend-slash-sometimes-enemy, and watched the side of the mountain through her binoculars. After several days of surveillance, Petra knew there was a hidden door in the section of the rock she watched. And if a certain English scientist kept to the same schedule as he had for the last few days, he should be exiting the research facility housed inside the mountain in the next couple of minutes.

  Despite the fact she’d seen Dr. William Evans every morning for the last few days, Petra still held her breath in anticipation. The shock of seeing her ex-fiancé might never wear off.

  Get it together, Brandt. Think of not only Will’s life, but also your brother’s.

  Right. Petra had spent the last two years working as a mercenary. She could handle watching the man she still loved and control any lingering feelings she might have for him. All that mattered was saving his life.

  Sixty seconds later, the rock slid open and Petra raised her binoculars again. Dr. William Evans walked out in a grey t-shirt and black tracksuit pants. Once the door closed behind him, the man began a series of stretches. Each bend of his body or flex of his arms made her draw in a breath.

  Petra had always found Will attractive. But over the years, he’d toned up. His broad shoulders and lean, muscled biceps made her want to run down the hill and jump into his arms.

  But she couldn’t. Will thought she was dead and Petra needed to keep it that way.

  The woman at her side gave a low whistle and whispered, “Are you sure we need to do this today? I really could do with a few more days of watching that bloke stretch.” Will moved into a lunge stretch, showcasing his ass. Millie continued, “Bloody hell. Look at that arse. Are you sure he’s a scientist?”

  Petra tightened her grip on her binoculars. If she didn’t need Millie Ward’s help, Petra would punch the woman in the face. “Yes, he is. Now, can you focus? You’re up in less than five minutes.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. If there’s one thing I can do well, it’s flirt with a man.”

  Lowering her binoculars, Petra looked to Millie. “You’d better do more than flirt if you wish to distract him enough for our plan.”

  Millie met her gaze and grinned. “Why, Petra, I never thought you’d allow me to sleep with him. You’re such a generous friend.”

  “I’m not your friend,” Petra growled out. “And stick to the plan or I’ll put in a call to Larsen.”

  At the mention of Millie’s former captor, her grin faded and she frowned. “That threat is getting old, Petra. One of these times I’m going to test the threat and you’ll falter.” She lowered her voice. “I know you’re starting to enjoy my company.”

  Until last week, Petra and Millie had known of each other, but hadn’t ever worked together. They both worked private security or mercenary gigs. The unwritten rule was to stay clear of a fellow mercenary unless they stood in the way of a target. A few times, Millie and Petra had had to trick each other to finish their jobs and collect their fees, but that was it.

  Then Petra had learned about the threat to Will’s life and had needed help. Her twin brother worked for a dangerous man and Petra couldn’t risk her brother’s boss finding out about Will. After all, that boss was a mean bastard who wouldn’t think twice of using a weakness such as a former fiancé to get what he wanted. Eventually, Petra would take care of the asshole Sean Reilly. But not until she knew Will was safe.

  After all, she’d faked her own death two years earlier to protect Will. Petra wasn’t about to waste that heartbreak by allowing Will to die now.

  Narrowing her eyes at Millie, Petra finally replied, “Whether I like you or not is irrelevant. Complete this mission and I’ll be in your debt. Fuck up and I’ll deliver you to Larsen myself. Hell, I might even take you to his boss, Giovanni Sinclair.”

  At the mention of Giovanni, Millie’s face turned expressionless. “I’ll do my part, but you really need to learn to lighten up, Petra. Your level of seriousness is bound to bring on a heart attack by the time you’re forty.”

  Petra checked her watch and motioned for Millie to go. “You’re on.”

  Tossing her dark blonde hair over her shoulder, Millie fluttered her eyes. “I’ll try my best.”

  “Just remember the scientific jargon I gave you and you’ll do fine. He needs to believe you work in the AMT research facility.”


  AMT stood for the Asylums for Magical Threats, which was essentially a prison system for first-born magic users. Humans didn’t know of the existence of the Feiru, and the AMT Oversight Committee did everything in its power to keep it that way, including taking away twelve and thirteen-year-old children from their parents right before their magic matured and became dangerous.

  Millie inched toward the closest bush. “I’ve pretended to be a genetic researcher for a previous assignment. This is similar. I’ll be fine.”

  Petra’s curiosity wondered what job had required Millie Ward to play that part. But there wasn’t time to ask. “Just go. If you don’t leave now, he’ll jog out of your reach and we’ll have to wait until tomorrow. By then, who knows if someone will have noticed our presence.”

  “Fine, fine.” Millie stood up behind the bush and tapped her ear. “Just let me know the second you spot trouble.”

  “Just don’t go inside the mountain or your earpiece will stop working.”

  Millie muttered something Petra only picked up through the two-way radio earpiece. “I’m not a rookie.”

  Before Petra could say anything, Millie made her way down the hill to the exercise path used by the researchers and guards from the AMT facility. There was only a small section of the trail that wasn’t monitored by security cameras thanks to various trees and bushes blocking the shot.

  Raising her binoculars again, Petra willed for everything to go perfectly. They had one chance and one chance only to get this operation right. She refused to think about what would happen if they failed.

  ~~~

  William Evans jogged at a steady rhythm. The soft falls of his feet, combined with his breathing, helped his brain to focus.

  His own volunteer research subjects would be arriving shortly. The three Feiru had developed magical abilities in the last few weeks. Unlike first-born Feiru, whom controlled either wind, water, earth, or fire magic, the late developers had a mishmash of powers that he’d never heard of before. One man could sometimes change the weather with words; a woman had the ability to shift into a fiery bird and direct other animals; and the second woman could control others with song.

  He couldn’t wait to start his research and find a way to eradicate the mysterious latent abilities. Doing so would help protect the Feiru from the humans, of whom only a few knew of their existence.

  Of course, Will’s motives weren’t entirely altruistic. He stared down at his hand and imagined holding someone else’s, one with a red slash across the palm. The second he changed the image to one of skin free of injury, his hand glowed a faint green.

  Clenching his fingers, he banished the image and pumped his legs harder. I’m sorry, Leyna. I will still find a way to eradicate elemental magic so that no one else can kill unnecessarily again. But to do that, I need to banish my own power. Otherwise, they’ll lock me up and I can’t help anyone.

  As always, silence was his answer.

  Mentally speaking with his dead fiancée helped Will more than he would like to admit. Nothing he did would ever bring her back, but he would ensure that no one else would be burned alive simply because a rogue first-born elemental fire user had been careless.

  Every day for the last two years he had wondered what his life would be like if he’d only agreed to meet Leyna for dinner that night. Instead, he’d been so focused on the research for his doctoral thesis that he’d missed all of her calls and text messages. Leyna had gone out alone and been accosted by a drunk fire user in a small park in London.

  As he always did when he thought of Leyna’s death, Will’s drive to succeed pumped harder. He would find a way to rid the world of magic if it was the last thing he did. Leyna’s death would have a purpose. He’d make sure of it.

  He focused on reviewing his current research and hypothesis and ran on autopilot. So much so, that when he turned a corner, he nearly ran chest first into a young woman with dark blonde hair and green eyes.

  While he didn’t collide with her, the woman did grab onto his arm to keep from falling over. She cried out in pain and raised one of her feet off the ground. Will lowered his head and met the woman’s eye. “Are you okay? I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone else used the path at this time of day.”

  The woman inhaled deeply and gave a weak smile. “This is my first attempt at jogging and I think the universe is telling me to give it up.”

  The woman’s accent was from the North of England. “If you let one mishap derail you from your task, then you aren’t going to get very far.”

  She bobbed her head. “You’re right, of course. It’s just that I’m new here and everything is strange. I’ve never been to China before this and it’s been a bit of a shock. You sound as if you’re from somewhere near London, so you probably understand what I mean.”

  The woman hopped on one foot and he mentally cursed. At this rate, he wasn’t going to finish his run before his subjects arrived. “May I help you back inside, Miss...?”

  “I’m Donna Dixon. And you are?”

  “I’m Dr. Evans.”

  Donna blinked her eyes quickly; flutter might be a more appropriate word. Bloody hell, was she flirting with him? The woman purred, “Do we really need to be so formal?”

  “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What department did you work in again?”

  Irritation flashed in Donna’s eyes. Good. Maybe she’d take the hint. Will had zero interest in romantic entanglements. His own freedom depended on the success of his research.

  Leaning on his arm for support, Donna answered, “I’m a genetic research assistant.”

  Will was careful to keep the disdain from his voice. “For the children?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  While Will’s work focused on adults with latent magical abilities, the Sichuan research facility had a much bigger secret. The children born inside the AMT compounds to inmates were shipped to China at a young age. A team of scientists studied them for genetic shifts because of the experiments conducted on their mothers. It was all part of the AMT Oversight Committee’s bigger goal to eradicate magic.

  However, Will didn’t agree with hiding the children away from the world, especially for the innocents born without magic.

  Still, he couldn’t afford to alienate the other research staff. His own boss, Giovanni Sinclair, had bigger plans that required their cooperation.

  Wanting to rid himself of the woman’s company, he placed an arm around her shoulders and maneuvered them back toward the entrance. “I’ll help you inside. But after that, I really must go back to my lab.”

  “I’d love to see your lab. I don’t think you’re in the same department as me and it’d be fascinating to see what you’re up to.”

  He glanced down at Donna. His gut told him something was off about the woman. “What level clearance do you have?”

  She answered without missing a beat, “Seven.”

  The highest level was five.

  Will stopped and swung the woman around until he had her shoulders pinned with one arm and his thumb at her carotid artery with the other. “Who are you and what do you want?”

  The woman murmured, “I’m sorry about this,” before she elbowed him in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him.

  Donna tried to sweep his foot to knock him off balance. Since Will had spent the last two years training against any sort of attack, he moved his leg out of the way and tightened his arm around the woman’s throat. She elbowed him again and he grunted. But there was no way she was going to win. Another few seconds of pressure against her artery and the woman would fall unconscious.

  He couldn’t wait to find out who she was and why the hell she was lying about working at the research facility.

  Of course, the bigger question was why someone was targeting Will at all. His abilities were a secret, or so he thought.

  ~~~

  Petra cursed as Millie and Will tried to disarm each other. From the look of things, Will was winning.

  She cou
ld either show her face and use Will’s reaction to knock him unconscious or she’d have to chance shooting a tranquilizer dart from her current position.

  Given that she was at least 400 feet from Will and Millie, only luck would guarantee the shot with the equipment she’d brought with her.

  Tossing her binoculars to the side, Petra spoke so Millie could hear her through the earpiece. “I’m coming, Millie. Find a way to stay conscious a little longer.”

  As she took off down the hill toward the exercise path, Petra took out her Taser. The tranquilizer would knock Will out for far too long. The last thing she needed was for his absence to be noted. Yes, she wanted to rescue him, but she also needed time to escape.

  Pumping her legs as fast as she could, she drew near where Will and Millie were having their altercation. Millie had snaked an arm behind her and Petra watched as she grabbed Will’s balls and twisted.

  Even as Will cried out in pain and loosened his grip, jealousy shot through Petra’s body. She had no claim on Will Evans, but she didn’t like any other woman’s hands on him.

  What the hell am I thinking? Pushing aside her jealousy, she charged at Will’s back and shouted, “Now!”

  Millie released her hold and rolled off to the side. Will turned his head and met her eyes right before she shot the Taser cartridge at his back. Even as his body shook, he managed, “Leyna?”

  Two seconds later, he was unconscious on the ground.

  Kneeling down, Petra lightly brushed Will’s forehead. He wouldn’t be out for long. As soon as he regained consciousness, Petra would have to act as if she didn’t care about him.