Embraced by Embers

by Kasey Mackenzie

  I rolled my eyes. “Way to be reassuring, baby. You always know just how to make me feel better.”

  An alarm suddenly started to shriek, making me wince and clap my hands over my ears before I realized it was magical rather than physical. It’s klaxon cut straight to the bone and had me gritting my teeth as I fought not to scream. My gaze whipped to Isaac. “How is that alarm even passing through my firewall?”

  Isaac was busy pulling up security footage on the room’s main tv screen hanging on the wall. “The alarm blares in every single room, but only the people I’ve added to the spell can heart it.”

  Jake smiled grimly. “Meaning whoever’s trespassing doesn’t know we know they’re here?”

  “Exactly. Now let’s see who we’re dealing with here.”

  The flat screen tv split into multiple views, and what it revealed had my pulse thundering in my ears. More than a dozen figures stalked the halls outside our conference room, although they couldn’t pass through my firewall. They wouldn’t even be able to see the door since I’d set the firewall just past the room’s boundaries. But somehow they knew where we were.

  Avani let out a curse that was echoed by Isaac. She glanced at me. “Those Freeholders are some of the most vocal of the faction who have been listening to Garcia’s bullshit. Given that none of the people loyal to Isaac are among them...I can only surmise they finally flipped the 20% of holdouts into siding with them.”

  Isaac smashed a fist into the wall, cursing in pain when it bounced back without causing much damage—except to his bruised knuckles. My brows rose in surprise. I’d never seen a flash of anger like that from the typically cool and collected Steward. Not unless my sister was deliberately riling him up.

  “They must have gotten a quorum to vote already,” he muttered, fingers flying along his keyboard as he turned his attention back to the laptop before him.

  Avani cursed again. “You think they arrested the others?”

  He shook his head. “Doubtful. No way could they hold an entire third of our number. They must have either pulled this off in secret or…”

  Before he could finish his sentence, the flat screen briefly went dark. Isaac paused, and everyone who wasn’t yet watching the screen turned to see what had captured our attention. The screen had cut to one scene: a couple standing in the living room of the safe house. The man had perfectly-styled black hair, dark brown eyes, and a hawkish nose that sat in a striking rather than handsome face. The woman had flowing dark blonde hair, deep brown eyes, and a curvaceous figure similar to the one I’d had before magic began burning my body’s fuel faster than I could replenish it. She wore a sexy, low-cut black dress and a full face of makeup, including bright coral lipstick that punctuated the smug little smirk on her lips.

  Dia’s eyes narrowed as she recognized Garcia. “Who’s the blonde next to the Prick?”

  “Zoe Stevens,” I spat.

  My sister’s eyes rolled. “I should have guessed. That’s a match made in hell if I ever saw one.”

  Garcia motioned dramatically, and then his voice filtered through the tv. “By the authority vested upon me by the St. Louis Chapter of Freeholder Elementals, I declare this property of the Chapter now closed to all who oppose the will of its Steward.”

  Isaac leaped to his feet, and Avani’s hands flew to her cheeks as she shook her head. “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! He couldn’t have pulled off enough votes for that already!”

  Dia added a colorful curse of her own, and my heart sank. “I assume the Steward that the Prick is talking about is not Isaac.”

  My sister flipped off the television screen as if it could help. As if Dorian could see it. “He obviously managed to pull off a coup within a coup. The move to charge Avani was undoubtedly meant to distract us from his true goal.”

  Garcia’s smug face smiled and continued speaking. “Thanks to a two-thirds vote of the St. Louis Chapter, Isaac Harris and Avani Singh have been found guilty of misappropriation of funds and are banished from our Chapter. Let it be known that all Freeholders caught aiding and abetting them will have their names similarly struck from our rolls.”

  My throat went dry as the enormity of the situation struck. Garcia had managed to not only oust Isaac from his position as Steward—he’d had him removed from the Freeholders entirely. Or at least from the St. Louis Chapter. What was worse, Avani—and any of his loyalists caught helping him—would share the same fate.

  “That son of a bitch!” I exclaimed, wishing I could burn him to a crisp from the sheer heat of my anger.

  The son of a bitch in question wasn’t even finished. As if he hadn’t done enough damage. “We will give you exactly 10 minutes to vacate these premises and one day to leave our territory. Obviously any Clanmates currently present are free to remain in the Metro area as they wish, but any Freeholders who assist the criminals Isaac Harris and Avani Singh have 24 hours to gather their personal effects only and leave. Any found still within St. Louis or St. Louis County after that time will face harsher penalties.”

  Harsher penalties like imprisonment or being permanently stripped of magical powers. Although that might not be so permanent a punishment as it once was…

  The Prick paused and then smiled at the camera he’d (or more likely ex-employees of Isaac’s) had hacked into. “And querida, I’m sorry to say things just aren’t going to work out between us.” He reached over to grasp Zoe’s hand. She of the ugly heart and personality, who appeared to eat up the fawning affection Dorian was bizarrely turning her way. Bizarre because he was his own biggest fan. I never would have thought he could actually come to care about somebody else. “I’ve given my heart to another. Never fear that we will care for our city in a far better manner than Harris ever did.”

  Isaac and Avani continued muttering curses, and they began conferring with their colleagues in the room. What was going on with those who were outside the room? That had me frowning in sudden concern. “What happened to Lily and the others?”

  A few tense moments passed while Isaac began checking the security feeds around the house via his laptop. None of the scenes revealed Lily or her guardians. Avani murmured, “Down to 5 minutes now,” and my heartrate began to race again. While I was pretty sure Dorian and his minions wouldn’t be able to breach my firewall, that didn’t mean they couldn’t set the house on literal fire around us.

  I opened my mouth to suggest we head outside to gain at least a little breathing room when I felt a sudden tugging sensation on the edges of my firewall. The slight discomfort blossomed to outright pain, and suddenly Lily winked into existence a few feet away. I jumped back with a shout.

  “Sorry!” She raised her hands in a placating gesture. “I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to teleport through your firewall, but it seemed to be fraying on one edge so I gave it a try given the current situation.”

  Not a huge surprise to hear the firewall was fading. It’d been yet another long-ass day, and I’d been maintaining the complex spell for quite some time. “Where are the others?”

  Her lips twisted grimly. “I wrapped myself in Spirit and Earth to conceal myself the moment Garcia and his goons attacked. I didn’t have the time or strength to shield anyone else. The others weren’t hurt or anything, but they’re being held across the street. Garcia apparently bought all the houses on this cul-de-sac because he figured it was the most likely place for Isaac to show up thanks to Little Miss Phoenix now standing by his side.”

  Isaac slammed his uninjured hand on the conference table. “I’m going to kill this asshole!”

  I couldn’t hold back a smirk. “It’s pretty fun to kill that smug SOB, I must admit. 10 out of 10 would do it again.”

  Isaac’s expression lightened ever so slightly. “Did you hear him say what he wants in exchange for letting them go?”

  Lily folded her arms across her chest. “He claims we’re all free to go after you lot vacate the premises, his pretentious words, not mine. Although he does want a word with Cassidy on her way out
.”

  “Absolutely not!” Jake and Theo thundered in unison.

  I gave each of them a dirty look. “Cassidy can damned well speak for herself, thank you very much!”

  Dia snickered into her hand, not that it muffled the sound very well. She shot me an angelic smile and moved to place a comforting arm around the seething Isaac’s waist.

  Jake’s eyes bore into my own. “What possible benefit can their be in granting his request if he’s already agreed to let everyone leave?”

  I rolled my eyes and reached out to grab his hand. He allowed me to capture it and returned the gentle pressure I applied. “You know as well as I that nothing comes for free from these assholes. The fact he bothered with all this fanfare rather than just sending reps to advise Isaac he was ousted and needed to leave the territory means he wanted something from coming here. Given he mentioned me specifically—both on the tv and when capturing the others—means he wants to talk to me in person.”

  Jake shot me a frustrated look. “Just because he wants that doesn’t mean we gotta give it to him! Let him get even more used to disappointment than usual.”

  “Oh I’m not gonna do this for him!” I drawled with a smug smirk. “I have a message of my own to deliver. To him and to the Freeholders dumb enough to back slime like him over good people like Isaac.”

  Jake pondered that response before sighing. “You’re gonna do this no matter what we say, aren’t you?”

  Dia didn’t bother trying to mask her snicker this time. Isaac leaned down to kiss the top of her head but wisely remained silent. Theo opened his mouth to object but then shook his head ruefully. Guess he realized that if my own bondmate couldn’t talk me out of this, he sure as hell had no chance.

  “Don’t freak out on me, guys. I’m not gonna go off into a corner to meet him alone or anything. He can say what he needs to in front of everyone else or not at all.”

  They insisted on forming a protective circle around me. Since we were down to less than two minutes on our deadline, I just rolled my eyes and went along with their overprotective agenda. Isaac and his colleagues had gathered their laptops and several other items from the conference room before forming the caboose in our little train. I figured keeping as much distance between him and Dorian as possible would give us the best chance of getting out alive as possible.

  We hadn’t yet unpacked our vehicles, so that was one less complication. I dropped my firewall and followed Theo, Melody, Iesha, and Kelvin out of the room. Jake flanked me on the left and Dia on the right. Every single one of us maintained a tight grip on our magical abilities, prepared to defend ourselves if Dorian’s word continued proving just as worthless as everything else about him.

  Wise enough to guess we’d come out with itchy trigger fingers, Dorian and his minions (and Traitor Barbie) had retreated to the front yard rather than making us feel backed into a corner. We stepped out of the front door onto the wide porch and caught sight of our adversaries a dozen yards away on the sidewalk. Since he’d bought out the neighborhood, there was no need to worry about the neighbors calling the cops.

  Dorian had brought enough numbers to be a threat to our safety without appearing intent on our destruction. Good thing for him, because I’d come even farther in using my magical abilities than the last time I’d kicked his ass.

  His weaselly little eyes met mine the moment I stepped onto the porch. Theo, Melody, Iesha, and Kelvin arranged themselves in a semicircle on the ground in front of the porch steps. I stopped on the top step and folded my arms across my chest with a carefully neutral expression. Jake leaned against the porch frame to my left and Dia mirrored his pose on the right. By the pure rage pulsing through our liegebond, I started to wonder whether she might not be the one to worry about jumping Dorian’s scumbucket ass.

  Not that I could blame her. I wanted to punch his treacherous face, and I wasn’t the one in love with the man whose life he’d just turned upside down.

  Dorian saw that I had no intention of approaching any closer, so he smiled slightly and murmured something to Zoe. They stayed behind as he stepped forward. The son of a bitch knew that we had more integrity in our little fingers than he had in his entire body. Plus he still held several hostages on the front porch of a house across the street.

  “Hello, querida. It’s been too long since last we met.”

  I just twisted my lips slightly. “Now see, I was just thinking it hasn’t been nearly long enough.”

  His smile only grew wider. “There is that sense of humor I missed so much. Pity you’ll have precious little to laugh about once your father finally puts you in your place.”

  Surprisingly, Lily was the first to leap to my defense. “You mean the way our father has obviously brought you to heel? Become his faithful little hound, I see.”

  Dorian’s jaw clenched, and a muscle in his forehead twitched. “How adorable. All three of Garrett’s little girls together at last. My...faithful master, as you so charmingly put it...will be extremely interested to learn of this development. I assume he doesn’t yet know another daughter has betrayed him.”

  Lily shrugged and assumed an even more bored expression. “He undoubtedly knows by now, thanks to our little brother’s big mouth. Sorry to disappoint you.”

  I rushed to speak before they could continue sniping. “Cut to the chase, Dorian. Some of us are working on a deadline here.”

  He swept a mocking bow. “Too true, querida. I would apologize for setting that deadline, but it was actually out of my hands. Someone else proposed that particular penalty.”

  Dia’s lips pressed together in a sardonic line. “Let me guess. Your new ball-and-chain came up with that one.”

  Dorian glanced over his shoulder almost fondly. “You sound as if you already know Zoe.”

  My sister rolled her eyes. “More than I care to admit. I’d like to say you don’t deserve her, but the truth is I can’t think of a more fitting couple than the two of you.”

  Damn, I felt ridiculously proud of Dia for that zinger even as I tried not to let that show. It seemed like I’d have to play the good cop of our sisterly trio.

  Dorian simply smiled. Something that had me feeling distinctly uneasy. He seemed way too cheerful and accepting of thinly-veiled insults that would normally get his overactive machismo flaring up.

  “It’s a pity your father never managed to tame that tongue of yours, Amadia.”

  Dia’s eyes flashed, but Lily jumped to her defense before I could. “Unlike you, Dorian, our father actually values women who speak their minds. You’re the weak one who needs his women to grovel.”

  Zoe growled and stepped forward, making me bite back a laugh as she took offense at Lily’s implication she would inevitably grovel before her new hunk of burning love. Now wasn’t time to add fuel to that fire, however.

  I took my own step forward, making my bodyguards shift as well. “Please do tell us your real reason for all this melodrama, Dorian. We know you could have sent word of this shift of power through an intermediary.”

  He shrugged. “Perhaps, but it would have been far less satisfying. Besides, your father asked me to extend you an olive branch.”

  That had my lips twisting sourly. “You have a damned funny way of offering peace.”

  “Your father grows tired of this separation from his children, Cassidy. He would like to arrange a meeting with you and your siblings at a neutral location of your choosing to discuss the best, least destructive path forward. In exchange for that meeting, I will arrange for the charges against Avani and Isaac to be dropped, and I will step down as Steward so another election can be held.”

  Jake folded his arms across his chest. “Absolutely not.”

  Dorian barely spared a sideways glance for Jake. “It’s a small enough request. Garrett will agree to bring only a small number of his own protectors and allow you twice that number. You choose the location, so long as it is truly neutral. All you need agree to is a discussion. Isn’t that a small price to pay for
Isaac to maintain hold of his territory?”

  Isaac stepped forward before Jake or I could respond. “Isaac can damned well speak for himself. And you can go fuck yourself if you think I need anyone to sacrifice themselves for me. I can take back my Stewardship fair and square myself.”

  The answering smirk on Dorian’s face indicated he doubted that highly, but he didn’t know Isaac the way we did. I had no doubt he could reclaim his position on his own—but likely far too late to do us any good in the war against Daddy Dearest. Which was very much the point. My eyes narrowed at the flash of insight zinging inside. This was all just one big delaying tactic meant to sow discord and suck up time we could be better spending elsewhere.

  I gave Dorian a cool smile of my own. He blinked and narrowed his eyes as I spoke. “You’ve heard the thoughts of two of my most trusted advisors, Dorian, and I agree with them both. The answer is not just no, but hell no.”

  His mouth opened to speak, but I waved a hand to shoosh him. “Apparently you and Daddy Dearest have not yet learned that we are not fucking idiots. The last thing my father needs in order to discuss terms for his future surrender is a physical meeting. For him to want to meet face-to-face means he’s either too scared to meet me on the psychic plane—which seems unlikely—or he wants to set another trap—which seems far more likely.”

  Isaac leaned back and folded his arms. “The other Freeholders are no idiots either. They’ll see through your BS and kick you to the curb sooner rather than later.”

  Dorian snorted. “At which point you’ll swoop back in to the rescue?”

  “Perhaps. If I haven’t moved on to greener pastures by then.”

  Those of us from Clan Zi who knew he’d made a deliberate pun smirked, which seemed to throw Dorian for a loop. He took a step back and then tried to cover it by falling back beside Zoe. “We’ll see how this plays out, then. But I don’t think it’ll go the way you hope”

  “Maybe not,” Isaac drawled. “But we’re not going to play right into the hands of our biggest and least honorable enemies. Just keep in mind what goes around comes around Garcia. I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you.”