Born of Embers

by Harper Wylde

  Nix

  Stupid hormones. I was normally the furthest from reckless that a girl could be. I attracted enough trouble without going out of my way to encourage more. Yet, here I was with four guys I had just met, on my way to their home to meet a fifth and allow them to explain the whole supernatural world to me. I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with the idea of pretending to send their identifying information to someone else. Not that I could have. I simply sent it to my e-mail. Who else would I send it to? Michael? There was a joke. I’d only been here two days. I had absolutely no contact numbers in my phone. Luckily, they had no way of knowing that.

  I had slid all the way across the seats, pressing my body against the far window. I was incredibly grateful that Ryder had climbed in the back and Theo had kept to the far seat on the bench. I didn’t know how I would have handled being pressed up against them if they had insisted on filling the middle seat of the Hummer. “So you guys don’t live on campus?” Ugh, stupid. I just needed a way to break up the uncomfortable silence that filled the vehicle. The air almost felt like it was sparking with all of us in quarters this tight.

  Hiro, being what I had already realized was his usual, sweet self, kindly answered my dumb question. “Well, you know I live in the dorms as an RA. The others prefer their privacy and live in a house off campus. We don’t like being separated much, so I’m frequently at the house as well. We’re brothers.”

  “You guys are brothers?” The words fell out of my mouth in shock as I glanced around the car. There’s no way they were actual brothers, right? I mean, they were all god-like in body structure, but that was about it.

  Theo chuckled, reaching out as if to push my hair back before moving his hand to his seatbelt strap. “No, we’re not actually related. We just consider each other family. We feel like brothers, so that’s what we call ourselves. I have their backs and I know they have mine, no matter what.” He shrugged as I gaped at him. The ease at which he made that declaration shocked me. Not only was it extremely open but his simple acceptance of them as a true family just amazed me and, if I was honest, made me jealous. Having that kind of connection with someone was something I had never experienced in my eighteen years. I had casual acquaintances, but that was the best I had ever hoped for. Hell, my own father had despised me so much that he had enjoyed repeatedly killing me. I wanted what they had with a fierceness I’d never felt before.

  Suddenly, I realized I had been staring into his insanely gorgeous blue eyes while my mind had run away with me again, and I quickly dropped my gaze to my hands. I considered everything I had just heard and could feel myself getting emotional so I decided to change the subject. “So, Hiro’s a kitsune. Rini and Barrett are bears. Ryder back there is a unicorn.”

  “I’m a fucking Cerapter! Seriously, it’s not that hard!” Ryder whined from behind me.

  I grinned, keeping my head forward. “Sure thing, Twilight Sparkle,” I sassed before turning to talk to Mr. Gorgeous Blue-eyes sitting next to me. I may not be comfortable sitting close to him but he hadn’t escaped my notice. Why were all of these guys so hot? “Theo, what are you, Killian, and the other guy?”

  After shooting a warning look over my shoulder at Ryder, who I imagined had been about to retaliate to my name-calling, Theo turned and smiled at me. “Well, I’m a Kraken.”

  My jaw dropped. “You’re a Kraken? Are you serious?”

  Theo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well, yeah. It’s not that great, though. I can’t really shift while I’m on land so I’m fairly useless in battles that don’t take place near water. I handle most of our logistics and tech instead.” Hmm, he seemed a little sensitive about that. “Damien, the guy you haven’t met yet, he’s a Gargoyle.”

  Holy shit! I had so many questions, I didn’t even know where to start. “Like, he’s made of stone?”

  Theo shrugged. “Pretty much. He’s mobile, though. He can fly. But his skin is basically impenetrable, hence, the lore about gargoyles being made of rock.”

  Wow. This was crazy.

  “You’re all mythologicals? I thought that was rare. Wait, what’s Killian?” I made a face toward Killian’s back when he hissed at Theo in the rearview mirror. “What, are you a pony, too? Oh, I know, are you a fairy?”

  A bright red blush spread over Killian’s face and I gawked. “No shit. You’re a fairy?” I looked him up and down—his build was large, hard, and solid. He didn’t look anything like a fairy.

  “I’m a Puca, not a fairy,” Killian spit out with a growl.

  Puca. Okay, didn’t know that word. I swiped a finger across my phone and pulled up images of tiny fairies, ghosts, a weird anime character, and—a rabbit? Wait, what? “Ok, so what exactly is a Puca? Google is not exactly being the most reliable source.”

  Hiro chuckled from the front, turning to face me as he slid his glasses further up his nose. I felt a tug low in my stomach as he did. Okay, those glasses were really hot on him. “Yeah, Google’s not going to be that much help to you. Some information you’ll find is correct, other information has been polluted through the eras. Killian’s Puca has a lot of what would be termed ‘psychic powers’. He has visions and the like. He can shapeshift in a limited range, though he does have a preferred form.”

  “Hiro.” Killian snapped the name like a whip but Hiro simply arched an eyebrow unsympathetically at him.

  “Kill, she deserves to know about our world. You don’t have anything to be ashamed of. Your alter is incredibly strong. His illusion powers are some of the strongest that have been seen in centuries.” Hiro’s voice was soft but held steel in it. He was not going to give in to Killian, despite the man looking like he could crush him.

  “You can make illusions?” That was, well, actually pretty awesome. Suddenly I realized, “Hey, the bears! That was you, wasn’t it?” I glared at him. “I knew it was just a trick for gullible tourists, you asshole.”

  “Well, technically it was my Puca,” Killian muttered, sulking in the driver’s seat. “He felt disrespected and managed to slip some power past me. It wasn’t purposeful and I didn’t do it to try and scare you.”

  I snorted. “Seriously? So you’re going with ‘my alter ego made me?’ I guess I can’t judge or pretend to know what that’s like since I’ve never shifted before, but that sounds like a ridiculous response.” Ryder cracked up behind me and Theo just shook his head. I smiled and addressed Killian again, “Now you really need to tell me what your other form is.” I heard Killian grumbling unhappily in the front seat but continued to prod him. “Dude, you totally owe me and I’m cashing that in now. Come on. Tell me.”

  I didn’t think Killian could get any redder as his hands tightened on the steering wheel. The air was even more thickly charged with sparks than before. “A rabbit.” The words were a mere whisper but I caught them. I proceeded to gawk at his reflection in the rearview mirror.

  “You’re a magic rabbit?” I squeezed the words out of a suddenly tight throat. I was trying my hardest not to bust out into laughter. I could be a bitch at times, but I could tell he was really sensitive about it. “Well, I bet you’re very fluffy.” It was the best I could get out before having to bite my tongue to stop myself from cracking jokes and asking which of them pulled him from a hat or what kind of batteries he took. Bad, Nix. He already hates you, you don’t want to make the giant any angrier at you. And Lord knows you have things you are sensitive about too.

  I decided to be magnanimous and redirected the attention away from the embarrassed shifter. “So, Killian’s psychic. Hiro said he’s got powers with plant manipulation and animals. What other powers do you guys have?”

  Theo jumped in to answer me. “Powers evolve over time. As we age, abilities we have now may expand or we could gain something totally new. For example, Ryder is our built in lie detector. It’s something that he’s working to strengthen in both forms. Ryder is also our healer. He can fly in his alternate form—you saw the wings—and he also has some weather magic too.
Some powers we only have in our alternate form and others we can access in both forms, although they are usually much stronger when we’re shifted.”

  I turned to look at Ryder. “That’s an odd mix of powers you’ve got there, Rarity.”

  Ryder pursed his lips in a kiss at me. “Oh baby, nothing about me is typical. I break all the molds. Well, most of them. I’m most definitely a stallion.” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes. Did Ryder really have a never-ending store of jokes? I’d have to brush up if he was going to be doing this frequently. I didn’t want him always getting the last word in.

  Suddenly the car grew quiet and I watched as the guys randomly made eye contact with each other, like they were having their own private conversation. What was happening? Ryder cleared his throat then, garnering my attention. “Here, give me your hands and I’ll show you.”

  “Show me what?” I kept my hands to myself, not sure I wanted whatever he was offering.

  “I can heal those cuts on your palms.” His smile was gentle which threw me off. So far he’d been cocky, sure of himself, and funny as hell… but gentle was new.

  Looking to my hands I decided that having the final remains of my past life gone was extremely appealing—even if it meant having to deal with someone touching my hands. “Alright.” I knew my voice was a little hesitant but I swiveled in my seat to give Ryder better access as he leaned forward, placing his upper half between Theo and I. He took my hands and placed them palms up. I tried my best not to flinch, but I knew I had failed when Ryder looked at me for permission to continue. Nodding, I steeled myself for contact. He gently laid his palms over mine and closed his eyes. I watched in fascination as his palms glowed, and a tingling crept across the shallow slices on my hands. I was surprised when I felt the same sensations along my knees as well. Faster than I would have expected, the glowing diminished and Ryder pulled his hands away. As I drew a deep lungful of air into my body, I realized I must have been holding my breath throughout the exchange.

  “The cuts on your legs are healed too.” He said quietly as he sat back. I couldn’t help but to stare at my flawless skin. It looked just like it would have after a re-birth—fresh, new, and clean.

  “That’s amazing!” I grinned. “Thank you, Ryder.” I glanced over my shoulder at him as I said the words and caught the sweet smile that graced his features. Facing forward and righting myself in the seat I tried to change the subject before anyone asked me about the cuts. “Okay, so Ryder’s the healer. What about you, Theo?”

  Theo sighed, running his hand through his sandy blonde hair. Now that I was paying closer attention I could hear hints of an Australian accent coming through. “My powers are all water related. In my alter form I can shapeshift into different sea animals, I’m a super fast swimmer, and I can secrete a poison at will. In my human and Kraken forms I have the power of water manipulation. I can create whirlpools, that kind of thing. I can also read water, tell if it’s contaminated or clean, that kind of thing.”

  I nodded, considering. That actually made a lot of sense if his alternate form was a sea creature. “Ok. That’s, well, really cool. What about Damien? Does he have other powers?”

  Hiro nodded, drawing my attention back to him. “Damien’s powers are fairly standard for a gargoyle. He has some psychic powers as well—mostly having to do with being a guardian… checking on us and making sure we can all stay in contact, that sort of thing. When he’s shifted, he can fly. He’s incredibly strong. Oh, and he’s kind of immortal.”

  I leaned forward instinctively, gripping Hiro’s arm hard. “He’s immortal? Like, he regenerates?” The words spilled from my lips as I looked in his eyes. Holy shit, did this mean I was a Gargoyle? Well, I didn’t have any of the other powers, but it seemed almost too good to be true that someone else in their group would have a similar power to mine.

  Hiro flushed, glancing at my hand. “Regenerate? No. Um, that’s an incredibly rare power. I don’t think any shifter has been able to regenerate in at least three hundred years, though I’d have to check the archives to be sure. He’s just ridiculously hard to injure or kill.”

  Theo brushed a hand down my arm and I instantly released Hiro, pulling away from Theo’s touch. The parts of my arm that he had stroked were hot and tingling from the press of his fingers. “Why do you ask?” he asked as he searched out the eyes of the other guys in the vehicle. “Have you seen a shifter before? Someone who could regenerate?”

  I shook my head. “Just thinking of my mom, I guess.” I wanted answers, but I wasn’t willing to give these guys all of my secrets after just meeting them. For all I knew they, or someone they knew, were just like Michael, and would relish a new toy to play with. Instead, I decided to tailor my responses specifically toward getting around their human lie detector.

  “Your Mom?” Hiro encouraged softly.

  I nodded, keeping my head down. I focused hard on thinking of my mom and how much I missed her and wished she could come back. Thank God they had told me about Ryder’s powers before this. I phrased my answer carefully. “It’s just, if she maybe regenerated… I always thought she was dead. But if maybe she could come back…” I let hope fill my voice as I wrung my hands together. It was a wish that had always been buried in my mind, so I hoped it would ring with truth and not give me away. If I could regenerate, why couldn’t my mother? My gift clearly didn’t come from Michael. Maybe it skipped a generation? Maybe I was an anomaly? Were all shifters born from shifters? It was another question I filed away to ask about later.

  Hiro sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Nix, I hadn’t realized. No, even Damien’s near immortality is ridiculously rare. If your mom was a shifter it’s extremely unlikely she would have had the ability to regenerate. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up like that.”

  I looked up and saw Hiro had turned toward me from his spot in the front seat. The sympathy in his eyes suddenly made all of the feelings about my mom’s death surface and tears welled in my eyes involuntarily. Blinking hard, I broke our eye contact, effectively ending the moment, and cleared my throat, ready to change the subject. Blessedly, Hiro followed me into another line of conversation.

  “Can you guys tell what I am?” I was dying to know. I had never actually shifted so I couldn’t tell what I was. From my research I had wondered if maybe I was a witch or a demon. My biggest fear was that they would find out about my rejuvenation power, but I knew I was in the clear so far thanks to Hiro’s candidness.

  Theo smiled, “I’m sorry, Nix. None of us have ever smelled anything exactly like you. Rini has the best sense of smell I’ve ever seen and even she can’t guarantee what you are.” Guarantee. I wonder if that meant they had an idea at least.

  “So what did she think I was?” I pushed him for an answer. “Am I a kind of bear? Am I mythological? What?”

  I looked from one face to the next, begging with my eyes for an answer. Surprisingly, it was Ryder who caved first. “Rini thinks you might be a dragon. You smell of smoke and faintly avian. Dragons are really rare and there are many different breeds, so it’s not unusual that she wouldn’t be able to pinpoint what you are.”

  I leaned back in the seat. A dragon. How fucking cool would that be? Nobody could ever hurt me again if I was a dragon. I’d just shift and fry the fuck out of them. A part of me I hadn’t even known was hiding inside let out a breath of relief at that statement. Mimicking my inner self, I took a deep breath and released it slowly. I never had to be a victim again. No matter how weak or battered my human body became, I’d have a fucking dragon inside of me.

  Killian turned the car into a long driveway and pulled to a stop in front of a large, cabin-esque house. This was where they lived? It looked like a small lodge. My mind was buzzing with questions, theories, concerns… it was so much for me to take in all at one time. I really hoped this Damien was a good cook because I was completely ravenous… and hoping I could get more answers while we ate.

  Twelve

&
nbsp; Damien

  Damn, thank fuck I'd had advanced warning that we were going to have a crowd for dinner. I was currently stirring a pot full of my famous homemade marinara sauce and had just thrown spaghetti on the stove. The meatballs and garlic bread were already perfectly prepared and in the oven. I hadn’t had much time to prepare dinner for so many people, but I’d worked with what I had. Luckily, we kept a great deal of food around. Hello, shifters—we ate a fucking ton.

  Cooking came naturally to me, but it hadn’t hurt that my mother had taught me everything she knew and had passed down all of her favorite recipes. My family, which consisted of my mother and father, used to have dinners together regularly before I moved out and headed to college last year. Living on the mainland had provided me some much needed distance from my family—simply because I wanted the space—but kept me close enough that I could visit anytime. My family hadn’t let my moving out deter them from family get-togethers, however, and I found myself visiting to share a meal with them at least once a month whether or not we were required to visit for Council business or community events. My mother was proud I had learned her culinary skills and, now that we all lived together, the guys were very appreciative of my efforts as well. I found myself cooking more times than not, and truth be told, I loved it. Whether it was the nurturing of my mother or the nature of my alternate form to be protective, I loved having everyone home and around the dining room table every night.

  I didn’t know what the girl ate, but hopefully she wasn’t a vegetarian or something. Thankfully I hadn’t put the meatballs on top of the pasta yet, just in case. Thinking quickly, I realized I could whip her up a salad too, in case she preferred that. Hell, I should probably just have a salad prepped for the table. I didn’t want her to end up eating the pasta if she didn’t want it. Plus, weren’t some girls afraid of carbs or some shit? Ugh, I liked to cook because I liked to create, I didn’t follow all of the fads so I was unsure. I wanted to make her feel comfortable here. I wanted, no needed, to make a good impression.