Feel the Burn

by MacDonald, Nicole

  ‘Everyone has their moments, goddess.’

  With a huffed sigh she turned her head, just enough to see him, when the urge to cry hit. His eyes regarded her warmly and he turned her, so she faced him, then brushed his nose against hers and gazed into her eyes.

  ‘Doesn’t make me love you any less. Promise. I already know you’re a brat.’

  The teasing let the pointless anger vanish and a giggle slipped out. She hugged him and tilted her head to meet his lips.

  *~*~*

  Chapter Eight

  ‘Phhhuuurrriiinnnnccceeessss!’

  A tiny voice squealed out to us again and again and I squinted to spot her. Little Leynorah appeared to battle the non-existent breeze while she attempted to bear down on us. Her mother flew alongside keeping a watchful eye and indulgent smile on her offspring. The tiny fae landed on my arm and I resisted shuddering at the sensation of her wee hooks latching onto my skin. Smiling still felt unnatural but I managed to lift the corners of my mouth in the right motion and received the little fae’s version of a beaming smile in return, fangs glinting in the misty morning light.

  ‘If you don’t mind, Your Highness, Leynorah hoped to keep you company while I practice.’

  I wasn’t sure if accepting babysitting duties (fae sitting?) went against protocol and Ignatius—permanently hovering in the background—watched closely when I accepted.

  I sat with Loushka, Kerak, and Kassie in our usual spot on the upper deck and we listened while the fuzzy fae chatted away. Then the sound of fighting caught my attention and I leaned forward, setting Leynorah on the handrail before stooping below it to look down at the main deck. A couple of goblins practiced their grappling and I watched, impressed at their wrestling skills. Very swift, they seemed to have six or eight limbs instead of four while they fought, a hand or foot always there when needed. Having such dexterous feet would be handy, I thought while watching. A loud clomping made everyone look up when the Cavalry came out to practice and those on the main deck moved aside for them.

  Kassie grinned at Cat and sat up straighter; she loved to watch the centaurs practice. A hard nudge to the back made her glance behind at Kerak.

  ‘Pervert.’

  She chuckled and reached back to pat his beak.

  ‘You focus on your darling Loushka. I have some centaurs to ogle.’

  The griffon sat bolt upright with a sound of shock and accidently knocked Cat beneath the handrail to the lower deck while he shot a fervent glance at Loushka.

  ‘Kerak!’ Cat looked up at them in bewilderment and Loushka regarded him quizzically. ‘What the heck?’

  Unable to speak to Cat, Kerak glared at Kassie who rocked with laughter on her seat. He made a whiny squark at Cat and curled into a tight embarrassed ball, his wing-folds sticking up.

  ‘Thanks a lot, Kass.’

  ‘You started it,’ she retorted without a shred of apology. Cat climbed the stairs and sat beside Kassie with Leynorah clinging to her long red plait while they watched the battling warriors.

  The ship rocked while Rumal and Rashid studied the large map of the Southern territory spread out over the table before them. The large sways of the ship when he was beneath tended to give Rumal a queasy stomach. He glanced out the high rectangular windows, focusing on the horizon while waiting for his body to settle.

  ‘Cavalry training,’ Rashid unnecessarily said.

  Right, thought Rumal and he glanced at the map, considering. He preferred to go upstairs when they practiced.

  ‘Why don’t we work on this later?’

  Rashid glanced up and smirked. ‘Stomach getting to you?’

  Rumal gave him a narrow look. They rolled the map up and headed to the top deck. When Rumal stepped through the hatch behind Rashid, the Lieutenant jerked to a halt then made an odd fumbling side step. Stretching his neck to see what confused Rashid, he spotted Leseach striding their way and saw the plain look of longing on Rashid’s face before he concealed it.

  With a snigger Rumal elbowed past the man and quietly jibed, ‘Stomach getting to you?’

  Rashid didn’t appear to register his words, so intent on the Northerner. Shaking his head in amusement Rumal left the man to it and went to look for Kassie.

  The battle axes impressed her most, Kassie decided. They were as long as she was tall, with massive arced blades and a stake at the end. The Aswaran centaurs swung and spun them with ease despite the extreme weight of them. There was a smaller version too and the cavalry soldiers using them wielded one in either hand. The loud shriek of metal hitting metal punctuated the air when axes clashed with swords and maces. Each soldier had his preferred weapons and in turn they had their preferred styles, making it incredible to watch. Centaurs are amazing creatures, Kassie thought, admiring the massive forequarters bracing, darting and kicking. They practiced in their armor, the breastplates gleaming in the sun and leg greaves flashing when they charged. The Rodhite centaurs practiced hand to hand combat too, though Kassie knew they specialized in bows. They held what looked like double ended maces, using the weighted solid ends to batter and rip shields or weapons from their opponents.

  ‘Looks like everyone will need healing today,’ Cat commented.

  ‘Good practice,’ Kassie replied absently.

  Rumal spotted her on the upper deck with Kerak, Cat, and Loushka; her eyes locked on the men training. Kassie watched them intently, eyes alive and excited and the expression caused desire to rise, knowing how her mind tended after nearly every Cavalry practice.

  After a bit she appeared to sense his eyes and turned his way. Those beautiful hazel eyes regarded him lustfully, looking green in the shadows of the mast. She spoke to Cat and rose, climbing down the stairs. Watching her walk toward him gave Rumal contradicting emotions of joy, lust, fear, and pride. How can I possibly let her go into this, he thought, fear tensing his chest. Yet at the same time he knew that nothing would stop the impending battle. The war had enveloped Gar’nyse for nearly five millennia and now the weapons to end it had arrived. It must be done.

  ‘Hello you,’ Kassie purred, pressing herself against him and reached those dainty arms up his chest. His energy responded to hers and the shimmering light overtook his vision when the syren gift flowed from his eyes.

  ‘Love.’ He reached down, grabbing her backside and lifted till her mouth met his. The sounds of battle vanished when his entire being infused with her soaring energy. Breaking from the kiss he lowered her to the deck and they walked hand in hand to the hatch.

  Later, when they lay naked on the bed in their cabin, Rumal stroked the curls back from her face and tipped her chin up, kissing her swollen lips.

  ‘Be so careful,’ he whispered between kisses. ‘Please, my love. Be so careful.’

  It made her cry and he kissed those salty tears away when she nodded and whispered in a broken voice.

  ‘I will, if you are too. I will.’

  * * *

  I sat in my usual spot, sandwiched between Loushka and Kerak with my watchers close by and gazed at the beautiful sky. Still and quiet with not a breath of wind, the setting sun wreathed the sky in an array of glorious colors. The outer most a dark cobalt with the glint of diamonds from early stars and then it lightened toward the sun in arcs of ruby, copper and gold.

  The familiar sensation of sorrow made my chest exquisitely hollow for a moment while I wished Alek were here, beside me, overlooking this view.

  ‘It is a beautiful world here, Loushka,’ I thought and tipped back to lean against her. Imagining exploring the planet with Al had been so easy. We’d discussed it occasionally, flirting with the topic but he quickly got wrapped up in the idea, mentioning the places he wanted to show me. It made me smile, remembering his enthusiasm. Such a bittersweet feeling, I thought. Though losing him caused me such pain, I wouldn’t take it back. Meeting Alek and loving Alek gave me such pure joy that I wouldn’t undo it. Just thinking of it made my heart and energy swell.

  Can’t wait to see you again.
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br />   I waited until the sun set, then said goodnight to Loushka and Kerak and climbed down to where Leseach and Ignatius kept watch on the main deck—their truce evidently firmly in place while they walked me to my room. Leseach paused at the door when Ignatius disappeared to collect the mug of nellor.

  ‘How are you sleeping?’ she asked.

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Are you sure? Do you have many dreams?’

  Feeling apprehensive I half snapped, ‘Why? Am I sleep talking?’

  My heart started to race at the thought of her taking the dreams from me and my back stiffened.

  ‘It’s okay, Catherine. Just let me know if you’re having any issues and I’ll try to fix it.’

  I nodded in relief and thanked her, nodding again to her bow and slipped into my room. Closing the door I leaned against it, waiting for my hammering heart to slow before pushing off to go change.

  The breathy question woke him promptly, his mind recognizing it in an instant. Ignatius’ eyes opened and he tensed then relaxed. A pair of green eyes peeked down at him from the bed above. He chuckled.

  ‘What are you doing, kitten?’ he whispered the words, always aware of the person on duty outside. Those eyes stared, then she shifted and he could see her face, a delighted smile spreading.

  ‘Al?’ she demanded.

  Ignatius sat up quickly and held a finger to her lips.

  ‘Shhh.’ Then he slid his hand under her hair, cupping the back of her neck and pulled her mouth to his. The guilt he’d felt the first time this occurred a few nights ago, when she’d kissed him and he hadn’t resisted, had long vanished. Here and now she was his, even if he answered to another’s name.

  ‘Al,’ she murmured after the kiss. ‘Oh, Al. I love you. I miss you. Please don’t leave me.’

  ‘Never,’ he whispered and climbed onto the bed with her, pulling her into his arms. ‘Never, Princess, I promise.’

  The strange nearly lifeless glaze in her eyes felt easy to ignore when she smiled. The expression of joy when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down for a kiss looked exquisite to his eyes. Ignatius caressed her arms and back when their mouths met, cupping her ass and squeezing, loving the murmurs and soft sighs she gave at his touch. The short window that held her there—in this waking dream—passed too quickly and before long Ignatius laid her back in bed, deep asleep. Regretfully he drew the covers over her and climbed down to the bedroll, his hands shaking while his body screamed with the need to release. He sat with his knees up, breathing deeply and quietly, willing his achingly hard cock to go down, and listened for the next check in. It seemed to take an agonizingly long time before he heard the quiet rap of knuckles against the door.

  ‘All good?’

  ‘Yes.’

  The tension of waiting evaporated at the light knock and he settled back under his covers, an eye to the bed above but only heard her steady breathing. I have to find out which herb does it, Ignatius thought. One of Leseach’s herbs must do it.

  * * *

  Loi froze at the touch that brushed her energy and completely forgot about Larvaste swinging an axe at her. Her energy deflected the blow and a green charge snapped off, causing the centaur to yell, dropping his axe.

  ‘Laura!’ Larvaste protested.

  ‘At least it didn’t break,’ Sabyn pointed out, moving past the centaur to Loi’s side, and touched her arm. ‘What is it, are you okay?’

  Annoyance flashed through Loi when she tried to focus and she waved a hand impatiently at him.

  ‘I’m fine; I think Cat’s wanting to link.’

  Sabyn frowned for an instant then pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, his expression somber.

  ‘Why don’t you go sit out? Say hi for me.’

  Loi nodded and walked to a box seat by the rail. The noise in the background faded while she called her energy up and the tension in her body evaporated as it spread.

  Your energy seems stronger than before.

  Loi jumped on the seat.

  Cat?! Are you there?

  Yes.

  That disconcerted her. Loi had thought Cat wasn’t there yet.

  You sound different; I didn’t even realize you were there.

  Do I? I guess that makes sense, you three sound different to me.

  Loi paused feeling suddenly guilty at the trivial thoughts.

  Cat…hun…How are you?

  The silence unnerved Loi, unable to tell if Cat still linked or not. There wasn’t the tell tale warmth or red glow that normally showed. Kassie and Sian linked in and their familiar glows of orange-gold and blue comforted Loi. Both the girls felt perplexed like she did about the strange silence.

  Cat? thought Sian.

  I’m here.

  An image appeared in Loi’s mind, sharp and clear from Cat’s perspective showing she sat with Kassie, Loushka, and Kerak at the head of the ship. Loi couldn’t believe the clarity of the image and with it came a rush of emotions from Cat. The image changed in a flash to Alek that morning on that strange stone floor and the weight of her sorrow and despair took Loi’s breath away. Behind the despair something else rang through the link, confusing Loi. A dark, ominous finality.

  They all had Alek on their minds, whether they consciously realized it or not and I found it hard to conceal my thoughts from them. The apprehension I picked up made me realize some of my intent had snuck in. With a brief thought I threw the walls back up in my mind, preventing any further revelations.

  I hadn’t paid much attention to the differences in our energies since the incident but now we linked it felt glaringly obvious. Previously we’d sat in each others’ mind on the same level and now, though I could hear and see what they thought, I felt withdrawn, like I sat on a balcony looking down. It gave me the ability to keep them out my mind if I wished it instead of having the link wide open both ways. This ability to have a one-way conversation, to listen and see but not have to share, disconcerted me at first but I appreciated the space it allowed. Sitting there on the deck with Kassie I absently listened to the girls chat while staring around, distracted by the glimmer of life lights. Everyone I could see glowed; the sailors and soldiers, the Halenine fae and goblins, even the griffons. They looked slightly transparent to my eyes and those flickering lights stood out, like when I’d shielded Belsesus while practicing. Normally I had to focus to see those lights but everyday now they looked more visible. All different colors. I watched, fascinated, and realized that the creature’s mood changed the color. Just like a mood ring I thought in amusement and I observed several Halenine fae annoying a Draoth who glared and muttered but didn’t risk swatting the malevolent little creatures. The life lights of the naughty fae flickered from muddy reds to oranges while the annoyed but wary Draoth’s life light showed a cautious ruddy brown.

  Curious, I pulled back from the link with the girls and the colors vanished. I extended my energy within, allowing it to run beneath my skin without it showing to the others and without linking back to the girls; the life lights appeared again.

  ‘Cat?’

  Kassie touched my arm and I felt probes from the girls’ energy so linked back into the conversation.

  Loi tried to pull Cat’s link closer, not liking how distant she felt but it didn’t appear to work and the conversation petered out.

  I wonder what our Earth parents thought happened to us? Cat thought

  Loi stayed quiet and she could feel Sian and Kassie struggling.

  What? demanded Cat. What do you know? Tell me!

  Through the link she watched Cat jerk away from Kassie, eyes accusing. Kassie reached out a hand to soothe her.

  They think we’re dead, Cat, Sian gently thought. Elena checked to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind that would reveal too much. You remember all the candles we used for the ritual? The house burned to the ground. She made it very intense.

  It’s better this way, Cat, Kassie added. They’re able to mourn this way, not spend their days searching for us.
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  Tears slipped down Loi’s face and she pulled her knees up on the seat, hugging them close. Sabyn, his eyes always on her, saw the tears and came to sit beside her. Leaning her head against him she threw a thought out.

  Guys, I’m gonna go. Please keep in touch, Cat. I love you guys.

  She dropped the link before they could question her and turned, weeping against Sabyn’s throat. He shifted a leg so he straddled the seat and wrapped his arms around her.

  When Cat and Alek lay unconscious Loi had thought to ask Elena that question and the Sorceress showed her. Flames roared from within the house, the windows shattering and three fire engines fought to control the inferno. People watched; her parents and brothers stared with tragic expressions, mouths open and bodies shaking with sobs. Cat’s parents watched too, her mother screaming hysterically while her father held her; he’d looked ages older.

  ‘I still don’t get why she didn’t just tell us everything in the beginning,’ Loi said, her voice raspy with repressed anger and sorrow.

  Sabyn looked down at her, his eyes pained.

  ‘Elena? She couldn’t really, goddess. She needed you to focus on training, not mourning.’

  Loi turned her back so she leaned against his chest and Sabyn nuzzled at her neck. It still smarted, no matter how many months had passed.

  In a low wobbly voice she said, ‘I don’t like her. We’re just pawns. She doesn’t care about us, just what we can do.’

  Sabyn lifted his brows and nodded, acknowledging the truth in that.

  ‘You’re not wrong. This fight is personal to her. It’s her family versus Jenviet’s. Cat’s family got entangled when they offered asylum to the Mestarns. But this fight affects every creature on Gar’nyse.’