Light The Fire: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Her Elemental Dragons Book 0)

by Elizabeth Briggs

  Shadowy figures with dimly glowing eyes stood around the great hall. They looked almost like humans except for their long claws and the way their bodies tapered off near the bottom. As those glowing yellow eyes turned toward us, cold fear shot down my spine.

  "Shades," Blane said, as he pushed me behind him.

  Impossible. Shades were a myth, nothing more. They were stories parents told to their children to keep them from misbehaving. Shades were said to once have been friendly spirits, but were now twisted, deadly ghosts trapped between this world and the next. Worst of all, they were hungry…and nearly impossible to kill.

  The shades rushed toward us, trailing across the floor with their insubstantial bodies, moving through anything in their way. Roth, Derel, and Falon all drew their weapons too, swiping at the nearest ones alongside Blane. Each of the men knew how to fight, while all I could do was stand behind them and pray. Except their blades went straight through the shades as if they were nothing but air.

  “Weapons don’t hurt them!” Derel called out.

  “We need fire,” Roth said, as one of the shades tried to claw at his arm.

  Fire—of course. Like the elementals, shades could probably only be stopped by fire, water, air, or earth.

  That meant I had to do something, but how? I wasn't a fighter. I'd never killed anyone before. But we were in danger and I couldn’t let my men get injured. I summoned the Fire God’s gift into my palms, the heat giving me clarity and strength. As the shade lunged for Roth again, I threw my ball of fire at it. The magic hit with a loud sizzle and flames flashed all over the shade, before the creature vanished in a cloud of black smoke. I felt a split second of triumph, before more shades crowded around us.

  Now that we’d seen what my fire could do to the shades, I summoned even more of it. Blane grabbed a torch off the wall and swept it through my ball of flame, lighting it instantly. Falon picked up a discarded chair and broke it over his knee, splintering the wood into pieces. He tossed them to Derel and Roth, and they gestured for me to light their stakes as well. Roth hesitated as his stake lit up with fire, no doubt remembering how he got his injury, but then he guarded me from the shades with the others.

  We backed up behind a discarded bookshelf and some tables, but the shades moved right through the furniture without slowing at all. Blane rushed the closest one with a roar, swiping his torch at it. The other shades surrounded us almost instantly, and I could barely summon fire fast enough to blast them before they got to me. The men fought them off with their improvised fiery weapons, although the shades' claws still managed to rip through their clothes and slash their skin.

  As another of my men cried out, fear swelled within me and I prayed to the Fire God for help. We were in his temple, doing his work, why wasn’t he helping us? Was this some kind of test? Were we on our own?

  But he’d given me a gift, and even though I barely knew how to control it, I felt it flickering inside me. My fear and determination to protect my mates only made it flare hotter, and I let out a roar and spread my arms, calling forth the Fire God’s wrath with power I didn’t know I possessed. Each shade in the room suddenly burnt up with a piercing scream, turning to ash.

  As the power left me, I crumpled to the floor, completely spent. Derel rushed over to me and asked, “Are you all right?”

  I nodded. “Yes, although it seems I need a little more practice with my magic.”

  The other men were immediately at my side, though they were all bleeding from various minor cuts from the shades. I was just relieved we were still alive.

  Blane brushed back a damp piece of blond hair from my eyes. “I think you did a damn good job with your magic already.”

  “You were incredible,” Falon said, touching my cheek lovingly.

  Roth suddenly swept me up into his strong arms. "Let's find you somewhere to lie down."

  "Really, I'm fine," I said, though I didn't protest too much because I liked being held like this against his hard body.

  He grunted and carried me through the dark temple, while the others lit torches where we could find them to brighten the dark halls. The room with the shades had been some sort of grand entrance hall, with tall ceilings and a huge statue of a fiery dragon in the center. Other doors led down hallways to more rooms, including kitchens, storerooms, bedrooms, and washrooms. Tomorrow I wanted to fully explore, but at the moment it took everything I had to keep my eyes open.

  I barely remembered Roth setting me down, or the others tucking some blankets over me. All I knew was that each one kissed me goodnight, and I fell asleep wondering if this would ever feel like home.

  Chapter Twelve

  In the morning I discovered I’d been placed in a bedroom that the men had prepared for me, although it needed more cleaning, as did the rest of the temple. Dim, murky light shone through the windows from the smoke-covered sky, reminding me that the volcano still raged on. We’d made it to the temple—would the Fire God speak to me soon and tell me my purpose?

  I visited the washroom quickly, then began a more thorough tour of the temple. I barely remembered anything from last night after the shade attack, and now I surveyed the building with a more critical eye, making a mental note of everything I’d want to change or fix. Though the temple itself was all black volcanic stone and didn’t need any repairs, everything inside it required straightening, repairing, or cleaning. If we were going to live here for the rest of our lives, we had a lot of work to do.

  I stopped in the kitchen, where Derel was scrubbing down the counters. “I had a feeling you’d be in here.”

  He looked up at me with a wry grin. “Someone needs to cook for us. Unless you want to do it?”

  I held up my hands in surrender. “I’ll help with the baking if you’d like, but you’re welcome to take over in the kitchen. That was more my sisters’ area of expertise.”

  “Yes, I remember.” He propped his hip on the counter and offered me a bit of bread, ham, and cheese. “You preferred to hole up in a corner somewhere with your books.”

  “That’s true,” I said, as I devoured the food. When was the last time I’d eaten? Lunch yesterday, perhaps? “Unfortunately I couldn’t turn reading into a profession.”

  “You can now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Amusement made his dark eyes dance. “Let’s just say you’re going to be very happy when you see the library.”

  My eyes widened. “There’s a library?”

  He nodded. “I’m pretty sure it has more books than all of Sparkport. It’ll take you years to read them all.”

  I finished off his food and wiped my hands. “I’d better get started then.”

  “Not yet,” he said, taking my arm. “There’s another place I think you’ll want to visit first.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  He led me out of the kitchen and down the halls. I spotted Roth and Blane arranging some furniture in another room, but Derel continued on. Soon we came upon a cave-like room filled with steaming water in a few different pools. Falon was already inside and turned toward us with a smile.

  “What is this place?” I asked.

  "A natural hot spring," Falon said, as he bent down to dip his fingers in. He brought them to his lips with a smile. "Freshwater. Nice and warm too."

  “This is where we’ll get our water to drink and cook with,” Derel said, gesturing at one of the smaller pools, before turning to the largest one. “And this one can be used for bathing.”

  “Incredible.” I wanted to fall to my knees and thank the Fire God for providing this for us. I’d suspected there was a way to survive up here, but this was better than I’d imagined.

  Derel moved behind me and began sliding down the straps of my dress. “I think we should try it out.”

  “Do you?” I asked, my breath catching as he pressed a kiss to my neck.

  Falon closed in on me from the front, caging me between his best friend. “You must be eager to was
h off the dirt from our days of traveling.” His hands slid along my bare arms as his mouth lowered to mine. “We can help.”

  “I am feeling quite dirty,” I said, before our lips met.

  Derel left a trail of kisses down my neck to my shoulder, then tugged my dress down, revealing one of my breasts. Falon immediately palmed it in his large, rough hand, and began squeezing my flesh. I moaned as Derel continued yanking the dress down, freeing another breast for his friend to claim. The fabric brushed against my hips as my entire torso was bared to the two men, who took their time exploring me with eager strokes and light kisses.

  Their boldness surprised and thrilled me. Derel and I hadn’t gotten along for most of my life, but the sexual chemistry had always simmered between us under the surface. Now that he’d admitted his feelings for me, it seemed he didn’t want to hold back any longer. Falon, on the other hand, had always acted as though he was nothing more than a friend, but not anymore. As he took one breast in his mouth and ran his tongue over my nipple, I didn’t have any more doubts that what we had was more than friendship.

  “We know you’ve been with Blane and Roth, but now we’re going to make you ours,” Derel’s voice said, as he nipped at my ear. His hard length pressed against my behind and sent a rush of wet heat between my thighs.

  Falon ran his hand down my hips to continue easing my dress down, until it fell to the floor. “For years we held back because of our friendship, knowing we could never be happy if you picked one of us. But that isn’t a problem anymore.”

  “I want you both,” I said, pressing a kiss to Falon’s lips, before turning to kiss Derel too. “I’ve always wanted you both.”

  “How about at the same time?” Derel asked, as he stroked my behind.

  “Is that possible?”

  “Oh yes.” He gave my bottom a hard squeeze. “Now get in the water.”

  The two men watched as I moved toward the spring and stepped down into the water. Delicious warmth crept over me as I sank into it, making all my muscles relax. Before me, both men began to undress, tearing off their shirts and dropping their trousers, revealing their muscular bodies and jutting cocks. If this was going to be my life from now on, I couldn’t complain.

  Derel descended first into the water and took me in his arms, kissing me hard while his fingers slipped between my thighs. He stroked me in both my mouth and my core and I had to cling to him as pleasure swept over me. His wet, muscular body pressed against mine in the most sensual way, and I wrapped my legs around him to get even closer. His cock slipped inside me as we came together, like it couldn’t help but find its way to where it belonged. I gasped at the sudden joining, but then his tongue was sliding against mine, matching his thrusts.

  Then Falon’s hands were on me too, his body fitted against my back. He was even more muscular than Derel from days spent working as a carpenter, and I enjoyed the feel of his hard ridges on my skin. Along with the other hard thing poking into my behind, which I knew wanted a taste of me too.

  While Derel gripped my hips to pump into me, Falon’s hands claimed my breasts and his mouth sucked on my neck. I arched back against him, taking Derel deeper, while turning my head to capture Falon’s mouth. Derel leaned down to lick water off my neck, but then he pulled out of me and spun me toward Falon. With water churning around us, Falon took me into his arms and captured my mouth, then entered me with one smooth push. He filled me up just as well as Derel did, but it was different. Derel was longer, but Falon was thicker—and both of them were mine.

  “I think we’re clean enough,” Derel said.

  Falon nodded and lifted me out of the water, my body wrapped around him as he moved onto the black stone floor. He set me down on a long cloth the men had laid out, and then pumped into me from above a few times, like he couldn’t help himself, before rolling us over so that I was on top. I took a moment to savor how huge he felt in this position, while Derel moved behind us. He picked up a bottle of oil, and I realized they’d been planning this all along. Waiting for me to wake up, so they could lay their claim to me…together.

  Derel kneeled behind me and began stroking my behind, spreading my cheeks, sliding his oiled fingers along my back entrance. I gasped with each touch, especially as Falon slowly rocked underneath me. When Derel’s finger eased inside, I let out a cry of pleasure and surprise. No one had touched me there before, and I was shocked to find how much I enjoyed it.

  Derel spent a few minutes stretching me wide while I rode Falon, and it was hard to believe anything could be more pleasurable than this moment, but I knew it would be once Derel was inside me too.

  Then Derel’s fingers vanished, and were quickly replaced by something much larger, harder, and thicker. As he pushed inside my tight hole, a mix of pleasure and pain shot through me and I clung to Falon as I cried out. He held me in his arms and stroked my breasts lovingly, and when his mouth captured mine, Derel was able to inch deeper inside me from behind.

  “That’s it,” he said. “Just relax and let me in.”

  “Oh Gods,” I said, as he filled me up slowly, stretching me around him in impossible ways.

  “You’re doing great,” Falon said, with a slight pinch to my nipples.

  Suddenly Derel was all the way inside, his hips flush with my behind, and I drew in a ragged breath as the feelings swept through me. I was one with both men at the same time, all of us joined together in the most intimate way.

  “Please,” I dug my fingers into the light curls on Falon’s chest and whimpered, not knowing what I asked for, only that I needed more.

  Falon gripped my hips and began to thrust up into me, which made Derel move too. Derel’s hands found my breasts and he arched over me from behind as he sank deep inside. Together the two of them began to move in a smooth rhythm, which felt more incredible than anything I’d ever known before. I was pressed between them, joined with them both, and all I could do was let them take control of my body and bring us all to release.

  The climax swept through me quickly, making me cry out again and again as pleasure shook my body. I tightened up around both men and they seemed to surge inside me, both of them groaning and exploding together. All of us succumbing at the same time to the unimaginable pleasure of being one with each other’s bodies.

  As satisfaction swept over us, the men wrapped me in their arms, squeezing me between them, while they whispered that they loved me and always would. I whispered that I loved them too as I snuggled close against them, my enemy and my best friend, and thought how lucky I was to have them here with me.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After my tryst with Falon and Derel I found the library, while the men continued working in other rooms of the temple. At first all I could do was stare at the bookshelves lining every wall from floor to ceiling, full of dusty old tomes I couldn’t wait to crack open. Then I slowly stepped inside, examining a seating area on one side of the room and a small desk on the other with a giant flame carved into it. This was all for me, the High Priestess, I realized. Maybe I was meant to be a scholar of sorts after all.

  A faded leather journal sat on top of the desk, covered in dust. I blew it off as I sat in the chair and then flipped the journal open, the pages making an audible crack as they moved for the first time in years. With my breath in my throat, I began to read.

  My name is Ara and one day I’m going to be the next High Priestess.

  Ara—my grandmother! Did she leave this here for me? No, she couldn’t have known I would come to the temple…but maybe she knew someone would.

  For years the Dragons have been pressuring all the High Priestesses to step down. They’re scared of what we know. They’re afraid of what will happen if the Gods awaken.

  My mother refuses to leave, of course, even though the Gods remain as dormant as this volcano. I’ve decided to record my thoughts in case something should happen to us, in the hopes that one day a future High Priestess will find it.

  My mother said she didn’t know why Ara had lef
t the temple and moved to Sparkport. Could this journal hold the key? Was it because of the Dragons?

  I’d lived in fear of the Dragons all my life, as did everyone else with any sense. But the Dragons served the Gods alongside the priests—didn’t they? Why would they be afraid if the Gods woke? I had much to learn, obviously. Yet the Fire God remained silent.

  I intended to read the journal cover to cover to learn about my grandmother’s life and my role here, but for now I skipped to the very last entry, desperate to know why she’d left the temple.

  Once I turned twenty I was supposed to leave the temple and find four priests who would become my mates. Instead I let the Crimson Dragon seduce me, much to my mother’s dismay. She says he did it as a way to ruin me, and I suppose she might be right. If so, his plan worked—because I am pregnant.

  I sat back and rested a hand over my racing heart. Gods, was I the granddaughter of the Crimson Dragon? Sark was the most ruthless and brutal Dragon of them all, even though he served the Fire God and ostensibly protected the Fire Realm and led our armies. I’d only seen him a few times when he’d come to check on Sparkport to instill fear in us, and he had been quite handsome, especially for someone hundreds of years old. But I’d also heard rumors that he burnt down the houses of anyone he suspected of conspiring against the Dragons. How could my grandmother sleep with him?

  I forced myself to keep reading the final entry.

  Sark took advantage of me when I was young, lonely, and foolish…and now I’ll never be able to convince four men to become my mates. Not when I am carrying another man’s child—especially the Crimson Dragon’s. I suspect that was his plan all along, to prevent me from becoming High Priestess, though now he has abandoned me, claiming the child cannot be his because he is loyal to the Black Dragon. No doubt she would punish all of us if she found out he had sired a child with someone else, which is why I must keep this secret to my grave.

  My mother says that one day the Fire God will awaken and the next Black Dragon will be crowned. I’d hoped that I would be the High Priestess at the time, but Valefire remains silent and the Dragons continue to rule. I can no longer hold onto the hope that the Fire God will return from his slumber during my lifetime, and have decided to leave the temple and return to Sparkport to raise my child among my cousins. Perhaps it is for the best, as I find my faith lacking these days and have become a disappointment to my mother and those in the temple.