The Fire Within

by Joely Sue Burkhart

  “Why fight?” She moaned, sliding her hands over her shoulders, dragging at him, holding him close. As if he could possibly leave her now. “Why risk death?”

  He eased a finger inside, a slow tormenting glide. Her inner muscles clenched harder and he shuddered, so rock hard he hurt. “She makes him prove his worth. He has to show he’ll die for her before she’ll let him mate.”

  Tension rose in her, pleasure humming through her body. “Would you?”

  “Absolutely.” He nibbled the shell of her ear, dipped his tongue deeper, breathing heavier. “You’re killing me now.”

  Shuddering with pleasure, her muscles tightened, her thighs clamped about him, and her fingers dug into his shoulders. Her scent flooded him, musky with pleasure like dewy jasmine flowers at dawn. He drew her climax out as long as possible, slow thrusts of his fingers, his thumb tormenting, his breath hot in her ear. She squirmed in his lap, crying out, trying to join their bodies. A harsh moan escaped his lips at the silken touch of her flesh, but he waited, dripping sweat.

  She wrapped her fingers about him and he thought he would die. “So what does the male do when he catches the female in the sky?”

  It took him several tries to find his voice. “They twine around each other, mating furiously while they free fall, releasing each other only seconds before crashing into the sands. Mating dragons have occasionally killed each other in the throes of passion.”

  Stroking him slow and sure, as tormenting as he’d done to her, she lifted her body higher in his arms so she could press her mouth to his ear. “If you don’t put this inside me right now, I will have to kill you myself.”

  * * *

  Tenderness was all well and good, but with his magical flames burning inside her, she needed more, much more.

  His hands clamped on her thighs. His face as hard as granite, his eyes flickering flames, he plunged deep. Gasping with pleasure, it took her a moment to realize he wasn’t thrusting. Seated deep and breathing hard, he waited until her gaze focused on him.

  He smiled, a fierce predatory look that stole her breath. “You took my blood. You took my Fire. You took my body.”

  Her heart pounded, hair prickling at the base of her neck. A strange sense of expectation filled her, buzzing along her nerves.

  “Now take my heart. I am Given to you, Eleni. My heart beats for you.”

  A horrible scream of fury echoed in her head, tearing her away from her love. Her vision blurred, shadows crowding close, suffocating, sucking her down to endless night, to Darius. Blessed Lady above, how could he know? Was his power so great that he could drag her into a Shadowed dream against her will?

  Zahak sealed his mouth over hers, and flames roared through her, rushing winds, beating wings, driving back the Shadow with Fire. Her heart skipped and jolted within her chest, struggling to beat. Louder and louder, the beats drummed in her head. Her heart lurched to beat in tune to his, a rapidly increasing tempo that clenched her body all over again.

  He hauled her tighter against him, his skin smoking hot. Flexing inside her, he stroked so deeply she couldn’t bear it. She jerked and bucked against him, trying to free his grip so she could rise up and pound her hips against his. He refused to release his fierce hold, controlling every inch as he swirled his hips, grinding against her. Restless need boiled higher in her. She wanted the glide and pull, inch after inch, the feel of him hammering deep. Those tiny movements felt incredible, but need mounted higher with no end in sight.

  Suddenly she understood what he meant by spiraling together out of control.

  He had her in a death spiral. All she could hope was that they soared instead of crashed together.

  Burning spices filled her nose, smoke and ash raining down, firebursts searing her vision. Dark shadows unfurled behind him, sweeping to the ceiling of the tent. His fingers dug into her like claws. Raging instinct pulsed in him, the urges of a feral dragon to subdue its mate, to brand her as his. She couldn’t be afraid, though, not with such fierce need flooding her mind.

  Blood bond. His blood tied her to him. Now hers would complete the bond.

  His mouth roamed her jaw, behind her ear, her neck, her shoulder. She offered herself willingly, straining her neck to tilt her head back as far as possible. Everywhere his mouth touched, flames singed her. Her skin felt tight, nearly blistered from his heat. And his teeth, Blessed Lady preserve her, but his scraping, teasing teeth drove her insane. He nibbled and licked, avoiding any force or pain as long as possible, though she wanted his full force and formidable strength. The thought of his teeth sinking into her vulnerable neck clenched her inner muscles so hard he growled.

  His aggression only added fuel to the rising Fire in her blood. “Bite me hard.”

  A tremor shook his shoulders, his breathing harsh. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Pleasure crested in her, a billowing Fire flashing her blood to ash, her bones to kindling. “Please!”

  His jaws closed on her throat, convulsed, his teeth sinking deep. Pleasure and pain sent another climax rolling through her. Her blood burned, sizzling in her veins. She felt her blood slam into him, his hoarse shout muffled against her neck. A spasm shook him and he spilled into her, another wash of flames, while he kept his mouth locked to her tainted blood

  Shadow slithered in her veins, drawn to the powerful flames licking through her. She cried out to warn him, thrashing against his fierce hold. Struggling, she tried to break the bond tying him to her and the awakening corruption.

  Darkness reared up inside her, swallowing her vision, sucking her down and the whole world with it, dragging her love into Shadow.

  :Zahak!:

  She fell into darkness and prayed she didn’t take him with her.

  SIX

  Red dunes stretched toward the horizon beneath a bruised sky streaked with smoke. The landscape was empty except for the dunes. No giant Darius marched across the sands; there was no massive Spire. There was nothing. Which meant…

  Dread clawing her heart, she turned, slowly, bile rising in her throat.

  Twisted black rock reared up so close her skirts snagged on the rough surface. She wore a formal court gown, black silk, heavily trimmed with silver braid. She hated black. She hated the corset so tight she couldn’t take a deep breath, the heavy skirts tangling about her legs, the coils of diamonds and gold strangling her throat and wrists.

  Staring at the bracelets and heavy necklace, her pulse raced and her vision swam. They were chains, not jewelry. Blessed Lady, he’d put her in chains.

  “You’re doing well, dearest. What a prize you’ve given me.”

  Whirling around, Eleni stumbled back from her brother. He smiled, a smug sneer that churned her stomach. Oh, Lady, what had she done?

  “You’ve given me access to the very heart of Keldar. They shall all be mine, now. Once I leash your pet, I’ll have an army of savages.”

  My pet? Zahak was far from a pet. She dared not ask for details for fear of giving too much away herself. Darius didn’t know everything. He couldn’t.

  Stroking his jaw, a dark look flickered across his face and the smile faded. “You struck me, Eleni. You’ve never fought back before.”

  “Forgive me, Your Majesty. Living with the savages has left me…unsettled.”

  “I liked it,” he whispered.

  Her stomach flopped and rolled so hard she involuntarily gagged, but managed to keep her face smooth.

  Stepping closer, he reached out toward her. As she backed away, something hit her in the back, hard and cold. It was the Spire. Trapped with Darius before her and the foul, concrete symbol of evil behind her, she reflexively clutched handfuls of her skirt, her mind racing. Her teeth chattered and her heart pounded as she hid her sweating fists in the folds of her heavy skirt.

  She couldn’t bear for him to touch her.

  Every movement slowed down, while her mind raced incredibly fast. Ever so slowly, he stretched out his hand. His fingers parted, floating toward her cheek. Shadows
bubbled in his eyes, so dark she couldn’t remember what color they used to be.

  Desperately, she concentrated on Zahak, on his mouth at her throat, his teeth digging into her skin, her blood flowing into him. His thoughts were in her mind, now hers in his, as she focused on the Fire flaring between them, his touch igniting an inferno.

  :Zahak.:

  She felt him, somehow, far away but growing. Pressure built in her head. Rage, oh, he was so full of rage. He didn’t give her words, but she saw his thoughts. He wanted to rip her brother limb from limb, crack his skull open and roast him to a blackened pile of bones.

  Flames ripped through her, choking her on ash and heat.

  Darius leaned into her, driving her head back against the foul stone.

  He cocked his head, his eyes narrowing. “What’s this?”

  Panting with fear, she didn’t dare move. She didn’t know what he sensed.

  Running his hand down before her slowly, he listened to something only he could hear. He didn’t touch her, thankfully, but she felt ill just the same. He stroked some facet of her being that she couldn’t see.

  His hand hovered over her throat.

  Immediately, she thought of Zahak’s mark, his bite. Now she was thankful for the annoyingly prim, tall neckline, the scratch of lace at her jaw.

  “What have you done, dearest sister?”

  Blinking, she tried to keep her face blank and calm. “I did as you told me, Your Majesty.”

  “You’ve bedded the savage?”

  “Yes.”

  Eyes dangerously dark, Darius studied her, coiled like a cobra. “Will he be my ally?”

  “It’s his brother I need to speak to, the leader of the tribe.”

  “Then why are you wasting time on the lesser brother?” He took a long, deep breath and something flickered through his gaze, something dark and horrible that she couldn’t identify. “You smell like him.”

  Bracing his left hand beside her head on the Spire, he leaned down, trapping her with his body. Her stomach cramped with dread, but she didn’t move a muscle. With his mouth an inch away, he breathed her scent, turning his head this way and that, sniffing along her jaw, behind her ear.

  As if he followed the path Zahak had taken.

  No, Darius can’t possibly know!

  Inevitably, he stopped over the bite mark on her throat, just above her collar bone. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

  The bite throbbed, a dull ache of pain echoing through her. She curled her fingers into fists to keep from covering that mark to shield it from him. She didn’t want him to see it, let alone touch it.

  Lightning fast, he struck, a finger in the collar of her dress, a twisting yank. The bodice tore, exposing her to the tops of her breasts.

  “You let the savage mark you.” Darius stared at the bite, his voice cold. Maybe he wasn’t so very angry. Usually he raged and yelled in privacy with her...she was the only one who witnessed his true temperament. “You have a blood bond with him.”

  Her voice trembled, but she had to ask. “You know what that is?”

  Darius raised his gaze and she flinched involuntarily. His eyes were stone cold black, and full of murder. “Of course I know what a blood bond is.” He blew out his breath hard, his jaw working, his neck corded. So low she doubted he meant for her to hear, he muttered, “No wonder I was compelled here. Such power.”

  Power? She had no power from the Lady. Was it Shadow that had drawn him to her? Surely not. Love had nothing to do with Shadow.

  “You think not?” Darius laughed, the sound like glass crunching beneath a boot heel. “Love is the quickest path for Shadow to corrupt and use, dearest sister. Why else do you think I have such a connection with you? Why else am I able to walk your dreams, your mind, your innermost secret thoughts? Because of our shared blood and love for one another.”

  Eleni swallowed hard to keep the bile from spewing out of her stomach. “I’m not as tainted as you.”

  Her brother laughed and shook his head. “No? Then why else do you wear such a brand? It marks you for Shadow, dearest. I feel its call hundreds of miles away behind the Shining Walls of Shanhasson. In all your research, didn’t you note that none are as tainted by the Lord of Darkness as the Keldari? Literally, they are spawned from Him, just as you and I are. You know what that means in our lovely Green Lands. You’ve given yourself to a creature of Shadow worse than I. I would never mar such sweet flesh. Not permanently, at least.”

  Her shoulders shook and her throat ached, but she refused to cry. He was wrong. He had to be. She knew Zahak’s heart, his honor, his loyalty to his people. He wasn’t evil.

  “You’ve tied them to me, dearest. You’ve wrapped them up in a neat little bow and sent them to me as a present for me to use at my leisure, exactly as I planned.”

  Her shoulders shaking, she drooped against the stone, overwhelmed with failure and self recrimination.

  He’d used her brilliantly. She, the great eyes and ears of the High Court, had been duped.

  “Oh, yes,” he chuckled. “I knew of your grand plan to find sanctuary far from me. Why else do you think I took such...”

  He shut his mouth, his mouth hard and grim. He hadn’t wanted to let that much escape. Or was he using her again? Was that an act to get her to believe some secret element of his plot, to do his dirty deeds?

  How ironic. Zahak was the saif for his brother too.

  Suddenly, Darius wrapped his hand around her neck. The mark sent screaming agony through her, bringing tears to her eyes. It didn’t like him touching it one bit.

  Distantly, she heard Zahak roar to shake the ground. Something held him back, far away, and he bellowed and screamed his rage like a beast. Sick, she was sick with worry and fear. What if Darius was right and her lover was only another creature of Shadow?

  He lifted her off the ground, pressing her back against the Spire. The stone vibrated, humming with growing excitement. It liked her fear, her pain, her doubt.

  Doubt.Of course. She couldn’t forget the horrible power of this place. It was a place of despair. The rock abraded her through the gown, hungry for her flesh, her blood.

  “Now, dearest sister, you will return to your savage and you’ll mark him likewise. As soon as you put your mark into his flesh, he’ll be mine to possess. I want it done as soon as possible, long before you reach this other brother. And then, I want you to mark him too. I’ll use both of them to build my army.”

  His fingers closed off her windpipe. Her head pounded fiercely and her lungs burned for air.

  “Come to me regularly in dreams, Eleni, of your own choosing. You won’t like me forcing you here, and I can.” Darius stood face to face with her, his eyes swallowed with Shadow, his mouth cruel and hard, hovering over hers. If he dared press his mouth to hers, she would vomit all over him and then go insane.

  “I have all the power; you are nothing. Finish the Keldari and return to me. I have more dirty deeds for you to commit in my name.”

  He came closer, his mouth so near she could feel his breath. She was retching, screaming in her mind.

  “Hit me, dearest. I dare you.”

  Mind blanked with terror, she reached for the only thing left. Fire still burned in her veins, Zahak’s Fire. She called it forth, welcoming the searing intensity, the roar of flames and charring heat. Hotter, hotter, she writhed in flames, screaming. She would burn herself to ash before she let Darius touch her.

  Distantly, she felt Zahak answer. Rumbling, rolling, an inferno burst into her, lighting up like oil tossed onto wildfire. The world erupted in flames.

  * * *

  Bleary-eyed, Eleni huddled beside the meager campfire and watched the savages break the tents down while keeping her gaze averted from the stack of bodies on the dune. People had lost their lives so she might live. Heavy-hearted with guilt, she sipped at the flask of water as Zahak had asked, trying to hydrate her body as much as possible before leaving. He’d warned of another hard day of riding, several,
in fact, before they reached the Wall.

  One of the other Keldari paused beside her, a cup in his hands. She thought his name was Malum, the one with the tight brittle look in his eyes. Her nose twitched at the scent of roasted spices.

  “We drink Fire Tea to gain energy for the ride. Do you want some?”

  Doubtfully, she stared at the offered cup. The first time she’d drunk the foul brew, it had put her to sleep. Of course, most of that was likely due to exhaustion after days of no sleep and hard riding to reach Far Illone. “Will it help me stay awake?”

  He laughed softly. “Drink a full cup of this and you won’t sleep for days.”

  She took the cup and nodded her thanks. Her eyes watered from breathing the fumes, but swallow by swallow she forced it down. The Fire Zahak had given her flickered inside her, a cheerful blaze eager and ready for the day. Perhaps the tea did “feed the fire within.” If so, she’d drink a gallon of the stuff.

  She needed to be able to drive Darius away, and the strange Fire seemed to be one thing that always drew her awake. After last night, her face felt tight and tender, the skin slightly scorched from the flames she’d used. Despite Zahak’s comforting arms about her, she’d refused to sleep another moment.

  He led two horses over, and she rose, bracing herself for another grueling day in the saddle.

  “You can always ride with me. It will be easier.”

  Lifting her chin, she tried to look strong and competent, not showing that she felt fragile and afraid. “I can make it.”

  His face softened in a smile and he stepped closer. Stroking the back of his fingers over her cheek, he leaned down and kissed her gently.

  Shock splintered through her nerves. He kissed her openly, in front of his men? When she was supposed to go to his brother? Wasn’t he worried about their reaction at all?

  “They already know, azharana. Think you they did not hear our passion? Besides, my scent is all over you. You smell like me. They know you as mine.”

  Some of the Fire he’d given her flared across her cheeks.