Fire

by Helen Scott

  My eyes were locked onto my guys as I continued to flail about. If the men hauling me away hadn't been so strong or uninterrupted, then I felt like I would have been able to do something, anything to actually get away from them or hurt them. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a man standing there in black and white robes who was flanked on each side by men who stood like bodyguards.

  When I looked back around it took me a moment to locate Finn and Griff in the crowd, but I knew when I did that something must have tipped them off that the men carrying me were almost to their goal. Maybe it was the panic that was surging through my system or maybe they could see where I was heading. Either way, their own faces had changed and before I knew what was happening Finn had surged forward and a tidal wave of water was coming toward us.

  It crashed to the ground before reaching us, but I could tell that he was just warming up. It was all over his body language; the initial wave had been to get people out of the way. I knew my Atlantean warrior would never want to hurt innocents, and though some of those people were getting in his way on purpose, it was hard to know whether all of them were.

  The next wave seemed to be as tall as the palace itself as it rose above us. I had a moment to be terrified before I remembered my dragon friend and my new gills. Even if the water overwhelmed me, that no longer meant certain death. Now I could survive under water for as long as I needed to. As the water fell, I got one look at Finn and Griff through the broken wave and I felt sorry for anyone who was ever their enemy. My lovers were terrifying when they wanted to be, and as scared as I was in that moment none of it was to do with them.

  When the wave reached us, it tossed us into the air as though we were no more than driftwood. The men had to let me go as the water wriggled between their hands and my skin making me slipperier than an eel. I didn't have any choice about where I was going, though, and the current of the water was too strong. I gasped for air before it completely consumed me, and I was left tumbling through the air as though I was going through rapids without a raft. I tried to reach for my armband unsure how to trigger my change, but I couldn't get my hand to come around my body. The pressure from the water was too strong.

  As I surfaced for a brief moment, I was able to grab a few breaths of air, and I heard a yell behind me. It felt as though I'd been plucked from the wave as easily as a leaf from a tree. I cried out as I went into free fall only to land in the tail end of the wave as it washed through the market area. The remaining water wasn't as deep and as I impacted it, I felt my butt scrape against the ground before I bobbed back to the surface. I hit something, I didn't know what, but it hurt. I couldn't even scream again, everything in me was focused on the pain on my back.

  My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. I felt hands on my shoulder but couldn't react. When I was shoved away, I collapsed on the floor and blinked up at the person standing above me. I could barely understand what I was seeing through the pain.

  "You will not survive this battle. Go back to your world and pray that by the time we arrive you are old and gray and ready to go to your grave. We will have your world, and nothing can stop us," the man said, his face barely visible from under his black hood. The white splash across his chest was pink now, and I wondered what had rubbed against him. My mind scattered with random thoughts as my body ached.

  It was only when he raised his hand and wiped the bloody blade on his sleeve that I understood I'd been stabbed, in the back no less. He glanced ahead of me before he turned and ran with his buddies in tow. My hand frantically searched my dress pocket for the lump of the stone and when I found it, I breathed a tiny bit easier. With what was remaining of my energy I shifted my armband until it was loose. My dragon appeared.

  "Look after this for me," I said and held out my hand with the stone in the palm.

  The dragon looked at me with worried eyes before he plucked the rock from my palm and held it in his jaw, flying up and away before anyone else could get near me. I blinked and the next thing I knew Finn and Griff were standing over me. Their faces twisted in anger and outrage.

  "You carry her. I'll clear the way." Finn's voice was one of command.

  I expected Griff to chafe at being ordered around, but he just looked at me with sad eyes. "This is going to hurt, Dove, no way around that I'm afraid."

  My head bobbed in response, and that was about all I was able to do before his hands slid under me and picked me up. A scream tore from my throat as he lifted me. Before I could even process what was happening, my vision faded to black.

  20

  Tessa

  The last thing I remembered was the wave. My head was throbbing, and I felt wet, but I was warm, so I didn't really care. As water lapped at my skin, I felt a structure under me that I didn't understand. When my eyes flickered open, I heard something shift.

  "Tessa?" Kai appeared before me looking haggard.

  "Kai?" I tried to say, although I think the only sound that made it past my lips was the first letter.

  "I'll let everyone know you're awake," he said before he disappeared.

  I blinked and when I opened my eyes again everyone was there talking in hushed tones. Before I could even say anything, I was coughing up a lung. Although, thank goodness that wasn't literally happening.

  "Easy, Siren," Finn said as he stepped into the water with me and helped me sit up.

  "What happened?" I managed after I was done coughing. As I took in my surroundings, I figured out that I was in a healing pool and my stomach dropped at the realization.

  "You survived an assassination attempt," Dres said looking grim. I could sense that there was more to it than that, but I wasn't sure how much I could handle at that moment if I was honest with myself.

  "Where's my dragon?" I managed to get out before another coughing fit consumed me.

  Once I'd quietened down Griff replied. "We don't know. Once you're able to be up and about again we'll go and look for him."

  I nodded, not trusting my voice just yet.

  "Excuse me, it's time for me to reapply the salve," a woman's voice said from behind me.

  "We'll be right outside, just yell if you need us, okay?" Griff reached down and squeezed my hand.

  I nodded again and watched them all file out of the small room while the woman came in. It wasn't Malia, who was pretty much the only person I knew that worked with the healing pools, and my heart sank a little. I had been hoping for a familiar face.

  "Hi, I'm Cherish," the younger woman chirped. She was wearing the same pale blue dress as Malia did, which I assumed was a kind of uniform. It reminded me of the color of the doctor's and nurse's scrubs back home and a wave of homesickness hit me. Before I could get too wrapped up in it she asked, "Could you lean forward for me so I can reapply the healing salve?"

  "Sure," I said softly as I did as she asked. My back was still sore, and I had to fight not to whimper in pain as she rubbed the gooey brown paste into my skin.

  "You're very fortunate. An inch to the left and even we wouldn't have been able to heal you," she said quietly. I absorbed that information and felt sick to my stomach. This really was going to be a battle to get the remaining stones and secure the four worlds to one another. I just hoped I was up to the task. Before I could lose myself in my thoughts she spoke again. "Those boys out there have been watching you like a hawk. You're lucky to have them. They haven't let anyone in here without a thorough interrogation. And the dark-haired one barely left your side at all."

  "The dark-haired one?" I asked since three of them had dark hair and my curiosity was burning.

  "The Earther," she whispered.

  Kai.

  I was surprised that he was the one who hadn't left my side. After all the animosity between us, I had barely even considered us friends. While Dres could come off as detached, it was Kai who came off as outright hostile toward most people. We hadn't been on great speaking terms since the night he kissed me and insulted me.

  "There, all done," she said as she
patted my wound. "If you want, I can help you get out and get dressed. You should be perfectly stable and you're well enough to leave if you wish. This was the last application and is mainly just a precaution."

  "That would be great, thanks," I mumbled as I took her hands and shifted into a standing position. My head buzzed with sensation as though my scalp was tingling and a radio nearby was playing static. It was almost like being light-headed, but more so.

  "Sorry, it's the healing ability," she said as she quickly removed her hands.

  I felt unsteady for a moment but quickly recovered. "Why didn't I sense it before?"

  "The salve was blocking it," she said with a shy smile.

  "Thank you for helping to take care of me. How long was I out?"

  "Just a few days, but you're almost as good as new. I'm afraid we couldn't heal your old scars though."

  "That's okay I'm used to them. It would be strange not to have them at this point." I chuckled as I tried to keep myself from feeling too self-conscious.

  The dress she slipped over my head was barely there. A sheer fabric that had been embroidered with small circles of fabric that shimmered like scales all in teals, greens, and blues. Unfortunately, the scales barely covered my breasts. There was a deep v shape between the scales all the way down to my belly button that was just sheer fabric. I felt more than just exposed, I felt exploited. At least the sandals that she gave me this time were flat.

  "Isn't there anything else?" I asked in a hushed tone.

  "The queen gave orders that you were to attend her as soon as you were well enough. You want to look nice for the queen, don't you?" she said encouragingly.

  "Of course," I placated. With a stiff smile I asked, "Could you send them back in, please?"

  "As you wish," she said with a little bow.

  Griff let out a low whistle as soon as he entered the room, and I watched as Finn's eyes about bugged out of his head. Dres picked at some invisible fluff on his sleeve instead of looking at me, while Kai held my gaze almost as though he was challenging me to break eye contact first.

  "Could we stop by the room on the way to see the queen? I just want to check for Bubba," I asked sweetly. My question hadn't been directed to anyone specifically, but I wasn't about to lose this battle of wills with Kai either.

  "I can escort you while the others inform the queen that you're ready to meet with her," Kai said, offering me his arm.

  If I didn't have any self-control then I would be picking my jaw up off the floor, but I knew he'd be far too pleased to get that kind of reaction out of me, so I clamped my jaw shut until the urge passed, only responding to his statement with a nod. The others all seemed to agree so we set off for our various destinations.

  Kai was a perfect gentleman as he escorted me to our rooms. As soon as we were inside I said, "Just wait here a moment, would you?"

  Before he could respond I shuffled as fast as I could to the room where my belongings were being kept and shut the door. The silence surrounded me, along with the fact that I was on my own for the first time in a while. It was nice. I felt like I could breathe fully and think whatever I wanted without possibly offending someone. For a moment I started to second guess myself, wondering if I was doing the right thing, but after everything that had happened the last few days, I needed something of mine, some kind of normalcy.

  Without wasting another moment, I stripped out of the dress and dug through my bag in search of two specific pieces of clothing. I hadn't worn a bra or panties for a few days, given that I'd been clothed by the temple the last I remembered, and the queen certainly hadn't supplied anything of that sort, not that I could have worn it under that dress. Those were my first picks as I tugged them on. I followed them up with my faux leather leggings and a black top that was part bodice, part sheer lacy thing. The bodice was basically a nice long-line bra and the sheer material just sat over it, but it had a high neckline and a low hem, providing much more coverage even though it was mostly see-through with the exception of the lace pattern that covered the material. It also had long sleeves, which was something I'd been missing since the queen always put me in strapless or frilly off the shoulder, fake sleeve, kinds of dresses.

  I was sick of being her dress up doll, and I wasn't going to put up with it anymore. After I pulled on a pair of wedge-heeled ankle boots I was ready. I gave myself a once over to make sure there was nothing too weird about the outfit. My midriff still showed, so I wasn't being completely disrespectful, but I was a thousand times more comfortable in this than I had been in that dress where I was basically naked. I mean, hell, if the wind had picked up then the circles of fabric could have blown the wrong way and revealed everything.

  Blowing out a deep breath I prepared to battle Kai about my choice as I opened the door. He looked me up and down and smiled. Smiled! God was that man gorgeous when he smiled. Maybe that was why he didn't do it very often. If he did, then people would just be going weak in the knees left, right, and center. When he didn't say anything, I left the room and walked toward him. He simply extended his arm and the two of us set off toward the throne room.

  When we walked in mouths dropped open and the advisers shook their heads looking disgusted with me. Finn appeared concerned whereas Griff and Dres both smiled. I'd played the good little girl for long enough and now it was time for me to show the queen who I really was. I was a fighter. I'd survived an assassination attempt. I had a dragon that lived within me, when I could find him at least, and from what I understood I would have more. Atlantis was safe for now, and I had more stones to retrieve and more parts of a prophecy to fulfill before the four worlds decided to end all at once.

  As she walked in I remained standing behind my chair, showing her every bit of respect possible. Her glance took in everything she needed to see and that was it. There was no outrage, no shock, just one woman respecting another's choices. And really, what more could I ask for? When we all sat down at the table, I expected the advisers to all start criticizing me or protesting my choices to the queen, but for once they were silent. It was only at that point I realized I had no idea what time of day it was. Were we meeting for breakfast or dinner? Did it matter? Not really. I was starved and ready to chow down no matter what meal it was.

  Once the first course was served, I realized it was dinner, and I tucked into the rolls as soon as it was acceptable to do so. By the time the staff had left the room the atmosphere had eased slightly, but the tension was still in the air.

  "I love your blouse, Tessa. It's very becoming on you," the queen said which earned dropped mouths again from her advisers along with splutters of misconduct and outrage.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty," I replied, inclining my head.

  "Firstly, I would like to apologize for the attempt on your life. Clearly our security is lacking, and we have taken steps to shore up our defenses." She paused and sighed as though she was disappointed in her kingdom. "Now, while we eat, why don't we all get caught up on what's been going on. I know you have much to tell me, and I believe Dresden and Kai have quite a bit to share with you as well."

  My head whipped toward Dresden who was sitting next to Kai on the other side of the table a little ways up from me. They looked a little guilty but mostly just tired, and my heart broke for them. I hadn't spent nearly enough time with Dres, and Kai, well, if he wanted to spend time with me that was up to him. All I knew at that moment though, was that I wanted to know what was going on.

  21

  Dresden

  The way everyone turned to look at me felt like I was the villain in a horror movie or something. Tessa's eyes were the worst, though, like I had betrayed her by not telling her as soon as she woke up. I couldn't help but wonder if she realized how close she was to death all the time. Sometimes it was all I could think about. First it was the portal, then the fall, then the assassination attempt. The poor woman needed a break. Although, I couldn't help but admire how she dealt with it all so gracefully and with so much strength. She really was
an amazing individual.

  When she batted her eyelids at me I realized I still hadn't responded. I cleared my throat. "My people are on the brink of civil war, if they haven't fallen into it already. Vayne Driscoll, a highly respected member of the elite, is gathering forces for an all-out attack against our leadership."

  "Can we help?" Tessa asked, and the sincerity behind her words warmed my heart. I wanted to fall into the depths of her mismatched eyes and never surface again.

  The brief moment of relaxation let my abilities out to play, and before I had even blinked I knew that Griff and Finn had both slept with Tessa, that she was Griff's mate in the truest sense of the word, and that Kai was doing his best to resist her, but failing. The queen and her advisers were beyond stressed. In fact, the queen had purposefully called attention to me so that it would be off her and she could silently freak out. One of her advisers was thinking about how he was in love with her, and the others were both holding hands under the table. They weren't ashamed of their sexuality, just that they weren't ready to disclose their relationship yet.

  With a bit of effort, I reined myself in and shut the mental door to my abilities. Since we'd been on the origin world and then come straight to Atlantis, I felt like I hadn't had time to breathe between my abilities being somewhat usable to completely unusable. The last few days whenever they had the opportunity to break out of my mental cage they did, and it was getting harder and harder to keep them in check.

  Maybe the stress of knowing my world was falling into chaos wasn't helping, or maybe it was because I felt the bonds of our brotherhood shifting to encompass Tessa, but all I wanted was a chance to let go, to be completely free with my abilities and not have to keep them in check for once.