Stroke of Fire

by Kira Nyte

  What he’d do to kiss her again, promise her the world with every sweep of his tongue. Show her she could trust him completely.

  Time wasn’t on their side. It was only a matter of time before one of those slayers tracked Briella to Taryn’s house. When that happened, his lifemate’s last roots would need to be torn from the ground if he had any hope of protecting her.

  * * *

  “She hasn’t come out of her room in how long?” Taryn asked, handing a beer bottle to Syn. Syn thanked him, popped the metal top off with the tip of his talon, and took a hearty chug.

  “Five hours.”

  Syn had waited patiently for Briella to emerge. He checked on her throughout the afternoon to make sure she was okay. Her answer was the same each time, muttered clearly with no attention to what she was saying other than to end the interruption. “Fine. Busy.” The scrape of her brushes over canvas preceded his question and followed him down the hallway when she didn’t come to the door.

  He looked over the takeout containers spread across the countertop and shook his head.

  “She won’t come down to eat. Said she’s in a zone, whatever that means.”

  “Any artist I know can attest to ‘the zone.’” Taryn shrugged a shoulder, cast a glance at the ceiling over their heads, and flicked a wrist toward the French doors leading to the private courtyard. “She’s been through a bit. She’ll come down when she’s ready. And don’t worry about safety. I have connections, and those connections have connections who’ve placed some powerful wards around the property. I’ll know if we’re going to get ambushed long before it happens. Take a load off.”

  If only he could take the load of turmoil off his shoulders. That wouldn’t dissipate until he broke through Briella’s shell.

  The soothing trickle of the courtyard fountain created a relaxing atmosphere. The subtly sweet scents of nighttime jasmine and sweet olive tree blooms filled the air. Taryn had turned the private area into an oasis filled with flowering plants, willowy trees, a square dining table with an umbrella, and wrought-iron chairs and benches arranged around the flagstone patio. Fanciful garden décor spotted the sanctuary. Moss clung sparsely along the side of the rectangular fountain base, ivy creeping up the stones and spreading along the closest vegetation.

  Taryn flicked on the outdoor light strands that produced enough illumination without making it overbearing. If he thought Taryn had a romantic bone in his beast, he’d say there was definitely an air of sensuality and seduction about the space.

  “How many women have fallen to your suspect charms after you brought them out here?” Syn asked, trying to lighten his own mood. He took a seat in a cushioned chair and kicked out his legs.

  “And he dodges to the left, avoiding the cluster down the middle,” Taryn taunted, using his beer bottle like a microphone. Syn rolled his eyes. “Brother, the last thing you need to worry about right now is my love life, but I’ll put it simply enough. I’ve had more of the kind of fun that’ll make you blush than you care to know.”

  “Answer enough.” Syn raised his beer in mock salute. He took another long pull on the brew. At this rate, he’d finish the beer in the next couple of seconds. “And I’m not dodging.”

  “Avoiding. Shutting out. Ignoring. Call it what you wish. Your lifemate locks herself in one of my spare rooms for five-plus hours and I come home to find you on the verge of tearing all that pretty hair out of your head. This situation has got to be killing you.” Taryn tilted his chair toward Syn and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. “Is she in denial? Or did you frighten the bejeezus out of her?”

  “There’s nothing to deny because we haven’t had a discussion about anything. She’s closed me out.” Syn pinched his forehead as the weight of his words came down on his head. “Is it even possible for one lifemate to close the other out?”

  “I don’t have lifemate experience, but based on what I’ve heard about Zareh and Alazar and their lifemates, the separation won’t last long. And when that time comes, watch out, because those little sparks you’re feeling now will become dynamite.”

  “Already there.”

  “Well, then, warn me when that time comes. I don’t need to be in close proximity of anything nuclear.” Taryn laughed. “Let me rephrase. I don’t want to be.”

  Syn scowled as his groin throbbed. “You’re not helping me.”

  “Face it, there’s no helping you. So, she doesn’t know she’s a Keeper? Or the daughter of a Keeper? Is Giovani alive? What about Saralyn? Where are they? And where’s your dragonstone?”

  Syn raised a brow. “Was I supposed to write those down?”

  “Smartass.”

  “Jackass.”

  They tapped the necks of their bottles together in salute and drank.

  Then Syn shook his head. “She knows about dragons, but I haven’t learned anything else about what she knows and doesn’t know. She’s from New York. City or state, your guess is as good as mine. I think the Baroqueth were searching for my jewel when they ransacked her apartment, but couldn’t find it. She claims she has no idea about any stone or jewel, and her claim was genuine.”

  “That could mean Giovani is alive.” They both pondered that before he shifted the subject, saying, “Cade gave me a shout. Said Gabriel and Emery were joining the party sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. Looks like I’ll have a full house.” Taryn tapped a foot against the flagstones and a finger against his bottle. “You know, I love this city and I love this house.”

  “I sense a but coming.”

  Taryn turned his russet eyes on Syn. A shadow fell over his face. “I’m ready to go home. To The Hollow. I think Cade’s plan is good timing. I heard Alazar moved his lifemate and his Keeper back there. Zareh intends to relocate once Kaylae has the baby, unless they’ve moved up the date. I’ve already spoken with a real estate agent. I’ll be putting this place on the market by the end of the month.”

  Syn straightened. “Are you sure you want to get rid of it?”

  “It’s not home.” Taryn waved his hand around. “What am I supposed to do with it once I return to our real home, Syn? Sure, I might come for a visit because this city is the best and I’ll get lonely watching all of you lovebirds doing your lovey-dovey things. But, really, it just doesn’t make sense.”

  “Get a caretaker or two. You purchased the property outright. It’s yours. Damn it, man. I’d even take a vacation from The Hollow to come here for a few days.”

  “It’s not the same as living here.”

  “We’re still going to be moving between here and The Hollow until we locate all the surviving Keepers and any other females there might be. Taryn, your lifemate may very well be out there, waiting to be found.”

  Taryn nodded, but his eyes dimmed. “You know my Keeper didn’t make it out of The Hollow. He had no siblings, which means no genetic link to produce a female Keeper.” His lips curled downward as he refocused on Syn. “If I had any hope of finding my lifemate, Syn, I would never have put myself out there in the human world the way I have over the last couple of decades. But there is no hope, so I might as well enjoy my life to the fullest.”

  Syn reached over to squeeze Taryn’s shoulder. “There is always room for hope.”

  “Hope in death?” He snorted and shook his head. “Even I know better than that.”

  A gentle chime echoed through the house and into the courtyard. Syn stood up, his brow furrowing. Taryn was two steps ahead of him, heading into the house.

  “Are you expecting someone?” Syn asked.

  “Other than our brothers, no one.” He dropped the beer bottle on the counter as they moved through the kitchen. Syn did the same. “And they wouldn’t ring the bell.”

  “Did your fancy wards falter?”

  Syn came up short when he caught sight of Briella rushing toward the door.

  Taryn picked up his pace. “Hey, Brie, don’t—”

  Déjà vu.

  Syn shoved Taryn aside and bolted to reach Briella. />
  She pulled the door open.

  His boots skidded over the polished wood floor of the living room. His eyes went wide as he came to a sudden halt.

  The woman on the stoop dropped a bag, her expression mirroring his absolute shock. The man’s smile dropped from his face the moment his gaze moved from Briella and landed on him.

  “Awww, shit,” Taryn said. “Boom!”

  “Syn?” One of the woman’s delicate hands flew up to her mouth while the other held her husband’s arm for dear life. Her eyes sparkled as they teared up. “Gio, tell me I’m not seeing things.”

  Slowly, Syn approached the door, acutely aware of Briella’s confused attention swinging between himself and the couple.

  Her parents.

  His Keeper.

  Giovanni released the handle of his luggage and crossed the threshold, never taking his eyes off Syn.

  “Uh, what’s going on here?” Briella asked.

  Giovanni paused a couple of feet from Syn. Shock, concern, relief, excitement. The concoction of feelings punched Syn in the gut, the head, and left him reeling. His Keeper was alive. And so was Saralyn.

  “Syn,” Giovanni whispered. Syn grinned. The air sizzled between them, a familiar electric connection. “Syn!”

  Giovani slung his arms around Syn in a fierce hug, one that Syn was thrilled to return.

  “You made it out. You and Saralyn,” Syn said, clapping Giovani’s shoulder before he stepped back. He lifted his gaze to meet Saralyn’s. She rushed toward him, and delivered an equally tight hug. “How did you know to come here?”

  “Belle texted me earlier today with an urgent request to come immediately,” Giovani said.

  Syn shot Briella a curious look. He caught her eyes and registered the rush of confusion and horror that expelled from her. He tried to go to her side.

  “Don’t,” she snapped. She threw up a hand and backed toward the stairs. Her gray eyes shimmered, her face paled, and the hurt that came up through the fissures of her hardened expression shredded his heart.

  “Briella—”

  “I-I don’t know what is going on here, but right now, I don’t care to find out.” She backed onto the first step and paused. “Wait. Yes, I do.” Her gaze shot to her father. “How the hell do you all know each other?”

  Giovani cast Syn a lost look. “You didn’t tell her anything, I assume.”

  “Apparently, neither did you,” Syn retorted. He was beyond ecstatic to see his Keeper, but Briella was his priority. “How did she know about the dragons?”

  “I told her stories when she was a child. Saralyn and I both did, but we never divulged our origins. We wanted her to have as normal a life as any human girl. In case…”

  In case Syn hadn’t survived the Baroqueth ambush and his Keeper had no hope of returning to The Hollow.

  After thirty-something years of separation, in proximity proved their connection was as strong as ever. He knew exactly what his Keeper wanted to say, but kept to himself.

  Giovani came to Syn’s side and held his arms out to Briella, who moved away and up another step. “Belle, come here. We’ve missed you so much over the last few months. Your mother is lonely in the gardens.”

  “Sure seemed that way as you two rushed by me without so much as a hi to throw yourselves at him. A stranger.” Those pain-etched eyes flashed toward Syn before returning to her father. He felt the glance like a damn poison-laced spear through his gut. “Listen, Dad. I don’t know what kind of conspiracy you’ve all got going on, but this is the worst possible joke you could even think to play on me right now. My apartment’s been broken in to, I’ve been attacked twice in two days, and now I’m supposed to trust a dragon who thinks I belong to him?”

  Her words lanced down his middle, splaying him open.

  Saralyn gasped. “Attacked?” She hurried to the stairs. “Oh, I knew letting you come here was a terrible idea. I told you, Gio. Especially this city, with all the activity surrounding it. Oh, Briella.”

  Syn’s chest tightened and his gut clenched when Saralyn reached for Briella, but his spitfire lifemate scowled and ran up the stairs, leaving her mother staring after her, bereft.

  “I think you both might need this,” Taryn interrupted. He held out a beer to Giovani and a glass of wine to Saralyn. His gaze drifted up the stairs. “Today has been a day for the record books. The day the world came crashing down at our feet. Or rather, her feet.”

  Syn rubbed his hands over his face, anguish and aggravation warring for control. Aggravation at the universe for thinking this was someone’s bright idea of twisted entertainment. Anguish at the pain he’d felt radiating from his lifemate.

  “Did you two rent a car?” Syn finally asked.

  “No. We took a cab from the airport. Brought one bag each. Belle’s text had us in a panic, so we rushed to get here.” Giovani sipped the beer. Familiar gray eyes looked Syn over. “I think I’m starting to put the puzzle pieces together. She’s your lifemate?”

  Syn nodded once.

  “I should’ve told her more about us, but I didn’t.” His Keeper sighed, his shoulders slumped. “I should have at least told her about you, but you know how young females can be. Get these fairy tale ideas in their heads and can’t see past the story to reality. I didn’t want that happening to her, but I taught her about her gifts and self-defense, and dragon history.”

  “Gio, I’m going to speak with Briella. She needs familiarity,” Saralyn said. She rested a gentle hand on Syn’s shoulder. “I’m so happy to see you again, Syn.”

  “As am I you.”

  Saralyn smiled sadly and climbed the stairs.

  “Second door on the right,” Taryn called after her. To Giovani, he said, “I’ll bring your things inside and put them in another room. I think we can celebrate reunions later. Right now, you and Syn need to catch up on current events. Courtyard is open.”

  Syn nodded, taking in his Keeper with one short glance. The man had aged well, his hair a dark red with only a few lighter strands, his face nearly free of wrinkles and his body fit and lithe. There would be more time for historical updates later.

  For now, they needed to address the Baroqueth threat and how to rip the carpet of her old life from beneath Briella’s feet smoothly enough so she remained standing strong.

  Chapter Nine

  Briella pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs, keeping her eyes lowered. She listened to the door click closed and soft footsteps cross the polished wooden floor until her mother sat down on the edge of the bed.

  She hated herself in these moments. Hated her weakness and her confusion. Hated her childish response to the performance she watched downstairs. Hated the way she yearned for a stranger who locked away more secrets behind his mysterious eyes and devilish beauty.

  She hated that she had lost control of her life.

  Briella didn’t count the minutes that passed as she and her mother sat in silence. Having her mother’s company did wonders for her battered ego, but she still wasn’t willing to let anyone off the hook easily. They deceived her, betrayed her, let her wander aimlessly down a path they knew well, if what she witnessed a short time ago wasn’t a mind trick.

  The shock that her parents and Syn knew each other damn near wiped her off her feet. What were the chances?

  She knew it wasn’t a coincidence.

  Her mother finally broke the silence with a hand on Briella’s arm and a softly spoken, “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

  Briella wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the question, but as her mother’s words sank in, her defenses shattered. She shook her head against her knees.

  “I’m twenty-nine years old and I feel like a little kid lost in a storm. I don’t know what’s happening around me anymore. I’m losing control of my life just when I finally started building the life I dreamed of.” Briella clamped her jaw and ground her teeth. Her eyes burned and her throat tightened and ached. She hugged her legs harder. “I don’t even know wh
ere to begin because I can’t make sense of what I’ve seen. You and Dad and Syn? Dragons? Enemies? Ma, what is going on with me?”

  “Oh, my darling.”

  Briella fell into her mother’s open embrace. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she refused to let the sobs free. Her throat burned in protest.

  “Your father and I made the decision before I had you that we were going to give you the most normal life possible, despite our differences from the rest of this world. We had no way of knowing what the future held. We didn’t want to feed you false hope in case we could never return to our true home.” Her mother stroked her braid and rocked her slowly. “Perhaps it was wrong of us, but our intentions were to allow you to live, not create barriers that prevented you from living your life to the fullest.”

  “Ma, you’ve always been overprotective. You fought me about coming here to follow my dreams,” Briella reminded, her voice raspy. “You didn’t want me to pursue the gallery.”

  “No, sweetheart. I wanted you to pursue the gallery. My joy at the possibility of you achieving this monumental goal was unbelievable. But I knew the dangers this city might hold for you. With your gifts to hear others’ thoughts and the visions that can manifest inside your mind, I feared New Orleans would be too overwhelming. This place attracts paranormal elements, and the possibility our enemies might stalk these streets was very real.”

  Briella sucked in a shuddering breath and sat up, pulling free of her mother’s arms. She wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands and moistened her dry lips. “For all these years, I knew who I was. Briella Everett, aspiring artist with strange gifts. I knew how to make a garden thrive through patience and perseverance. I knew how to protect myself and guard my heart. I knew I was strong and smart and diligent. I didn’t give up. I fought for what I wanted.” She shrugged, letting her hands drop to the blanket. “Now, I haven’t a clue. I have never felt fear the way I felt it earlier today when I was attacked by that person. I should have felt fear when I saw the impossible manifest before my eyes. When Syn turned into what resembled a dragon. But I didn’t. I’m a basket case.” She lifted her chin and met her mother’s sympathetic gaze. “Who am I, Mom? Because today shook my foundation and I don’t know anymore.”