Heiress of Light: Magic Reborn (Reverse Harem)

by Ashlyn Allbrook

  I still had my sword in hand, but it felt like I was playing dress-up. I hadn’t sparred in several years, and I was sure I looked ridiculous, especially since I was now well removed from danger. I needed to dig the sheath out of my bag and stow the sword.

  Just as I told myself that, I heard a rustle in the bushes to my right. I held up my sword as the man with the limp and the deformed hand walked toward me. Only, he was walking just fine now and his useless hand now held a sword of his own. He smelled like he hadn’t showered or bathed in days.

  “Now where did you get off to, princess?” he sneered, and I froze. Did he know who I really was?

  Continuing to hold up my sword in a defensive stance, my mind raced through all the exercises my men had taught me in training. I was terrified and sure I was out of my element. Training to defend myself eight years ago wasn’t the same as defending myself now. Sure, I’d convinced Liam to let his men spar with me again three years ago, when they had become my guardsmen, but it had been short-lived once my father found out and put a stop to it.

  Still, I told myself this was just like a training exercise, and I wasn’t going on the offensive. I was defending myself. I knew how to do this. It was like muscle memory. “I’m waiting for my brothers. They won’t be so happy to see you when they come to collect me.”

  “Good thing my friends have them busy so we have a chance to play.”

  I took a step back, still holding up my sword. I tried to take a discreet breath to slow my furiously beating heart.

  Pretend like this is a training exercise.

  The man’s sword hung at his side as he eyed me, and I almost wished he was holding it in an intimidating position. Then I’d feel better about defending myself.

  “Shouldn’t you be back there with your friends?” I asked. “I’m sure they won’t be happy that you’ve abandoned them, wanting to play with me.”

  “Not wanting. I intend to.” He waved his sword in my direction. “While I like the breeches look, they’re gonna have to go.”

  “Maybe yours should go first,” I said dryly.

  He grinned. “I have no problem with that, princess, but I’d feel better if you were in a more compromising position first.”

  “Never going to happen.”

  He lunged for me, reaching for my sword. I swished my blade toward his bicep, slashing through the material of his shirt, enough to slice through his skin but not inflict serious damage—a move Tobias had taught me, and as far as I knew, he still bore a scar to this day as a result of the lesson.

  But I was out of practice, and I’d slashed deeper than I’d intended.

  My horse let out a loud neigh.

  My attacker jerked his hand back, and fury filled his voice. “You’re gonna pay for that, bitch.”

  Feeling empowered, I resumed my stance and waited for him to make his next move.

  He held up his sword and grinned. “You want to play with swords, princess. I can play with swords.”

  I forced myself to calm down and focus on everything I’d learned.

  The man advanced, aiming for my stomach.

  I met his blade and deflected it, then counterattacked and lunged for his chest. But I didn’t fully commit to it. I wasn’t ready to kill anyone, so I slashed at his chest, slicing through the fabric and skin.

  He cursed again, then lunged in fury.

  Liam had taught me to never fight in anger, to keep my emotions in check. Emotions would make me unfocused and sloppy, and that described my opponent now. He was reckless and uncoordinated.

  I easily blocked his lunge, leaving the opportunity to plunge my blade into his gut, but I still couldn’t do it, and he grinned when he realized the limitation I’d placed on myself. It definitely worked in his favor.

  I took a step back and slid a few steps to my left. He sidestepped too, putting his back toward the creek. “You can leave,” I said. “Just leave, and I won’t follow. I don’t want to kill you.”

  “Leave?” he asked in disgust. “Bitch, I’m not leaving until I get what I came for.”

  “Then you will die.”

  He lunged for me, hoping to get in a sneak attack.

  I stepped to the side and spun around, my skirt swirling around me as I now faced his side, his body still leaning forward in his lunge. (Thank you, Finn, for that move.) I stabbed my blade into his flank, except I still couldn’t make myself commit and only inserted the blade a few inches before pulling back and withdrawing several steps.

  He cried out in pain and doubled over.

  “You can leave,” I said again. “This might be your last chance.”

  He pivoted, then ran for me with his blade drawn. I deflected his blade with mine, then swiped my blade down, putting enough force into the arc to make him lose his grip and drop his sword. Surprise filled his eyes before I extended my leg and hooked the heel of my boot on his calf and jerked his leg forward. He lost his balance and fell to the ground on his back. I placed my sword tip against the hollow of his neck.

  “I suggest you give up now,” I said.

  Fury filled his eyes. “I’m going to kill you.”

  “You keep saying that, and yet I keep putting you in compromising situations.”

  He didn’t respond.

  “Who do you work for?” I asked.

  Confusion filled his eyes. Then he snarled, “I work for me, you stupid bitch.”

  “Why do you keep calling me princess?”

  “Because calling you a bitch didn’t seem the best way to get you to let me fuck you.”

  I ignored his insult. I believed that he didn’t know I was Princess Elena. The question was what I was going to do with him. If he cooperated, I could hold him until my guards arrived.

  “Elena!”

  Finn’s voice startled me, as I’d heard no sign of his approach, but he was still several feet away and out of sight. “Here! Behind the brush.”

  But I’d diverted my attention enough that my attacker was able to sweep my legs out from under me and flip me onto my back. He rolled over on top of me and straddled my waist as he held a short knife to my throat. An evil smile lit up his face.

  “Now who’s in the compromising situation?” Then he tugged on the button of my breeches.

  I panicked.

  Finn appeared at the edge of the bushes and gasped. “Elena!”

  The man looked up and his grin spread. “You want to watch me fuck your sister? Hold up there . . . come any closer, and I’ll slash her throat.”

  Finn stayed in place, and the magic in my chest recognized he was near, bursting to life, but the warmth and yearning I usually felt quickly faded as my magic seemed to realize I was in a dire situation. It became a painful burning ball in my chest.

  I grunted with the pain, but my captor grinned. “You want your brother to watch, princess?”

  Everything in me said to fight him, yet I knew if I did, he’d likely slit my throat.

  Perhaps that was preferable to what he was about to do.

  “Finn!” a male voice called out.

  Dax was approaching. He was about to see this too.

  No.

  Panic washed through my head. The magic in me was furious now. The pain in my chest became unbearable.

  “Elena!” Dax cried out when he reached Finn, and Finn grabbed his arm and held him back.

  “Stop. He’ll kill her, Dax.”

  My captor was tugging on my breeches, pulling them over my hips.

  I couldn’t let this happen.

  I reached for his forearm and channeled all the pain and pressure in my chest into his arm.

  He screamed and fell off me, rolling to the ground as smoke swirled from his arm. Then his arm burst into flames.

  7

  Finn and Dax were stunned speechless before they sprang into action. Finn grabbed my arm and pulled me to a sitting position while Dax went after my captor, who was now on his feet.

  Only just before Dax reached him, the flames had engulfed his entir
e body. The man’s screams echoed off the trees.

  I gaped as he stumbled backward, then turned and fell into the water. He thrashed for a bit; then he went still. His body floated on the shallow stream, the flames still burning his clothing and his skin.

  “What just happened?” Finn asked.

  “Elena just set him on fire,” was Dax’s strained response.

  I started to get to my feet, but dizziness washed through my head and I felt weak. I sat back down.

  “The others?” I asked, realizing they hadn’t joined us yet.

  “They’re fine,” Finn said, sounding distracted and keeping his gaze on the still-floating and burning man. “They’re finishing the last of them.”

  “What did they want?” I asked. “This one didn’t seem to know who I was.”

  “Bandits,” Dax said. “They wanted everything we had . . . and you.”

  “Why would they want me? I’m sure he didn’t know who I was.”

  Finn turned to face me. “You’re a beautiful woman. They wanted you for the same reason most men want a beautiful woman, and couldn’t care less if you wanted it too. But then, you’re well aware of that, aren’t you?” He sounded angry, but fear filled his eyes.

  He was afraid of me.

  “I didn’t want that, Finn,” I said, my own anger taking hold. “I didn’t want him. How can you insinuate that?”

  But then, why wouldn’t he? I’d come on to all five of my guardsmen. I’d proven that I had no control over my impulses. Why wouldn’t I have wanted him?

  Only I hadn’t, which I found confusing and reassuring. I hadn’t felt anything from him at all other than disgust. But I could feel Dax and Finn now, each of their essences distinct. Dax was cool and reassuring, while Finn was light and breezy. The magic in me craved them even more than before. But they were oblivious to my struggle.

  “What is wrong with you?” Dax moved in front of Finn and shoved his chest. “She was held at knife point!”

  “You know how she’s been!” Finn shouted. “Maybe she wanted it like that!”

  “Then why did she set him on fire!”

  Finn didn’t have an answer for that, but instead shoved Dax back.

  “Stop!” I shouted, and the magic in me agreed. Pain shot through my chest, and I leaned over my lap.

  “Elena,” Dax said, moving closer.

  I held my hand up to hold him off. “Stop,” I pushed out in a pant. “I’m not to be trusted right now.”

  “I’m not worried you’ll set me on fire, Elena,” he said in a soothing voice.

  I hadn’t even considered that part of it. How had I set my attacker on fire? But I hadn’t done it at all. The magic in me had.

  I heard horse hooves clomping from the road, and I knew the other three would be here in moments. I needed to figure this out.

  “I need you to leave me alone,” I said as my panic started to brew. What if I did set them on fire? What if that’s what the magic inside me wanted—to burn them all and consume the essence inside them? I started to cry.

  The horses drew closer, and seconds later, Liam was by the bushes, taking in the floating, burning man, me on the ground, and two swords beside me. His eyes widened and his face twisted in fury. “Why is she bleeding?”

  Was I? I lifted my hand to my throat and realized the blade had nicked me.

  “Which one of you is responsible for this?” Liam demanded as he turned his focus onto Dax and Finn.

  “It’s not their fault,” I protested. “Finn sent me ahead to protect me from the attackers.”

  Liam turned his attention to Finn. “You were told to protect her.” His words were filled with bite.

  “It was the safest way. After I killed two men, I followed her. But when I got here, he was on his back and Elena had a sword tip to his throat, demanding to know who he worked for.”

  “A sword tip?” Liam asked in confusion, but then he squatted next to my abandoned sword and picked it up, recognizing it from our training sessions. “You still have this thing?”

  I wiped tears from my cheeks. “My guards weren’t with me twenty-four seven. I had it in my wardrobe in case I needed to defend myself.”

  He frowned. “You felt unsafe in the castle?”

  “No . . . I don’t know. I just felt like I needed to be able to take care of myself.” I made a face. “But you know that. You know I tried to join the guard school. And that training with you five was a concession the headmaster granted to suit my whims.”

  “And after, we became your guard,” Liam said, as though truly seeing my motivation for the first time.

  “I thought you were just bored,” Tobias said, now standing by the bushes with Matthew. “Why is that man burning in the creek?”

  “He attacked, Elena,” Dax said, rubbing the back of his neck. “She set him on fire.”

  He glanced around in confusion. “With what?”

  “Her bare hands!” Finn said, still eyeing me with distrust.

  Liam held up his hands. “Start from the beginning.”

  I told them that he’d snuck up on me and that we’d fought, but that I couldn’t bring myself to kill him. That I’d knocked him onto his back, hoping to get information from him as well as keep him immobile until they showed up. But Finn unintentionally distracted me, and I’d ended up on the ground instead.

  “How did that man end up in the river and on fire?” Liam asked in a low tone.

  “Elena grabbed his arm, and it began to smoke. He cried out and dropped his hold. He got to his feet and his arm burst into flames. Then his whole body was consumed. Now it continues to burn, even though any normal flame would have been extinguished by now.”

  Liam squatted in front of me. “Elena, how did the man catch on fire?”

  “Whatever is inside of me didn’t like him touching me. He threatened to kill me, and it . . .” I took a breath. “I grabbed his arms, and it just came out.”

  “Fire?”

  I shook my head. “No. Energy. Power. He started to scream, and his arm began to smoke. Then it burst into flames.” My eyes pleaded with him. “I didn’t mean to do it. I don’t even know how it happened.”

  “It happened exactly how Elena said it did. It’s magic,” Dax said, beginning to pace.

  “Magic doesn’t exist!” Finn protested. “This is insane!”

  “Then how do you explain what happened?” Tobias asked. “Did you see it too?”

  Finn glared at him. “Yes. But just because you can’t explain something doesn’t mean it’s magic!”

  Liam stood. “It doesn’t matter if it’s magic or science. The fact is a man was set on fire, and Elena created it but doesn’t know how.”

  “I’m dangerous,” I whispered.

  “No, Elena,” he said, shaking his head. “You were defending yourself. You’re only dangerous to those you perceive as a threat.”

  “And what if I accidently perceive one of you as a threat?”

  “You won’t do that,” he said, sounding exasperated.

  It was then that I saw the blood on his arm. “You were injured.”

  “It’s a scratch.” He turned to his men. “We’ll give the horses a few more minutes, then take off.”

  I was still sitting on the ground, and thankfully, the men moved to the other side of the bushes where they had left their horses, giving me time to pull myself together, which was difficult to do as I continued to stare at the burning dead man.

  I’d done that. Not only had I killed a man, but I’d done it with whatever was inside me.

  It didn’t matter what Liam said; I was dangerous.

  But sitting here feeling sorry for myself wasn’t going to help anything. Liam was right. We needed answers from the priestess. I tried to stand and was overcome with a wave of dizziness. I rested on my hands and knees, trying to sort out what was wrong. Was it because of what I’d done?

  A dull ache filled my chest, and I sat back in a squat, rubbing the heel of my hand over my breast, trying t
o ease the discomfort.

  “Elena.”

  I glanced up and saw Matthew watching me.

  “Are you unwell?”

  I gave him a wry smile. “You know I’m not right.”

  “But it’s never hurt you before, has it?”

  I closed my eyes and applied more pressure to my chest, praying this would pass.

  “Let me help you.”

  I held up my other hand. “No. Don’t come near me. I’m dangerous.”

  “Not to us,” he said, moving closer.

  The ache started to subside, recognizing Matthew’s essence, its strength and stability. And the magic in me wanted it. Tears stung my eyes, and I turned my face away from him. “Matthew, please. Don’t come any closer. The thing in me . . . it wants you. It wants the thing inside you.”

  He knelt next to me and placed his hand on my upper back. “Then let me give it to you.”

  My eyes flew open. “What are you doing, Matthew?”

  “Yes, what are you doing, Matthew?” Liam asked. “Where’s Tobias? You’re not to be alone with Elena.”

  Matthew rose to his feet. “Elena is in pain. I can feel it. Can you?”

  Liam looked surprised. “No.”

  Matthew placed his palm on his chest. “I can feel her pain. I can feel the ache inside her. Whatever she did there—” He pointed to the burning body. “It’s hurt her somehow.”

  “Leave her,” Liam said. “Elena, are you ready to go?”

  Matthew started to move away, and I gasped as my pain burst into life.

  “Liam,” Matthew said. “She needs me.”

  Liam held eye contact with him. “She needs the priestess.”

  Matthew released a low groan. “I will not allow you to let her suffer.”

  “Matthew,” I grunted as a spasm hit me. “Go. I command you to go.”

  He did so reluctantly, but Liam moved closer and the ache subsided again. Liam’s essence was there, but it was different than the others. Stronger, but unrecognizable.