Ashes (Fire Within Series Book 3)

by Ella M. Lee

  “Allow me to clarify,” Nicolas cut in again. “I want to know why I’m sitting here right now. Your apologies to Fiona can wait.”

  Mark appraised him carefully before saying, “My meeting was with her.”

  “Your meeting stopped being with her the moment you asked for my help,” Nicolas said, his tone silky. “Unless you think Fiona can fix your problems? Allow me to answer that question for you—she can’t.”

  I had to keep myself from smiling. I loved this side of Nicolas. Anyone else might be offended by the slight, but I wasn’t. Nicolas wasn’t belittling me; he simply knew exactly what to say in every situation to rattle his rivals.

  “I’m not patient,” Nicolas went on. “This is the first time a Meteor commander has ever gotten fifteen minutes of my undivided attention. Make it count.”

  Mark was silent, considering. Nicolas rolled his eyes—a bad sign. Nicolas was unpredictable when he ran out of patience. After another tense moment, he raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.

  A beat went by.

  Evie’s hands flew to her throat. She was trying to breathe but clearly not getting any air. I had to school myself to suppress my shock. A magenta shield flickered to life around her. Nicolas snapped again, and her shield blew apart to nothing.

  “Don’t worry,” Nicolas said to Mark. He wasn’t even looking at Evie. “I’ll let her breathe again once you say something interesting. She has at least a few minutes. I would start talking if I were you.”

  Chapter 9

  Mark, who had been in the middle of throwing himself at Evie, turned to lunge at Nicolas. I was frozen in shock. I’d had no idea Nicolas could stop someone’s breathing, something that required careful finesse with the water inside their body.

  Mark stepped forward, but he didn’t get far. A shield appeared before us—the most beautiful shield I had ever seen, neatly dividing the room. It was midnight blue, almost purple, filled with twinkling starlike sparks and shot through with brilliant lightning.

  Daniel. Of course. His magic always bordered on majestic.

  He hadn’t moved, or even flinched. I had never seen him so controlled before. He gave zero indication that he cared about what was happening to Evie, even though he was compassionate at heart.

  Mark put a frantic hand on Daniel’s shield, attempting to destroy it, but Dan’s magic easily clobbered Mark’s. Water magic was much more powerful than pure Meteor magic, and Nicolas’s and Dan’s skills were in categories all by themselves.

  Evie had fallen to her knees, her eyes wide.

  With movements that felt alien, I stood and stepped to the shield, placing my hand on it. It responded to me affectionately, as Dan’s magic always did.

  “Stop it,” I said firmly, “all of you.”

  I glared back at Nicolas. He closed his eyes for a moment, annoyed, and suddenly Evie could breathe again. She gasped, shuddering.

  Mark was directly in front of me. Our hands were aligned, our palms millimeters apart, with only the shield between them.

  “Make sure Evie is okay,” I said to him. “Sit. Tell us what we want to know. You may have surprised Nicolas once with an advantage, but you do not want to go up against these two together.”

  His eyes were intense on mine, but eventually he turned away. I watched as he helped Evie sit with murmured reassurances. Once they were both seated, I returned to my own stool. It was only then that Daniel dissolved his shield.

  “Shall we start again?” Nicolas asked pleasantly.

  He looked like the only calm one in the room. Mark and Evie were both furious and seething. Daniel was alert and tense. And I was just trying to figure out how I could hold this all together.

  How had that become my job?

  Evie looked like she wanted to speak, but her eyes went to Mark first. He put a placating hand on her thigh and took a deep breath.

  “I met Derek Douglass two months ago,” he said. “He’s clanned to Meteor now, if you didn’t know. It happened a few days ago, just after we abducted you. But while he was mortal, he was introduced to me through his now-commander. I was told Derek wanted to hire me and could pay well. That’s pretty much the only reason I agreed to meet with him. I don’t normally deal with mortals, but my work has been light lately, and my group needs the money.”

  Nicolas was watching Mark intensely, a sign he was interested and processing all of Mark’s spoken and unspoken words. Dan was watching Evie’s reactions, studying her.

  “He brought a woman with him. You might know her name by now,” he said. “Liane Ivers, the woman who invented that poison we used on you.”

  Nicolas didn’t clarify that the poison was actually a virus. “Derek was on friendly terms with a Smoke magician?” Nicolas asked.

  Mark shrugged. “Friendly terms? No idea, but she explained the poison to us while he watched. The job was simple: capture Nicolas Demarais, poison him, wait for him to die, call in Derek for confirmation. Derek knew so much about you, it seemed like we would have an easy time of it.”

  I laughed. Mark’s eyes went to me, startled.

  “That’s what my group in Flame thought this past summer when we tried to assassinate Nicolas,” I said. “You can imagine how well that worked.”

  “Worked out well for you,” he said, shrugging again. “You went from trying to kill him to sleeping with him pretty quickly.”

  “You know nothing about what I’ve gone through to get here,” I hissed.

  I didn’t want to elaborate. Let him wonder about Nicolas’s character; everyone else did. That was Nicolas’s favorite act, anyhow.

  Mark’s only comment on that was a slight frown. He turned his eyes back to Nicolas. “With all that information, with an insider at our disposal, you can see how the job seemed easy. And the pay was astronomical.”

  “Why poison?” Nicolas asked. “You had perhaps the best opportunity anyone has ever had to kill me. You could have dragged me out of my car, slit my throat, and I would have died before anyone even realized I was gone. Instead, you opened yourself up to far more risk by using a slower method. Why?”

  Mark spread his hands helplessly. “It was part of the ask. I didn’t inquire too much—it wasn’t my place—but my impression was that you were a test case for that poison, for reasons unknown to me. You were supposed to be dead within the hour. How did you survive for so long? Hell, how did you recover? Liane assured me that wasn’t possible.”

  Nicolas smiled wolfishly. “Come now. You can’t think I’ll answer that.”

  Mark’s lips twitched into a disappointed frown. “Fair.” He hesitated. “I was anxious to leave, but you just wouldn’t die. When your recovery team arrived, I had to make some quick decisions. Especially since I hadn’t expected another Water commander to come blasting through the door.” His eyes flicked to Daniel warily. “Derek seemed sure you wouldn’t have help. At that point, I had to cut and run. I was planning to get upstairs real fast and finish the job. I was not expecting to see Fi there, protecting you. I had heard she moved from Flame to Water, but I didn’t know much beyond that, and Derek hadn’t mentioned her. I don’t think he knows we’re related.”

  “You were keeping tabs on me?” I asked.

  “Of course,” he said, and he made it sound like I was an idiot for asking. “You’re my sister.”

  “Fuck you. Go to hell,” I said, shaking my head. “Don’t think for a second that you have a sister anymore. You have a lot of nerve—”

  “Fi,” Daniel said in a warning tone.

  I fell silent.

  Mark watched our exchange interestedly. He was likely only just realizing I answered to Daniel and not Nicolas. If he was affected by my cruel words, he didn’t give any indication.

  “Let me guess,” Nicolas said, bringing his hands together. “Derek didn’t pay you, and now you’re offering him to me.”

  Mark smiled. “I’m not going to lie. I’m a desperate man right now. Not only did Derek not pay me, but he got Liane to administer her
poison on me, and it’s killing me slowly. I think he expects me to come crawling back to him for the antidote, but fuck that. I’m willing to give you both of them for even just the chance that you’ll help me. That’s why I came here alone, no traps or ulterior motives. It doesn’t matter if you kill me. My death would happen regardless.”

  “No one in Smoke would take your case, even if you paid them,” Nicolas said. It wasn’t a question.

  “Of course not,” Mark said scathingly. “A Meteor commander? I could have the most interesting dilemma in the world, and they would rather stand over me while I died in a gutter, choking on my own blood. I didn’t even bother asking.”

  “Yet you think I’ll help you,” Nicolas said. Again, not a question.

  “I think you want Derek, and I think you’re more interested in making it a fair trade than you let on,” Mark said. “They are not easy to find, but there are people who say Nicolas Demarais isn’t the heartless monster he used to be.”

  “Heartless monster. I like that term of endearment,” Nicolas said, smiling. “You seem awfully confident that I won’t torture you for information and leave you to die in your pretty fiancée’s arms.”

  “I’ve also heard you like a good challenge,” Mark said.

  Nicolas did like challenges, but this challenge presented a lot of risks. He would likely help Mark if I asked, but he would also be fine not helping. He didn’t need Mark to track down Derek—he would find him eventually—and he definitely had no affection for Mark. There was still the chance this whole thing was a lie or a trap. If Nicolas knew more from Mark’s mind, I’d have to wait until later to hear it.

  “Please?” The word was little more than a whisper from Evie. She looked at me, and I was startled to find there were tears in her eyes.

  “Can you really shoulder his death again?” she asked quietly.

  “I’ve shouldered a lot of deaths,” I said.

  My eyes met Daniel’s. My actions and decisions were largely dictated by him. He shrugged at me, indifferent.

  “Why aren’t you dead yet?” Dan asked, his voice cutting through the awkward silence.

  It was Nicolas who answered. He smiled, catlike. “The poison was designed for a Water magician. I imagine it doesn’t work as well on Meteor magic, not with your blood’s high level of volatile magic and iron.”

  Mark shrugged. “I can’t keep it subdued for much longer.” He looked toward me. “Sorry, Fi. I guess I’ll understand if this is goodbye. I imagine I’ll be dead in about five days if nothing changes. What you’ve believed for eight years will be true.” He smiled weakly. “It really was good to see you. I’m glad you have not one but two badass commanders looking out for you.”

  His gaze fell on Nicolas. “There’s one more thing. There’s someone pulling Derek’s strings. I don’t know who it is, but he mentioned it in my earshot. Someone Liane respects, too.”

  It probably wasn’t obvious to Mark, but Nicolas tensed slightly, interested. Dan blinked several times, confused. A beat went by.

  Nicolas shrugged stiffly. “Even Derek isn’t stupid enough to go up against me alone. We will consider your issues and your offer.”

  “Thank you for hearing me out. After seeing this one in action,” Mark said, pointing at Daniel, “I’m sure you two could have come here and shredded us to pieces if you wanted. If I hear from you again, I’ll be grateful. If I don’t… well, kill Derek for me, at least.”

  Mark dug in his pocket and held up a small thumb drive. Carefully, he tossed it to Nicolas, who caught it in one hand.

  “For you,” he said. “Your technologist will be able to decipher it. There’s an encrypted way to contact me on that drive.”

  Mark looked at each of us, one at a time. His eyes settled on me last, lingering. I looked away.

  Nicolas didn’t reply. He didn’t even acknowledge Mark’s words. Instead, he stood, pocketed the thumb drive, and gestured for me and Dan to exit the room before him. I hesitated, glancing back at Mark and Evie for a second.

  Nicolas had his phone out, texting our group. Finally, he followed us out. My gaze remained on the door well after he closed it behind him. Nicolas grasped my arm and pulled me off to the rendezvous. Still, I watched the door. Mark and Evie didn’t emerge, although I watched until my feet crossed the portal threshold and landed me back home.

  “That went better than expected,” Nicolas said to the room after the portal had closed behind us.

  I went to sit heavily in a chair off to one side. Daniel joined me, crushing himself next to me and putting his arm around my shoulders firmly. I was light-headed and dizzy, coming down hard from the stress of the situation.

  I was barely listening as Nicolas described the details of our meeting, including Mark’s offer and his request. I watched blankly as Nicolas handed the thumb drive to Teng. I was lost in remembering the blue of Mark’s eyes, so like mine.

  Mark was dying. Again. At least, it was again to me. I had lived eight years with him frozen in my mind, yet he had grown and changed. He had a clan and a fiancée and a life. He had ended up part of the same world as me.

  Now that was about to end.

  How had I felt when I thought I was hours from death? When Nicolas’s stare didn’t contain love and affection, only endless seas of callousness? When I had been so sure he would snap my neck or slit my throat for the slightest indiscretion? Did Mark’s heart beat as fast as mine had? Did his throat close automatically when he imagined how close his last minutes were? Were we so alike? I didn’t know anymore.

  “Do we need Mark’s offer?” Daniel asked. “What about the part about someone pulling Derek’s strings? Is he being honest?”

  “He’s being honest,” Nicolas confirmed.

  “Someone targeting you—or us—that isn’t Derek?” I asked. “What the hell?”

  He shrugged. “I have a million enemies, even with a narrowed-down list.”

  I sighed. It didn’t sound like Nicolas cared much about the information Mark had provided. Mark didn’t realize how little leverage he really had over Nicolas, but perhaps Nicolas wasn’t the target of his pleas. Perhaps he knew that I was now torn, that he had ignited some tiny flame of care and concern in me.

  Could I walk away from Mark? Could I turn aside, knowing I might be the only thing standing between Mark living or being dead in five days? Could I live with that? Did I want to try?

  Why did I have only questions and no answers?

  Chapter 10

  Back in Nicolas’s apartment, I took a seat on his huge couch, drinking tea and trying to triage all the thoughts running through my mind. He stretched out beside me, seemingly relaxed. I reminded myself that Nicolas’s definition of a stressful situation was far different than mine. His own death and resurrection had hardly fazed him, so of course this wouldn’t.

  “I’m worried about you,” he said.

  He put his hand out, and I took it tentatively in mine.

  I’m too shattered to speak, I thought.

  I’m here to gather the pieces, he replied, his tone warm in my mind.

  Would you fix him even if I didn’t ask you to? I said.

  No, I wouldn’t. His words weren’t regretful or apologetic. Mark picked his path. He knew the risks. I am not a nice or magnanimous person with no reason to be. But… for you… He paused, his hand stroking mine gently. For you, I would move mountains and oceans and the very stars.

  You shouldn’t have to do everything for me, I said. I shouldn’t depend on you to fix my problems.

  Have you forgotten, Fiona, how I’ve depended on you? he asked.

  I closed my eyes. I’m not going to ask for this, I said.

  You don’t have to, he replied. I’ll save him because he’s your brother, and because I don’t have to read your mind to know your heart. You are the same woman who defended Daniel at his brattiest, when you hardly knew him and had no idea I wouldn’t kill you for your defiance. You are compassionate and strong enough to show that compassion—a
rarity that should be treasured.

  Anyhow, he added. Don’t you want to attend the happy couple’s wedding?

  Tell me what you heard in his mind, I said.

  Nicolas shrugged slightly. No lies, no duplicity. He doesn’t have Dan’s intelligence or your depth of emotion, but he wants to live, and he’s trying his best. I am not so stone-hearted that I don’t appreciate that.

  What now, then? I asked.

  Let me think about it. I need to review some things, then I’ll need to make some pretty complex plans. Tomorrow will be busy. His tone was gentle. And I need to take care of you. You’re more important to me than anyone.

  “I love you,” I murmured.

  “And I love you,” he replied, squeezing my hand.

  Why were we all so intertwined? Mark’s “death” eight years ago had led me here. And now Mark had been led to Nicolas too. Was it something more than random chance? How could it be? But at the same time, how could it not be?

  Nicolas was on the phone when I woke up the next morning. The conversation was in French. Five minutes later, he held a conversation in Cantonese. Five minutes later, Mandarin.

  Nicolas speaks Mandarin? I thought blearily.

  Sure, of course he did. He was shockingly good with languages.

  Finally, he held a conversation in English. I could only hear his side, but I understood he was talking about real estate. He kept mentioning property addresses, building structures, proximity to dense populations, and square footage.

  When he was silent for more than two minutes, I crept out of his bedroom. He was seated at the dining room table, looking frustrated. Nicolas was beautiful no matter what he wore or what expression he sported, but he was particularly fine today in just a white T-shirt and dark boxer briefs, with his smooth skin reflecting the morning light.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, peeling an orange from the pile on his kitchen counter.

  “I think I’ve found an adequate location to meet Mark for his treatment,” Nicolas said. “Most of the property I own is fairly developed, but I own some less-developed property in Singapore. A set of warehouses on the water that are out of the way. Construction is unfinished, so they are unused and waiting for contracts. I had to ascertain it wasn’t something directly associated with my family name, but it looks like we’re in the clear there. Farhad purchased them through one of my corporations in Europe.”