They nod and exit the room.
I turn back to see Anton checking Arista’s vitals, and I look at Kai expectantly. “What’s going on?”
Maverick comes to stand beside me, and he too faces Kai. “Why all the secrecy?” he asks, looking intrigued.
Kai runs a weary hand over his face. “As crazy as it sounds, she can wield fire,” he tells us.
We both look at him blankly.
“I’m serious. You can check with Trev and Knox. If I hadn’t ducked, she would have burned my face off.” He shakes his head. “She seemed just as shocked by it as us. I think it was the first time she’s ever tapped into it.”
I shake my head, not believing him for a minute. “No female has been able to wield fire in two centuries.”
“Lethe. Would I make something like this up?” Kai asks as he looks me dead in the eye.
I give him a hard look. “No. No, you wouldn’t.”
“Holy fuck. This for real?” Maverick asks as the news begins to sink in.
“Yeah, it is,” Kai confirms.
Shit.
This changes everything.
I walk to the bed and stare down at the woman who has been nothing but a thorn in my side these past few days. Her skin is paler than it should be, and I frown. “How are her vitals?” I ask Anton, who looks just as shocked over this new turn of events.
He clears his throat. “She’s fine. Probably a little dehydrated. I doubt she’d made it a point to drink plenty of fluids while she was on the run.” His eyes shift to Kai. “How long has she been sedated?”
“Nine hours,” Kai replies.
“I’ll get an IV started. I’ll be right back.” Anton turns and strides towards the storage room.
My eyes slowly trail over Arista’s unconscious face, and I realize that she’s just become the most powerful female drakon in existence. Every male drakon in the universe is going to want her because it’s a given she’ll strengthen her mate, maybe even triggering the impenetrable armor. The mating of a powerful male and female can bring on the armor in the male, which turns him literally immortal. Long ago, the drakons had scaly skin when they’d shifted, and the scales were similar to armor. Nothing could penetrate them. As our race evolved, so did the ability to shift. For a century after the virus, a few strong men experienced a powerful mating and developed armor beneath their skin. It was said that the armor could sense danger, and it would harden and protect the wearer of it. Those drakon men not only ruled their clan, but all clans, because he was the most powerful amongst them. Oddly enough, there were never more than one at the same time. Once the armor quit appearing, our race began to break into separate clans and no longer had one ruler. That’s when everything began falling apart. There are plenty of drakons lusting for control and dominance out there in a world that has turned dark and deadly.
“Now do you understand the need for secrecy?” Kai asks, interrupting my thoughts.
I turn on him. “Did anyone see what happened at the motel?”
Kai sighs. “I’d like to say no, but I can’t guarantee it. She burned the bathroom and escaped out the window. Once we had her, we had to make certain we’d smothered the fire. But as far as I know, the area was secure.”
I watch as Anton enters the room and begins prepping Arista for an IV.
“I don’t know about you, but I need a drink,” Kai mutters.
“You and me both,” I agree.
“Make that three,” Maverick adds.
I begin heading for the door, and then I stop and look back at Anton. “Keep me posted,” I tell him.
He nods. “What do you want done when the tranquilizer wears off?”
His question gives me a pause. When Arista wakes up, she’s going to be furious. If she can wield fire, she might just burn the place to the ground. It would be wise to sedate her until we can control her fire, because she’s going to have no control over it. We’d all learned at an early age how to wield our fire and how to suppress it. Arista has no experience, which means she’s a danger to everyone—including herself.
Keeping her sedated could also be dangerous for her health, and it’s absolutely crucial that nothing disturb that part of her that has connected with her fire.
Fuck.
“Lethe, even cuffed, she’ll be able to produce fire. She’ll burn those padded cuffs and the bed—with her restrained to it,” Maverick warns.
I nod in acknowledgement and look back at Anton. “Can you use a mild sedative or will it interact badly with the one that’s already been in her system?”
“I’ll give her the smallest dose and monitor her,” Anton assures.
We leave Anton to watch over Arista and make our way to my study. As Maverick closes the door to ensure privacy, I walk to the table and begin pouring large doses of liquor into three glasses. I take one for myself and walk away, trying to sort this shit out in my mind.
Kai is the first to speak. “You do realize that if you give her to anyone else, you lose your leadership,” he quietly points out.
I turn and look at him sharply.
He stands there with his drink in hand, his eyes locked on mine. “Not that anyone would deliberately take it from you, but it’ll fuck with the dynamic of the clan knowing that someone else is more powerful than you.”
Maverick walks over to the couch and lazily reclines on it. “He’s right.”
I rub my face, not wanting to hear any of this, but like it or not, I have to. “The last thing I want is a mate.”
Kai shrugs. “I don’t see any other alternative.”
I shoot him a look. “I’m not ready to be screwing only one woman for the rest of my life for fear of breaking the damned bond,” I say darkly.
Kai remains silent as he watches me over the rim of his glass while he takes a drink.
“Christ, you’ve seen the damage she can inflict. I don’t want a mate that’s going to fight me at every turn.”
“That’s why you seduce her,” Maverick cuts in. “You know how the mating works. The female eventually accepts her mate.”
I give him a black look. “If she doesn’t kill me first.”
Maverick just grins at me. “C’mon, Evie would drive you crazy, and Tenley would likely be frightened of you, which would irritate you to no end. At least with Arista, you’d never be bored. She also just happens to be the hottest drakon female we’ve ever come across—excluding Tenley of course. With as temperamental as Arista is, I bet the sex would be explosive.”
“Good sex or not, I don’t want to be tied down to one female,” I say cuttingly.
“Then you’d better start preparing to mate her off to someone else,” Kai interrupts. “Someone that you’re one hundred percent sure won’t go after leadership.”
I mutter a curse under my breath. This can’t be happening.
“You also need to start thinking about security and making certain that no one finds out she’s a fire wielder. There’s also the small problem that she didn’t even know she could conjure fire. She was just as stunned as we were, which means she’ll need training. Until she has a good grip on it, she’s a danger to herself and everyone else,” Kai reminds.
I already feel a headache coming on, and I knock back the rest of the whiskey in my glass before responding. “I don’t want to hear anymore. I need time to sort this shit out before I make any decisions.” I release an aggravated sigh and look at him. “Track down a set of the fire suppressing cuffs.” I then look at Maverick. “You need to make a feminine version from them without losing the spell. I want them to look like bracelets, and they need to be inconspicuous.” Not all witches are our enemies, and a few will do spells for the right price. I know we could have new ones created, however, I don’t enjoy dealing with witches, so I’m hoping the spell won’t be altered by altering the actual cuffs. We have two pairs in storage. They work well on drakons that enter my territory without permission.
“Will do,” Kai says. He sets his glass down and exits the room.
Maverick stands, his expression turning serious. “You need to do this, Lethe. Think of Davina.”
I stiffen. Of course, the idea has already entered my mind. If I have the armor, I can just walk into the clan’s stronghold and take her out of there without anyone being able to stop me. But saving Davina comes with a price.
“Lethe…”
“I know,” I bite out. Any sacrifice is worth bringing Davina home to us. I walk to my desk and set down the empty glass before sitting in my chair. “I just need some time to think.”
“There’s no point in stalling the inevitable.”
My eyes narrow on him. “You’re not the one faced with the task of mating with a woman for the rest of your life.”
“No,” Maverick agrees. “But if you don’t, I’ll mate with Arista. One of us needs to in order to save Davina.”
“What about Tenley?”
His eyes hold mine. “My happiness means nothing if Davina’s not happy.”
“And you’d do that? Mate with Arista?”
His eyes steadily stay on mine. “Yes.”
I shake my head. “Nothing needs to be decided right this second. Our first priority is suppressing Arista’s fire. We need to sort that out before anything else.”
Maverick nods. “I’ll see what I can do about the cuffs. Lethe? Don’t wait too long,” he warns softly.
I don’t like being threatened, and I know my eyes are beginning to glow with fire. “It’s not going to happen instantly, Maverick. You’re forgetting that rape is out of the question. She needs to be willing, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.” I hold up a hand before he can speak. “And I am not drugging her. That’s still rape.”
Maverick gives me a look. “I wasn’t going to suggest you drug her to physically mate with her.”
I wait to see if he’s going to clarify what was on his mind.
“I was going to say,” he says steadily, “that you could still do the first part of the mating ceremony without her realizing what’s going on. Seduction will be much easier, but having her willingly repeat those vows while lucid and alert will be a real bitch.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say dryly.
Twelve
Arista
My head feels like there’s a bunch of cotton balls stuck inside it, and I groan from the woozy feeling that has my stomach turning over. After I pry apart my gritty eyelashes, I stare up at a familiar ceiling and focus on the ultra-feminine chandelier. I hope to God that this is just a nightmare, but I know that it’s not.
I swallow as I cautiously sit up, and I wish I had a glass of water for my dry throat. I take a moment to draw in a few deep breaths, and then I look around the lavender prison. Everything looks the same as before.
Damn it.
When I lift my hand to rub my forehead, I feel something clunky on my wrist. I blink and stare at the large, heavy cuffs that are circling my wrists. What…? There isn’t a chain connecting them, and I frown. If I’m locked in here, why bother with the cuffs? They aren’t subduing me or keeping me from moving around.
I ease off the bed and stand beside it as I fight off a bit of lightheadedness. Someone has also once again changed me into a pair of stupid lounge pants and a camisole. With clenched teeth, I stride to the door that connects to the women’s quarters, and I try the knob. I’m not surprised when it doesn’t turn in my hand.
How did they find me so easily? I thought I was far enough away that they wouldn’t have been able to track me down. I recall the dark shadows storming the motel room, and my fleeing to the bathroom where I’d been cornered.
My eyes go wide, and I stare down at my hands.
I shot fire from of my hand? How is that possible? Only drakon men can wield fire. But I’m pretty certain I did just exactly that, and I’d nearly burned off the blond man’s face. The fact that I can call on fire has my mind racing. I’m no longer defenseless! I know fire can injure drakons, but it usually doesn’t kill them. It will however kill everyone else.
I lift my wrists again and study the gold-colored cuffs. There’s a small mechanism on each one, and it looks like some sort of key has to be inserted to release the cuffs. I’m wearing them for a reason, so what is it?
Then it sinks in.
It has to do with the fire.
It must suppress it or something, because there’s no other reason for me to be wearing them when I’m already locked inside a room.
I turn back to the door and pound my fist against it, ignoring the bite of the cuff as it rubs against my skin. “I want to talk to Cassius!” I yell. Lethe can go screw himself, because I’m certain I won’t get anything useful out of him. Cassius will likely be more willing to answer my questions.
“Save your breath, he hasn’t been around all evening,” Evie calls from the other side of the door.
“Let me out, Evie.”
“Yeah, right. You’re on lockdown, and I have no intention of joining you. Now quit yelling, or I’m going to turn on the stereo.”
With gritted teeth, I turn away from the door and look around the room with a sense of helplessness. There’s nothing I can do but wait until someone unlocks the damned door. I’m back to square one, and now that they know I’m willing to do anything to escape, they’ll be watching me closely.
Feeling frustrated, I walk to the bed and sit down. Okay, losing my temper and yelling at the door isn’t going to do any good. I just need to stay calm and sort out everything that I know so far. Evie said Cassius hasn’t been up on the third floor all evening. That means I’ve been sedated for most of the day. I don’t recall anything that happened after I was shot in the neck with that tranq.
My eyes drop back down to the cuffs on my wrists. I grip the cuff on my right hand and try to slide my hand through it. I wince and pull as hard as I can. By the time I’m certain there’s no possibility it’s going to slide off, the skin around my wrist is red.
With a soft curse, I drop my head into my hands and release a soft sigh. I’m so annoyed that I actually have something that can keep me from ending up in situations like this, but right now, it’s useless because of the damned cuffs.
I’m still sitting there when I hear the key in the lock on the door. I look up and watch as the door opens and Cassius steps into the room. He’s holding a tray in one hand, and he firmly closes the door behind him. “You’re probably hungry,” he says as he walks over and sets the tray on the dresser. There looks to be pork chops, a vegetable, and a toss salad on the plate. The scent has my stomach growling, and I ignore it as I glance back at the door with longing. As much as I want to lunge for it, it’s pointless. I’ll only get as far as the elevator before I’m dragged back into this room.
Cassius stands before me now, studying me with an expressionless face.
I rise to my feet and hold out my wrists. “Take these off.”
He frowns as he gazes at the raw skin on my right wrist. “I’m sorry for the cuffs,” he says, sounding genuinely troubled. “We’re currently working on a lighter, more feminine version,” he explains.
“What are they for?” I ask. I already know the answer, but I want to hear it from him.
“The cuffs are spelled so that you can’t wield fire.”
“How long do I have to wear them?”
“Until Lethe says.”
“Where is that bastard?” I ask with a glower.
“He’s busy.”
“Tell him to make time,” I say, deciding that I want to speak with him after all.
Cassius looks at me with amusement. “Lethe doesn’t take orders from anyone, especially you.”
I glare.
Much to my surprise, his eyes soften. “Stop fighting the inevitable.”
With an arch of my brow, I calmly lift my middle finger. The day I give up is the day I’m dead.
He sighs. “If you need anything, buzz the intercom.”
“What intercom?” I ask with confusion.
“The one that Ma
verick installed earlier.” He walks over to a box that is attached to the wall beside the bed. “It’s like a walkie-talkie. Just press the button and it goes to whoever’s cell that’s on-call. You can speak into the speaker and converse with us that way.” He gives me a warning look. “Don’t even think about buzzing us for stupid shit, it can easily be ignored.”
“Wait a second. I’m going to be locked in here permanently?” I ask with shock.
“That will be up to Lethe.”
“Cassius, I want to speak with him. Now.”
“I’ll let him know.” He turns and heads for the door.
I want to call after him, but I’m not going to plead or beg.
After he leaves, I stand there for a few minutes as I process this new situation. I knew that there’d be consequences after my escape, but I hadn’t thought that I’d actually be locked in this room permanently. I slowly look around and feel a hint of panic building inside me. I will go insane if I have to stay in here for weeks or months.
My stomach growls loudly, reminding me that I’m hungry and that Cassius has brought me food. With not much else to do, I walk to the dresser and pick up the tray.
* * *
The next morning, I’m not feeling much better. After a sleepless night, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. It’s one thing to be stuck in a room with two other women, but to be put in solitary…
I just can’t do it.
Because of my pride, I refuse to use the buzzer to request anything, and I shower and try to busy myself with freshening up. When I eventually exit the bathroom, I find that someone had been in my room and had left a tray on the dresser.
Damn it. I wanted to speak with Cassius.
With an aggravated sigh, I retrieve the tray and walk to my bed. I sit and eat the waffles the best that I can since the clunky cuffs keep getting in the way. Even though I’m hungry, the food seems tasteless to me. After I’m finished, I set aside the tray and study the cuffs.
My wrists are red from where the cuffs had rubbed repeatedly against skin throughout the night. Feeling angry, I begin to pull on the cuffs. It’s a wasted effort since I know they’re not going to be any looser than they were yesterday, but what else am I going to do? I claw at them and try to pull my hands out of them, but even as blood appears and slickens my skin, it’s still not enough. The more frustrated I become, the more my temper begins to simmer.
Captive (Igniting the Flame Book 1) Page 8