Ash Bringer (A Storm of Fire: Paranormal Dragonshifter Romance Book 1)

by Courtney Leigh

  “The other contestants aren’t your concern. Taurus’s execution has already been decided,” Ares said. “You have to understand that his crimes aren’t excusable. Your request is—”

  “Anything,” I cut him off. “Those are the terms when you volunteer for the race. Any request is granted. I didn’t do this just to be turned down. If you can’t free him, then run an investigation. Postpone his execution. His confession is false.”

  “You’re right,” Ares nodded. “You won. You almost died and eleven others did die so you could stand before us as you are, but you’re dealing with issues that aren’t easily set aside. Political offenses. Personal offenses that we can’t forget. Archons are rare and revered among our kind. I am an understanding man and I try to stay true to my word, but in the end, we make the rules and I find it difficult to grant you what you wish considering the circumstances.”

  “So you’re denying me?” I snarled. “Will the Order find out about this or will it be swept under a rug somewhere?”

  “We’ll make you rich. You’ll never have to work another day in your life. We could give you a place on the east side of the sector with the elite.”

  “Fuck your elite. I don’t worship your kind. I don’t even care about your kind. I don’t give a shit where you came from or what you can do. All I want is Taurus. You can banish us both, but I want him freed and I’ll take nothing less. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Fine,” the copper-haired man said, pinning me with his eyes. “But winning a race isn’t enough to pay for his release.”

  “Draven,” Ares said cautiously.

  Now I could put a name to this asshole’s face.

  “He took the life of a family member,” Draven said. “You have to understand that.”

  “So? What do you want?” I said, catching the conniving glint in the Draak’s eyes when he spoke.

  “Draven,” Ares said again as if wary of his intentions.

  “You,” Draven said.

  “Me?” I blinked. “For what?”

  “If you have to ask, maybe you don’t want Taurus released as bad as you thought,” he jeered.

  I didn’t answer him. My eyes glided toward everyone else in the room as if they could help me. I had no idea what kind of man Draven was. What kind of Draak he was. I never kept up with rumors or news or stories. I’d made a point my whole life to stay off their radar and now here I was in the center of it. I felt like a rabbit in a room filled with hungry dogs that could smell my fear sweating from my pores.

  “I’m not a patient creature,” Draven said in a near whisper, stepping closer to me. He appeared much larger now. Larger than Ares. Larger than Lukan even. Intimidating. He smelled of leather and woodsy odors, like the vetiver oils in Greyport’s stores.

  “Ok,” I said softly, almost choking on the word.

  “What was that?” Draven pushed.

  “Ok,” I said louder. “Whatever. Just free him.”

  Draven’s lips curled into a sadistic smile. “Good. Then I’ll take you to Taurus now so we can get this over with.”

  I didn’t enjoy the ride to Raven Heights in the least seeing as Draven and Lukan were the only two accompanying me besides Keera, who barely said a word. Two Draak, and one of them already earning my deep, personal hatred. I sat in the back of a silver sedan with cushioned seats and tinted windows, waiting for us to arrive. Seeing the look on Lukan’s face disturbed me. He looked stressed and remorseful, and the entire half-hour it took us to reach Raven Heights he hadn’t said a single word or even tossed me a glance.

  Draven, who rode in the back with me, sat on the opposite side of the seats twirling an antique, gold coin back and forth over his knuckles, staring intensely out the window as a light drizzle began to leave tears of water on the glass. On his thumb, I saw a thick, metal ring with a coppery-green tint to it. It clanked lightly when he finally rolled the coin into his palm and closed his fist. I couldn’t help watching him in my peripheral, but I avoided a direct glance. Part of me wondered if breaking Taurus out of prison would have been the smarter choice.

  The city passed by in blurs of grey stone and crowded sidewalks. We passed boutiques and restaurants full of people who had no idea what hardship was. They dressed in their elaborate fashions and laughed over cups of coffee while corporations owned by Draak loomed over them like storm clouds, controlling every part of their lives. Most people didn’t care. As long as they were comfortable. Temples had been redesigned to worship the beasts. Massive, metal statues were built throughout the city depicting their giant, winged forms and during the night, bowls of coal were lit around the bases of each one to illuminate the menacing figures scattered around each sector. I’d never known a world where the Draak weren’t being revered. I’d never known the world that came before when Draak were simply a myth. Pity. I would have loved a world where they didn’t exist.

  When we arrived at Raven Heights, it was much larger than I suspected. We were authorized through a big, metal gate and drove down a long driveway toward a square building concealed by trees. It looked dark and dreary. Not a place I wanted Taurus stuck in any longer. I grew excited and afraid at the thought of seeing him again.

  Once the car stopped, I stepped out and looked anxiously on as Draven walked toward the guards at the front entrance. There were two of them and they were armed with tasers and whips like they were running a work camp. I balled my fists, watching as Draven exchanged some words with them and one of the guards walked briskly into the building.

  The drizzle was a soothing shock to my hot skin. My blood had been boiling since I won the race and the encounter with the Draak hadn’t quelled it at all. I’d never actually had a conversation with a Draak. A few words had been exchanged here and there, but as far as prolonged interactions went, this was a first. I couldn’t grow used to the discomfort as I waited.

  I remained as patient as I could, stepping away from the car and pacing slowly across the grass as the minutes passed. When I saw the guard return from the building with Taurus’s familiar, burly figure pacing beside him, my breath stopped. He saw me and I could tell that it made his muscles seize with surprise. I wanted to cry seeing him in one piece and bit my lip to keep from doing so as the guard unlocked the thick cuffs on Taurus’s wrists. I tensed in preparation to rush into his arms, but before he could make his way toward me, Draven stepped into his path. A rush of panic tingled on my skin. He was taller than Taurus by a hand. His muscles were sleeker and to the untrained eye Taurus could rip him apart with his seemingly more solid build, but Draven wasn’t a half-blood. He was pure and terrifying, his danger buried beneath an alluring, human-like exterior. I grew rigid at the idea of Draven slicing Taurus down in the blink of an eye.

  Draven said something to Taurus, speaking close to his ear with one hand threateningly placed on his shoulder. Taurus’s expression hardened and then turned to something sorrowful and defeated that twisted my guts into knots. Finally, he was allowed passage and started to walk my way. Now, however, I was worried. He stepped slowly, his body too big for the white jumpsuit he’d been given to wear. All I wanted to do was embrace him and cry like a child in his arms, but he looked as if he was intentionally prolonging the approach. I couldn’t take it.

  I paced forward the last few steps, wrapping my arms around Taurus’s broad shoulders. His beard was thicker than I remembered and tickled my forehead when I laid my cheek on his chest. His heart was beating quickly against my ear. It could have been from excitement, but the way his muscles twitched in my grip made me think it was more from fear. I looked up at him, tears in my eyes, and he cupped my cheeks gently in his hands.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said to me in that familiar, husky tone. He pulled me into another hug, squeezing me tight. Over his shoulder I caught a glimpse of Draven staring at the two of us with an intense, hardened glare. “I’m sorry for everything. You deserve much better. Whatever happens, whatever you hear, know that I love you. Know that I’ve done things yo
u wouldn’t believe, but I did not do this. I swear to you.”

  “I believe you,” I assured.

  “You need to run,” Taurus whispered into my ear. “You never should have come here.”

  I drew back. “What?”

  “Run. Before he puts his mark on you. Draven isn’t a Draak you want to be bound to. You’re—”

  A gunshot thundered through the yard and a spray of red warmth splashed across my face and neck. I froze, unable to speak or even breathe as Taurus fell forward against me, his heavy, solid body going limp within seconds. I tried to hold him up, but my strength did nothing to support his weight. His form slumped to the ground, a hole where his eye had been just seconds ago spewing blood onto the rich, green grass.

  I barely knew what had happened at first, but when I realized he was gone something inside me awakened like a raging fire. I grabbed the front of Taurus’s jumpsuit in my fists, grinding my teeth together so hard they could have shattered. With a lung full of air, I let out a scream that shook the rain as it fell. The shower picked up, wetting the yard and everyone standing in it. It washed drops of red from my face onto the white fibers of Taurus’s clothes. Enraged, I whipped my head up to see Draven handing one of the guards a pistol that he’d just borrowed for the deed. He portrayed nothing in his expression but cold carelessness.

  “You said you’d release him!” I roared.

  “I did,” Draven said. “He died a free man.”

  I bared my teeth like an animal and leapt up into a charge. It was stupid, but my body was working on its own now. Draven stood his ground as if I was just a pest he was going to swat from the air and he nearly did just that. I jumped up, grabbing for his face and he threw me to the ground with one arm. I rolled across the walkway and climbed to my feet, quickly throwing a punch at one of the guards and taking the gun from his belt as he stumbled back. Any injuries from the race had been forgotten.

  Spinning, I aimed the pistol at Draven’s head only to feel it get knocked from my hand with a swift hit to my forearm that felt like it had cracked my bone. I recovered into a kick, but as soon as my leg hit Draven’s side, he grabbed a hold of it and pulled, knocking my other foot out from under me. I landed on my back so hard the wind was knocked from my lungs. Coughing, I struggled to free myself. He’d moved atop me, pinning both of my arms over my head. I screamed, writhing only to realize just how easy it was for him to overpower me.

  Looking up at Draven, I could see a subtle movement in the color of his eyes as if I was looking at live embers in a newly doused fire. He bore his sharp fangs and hissed, but in a way that seemed almost aroused or amused.

  “You’re a monster,” I growled through my teeth.

  Draven leaned in, speaking close to my lips. “And you belong to me now,” he spoke in a harsh whisper.

  Suddenly there was a stinging, intense heat on my wrist where his hand was wrapped around me. It was brief but agonizing. I cried out, but as quickly as it had begun, the burning ended and Draven released me, standing up and stepping over my body like I was just a piece of trash on the ground. I took my wrist and cradled it against my chest as the cold rain trickled along my body. Rolling to my side, I saw Taurus laying ten feet away, lifeless and silent. I’d won the Red Race... but I’d lost everything else.

  8

  Draven Tempest

  . . .

  I hated the Draakir building. It was excessively proper and clean. More my brothers’ style than mine. I sat in front of an open window just as the sun was going down, letting the smell of rain waft in from outside. I’d propped my feet on the sill, twirling a gold coin over my knuckles in thought as I watched the weather pour down from the sky.

  Everly Ghlass, I repeated in my head, letting the sound of her name ring in my mind.

  So she was the girl Taurus had gone on about. She was the one he’d fought so hard to keep away from the city only for her to come right to us. And now she was mine. The irony brought a subtle smirk to my lips when I thought of all the things I could do to her. The only thing that would make it better was if Taurus had been alive to see it. I had been too impatient regarding his death. The filthy Pike deserved it. He deserved worse for what he’d done.

  “So,” Ares sighed as he entered the room. He was a quiet creature, but I heard his heartbeat coming from across the building. “The female is yours now. Fitting for the champion to be claimed by a Draak. And not any Draak. Draven Tempest. It will certainly quell suspicions about denying her request, which the Order has already been inquiring about. You know the human council would go mad over that. Alric Justiss is making a trip here tomorrow to get an explanation, so thank you for that.”

  “The human council is there for looks,” I said. “We hold the real power, brother. All you need to do is make them think this was all their idea somehow, like always.”

  “That’s...never mind,” Ares shook his head. “May I ask what you plan to do with her? I only wonder because she’ll be a topic of discussion in the city for some time, especially if she disappears suddenly.”

  “I’ll do whatever I want,” I said simply. “And I did grant her request, for the record.”

  Ares let out a subtle groan, tossing a stack of papers on the table in front of him. I glanced back to see what he’d brought me, curious.

  “We figured out who she is,” he said. “She was born in Crescent Cove, which was on the edge of sector 4. Wrenhil. So close to the edge, some people considered it part of the outer territories. The town was burned down when she was young. Many said it was a rogue Draak having a tantrum. The number of human rebels increased after that like it does every time a Draak does something stupid. And, because it was technically inside the sector, the lack of Draak protection also stirred things up. Might explain her attitude toward us.

  “Everly’s parents were killed and she was one of only seven survivors. She was sent to Valley Veil Orphanage for a couple of months. Taurus took her in and raised her after that. All that time, he was retired, in theory. He and Ms. Ghlass moved here, to Nytho, and again lived so close to the border that it was barely considered part of it. A place called Greyport. Taurus had withdrawn from his involvement with the Falcons since he picked up Everly. Or so it says. I had Killian Valentyne delve into his databases. It’s a pity his network can’t tell us more about what happened with Valerio.”

  “We don’t need his database,” I growled. “Taurus confessed. And not only that, but I saw it in his head. He was a guilty man. Even if he hadn’t killed Valerio, being involved with the Falcons should have been enough to kill him the day he turned up. And considering Everly won the race, I’d guess he was training her to follow in his footsteps.”

  “Despite who raised her, she is the champion,” Ares argued calmly. “We not only took Taurus from her, but now you intend to punish her for things we don’t even know she did.”

  “What do you care? She’s a human.”

  “They might be lower beings, but they tend to be harder to control when we keep giving them reasons to rebel. And I might remind you that, while you are from Draakon, I grew up here. These are my people.”

  “So you know the people best. It’s why Valerio made you a regent. I’m sure he thought you’d do a much better job than this,” I chuckled. “But seeing the future is something we don’t have the power to do. Now your job is to keep this quiet. You’re at least good at that.”

  “It’ll be hard. Everly’s a wild one. She is far from willing and you didn’t just take her as a servant, you made her an Ashling.”

  “I’ll keep her in check.”

  “She could be dangerous to the other girls. Especially while her body is adapting to the mark. What about Ronan?”

  “She likes the kid,” I said, standing to face Ares. “She won’t hurt him. Plus, his father’s there. Lukan won’t let anything happen.”

  “Draven, what you’ve done skates on the edge of madness. People in the city—”

  “Will think her wish was to bind herself
to one of us. Winners do it all the time, just like you said. Besides, the ladies have already been sent to the estate with Lukan. Keera will help her through the change. A week or so out of the city will do her good and keep the press out of my business. I’ll teach her where there are fewer distractions.”

  “It’s unwise.”

  “What would you suggest? Kill her?”

  Ares went silent for a moment and I could sense that the thought had crossed his mind. The man was a snake. Most regents were. They enjoyed power and they were constantly trying to keep it, but this wasn’t his game. It was mine. The prissy politician had no place in my personal business.

  “Figure it out, Ares,” I said, locking eyes with him.

  “You’re insane.”

  “Yes, brother, I am,” I said, slipping the coin into my pants pocket. “Valerio was insane to do what he was trying to do. It got him killed. My insanity will bring him justice.”

  “Justice means something different to you. This—”

  “Remember,” I cut him off, tossing him another glowing stare. “I do not answer to you. Understand your place, Blue. You’re getting too comfortable in the position I let you have. Now, tend to your fine things and your temples. I’m going to indulge in some simple luxuries before I fly out to the estate to start the real fun.”

  “Fine things? If ‘fine things’ means trying to keep the peace, then yes. That’s what I do. Forgive me, but there is little luxury in knowing the conflict that goes on around us. Just last week, we finally located Borus Kramar, the human scum that’s been trafficking women from the sector, and no one will venture outside the border to face him. Rumor has it he’s got slayers surrounding him everywhere he goes.”

  “That’s some security force you run, brother.”

  “I don’t run it. Vyctor was the last one to run it. Since he disappeared, the force has been unreliable at best. And it doesn’t matter. The outer territories have become far more chaotic in the past decade and the only Draak willing to step foot out there are Reds, and they’re in short supply. The younger ones refuse. There have been rumors that young Draak go out there and come back mad. Some even throw around the notion of a Zephyre somehow getting into people’s heads. It’s getting out of hand.”