Burned

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  And it felt good, being here again, even if we did have to hide.

  “Right, you two need to go to bed. Catherine prepared the biggest room on the top floor. The dragon can stay here with me,” Rhian announced an hour later, after Idris and I had finally finished eating, both of us sitting bloated in front of our empty plates.

  “Aunt, are you sure? We don’t want to intrude,” Idris said.

  “Her name is Avianna and she can be challenging at times,” I explained, still dreaming about a hot shower or a bath. At the same time, I felt a little guilty. Aly was all alone, probably worried about me, but there was no way I could send her a message telling her I was okay. There was no connection between London and Draconia. The cracks of magic appeared unexpectedly. Plus, I wasn’t prepared to return without Nicolas.

  “I think she can communicate with dragons, Francesca,” Avianna echoed in my head.

  I was shocked, wondering if this was even possible. Rhian wasn’t bonded to her. I wanted to hug Avianna. We had been separated for a little while, and now I felt her energy moving through me once again. This was wonderful, and I felt so lucky that I had her in my life.

  Another thought pushed its way into my mind. I could also get in touch with my people; the thieves who I used to work with in the past. I’d left them behind when I fell through the crack. I knew they would be able to help us find Nicolas if the need arose.

  “Really, you can talk to her?”

  “Of course, and you need a shower. You stink of Dark Magic; that woman’s scent is all over you. Thank you for rescuing me. I thought I would end up in some old dungeon,” Avianna said and I reminded myself that I needed to hug her later.

  “Okay, off you go. Catherine will show you the way and we will talk in the morning. Finally, something exciting is happening. I feel like I’m in my twenties again.” Rhian laughed, shooing us toward the stairs.

  Her maid took us upstairs and we climbed all the way to the third floor. When she finally opened the door to a large attic room, I thought maybe she had made some kind of mistake, because there was only one large bed.

  “I will be downstairs if you need me. The mistress doesn’t go to bed until late,” Catherine explained and then shut the door.

  It was a large and very comfortable space. Idris glanced at me and I instantly knew what he was thinking. We both thought we would get separate rooms, but before I could say anything, he grabbed my hand.

  I was too shocked to react, suddenly swamped by desire.

  “I want you, little one, and I don’t care about anything else. We have one moment to forget about all of our problems,” he said and then he kissed me. This was completely unexpected and for a split second I didn’t know what to do. A wave of new emotions moved through me. The kiss was deeper, starved and urgent as if he was afraid I was going to reject him.

  I gasped in shock, getting lost in the warmth and intimacy of the moment. When he pulled back I could barely stand. The surface of my skin started buzzing with electric current. My core ached for him, but then I realised that I still needed to take a damn shower.

  “It’s been a hell of a long day. Let me shower first,” I mumbled, as heat rushed to my cheeks. He nodded and then I vanished inside the bathroom, breathing hard. My whole body was trembling with anticipation. I looked at myself in the mirror and wondered if this was such a good idea.

  “Don’t think about it, little one. We’ve had it bad for each other for a long time,” he told me, probably standing by the door. I smiled at myself, knowing he was right. I didn’t want to overthink this too much.

  I’d never showered so fast in my life. Idris had this cheeky grin splitting his face when he vanished inside the bathroom after me. I went to the bed and sat down; it was super comfortable. A feeling of nervousness hit me all of the sudden.

  I wanted to sleep with him more than I could imagine. Sexual tension had surged between us since the moment we met. Before, I didn’t even have a chance to think about it. Nicolas was my friend, yeah, there had been a connection between us, but Idris. He was something else, and maybe he had betrayed me in the past. Now, none of that mattered. I wanted him.

  The only source of light came from a small lamp sitting on the bedside table. I was already naked under the covers when he stood at the door. The heat that danced between us suddenly became unbearable.

  He sped through the room and took me in his arms. After that, all my reservations were completely forgotten. His touch was like hot lava against my skin.

  “You’re incredible, little one,” he said, lowering me down, then started kissing me with more passion than I’d ever thought possible. Idris devoured my mouth, as his hand moved down the centre of my back. He pressed himself over my groin and I gasped, feeling his hard erection. Soon nothing else mattered.

  “I want you,” I whispered with a soft moan. He lowered his head to my breasts and kissed my nipples. I arched my back, needing to have him inside me when he sucked on each one. More heat was pooling between my legs. Our energy collided; I could feel my own crackling down my arms.

  The earlier mistrust, the resistance was gone. It was just the two of us now—two people who wanted each other. He was biting my nipples and I was losing my mind. The ache between my legs was pulsating with unsteady beats. My breathing became uneven as I tangled his hair in my fingers.

  He moved his mouth further down, trailing featherlight kisses in its wake, and when he neared the lower part of my stomach I was ready to pull him towards me. I had never been so turned on in my entire life, to the point that I was uncomfortable. It was a different kind of making love. Idris was careful, and yet assertive. Victor normally climbed on top of me, and he was done within few moments. He never took care of me.

  Then suddenly, Idris’s head was between my legs and I was having real trouble with keeping still. I welcomed the jolt of desire that surged through my core. I kept moaning and then he moved down to the centre of my thighs. When he started licking my clit, I grabbed his hair and pulled it, moaning loudly. He was unbelievable.

  “Stay still, little one. I’m enjoying this too much.” His smooth voice reached me and then he added a finger.

  I was coming undone, moaning, never having experienced something so wonderful before. I knew I was going to have an orgasm, a real one for the first time in my life. My legs were trembling, my heart was pounding, and he kept licking me, making my pleasure his own. I wanted to have him inside me now. When I finally managed to open my eyes, I thought for sure his skin had started glowing. It pushed me to the edge and then I came hard. Liquid heat embraced my entire body, and I screamed his name a few times. My heart jackhammered in my chest. A stream of very intense emotions rolled over me when Idris stared at me with that cheeky smile.

  Idris didn’t let me rest for long. He grabbed me and turned me around, so I was on all fours.

  “Beautiful, you can’t even imagine how much I’m going to enjoy this,” he growled in my ear and then shoved his hard erection inside me without warning. He filled me completely, and I lost control of my energy when his fingers pinched my erect nipples.

  Then he started pounding into me hard and fast. My muffled screams were probably heard downstairs, but I didn’t care. It was a done deal. I chose him, and I trusted him.

  He dug his fingers into my hips. The throbbing need was removed with a desire so hot and wild that my body hummed with it. Our magic connected; it swamped through the room fast, knocking various items off of the wardrobe. My whole body trembled beneath him while he kept thrusting into me.

  Moments later we were both coming apart. The lights were flickering again, and I had a feeling that this had nothing to do with a power outage. A bright yellow light was radiating from our skin. I saw his memories—they were fading—but I caught an image of a beautiful woman. They were kissing and the fire inside me spread down to my core.

  By the time I collapsed on top of him, my mind was a little foggy. We were breathing hard, trying to figure out what had ju
st happened.

  His hand moved gently over my back and magical energy was still buzzing between us. I giggled a little, inhaling the smell of his skin. It was earthy and fresh.

  “I saw a woman; she was in your memories. You must have accidentally shared them with me. It’s probably because we were connected,” I explained, and Idris sighed.

  “She was my mother, she’s always on my mind,” he responded in a sad voice. I didn’t want to push, but my curiosity won out.

  “What happened to her?”

  “She’s dead. She was killed by one of my father’s men. It was a fatal accident, but I always blamed him for it,” he said, and I swallowed hard.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It was a long time ago. Apparently, he loved her, but I never believed him. Rhian blames him, too, but he’s too proud to admit to anything. I sometimes despise him, too,” Idris added.

  I shut my eyes, listening to his breathing and thinking that he must have had a hard life. He was half Dark One, a mage who didn’t fit anywhere. I didn’t even realise that we were so similar—both lost in a world that didn’t understand us.

  Chapter Twenty-One.

  Dimond city.

  We must have fallen asleep in each other’s arms in the early hours of the morning. The next day I woke up feeling wonderfully relaxed. I never thought that one day, I would be lying in a comfortable bed with very good-looking mage who was also half human.

  He was still fast asleep, and I didn’t want to stare at him for too long like a creep, but he looked so peaceful. His chest was rising and falling in slow movements.

  I glanced around the room, seeing the bright sun beaming through the curtains. I gently pushed away covers and picked up my old T-shirt from the floor, then started looking for my underwear. Deep down I felt a little guilty that we made such a rash decision. Nicolas was still in prison, and I here was, having a good time.

  I tiptoed to the window and pulled the curtains to the side. My heart stopped when I saw my city. The view of Draconia from the top floor was absolutely spectacular. I hadn’t even realised how much I’d missed the city since I’d been gone. I stared at the blue sky, sensing magic in my system. Maybe there was freedom in London, but I would always miss the magic.

  “What are you doing?” Idris’s voice brought me back to the present. I jumped a little, glancing at him. Good thing I wasn’t naked. He was wide awake, staring at me with the same penetrating eyes. The heat rose from the tip of my toes and I instantly wanted to be in his arms. For Qesborth, why the hell did he have that kind of effect on me?

  “I’m just looking at the city. I missed it, but I can’t imagine living here under the rule of Dark Ones. My best friend—she had been out here all alone—I was too late. There are too many painful memories amongst those walls,” I explained, and walked up to him.

  He pulled me into his arms and kissed me again. More heat embraced me slowly. His hands were all over my body again and although I was turned on, we had to slow down. We needed to get downstairs and figure out our next move. On top of that, Avianna was probably going to read me like an open book. She could sense all of my emotions.

  “Idris, we need to go downstairs. I would love to stay here with you, but we have to think about our plan,” I told him, pulling away and breathing heavily. He was already hard and getting out of bed was the last thing on my mind, but we had other more important pressing matters that we needed to take care of first.

  “Come on. You’re right; we can always make love later on,” he said with a wink.

  Ten minutes later we walked downstairs, and I had to remove that stupid grin from my face. I was happy, but Idris’s aunt was a serious woman. She was all about business, not pleasure. We hadn’t planned this, but Idris had proven to me more than once that he wasn’t like his father.

  “Well, well, well, it’s you, my dear. You’re positively glowing and I bet you had a great time with Idris upstairs,” Avianna’s voice rang in my head. It sounded like she was laughing.

  His aunt was sitting in the large chair with a cup of coffee in her hand. She smiled at me warmly when we approached. My baby dragon already sensed the changes in my mood.

  “Avianna, stop it. You’re too young to understand certain things,” I told her, rubbing my cheek.

  She was flying around, batting her small wings and releasing a little fire here and there.

  “Catherine will fetch both of you a cup of coffee. I hope the two of you slept well?” Rhian asked, glancing at Idris, who seemed very relaxed. This was way too awkward. It looked like his aunt knew what happened upstairs. She must have heard me. Crap, this was embarrassing.

  “Great, Aunt. Thank you,” he said, and winked at me.

  “Come on. I know everything, but I’m happy for you. Idris is so handsome and strong. He’ll take care both of us,” she added, flying down and sitting on Rhian’s arm.

  Rhian laughed, like she’d heard Avianna and I tried to chill out a little. The maid cooked excellent eggs. I started eating, not realising I was starving.

  “I want to help you two get to the Dimond city. This won’t be easy. There are wardens who are spying for the Dark Ones all over the place, so we have to be careful. The prison is right in the centre of the Underground. And we need special access to pass through the gate,” Rhian said, sounding like she knew what she was talking about.

  “Aunt, we both know what’s going to happen once you step outside. The Dark Ones will be all over you. My father must have activated a spell to keep you in line,” Idris said. Rhian’s eyes darkened, and she clenched her fists.

  “Yes, he did, but we can work around it. We need a distraction of some sort. If we create chaos outside the house, near the square, no one will care that I’ve broken the wards. Their inquisitors won’t be able to track me down once I’m in the tunnels,” she said.

  “Hmm, do you really think this could work?” I asked. “We need to figure out where Magnus has taken Nicolas. The conditions in the Dimond City are very harsh. Wardens are dying there in masse.”

  “Your friend was transferred there for a reason. I’d say my brother hoped he could get him to talk,” she said, and a cold shiver crawled over my spine.

  “We need to hurry then, but what about Avianna?” I asked.

  “What do you mean, what about me? I’m coming with you.” she started shouting inside my head.

  “This is too dangerous. I nearly lost you before. We have no idea what might happen if Magnus get his hands on you.” I said.

  “He won’t, because I will burn him alive. You really need me inside the city. I have old connections and I can get you past the gates,” another voice in my head said. And this voice didn’t belong to Avianna.

  I glanced at Rhian who was smiling as she sipped her coffee.

  “Am I missing something here?” Idris asked, running his hand across his sexy jaw. I really needed to stop looking at him like that. He was making me weak and we had a huge task ahead.

  “Your aunt can communicate with Avianna,” I explained.

  “That’s why your father hates me, because I can sense if there is something wrong with the dragons.” She sighed. “Anyway, I think you should burn the statue of the God of the Lower World on the square.”

  I glanced at Idris, who didn’t look convinced. This was a big deal, and many wardens believed they would be banished to hell if they disrespected the statue of Qesborth. At the same time, this would completely disorientate the Dark Ones. People would panic and then we could enter the tunnels without being seen.

  Rhian was trying to save the dragons, and deep inside, I had a feeling she was ready to overturn the entire system.

  “Fire? Okay, that could work, but what then? Francesca and I might not escape. There will be Dark Ones everywhere,” Idris said and then his aunt got up. She was wearing a long red elegant, flawless dress.

  “No one will pay any attention to you two once they notice the statue is burning. It’s the perfect plan, Idris. Think about
it,” she said, and I had to agree with her.

  It was a terrible crime, but I never particularly believed in any eternal force. The God of the Lower World was there to be our protector, but he’d allowed the Dark Ones to take over the city.

  “What? Don’t look at me like that. It’s just a statue and everyone will be running around like crazy, trying to escape from the square. Everything will be complete mayhem,” Rhian said.

  “She’s right; it’s the only way, unless of course, it’s something you can’t do.” Idris said to me. I shook my head. The God of Lower World had always meant something to me before Dara’s death and then later finding out the truth about Dragon Fever, but this time it was about Nicolas.

  Nothing had changed after last night. I still had to free my friend—he was guilty of nothing but being a warden—but this was going to be one dangerous mission. Somehow, the Dark Ones were going to pay. Wardens were going to be free and so were the dragons who’d been enslaved for far too long.

  Rhian started talking and we all listened. I had been in the Dimond city before, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Besides, I could barely remember when they were dragging me down the streets. I had been betrayed by Victor back then and my whole life had fallen to pieces.

  “We have to wait until it gets dark,” I said, and everyone nodded in the agreement. Later on, we took a break for a late brunch.

  Idris locked himself in his aunt’s study and I tried to keep myself busy. Deep down I was itching to leave the house and visit people who used to rely on me, but I didn’t want to screw anything up. It was too dangerous for me to expose Avianna, especially when security was on high alert.

  His aunt gave me a tour around her house. She took me to the second floor where she had an enormous collection of very rare books. Her magical artefacts were impressive, too. On top of that, Avianna kept singing love songs, trying to wind me up about Idris.