Fire

by Helen Scott

  When he began to move, I wanted to be able to keep up, but instead I was just overwhelmed. His rhythm was fast right out of the gate, and it only increased in speed. Finally, he seemed to slow, and I worried that this would all be over too quickly and that the promise of making me scream his name was going to remain unfulfilled. I shouldn't have even thought about it though. As soon as I did, he pulled me up off the ground and flipped me over, sliding into me once more. Except this time, he felt twice as big and I was left breathless as he took me from behind.

  His name tumbled from my mouth in a murmur repeatedly; each time it sounded more like a prayer than I had intended. His hands wrapped around my upper arms, and he pulled me up so that my back rested against his front. This new position had him moving slower. The frantic pace that he'd started with wasn't possible like this, or at least not without it causing both of us some injury. He slid one arm between my upper arms and my back so it held me locked in place but left his other hand free.

  "I didn't say mumble my name, did I?" Griff asked, punctuating his question with a forceful thrust.

  A giggle escaped me; I couldn't help it.

  "Oh, I make you laugh now, huh?" He growled the question next to my ear before nipping at the lobe.

  Griff's free hand traveled down my body and slipped between my still parted legs and began to swirl the pad of his middle finger against my clit, making me buck against him as he thrust into me at the same time. The sensations were overwhelming, and I couldn't help but scream as another orgasm took me by force.

  I wasn't alone in this one though. I knew Griff would be joining me soon because even as my own orgasm made my pussy clench around him, his speed increased to the rapid pace that it had been before, even though I had thought that impossible in our current position. There was little more I could do other than enjoy the ride as he pushed himself over the edge and joined me in the wave of orgasmic bliss. As he pumped into me one last time, I felt his cock twitch and pulse with his release while he roared and curled his body around mine.

  Something sharp scraped my shoulder, and the sting of it stole the last waves of my orgasmic haze from me. My breath hissed in through my teeth and I yelped.

  "Shit!" Griff cursed from behind me.

  The two of us fell apart faster than I had hoped or was comfortable with, especially since he said he didn't want a casual fuck, but whatever had just happened had hurt. My hand went to my shoulder and when I pulled it away again, I saw blood staining the skin on my fingertips. I reached back again and carefully felt the scratches this time. There were two marks now decorating my shoulder and when I turned to face Griff, whatever words I'd been about to say died on my lips.

  "What the..."

  "It's not what you think," he said, his speech slightly altered from the fangs that were now protruding over his lips. "Okay, maybe it is what you think, but I promise that this doesn't usually happen. I'm so sorry," he rambled.

  "You'd better get to explaining, like, right now," I said with my best intimidating expression and tone. I knew it didn't scare him, but I had to try.

  "I swear, Dove, this is only supposed to happen when we find our mate in El Dorado. I've never heard of it happening when any of us were out on a mission."

  “What, exactly, is happening?" I asked as I pushed to my feet and went over to my clothes, pulling each piece on with haste. I knew somehow that this wasn't a conversation I wanted to have naked.

  "We're demons, remember? Each of us has something that caused myths to spring to life on the origin world. The myth that is generated from my people is that of the vampire. We aren't ravenous madmen though, or mad women for that matter, but when we find our person, our mate, we tend to bite during sex and drink each other's blood. It was how we survived living in a world without water. Our bodies adapted to use blood as hydration instead. I should have told you, I know, but I didn't think... I didn't think you were my mate," he ended quietly.

  "Vampires?" I whispered after a few moments of trying to wrap my head around the idea.

  Griff nodded as he pulled on his own clothing and sat in front of me.

  "Please tell me you don't sparkle?" I joked, trying to ease the tension that was sitting between us like a block of cement.

  "If I was fae, maybe, but no. My species definitely doesn't sparkle."

  "Well, at least that's something." We both fell quiet before I added, "Mate, like soul mate?"

  "Yep," he replied with a long exhale.

  "You don't sound particularly excited about that."

  "No, it's not that. I just wasn't expecting it. You know, I mean... it's complicated."

  "That's one way to put it," I said, unamused and a little hurt by his response. We were both quiet for a while and before things could deteriorate any further, I said, "I'm going up to the temple."

  "It was safe when I checked, but that was a little while ago now." Griff shrugged, and the unease that grew between us seemed to end all the flirting and teasing that I had come to expect from him and leave us both somewhere a lot more somber. I pushed back through the trees and headed up the path. In some ways, I hoped that we could leave everything that happened behind. The uncomfortable vibe between the two of us didn't want to let go though, and I had a feeling that it was going to take a lot more than a change of scenery to make things better between the two of us.

  7

  Tessa

  My breath caught as I made my way over the rise of the hill to the entrance of the old temple. I had forgotten, even in the short amount of time I'd been in Atlantis, just how beautiful everything was when I looked at it like this. From far away I didn't see the strange looks that the Atlantean people gave me, or the demands of the queen and her advisers, or even the pressures being placed on me by the murals and the prophecy. All I saw was the natural beauty of the world, the brightly colored birds, the crystalline blue seas, and the rich, verdant foliage. That wasn't even getting into the smells. If I could package Atlantis up in a bottle, it would smell like the ocean and the jungle and fruit all at once. The aroma was intoxicating to a degree that I wasn't sure I was comfortable with.

  The sea spread out before me as I stood at the entrance to the temple, and for just a moment it felt like the whole world was looking back. Then the sound of Griff's footfalls reached me and the moment passed. With a sigh, I turned and faced the temple and the oncoming argument I knew was inevitable with the queen's advisers. My heart tapped a staccato rhythm in my chest as Griff stood next to me. I didn't want to be afraid of him, and I wasn't, but I wasn't comfortable either, and that made my heart ache with the longing for what could have been.

  What I had hoped would come to pass between Griff and myself wasn't worth dwelling on. Instead what was deserving of my attention at that moment was the temple and the statues that lay therein. I strode forward, happy to hear the sound of water falling as I entered the space. The same sense of hushed reverence fell over me as before like I was standing in a church, which I supposed in a way I was, as I took in the large blue crystals and benches. The dappled light that was streaming in from the opening was enough to see that nothing had changed from the last time I had been there a few months ago.

  "That's new," Griff said as he passed me.

  "What is?"

  "The fountains weren't flowing when I was here before..."

  Before we'd had sex. Before I'd found out he was part, or maybe all, vampire. Before our friendship had gone to hell. Before our relationship had imploded without even having a chance to get started. Instead of saying any of that though, all I said was, "They weren’t?"

  Griffin shook his head. "Everything was as dry as El Dorado."

  "Oh," I replied, weakly.

  Griff turned to face me, his eyes a wash of unspoken emotions as they looked into mine. Before he said whatever was on his mind though, they darted to something behind me. I turned and found Finn, the queen, and her advisers entering the temple.

  I smiled tightly at Finn, and even though I was doin
g my best to project that there was nothing wrong in front of strangers, Finn had already sensed otherwise. His gaze whipped between Griff and me as though he could read exactly what had gone down without either of us saying a word.

  "Finn, I--"

  "The water is flowing just like she said," the queen exclaimed before I could say anything to Finn.

  "So it is," replied Mr. Grumpy-beard. His hand moved absentmindedly to his facial hair and smoothed it down.

  "We have no proof that she is the cause," the strong and silent one muttered as they all moved to stand over by the statues as though inspecting them for evidence of tampering.

  "Actually, we do." Griff stepped up, and I was surprised that he was willing to insert himself into Atlantean politics. "When we got here, I had Tessa wait at the bottom of the path while I scouted ahead, just to be safe. There was no water running, and then when I returned with her later, the water was running once more."

  "Still doesn't mean she's responsible," one of the advisers grunted, but I couldn't tell which one.

  "That's easy enough to test," Finn said before turning to me. "Can you go back down the path to where you were before?"

  "Sure." I shrugged and headed out of the temple. I was willing to go almost anywhere to get away from the awkward environment that was happening in there. I traipsed down through the trees and listened to the birds calling to one another as though they were passing messages to each other of my wanderings. When I reached the end of the slope I stopped and sat on the ground. I wasn't going to risk going off this time.

  By the time Finn found me a little while later I was bored out of my mind and throwing rocks, leaves, seeds, anything within reach really, at a nearby tree stump. His dark skin seemed to glisten under the sunlight and the birds that heralded his arrival appeared just as taken with him as I was. I honestly wasn't sure what my problem was, why I had to have both of them, but there was something in me that was pushing back against societal norms of a one to one relationship. I wanted more. I wanted Finn, and I had wanted Griff as well, at least until the shit hit the fan.

  "Kai and Dresden should be meeting us here," Finn said without so much as a 'hello' or 'how are you.'

  "Okay." I paused, debating whether what I was about to say was a good idea, and decided to jump in anyway. "Are you upset?"

  "Upset? No. Why would I be? Oh, wait, I know, because you fucked Griffin and didn't give a shit how I would feel about it? Or would it be because you've been actively avoiding me ever since we had sex?"

  I blew out a breath. "I'm an asshole. I'm sorry."

  "See, that's the problem, I don't think you are."

  I pushed to my feet so we were staring at each other, my anger and frustration rising with me. "What do you want me to say, Finn? It's the truth. There's a reason I don't do relationships. My own mother tried to burn me alive to get the devil out. That kind of thing leaves a mark, you know? It's partially why I avoid touchy-feely stuff like the plague. You think I wanted to be freaked out by how much I care about you? Or that Griff now thinks we're mates? Or that he tried to drink my blood without me even knowing that he's a fucking vampire? Or, I don't know, maybe I'm freaked out by the fact that every life in all five worlds depends on me figuring out some cryptic murals and a fucking prophecy that makes no sense. Do I have--"

  "We're not interrupting, are we?" Dresden's voice cut mine off like a record suddenly going silent. I stared at Finn, who had gone freakishly still during my rant, and couldn't tell what he was thinking. His easy-going smile hadn't made an appearance in a long time, and I couldn't help feeling responsible for that, but the weight of everything else far outdid my feelings of guilt over Finn.

  I didn't turn or move, just mentally berated myself for letting my temper get away from me. Part of me wanted to beg Dresden to take me back home and make me forget that I experienced any of this.

  "Hey there, Ladybird. I would ask how it's going, but from the shouting, I'm going to guess not well."

  "Aren't we here to look at some fountains or some shit?" Kai asked as he walked past the three of us.

  "Good to see you, too, Kai," I called. My anger was firing through me like a jet fighter taking off.

  He raised a hand with a lone finger sticking up as he kept walking. Flipping me the bird made me want to smack some sense into him even more. Didn't he know I was a fearsome warrior now? Not that he and Dres had been around much these last couple months. Something about playing politics with their own homelands to keep all-out war from breaking out between the four worlds. Whatever it was, I hoped they were done with it because we needed the balance of all four of the guys plus me to keep us all from going crazy and imploding. Although, maybe I was bound to do that anyway.

  What I had said to Finn wasn't a lie. I didn't do emotional stuff, didn't handle it well. I wasn't exactly raised in a warm and loving home, so it's no surprise that I struggled with those types of emotions now. It was why I kept to my art and focused on school and my future career. Boys and friends had only proved to be distractions and be too needy for things that I couldn't provide. Now, faced with an entirely new set of people, or demons I guess, I was doing the same thing I always did. Alienate myself from the people who wanted to care about me by being a grade-A jerk to them. It made it easier when they left in the long run. It was just that usually, I didn't feel so guilty.

  "Come on, Siren, let's go," Finn said. Evidently, the frosty feelings between us had thawed with the arrival of Dres and Kai. I was surprised, but I wasn't about to complain. I needed to get a hold of myself and not let my vagina dictate what I was doing with these guys. I didn't need to get laid that badly, and there was more at stake than my stone-cold heart warming up.

  I followed all of them up the hill and into the temple. The blue crystals hovering on each side seemed to be bigger, or maybe it was that the light was reflecting in them differently. I wasn't sure what it was, and I didn't have time to think about it anymore than that because Finn strode toward Griff and pushed him back until the other man fell back into a sitting position on one of the benches. "Hands off Tessa, got it?" Finn growled.

  "Everything was consensual, I don't know what you’re freaking out about." Griff pushed back as he sprang to his feet.

  "Biting her? Feeding from her? That was consensual?" Finn had clearly forgotten that the queen and her advisers were in the back by the statues, otherwise, I knew he wouldn't be acting this way.

  Griff looked guilty as sin at Finn's words, which had the tension in the room dialing up to eleven. Without another word, Finn's fist flew. The man moved with a swift grace that only dancers had, but then so did Griff. The two of them traded a few blows, enough to split each other's lips, when I decided enough was enough.

  "Hey! Quit it!" I yelled, storming into the fight.

  I was so confident that neither of them would intentionally harm me that I didn't think my actions through. I didn't know whose fist it was that hit me, but I knew I hadn't been the target. It didn't make it hurt any less though. Since I wasn't prepared for a fight my balance was off and I had overextended myself, causing me to fall backward onto my ass when the hit landed on me. Kai was the first one to reach my side since he'd been standing right next to where I landed. After I spit some blood out onto the floor, he helped me up.

  Fury flashed across his eyes and chaos quickly broke out. The four of them were fighting now. Dres was trying to stop Kai, while me getting knocked on my ass barely seemed to slow Finn and Griff down. All of us were bleeding by that point, and although I wanted them to stop I wasn't about to step between them again, not when they were powered with supernatural strength and I wasn't.

  Just as the queen approached the ground started to shake. The whole temple seemed to vibrate as all sets of eyes, except my own, turned to Kai. "What? I'm not doing anything!" He turned and spit some blood out onto the stone once more and a second later the vibrations doubled in strength. The floor cracked open around me, a deep chasm opening up between me and everything
else, including all four of the guys and both exits.

  The rate at which it was expanding was terrifying. As I looked at them the queen was being hustled out of the temple by her advisers. I could feel the panic raging in me, and my gaze flew from one to the other of them. Kai was closest again. He stared at me, hands outstretched, and yelled, "Jump!"

  8

  Finn

  When the ground opened up and separated us from Tessa I thought I'd been scared, but when Kai told her to jump my heart seemed to want to climb out of my chest through my throat. I wanted to yell and tell her to stop, but no words would come. I was stuck watching as she backed up a pace and then launched herself trying to cross the gap that was more than I would be comfortable jumping. She began to lose height too soon. I could only watch in horror as she smacked against the rocky side of the divide and slipped, her fingers scrabbling for purchase as they went over the edge.

  "Tessa!" Kai yelled as he dove for her. When his body slammed against the ground it seemed to startle the rest of us into movement. We each rushed forward, trying to help just in time to see her fingers slip from Kai's grasp.

  The look of terror on Tessa's face was one that I would never forget. Maybe that's what made me jump after her into the darkness, or perhaps the ground gave way where I was standing; I wasn't sure what happened. All I knew was that one second I was watching her disappear and the next I was falling after her.

  Wind whistled past my ears as I picked up speed. Shouts sounded above me, but that wasn't what I was paying attention to. My ears were straining for any sounds coming from below me. It was only the smack and splash of water echoing up from the blackness that let me know death didn't await me. While I could have called the water below upward to prevent me from injuring myself, I didn't know what was in the water or what lay above it. In trying to save myself I could accidentally kill Tessa or one of the ancient beings that lived in the ocean that surrounded Atlantis. There was so much about the world that we still didn't know, even after centuries of exploring as much as we could, and that was only part of the reason we were discouraged from using our abilities with water or environments that we couldn't see.