Frozen in Flames

by Brandy L Rivers

  * * * *

  One night. That was all he had. He could see no other outcome than Reance killing him the moment he killed Isadora. He hoped Fuerah would be there when he arrived.

  He strode into the cave they’d made a home and found Fuerah in their bed, nursing a scarlet-haired babe.

  “She’s mine?” he asked.

  Nodding, Fuerah smiled up at him. “I meant to tell you, but you’ve been so worried the last year, I didn’t want to make it worse.”

  “Does anyone know?”

  She shook her head. “No one.”

  And he had only one hope that he could save Fuerah and his girl. “What’s her name?”

  “Laniela. Come, hold your daughter.”

  He moved to her, sitting on the bed and pulling Fuerah against his chest as he rubbed the red hair. “She’s beautiful, like you.”

  “Strong like you,” Fuerah answered.

  “You’re the strongest woman I know,” he admitted.

  “Why?”

  He looked into her eyes. “To keep our secret and never stop loving me.”

  She leaned her head back and captured his lips. “You are stronger than any man I know with all you’ve endured.”

  “Tell me about her and the pregnancy.”

  She smiled. “These last months have been busy with Reance. I haven’t seen my family. She was born last night, in this very room.”

  Laniela reached for Alenathos’ hair as she looked up at him.

  Fuerah turned, facing him, and handed their daughter over. “She wants you.”

  “My girl.” Tears filled his eyes. “You are so beautiful, Lana.”

  “I like that,” Fuerah murmured. “Reance is leaving Faery. He’ll keep the bond to protect me from others, but he’s not likely to call on me. I can be a mother.”

  He held Laniela, tracing her little face as tears filled his eyes. He couldn’t let Fuerah keep her. It wasn’t safe for her, or Laniela. The moment Saressa learned about them she would kill Fuerah and enslave Laniela. His girl deserved so much better than he’d had.

  They spent the night talking in soft tones until Laniela fell asleep. Then he made love to his mate for the last time. Once Fuerah was deep under, he took their girl and went to Earth only to find Reance standing in the tree line near the portal he stepped through.

  Maybe Fuerah had been right all those years ago. Maybe he should have asked Reance for help in the beginning.

  The fallen king watched him as he approached. “I need your help.” As gifted as Reance was with clairvoyance, he had to know of their child.

  “You have a daughter,” Reance answered.

  He dipped his head. “She’s in danger in Faery. As much as I hate it, I need to protect her, and the only way I know is if Fuerah doesn’t know where she is. Which means Earth.”

  “Fuerah will hate you for years.”

  Tears burned his eyes. “I have no doubt of that. But how else do I keep them both safe from what Saressa would do? You know your sister would torture Fuerah until she died. She would enslave Laniela. The things she would force my child to do…I can’t leave her there. She needs a home, one I can see while I’m stuck here on Earth.” Not that he wanted to admit what he was ordered to do.

  “Trying to murder my daughter,” Reance countered. Of course he knew. “You do realize you don’t have to do what Saressa commands while you’re on Earth. You can make excuses why you can’t act.”

  Hope sparked. Alenathos perked up. “Truly?”

  “She is still your master, but on Earth her commands don’t hold. Saressa can call you back to her side in Faery, but she cannot control you if she is not in the same plane. Only she has yet to figure that out.”

  “And what if her spies see me not killing Isadora?”

  “Then we pretend to fight. It will need to look real. I’ll protect Isadora with my life, but I will also ensure your daughter is safe as well.”

  “I can watch Laniela as well?”

  Reance nodded. “You will need to be careful not to be discovered, or at least why. But I can ensure she’s close to Isadora so it’s not too suspicious.”

  “If you’re right, I’ll keep them both safe. I suppose we’ll see how well I can resist my master’s commands.”

  “You can. You’ll see. We don’t have to be enemies,” Reance answered.

  “You can’t tell Fuerah.”

  “Of course not. She would only insist she come here and take her daughter. I plan to leave her in Faery. You won’t see her to break your silence.”

  “Until Laniela is old enough and accepts what she is, it’s best if Fuerah never learns the truth.”

  “She won’t, not from me. Not until it’s time for her to teach Laniela how to use her magic.”

  “Just tell me one thing. Can Laniela have a good life?”

  “Yes, she will. And this is the only way to bring all of you together.”

  Alenathos forced back tears. “I doubt Fuerah will ever forgive me.”

  “Time will tell. But I know a family that will keep Laniela safe and raise her as one of their own. She won’t know what she is until you decide it’s time, or she goes through the awakening.”

  “This family will treat her well?”

  “They will. Trust me. We don’t have to be enemies,” Reance assured.

  Chapter 1

  “You can’t keep blowing him off,” Isadora told Lana for the millionth time.

  Lana plopped down on a couch in Isa’s living room. Staring at the window, she drew a breath. “I’m not.”

  “You have,” Isa insisted.

  She threw her hands up. “Not lately, but he’s pushing me away now.”

  “Yeah, because you killed any hope that you might finally come around since my father abolished arranged marriages.”

  There were a million reasons she’d kept Lonny away. He strummed his way into her life the first time she had laid eyes on him. The immediate problem was her then boyfriend. Not to mention the fact she’d been promised to a Fae to settle her father’s debt. And at the time, she didn’t have a way out of the arrangement.

  Her mother had been so pissed off she left her father and took Lana away. Her sister stayed with her father, but she wasn’t the one he gave up.

  Mom had convinced her to avoid the awakening, hoping that would dissuade the cruel Earth Fae who resorted to blackmail and torture to get what he wanted.

  Maddock’s obsession with her made no damned sense. She was half-human, with no trace of her father’s magic. What could he possibly gain from having her at his side?

  Isa found out about the arranged marriage. Her father, the King of the Fire Realm, went to the Elder Guardians and absolved all arranged marriages. Even those already married were annulled.

  That didn’t mean Maddock gave up. He continued to send letters, hoping to be enticing, possibly seduce her to his side. She continued to blow him off.

  She didn’t understand why. Her magic was a fluke. Her mother was human, her father Earth Fae. And her small amount of magic was both fire and water. Not anything remotely related to Earth. She was a freak, and she was afraid to find out what lurked in her blood when she went through the awakening.

  Around ten years ago, Isa dragged her to a gig while Lana’s boyfriend was being an asshole. She locked eyes with the gorgeous Fae. With his rainbow hair Mohawk that couldn’t be a clever dye job, what else could he be? He was exotic, beautiful, and so different than anything else. Even his eyebrows held every color of the rainbow, and his iridescent eyes shone with various colors. A smile spread across his face and she was drawn to him. At least until her boyfriend of the time wrapped his arms around her and pulled her away for a drink.

  She’d spent another year with the guy until finally dumping him and had convinced herself Lonny made for a good friend. He was compassionate, funny, and a sweetheart. So she continued to see other men, while falling further and deeper in love with a ma
n she told herself not to love.

  Ten years and Lonny had never given her reason to believe he was interested. Not until Reese’s death. He’d been there to hold her, to take care of her while she dealt with the loss of her last boyfriend, and he revealed his true feelings.

  She’d been in denial so long she pushed him away. And now they were in this weird pattern where he’d come to the bar, watch her, but hardly say a word.

  She sighed. “I’ll talk to him tonight. I’ll make him listen.”

  “About damned time. If you don’t, he’s going to leave. Toryn is looking to reassign Lonny. It’s the backup plan. The real plan is to get you to jump into gear and claim your man.”

  “What?” Lana hopped up, her eyes wide. “He can’t leave.”

  “You need to tell him how you feel.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to. If he’ll listen. I just hope it’s not too late.”

  Isa rolled her big green eyes. “Please, he’s so in love with you, all you need to do is get him to listen. Before he leaves.”

  “Yeah, on it. He’ll be there tonight, right? I mean, he’s been there every night I work for weeks.”

  “He’ll be there.” Isa’s eyes twinkled as she rubbed her rounded belly. She was due in a week.

  Chapter 2

  One obstacle down, and seemingly a million more to go. Every time Lonny thought he got closer to claiming Lana, she found another way to push him away. And for some damned reason he couldn’t convince his heart to give up.

  He sat in the corner booth of Shenanigans, at the edge, so he could watch Lana while she worked.

  Did that make him a stalker?

  Maybe.

  But he was beyond caring what anyone thought. He gave her space, he didn’t follow her after work. He was just there because he couldn’t help himself, and Reance made him promise to keep an eye on her.

  He knew better than to ask the reason. Reance wasn’t keen on giving out too much information, but everyone knew the man saw the future. Hell, he helped guide everyone into better paths. The only thing he could come up with was that he wanted to keep his daughter happy, and Lana was one of Isa’s closest friends, so that meant keeping her safe.

  There was one bright side. For as often as Lonny found his ass in the booth while Lana was working, she didn’t complain. A blessing. He had time to memorize her face, her laugh, her voice.

  He sighed. There was nothing that was going to make him forget the woman was meant to be his mate. However, she wasn’t interested in the awakening, or him. And the sooner he got away from her, the sooner they could both get on with their lives.

  Ten minutes to closing, and no one was in the bar but the two of them. She could have closed the doors on the slow Thursday night.

  Her gaze swept back to his and a smile flirted across her lips. A black swirl appeared between them, and Lonny was on his feet, moving to the person who stepped through the portal before it shut.

  Something told him this was what he was waiting for. The big guy with a hoodie pulled a gun, and Lonny reached out, touching him half a second before the bastard pulled the trigger.

  He phased them into thin air before the gun could go off and the bullet essentially disappeared.

  Actually, Reance would try to explain that he pulled them into a higher dimension that layered over theirs. All of that bullshit gave him a headache when he thought too hard on it. He couldn’t move from place to place like those who translocated, and he couldn’t open portals, but he could disappear when need be, and he could still see everything going on in the realm he started in. So none of that made sense.

  The second they rematerialized, the shooter’s knees gave out. Lonny pushed him face first into the ground and knocked him out by gripping pressure points.

  Lana rushed over. “You okay?”

  He looked up, one brow arched. “Are you?”

  “Are you? Damn it, Lonny, what happened?” she demanded.

  He nodded to the gun lying on the floor. “He tried to shoot you. I simply stopped him.”

  “You’re serious?” she demanded, glancing at the gun.

  “Call Kevin. He can lock him up at the Silver Council.”

  “What about cuffs?” she asked.

  “You have some here?”

  “Yeah, don’t ask.” A blush stained her cheeks as she hurried into the office.

  Lonny looked around with a sigh. They were on Capitol Hill close to closing time, and no one seemed to be around. Something strange was going on.

  Lana came running back, her cell phone to her ear. She handed him the cuffs. It stung, and he winced as he locked them around the guy’s wrists. Lonny shook his hands before flipping the guy over.

  “Shit, they burn you?” she asked.

  He snorted. “Don’t worry about it.” There wasn’t enough iron for the burn to last. Had they been pure iron, he wouldn’t have been able to cuff the bastard.

  She held out her hands. “Let me see.”

  “I’m fine. It’s nothing.” He didn’t have contact long enough to form blisters. No reason to fuss. Lonny nodded at the bastard on the ground. “Recognize him?”

  Lana nodded. “Vaguely, but I don’t know much.” She pulled her phone away as she hit speaker. “Sorry, Kevin, we need you down at Shenanigans. You close?”

  “Just down the road.”

  Lana breathed a sigh of relief. “Good to hear. You don’t have to worry about a crowd. There are only three of us here, and you need to deal with one.”

  Lonny stood up and took a picture of the guy with his phone. He sent the image to Eddie, who happened to be working late. The kid was a whiz at finding information on people.

  “Let me see your hands,” she said.

  “I’m fine, Lana. Are you okay? You were the target, not me.”

  “You stopped him.” She touched his arm. “Let me see your hands.”

  He shook his head, pulling away as the door opened. Her concern felt an awful lot like the night she lost Reese. The man she’d been seeing around the time of Isa’s awakening. Saressa killed him at Scotty and Jayde’s party.

  Kevin stepped inside and locked the door. “What happened?”

  Lonny nodded toward the gun on the floor. “This prick pulled it on Lana. I disabled him.”

  Kevin lifted a brow at Lana. “Did he fire?”

  Lana let out a breath. “Lonny says he shot at me, but he phased him out of existence for a moment. Then the guy went down.”

  Lonny lifted a shoulder. “What else was I supposed to do? The gun is right there.”

  The guy started to move, and Lonny hopped up before hauling the asshole to his feet.

  Kevin cocked his head, then shouted. “Move, Lonny, move!”

  Lonny stepped away as blue mist formed around the asshole, turning him to solid ice. A shiver rolled through Lonny as he moved between Lana and the freezing air. Glancing over his shoulder, the guy fell, shattering into a million pieces.

  He couldn’t fathom what the hell had happened.

  “What the hell?” Kevin muttered, pulling his phone out and calling someone. Probably Robert or one of the other enforcers. This was going to prove a mess.

  “Did he just shatter like glass?” Lana asked.

  Lonny nodded, unsure what to say. The obvious was scattered across the dance floor.

  Lana threw up her hands. “Why the fuck would he be shooting at me?”

  Lonny looked around and caught a glimpse of a blue-haired man slipping through the door. Alenathos, he was damn near positive. He was known to hang around Isa, watching over his master since she broke his bond to Saressa. Isa only kept the bond at his request, and yet, he stuck around the bar often, even when Isa wasn’t there.

  Isadora had taken control of Alenathos shortly after her awakening. She and Lana owned Shenanigans. She was the daughter of Reance, the King of the Fire Realm again, and Aeryana, the Queen of the Air Realm, though Isadora was raised on Earth, a
way from her family.

  But why was Alenathos watching over Lana?

  His mind spun through the possibilities, but they didn’t make much sense. Unless he thought outside the box, but even then…

  Neither Kevin nor Lana noticed the blue-haired man’s exit, so he kept his mouth shut for now. He’d tell Isa before he left town. She could figure it out.

  Shaking his head, he explained, “He pulled the gun, I phased him out before he shot at you, and then brought him back after.”

  Lana crouched to touch the end of the barrel. Shaking her fingers, she glared at the pile of icy shards. “Fuck a duck, he did.”

  He couldn’t stop the chuckle. “Now that’s an expression.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Kevin shook his head. “Any of you know how to find where a portal went? Maybe reopen it? Or do you want the mages involved?”

  “You’ve already been called, which means the Council is involved. And unless I missed something, I thought you had jurisdiction over Fae in Seattle. Maybe we can work together?” Lonny suggested.

  Kevin rubbed his chin. “Know anything about him?”

  “He was Fae,” Lana answered. “And he works for the Delnias family.”

  Lonny’s eyes narrowed. “You mean that piece of shit who paid your parents off for your hand in marriage?” The morning after Isa married Toryn, one of Reance’s closest friends, they learned of Lana’s arranged marriage. Reance had him find the contract and bring it to him so they could ensure Lana was free of the bastard. He knew she’d been promised to Maddock Delnias, but not why. And the prick would have used her as he saw fit.

  Her eyes slid shut as she turned away.

  Kevin shook his head. “We need to clean this mess up.” He nodded to Lana. “I would put the closed sign up.”

  “Yeah.” She moved behind the desk.

  Lonny looked at Kevin. “Now what? I have no fancy way to get rid of the mess. If he were whole I’d have a solution.” He could turn him into air, raise him into another dimension, whatever in the abyss he did when he did that stuff.

  Kevin smirked. “Wish I knew how you did that.”