I nodded and wrapped my arms around myself. A confusing mix of emotions swirled inside me at the thought of reaching the end of this journey tomorrow. I was torn between feeling nervous, anxious, excited, and worried. I had no idea what to expect at the Temple, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for what we would face there.
Auric must have sensed my unease, because he gave me a warm smile. “Don’t worry. There should be priests at the Temple to guide you through what you need to do. Hopefully they can give us more information too.”
“That would be good,” I said, although I wasn’t very enthusiastic.
“Are you hesitant about sleeping with Jasin?”
“A little.” I glanced over at Jasin, who sat alone, staring into the fire he’d made. “Not because I don’t want to do it. But it’s my first time, and there’s a lot of pressure riding on this.”
“I understand.” He took my hands in his. “For what it’s worth, I think Jasin will take good care of you.”
“Does it bother you, knowing you have to share me with him?”
“No, but it’s common for people in the Air Realm to have multiple partners.” He shrugged. “Obviously I would have liked to be first, and Jasin wouldn’t be my choice to share you with, but he’s loyal. Whatever he might have done in his past, he cares about you a lot. Everyone can see it.”
“Thanks. I should probably go talk to him.”
“Yes, you should.” He gave me a quick kiss, then released my hands and went back to studying his map.
I joined Jasin by the fire and sat beside him, trying not to let my fear of the flames show. “I’m so sorry about what happened this morning.”
He nodded, his face solemn. “I never thought my father would do something like that. I can only hope that one day my parents will forgive me and understand why I chose this path. Seems unlikely though.”
I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder. “You did what you thought was best. I’m proud of you, even if they’re not.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “That’s all I need to hear.”
We sat in companionable silence as the flames crackled and popped in front of us, until I said, “Auric told me we’ll reach the temple tomorrow.”
“Good. I’m ready.” He pulled back to look into my eyes. “Are you?”
“I think so. I’m still nervous about a lot of things, but I want to do this.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Nervous about being with me?”
“Yes, and about all the fire.” I swallowed. “I couldn’t handle that burning house. What am I going to do in the Fire Temple? Or once you’re a Dragon or I have fire magic of my own?”
He wrapped an arm around me. “I won’t let any harm come to you, I promise. And once you have this magic, I’ll train you. Reven would never admit it, but I’ve gotten a lot better over the last few days thanks to our training.”
“Yes, you have. I was suitably impressed by the wall of flame earlier.”
His cocky smile returned, and some of the melancholy lifted from his eyes. “Were you scared?”
“No, I wasn’t,” I said, surprised by my answer.
He let out a long breath. “I know you haven’t always trusted me—both with my fire and with your heart, so that means a lot to me.”
“I do trust you,” I said, and meant it. Although his past reputation with women had worried me at first, I sensed his passion for me more than from any of the other men. Jasin wasn’t the type to hold back—he said what he felt, often without thinking first, and that was one of the things I loved about him. You never had to worry about where you stood with him.
He brushed his lips against mine. “I’m ready for tomorrow. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine.”
“Me too.”
He pulled me close and kissed me with all that pent-up passion, until I had to pull away to stop from dragging him down to the blanket to continue what we started last night, even with the other guys watching. Although I wouldn’t mind if the guys watched, actually. Or joined in. I glanced over at Auric and Slade at that thought, but they were both pointedly not looking at us, as if trying to give us some privacy. But the fourth member of our group was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Reven?” I asked, as I pulled away from Jasin.
Jasin shrugged. “Outside maybe?”
I sighed. “I should go check on him.”
I slipped through the low entrance of the cave and into the small valley outside. Under the tiny sliver of a moon, Reven stood beside his horse, unpacking something from one of his bags. No, not unpacking—he was putting something in them.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He turned his black-haired head toward me. “I’m leaving.”
My stomach fell out from under me so fast I was nearly dizzy. “What? Why?”
“I never planned to be part of this team. Last night reminded me of that.”
“Last night you helped those people. You saved my life. And after that…” I took a step toward him. “I started to think you cared about me. About our mission. What changed?”
“What changed is that you risked your life for me.”
“I don’t understand…why is that bad?”
“You nearly got yourself killed in the process. And today General Voor recognized me because of it, putting the entire group at risk.” He shook his head, his voice dripping with disgust. “Caring for people makes you weak. I should have left a long time ago.”
My throat tightened and I found it hard to speak. He was really leaving, just when I’d thought he was starting to truly be part of the group—and had started to have feelings for me. “What about the Water God?”
He shrugged as he closed up his pack. “He can find someone else to be his Dragon. Maybe he’ll let you choose someone better this time.”
The thought of having anyone else as the Azure Dragon and the fourth member of my team was too horrible to even consider. My entire soul rejected the very idea. “What if I choose you?”
He gave me a sharp glance. “That isn’t an option.”
“But we need you.” I stepped closer, placing a hand on his chest. “I need you.”
He gazed into my eyes and I saw a hint of something like desire there, which made me think he might stay after all. That all of this was just his way of trying to protect his heart and he didn’t mean any of it, not really. When he took my hand my hope grew, but all he did was drop it.
“You’ll have to find someone who gives a damn,” he growled. “I have no desire to be an enemy of the Onyx Army. I get a lot of business from them.”
I stumbled back, shocked and hurt by his words. “Is that all you care about? Business?”
“I care about surviving. And I need to look out for myself and no one else. You should do the same.”
“But you know what we’re fighting for. How can you walk away?” I wanted to shout and cry and beg him to stay. “Whose side are you even on?”
He pulled the hood over his head. “I’m on no one’s side but my own. Thought you’d realized that by now.”
“Reven, this isn’t you. You’re a good man. I know you are.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He swung up onto his black horse and look down at me. “You keep trying to make me into a hero, but you need to get this through your pretty head: there are no heroes in this world, and if there were, I wouldn’t be one of them.”
“Then go,” I said, practically shaking with anger and disbelief. “If that’s how you feel, then I don’t want you here anyway.”
“Trust me, you’re better off without me.”
And with that, he rode into the darkness, while I stared after him too shocked and heartbroken to even say goodbye.
36
Auric
I folded up the map and put it away, then pulled out my journal to record my daily log of our journey. The others thought it was a waste of time, but someday my notes might be useful to someone else, perhaps the next
people to follow in our footsteps.
I moved closer to the fire for more light, where Jasin was staring into it with a brooding expression. He wasn’t normally a brooder—that was more Reven’s style—but he had good reason after today’s events.
I debated a moment before sitting near him. Jasin and I didn’t get along on the best of days, but I wanted to change that. “Jasin, I’m sorry about what happened with your parents.”
He inclined his head slightly. “Thanks.”
“For what it’s worth, I know what it’s like to be the youngest brother and the disappointing son.”
“Oh yeah?” He chuckled softly. “I bet your father would never betray you like that though.”
“I’m not sure. I suppose we’ll find out once we reach the Air Realm.” Unease settled over me as I considered our next step after the Fire Temple. “I doubt I can hide from them once I return. Either way, it’s a shame you had to experience such a thing.”
Before he could respond, Kira burst into the cave, her face flushed and her eyes watering. Each one of us jumped to our feet.
“Are you all right?” Slade asked.
“Reven’s gone,” she said.
“What do you mean, gone?” Jasin asked.
She wrapped her arms around herself. “He left. He doesn’t want to be one of my mates.”
The others looked as shocked as I felt. Leave Kira? That was impossible. Even though we hadn’t officially bonded yet, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere except by her side, supporting her however I could. How could Reven not feel the same?
I took her into my arms and held her close. “I’m sorry.”
As she rested her head on my shoulder, Jasin joined us and embraced her from behind. “He’s an idiot,” he said.
“I knew he wanted to leave, but I never thought he’d actually do it,” Slade said. He remained back, but looked hesitant, as if he wanted to join but wasn’t sure he should.
Kira pulled back and wiped at her damp eyes. “What do we do now?”
“The only thing we can do,” I said. “Keep going.”
37
Kira
I glanced behind us for the hundredth time, hoping to see Reven’s dark profile or his black horse, but he was never there.
“He’s not coming back,” Auric said. “I’m sorry, Kira.”
With a sigh, I tightened my arms around Auric and rested my head on his shoulder. “Maybe, but it’s hard to accept he’s truly gone.”
He guided the horse around a large boulder. “I know. But now you can find someone who really wants to be here.”
I tried to think of it that way, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Reven’s departure had left a huge hole in my heart. I’d thought we’d begun to develop something real, but clearly, I was wrong. Even though he’d kept his distance from me, I’d still felt the same connection with him that I did the other men. At first, we could pretend it was simply the magic drawing us together, but not anymore. The fact that Reven could leave proved there was no magic forcing him or the other men to stay with me.
As we approached Valefire, the volcano where the Fire Temple was located, the landscape became stark and ominous. The dense shrubs and scraggly trees began to thin out and the land became black from lava that had once spilled. Steam and boiling water kept bursting from holes in the ground, and we had to go around numerous deep craters the closer we got to the slope of the volcano.
I’d expected Valefire to look like a tall mountain, but instead it was more of a mound with a flat top, where a large plume of white smoke billowed into the bright blue sky. The ocean could be spotted behind it, along with more thick smoke.
Jasin stopped his horse suddenly, staring at the sky. “The volcano…it’s erupting.”
“That can’t be right,” Auric said. “The volcano is supposed to be dormant.”
“It was. People used to walk right up to the crater and drop offerings in for the Fire God.”
“Are we in any danger?” I asked.
“I doubt the Fire God would try to stop us now,” Slade said.
Auric peered at the volcano. “We should be safe, since it doesn’t appear to be too violent of an eruption.”
“Where is the Temple?” I asked.
“It’s at the top,” Jasin said, his face grim.
I nodded. “Then we keep going.”
The terrain became even rougher as we reached the base of the volcano. There was nothing living in sight, not even a weed. The blackened ground had strange rope-like patterns in it, which I realized were from a previous eruption where the flow of lava had hardened and solidified. The volcano rose high above us, under its swirling cloud of white smoke.
With great reluctance, we left our horses behind and took only what we needed for the climb. The slope up was full of black volcanic formations, mounds, and ridges, and we stumbled up it. More steam shot out in various places from vents in the earth, and the air grew heavy with heat and a smell like rotten eggs. I coughed and covered my mouth and nose with a cloth, while my eyes began to burn and sweat dripped down my forehead.
The climb was brutal, and at times I thought I might give up, but I kept going with encouragement from my three mates. We stopped for short water breaks and nothing more, even when our muscles began to ache and the sun slowly set behind us. Only a few more steps, I told myself over and over, until we finally reached the summit.
The ground was flat and smooth, before dropping suddenly into a crater in the center. An eerie orange glow rose up from the crater, illuminating an impressive building made of black glassy stone with tall, pointed towers.
A beautiful woman I guessed to be in her forties stood in front, wearing a red silk robe with black trim. She had pale blond hair and bowed low when we approached. “Greetings, ascendants.”
I glanced at the others warily. “Were you expecting us?”
“Yes. Ever since Valefire erupted a little over a month ago, we knew the Fire God was stirring and new Dragons were rising.” She swept her gaze across the men. “Which one of you has been chosen by the Fire God?”
“I was,” Jasin said, stepping forward.
“Show me his gift.”
Jasin spread his palm and summoned a ball of fire in the middle of it. The woman smiled and watched the flames flicker, then produced a matching one in her hand, making us gasp.
“How…?” he asked.
“My name is Calla, and I am the High Priestess of the Fire God.” She closed her hand and the flame vanished. “Like you, I’ve been gifted a touch of his power in order to serve him.”
“Does that mean you’re a Dragon also?” Auric asked.
“No, that is your destiny and not mine.” She frowned as she glanced between us again. “I expected four men, though.”
My throat clenched up at the reminder. “One of them didn’t want to be here.”
“No matter. You only need the Crimson Dragon’s ascendant today.” She gestured toward the tall door of the temple, her long sleeves flowing around her. “Please come inside.”
We followed her into a huge entry room with a large domed ceiling and dozens of torches, which seemed to flare brighter as we approached. I tried to ignore the flicker of fear inside me at the sight and kept walking toward a tall dragon statue made of the same smooth black stone as the rest of the Temple. Four older, handsome male priests waited for us in front of it, wearing similar robes to Calla’s. They all bowed low as we drew near.
“These are the Fire God’s priests,” Calla said, as she smiled at the four men. “And my mates.”
I’d heard that the High Priestesses followed the ways of the Spirit Goddess and the Black Dragon and took four mates in the same tradition, but I was never sure if it was true or simply rumors. Perhaps she’d be able to give me advice on managing four men with strong personalities.
We all exchanged names, while the priests stared at me and Jasin with both awe and curiosity.
“It is an honor to meet you,” Blane, the firs
t priest said.
“We’ve been waiting for you for a very long time,” another priest named Derel said.
“You were?” I asked. “How?”
“It’s time you learned the truth about the Dragons,” Calla said. “But first, you’re probably in need of some refreshments.”
She led us into another large room with a long black table that was already prepared for a feast. Our exhaustion took over as we sank into the stone chairs, and two of the priests began pouring us red wine and cool water, while the others served us glazed beef with vegetables and pasta shells. I eagerly downed an entire glass of water before diving into my meal.
“What can you tell us about the Dragons?” I asked, once my weariness began to fade thanks to their delicious food.
Calla was sitting across from me and took a sip of wine. “The Black Dragon and her mates have ruled the world for the last six hundred and thirty years—but it was not always that way.”
Auric leaned forward, hungry for her knowledge. “What do you mean?”
“Thousands of years ago, the Gods created elementals and humans. They believed we could exist in harmony. They were wrong. When humans began expanding into elemental lands the elementals fought back and we were no match for their magic. The Gods created the five Dragons to be their representatives, blessing those chosen humans with the powers of the elementals in order to protect the world and keep the balance. The Dragons acted as intermediaries between the two groups, and for many years there was peace.”
Jasin paused between bites. “I thought the Dragons were supposed to rule us.”
“Not originally,” Blane said, as he refilled my water. “They were peacekeepers and protectors, not rulers. Instead, each Realm governed itself. Until Nysa.”
“The Black Dragon,” Slade said quietly, while a shiver ran down my spine at her name.
“What changed with her?” Auric asked.
Calla folded her hands in front of her. “Before Nysa, a new set of Dragons was chosen every fifty years. That way, none of the Dragons could gain too much power. But Nysa found a way to become immortal and stop new Dragons from being chosen.”
Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series Page 16
