Forged of Fire Page 10

  The words were like a gift. Her pulse sped up and her skin heated. She felt like a teenager with a crush. Stupidly giddy and equally terrified. Kielyn lowered her eyes and pushed a stalk of asparagus around her plate. “Well, he is a King. An immortal one at that and I am only a human.”

  “Kielyn.” Stefen leaned forward. “Has no one told you?”

  “Told me what?”

  Before Stefen could answer, Alaric rose from his chair at the opposite end of the long dining table, effectively interrupting all surrounding conversations. Everyone followed suit, setting down their silverware, placing their linens on the table and rising with him. Kielyn mimicked the others, trying her best to not miss a cue on how to proceed. The ancient customs and forms of respect everyone had here were far from the world Kielyn was accustomed to. It was stuff she had only read about in fairy tales. It was as if she had traveled back in time to an era when grace and manners were not just expected but demanded. A time of extremes. Equal parts of mystery, danger and romance.

  The Angel King nodded and everyone began to sit, all except for Alaric who remained standing. “Thank you all for having me and my entourage here today.” He raised a glass to King Bane at the opposite end of the table. Glasses lifted up and down the dining table. “To our hospitable host. Thank you.” He smiled then fixed his eyes solidly on Kielyn’s. “More importantly, thank you for securing my bride.”

  ****

  The surge of energy raced like wild electrical currents up Ash’s spine as the black began to dissolve away. Around the corners of his vision a new hue drew to life… Molten gold.

  As his focus began to return all Ash felt was an unquenchable need to kill. His hands were wrapped tightly around the Angel King’s throat. Something feral, dark and fueled by rage was lapping at Ash like the icy tides of the Arctic’s biting and slicing spray.

  Around him paper thin voices began to grow into varying degrees of panic. Ash was sure he felt hands being laid on him. It mattered not. Only one thing mattered now. “She is not yours!” Ash heard himself growl but his voice sounded deeper, rawer, and nothing like his own.

  “Whose is she then?” The Angel barely whispered in a language Ash had never heard before, yet, understood perfectly.

  “Mine!” Ash stared into Alaric’s clear eyes and what reflected back caused him to loosen his grip. “What…” He took a shaky step to the side. Suddenly the room was chaos. He was pushed backwards by the edge of a blade, Marsala was screaming and color returned to the room.

  Ash’s body connected with a wall. “Don’t!” Alaric commanded the three of his men that had Ash surrounded. The fourth was currently trying to hold Marsala back. Ash’s eyes darted around the room. Where was Kielyn? “She is safe.” The Angel King said, effectively reading his mind. “My brother removed her the moment you turned. She is in her room.” He stepped forwards rubbing his neck. “I am not going to take her from you. I only wanted to see if the myth was true and if indeed, you are the one.”

  Ash’s mind reeled. When had Stefen removed Kielyn? He could not remember what had transpired between the moment Alaric said he was going to marry her and seconds ago when Ash found his hands on the Angel’s throat. He must have blacked out. Ash’s mind latched onto one word, turned. “What do you mean, I turned? What myth?”

  “Stand down.” Alaric’s soldiers did as ordered. The Angel walked up to Ash. “What did you see when you looked in my eyes?”

  Ash looked around the room. All eyes were rooted on him and in what appeared to be utter shock. He looked back to Alaric. “I saw my eyes. Only they were not my eyes. They were thin gold slits. Like a cat’s.”

  “Or a Dragon’s…”

  Ash pushed past him roughly. “I need to see Kielyn. I don’t trust you and clearly you are stark raving mad!”

  “He is right Ash.” Marsala said. “We all saw it.” Ash paused and looked at the other faces in the room. They all wore the same confirmation clearly in their expressions. Marsala stepped around the Angel still keeping his eyes locked on her. His swollen lip and busted nose proved why. “That’s your gold aura. That’s why it has always been so dominant. It all makes sense now.” She walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm. “You are a Dragon.”

  Ash shrugged out of her grasp. “That’s insane! I have lived for over a thousand years. Don’t you think I would know if that were the case?”

  “Only one thing can bring the Dragon out in someone, it is said,” Alaric interjected. “My guess is you have never been in love before?”

  “Fucking love!” Ash scoffed. “Did I just wake up in the middle of Sleeping Beauty?”

  “I think it would be wise to listen to him,” Bane offered. “Something in you changed. We all saw it and not one of us could get you off of Alaric. I have never seen strength like that.” The older man clasped his hands together. “I have also never seen that much rage. Were you aware of any of your actions before you let loose of Alaric?”

  Ash was wrong. It was not Sleeping Beauty, he had slipped and fallen down the damn rabbit hole! All he wanted was to check on Kielyn. That thought stopped him in his tracks. What did she witness? He had no idea but it had to have been terrifying if the looks on the rest of the room’s occupants were this telling. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I was not aware of anything. It was as if I blacked out,” he confessed. “When I came to I could only see in the color of gold.” He looked to Marsala. “The only thing I felt was the desire to kill. That feeling was so strong that is was painful when the colors in the room started to adjust.”

  “That was because your aura was dark gold when you switched.” Marsala offered. “It was the rage. The aura matched your eyes.”

  “Was the color of my eyes the only thing that changed?” Ash asked hesitantly.

  “Physically, yes.” Marcus spoke up. “If you had turned into an actual dragon I would have shit myself.” The Air-bender chuckled and across the room Dax slapped his knee as he burst into peals of laughter. Everyone seemed to collectively exhale as the tension lessened around them.

  “Yes.” Ash agreed with a half chuckle as the newly painted image took center stage in his mind. “There are scarier things than Dragons. Indeed!”

  “According to the legends,” Alaric said. “You can actually change forms.” He gave a half grin. “Thank goodness you did not, for Marcus’s sake here.”

  Ash looked the Angel in the eyes again. “Let’s remember that the next time you wish to test a theory on me.”

  “You have my humble apology, Your Grace.” The other male bowed.

  Ash nodded. “Now if you will excuse me, I need to find my future mate.” Something about saying those words out loud lightened his mood instantly. “The woman that has apparently awoken a beast and already driven me insane.” Ash headed for the door. “It’s not love though.” He called over his shoulder. “It’s some universal duty.”

  “They do say marriage is a lovely institution,” Marcus called out. “But, who wants to be in an institution?”

  Joint laughter filled the room as Ash rounded the corner and wiped perspiration from his brow. His body felt about ready to collapse from whatever sickness has struck him down in that room but he needed to keep his wits and think. Ash now had to be a King, a husband and figure out what in the world had caused the blackout. He was not ready to blindly believe some Archangel that had just used his emotions as a science experiment. And, while he was strongly attracted to Kielyn, he was not in love with her. For that would require a fucking heart and Ash had learned long ago that he did not possess one. Yes, he would do his duty but he would not for one second be weakened by such a useless emotion as love.

  ****

  Kielyn paced the room and tried to smother the strong desire to bolt, to race down the halls until she found Ash. Everything had happened so fast. One moment Alaric announced he wanted to marry her and before she could even pass out, Ash charged him. “Just like that! Just a blur of fury with glowing gold eyes!” She realiz
ed she’d spoken the thought out loud when Stefen poked his head back inside from where he was perched, on guard at the bedroom door. “Why are you nervous?” She stopped pacing. “What happened back there? Did you know of this? Of your brother wanting to marry me? And…Why?” She marched towards him. “What on earth is going on here and why were Ash’s eyes glowing? Is that a Vampire thing? We have to go check on them!”

  “Absolutely not!” Stefen closed the door. “I am not sure what to tell you because I’m not sure myself what happened. But, one thing is certain, you are not leaving this room! With anyone!”

  “What if they kill each other?” Panic began to edge its way into her voice. “We have to stop them!”

  Stefen marched towards her and put two solid and steadying hands on her shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes. “They won’t and we can’t stop them either. It would be easier to wrangle a tornado. They have to work out their issues on their own.”

  Kielyn stared, dumbfounded, at him. “Is that some stupid bro code?” She scoffed. “That they duke it out until they see eye to eye and everyone else has to play the audience?”

  “Basically.” He dropped his arms to his side. “When two males as dominant as those two take issue with each other there is nothing you can do.”

  Kielyn pushed past him and made for the door. “That is the most asinine thing I have ever heard of!”

  “You’re not leaving, Kielyn. Not until we know it is safe for you.”

  “Me?” She spun around. “Last I saw, it was two Kings going at each other. They seemed to hold little concern for me when Ash was reaching for your brother’s throat!” She paused. “Which reminds me. What in the hell did he mean by, marrying me? I am not a pawn and this is not the eighteenth century! We don’t have arranged marriages anymore. Does he need a history lesson in women’s lib?”

  Stefen sighed. “Kielyn you are not a part of the human world anymore. There are systems in place to see that all our species continue to exist. We all play a part in a bigger picture. We all have a destiny to uphold.”

  Kielyn marched towards him. “But I am human!” She could feel her anger spreading like wildfire across her skin. In her peripheral, a desktop candle sparked to life. “I am flesh and bone!” She redirected her steps towards the flame. “I am not like you!” She extended her hand.

  “Kielyn stop!” Stefen said.

  “Look!” She ignored him and held her hand over the flame. “I can burn!”

  The pain was instant, chewing at her flesh like the razor sharp fangs of a hellhound. Kielyn felt her skin peeling back as the fire drilled a hole in her palm and spread across the surface of her hand. Angry in its pursuit to claim her, purposeful in the flame’s desire to end her. She stared into the dancing color’s destruction as a strange numbness began to descend over her nerves, replacing the burn like a silky balm. Tranquil…Nothing…

  Out of nowhere she was yanked around and out of the fire’s trance. The pain shot through her anew as her eyes rose up to meet a pair of pissed off blue ones. “Does that feel good?” Ash gripped her wrist tightly. “Tell me what you feel now?” He demanded.

  With every word he spoke the all-consuming sting returned. Hotter and sharper, like she was being peeled alive. Kielyn frantically looked at her hand. Tiny embers still embedded in her flesh crawled about like parasites under her skin. “Make it stop!” She screamed as the pain continued to intensify.

  “You make it stop!” He held her wrist tighter, immobilizing her where she stood. She tried to yank backwards to no avail. “You created it. Kill it!” He barked!

  “I don’t know how!” Kielyn cried. “Please!”

  “Focus on the center log.” He stared at her palm. “Pull the fire out from its original source.”

  Kielyn looked at her warped and mangled flesh. “I can’t!”

  “Jesus!” She heard Stefen curse from somewhere in the room. “She does not know how.” He was moving forward now with a cup but Ash held up his other hand stopping him.

  “Kielyn, you can do this.” Ash said calmly now. “Remove what you put there.”

  Kielyn could barely see at all through the tears. She was burning alive. From the inside out. Never in her life had she ever experienced such torture. She heard herself screaming out. Her cries bouncing off the walls like the wailing shrieks of a banshee. She forced her eyes back to her ruined hand and focused deep into the burning pit. There! Her mind locked onto one ember that burned the brightest. Pulling it forward she latched on to its source. That’s when she felt it. It moved! Squinting her eyes she concentrated and just as her grandmother used to do with splinters, she gradually forced it towards the surface. Just as Ash had taught her with the logs.

  And, just like that…It was gone! Kielyn looked with shocked eyes back up to Ash’s. “It’s gone!”

  “Now use the gift of water and soothe it.” He watched her closely.

  Kielyn closed her eyes and tried to remove herself from the trauma her body, and worse, her mind had just undergone. She focused on the air around her as Bane and Kizer had instructed. Collecting the molecules and binding them, by the thousands together, Kielyn placed them on her palm. The water burst like a balloon over her charred flesh when she opened her eyes. The rivulets of moisture ran seeking and healing over her raw, swollen skin bringing instant relief.

  “Now you know,” Ash said. Kielyn searched his expression. A thin row of moisture dotted his brow. “Now you know its power on you.” He lowered her hand. “And, now you know your power.”

  Stefen handed Ash bandages. Kielyn never saw him leave. “That’s one fucked up teaching system you have there, Ashdon.” He half growled as Ash took the bandages and led Kielyn to a chair.

  “She did it to herself.” Ash kneeled down in front of Kielyn and began wrapping her mangled hand. “This is going to hurt for a while but it will serve as a good reminder of how quickly you can lose control.” He looked into her eyes. “That numbness you felt. That was the pull. Fire is a selfish lover. If you give it too much power it will kill you.” He tacked the cloth down. “You must always remain in control. Always!”

  “This is what you meant when you said the relationship each fire bender had with this element was personal? "She asked. “That both the bender and the fire had to understand each other?”

  Ash nodded then stood in front of her. “We have much more to go over and tomorrow we have other matters to discuss but for now you need to rest.” He turned to leave.

  “I won’t marry him!” She blurted out to his retreating form.

  He stopped, his shoulders square, spine ridged, and faced her. “No. You will marry me.” And with those parting words, he walked swiftly from the room.

  ****

  Stefen followed Ash into the hall. They walked in silence for a long way. As soon as they rounded the next corridor, out of earshot from Kielyn’s room, Stefen slammed the Fire King into the stone wall. “I don’t give a fuck who you are…” Stefen pushed his face into Ash’s as he continued to hold him by the shirt collar. “If you hurt her, I will find a way to kill you. I don’t care what rules I have to break!”

  Ash did not fight back, just looked Stefen in the eyes. “I would never intentionally hurt her. What you saw back in that room was her hurting herself. I simply taught her how to correct her rookie mistake.”

  Stefen narrowed his eyes. “That rookie mistake could have killed her and you did nothing to help.”

  “Listen feathers!” Ash pushed him off. “I don’t know what sort of plush existence you enjoy but in my upbringing we were taught how to stay alive and that meant thinking on your feet. Pain is inevitable! It is the best teacher we have!”

  He was fucking right but the matter-of-fact delivery only served to piss Stefen off more. “You’re going to make a horrible mate!”

  “You are probably right.” Ash smoothed his wrinkled shirt. “But I will keep her alive!”

  Stefen wanted to throat punch him. Ash was as stubborn as his brother. “And
just how do you…” The speedy movement of a Gilcolm further down the hall caught both their attention at the same time. “Something is wrong.”

  “Agree.” Ash concurred.

  Topic dropped, both males headed for the study the servant just ran into. They entered as the servant dropped into a whisper beside the Air King, Marcus, and handed him a phone. The normally jovial bender’s complexion paled as his eyes scanned the device. "They are on to us!” He looked up. There has been an attack on my headquarters in New Zealand.”

  Bane was on his feet at once joined by Skyler and Kizer. “What did they say? How bad is it?”

  “I don’t know. The message was sent by one of my trainees that managed to escape.” Marcus looked back at his phone. “It just says that the compound was under attack by Dante’s army. If he was able to escape into the mountains, he would be without cellular service until he made it to the next village. Which is unfortunately at least a four hour hike without injuries.”