Shadowed Fire (Veil of Midnight Book 1)

by A. Vers

  I teeter in place, burning up. For him. The Fíanac haze is disappearing under the fire still searing my navel. His fire. From such a small kiss. A one-sided kiss.

  A clumsy, one sided kiss that means absolutely nothing to him--

  Shit. Why did I kiss him?

  “Nix. I’m sorry. So sorry.” My lips tremor. Damn it all. “I was just trying to say thank you and…”

  He moves from the bed, putting more distance between us. “It’s fine.” But it’s obviously not.

  Angry tears fill my eyes. It’s focused inward, and underscored with the needy frustration still scorching through my core.

  Nix shakes slightly a few feet away, his arms corded and his neck taut. He must be so angry and I don’t blame him. I overstepped. First I kissed Chol. Now him. God what kind of female does that?

  With his back to me, I can almost ignore the heat. Pretend it isn’t there.

  Why did I kiss him?

  He remains turned away and I have an odd feeling if he could be in a different room, he would be.

  My mouth opens to apologize again, but no words come out. There are none.

  So I do the only thing I can think of to make this less awkward.

  I rise and leave the room.

  Chapter 17

  The long bar is nearly empty and the crystal glass in my hand glitters with rainbow light. I take another sip of the clean, cool water.

  A dull throbbing has replaced the last bit of the Fíanac, and my insides are hollow. Twisted.

  It’s not shame, not really. Or guilt. But both emotions would be welcome.

  No…it’s heartbreak that I’m feeling.

  And not the kind born of instant love in the sappy human novels, but something blossoming with shared adventure and battles. Friendship. Less than two days. Two days around both of them, and they have torn my life to shreds.

  I’m leagues from Midnight, assassins on my tail, my parents won’t know what happened, and now I am embroiled in a two way battle for my heart with men who don’t feel the same.

  No. I’m pretty sure even if they do, in the end it won’t matter.

  “Ah!” I groan and slam my glass down.

  “Now, now,” the voice is silken and deep. “You’re too pretty to be so upset.”

  I glance over at the barely dressed male now perched on the stool beside me. His legs are daintily crossed, and his expression is open, coy, and just this side of come hither.

  “Now, why don’t you tell Jasper what’s wrong, hmm?” he croons.

  “Ummm…” I look around, partially hoping that Nix or Chol will miraculously appear. “It’s nothing…really.”

  He titters. “Nonsense. I know a pity party when I see one.” One tan hand reaches and lays over mine, squeezing. “Now talk.”

  The prompt in his words rolls through my mind and I feel my mouth open to tell him everything.

  I pull away, eyeing him warily, and climb from the stool. “I’m fine.”

  Jasper’s eyes flash. “Are you?” he quips, some of the happiness fading from his voice. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re marked as needing company, and yet…you’re down here…at the bar.” He pouts, and the gold flecks in his blue eyes brighten. “And since we are both alone, why don’t we be alone together?”

  I back up. “I’m sorry, I’m not interested.” I turn and draw up short.

  Jasper waits in the path ahead, his lips pulled back on a harsh smile. “But I want your company.”

  My eyes dart, looking for a way out of this. “And I don’t want yours,” I say honestly.

  He seethes. “I’m one of the best at Wicked, and you’re turning me down?”

  This time I look at him. “You’re by yourself…harassing me. So you must not be that good.”

  His tan face colors to an ugly puce and he advances. I move back and then duck under his reaching arms. My knee meets his midsection and he wheezes.

  “When a woman says no, it means no,” I growl and shove him to the floor. My temper scorches me, but I keep my hands in fists and back slowly toward the stairwell.

  I turn and run headlong into an ash and leather scented midnight-clad chest. Nix’s hand closes over my arm. “Did he fucking touch you?” he rumbles.

  My eyes widen and I stare at him. “Wh—what?” I stammer.

  He presses around me, teeth bared and hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. The sound pouring from him intensifies. Like the ravenous cadence of death.

  The incubus cowers on the floor, arms over his head.

  I leap and grab the Hallow’s wrist. “I’m fine, Nix.” His flame hued eyes roil with power as he watches me, and I shiver. “I’m fine.”

  His chest heaves rapidly and a tick forms in his jaw.

  I stroke the hard muscle of his forearm, trying to soothe him. Or maybe me. “Really. I’m okay. Let go,” I prompt, tugging his hand away from the deadly weapon down his spine.

  Nix slowly lets me bring his hand down, but he never stops watching me. I keep a hold on his arm and dip into the stairwell and start climbing. Pulling him the whole way. He falls into pace beside me.

  “Did Chol come back?” I ask, redirecting his focus.

  He nods. “I was supposed to come find you.”

  I notice he does not bring up my clumsy kiss or my necessary departure. So I don’t either.

  “Any trouble?” I ask.

  His head shakes, fresh braid swaying with the motion. “No.” It’s then that I realize he is bedecked in Hallow ass-kicking attire once more. No wonder the incubus downstairs cowered.

  Nix is formidable out of his armor. In it…

  We ease down the hall to the suite door, and I file into the room a pace ahead of Nix.

  “Sayah.” Cookie scented, damp skin closes around me.

  I freeze. “Chol?”

  He steps back and runs a hand through the sodden gold and platinum locks on his head. His upper body is hot, bare, and slick. Every muscle gleams, full of his own light and maybe a touch of his power. A shower. That’s why he is wet.

  My stomach turns at why he needed one. I shove it down and move away to one of the chairs. Putting it between us, I lean over the back. “Hey.”

  His silver eyes darken, taking in the purposeful distance, barricade, and my, no doubt, less than friendly expression. “Hey…” he draws the word out.

  “So… You good now?” I ask.

  He scowls. “Yeah.”

  I nod. “Good. That’s really good.”

  Nix leans against the wall behind him, and I diligently ignore him. The silence stretches until it beats in my ears with every thump of my heart.

  I toe off my boots. “Well, now that the gang is all here, I guess it’s time to turn in for a while. Get some shut eye.”

  Chol peers at me in confusion. I ignore that too.

  “I’m just gonna snag a few of the longer pillows,” I broach and rush to the bed. With it and the whole room between myself and both of them, I can draw a deep breath.

  I grab a handful of pillows and the thin throw at the foot of the bed before moving towards the closet parallel to the bed.

  “Sayah? What—” Chol begins, moving closer.

  “Good night, “ I say with fake cheeriness and stumble into the narrow, dark space and shut the doors.

  Little slits in the wood let in a modicum amount of light. I drop the pillows and nudge them around before dropping onto the mound. The blanket was washed in some sort of spicy-scented soap, and my eyes burn at the fragrance.

  Soft, masculine voices filter into the space, then the quiet snick of the door, and finally blessed quiet. It rings in me, adding to my loneliness. This strange new pain.

  I fall over sideways, drawing the blanket under my chin. A rush of homesickness builds in my chest, choking me until I have to stuff my fist in my mouth to silence the noise of a rising sob.

  It’s stupid. Completely and utterly stupid.

  But after all these years of wanting to be away from Midnight…now
all I want to do is go home.

  Chapter 18

  Chol glowers past me as we wait for the coach. Emerald City offered little more than a fitful night’s sleep and embarrassment for me. I’m only too happy to leave it behind, even if it means parting with another bit of silver for my troubles.

  Nix hands me my ticket gingerly. I take it from him without really looking and turn away.

  It’s been quiet all morning. Nix refuses to speak, I have no words, and Chol is pissed beyond the point of comprehension. Though it currently appears to be directed inward.

  It was a long time before the door ever reopened last night, and not long after that when there was a mild scraping and a groan of box springs. Neither male seemed willing to sleep in the bed despite me not being in it. Instead, they dismantled the whole thing and set up pallets on the floor using all the remaining pillows, cushions, and blankets.

  Right outside the closet door.

  A steady barrage of room checks, and a faithful bedfellow of Chol’s saw us out of Wicked before the assassins or sentinels found us. It took everything in me not to blast the brunette from the lobby with a weaving as I passed her.

  Spiteful? Who me?

  Now we are at a depot down the line in Crux, waiting on a coach to the Gods only know where.

  But hopefully to Hemlock and my freedom from myself.

  The small town is barely more than three buildings and a single lamppost. I kick at a lone clod of dirt and it shatters over my boot.

  “It’s a day by coach to Hemlock,” Nix says after a time, his voice icy and dead. Hollow. Oddly it no longer fits him. “We need to make for the consulate and get Erem and Lady Marlec. So no stops if we can help it.”

  Chol grumbles something unintelligible under his breath. If Nix understands it, he doesn’t say anything. And neither do I.

  I stare at my boots in the small patch of high weeds. Once they are at the consulate, I can return to Midnight.

  Midnight.

  Home.

  The notion does not bring me as much joy as it did last night. Though I am not sure why.

  I should feel relieved to go home. To settle back into the normal life I have known for years. Now that I have gone away from the embassy on my own and survived, maybe I can go away more. Maybe visit Earth. Go to school, be a normal girl.

  It will get easier every time I do. It has to. Right?

  My eyes lift and flow over Nix and Chol. There is no place for them in my ‘normal’ life. Not that either would ever get a chance to try.

  Until Chol is out of danger, they will have to run. To hide.

  I lean against the narrow pole beside me. Sympathy is for the devil, and sympathy got me into this mess to begin with. I need to deliver them to the consulate like I am supposed to and then forget all about them both.

  The slow crunch of gravel proceeds the coach. It rolls down the narrow lane, interior lit softly in a pale red haze. I watch it approach, teeth deep into my bottom lip. The light shimmers as Nix bends to grab the bags. The pulse of magick speeds, winding up.

  Or counting down…

  Hells.

  “Get down,” I scream lunging and grabbing their collars as I throw up a thin shield of blue light.

  The carriage explodes in a rain of wood, glowing embers, and smoke. Bits of debris punch through my shield. One sliver of wood slashes into my forehead like fire.

  Insane cackles flow from the constant dark of the Void. Every hair on my body raises in alarm.

  “Guys. Guys, get up.” I shake them both before tugging at their arms.

  Nix shakes his head, eyes widening then narrowing rapidly as the high laughter continues. “Shit. Chol. Come on.”

  The Prince rights himself, palms trickling blood. “A bomb? In the Void?”

  Catcalls and shouts flow along the air.

  “No time,” I say, pulling at their clothes. “The assassins are coming.”

  They scramble to their feet. Nix pulls his sword, shoving at both of us to move. “Run. Go.”

  We take off into the dark of the Void.

  Every step is like putting a neon bullseye over our backs. Chol scrambles up a nearby hill, hand reaching back for me. Something luminous sweeps over his head, barely grazing the peaks of his hair.

  Growling, I gather energy from the rings on my fingers and form it into a bolt. Rings filled with power thanks to Chol and his bedmates. Anger suffuses my limbs. With a fierce incantus, the bolt spirals out into the dark.

  The resounding blast booms in my ears and Nix stumbles, his lips parting in shock.

  He looks at me.

  I shrug. “It almost got Chol.”

  His answering smile is a feral flash of teeth. I tremble, but the notion of why is not wholly fear.

  We hurdle over the hill and the Void opens up to a desert like plain. Blackness and cracked, dry soil spans in every direction. Our shoes barely stir up a cloud of silt, but every step leaves us sinking an inch easy as the dirt gives way to sand.

  Lights zoom and blast around us, leaving us zagging to evade the magick missiles.

  I spin in place, drawing from the bangles on my arms and hurling a barrage of nickel size orbs into the night.

  They explode in little showers of sizzling clouds and smoke, illuminating our quarry.

  Nix pivots in a whirl of black fabric, hands flying. Shining black bolts fly from his grasp.

  Soft oomphs of sound flow over the hill.

  We keep running.

  A trickle of power flows over my neck, making me drop into a crouch.

  One of the men from the manor materializes behind me, hand outstretched and eyes a dull glittering black.

  Something flies past my ear, embedding in his midsection.

  I peer over my shoulder.

  Chol stands, glamour gone and twin crossbows in his hands. His body is wreathed in gold, silver, and white. Features simultaneously harsh but sensuous are lined in a sinister cast at odds with the male I know. He fires again and the man drops.

  Another shadow blossoms behind the Prince.

  “Chol!”

  Silver flashes, and blood sprays. Chol cries out, twisting away even as the man gives a ghastly grin. The expression fades as he teeters, hissing, as a dark blur barrels into him. Fists and weapons fly, man and Hallow fighting for the upper hand.

  I fall in my haste to get to Chol, already tossing an illuminatix orb to hover over him. He hobbles in place, torso caved and side shining in the dimness of my magick.

  “Son of a bitch,” I say, hands hovering uselessly. His shirt is already plastered to his skin, the tear easily visible around a wide laceration. “Nix!”

  There is a fell swish. A masculine head rolls over the dark clay, and Nix slams his boot into the body, toppling it.

  He speeds over, almost falling at our sides. He takes one look at his weaving charge, and rips the shirt clean up Chol’s side. “Hold still.”

  Chol’s face turns white. “Just do it.”

  Nix holds out his dagger, eyes glowing and pulsing with that strange flame. Fire rolls across the knife, and he lays it over the Prince’s side.

  Chol chokes, face flowing from white to red before staying a terrible shade of green. He snares my arm in a death grip as his legs buckle. I swoop into his good side, holding him up.

  Nix takes his other arm and hauls us after him over the bleak landscape.

  Shouts and cries of dismay ring in my ears. A bloodcurdling howl echoes them.

  Nix and I exchange a glance.

  “Shapeshifter,” I breathe. “The other woman is a shifter.”

  “Shit,” Chol swears.

  “She will be able to track us. The only way out is to kill her,” Nix answers, eyes on fire as he scans the horizon.

  He points towards what may be the east. “Hemlock is that way. Get to the convergence line and head topside.” I hesitate, Chol against my side. Nix pushes me. “Go. I’m right behind you.”

  His back turns, sword in one hand, dagger in the
other. Ebony flames roll down his blade, engulfing it. I ease away from Chol.

  Pulling one of the cuffs from my wrist, I weave in a rush and leap to slam it over Nix’s wrist on top of his gauntlet. He stares.

  “If you die, I’ll kill you,” I snap.

  For a moment, something in his expression seems to soften. It’s gone just as fast. He jerks his chin, blade whistling in the air as he warms up his wrists. “Go. Get Chol to Hemlock.”

  I turn on my heel and skid in the packed dirt before finding traction and racing onto the hill. It takes a lot of swearing, but I get Chol up enough to drag the Prince into the night. Leaving the lone Hallow to keep the others away.

  Chapter 19

  My legs ache with every pounding step. The knot in my lower back burns, a clear indicator I never did enough long distance hauling at Midnight. I try to lick my dry lips, but there is no moisture left in my mouth.

  Chol pants beside me, his pace slowing drastically. I try to peer casually at his other side and the reopening wound under the very dim orb lighting our way.

  “We need to stop. I need to cauterize it again or something.”

  He blanches and stumbles a few more steps. “No. No more burning.”

  My heart pounds. “You can’t keep going like this.”

  As though to echo my words, he crumbles into the packed earth. His whole body shakes and sweat beads on his skin. “Just…just give me a minute…” he pants.

  I crouch in front of him, searching his face endlessly for any sign he is going to fall over. He peers at me blearily.

  “I’m tired, Sayah. Not dying.”

  My lips tremble. “But you’re bleeding again.”

  “Not so bad…”

  “Bad enough.”

  He raises a hand. His fingers hold a fine tremor of motion as they brush across my cheek before falling back in his lap. “I’ve lived through worse.”

  My chest tightens. His eyes close for a moment as he fights to breathe. I look into the dark of the Void, trying to gauge how far we have come and how far we have left to go.

  “Where the hell is Nix?” I mutter.

  There has been no sounds of fighting or pursuit for hours. Though it’s hard to tell time in the endless night.