Inside the Flame (Elemental Mages Book 2)

by Rose O'Brien

  Slowly, Bridget’s eyes closed, and she stopped breathing. Something inside Jen broke open at the sight. It was relief, it was pain, it was even a little sadness. What kind of pain could drive someone to the lengths Bridget had gone to? She looked away from Bridget’s body and Theron caught her gaze. He stepped toward the portal and held out his hand.

  It occurred to her then, in a moment that seemed to stretch forever, that true pain put you on one of two paths. You could choose love or you could choose hate. For so many years, she’d walked the fine gray line between the two, choosing neither, only existing.

  Now, she chose.

  Jen took Theron’s hand, took a deep breath and stepped through the portal to the other side.

  Epilogue

  “Want to watch another episode?” Jen asked. Theron could tell from the excited tone of her voice that she desperately wanted to keep watching. They were bingeing the latest season of a superhero drama on a streaming service. It was a good show, but Theron was barely paying attention to it. He’d spent the last few hours mostly watching Jen as they snuggled on a couch in a set of spare quarters in the Citadel.

  When he wasn’t watching her, he was plying her with food and doing his best to empty out the kitchens’ stock of comfort food.

  They’d been in the Citadel for a couple of days now. He’d firmly told the brass to leave them be after the initial debrief. They’d gotten healed up in the hospital wing. His mother, the Citadel’s chief healer wasn’t there, having been sent on a mission for the Council.

  Dumeril had headed back to Austin with a back pounding hug and backward wave, promising to pass on Theron’s well-wishes to Alayna and Alex. He’d have to stop in to see them, apologize for the way he’d left things, and introduce them to Jen. Rather than dreading it, he was excited that he had the chance to do that. Maybe there was a chance to salvage that relationship. Alayna had survived the Reckoning. She was involved with a sapien and the Council had backed off, given them their blessing. They were expecting a baby. Maybe there was some kind of hope for their broken, shattered family after all.

  Xander had disappeared without a goodbye, but that wasn’t entirely unexpected. He’d said hardly a word as they’d come through the portal in Damascus and headed right for the Citadel. They’d handed an unconscious Kahler off to Mage Corps guardians.

  Xander had never been a big talker, but the silence had unnerved Theron a little. Theron had been so focused on Jen that he didn’t notice when Xander had slipped away. A random guardian had informed him that Xander had left the Citadel to head back to New Orleans, his home base.

  Theron vowed to himself that he would catch up with Xander soon. He wouldn’t let it go so long again. He owed his brother everything.

  As they’d prepared to leave Damascus behind and head to the Citadel, Jen had discovered that Jeremiah’s spirit had followed them out of Hell. She’d managed to help the fallen mage commander move on.

  After all that, he and Jen had settled into these quarters and hadn’t left. Their days had been filled with love making, eating, sleeping and binge watching. It had easily been the best two days of his life.

  As the gloomy opening sequence of the show transitioned into the opening scene of the episode, he hit pause.

  Jen looked at him curiously.

  “Can we talk about something?” he asked.

  She nodded, not saying anything, but looking a little worried.

  “We have a meeting with some of the Corps brass in the morning. Have you decided what your plans are? In my experience, it’s better to go into these meetings knowing exactly what you want to ask for.”

  Jen was silent for a long time. The question of what came next hung between them and his heart pounded.

  “I’m going to ask for some time off,” she said, finally. “A few weeks maybe? To get my head right. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to work with anyone or really be around anyone. During our debrief, General Silverthorn mentioned something about training. I think I’d like that. I’d like to learn how to fight, protect myself, use my new powers.”

  They had been very vague with the brass about those powers. They knew from his reports that she could see and communicate with the dead. They didn’t know that she could control them. They hadn’t mentioned that her shade army had come back through the portal with them. The shades weren’t visible, but Jen said she could feel them around her. They weren’t sure what effects the shades could have in this dimension, but Jen was hoping to find out.

  They hadn’t told the brass about Sparky either. Theron could see the hellhound, but he only became visible to other people if Theron asked him to. It required the hellhound to draw on Theron’s power, just a little to phase into their reality. Through his connection to Sparky, Theron could still call on hellfire, an ability that would definitely come in handy if the demons did manage to slip through into their world.

  They could decide later exactly what they wanted to reveal to the Corps leadership. They’d seen one turncoat in the ranks already. Who knew how many more there were?

  “My journalism career is shot, unfortunately, but I still have a lot of skills. Investigation, research, sourcing information, interviewing. I can use my seer abilities. And best of all, no one in the shadow world knows me. We’re going to need information and solid intel if we’re going to stop this invasion. I think you and I could team up. I mean, most people sign up to be journalists to save the world. There’s a good chance I’ll get to do that for real.”

  A big smile spread over his face. “Have I mentioned how brilliant I think you are?”

  “Only a few times,” she said kissing him just below his ear. “But you can tell me that any time you want.”

  “This time off you mentioned. Where do you want to spend it?”

  The smile she turned on him was dazzling. “I want to spend it where ever you are.” She threw a leg over his lap and straddled him, kissing him hard. Heat bloomed within him.

  As she broke the kiss, her midnight gaze kept him locked in place. “I love you, Theron. It took me a while to admit that to myself. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner. I knew it that night in Damascus and I should have told you. I was just scared.”

  Her hands cupped either side of his face.

  “I told you before, the road ahead is going to be hard. There is no guarantee we both make it out the other side of this.”

  “We’ve already been through Hell. Literally. Everything after that is Disneyland,” she told him.

  He pulled her into his arms then, burying his face in her loose black hair. It smelled like soap and sunshine.

  “You asked me where I wanted to spend this time off,” she said against his throat. “I heard about this little place outside San Antonio that is supposed be one of the prettiest spots on Earth. Maybe we could go there?”

  His arms tightened around her again as his heart leapt within his chest.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Author’s Note

  Well, that was a wild ride. I hope you had as much fun on Theron and Jen’s adventure as much as I did writing it.

  If you enjoyed Inside the Flame, please head over to Amazon and leave a review. Even if you didn’t enjoy it, reviews are still appreciated, good or bad.

  The Elemental Mages universe is expanding. Stay tuned for Xander’s story in Troubled Waters. We left poor Xander in a bit of bad situation with that fear demon hiding out in his head.

  Keep up with future releases and sign up for my newsletter here. I share exclusive giveaways, writing updates, cover reveals and the occasional recipe. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I also blog regularly at roseobrienauthor.com.

  Thank you again for buying this book and spending so much time with my imaginary friends.

  Love,

  Rose

  Acknowledgements

  A lot of people made this book possible. Most of the credit has to go to my husband, who did more than his fair share of hou
sework and childcare so that I could put these words down on paper.

  Thank you to my mother, who put in many hours of babysitting and never let me doubt that my words matter. You are a gift.

  Big thanks to my editors at Chimera Editing. Jami Nord and Emmie Mears took a rough manuscript and polished it until it gleamed.

  To all the members of the Austin RWA chapter, thank you for your support, advice and wisdom.

  Thank you to my amazing cover designer, Amala Benny. Check out her dazzling covers at mayflowerstudios.com.

  And thank you to my readers. I’m so excited to be on this adventure with you. Hang on tight, we’ve got a long way to go!

  About the Author

  Rose has been obsessed with ghost stories and the paranormal for as long as she can remember. In the first grade, she made up a ghost story and convinced her entire class that their school hallway was haunted. Kids cried. Parents were called. And a writer was born.

  A Texas native, she loves horseback riding, knitting, practicing martial arts and archery. She lives with her husband and offspring in Central Texas.