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The Fire Within Series: Books 1 - 3

Page 51

by Ella M. Lee


  We combined our “holiday party” on Christmas Day with a group meeting. When business was done, Nicolas handed us each a large ornate red envelope full of cash and wished us a Merry Christmas.

  Standing in the middle of the room, he said, “Daniel, come here.”

  Dan, who had barely been paying attention, gave me a curious look and then obeyed Nicolas.

  I sat up straighter and watched Nicolas. He withdrew another envelope from his jacket pocket, slim and blue and decorated with silver trim. It had the crest of Water Clan on it: an elegant heron in a swirling spiral.

  Daniel’s eyes were so wide I thought they would fall from their sockets. Everyone in the room watched in astonishment, their rapt attention on Nicolas and Daniel. Ryan was the only one who seemed unsurprised. He merely observed Daniel’s reaction with a considerable amount of happiness and pride.

  Nicolas presented the envelope to Daniel with both hands. Daniel took it in both of his, shaking like a leaf. He looked as though he might faint.

  “You’ve worked hard for this,” Nicolas said. “Do you remember that day right after we first met, how I told you that you’d be a commander if you wanted it? Congratulations on the nomination.”

  Daniel couldn’t speak. He threw his arms around Nicolas, who caught him in an affectionate hug. I was stunned to see that Dan’s eyes were filled with tears.

  I couldn’t help it—I burst into applause. The others joined me, whistling and cheering. I had never been happier for anyone in my life. Ryan got up and put his arms around Daniel’s shaking shoulders. We all joined, hugging him, touching him, being happy for him.

  “So, how does this work?” I asked Dan nearly thirty minutes later, once we had gotten food and settled down again. “Do you have to take a test or something?”

  “No,” he said through a mouthful of food. “Nicolas already did the hard work for me. His sponsorship and the nomination of four other commanders was all I needed. I have to repeat vows and rules in front of the council, and then visit the Water sanctum with at least Nicolas, Angie, and one of the pinnacle members. Probably Claudius, he likes me the most. There’s a magical process for being promoted to commander, similar to being clanned the first time.”

  He held the contents of the envelope out to me. It was an invitation, and the date was set for next week.

  January first, my birthday.

  “You’re being made commander on the first of January? Happy birthday to me!” I laughed.

  Daniel gave me a wide-eyed look. “That’s your birthday?” he asked. “What a lucky day. Now it’s extra special.”

  I had forgotten that it had never come up between us. I smiled, throwing my arms around him. With a start, I remembered that I had offered to join his group.

  “Are you taking members?” I asked. “Can you even support a group? Financially, that is.”

  “Yeah, a small one. Nico and I have talked briefly about how we might split things up. Realistically, the groups will still basically be together, but we need to make them look separate to the rest of the clan,” he said. He eyed me carefully. “You want to join me?”

  “Of course.”

  My incredible lieutenant, who had been working toward this promotion for years. I was excited to see what he could do with commander magic.

  Would he be as powerful as Nicolas? I had no idea. Power-level manifestation was so completely random in magic that it was almost hilarious and ironic. Even jumping from regular clan member to commander didn’t guarantee amazing power. You could be as powerful as Daniel, one of the best non-commander magicians in the clan, yet end up as a subpar commander, and there was nothing to be done about it.

  But as I watched my friend, I didn’t think that was likely. Dan was blessed in some crazy way—smart, competent, and lucky as hell. He’d probably manage to smash this out of the park too.

  I saw Nicolas watching us from across the room. He smiled and waved. Daniel’s success was a reflection on him, and I liked seeing him happy and proud.

  I blew him a kiss, and to my surprise, he returned the playful gesture with an elegant twist of his fingers.

  “You would warn me if joining Daniel’s group was a bad idea, right?” I asked Nicolas later, once we were alone.

  “Of course,” he said. “I checked all the futures that I could find. It doesn’t seem to matter who is in which group. Things work out well enough regardless. If you want to be with Dan, that’s fine.”

  I was lying on top of him in bed, his fingertips lightly tracing over my back and arms. I could feel his heart beating under me, the rise and fall of his chest strong.

  “You’re not upset?” I asked, the words barely a whisper.

  He slid his hands under my shirt and pressed them against my bare skin.

  No, he told me silently. We’ll be two allied groups. Practically nothing will be different, but I want Daniel to have strong support in the eyes of the rest of the clan. He’ll likely have you, Cameron, Teng, Irina, and Farhad. That’s an excellent group.

  He paused for a moment, then said, I’m looking forward to all of us being truly united again in a new clan.

  Are we…? I had a hard time even thinking the next words. Are you and I still together, in this world where I join Daniel’s group?

  Nicolas’s arms tightened around me. Yes. Did you think you could get rid of me so easily?

  Never, I replied.

  I woke up the next morning to a text from Daniel.

  Want to go hiking today?

  Daniel only ever wanted to go hiking when he had a lot of thinking or talking to do. He liked being outdoors when assembling his thoughts.

  I grabbed a small backpack and shoved it full of water bottles and snacks on my way out the door. Hikes with Daniel were never short or easy.

  He met me outside the building, this time with Nicolas’s red Porsche. We drove north, into the more remote parts of the Hong Kong New Territories. This would definitely be a tough hike.

  We were an hour into a steep climb, zigzagging on a rocky ridge, when Daniel spoke for the first time in a while.

  “I need a lieutenant,” he said, kicking a loose rock along the path with him. “Who would you pick?”

  “Teng,” I said immediately. “He’s been in Water a long time, he’s crazy powerful, and the two of you are close.”

  “Teng doesn’t want it,” Daniel said. “I don’t think he trusts himself. He told me he never wants to be a lieutenant in anyone’s group, not even mine.”

  “Oh,” I said, at a loss. Teng had issues, I knew that. I could understand his hesitation. “Maybe Farhad, then? He’s very collected and detail oriented.”

  “I had you in mind, actually,” Daniel said.

  I stopped walking, feeling like he had shoved me in the chest.

  “Me?” I said, incredulous, unsure if I had heard him correctly.

  “You, Fi.”

  His tone was amused. For a moment, he seemed to be channeling Nicolas’s weird ability to be completely calm, no matter what. He was very still.

  “That can’t possibly be right,” I said, and my own voice sounded like it was a million miles away. “I’m… not right.”

  Daniel studied me, his expression thoughtful. “I think you’re perfect.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “I don’t think you could,” he said, smiling at me. “I trained you, remember? I know you very well.”

  “This is absurd,” I said, still unsure.

  “If this is about money or your assignments…” he said. “I want you to know I’ll offer plenty of flexibility, just like with Nico.”

  “No,” I said. “It’s not that.”

  “Then what is it?” he asked curiously.

  I walked closer to the edge of the trail, looking down at the ocean below us. The sun was bright, and the weather was beautiful today, clear and crisp. Daniel joined me, his eyes concerned, his hair glinting beautifully in the light.

  There had b
een moments in the past few months when I fantasized about being in Dan’s group, and I had even thrown in a couple of daydreams of being his lieutenant. But to have him actually ask me? To trust me that much? It stopped my heart.

  Daniel was still looking at me, his hands locked together in front of him. “Is it because you don’t believe in me?”

  “What?” I said, startled. I grabbed him, my hands on his shoulders. “No! It’s because I don’t believe in me.”

  He looked at me as though I was speaking a new language, one he didn’t understand.

  “I’m so new, and I’ve never led anything. I’m worried I’m not enough for you,” I clarified.

  “Fiona, you come from five years in a different clan, and now you’ve been trained by the best people in Water,” he said. “I’m not going to let you fail. You can do this. I believe in you.”

  “I’ve only been here for five months!” I said, trying to derail him.

  He shrugged. “Nicolas made me his lieutenant after three months in Water.”

  “What did Nicolas say about this idea?”

  “I didn’t ask him. This is my group, and I want you for my lieutenant. He can deal with that however he chooses.”

  “Probably as calmly as ever,” I said, and Daniel laughed.

  “Come on, Fi,” he said. “You and me against the world?”

  His eyes were incredibly bright and hopeful, but there was no humor in them. He was serious and focused in a way he usually only reserved for operations or important meetings.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said. “I’d love to. I’d be honored.”

  He clasped my hand and pulled me to him. His grip was warm and powerful and eager. His excitement was infectious, and I was excited for the future because of it.

  Water lieutenant, I thought to myself, looking out over the vast ocean. What am I getting myself into?

  Chapter 14

  The next week was a flurry of activity before Daniel’s confirmation as a commander. He and I spent a lot of time together. We had already been training and researching together frequently, but Daniel started sparring with me every morning leading up to January first. It seemed like he was stressed or nervous, but it was always so hard to tell with Daniel’s circumspect approach to his own emotions.

  In addition, I was doing detailed research on Meteor’s clan history from some books Keisha had retrieved several weeks before. Meteor was the newest of the eight clans, and we were hoping it was the best documented in terms of how it had been formed. Daniel, whose eye for detail was incredible, was cross-checking my notes against our database.

  Daniel and Nicolas spent a lot of time together, prepping for Daniel’s command. I hadn’t asked what they talked about, but they would go out for dinner, and afterward, Daniel would meet me in the library, quietly drunk. I still had no idea how he managed to do research like that.

  Nicolas had asked Sylvio to be his new lieutenant. I wasn’t terribly surprised by the choice. Ryan didn’t want the job, and the others didn’t have the experience for it. Sylvio had the tenure and reputation someone like Nicolas needed to appropriately support him within Water.

  Two days before Daniel’s ceremony, I had an awkward dinner with Sylvio to discuss our new positions. He had accepted Nicolas’s offer the day before, and I felt weird not addressing the fact that he and I hardly knew one another but would now be working very closely.

  “So…” I said, fiddling with my napkin. “I know you don’t like me terribly much, but—”

  “I like you well enough,” Sylvio interrupted impassively. He smiled. Sylvio’s cold smiles never reached his eyes, and it wasn’t hard to see all the hints of his former commander position in him.

  “Oh,” I said. “Well, I know we didn’t get off on the best foot, but I wanted to make sure we didn’t have anything to settle before jumping into this arrangement. I care about Nicolas and Daniel and our goals. I have every intention of seeing this through to the best of my ability.”

  “So do I,” he offered. “And remember—I’m from Meteor. I didn’t start off on the best foot with anyone here either.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Any clan member in their right mind would be wary of a Meteor joining their ranks, especially a former commander.

  “How did you end up here?” I asked. “Nicolas said you predate him in Water.”

  “There was a woman,” he said. “A Water lieutenant. I loved her. She made me hate who I was in Meteor. I wanted to be better. She was brave enough to sponsor me into Water.”

  “How did you get out?” I asked, because Meteor was fanatical and paranoid, and they didn’t just let their members go. There was a long and bloody history of Meteor magicians who had been tortured and executed by their own clan for attempting an escape.

  “Arturo himself got me out,” he said, mentioning one of Water’s pinnacle members, the man who ran the clan’s extensive security team. “It was not easy. People died on both sides.”

  “What happened after?” I asked.

  Sylvio wasn’t in a relationship anymore. I knew that much.

  “In the end, she couldn’t get over what I’d done in my past. She left for Verdant, and I was alone here in Water.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “It was hard at first, but then I met Ryan. I was part of Arturo’s group. Mostly, I’d been training his guards. Ryan was, at the time, responsible for crafting many of the clan’s magical artifacts. We became friends. Not long after, Ryan brought Nicolas in, and I watched his epic rise through the clan. I knew his reputation, and I wanted to be part of his group.

  “I know you probably don’t believe anyone from Meteor is capable of love,” he finished, “but I love Nicolas and the rest of our group.”

  I bristled at his tone. “You’re right. I don’t think Meteor commanders can love. But you’re not part of Meteor anymore.”

  He nodded once in understanding.

  “I’ll take care of Nicolas for you,” Sylvio said. “You take care of Daniel. There’s no one we need more than him.”

  I paused for a beat. “Why don’t you and Dan seem to get along?”

  “What makes you think that?” Sylvio asked. “I don’t know if that’s right. We get along. He just talks too much sometimes and is a little headstrong for my taste. He’s a hell of a fighter though.”

  “So there won’t be any problems between our groups?” I asked, my brows raised.

  “I don’t plan on causing any, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said. “I have the same directive from Nicolas that you have from Daniel: Protect the mission and goal at all costs. I will be focused on that.”

  “So will I,” I said. “Anything you need from me, you will have it.”

  “Same,” he said with a nod.

  After that, I felt better about my position, and the four of us worked together smoothly to figure out the logistics of our new groups.

  The reality was that not a lot would change.

  Although groups in Water were usually entirely separate in operation, Nicolas believed we were so close to finishing Shatterfall that it hardly mattered if we put effort into truly dividing ourselves. To the clan at large, we would seem like two independent entities, but internally we had no intention of breaking things up.

  Daniel was excited to begin testing his transmutation with commander-level power behind it, and we all knew that those results would move us into what would likely be the final phase of the project. I had somehow ended up in charge of planning and scheduling, and I loved watching everything come together as we made decisions and steps toward our new home and new clan.

  We all attended Daniel’s promotion, which took place on the morning of January first, in the massive room that held Water’s sanctum. I had been there only once before, when I had been clanned to Water. This time there were far more people present, and the atmosphere was far more serious.

  The centerpiece of the room, the huge orb that was Water’s physical sanctum, loomed ov
er us. At its base on one side stood Nicolas’s segment of our group: Ryan, Sylvio, Chandra, Athena, and Keisha. On the other side were those of us going with Daniel: me, Teng, Cameron, Irina, and Farhad. We were all dressed up, standing quietly. I was wearing a stunning ocean-blue dress that Keisha had picked for me. It made Nicolas’s breath catch when he saw me.

  Clustered around us were other commanders and lieutenants, mostly those who had sponsored Daniel’s bid for commander, so the room was primarily filled with allies. Jackson was there with his commander, David Thiessen, and I was pleased to see that Daniel’s friend and former lieutenant had come to support him. He remembered me from our brief meeting while I had still been mortal, and he embraced me, offering his heartfelt congratulations on my successes within Water.

  At the top of the pedestal’s short staircase stood Claudius, the pinnacle clan member who was conducting the ceremony. On either side of him were Nicolas and Angie. Daniel waited at the base of the stairs, looking shaky but handsome in a blue-and-gold changshan—a traditional Chinese long jacket.

  He had already spoken in front of the council and repeated his vows earlier in the week. This was merely the last step, where he would receive his commander powers.

  I went to him while we waited for everyone to arrive, putting my hand firmly on his arm. He was definitely shaking.

  “Why are you nervous?” I asked.

  “I wish I knew,” he said, smiling tightly.

  “Anything I can do?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. I just need to get through this.”

  “You will be fine,” I whispered. “We love you. I love you. You were practically born for this moment. If I were you, I would be enjoying it, not worrying about it.”

  I embraced him delicately.

  “I love you, too,” he whispered.

  My heart broke a little for him when I remembered that he was being made a commander several years before I had even been clanned at all. I couldn’t imagine the stress and pressure that brought.

  I went back to my place, watching as the final few commanders who had been invited filtered in. I had never seen so many Water commanders in one room before, and all of them had brought their powerful lieutenants. When I counted, there were eighteen of them in total, aside from Nicolas, Angie, and Claudius. It was an amazing amount of power collected in one place. Everyone’s magic shifted around them like rustling cloaks, particularly affected by the close proximity of the clan’s sanctum.

 

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