The Fire Prophecy

by Megan Linski

  My brow furrowed. “What’s there to understand, Liam? It’s against the rules. So we’ll change the rules. No big deal.”

  “No big deal?” Liam hissed. “Sophia, this is the way it’s been for hundreds of years. These rules aren’t just about controlling us. It’s to keep our powers stronger so that no other House dies out after Anichi.”

  I shrugged. “So we just don’t have kids. Simple.”

  Holy crap. Were we seriously talking about having kids? We’d only kissed once! But damn it, that was all we needed. It didn’t matter what Liam said about the House rules. There was no turning back from the line we’d already crossed.

  Liam raked his fingers through his hair. God, he looked sexy when he did that. I wanted to run my hands through his hair… and down his forearms… and in other places I probably shouldn’t be thinking about. Which could definitely lead to kids someday.

  “It's not that simple, though,” Liam said. “The Elders would never allow it. This isn't just about us, Sophia. If we started dating, then so would other people.”

  “So what? Is there actually any evidence that children from two Houses are weaker?”

  Liam opened his mouth, but hesitated.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Liam, I don't care about the rules. I want to be with you.”

  “Ancestors, Sophia. You can't talk like that.”

  “Why not? It's the truth.”

  “Because…” Liam sighed and glanced toward the castle. No one was close enough to hear. “Because if you say things like that, it just might come true.”

  “I know. I wouldn't say it if I didn't want it to happen, Liam.”

  He stared down at me, his expression hard to read. He looked conflicted— like he wanted to agree with me but argue at the same time.

  A thought suddenly occurred, and I drew away from him. “Do you… do you not want to be with me?”

  Liam looked hurt by the question. “Of course I do. But we don't have a choice.”

  I relaxed slightly. “You always have a choice, Liam.”

  His hands balled into fists, and his lips tightened until he couldn't hold it in any longer. “Aw, fuck, Sophia.”

  Liam growled. He honest to God growled. And then like a wolf trapping his prey, he pounced on me. One second he was standing a few feet away from me, and the next he'd swept me into his arms and claimed my lips for his own.

  The world spun around me so quickly that I could no longer feel the stone path beneath my feet. Liam held me tightly to his chest. One hand tangled in the hair at the base of my neck while the other settled on my hip. His lips parted, and I took the invitation to deepen the kiss. My hands ran up his back until they climbed so high they reached the side of his face. I pulled him in even closer until every possible inch of our bodies were touching. My hands moved to his hair, tangling into the strands like he did with mine. He inhaled a sharp breath in response.

  Heat exploded through my chest like fireworks. I didn’t even care if my Fire surfaced and burned my dress off of me. Liam would like that, I was sure. And damn it, so would I. But my Fire didn’t escape. It hung out just below the surface, just enough to feel amazing and to warm Liam’s cool skin.

  Kissing Liam was like witnessing a fire tornado colliding with a hurricane. We stood in the calm eye of the storm while the elements combined and raged around us. The fire stood no chance against the rain, but the rain couldn’t put out the fire. It burned brighter when the rain touched it until the two elements matched each other's rhythm and swirled together to become one. The way Liam made me feel was breathtaking and… impossible. Yet here we were, Fire and Water. We shouldn't mix, but we did. We so did.

  Liam’s tongue grazed my bottom lip, and I moaned. Which only made him wrap his arms tighter around me. His hand hesitated on my hip, as if he wanted to touch me in other places but wasn’t sure he was allowed. I didn't know what I was doing until I did it. I untangled my fingers from his hair and guided his hand to my backside. It surprised me considering I didn't know until that very moment how comfortable I'd become with him. I knew Liam would never hurt me, and there was so much I wanted to share with him. My heart… my soul… my body. He just sort of rested his hand there, like he didn’t know how far to take this.

  Read my signals, Liam! I want more!

  I wrapped my hand around the collar of his shirt until I had a fistful of tie, and I tugged him even closer— if that were possible. Liam gasped.

  Squeeze my ass, damn it!

  Message received. Liam’s hand tightened on my butt as my tongue slid deeper into his mouth. Heat traveled down my chest and settled between my thighs. Being with Liam like this was unlike anything else. It was so overwhelmingly amazing that I thought I might cry. Feeling this way should be illegal—

  No sooner did the thought cross my mind did it hit me that that was exactly what this was. It was illegal. Liam and I were breaking the law by kissing like this… by kissing at all.

  Elders be damned. Breaking the law was great. If I knew it'd feel like this, I would've rebelled sooner.

  Esis chittered, pulling me out of the spell Liam had put on me. We both jumped away from each other. Esis was sitting on the bear statue’s head, staring at us with interest.

  After a moment, Esis put his hands together and began a slow clap, then rose to his feet and cheered for us. My face went beet red, as did Liam's.

  “Esis,” I scolded. “Calm down. It's not a big deal.”

  I apparently lied a lot.

  Esis hopped down from the bear bush and scurried over to me. I bent and scooped him into my arms.

  “We should… probably get back…” Liam sounded out of breath.

  “Yeah,” I agreed in the same shaky tone. “We probably should.”

  Liam gestured to my hair. “You should probably…”

  I smoothed down the strands. “Yeah. You too.”

  Liam ran his fingers through his hair and started toward the ballroom. If he thought that was the end of this, he had another thing coming.

  “So… what was that, Liam? Was it a farewell kiss?”

  He didn't meet my gaze. “I— I don't know.”

  “Well, will it happen again?”

  Shut up, Sophia. You're ruining it.

  Liam stopped and turned toward me. He gazed down at my hands, but we were where people could see us again, so he didn't take them. “It's up to you, Sophia. I'll never be able to resist you.”

  My heart swooned at his words. “I guess you'll just have to wait and see what happens, then.” I smirked. “Let's get back inside before Imogen and Jonah start accusing us of things.”

  Liam laughed. “They wouldn't exactly be wrong, would they?”

  “No. Definitely not.”

  We walked past a group of Koigni in the gardens. The guy from the Silver Team, the one with the big dragon familiar, shot us a look of disgust. I'd heard he came in third place and lost one of his teammates. I bet he wasn't too happy we won.

  I entwined my fingers in Liam's hand and breezed right by him. Liam squeezed my fingers back, but dropped them as soon as we entered the ballroom. I spotted Imogen and Jonah by the bar, Sassy and Squeaks nearby. We started making our way over to them.

  Before we reached them, Haley stepped in front of us. Anwara ruffled her feathers, and Haley crossed her arms.

  “Congratulations, White Team.” Haley didn't sound the least bit genuine, but I'd already made it a point not to let her ruin my night.

  “Thank you,” I said kindly.

  Haley blinked a few times, like she didn't think she'd heard me right. “I wasn't actually complimenting you, you wolpertinger. Do you know how embarrassing it’s been to lose to a bunch of misfits?”

  “Haley, do we have to do this?” Liam protested.

  I shrugged, but inside, my Fire raged. “That must be the worst. You know, right after killing all your teammates.”

  Haley's face twisted in anger. “Anything's fair game out there. I did what I had to do to win.”
>
  “And you still didn't,” I snapped.

  Haley's eyebrows shot up, and a fireball formed in her hand. She was going to use it.

  Liam quickly pulled water from six champagne glasses in people's hands around us and doused the flames. Water splashed up on Haley's dress, and she shrieked. All around us, people were starting to stare. A few took in sharp breaths, but the ballroom was big enough and plenty was going on that our little confrontation barely stirred the crowd.

  Haley held out her other hand, but before she could conjure flame my hand shot out and clamped around hers. I pushed back against her heat, stopping her Fire in its tracks. To anyone else, it looked like a mere handshake, as if I were apologizing for the mishap, but I made sure to put as much strength and hostility into my grip as I could. I even added a bit of my own heat for good measure— only as a warning. Then I leaned in close enough for only Haley and Liam to hear.

  “This isn't the Elemental Cup anymore,” I hissed. “You can't just do whatever you want. But should you decide to, I will be there to extinguish your flame. Every. Single. Time. I know you're watching me, Haley, and I’m not afraid of you. Be careful, or you just might get burned.”

  And then I swept past her with Liam at my heels, leaving her standing there wet and dumbstruck. Esis clapped from where he was cradled in the crook of my elbow.

  “Holy ancestors, Sophia,” Liam whispered. “That was hot.”

  I smirked. There was surprisingly a lot more where that came from.

  Imogen rushed away from Jonah and squealed when she reached us. “Tell me I just saw what I think I saw!”

  Jonah was close behind her. “Did you just tell Haley off?”

  I beamed, still riding the high of Liam's kiss and standing up to Haley. “Yeah… I think I did.”

  “That's my girl,” Jonah said, clapping me on the back.

  “Just as long as, you know, you don't start shooting fireballs at each other across the dance floor,” Imogen teased.

  “I won't be throwing anything at Haley,” I promised, “but I can't say I won't be setting the dance floor on fire. It looks like the DJ is about to take over.” I pointed toward the guy tinkering with a computer behind a pair of huge speakers.

  “Yes!” Imogen gushed. “We should’ve choreographed something.”

  “Aw, man,” I said. “That would've been fun.”

  “If you're all going to dance, I’m going to need a drink,” Liam announced before turning to me. “Can I get you anything, pawee?”

  Imogen's eyes went wide beside him.

  “Yeah… uh, surprise me?” I suggested.

  “Sure.” Liam headed toward the bar.

  Imogen and Jonah watched him go, then whirled back toward me in unison.

  “Oh, my ancestors, Sophia,” Imogen raved. “He called you pawee. That is so sweet!”

  I glanced between the two of them, feeling like I was missing something. “Yeah, so? He calls me that because I'm so inexperienced— like a child, he said.”

  “But that's not the only meaning,” Jonah pointed out.

  “It isn't?” I asked, uncertain. Whatever the second meaning was was probably horrible. They seemed too shocked for it to be anything else. “What's the other meaning?”

  Imogen exchanged a glance with Jonah before she finally spoke. “Cherished one.”

  “He's basically calling you his soulmate,” Jonah whispered. “It's like, the most beloved word a Hawkei can use to describe someone.”

  My heart tumbled around in my chest as I stared at Liam, who was leaning against the bar. No way did he mean it like that. No way.

  But then he lifted his gaze and smiled at me, and I knew. Whether Liam admitted it or not, he was in love with me.

  Come hell or high water, we would be together. This society couldn’t stop us. Even the prophecy couldn’t stand in our way. Sure, my knees buckled just thinking about what was to come— about the prophecy, and the people who might die because of it. But more than anything, I didn’t want to see Liam hurt. We were in this together, now until the end.

  No matter what the Elders did to keep us apart, I would watch this society burn before I ever found myself separated from Liam Mitoh. It didn't matter if we were allowed to be together.

  I would forever be his pawee.

  I was tired. My muscles were sore, and it took a lot of effort just to move around. Every now and again the room would spin a little.

  Yeah, I felt like shit. But I felt like shit everyday, so that wasn’t new. This was one of the most amazing nights of my life, and I wasn’t about to miss this. Not for the world.

  My doctors were gonna flip when they found out I’d not only snuck out, but also had been drinking, but I won the damn Elemental Cup for crying out loud. I deserved a beer.

  I snuck another glance at Sophia out of the corner of my eye. I’d been staring at her all night, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Her chestnut hair was in large curls, and she wore sparkling eyeshadow that brought out her chocolate eyes.

  Her dress was phenomenal. I was so into the fact she was wearing blue. Turned me on. And I think she liked that I was wearing red, too. I was really glad Jonah had told me to wear a red tie, though I didn’t get why at the time. He and Imogen must’ve set this up. Wearing Koigni red when I was Toaqua was huge— just like Sophia wearing blue wouldn’t go missed.

  Not to mention we couldn't seem to part from each other for a second. We were basically wearing signs that screamed we were together.

  I took a shot for courage. Whatever. I didn’t want to think about that right now. I just wanted to enjoy the rest of the night.

  I took the beer and the mixed drink the bartender handed me and walked back to Sophia. I noticed there was something different about her. She was looking at me… a bit weird. Like she’d just found out some big secret or something. Were those tears?

  Fuck, I must’ve done something wrong. I held out the drink for her to take. I was so nervous I ended up spilling part of her drink on her dress.

  “Oh, shit, sorry,” I said hastily. I grabbed a napkin off a table and started dotting her midriff, trying to clean up the mess. I hoped it didn’t stain.

  Sophia actually laughed instead of yelling at me for ruining her gown. “Don’t worry about it.” She took a small taste of her drink, and her face lit up. Her earlier weirdness was forgotten.

  “I hope you like it,” I said. Ancestors, I was embarrassed. I threw the soaked napkin on the table.

  “What is it?” she asked, taking a sip.

  “Sex on the Beach,” I rattled off mindlessly, and Sophia gave me a grin. I reddened a bit and said, “Don’t take it like that. It’s fruity and girly. Something I thought you’d like.”

  “It’s something I’d like, all right,” she said coyly, chewing on her straw. She was eyeing me provocatively.

  “Down, virgin,” I told her. “You don’t even know what you’re asking for.”

  She blushed a little, but then added, “I thought virgins were supposed to be hot to guys.”

  It was totally hot, but I didn’t need to encourage us. We were already bad enough. “Come on, pawee.” I laughed and took her arm, guiding her to the table where Imogen and Jonah were.

  Her smile got even broader when I called her my little pet name. Had someone told her something?

  Imogen and Jonah were at the table, drinking and chatting. Sassy and Esis were both on top of the table, and it looked like they were having a drinking contest.

  “Chug, chug, chug,” Jonah chanted, pounding the table. Sassy gurgled and fell over, spilling her mug of ale, but Esis managed to finish his and let out a loud burp, patting his stomach happily.

  Cade had joined them at the table, along with my brother. Ezra had a girl on either side of him, both of whom I was pretty sure were his dates. Player.

  Cade had his arm around Imogen’s waist at the table. She leaned against him, looking super happy. Were they a thing yet, or…?

  A Nivita girl in a green go
wn came up to the table and put her hand on Cade’s shoulder. “Hi, Cade,” she said, batting her eyelashes. She totally ignored that Imogen was all over him. “Would you like to dance?”

  “He’s kind of busy at the moment,” Jonah snapped at her. The girl’s eyes narrowed at him.

  “No, it’s okay.” Imogen pulled away from Cade and looked down. “You can go if you want, Cade.”

  Cade seemed puzzled— like he didn’t know what to do. If I could read his mind, I would’ve sworn he thought Imogen was sending him away. “Oh… okay.” He got up and walked away with the girl, and Imogen frowned sadly.

  Ugh, Imogen, get it together. You practically just let him walk away!

  “You look really beautiful tonight, Im,” I said, to try and bolster her confidence. “Your dress is great.”

  “Oh, thanks.” Imogen smoothed out a flower on it bashfully. “I guess. Maybe I should’ve worn something more traditional.”

  “Bitch, please,” Jonah said, and he flipped his hair over his shoulder. “You’re the prettiest slut in this room.”

  Imogen forced a smile for him, but I couldn’t help but notice her eyes followed Cade as he half-heartedly danced with the Nivita girl. If I didn’t know any better, I would figure Cade wanted to ask Imogen to dance… he was just scared that she was so shy, she’d say no.

  I looked at Sophia, and she shrugged sadly, in a way that said we couldn’t help Imogen if she wasn’t ready.

  Ezra gave me a sly grin as I pulled my chair closer to Sophia. “How you two doing?”

  “We’re fine, Ezra,” I said, putting emphasis on the words so he wouldn’t ask questions.

  But Ezra was a pain in my ass, so he kept prodding. “You two were gone for a while.”

  “Yep, just slipped out for a minute,” I told him sharply, and he snickered. Sophia gave me side-eye, asking questions with her gaze.

  I’d told Ezra about the kiss Sophia and I shared during the tournament. I didn’t mean to, it’d just slipped out when I was still kind of out of it and doped up in the hospital. I was lucky he was the only family member around at the time, though he hadn’t stopped teasing me about it since.

  Still, I trusted him to keep his mouth shut. So that brought the total number of people who knew to… three.