by Kate Kelley
“For what?” he growled, glaring at me as he wiped blood from under his nose.
“For not holding back once you realized I needed it hard.”
Wait. That came out wrong.
Wolfram’s eyes sparked and his whole body tensed as he circled me and watched my flushed face. I somehow sensed he was the predator in this instance, waiting for me to make a move so he could pounce.
“When do we start magic training?” I asked for the millionth time.
Wolfram slashed at me with the sword and I parried smoothly. He slashed again and I blocked, then kicked him in the chest, sending him stumbling back. I took advantage of his surprise and slashed at him, but he parried, then jabbed the hilt at my face, stopping bluntly on my cheekbone. “I yield,” I said.
He backed off and spat blood in the grass, and wiped the last bit of blood from his nose with his discarded shirt. We circled each other again. I saw a light sheen of sweat on his forehead and smiled. “Ha! I finally made you sweat!”
“You always make me sweat, love,” he purred, coming in close.
“Mhm, and you can’t trick me that easily,” I said as I leapt over his foot sweep. I swiped my katana off of the ground and swirled, lunged. He dodged, swung his sword toward me, and we clashed, struck, blocked, gouged, slashed.
I was getting tired and hungry as the sun continued its descent, my muscles getting more wobbly and weak by the minute. Wolfram knew this, and when he brought his weapon down, catching the block of my katana, I fell back, collapsing under his strength.
Wolfram wasted no time throwing his sword to the dirt and pouncing on me, his large body covering mine, and pressing me into the grass, his hand at my throat.
I surrendered my katana and let it fall out of my hand above my head. “I yield.” But instead of getting off of me like he normally would, he gave no indication that he had heard me.
His eyes flashed copper as he examined my face. “You’re getting stronger.”
I nodded, my chest heaving, breasts smashed against his bare chest. “I know.”
Wolfram smiled slightly. “Not humble anymore, are you?”
“I would be even less so if you’d let me use magic.”
Wolfram sighed and withdrew his hand from my throat, laying his forehead in the grass next to my head. His forearms kept him propped up, with most of his weight off of me. “We will have to soon. But in private. I just can’t figure out where to do it without causing a scandal.”
I turned my head toward him, his loose hair tickling my lips. How did he manage to smell so good after sweating?
“What scandal? This have to do with the mate thing? Ditch that asinine plan. Baal is already onto us anyway.”
“If you expect us to get away with this, we need to stick to the cover.” His voice was muffled against the ground.
I was beginning to think it wasn’t really a cover, that he really wanted a mate, and intended to find one. I thought of that dumb girl, Adara, who’d been following him around since we got here. Why did she make me so ragey?
I moved my lips closer to his face, to whisper into his ear. “How will I be able to scope out Wildfire’s place if I can’t practice my Air magic or glamour? You’re going to have to suck it up and take me somewhere private.”
Wolfram turned his head suddenly and our lips brushed on accident. Butterflies sparked through me, and an ache instantly spread between my hips, reaching lower to pool between my legs.
I jerked back but Wolfram followed my lips with his, pressing his mouth more fully onto mine and when I gasped, his tongue met mine. His arms shook on either side of him as the kiss turned frenzied, and I ran my hands down his naked back, my nails raking slightly, his muscles tensing and rippling under my palms. He pressed his hips into mine and I felt his cock against my groin--burning me and hard as steel.
Suddenly he broke away and leapt up, bounding over me. He picked up his sword and strode purposefully toward the castle, leaving me breathless and aching and pissed as hell in the dying light.
◆◆◆
“Don’t be an ass, demon boy. Roll the dice,” I said, standing on my knees on my chair, my palms holding my weight as I leaned across the table over my full pint of beer.
Baal smirked and made a show of rattling the dice in his cupped hands before throwing them on the table.
“Seven!” Baal pumped his fist in the air.
“Fucking hell!” Brand shouted, sloshing his beer.
Wolfram covered his face in a hand.
Shit.
“Lesserborn,” Baal said, looking at me with evil, red eyes.
I picked up the pint of beer and poured it into the shot glass in the middle of the table, then snatched it and downed it as fast as possible.
“Seven!” Baal called just as I slammed it back on the table.
He’d rolled again, and gotten another seven. Which meant I had to drink again.
“You’re cheating!” I said with an outraged laugh.
“There’s hardly any way he could be cheating,” Aiden pointed out coolly.
I poured beer into it again, and slowly reached for the shot glass. When my fingers got a hair’s breadth away from its cool glass, Baal rolled the dice again in a quick-as-lightning move. “Doubles!” he called out, triumphant.
I lifted my hands in the air. “I didn’t touch it!” I burst out laughing and so did everyone else around the table. Except for Wolfram, and his date, both of whom I ignored.
Since he rolled before I touched the shot glass, he had to drink the beer instead of me. He shook his head as he grabbed it and downed it smoothly, all while keeping eye contact with me.
I knew Baal wanted me, and that’s why he called my name every single time he got to roll. I’d drunk five shot glasses so far...wait, no, seven? Baal was cute--hot even--but he was too big. He was like a viking or a WWE wrestler or something. I didn’t know what to do with all that meaty muscle.
I snatched the dice and rolled, and felt Wolfram’s gaze on me, which I ignored.
“Two fours!” I singsonged.
“These dice are rigged,” Brand called out, and took a sip from his pint.
I eyed everyone around the table. I’d made Aiden drink once, just to try to loosen him up. It didn’t work. Brand drank from his pint anyway, so he was useless.
I eyed Wolfram’s date, Adara. She sat happily, her black hair straight as a pin and glossy as a prized mare’s coat--she should have been in shampoo commercials. Her wide-set green eyes slanted upward slightly and her pink pout turned up into a pretty smile. She wore a barely-there mini dress in the color fuchsia, and her body was perfect. In short, she was model material. And, apparently, the daughter of a favored, Tungsten clan Duke. So, the perfect mate for Wolfram.
I wanted to mess her image up a little bit. “Adara,” I murmured, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Usually I’m called Lady Garnet,” she said hesitantly, looking anywhere but at me.
“Oh, don’t be a snob, Addy, God!” Brand’s disgust spoke for me. He seemed to always say what everyone else was thinking.
“She’s right. Lesserborns should know their place.” Aiden’s second words of the night. Charming.
Adara chewed her lip and turned to Wolfram. “The beer has a lot of calories and the ball is coming up in two days. I was hoping to skip my turn.” She said it as if it was a given she’d get her way. She meant the mating ball, the one where Wolfram would show off his mate while flocks of uppercrust women from all over the Kingdom fawned over him. I wasn’t going to make it to that little soiree.
Wolfram stared at her, mute.
“That’s not how the game works, unfortunately,” I told her, my mouth turned down in mock pity. “Maybe you shouldn’t sit in the circle if you don’t want to play?” I shrugged.
Adara stared at me, unsure if I was being intentionally malicious or not. She blinked a few times then forced a smile and picked up the shot glass, sipping delicately. She clearly was missing the point of
the game.
I immediately swiped the dice and rolled again. I got nothing.
Adara put down the glass, half empty, and picked up the dice. She smiled coyly at Wolfram and winked. Wolfram tried to smile and I almost laughed at him--he looked ridiculous.
Remind me never to go on a date with him.
Adara squealed and lifted her arms in the air like a cheerleader. “Doubles! I pick August!”
Wolfram smirked and snatched the glass, knocking it back. Adara got doubles and Wolfram drank again.
By the end of the hour, I was thoroughly drunk, thanks to Baal’s sorcery with the dice.
“Wait a second. Do sorcerers exist?” I blurted in the middle of Brand’s drink. He spit it everywhere, spraying us all. None of us stood a chance.
I fell back off of my chair as peels of laughter ripped from my gut. I popped back up and Brand grinned stupidly at me.
I pointed at him. “Hey! Aren’t you like twelve?”
“Older than you, sugar,” he said with wiggling brows, “Unless you like robbing the cradle, then I’ll be anything you want me to be.”
“What the fuck? Sicko!” I laughed, punching his shoulder, missing, and toppling to the left.
“Rai, I called your name,” Baal said.
“I shall pay the tribute!” I announced while saluting. I grabbed the glass, except it was gone, my fingers swiping through air.
Wolfram had it, and was drinking it. I gaped at him. “Are you deaf? He said Rai. R-A-I--that’s my name, even though you refuse to use it. It means ray of fucking sunshine, don’t wear it out.”
Wolfram didn’t look amused. He set down his glass. “She’s had too much. I’ll take her drinks from now on. And cut it out, Baal.” His tone ripped through my drunken state and I felt his anger. I shivered.
Baal gave his best innocent pose, complete with a hand halo and fluttering eyelashes.
“You’re trying to get into my pants, aren’t you?” I asked him, then, laughing, walked around the table toward him doing a sultry dance. I plopped down in his lap, and wiggled my butt on him a little. “I don't think you'll fit.” I meant the pants, not..well, you know.
He was like a giant teddy bear, except not at all comfy. His thigh was hard as stone. At least I thought that was his thigh. When his arms locked around my waist, I felt protected. For all his talk, I knew he wouldn’t harm me. He had this innate protectiveness toward women and inside, he was a softy. He had that going for him, at least.
He nuzzled my neck and inhaled and his beard tickled me. I shrieked and giggled and Baal nuzzled in closer.
“Baal…” Wolfram’s tone warned, and I felt everyone still around me, even Adara.
Baal chuckled and I felt the vibration through my body. He kissed me lightly on the side of my neck and I shivered. His beard was so tickly.
“God, she smells so good. And this ass...damn. How are you not tapping this, August?”
Next thing I knew, Brand had me and Baal was gone. I turned around to see Wolfram lifting Baal up by the throat, Baal’s feet dangling in the air. How--?
Adara screamed, pulling on Wolfram’s arm to no avail, then abandoning the scene altogether and running from the room.
Baal clutched at Wolfram’s arms but couldn’t seem to dislodge him. Which was odd, considering Wolfram had said his powers should be weak by now.
The metallic sound of metal on metal sounded and Aiden held a sword up to Wolfram’s neck. “Put him down or I slice your head off. You have three seconds.” Everyone there knew he wasn’t bluffing. That he even was enjoying the prospect of killing his older brother.
Brand leapt up. “August.”
Aiden counted, a sick grin twisting his face. “One...two..”
I panicked, and it was rushing out of me before I knew what I was doing. The gale of wind so strong, it knocked all three men sideways and into the wall, shattering the vanity mirror and knocking the lamps over.
Wolfram scrambled up before anyone else, strode to me, and yanked me up, practically dragging me out out of the room. I stumbled and he picked me up like a baby. Nausea rolled through me and I leaned my head on his shoulder. When we got to my room, he shoved the door open and dumped me on the bed, then strode to the dresser and grabbed my duffel bag. He opened my drawers and started stuffing my clothes into it blindly. I sat dumbly, staring.
“We have to leave. Now,” Wolfram said, not looking up.
The room spun and I tried to still it by holding onto the blankets. “Hold on. What? What about killing Wildfire?”
“You aren’t going with me anymore. They know what you are now.”
Baal entered the room, followed by Brand, and, lastly, Aiden.
“When were you going to tell us?” Baal asked, staring a dagger into Wolfram.
“This isn’t any of your business.”
“Like hell it isn’t!” Brand exclaimed.
Wolfram’s eyes sparked wildly. “Don’t tell anyone about her, do you fucking hear me? Aiden, you want my heirdom? Keep your mouth shut, and it’s done.”
Aiden smirked. “Shall we write out a contract now?”
Baal shook his head. “Wildfire needs to go down.”
Wolfram and I stilled. “How much do you know?” he asked.
Aiden crossed his arms and tilted his head, his deep side part spilling dark bangs over his forehead and right eye. “Did you forget that we have supernatural hearing? Perhaps you’ve been gone too long, Wolfram. Perhaps your powers have run their course.”
Brand snorted. “Yeah, that’s why he lifted the elephant up like he weighed two pounds. And you’ve seen his fire blades.”
“What have you heard?” I asked them, my tongue sticking to my palate.
Baal shrugged. “That you’re some freak of nature, and that you’re plotting to take Wildfire down. Which, by the way, is a nice idea except you wouldn’t survive five minutes against them by yourselves.”
I glanced at Wolfram, who looked utterly defeated. “But you don’t know why we’re going after them?”
Aiden stalked forward. “Presumably because of the blood snatchings. You aren’t the only ones who can procure information, clearly.”
Wait, blood snatchings? How drunk am I?
Wolfram frowned at him but said nothing.
I thought fast, despite my slow brain. “What are you talking about? Wolfram doesn’t tell me anything.”
Baal raised an eyebrow. “The Wildfire attacks in the city. They’ve been taking blood from poor kids.”
My eyes rounded. “Killing kids? I thought they didn’t attack their own?”
Brand shook his head. “Not killing. Just capturing, taking vials of blood, and releasing. Rumor has it, they’re doing the same thing in other Kingdoms, though that can’t be confirmed. Police say it’s not their fight. They don’t give a shit about lesserborns.”
Wolfram remained still, but I noticed his hands were curled tightly. I wanted to go to him and wrap my arms around him, turn off the lights, and soothe away the stress.
But I guess that would be Adara’s job.
Brand stepped forward. “Well, we already have a way in, unless they changed their location. Wolfram can take us there, lesserborn freak can scope out the place under glamour, and we can hide and be ready if she needs assistance.”
Wolfram shook his head. “No. We go alone.”
Aiden crossed his arms. “Then we tell your secret.”
Wolfram tensed. “Which one?” His eyes fell on me and if I didn’t know any better, he looked worried.
“That you’re harboring a fugitive. You know the Air Kingdom wants her dead, right?”
Wolfram smiled wanly. “They won’t come for us here, or on Earth.”
Brand pushed his lips to the side of his face. “I wouldn’t be so sure. They showed up here last week and demanded we turn her over. Mom wasn’t too happy about that.”
I paled. “Holy shit. Are you sure she hasn’t contacted them by now? Why did no one tell me?”
Baal scowled viciously. “Our mother can be severe at times, but she’s not a monster. She doesn’t wish you any harm.”
I relaxed. She had protected me before, when I was ill, with the amnesia story. Although she wanted me from the castle, she wasn’t going to turn me in. I sighed in relief, then peeked at Wolfram. “Maybe we should let them help us, Wolfram. It would be more man-power.”
Wolfram slammed his hand on the dresser and I jumped. “I forbid it.”
Aiden waved. “Goodbye, then. Hope you enjoyed your time with Rai.” He turned to leave as if he would march up to a megaphone and announce what I was to the world.
Wolfram growled, his hands curling and flexing at his sides. “Wait. Don’t you want the heirdom?”
Aiden took a deep breath, his eyes sparking red. “Of course I do, but it doesn’t work like that. Contrary to what you may believe, responsibilities can’t just be shirked whenever you feel like it. You will be King, and you need to act like one.”
To my surprise, Wolfram’s shoulders dropped and he hung his head. “I can’t have anyone else’s deaths on my conscience. It’s enough that I have to bring Rai in to help me. If I had to bring my brothers, and one of you didn’t make it…”
Brand approached him and slapped him on the back. “Stop being a pussy. We’re coming with you. No one messes with the kids.”
Wolfram’s face looked ten years older when he looked up and I knew he was thinking of his baby brother. “Damn right they don’t.”
Baal smiled. “So we’re in?”
I leaned back on the bed. “It would seem so.”
He came up to me and we bumped fists. “I’m a descendent of demons, as all Fire elementals are,” he said.
My eyes flew to his. “What?”
“I said I’d tell you if I was a demon if I found out your secret. I’m not, but I’m the next best thing.”
“Oh.”
Brand sauntered up beside Baal, his arms crossed as he looked down on me. “You know, Air elementals are descendents of angels. That means you,” he bopped my nose, “are half demon, half angel. Split personality anyone?”
I hummed in agreement as my eyes closed, my weariness and drunkenness winning. It made a lot of sense when it came to my personality. “Freak of nature indeed.”