by Lucia Ashta
Holy barnacles, I did it.
Without my permission, my eyelids drifted shut with the sudden leaden weight of my exhaustion.
Then the ground shook beneath me, rocks slapping together. My eyes flew open and I waited for a beat. The trembling had been a prelude to whatever was coming.
Twisting to look behind me while I scrambled to stand, I stared up at Lizbeth’s fortress, visible at the peak of the next hill over.
Bright, greedy fire sped across all its surfaces.
In seconds, a fireball completely engulfed the structure.
I was temporarily paralyzed with terror.
An ear-splitting clap like the worst thunder slapped my senses, sending my already fast-beating heart sprinting a thousand beats a minute, and I jerked forward, Quinn directly behind me.
“Liana,” I gasped.
“Irving,” Quinn said, both of us already running toward the fortress.
“All those prisoners we left behind,” Brogan added, hot on our trail, and I swallowed thickly. Those prisoners would burn alive in their cells. No one deserved that fate, and after what they’d already been forced to endure, it would be far too cruel of an end.
“Mulunu was in there too,” I added, struggling to recover my breath while charging up the hill. Of everyone there, Mulunu had the highest chance of escaping unharmed. Even so, the Kunus needed her to continue ruling their clan. It was only because of her might that neighboring clans had allowed the Kunus to enjoy peace for so many centuries. Without her, the ocean home I remembered would cease to be what it was. Though my mother was the most powerful siren in the region, she was no Mulunu. I didn’t think she’d be able to resist the inevitable invasions of other mertribes for long. The Kunus weren’t large in numbers.
An aftershock rolled visibly across the hill, making all three of us falter when it bucked the ground beneath us. Quinn tripped and nearly fell on his face before he caught himself at the last possible moment.
Brogan didn’t stop, but I did, bending over Quinn while I sucked in air greedily, thankful to be out in the open instead of in that dank death-trap of a dungeon. Quinn was already scrambling back to his feet. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”
He didn’t exactly look fine. He looked precisely as one might imagine after all that he’d gone through. Still, Quinn’s will was stronger than mine, and he raced to close the gap between Brogan and him.
“What are we going to do once we get there?” I asked while I trailed after them, so very thankful for my newfound coordination. “Someone must have attacked the place.”
“From what your witch said, it seemed like it might’ve been lots of someones,” Brogan called over his shoulder. “She was worried about what was coming.”
“Yeah,” I scowled. “And Mulunu is never worried about anything.” Which of course worried me extra.
“First we have to get everyone out,” Quinn said. “We can figure out the rest once we get there.”
“That seems like a terrible plan.” Though in reality it wasn’t much worse than my recent ones. “Whatever—whoever—attacked the place is obviously incredibly powerful. We can’t just run in there without a way to defend ourselves.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Brogan asked.
As we started running down the valley in between the two hills, I grimaced. “Other than using my, uh, magic to try to deal with things, not really.” I believed Brogan would prove trustworthy, and yet I held back on describing my magic, tired of supernaturals vying for my unique powers.
“That’s a pretty good plan.” Brogan set a grueling pace as we tore up the next hill, several hundred feet from the burning fortress. “Whatever magic you have, girl, it’s insane. If you can teleport people out, then that’s all we need. Quinn and I can help Irving.”
“Teleport?” I asked. I’d never heard the term.
“What you did, taking us from the dungeon to the cliff. Do that with your friends and the prisoners.”
I didn’t say anything while we scaled the hill, running as fast as we could. I still hadn’t commented by the time the air around us grew acrid and thick with smoke, sending my already sensitive lungs into yet another coughing fit.
Drawing to a stop, I bent over, beneath the black, billowing clouds, and sucked in air. Quinn’s hand settled on my back. “Just breathe, baby. It’ll be all right.”
I nodded absently, both of us surely well aware that he had no way to know that, and it was more likely than not that whoever had attacked probably awaited us and would do their best to trap or kill us, or trap then kill us—after they’d drained our powers and took them for themselves.
Blinking to soothe the burn in my eyes, I strained to see past the heat waves, but made out nothing more than raging flame and soot.
“I can’t see anything through this smoke.” Brogan had to yell to be heard over the roar of the fire. “Can you teleport yourself in there to look for Irving and the others?”
Quinn rounded on him. “Are you out of your damn mind? It’s a death trap! She’s not going in there blind.”
“My alpha will kill me if I don’t do something to save his son.”
“Liana,” I whispered while they argued. My mother would always defend me, but Liana offered me the refuge I needed to bare my heart. She’d been the one to listen all those times I’d been singled out among the Kunu, every time I’d longed to find my place among them. She’d always been there for me, and she was only here now because of me.
“I’ll do it,” I said, before my brain caught up with what my heart had already decided.
Brogan and Quinn spun to look at me. Quinn was already shaking his head. “No, Selene, you can’t. I want to save everyone in there as much as you do, but what Brogan is suggesting is suicide.” He flicked a murderous glare at the other shifter before grabbing my hands and staring into my eyes. “It’s burning too hot and too hard. If they haven’t found the way to get themselves out by now...” He shook his head while he trailed off; his mournful eyes said it all.
“I’m sorry, Quinn, but I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t at least try. There’s a chance they’re still alive.”
In unison, the three of us looked back up at the fortress, no longer visible behind the raging torrent of fire. I blinked again to clear the burn from my eyes without success.
“You know what?” Brogan said, “Never mind. Quinn’s right. There’s no way anyone is still alive in there if they aren’t already out. You’ll only endanger yourself.”
“Of course I’m right,” Quinn growled, peering back at me. “Remember that they were with Mulunu. From what you’ve told me, she’s powerful enough to get them out of there.”
Hope leapt in my chest. I nodded fervently. “She is, she definitely is. She’d know what to do, and there’s no way she’d leave Liana behind. She’s a Kunu, and Mulunu is sworn to protect all members of her clan. And she wouldn’t leave Irving behind because she’s still pissed at him and hasn’t finished punishing him for his betrayal.”
“What betrayal?” Quinn asked.
That was right. I might know more about Quinn’s past than he did. “We’ll talk later.” I searched our surroundings again, looking for any sign of our friends and family.
Nothing.
Heavy with guilt, I added, “But Mulunu wouldn’t have gotten the other prisoners out. She was already planning on leaving them behind to conserve her magic. Knowing she’d have to combat the attackers, she wouldn’t help the prisoners escape, especially with how bad off most of them were.”
Again, as one, we peered up at the burning mess. Granted, every prisoner was likely a shifter or magical creature of some sort, but still … they’d been tortured, weakened, and drained of their powers. What could they do to escape their cells and this attack? Surely, if they possessed the magic to escape, they would have done so long before.
“I can use my magic to get into the first dungeon, where all the cells were,” I said. “The fire might not have reached there yet. I can
go in and out really quickly.”
I wouldn’t meet Quinn’s waiting eyes. Surely he already guessed the truth. I had no idea if I could do what I said. All I knew was that no matter how much the thought scared me, I had to try. Were we just going to leave as many as fifty people in there to die?
“I should never have suggested you teleport in there,” Brogan said. “It’s too dangerous. Even if the fire hasn’t reached the dungeon, the smoke probably will have, and the ceiling has probably already caved in anyway.”
I pursed my lips and stared, wondering if the risk was too great, if I could live with the guilt of not having tried anything when I possessed the power of the angels.
“If you go, I go,” Quinn said, yanking me away from my burdened thoughts.
“That’s ridiculous. You’d only put yourself at risk, and for no good reason.”
Quinn crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance, quirking both brows at me. “We’re connected, remember? What you do, I do. I won’t live without you.”
Mulunu hadn’t offered any explanation for whatever power drew Quinn and me together so deeply, but I wouldn’t deny that our bond was real.
I gasped at a sudden thought. “If one of us dies, do you think the other might too?” It was one thing to risk my life, but to risk his too, I really wasn’t sure I could.
“It’s possible. With how much I feel you at all times, it’s certainly a possibility.”
Another explosion rocked the castle and I jumped as my heart skipped a few beats. Quinn squeezed my hands as if I might leave while he wasn’t looking.
The flames leapt toward the sky, impossibly high, impossibly hot.
We backed away more, unable to remain even within a hundred feet of the blaze.
A few smaller explosions popped amid the castle, and smoke billowed so thickly that it darkened the sky overhead.
“The topic is moot,” Brogan said, plopping to the grass that did little to soften the hard ground we stood on. “No one can survive that, no one. Anyone in there is already dead, and anyone going in there will only die.” He looked at me, making sure I was ready to let the argument go.
I slumped to the ground next to him. “What choice do I have?”
Quinn sat on my other side. “None.” He stared off into the distance, toward the ocean. I did the same, hoping it’d soothe the ragged edges of my heart. I couldn’t even bring myself to consider the possibility that I might have lost Liana, and that Quinn might have lost Irving so soon after discovering him alive after all.
And Mulunu … and that poor mermaid who’d had the ocean ripped from her. And everyone else … all those poor, tormented people.
A sob hitched in my chest, and I forced it back down angrily. “I’m not ready to give up just yet. If they escaped—when they escaped—where would they have gone? What would they have done?”
Quinn turned to face me, nodding to encourage me along. “Well, what powers does Mulunu have? What can she do?”
“Can she move across space like you can?” Brogan asked.
“I don’t know exactly what she can do. No one does. She keeps her secrets to herself. What I’ve seen her do is … let’s see, view life on land from the ocean, forcibly eject me from the ocean to deposit me on Irving’s doorstep, while also dressing me.” I was ticking abilities off on my fingers. “What is it?”
Quinn reached over and rearranged my hair to better cover my breasts while shooting a death glare at Brogan over my shoulder. “She obviously didn’t dress you this time.”
Unbothered by landlubbers’ need to always cover up, I shook my head. “No, she didn’t want to waste the magic. Which also means that her magic has limits. She can create light through her staff, and cast protection around the entire clan. She erected a type of bubble of protective magic around our ocean home—their home. Oh, and she can strip someone of their powers! I saw her do it once to one of the merpeople who abused them.” I grimaced. “It was bad. She can travel in the water at super speeds, but all of us can do that.”
Pursing my lips, I drifted off into my memories, certain there were many more abilities I hadn’t yet remembered.
“Is she capable of battling other mages?” Brogan asked.
“Oh sure. She’s fierce. No one wants to mess with her. Not even leaders of neighboring clans will do anything to upset her.”
“Is there any chance she could have set off the blast?”
“No, of course not, why would she...?” But my words lost their conviction as I continued. “I have no idea. I’ve never understood the wily witch.”
“If there’s any chance she started this fire, then she would have only done so once they got out of there.” Quinn stood back up. “Would she have done this while the other prisoners were still inside?”
I winced. “Maybe. She’s known for being ruthless when she has to be. She has no problem putting the greater good of the many over the good of the few. Speaking of, this might be a good time to mention it: she wants to kill you, and possibly me.”
Quinn snapped his head to look at me. “Come again?”
Grimacing, I waved explanations away. “Long story for, uh, a bit later.” When Quinn didn’t look ready to leave it for later, I added, “She would definitely have done everything she could to get herself out.”
“Oh, of course, save herself so she can kill us.” Quinn was bitter. I didn’t blame him.
“It’s not that. She considers her survival important for the well being of the Kunu Clan, and in that I agree. She would have done everything she could to get out of there alive.”
“Okay, so where would she have gone? Not into the water yet?”
“No, she would never leave a fire raging out of control like this. She might be a scary old hag, but her respect for nature and the elements is unyielding, when she has the luxury for it. She’d put the fire out before heading back into the water, if nothing else.”
The three of us scanned our surroundings for any sign of life once more, but there was still nothing. No humans or animals within sight. There was no point to calling out. Our voices wouldn’t be heard above the roar of the fire.
Shaking my head, I whipped my hair over my shoulder out of habit. Quinn’s attention shot to my exposed breast, and I rearranged the locks in front of it before he could shoot Brogan another possessive, warning look.
“We’re off track,” I said. “It’s not adding up. Mulunu felt something bad coming. She was worried. Something definitely attacked, and something definitely shut that trapdoor on us.”
“That’s true,” Brogan said thoughtfully. “They wouldn’t have shut the trapdoor on us. That had to’ve been someone else.”
Once more, we tuned into our surroundings, searching for survivors … and attackers.
“Quinn,” I breathed on a panicked gasp, clutching his arm, digging my nails into his bare skin.
But Quinn had already seen. He shot to his feet and stepped in front of me like a shield. It was a chivalrous gesture, one unlikely to protect me, however, given the circumstances.
Apparently unaffected by the smoke and heat levels that could melt the meat from bones, Antonio Dimorelli appeared from behind the flames, sauntering toward us. His signature smirk was in place, his cold, killer gaze pinned on me. As it scanned me from afar, for the first time in all my life I felt uncomfortable with my nudity.
I wanted to run and hide and never to see his smug, extremely handsome face again.
After I stood, Quinn pulled me against his body, keeping me behind him. Both of us knew there was nowhere we could run. Vampires possessed preternatural speed and loved the chase.
“Who’s that?” Brogan asked, rising to his feet and walking to Quinn’s side.
“Bad news,” Quinn growled.
“The very worst,” I said as the vampire’s lips stretched into a smile that sent shivers racing across my flesh despite the sweltering heat.
This was such very, very bad news...
9
; “Well, well,” the vampire called out before he’d reached us. “What a stroke of good luck.” He beamed a smile that had probably fooled countless humans into trusting him before he’d lured them to their deaths.
With his hands stuffed casually into the pockets of crisp ivory linen pants, and his equally crisp blue linen shirt unbuttoned nearly to mid-chest, he strolled toward us as if he didn’t have a care in the world. The predatory narrowing to his gaze was the only thing to give his true intentions away. We were his prey, and he had us in his sights.
A low growl rumbled deep within Brogan’s chest, and he clenched his hands into fists.
“What do you want?” he called, though the vamp had already closed most of the distance between us. I was sweltering hot, and a thick trickle of sweat began to roll down the curve of my back. This time, I didn’t think it was entirely because of the heat. Whatever Dimorelli wanted, it was guaranteed not to be good. I reached for my magic, wanting the reassurance of knowing it was there for when I needed it; invariably, I would.
At least Dimorelli didn’t have his nasty minions with him this time.
Oh, wait. Never mind.
Quinn hissed under his breath as the first of the ugly beasts emerged from behind the flames, apparently equally impervious to the heat and flame as their master.
One, two, three, and on ... the pasty, gray creatures emerged from the wall of orange and black until all six of them formed a wall behind the elegant vampire. Dimorelli’s grin widened. “We’re all so happy to see you both, aren’t we, boys?”
The waist-high goblins, hunched in on themselves with bloated bellies and more ears and noses than anything else, snickered. “We sure are, Masta.”
One of them nodded with apparent sincerity. “The masta was none too happy when ya disappeared, pretty girl. We couldn’t rest until we found ya.”
When the vamp scowled, the goblins flinched and cowered, but before I allowed myself a brief moment of sympathy for them and the constant torment I imagined their lives must be as the vamp’s slaves, I remembered how much they’d hurt Quinn, how they’d almost killed him time and again—how I thought I’d lose my mind at the pain they inflicted. Though I suspected the alternative to obeying Dimorelli’s orders would be highly unpleasant for them, I liked to think we always had a choice, and I was in no mood to be understanding or forgiving.
