Kissed by Fire

by Kimber White

  Then my dreams turned. Shae in pain. Burning. Her agony fueled mine and I couldn’t stop the dragon from coming out.

  Last week, it happened on the roof of the Brandhart Building and I’d forgotten to cloak myself. Thank God Finn and Gideon were close enough to pull me in before I was seen. After that, there’d been no other choice. I couldn’t stay in the city.

  Leaving like that tore me apart. At the same time, the Scottish Highlands called me home. It was a risk. There was no safe way to get across the Atlantic except in dragon form. But staying shifted for that many hours in my current state of mind was just as much of a risk.

  In the end, we compromised. Gideon went with me. If anything happened, he would put a call out to the others. The five of us made a pact. If it came to it...if one of us lost control completely, the others would put an end to the risk. For the greater good and to spare our mother the job, I relied on my brothers to take me out when the time came.

  Knoydart brought me peace for a while at least. Gideon conducted local business in town and traveled to Glasgow most days. He knew I valued my solitude. Lately, only the deepest of the lava pits could quiet my heart. There, the heat matched the burning inside my heart, drowning it out. The less I could think or feel, the better.

  Gideon kept his distance. He circled above, preferring to sleep in the caverns like when we were kids. I knew he had another reason for that. I cried out for Shae in the middle of the night. My pain stirred Gideon’s. He might be holding on better than I was, but the sickness was growing in him too. Soon, he and the others wouldn’t be able to be around me at all without risking their own sanity.

  The morning of our eighth day in Knoydart, Gideon must have sensed enough peace from me that he ventured down to the deeper caverns to seek me out. I had something to tell him and he knew it.

  The lava slowly churned beneath us, belching fire. I stood at the edge. I peered straight down. Just one step off into thin air. We’d played chicken like this when we were just kids. We tried to see who could stand the heat the longest before our dragons won out. Kian usually won.

  “It won’t work,” Gideon said. “The minute your feet touche that lava, your dragon will come out. I’m afraid it won’t be that easy for us, brother.”

  I turned to him, flames licking at my feet. “That’s just your theory. I have more control than you think.”

  “Do you?” Gideon moved with lightning quickness. He kicked out, sweeping his leg out, cutting me off at the knees. I pitched forward, losing my balance. It was only an instant. I fell into the void. Hell opened its mouth to swallow me.

  My wings flared, pulling me up like a parachute. My survival instincts kicked in, just like Gideon said they would. Goddammit. I hated when he was right.

  I landed beside him and quelled my dragon for now, surprised that I still could so easily. I hadn’t been able to in weeks. I knew it didn’t mean I was getting better. It just meant Gideon had distracted me enough just this once.

  “Risky move,” I said, smiling. “I could have easily just dragged you down with me.”

  He shrugged. “But, you didn’t.”

  “You wanna tell me how you could be so sure that would work?” I kept my tone as light as I could. But, something dark flashed in Gideon’s eyes. Dragonfire and reflected lava turned them bright orange.

  “Because I’ve tried.” He turned to me, his voice thick with regret.

  Silence fell between us. I don’t know how long it lasted. Maybe as long as an hour. We stood side by side, staring into the fire, neither of us wanting to go back up the ravine.

  “Do you still feel her?” he finally asked.

  I closed my eyes and sucked in a great breath of air. “That’s the other reason I like it down here. All the echoes and natural sounds drown almost everything else out.”

  “And you didn’t answer my question.”

  I smiled at my brother. “Yes, Gideon. I still feel Shae. At first it was agony. The separation. It’s like if you held me underwater but expected me to breathe anyway. Now, I just feel her presence in the world. It’s muted though. Almost like she’s...”

  Gideon’s face was a mask except for one thing. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. I knew him well enough to read his expression. My answer surprised him.

  I finished my sentence with a realization that sent cold rage racing through my heart. “Almost like she’s got a cloaking spell of her own.”

  “Xander…”

  I charged him. “Not of her own. Avelina’s still with her, isn’t she? She’s trying to shield Shae from me.”

  “For your own good!” Gideon shouted. I had to give him credit. At least he hadn’t lied about it. Still, I hated the fact that he and our mother decided something without consulting me.

  “That’s fucking dangerous!” My voice boomed. The lava popped below us as a fresh explosion rippled through the molten river. “She’s out there all alone now, Gideon. We’re sworn to protect her, even if I can never be near her again. At least I’ll know if she’s in danger. If Avelina’s trying to interfere with that…”

  Lava exploded beside us, rising up in a fiery geyser. The same thing happened to my heart. Pain shot through me. I staggered sideways, caught in its grip. But, it wasn’t my pain alone. Gideon’s eyes mirrored mine, changing to green flame as his dragon roared out.

  Far above, twin screeches ripped across the sky. Finn’s blue fire arched across the horizon. Loch and Kian joined him; their dragons pulled up at first, then made graceful circles as they landed on the cliff.

  “Trouble,” Gideon said. We ran to meet our brothers. My dragon stirred, but I kept him in check for now.

  As we left the lava pits behind, the normal sounds of the earth started to return. I could hear my heart pumping again. I could feel Shae’s. Hers beat wildly, erratic. She was terrified.

  “Jesus! God!” I stumbled. Gideon caught me by the arm and pushed me ahead of him. Kian and Loch stayed in their dragons, only Finn shifted and ran to meet us. He was shouting, flailing his arms. His words held no meaning to me. I didn’t need them.

  Avelina had been cloaking Shae from me. She’d done it to try and protect us both. Now, I felt Shae’s panic and pain. It poured through me, choking off my air. Only Gideon’s strong hand on my arm kept me from shifting, but only just. My vision was a field of green flame.

  Finn’s words gushed out in a torrent of his own emotions. But, I already knew. If I could feel Shae, it meant Avelina was no longer cloaking her. There was only one reason she’d do that.

  And just like that, my world spun on its axis. Not even Gideon’s steadying hand could keep me calm. I launched into the air, knocking him sideways as my wings unfurled. From the corner of my eye, I saw him recover quick enough. He and Finn shifted.

  The five us were airborne, rocketing across the horizon.

  Blind rage and desperation fueled me that night. My mother had always been with us. Omnipresent. Larger than life. She’d gone cold and quiet. I could barely sense her. I reached out for her with my mind but was met with deafening silence. Finn heard my call and screamed with fire.

  The ocean churned below us. I’d never flown so fast in my life. Even so, it would take us hours before we reached her. I wanted desperately to reach out to Shae. She was breathing. I knew that much. I wanted to tell her to run, not to be afraid, I was on my way. But, I didn’t know what evil she faced. Wolves, for certain. If they’d managed to borrow enough magic to immobilize my mother, God knew what they’d try with Shae. Better they didn’t sense our approach.

  I flew wild. Loch kept it together, taking point. We formed a vee behind him. My wings burned, but we finally hit the East Coast. We’d cut our normal time in half, but it was still far too long. With each breath, Shae felt just a little farther away. Avelina’s heart slowed.

  Loch banked hard to the left, changing course. He headed for the Smoky Mountains. Thank God he kept his head. Instinct fueled us and we broke formation, heading into a remote valley.
/>   I sensed the wolves before I saw them. In some far corner of my brain, I knew it was because of Shae. Part of me could see what she saw. Ten wolves. There would have been twelve. I’d killed two members of their pack. Now, their Alpha stood on a high ridge, his red eyes acting like a homing beacon.

  Kian roared fire across the valley.

  NO! Kian couldn’t hear me. He was already too far gone. Finn, Loch, and Gideon did though. The Alpha wolf stood over Avelina. An arrow stuck out of her chest. Her black dress was caked with dried blood. She wasn’t moving, but her eyes tracked toward us.

  Why didn’t she just shift? The answer slammed into me as if I’d been struck with a second arrow. Dragonstone. They’d hit her with dragonstone. It was a miracle she’d lasted this long.

  Shae’s scream drew my attention. I pulled up, just before buzzing the Alpha. I joined my brothers high above her. The other nine wolves had formed a circle of threat around Shae. One word, one look from their Alpha and they would tear her to bits. Not even my fire would be fast enough to save her. And there was no way to take them out without putting her in the direct path of it.

  The wolves had already won. They’d drawn the only six dragons left in the world to their door and they held the women I loved.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Xander

  Gideon tried to hold me back, but I landed. I stood ten yards from the Alpha wolf. His eyes locked with mine, and I saw what he was. It was hard not to hate all other shifters for what had been done to my kind. I wanted to make this one pay for all of it.

  The Alpha shifted, rising on two legs. In human form, the man looked almost sickly. Skinny with grayish skin and long stringy black hair, sweat poured from his brow.

  “Stand down,” he said. “All I have to do is blink and my pack will kill your mate.”

  “Let them both go, and we might let you live. Kill them, and we’ll turn you to ash.” Loch stood beside me. Thank God he had control enough to shift and speak for all of us. I could taste my fire.

  “She’s incredible,” the wolf said. “She’s everything I ever hoped for.”

  He towered over Avelina as she lay on the ground. Her eyes turned to glass. Her lips were moving. Just a whisper. But my fire turned to ice when I realized what she said. “Magnus.”

  I realized with horror what was happening. She had seen this all before. My father had died exactly the same way. Though it had been a tiger shifter to deliver the killing blow, he’d been shot with a dragonstone arrow just like this one. My mother had been too far away to save him. But, as fated mates, she’d watched the whole thing through his eyes.

  “Avelina, fight!” Loch shouted. He realized what was happening to her at the same time I did.

  A fresh chorus of howls split the air. I’d been so focused on Avelina and Shae, I hadn’t sensed them. Shadows appeared on a ridge; red eyes glowed all around. This wolf’s pack wasn’t just nine. He had six more men on the opposite hill. Though they hadn’t been commanded to shift, their eyes glowed red. Their Alpha was thinking for them. And I’d just led my brothers straight into their Alpha’s trap.

  An arrow zinged by my ear. I dropped low at the last and let out a stream of fire. The arrow missed me but caught Finn in the wing. He spun sideways then dropped to the ground.

  I took to the air. Kian and Gideon joined me. Kian blasted fire, incinerating one of the shifters. Gideon took out another one. I focused on the circle in the valley, keeping my eyes on Shae. One of the wolves snapped at her, drawing blood. I let my fire loose, blasting the side of the hill. The wolf let her go, but she was still too close to him for me to risk a direct hit.

  Another arrow flew. This one caught Kian in the neck. Rage fueled him for a few seconds. He killed the shooter just before he fell to the ground. He hit so hard, a crater opened beneath him and rocks rained down into the valley. One almost hit Shae.

  Another arrow came within inches of my right wing. I banked hard left and circled the wolves in the valley. I wouldn’t leave her. But I didn’t want to draw more fire in her direction.

  They would keep coming. As long as their Alpha lived, he would force these men to kill for him. I had no choice but to kill back.

  Avelina stirred. She thrashed on the ground. The Alpha dove to the side. If she’d managed to shift into her dragon, she could have killed him instantly.

  My fire left only two archers. One nocked his arrow as his Alpha tore down into the valley. He shifted and stood in front of Shae.

  Avelina was crazed with grief as Finn’s blood stained the ground red.

  I launched myself at the Alpha. I had no more than a split second to act. I dug my talons into his back and pulled him into the sky. He flailed in my grasp.

  I dropped him hard. He spun but rounded, getting to his feet. Fangs bared, he turned to face me. The shifters scattered. The ones in the valley closed ranks around Shae. One chance. Just one. If I killed him before he gave his command…

  I landed and drew up. Fire gathered strength inside me, sucking all the air toward me. It took the Alpha’s breath from him.

  Now. You’ll see what a dragon really is, asshole.

  In a scream of red fire, I blasted the Alpha, turning him to ash.

  Avelina’s roar shook the ground. Everything happened at once. She rose. Her eyes were still unfocused and wild. Oh, God. She wasn’t here. She was still calling for my father.

  Time stood still. I was too far away. Avelina was too fast. She shifted and rose high above, blocking out the moon.

  NO! I screamed. It was too late. She couldn’t see. Couldn’t hear. She was fighting for her sons. She was fighting for the memory of my father. But, Shae was still too close.

  Avelina’s fire erupted from her, shaking the earth. Boulders rained down from the cliff as a column of blue and white flame scorched the valley. Howls of pain split my ears as the first wolves caught fire.

  She just saw the threat from the wolves on the ridge and in the valley. Instinct and rage fueled her. All this time, I’d struggled to control the beast inside of me. In that one horrific moment, my mother lost control of hers. I shouted to her to try and get her to stop. It was too late. Oh, God. Too late. She turned everything in the valley to cinder, killing the wolves in a second blast of blue fire.

  And Shae was in the center of it all.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Shae

  Dragonfire. I was in a tornado of blue lightning. Energy crackled all around me. My clothes burned away. The tiny hairs on my arms melted. The hair on my head lifted straight up and the breath left my lungs in a whoosh.

  Chaos. The scent of burning flesh and charred bodies. This was hell. I was in it. It had swallowed me whole. One wolf turned to me. He’d tried to shift when the blast hit him. He melted in front of me, contorting in pain.

  It all happened so fast. It all took an eternity.

  And then, I stood alone in the circle. There was nothing around me but death.

  “Shae!”

  Was I dead? There was no sun. But this looked like the surface of the moon. The sky had turned pitch black with no stars. The ground was fine powdery ash.

  Then, I coughed, kicking up the ash in white plumes and smoke. The concussion of the blast had made me momentarily deaf. A figure moved ahead of me, distorted by smoke.

  Xander. Oh, God. Xander!

  He ran to me, his skin covered in black soot. His green eyes shone brightly. I tried to rise to meet him, but my legs wouldn’t work. He pulled me into his arms, sweeping me off the ground. Searing pain hit my chest. Maybe I was dead after all.

  “Are you all right? How are you all right?” His voice choked with emotion. Tears made tracks in the soot on his cheeks.

  “I don’t...I think...what the hell happened?”

  Again, the pain shot through my chest. Xander stepped away. He ran his hands over me, checking for wounds. There was nothing. Literally...nothing. I was buck naked in the middle of a charred valley at the base of the Smoky Mountains.

 
; Xander’s eyes went wide. He reached for me. My locket swung on its chain. I had a large, red welt between my breasts where it had heated and burned me. Other than that, I was fine. I had Xander’s same question. How was I not dead?

  “Xander!” Gideon called to him. He sounded so far away. Xander put his arm around me. We walked out of the valley together.

  Kian and Finn had been hit. Those wolves. There had been so many of them. They’d thrown Avelina and me into the back of a van and we’d driven for hours. She was dying. I didn’t have to be her actual child to feel the life draining from her with each mile we put behind us.

  She was lying on her side, clutching her knees at the top of a hill. When we got to her, Xander dropped to his knees beside her.

  Loch had a large cut on his wrist. He pressed it to her chest where the arrow had struck. She looked weak, her breathing shallow, but Avelina was starting to come around.

  “I’m so sorry,” Xander said. “She wasn’t herself. The dragonstone did something to her mind. She was seeing what happened to my father over and over. I don’t think she was trying to kill you.”

  “She wasn’t,” I whispered as Avelina’s eyes fluttered open. The color came back into her cheeks as Loch’s blood worked to heal her.

  “I wasn’t,” she said, her voice raspy and thin. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I’m okay. Your fire didn’t burn me.”

  She sat up. The wound on her chest had all but healed. I couldn’t believe it. I’d seen her take that shot. A direct hit. I’d tried to staunch the bleeding in the van. She’d been out of her mind most of the time, hallucinating about her mate, Magnus.

  “Finn and Kian aren’t doing so well,” Gideon said.

  “Can’t you do what you did for her?” I asked.

  “It has to be Avelina’s blood,” Xander said. “She can heal our wounds. We can heal hers. We can’t heal each other.”

  “Quickly,” she said, rising on unsteady feet. “Help me.”