by Ashley Meira
“There’s a giant room right in front of us.”
“Fine. We get rid of them, then I kill you.”
“Sounds like a plan. Try to leave one alive for questioning. I don’t care about the rest. On three.”
I nodded and braced myself. When the countdown hit three, we rushed out. I kept my sword sheathed, preparing to dodge the blitz of magic sure to be thrown my way.
But no one was looking at me.
The scent of pine hit my nose before Adam’s magic exploded in full force, knocking me back. My Fire screeched, the sound physically deafening. It whipped around like a trapped bird, its hunger all-consuming. There was a blinding flash of light to my left. I was worried something had happened to Adam to make his magic flare like that.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
An enormous phoenix was on the other side of the room made entirely of magic fire. Its head was birdlike, but its beak looked more like a spear. It was twice the size of an elephant, and its wingspan engulfed almost half its side of the room. It was both terrifying and beautiful.
Okay, that was way cooler than a dragon.
Adam screeched and flapped his wings. The sweltering breeze knocked a few mages off their feet. They were all drenched in sweat, and I could see the piles of gold behind him begin to melt. Thank goodness I was fireproof.
But I was also Fireborn. And seeing a giant creature composed entirely of magic filled my mouth with enough drool to hydrate an entire city. My Fire screeched again, writhing in rhythm with the phoenix’s beating wings.
I staggered to my feet. With my Fire content to play around, the hunger was tolerable. Barely, but it would have to do. The other mages were still distracted, so I decided to take advantage. My fist connected with the first mage’s face, and he dropped like a stone.
Two more of them had to get knocked out before the others realized what I was up to. I pulled my sword out. Hey, they were trying to kill me. Self-defense. I beheaded two women before a bolt of lightning came at me. I backflipped away and threw my sword. It slammed into the lightning mage’s chest. I curled my finger, and the sword reappeared in my hand.
A hail of sharp rocks flew toward me. I rolled forward, flinging my sword in the earth mage’s direction before kicking another mage. His ribs cracked under my heel, and he flew across the room. I summoned my sword back and ran for him.
A jet of water crashed into my back. The impact would have cracked my spine if I hadn’t absorbed it. Instead, the magic boost made me run faster. I was able to lop the kicked mage’s head off and hurl my sword at the water mage twice as fast.
A man in the far corner caught my eye as I took a quick breather. Despite all the commotion, he was still frantically digging through the unmelted piles of gold. What the hell was he looking for?
A fireball flew at me. I ducked, but the tail clipped my arm. Before I could attack, a burst of fire hit the mage, leaving behind a pile of steaming ash.
Guess I was his backup.
We’d taken out most of the mages, but the survivors had all turned to me. Guess they figured they had a better chance against a girl than the giant flaming bird.
An elemental menagerie swarmed me. Lightning, fire, and ice mixing together like a comet on my tail. I ran toward the entrance, spells nipping at my heels. The magic I was absorbing came in small amounts, but I’d been hit enough to start getting dizzy. The wall was approaching, and I doubled my efforts. My foot hit stone as I ran up the side of the wall, kicking off it into a backflip and throwing my sword. It whipped through the air like a fan blade, slicing clean through three mages.
I summoned it back, double checking for any chips or cuts. The metal was enchanted to withstand anything, but I couldn’t help myself. It was my baby.
My side of the field cleared, I ran to the mage still playing treasure hunter. He was after something important. I wanted to find out what. I was halfway there when something wrapped itself around my ankle. My chin slammed into the ground. I kicked at the mage who grabbed me. Guess I hadn’t punched him hard enough.
“Hey, snap out of it!” he screamed to his friends. They were laid out next to him, but his screams were waking them up.
Alive didn’t mean “in possession of both hands,” so I swiped at his wrist. He pulled back just in time. A bright flash blinded me, followed by what would have been a searing heat to a normal person. When the rainbow dots finally cleared, I was surrounded by piles of ash.
“Now you’re just showing off!” I could barely hear my own words over my Fire’s screaming. Adam wouldn’t have attacked if he thought I’d get hit. But being so close to the flames, to absorbing Adam’s magic — something my Fire wanted more than I wanted air — had whipped it into a frenzy.
My limbs were trembling with adrenaline, but I pushed myself up and resumed the hunt. The mage stood up and jammed something into his pocket before running toward the entrance. The three remaining mages had decided to team up and spray Adam with thick pillars of water.
Hoping he was waterproof, I charged after the runner. I threw my sword. He swerved to the right and shot a fireball at me. I slid under it. With his lead, he’d have gotten away. But I was bolstered by all the magic I’d been hit with. I caught him by the pocket and pulled him to me.
He shoved his hand in my face, fingers barely missing my eyes. His magic flared, and before I could kick him away, he shot a fireball at my face.
The magic felt great. My teeth digging into my tongue, and the crack of my temple against hard stone, did not. Whistling was hard with all the blood in my mouth, but I managed to get the sound out while holding up the item I’d taken from his pocket. It was a rock. What it did, I had no idea. But it made him run back to me.
He ran three steps before a burst of white zoomed toward him. It shoved him back against the wall, and he dangled there with an ice spear shoved through his face.
I looked over my shoulder at Adam. He was human again, broad chest heaving as he looked at me.
“Thanks,” I breathed, standing up. Looking around the room revealed a distinct lack of living people. So much for questioning the survivors.
When he didn’t reply, I turned back to him. His face was unreadable, but his magic was swirling around in a confused haze.
Confused was bad.
“Adam?” I kept my tone sweet as I slowly approached him. “Are you okay?”
He held a hand up to stop me. I took a step back, unable to mask the hurt on my face. The hard lines of his face softened, and he reached for me. This time I stepped back of my own accord. His magic was loose. One touch, and I was screwed. Or more screwed. I didn’t know yet.
Adam took a deep breath and sucked his magic back in. If my Fire wasn’t still hopping around on a magic high, I would have barely felt it. Since his magic was contained, I didn’t move when he reached for me again.
His hands engulfed my shoulders as he looked me over. I was covered in dust and there were a few tears in my jeans. My tank top was more of a corset now. Ice Man’s fireball had taken off both straps but left me otherwise dressed. The lace straps of my bra were burnt too. It was cute, but not limited edition, so I’d live. Maybe.
It depended on what Adam did next.
One large hand gently slid down to my collarbone, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. With the magic and adrenaline running through my veins, his delicate touch was making me want to do all sorts of reckless things.
“Adam?” I breathed.
He shook his head, frowning. His other hand cupped my cheek, and he turned my face side to side. His grip tightened.
“Adam—”
His tone was hard. “What are you?”
Chapter Ten
“What are you talking about?” Keep calm. Keep calm. Deflect. Gaslight. “Did you hit your head?”
“No, you did.” His frowned deepened. “A fireball blew up in your face.”
Fear squeezed my lungs. “No, it didn’t.”
“Sophia, I saw him—”
I placed my han
ds over his. “Calm down.”
“Calm?” He backed away but didn’t let go. “I thought he killed you!”
“He didn’t. He didn’t even hit me that hard. I kicked myself away in time.” I gestured to my chest. “See? The damage is mostly cosmetic. Hell, the fall hurt more than the flames.”
“Bullshit. He hit you in the face. Point blank.”
“Obviously, he didn’t, or I’d be dead.”
“I thought you were! I felt his magic flare, and you two were in a grapple. Then—” His hands slid down my bare arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. He stopped at my wrists, encircling them. “Your magic spiked. Sometimes it does that when people die, and…. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“No. I bit my tongue and hit my head. Not to mention what those other mages did to me. I am very, very hurt.”
Angling for pity made me feel gross, but hamming it up might keep Adam from overthinking things. Yeah, that was the only reason I enjoyed his concern. Because it distracted him. The butterflies in my stomach were from fear. Totally.
“I see….” He smiled softly at my overacting. The butterflies kicked it into high gear. “Can you try picking up the Heart’s trail? I need to make a call.”
“W—” My heart leapt into my throat. He knew. He was going to call the Council. “Who are you calling?”
“My people. They’ll clean this place and put the enchantments back up. Thomas is going to get an earful when this is over.”
“Will you wag your finger at him disapprovingly?”
He gave me a thin smile. “I’ll consider it. If you’re good.”
“Good? I’m great. I’d direct you to my handiwork, but you burned them all.”
He chuckled before nodding toward the ritual table and pulling out his phone. With a salute, I marched to the back of the room. That familiar, hazelnut magic hit me before I reached the table. It was stronger this time, but I still couldn’t recognize who it belonged to. The ache in my chest whenever I felt it meant I’d known the person. Quite well.
So why couldn’t I remember them?
I gripped the edge of the table. I hadn’t absorbed this much magic in a while. It was hitting me hard. My hands were shaking, and my legs were restless. I couldn’t stop tapping my foot.
Still jittery, I slapped my cheeks a few times. The best way to drain a magic high was to use magic. That’s what fueled crazed Fireborns. Absorb, get high, expend, lose high, refuel. We were kind of assholes. But so were a lot of people, and the Council wasn’t throwing them in prison.
But using magic was out of the question. The last time had been a disaster.
My fingers grazed the empty spot in the middle of the ritual table. The offerings upon it consisted of dust-drenched bones and moldy voodoo dolls. Not things I wanted to be around for long. Fortunately, I picked up the trail immediately.
The Pyrenees.
Adam was still on the phone, his broad shoulders tense. I took the opportunity to check what I’d taken off that mage. What I thought was a rock turned out to be a broken stone tablet no larger than my palm. There were ancient symbols carved on it, but I couldn’t read them. Not hieroglyphics. I knew what those looked like. The tablet wouldn’t be any help in this condition.
Maybe there were other pieces here? I traced the symbols with my finger, trying to track any magic left on it. If it’d been broken recently, I might be able to find something. The magic was wispy and barely there. People left magical residue on everything they handled, but trying to track a piece of an item….
Maybe it was the magic boost, but I was able to grasp the tail end of what was left on the fragment. North…and west—
The Pyrenees.
“What the fuck?”
Adam approached me. “Got something?”
A million questions, a possible link to my past, and a migraine. Possibly a desire to have Adam’s hands on me again. “The Pyrenees. This too. I tried to trace the remaining pieces.”
He took the tablet and turned it over. If it looked small in my hands, it was tiny in his. “They came back for this? Couldn’t they infer from the rest of the tablet?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you know anyone who can translate?”
“Damien will. I’ll send it to him.” He reached up and rubbed some blood off my shoulder. “You’re a fan of lace, I take it?”
My fingers twitched, eager to touch him. My Fire crackled in agreement. Too bad my brain knew better. Most of it, at least. “You aren’t?”
He licked his lips and tugged on the singed strap hanging limply on my collarbone. “I definitely am.”
“Does this count as breaking the Guild contract?” I hoped not.
“Never did like rules,” he mumbled. “I called my pilot. The helicopter should be here soon. Let’s hurry back to the plane. I want to get to France as soon as possible.”
I was curled up in my seat while Adam spoke with the pilot. They were discussing our trip to the Pyrenees, but I heard them mention Nice and Bordeaux — two cities nowhere near the mountain.
We’d been on the plane long enough for my magic high to have worn off, which left my mind free to worry about everything going on. The evil man who branded me wanted the Heart, but to do what? Damien didn’t know what it did, so how did he?
And how was I going to handle Adam? What if the man was there when we reached the Heart? What if he outed me as Fireborn? Adam was still suspicious of me, that much I knew. He’d let what happened in the temple go way too easily. No matter how he played it off, he wasn’t about to give up on figuring out my secret.
“Hungry?” A sandwich appeared before my eyes. I followed a muscular arm up to Adam’s handsome face. “We’re out of muffins.”
“Thanks.”
He gave me a tired smile and sunk into the seat across from me with his own sandwich. “My people just reached the temple.”
I didn’t envy them. We’d left a hell of a mess. At least most of the bodies were ash now. I sighed. We’d killed them all, and I hadn’t batted an eye. I never did. Fighting someone, killing them, had never bothered me.
What bothered me was that it didn’t bother me. I tried to remind myself that it was self-defense. I was killing people who would have hurt me or other innocent people. But it still made me feel like a monster.
“Hope they brought brooms,” I said.
“Me too.” He chuckled before taking a bite of his sandwich. “We should land in about three hours. Do you know how high up the Heart is?”
“Pretty high. Please don’t tell me you’re going to have the pilot land at the top.”
He grinned. “If I could, I would. He says there’s a storm around the mountain right now. It’s too dangerous to approach by air, and if the Heart is that high up, climbing is out of the question.”
“Can’t the big bad phoenix just fly up?”
“He can, but how would you get up there?”
“You got a saddle?”
He raised a brow. “You want to ride me?”
Yes. “No,” I asserted, slapping down my Fire. It wanted nothing but to get me in trouble. Fun trouble. “Wait. Would you wear a saddle to bed?”
“Not to sleep in,” he said, continuing before I could comment. “We’ll rest in Bordeaux and fly over to a town near the mountain when the sky clears. Then, we’ll take a helicopter as high as possible. Can you direct us from there?”
“Yeah.” Waiting wasn’t my strong suit, but being weatherproof didn’t mean I was going mountain climbing in a storm. “Why there? Or Nice. I heard you mention both to the pilot.”
“Bordeaux is a little closer,” he said. “I have homes in both cities.”
He had multiple private planes and fancy homes. And I was sitting across from him. How had my life come to this? “Do you really need two homes in the same country?”
“Real estate is always great. Though the estate in Bordeaux isn’t technically mine.” He paused and looked away with a frown. “It’s my family home. I grew up there
.”
“Why buy a home in Nice then?”
“I wanted my own place, but my mother didn’t want me too far. Plus, I like the sun.”
I smiled at the thought of a giant phoenix preening in the sun. And cowering before his mother.
“Imagining me dead?” he asked.
My brows furrowed. “Why?”
“You’re smiling. It’s very pretty, by the way,” he said. “You should do it more often.”
“Thanks.” I leaned on one hand to cover my blush. “And I wasn’t imagining you dead. I don’t hate you that much.”
“So, you hate me a little?”
I should. He belonged to a group of people who wanted to throw me down a dark hole just for being born. Not only should I hate him, I should be terrified of him. But…. “I don’t hate you.”
His expression turned serious, and he leaned forward. “You just don’t trust me. Why? Afraid I’ll tell people about your magic?”
“I’m don’t—”
“Stop. It’s getting insulting.” He sighed. “I won’t tell anyone. Neither will Damien.”
Sincerity gleamed in his storm gray eyes, but believing him felt like betraying myself. I placed my sandwich down. Suddenly, I wasn’t hungry anymore.
“You’re unique. I’ve never felt anyone with magic like yours.”
“Travel more,” I said, but there was no fight in my voice.
“Don’t need to. I’ve met you,” he said in husky voice, “and I don’t intend to let go.”
The look in his eyes was worthy of a dangerous predator. I liked it. I liked that someone wanted me.
“That’s a little scary.”
His shoulders sagged at my words, and he pulled back. “I don’t want to scare you. I want to help you.”
Crap. I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. I grabbed some bread and threw it at him. “Among other things.”
He caught it with a smirk. “Of course. But first, the help thing. You have a lot of untapped magical potential, and I—”
“Pass.”
“You could—”
“Pass.”
“Are you always this stubborn?”