Chapter Seven
Ava
When the elevator doors opened, I stood resting my hands on my hips, trying to look as intimidating as humanly possible. I knew it probably wasn’t going to work on them, but I had to try. Three beautiful faces were suddenly in front of mine, and I felt called to them, just as I had to Logan when we were in the elevator. They might have been beautiful faces, but they clouded with guilt so fast that I knew I was right about my hunch. Their mother didn’t like me.
“Gentlemen,” I said cordially, although I was sure the smile on my face looked fake. “We need to talk.”
They all looked over at Logan, who just shrugged. I had tried to grill him for information as soon as he’d put a stop to the adult activities, but the man was locked up tighter than a bank vault. As we’d waited, I had grown impatient, and now the other brothers were bearing the brunt of that. For a moment, I wondered if I should feel bad, but then I remembered that they were trying to convince me to be their broodmare as far as I could tell.
“I know you’re frustrated, sweetheart, and we have a lot to talk about, but please don’t be angry. We are literally trying to save our race from extinction.”
I folded my arms over my chest and went to sit in the armchair across from the two couches. They could cuddle with each other, because as much as I hated to admit it, Logan was right. I couldn’t really sleep with any of them until I knew exactly what was going on. I just hoped none of them kissed me until then, because I really wasn’t sure how good my willpower was.
“I’m listening,” I said after they all followed my lead and sat down.
“We are hoping that you are a flamekeeper. Usually the role is filled by someone within the clan, but the fire clan hasn’t had a flamekeeper born to us in centuries. The last one was Blair, whom our parents were close with,” Sebastian said.
“What exactly is a flamekeeper supposed to do?” I asked, wanting to know if they really expected me to just pop out kids for them.
“You’re a vessel for the flame that keeps our clan alive. You would be a symbol of hope to every fire dragon out there.” This came from Logan.
“That still doesn’t tell me what I’m supposed to do.” I looked around at all four of them and realized that while Logan, Sebastian, and even Noah seemed interested in the conversation, Grayson was staring off into the distance, his face a storm of anger and grief. I averted my gaze, giving him the privacy he needed to process whatever was going on in his head. He must want to be part of this for some reason, but something had clearly upset him.
“You’re supposed to function almost as a second queen, but one that is more concerned with the welfare of the people than anything else, unless there is no queen, in which case you fill both roles.”
A snort escaped me, earning me a strange look from the three brothers who were paying attention. “I don’t think Mommy Dearest down there is exactly eager for me to fill that role. Also, why the hell would you want a complete stranger to be queen? Can’t you just pick a female dragon?”
“The flamekeeper is tested to make sure she is worthy. There are three trials, one of combat, one of leadership, and one of fire. In any trial, you can fail and die. If you get to the end but aren’t a true flamekeeper, you will be destroyed in our dragon fire,” Grayson finally spoke. His words made me shiver, and suddenly it was clear why he had been so hot and cold with me, and why his face was now twisted with guilt. He had cared for someone who they thought was a flamekeeper, but she didn’t make it. Terror flowed through me as sharp and cold as ice.
“The part that my brothers have alluded to is that if you are a flamekeeper, then you will be a vessel for the fire that our clan needs. You will help breathe life into our children, and your fire will turn our children into adults. Without a flamekeeper, we cannot procreate, we cannot mature, and eventually, we will fade from existence if the other clans don’t destroy us first,” Noah added, his gaze steady and calming.
I breathed. It was all I could do. The amount of information they had just unloaded on me was too much. Either I go through these trials, become a flamekeeper, and save their people from certain death, or I die during the trials, or I refuse the trials completely and condemn them to death anyway.
“I need a drink,” I muttered, and before I could even process the thought enough to do something about it, a glass was being pressed into my hand. Thick amber liquid swirled in the bottom.
“I figured you meant something stronger than tea.” Logan winked at me.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
If I passed the trials and became a flamekeeper, then what? I save their people from extinction and fall in love with these brothers? What if they wanted a real queen at some point? Would I have to step aside for her, give them up for her?
I finished the drink in one gulp, and it burned as it went down, but it was the spark I needed to get away from these crazy men. I set the glass down on the coffee table, got up, and walked out, making a beeline for my room.
The door closed softly behind me as I moved in a daze to the overly plush bed that sat in the middle of the room. I climbed in, dress and all, and pulled the covers up to my head, tucking my face inside as I did when I was a child and there was a storm.
When I woke up the next morning, I had one whole blissful minute of not remembering the conversation of the night before. My head began swimming with all the information they had given me. I needed a distraction and some breakfast, not necessarily in that order.
I found some more clothes that had been deposited on the dresser, meaning one of the boys had come into my room while I was sleeping. It surprised me a little. Usually, I was an extremely light sleeper, so the fact that they didn’t wake me was impressive. I unfolded the clothes to see what they had found for me, and was relieved to find a couple pairs of jeans, a pair of cut-off shorts, T-shirts, a tank top, and a couple sweaters. There were even a few pairs of panties and a clean bra. How they knew what size bra I wore was a question that still needed to be answered.
After I pulled on some clothes and freshened up, I went in search of food, hoping that I would find something quick and easy like cereal and would be able to avoid the brothers altogether. My goal for the day was to find a phone and get in touch with Scarlett. I knew she must be worried sick after I pulled a disappearing act from the hospital.
As I tried to form a plan of action, I found the kitchen blessedly empty. I opened the cupboards and found the bowls, but no food. Even though I was being as quiet and sneaky as I could, a throat cleared behind me. Dread clenched in my stomach. Which one was it? Who had found me?
I turned and found Noah’s sandy-brown eyes staring down at me. “Looking for something?”
“Cereal?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “You probably won’t like what we have, but it’s all in the bottom left cabinet over there,” he said as he gestured to a cabinet on the far wall. “But if you want, I can cook you up some eggs and bacon again, or make pancakes or waffles, whatever you prefer.”
I leaned back, resting my butt against the counter and crossing my arms over my chest. “Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?”
Chapter Eight
Noah
Ava glared at me suspiciously, and I suppose she had every right to. I hadn’t exactly been welcoming to her the day before. She knew what was at stake now, though, and I had to hope that she would go through the trials, that she would at least try to help save my people, because there was nothing more infuriating than being a prince who couldn’t take care of his kingdom. I would think that Peter felt the same way, but we all knew that he was basically just waiting to agree with whatever Mother said. She was the power. She was the queen. At least, for now.
“I just wanted to make sure you had what you needed, that’s all,” I said, my voice coming out more arrogant than I’d intended. I sighed and pushed a hand through my hair. “I also wanted to apologize for how I treated you yesterday. My behavior was uncalled for, an
d I’m sorry.” I practically choked the words out, but I said them and that was important.
She still watched me, unsure of my sincerity, which hurt more than it should for a woman I’d only recently met. I had never seen someone with such delicate coloring in their eyes as she had. The outer rim was a deep sapphire blue, which faded into a pale, icy blue around the pupil. Her lips were pursed as she considered my statement, and the urge to step forward and taste them was strong. She had a wide mouth, but not overly so, just enough to make me appreciate the perfectly pink lips that resided there.
My eyes drifted down her lithe frame, completely out of my control. Blood roared in my ears as my dragon stirred within me. Her golden hair fell in waves over her shoulders, grazing the tops of her breasts, which were all too noticeable in the thin gray button-down cardigan-type shirt that she wore. She had paired it with a pair of cut-off denim shorts that were frayed on the edges and even had a worn patch at the top of one thigh. They were so short, I honestly wondered why she put them on at all, but then taking in her long, lean legs, I couldn’t complain. Her bright pink toenails made me want to laugh. I wondered when she had found time, or the nail polish, for that matter, to do that.
“Apology accepted if you make me a waffle.”
“Consider it done, my lady.” I bowed slightly and flourished my hand at her, which made her giggle. The sound went straight to my heart, winding around it and squeezing. I desperately tried to ignore it as I began to mix the ingredients together.
“Where is everybody?” she asked quietly, her voice seeming to wrap around my shoulders and force me to turn to her.
Her sapphire eyes met mine as I said, “They are with the queen, discussing the trials and how best to prepare you for them, if you decide to participate, that is.”
“They left you behind?”
I nodded. “I am, shall we say, more of a soft touch than the others?”
“Soft touch?” she asked, her eyes lighting with a fire I didn’t think she was aware of.
“I am not the best at combat, but I can hold my own if need be, and while I care deeply for my people and feel the weight of my responsibility to them every day, I’m not their favorite. I prefer to heal, to mend, to work with the community, which I know probably sounds the opposite to the impression I gave you yesterday, but it’s the truth. Also, Sebastian and Logan said they wouldn’t be able to keep their hands off you.” I cleared my throat after the last sentence while I whisked the ingredients in the bowl. She had to know the effect she was having on us, and after she had almost slept with both Logan and Sebastian, they felt that the next time they were alone with her, they wouldn’t be able to resist temptation.
“Who says I want them to?” She smiled sweetly, making her look more innocent than her previous statement indicated.
“Indeed,” I murmured, unsure what to say, so I steered the conversation back to a topic I knew all too much about. “If you decide to go through with the trials, you will need to be bonded to all of us or you will fail.”
“You mean physically, or emotionally as well?”
“As much of both as you can manage. The stronger the bond, the stronger you will be, and the more able to withstand the dragon fire.”
She blew out a breath as I retrieved the waffle iron and began to prepare her meal. “How many people do you rule over?”
“I don’t know the exact number, but I believe it was somewhere around twenty thousand when the last flamekeeper was alive. Keep in mind that we are the largest of the clans, although not by much anymore.”
“How long have you been without a flamekeeper?”
“Almost a century.”
Her jaw fell open, but she quickly schooled her expression. “So, you haven’t had any new children in a hundred years? How long do you live?”
She was smart, quick to pick up on the fact that our numbers should be a lot less, and they would be if we didn’t live so long. “No, and we live much longer than humans.”
“How old are you?”
I turned away and poured the batter into the hot metal. “I’m almost four hundred.” A gurgling noise sounded behind me as though she were trying to express her disbelief but the words wouldn’t come out. “Which is about the same as a twenty-five to thirty-year-old in the human life cycle, I think.” I pulled the fluffy creation out of the metal squares and set it aside while I retrieved the toppings.
“That’s insane,” she said quietly.
“It is, but we help keep the human economy stable by creating large businesses that run for decades or centuries before we tear them down and build back up again.”
“What is the point of me doing these trials, then? I’ll be dead in about fifty or sixty years, and for the last decade or so, I might not be able to do what you need.”
“Pragmatic, I like it, but the trials are to make you strong enough to become the vessel. You won’t remain human; at least, not completely.”
“Will I become a dragon?”
“It happens once in a millennia or so, but we think it’s because there is some inactive dragon DNA in there somewhere and the transformation activates it. Not every flamekeeper who starts out as human has it, though.” I handed her a fork and the plate with the waffle on it and spread the toppings in front of her. “Dig in.”
“Thank you,” she breathed as I saw her scoop fresh strawberries onto the confection and coat some of it in maple syrup as well.
“Coffee?”
She nodded around a mouthful of waffle.
When I put a mug of steaming black liquid in front of her, she inhaled the rich aroma before taking a tentative sip. “Why me?”
“For flamekeeper?” I clarified. She nodded. “Because you survived something you shouldn’t have. Especially because that something was fire.”
She looked down at the coffee she was practically hunched over and seemed to fall into a contemplative state for a while, so I began making myself some coffee. I preferred what my brothers called fancy coffee, with an espresso machine and a milk foamer. Cappuccinos were a gift from the goddess herself. At least, in my opinion. Ava’s voice was quiet when she spoke next. “Do you want me to succeed? If I do it, that is.”
I squatted in front of her, turning her so that she didn’t have to move at all to look at me. I stared directly into those sapphire-blue eyes and gently placed a hand on her cheek before saying, “More than anything.”
Her mouth was on mine before I even knew what was happening, and it was as if my dragon were trying to crawl out of my skin to devour her. All I could think about was her heavenly scent of jasmine and sunshine and the taste of syrup on her lips. She was sweet and sticky in a way that kept me kissing her even though I knew I should stop this before it got out of control.
We all made an agreement last night after she had walked out looking scared out of her mind. None of us were supposed to sleep with her until we were sure she understood everything. To initiate a bond like that only to have her break it by leaving would be painful to say the least. Now, here I was on the kitchen floor with her on top of me, not that I could even remember when that happened.
Her tongue danced with mine as her body pressed against me. My cock twitched, and all I could think about was getting her naked so I could be inside her, so I could satisfy this clawing hunger I had for her.
My hands went to her breasts and caressed them through the thin gray material. I had not expected a molded bra underneath, but when I felt for her nipples, all I could feel was fabric. She must have sensed my confusion, because she pulled away from the kiss and sat up, placing her weight right over my cock as her core covered it.
“Don’t blame me. I don’t know where these clothes came from, but they were waiting for me in my room. Whoever brought them apparently thought I needed a boost in the boob department.”
“You need no assistance, my lady.” My hands went to her waist and tugged, trying to pull her back down into another kiss, but she resisted.
“How do
you know my bra size, anyway?” She quirked an eyebrow at me, which was at once both playful and devastatingly sexy.
“One of the women measured you when we got you home from the hospital. She was able to translate that into sizes of clothes we should get for you, and some of my brothers went shopping. Although, I think most of it came from the women who work in the clothing department. They love creating items or going shopping for new people.”
She laughed. “I’m guessing Sebastian is who I have to thank for the bright-red undies and bra from yesterday.”
I made a noise deep in my throat, almost a growl as I thought about what it would look like on her golden skin.
Ava leaned down once again, and her breasts pressed against my chest as her lips went to my ear. “Maybe I’ll wear it for you sometime,” she whispered.
I groaned with desire. I wanted her to wear everything and nothing. Hell, I wanted to give her everything she could ever want, to take care of her, and wasn’t that a sobering thought?
Chapter Nine
Ava
I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but I knew I needed Noah. I needed to feel his skin, his touch, his tongue, everything. Something had made him hesitate in his kisses, and I didn’t want to stop, not unless he wanted me to. My lips were pressing against his velvety soft ones, asking him to open for me. When he did, my tongue delved in, tangling with his. He tasted like heat, like the summer sun when it beat down on my skin. Every time my tongue tasted his mouth, it wanted more.
My mouth went to his neck to where the scent of him was the strongest. I breathed him in as I peppered his skin with kisses and nips. He smelled of lemon and sage, with a hit of something hot underneath. It was almost as if summer itself had been embedded in his skin. My chest grazed against his as I moved, and I realized how painfully hard my nipples were. They were practically begging for attention.
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