by Julie Wetzel
Kindling Flames
Burning Nights
Julie Wetzel
Crimson Tree Publishing
THIS book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
NO part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Kindling Flames: Burning Nights
Copyright ©2015 Julie Wetzel
All rights reserved.
ISBN:978-1-63422-184-9
Cover Design by: Marya Heiman
Typography by: Courtney Nuckels
Editing by: Kelly Risser
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Pulling the string through the last bead, Vicky tied off the final loose end. Clipping the thread, she held up the veil to examine her work. She’d been so excited when she’d found the lovely, lace veil. It was just the touch she needed to finish off her outfit, but when she paired it with the spider-silk dress from her handfasting, it was rather plain. Maggie had suggested adding beads to try to match the iridescent quality of the silk. It had seemed like a great idea. So, with only a few days until her wedding, Vicky had sat down and sewn hundreds of crystalline beads to the delicate material. It was beautiful. It caught the light and threw it out, dazzling the eye. Any bride would be honored to wear it. Yet, it would look gaudy next to the elegant dress.
“This is horrible!” Vicky yelled, slinging the delicate decoration across the room towards the wooden wall between the living room and the dining room. It hit with a heavy thud and slid down to clatter on the floor. Here it was, the day before the wedding, and she didn’t have a veil.
Jakob got up from the floor near Vicky’s feet and went to get the headpiece. “It’s not that bad.” Fluffing the thing out, he popped it on his head. “See?” He pulled the veil into place and struck a pose, batting his eyelashes at Vicky. The girls around the table giggled at his attempts to cheer up the distressed bride.
The corners of Vicky’s mouth curled up as she rose from the couch and went to him. “I know it’s not that bad.” She pulled the veil from his head and lovingly petted the elaborate decoration. “But if you put it over here…” Crossing to the dress, Vicky placed the veil on the head of the mannequin the twins had found to display the magnificent gown. Carefully, she arranged the layers so they fell correctly and stepped away so the group could look over the ensemble.
Jakob pinched his chin between his thumb and finger, thinking. “I see what you mean.” The veil glittered beautifully in the soft light, but it was all wrong compared to the shimmer of the dress.
“Would you like us to find you a new one?” Josh offered from where he sat on the floor next to his brother’s empty spot.
Letting out a forlorn sigh, Vicky came back and sat down on the couch. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think you could find anything that would look good compared to that dress.”
“We could go back to Arachne and see if she could give us something to match it,” Josh suggested.
Vicky turned this possibility over in her head for a moment. “No.” Slipping off the couch, she cozied up to the glass table filled with stacks of white paper. “She’s already given me the dress. It wouldn’t be right to go back the day before the wedding and ask for more.” Pulling one of the squares of paper over, she started folding it.
Reclaiming his spot next to her, Jakob picked up his partially folded paper and continued where he left off.
A resigned breath slipped out of Vicky as they worked. She was starting to accept the twins’ constant presence. Shaking the two men had become impossible since Jakob had sworn his life to Vicky for bringing his brother back from death. She had tried to convince them that Darien and Elliot had been the saviors, but a long discussion had revealed the difficulties Darien had with the fay blade. It did not like to give back what it had taken. Then, they determined it had been Vicky’s attempt at CPR that had successfully saved Josh when Elliot and Darien’s attempt had failed. Darien had simply shrugged and claimed what he always did, “The fay love a good kiss.”
This labeled Vicky as a heroine and earned her the dedication of the twin vampires. They had even gone as far as to move into Vicky’s old room, dislodging poor Elliot. With Sue and Karl still occupying the downstairs bedroom, the misplaced vampire had moved into the smaller, yellow room upstairs. The new additions to the household had made her already crazy life absolutely insane.
“So how many of these things do we have to do?” Beth asked as she tossed a finished origami crane into the box at the far end of the table.
“A thousand,” Josh answered, rubbing his nail down the edge of the paper to crease it.
“What could you guys possibly need a thousand paper cranes for?” Maggie complained. She pulled open her crane and added it to the growing pile next to her.
“They’re wish cranes!” Jakob held up his crane and made it flap before tossing it towards the box and missing.
Zak nabbed it up in one of his tentacles and dropped it in the box with the rest of the finished birds.
“We’re going to string them into garlands to decorate the hall.” The vampire added as he grabbed up another piece of paper.
Vicky let out a sigh and chucked her crane over for Zak to add to the box. Of all the amazing places that Elliot and Vanessa had considered, they’d finally decided to use Darien’s warehouse for the wedding and reception. The decorations from the Halloween ball had been changed over for the Christmas party Darien had hosted. And since the room was already dressed for a special occasion, it only took a few minor rearrangements to see the space transformed into an elegant wedding hall. The cranes had been a last-minute touch that Jakob thought would make the somewhat plain arch over the altar brilliant. Vanessa had loved it and roped everyone she could into making and stringing the paper birds. Having given the project over to Darien’s menagerie, there was no doubt in Vicky’s mind that they would be done by the end of the night. Most of the cranes were already folded and ready to be strung.
“Where’s your mother?” Vanessa asked, looking around for the older woman who had been helping them.
“She went to lie down upstairs.” Vicky sighed again. “I don’t think she took Zak very well.”
Zak wiggled unhappily.
The girls glanced at the hellhound policing the paper birds.
When Ann had arrived for the wedding, Vicky had told her mother the truth about Zak and Darien. Her mother had given her as much of a hard time about Darien as she had given Ann about Jack—the fake vampire she’d almost married. Their argument had ended when Darien came in, begging Ann to forgive him for his deception and promising he would do his best to protect Vicky for all of his days. Ann couldn’t argue with his charm and had forgiven them both, but the shock had taken its toll. Elliot had been kind enough to vacate his room so Ann could rest in peace for a while.
Maggie picked up another sheet of paper. “I didn’t take Zak very well either.” A few days after Darien regained hi
s powers, Vicky had called her friends over and told them about the vampires, werewolves, and fay. It turned out that Maggie was a member of a local coven and practiced magic. She knew several of the people they had been hanging out with weren’t human, but hadn’t said anything as a courtesy. Sharing the true identity of other creatures was not looked upon kindly. She had, however, been surprised to find out about Darien and Zak. There was something unusual about Darien’s aura; it didn’t read as a vampire’s should. And Maggie admitted she had never thought to check out Vicky’s cute pet. The fact that he was a tentacled horror in disguise had shocked even her expanded horizons.
“I did.” Beth giggled and reached over to play with the wiggly ends near her.
Zak purred and batted at her playfully.
Vanessa elbowed Beth. “I always suspected you were a little on the weird side, you pervert.” She laughed.
“Well, I’m not the only one.” Beth elbowed her back. “Shall I remind you of a pair of vampire twins who shall remain nameless?”
Josh and Jakob smirked to themselves as Beth waggled her eyebrows at Vanessa.
Vanessa turned an interesting shade of red. “I didn’t know they were vampires at the time,” she muttered, embarrassed.
“Oh, so you were just in it for twins?” Beth teased, making Vanessa blush more.
“Shut up.” Vanessa grabbed a handful of Maggie’s paper cranes and threw them at Beth.
Giggling, Beth held her hand up to protect herself from the attack.
“Not the cranes!” Vicky reached out as if she could stop the girls abusing the paper creatures.
Zak gurgled at the two women and rounded up the fallen birds.
“Look,” Vicky snapped. “I don’t care if you abuse each other, but please be nice to the birds.”
Vanessa laughed and launched herself at Beth. The two rolled around on the floor, shrieking with laughter. One of them smacked into the table with enough force to knock several of the glasses of wine over. Vicky yelped as Josh, Jakob, and Maggie scramble to save the paper birds from a wine bath.
Drawn by the ruckus, Elliot came storming in from the foyer. “What in the hell is going on in here?” Stopping just inside the room, he looked over the soggy cranes, spilt wine, and rumpled girls. This evening was supposed to be Vicky’s bachelorette party, but the fun wasn’t supposed to start until after he and Darien had left. “You know, I don’t want to know.” He threw up his hands and turned back towards the doorway.
“Elliot,” Vicky called as she got up from the floor to follow the exasperated vampire out.
He paused at the foot of the steps and waited for her.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, checking him over. He looked as nice as always, but there was something off about him. She couldn’t put her finger on the problem. But recently he didn’t seem to have that same carefree spirit that he’d had before Darien had lost his powers.
Elliot took her hands and smiled. “I’m fine.” He kissed the back of her hands softly. “Don’t worry about me.”
She could feel the lie in his words through the link they shared with Darien. “Elliot.” Vicky gripped his hands before he could back away from her. Looking from one of his hazel eyes to the other, she could see the pain in him, but she couldn’t think of a way to get him to talk about it. She opened her mouth to press the truth from him, but decided against it. “Have you fed tonight?” she asked instead.
Elliot studied her for a moment. “I’ve had something from the kitchen,” he reassured her.
Vicky let out a disappointed breath. “When was the last time you fed properly?”
“I want to know that, too.” Darien’s voice came down from the top of the steps.
Both Vicky and Elliot raised their eyes to find Darien standing there, watching them.
Pulling back, Elliot tried to release Vicky’s hands, but she clutched him tightly in her fingers.
“Well?” Darien started down the steps, pinning Elliot with an expectant stare.
“It doesn’t matter, My Lord,” Elliot said as he turned them so Vicky was between him and Darien, but she still wouldn’t release his hands.
The submissive stance Elliot took hurt Darien’s heart. “It does matter.” Reaching out, he laid a loving hand on Vicky’s shoulder, but his real attention was on Elliot. Stepping past his love, he moved to face his friend.
Vicky could feel Elliot stiffen as Darien reached out and touched him.
“Who was the last person you fed from?”
Elliot turned his head in shame.
“It was me, wasn’t it?”
Reluctantly, Elliot nodded his head.
Darien sighed in frustration. “We’ve talked about this.” His voice held a note of reprimand. “We’re going to find you someone to feed from tonight.”
“No, My Lord.” Elliot raised his gaze from the floor to meet Darien’s green eyes. “You know the laws.”
“I don’t care about some ancient, bloody laws.” Darien gripped Elliot’s arm harder, trying to force the man to accept his words. “You were not in control when you attacked me and I will not punish you for it. And I will not let you punish yourself. Elliot, you have taken this fasting thing far enough.”
Elliot bowed his head in submission. “My Lord.”
Darien shook him slightly. “And if you ‘My Lord’ me one more time, so help me, I will think of some form of torture for you.”
Surprise filled Elliot’s face as he met Darien’s eyes again.
A cleansing breath slipped from Darien as he tried to find a way to convince Elliot to listen. “Look. You are my friend. Not my subject, not my servant, and definitely not my slave. The years of feudal lords and blood debts are over. And you, of all people, should remember how much I hated those to begin with.” He paused for a moment, making sure his words were sinking in. “Elliot. You will stop this self-imposed fasting right now before it weakens you. You know that old blood can only sustain us for so long before we need something fresher.”
Elliot let out a deep breath and opened his mouth to refuse, but Darien cut him off.
“No arguments.” Darien squeezed his shoulder again. “I need you at your peak.” He explained. “Like it or not, you are my second and I need you well so that you can take care of things while I’m gone.”
“You should choose another,” Elliot said softly and looked away from Darien.
“I don’t want another.” Darien gripped his arm tighter trying to make Elliot understand. “I don’t trust any others.”
This pulled Elliot’s eyes up to meet Darien’s.
“I know you’ve been wallowing in your own self-doubt, but I need you to pull yourself together. We both know there’s something going on with the wolves. I need someone here to take care of Sue. And I need someone to watch Josh and Jakob while we’re away.”
Slowly, Elliot let out a long breath. He looked at Vicky, pleading with his eyes, and then back to Darien. “My L…” The sharp look Darien gave him cut the title off before it could get out. Elliot chuckled and relaxed a bit. “My friend,” he started again. “I’ve shown you a great unkindness and I will never be able to make amends for that. But!” Elliot cut Darien off when he opened his mouth to argue. “But I will do as you ask.”
Darien released his hold on Elliot’s bicep and wrapped his arm up around Elliot’s shoulders. He squeezed the younger vampire to his side. “That’s all I want.” He released his friend. “Now let’s get out of here so these girls can get their party started.”
Elliot laughed at him. He turned his attention back to Vicky and raised his still captured hands up, bringing hers with them. “Thank you, My Lady.” He kissed the back of her hands again and released them.
Vicky stood there with her mouth open. What in the world had she done to earn his gratitude? Sometimes, the speed at which the men in her life changed their moods staggered her. She watched as he turned away from her. The set in his shoulders wasn’t as stiff as it had been and he did seem more at
peace with himself. It was a good start, but only time would tell if his outlook had improved, or if he was just hiding it better.
“Come on, old man!” Elliot wrapped his arm around Darien’s shoulders and pulled him off balance.
Darien staggered as he tried to keep from falling over.
“I’d say let’s go try to get you drunk, but I think you’ve had quite enough of that for one lifetime.” Elliot winked at Vicky.
“By far.” Darien laughed and stood up. “It wouldn’t work now anyway.” Stepping to the closet, he pulled out coats for himself and Elliot.
Elliot smiled as he thought about the fay that had arranged Darien’s bachelor party. “Oh, I’m sure Patrick might be able to manage it.” He took his coat and tugged it on.
“Damn, crafty leprechaun,” Darien cursed. “He had better not cheat this time.”
Elliot walked over and punched the button to call the elevator. “I don’t think he would cheat you on the night before your wedding.”
“You never know with him.” Darien sighed and turned to Vicky. “Will you be all right?”
She couldn’t help but smile at his worry. This would be the first night they’d spent apart since the ifrit had attacked her. “I’ll be fine.” Stepping into his arms, Vicky kissed him. She smiled when she pulled back. “Besides, if I get too lonely, I can always go cuddle up between the twins,” she teased.
Making a possessive noise, Darien squeezed her against him. “You had better not.” He nipped at her lip in warning.
Vicky laughed and kissed him again. “Of course not.” She rubbed her hands down his back reassuringly. “There’s only one male I want in my bed.” A mischievous glint shone in her eyes. “Zak.” She smiled at him.
Darien growled at her and struck at the soft side of her neck. His teeth latched onto her skin over her pulse point, driving shivers of desire through her, weakening her knees. She gasped as he nibbled at her skin without breaking it. The doors to the elevator pinged open, interrupting the passion building between them. He kissed her neck before claiming her lips one more time. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Letting out a reluctant breath, he released her. “And Zak had better be the only male in your bed between now and then,” he warned as he headed for the elevator.