Flames of Redemption

by Jamie A. Waters

  “A rage,” Alec mused, rubbing his chin in thought. “A blinding rage overcame you, didn't it?”

  Sergei swallowed back his shame and nodded. “Yes. I could not risk it happening again. Too many innocents died.”

  Ariana frowned and put her hand back on his arm. “Sergei, what happened was truly horrible, but it wasn't your fault. If you're an untrained fire channeler, your rage makes sense. You view her as your mate, and her life was threatened.”

  Sergei squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. No excuse could ever justify what he'd done. “I cannot afford to lose control in my position. If I let her go now, Nikolai and Yuri will keep her safe. They will not tell anyone what was discussed here tonight.”

  Ariana's voice was gentle as she said, “You're wrong, Sergei. If you're struggling to cope with your abilities, she is too. Both of you need to be properly trained. These rages can be held in check, and we can help her as well.”

  Sergei frowned. “It is different for Valentina. Even when I was shot, she still maintained her control. You would never have known about her abilities if she had not admitted it to you.”

  Lars shook his head. “I don't know about that. You didn't see her because you were unconscious, but she was definitely shaken by the thought of losing you. Even back at Nikolai's camp, Yuri mentioned she's been acting erratically. The fact that she's untrained might be part of the reason.”

  Ariana nodded. “Valentina's abilities would be different than yours, particularly because you're opposing talents. If I had to guess, I'd say both of you help balance each other out. Many water channelers are quick to anger, impatient, or even irritable if they don't have enough contact with their element or with their opposing counterpoint. She's probably experienced at least some of that, especially with not having you by her side.”

  “Ariana's right,” Alec admitted, walking over to Ariana and putting his arm around her. “I was eager to discover whether you two had talents, but it's even more important we make sure you both survive and are protected. We don't have to share this information with anyone. Many of our people don't discuss their talents with each other. If Valentina agrees to return to the towers, we can train you both in secret.”

  Lars nodded. “If you can speak with Nikolai and convince him to return with Valentina, we can pretend this never happened. Both of you can remain here, train, and continue to conduct your investigation. You'd still have a chance to win her back.” He frowned and added, “Besides, Valentina's still a target. We need to get to the bottom of whoever attacked her. You'll have our full backing to do whatever is necessary to make sure she's protected. And if your control issues are tied to her, having her with you while you train will speed things up considerably.”

  Hope unfurled inside him. Everything they were saying made a strange sort of sense, and it was the best chance he had to convince Nikolai to stay. It wasn't a guarantee, but short of abducting Valentina and forcing her back here, he was out of options. Besides, it was doubtful he'd survive Valentina's anger if he attempted such a thing.

  Sergei pulled out his commlink and pressed a button to call Nikolai. When he didn't answer, he tried to reach Valentina. Nothing happened. He swore loudly. She'd either left her communication device here or Nikolai had ordered her to shut it off too. Either way, he needed to find them. He shoved his commlink back into his pocket and lifted his head. “Do you know if they've left the towers?'

  Brant pulled out his commlink and pressed a button. “Not yet. They're in the priority elevator. Do you want me to stop it?”

  “Do it,” Alec ordered.

  Sergei interrupted and said, “No, just slow it down or they will exit and find another way out.” He mentally recalled the maps he'd previously downloaded of the towers and the direction they'd traveled to get to Lars's quarters. They would have retraced their earlier steps to get to the exit. His best chance of catching up to them was while they were in the elevator. “I need access to the elevator shaft.”

  Brant nodded, pressed a few more buttons on his commlink, and headed for the door. “I'll take you. I've overridden the elevator adjacent to theirs. We can take that one to catch up with them.”

  Sergei ran down the hallway to the priority elevators with Brant and Lars following right behind him. The door was already open and waiting for them.

  Brant swiped a keycard over the control panel. “Open the access panel in the ceiling. I'll try to match speeds when we get close to their floor. They've got a big lead on us, though, so hold on.”

  The elevator shot downward, and the car vibrated from the rush of speed. Undeterred, Sergei reached up to open the ceiling hatch. Lars interlaced his fingers and Sergei pushed off Lars's foothold, climbing into the elevator shaft.

  “We're twenty floors away yet,” Lars yelled up to him.

  He nodded, gripping one of the handholds and scanning the shaft. Fortunately, the glass viewing walls and emergency lighting allowed a great deal of light into the shaft. Ladders ran along the wall and disappeared down below, but their car was moving too fast to even try to grab them. He only hoped his former companions were willing to listen before firing on him.

  Their elevator car came into sight, and Brant slowed down until they were keeping pace. Sergei gripped the handhold tightly and called down into the car, “Stop the cars between floors so they can't exit.”

  A moment later, both elevator cars came to a screeching halt. Sergei let out a breath and jumped across the shaft toward their car. He landed hard with a thump and rolled to the side just as a weapon fired at him from below.

  “Hold your fire!” he shouted. “I mean you no harm. I just want to talk.”

  At the sound of Sergei's voice, Valentina lowered her weapon. Yuri yanked open the hatch in the ceiling and a moment later, Sergei dropped into the elevator. Yuri lifted his weapon, aiming it directly at Sergei.

  “Do not shoot him!” Valentina shouted, jumping in front of the electrolaser gun.

  “Move, Valya,” Yuri demanded.

  “No,” she retorted. “Stand down, Yuri.”

  “Valentina,” Nikolai snapped. “Move.”

  She shook her head, glaring at them and refusing to budge. “I followed your orders to leave, Nikolai. I listened to you, too, Yuri. But if you hurt Sergei right now, I will not forgive either of you.”

  “He is working with them,” Yuri said, still refusing to lower his weapon. “They slowed the elevator down to keep us here. Do not allow your feelings to blind you.”

  “I do not believe that,” Valentina insisted, still blocking the shot. She glanced toward Nikolai, hoping he'd be the voice of reason. “Please, Kolya. You brought him back to us. Do not do this.”

  “Allow me to speak with you,” Sergei said in a calm voice and put his hands on her waist, drawing her against him. “If you refuse my offer, I will leave and you can return to your camp. I will do nothing to cause harm to Valentina or to anyone else. My loyalty is still with you.”

  Nikolai's jaw clenched, but he nodded. Yuri lowered his weapon with a look of disgust and turned to pull the panel off the elevator wall. Valentina relaxed and turned around to face Sergei. Whatever reasons he had for being there, she had to believe he wasn't there to harm any of them.

  “You're an idiot,” she declared. “I could have killed you when you jumped on top of our elevator.”

  He grinned and shook his head. “You knew it was me or you would not have missed.”

  She shrugged but didn't bother denying it.

  His eyes softened as he gazed down at her. He lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. “Please don't jump in front of any more weapons, Valechka. I don't think my heart can take it.”

  She placed her hand over where he'd been shot. “I can do no less for you than what you did for me.”

  “Maybe we should both avoid jumping in front of weapons for a while,” he suggested with a grin and placed his hand over hers.

  Valentina smiled up at him, too pleased he was there
to argue. Yuri finished disabling the elevator surveillance system and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “They are no longer monitoring us. Now talk. Why are you here?”

  “They have agreed not to tell anyone what was discussed tonight,” Sergei announced. “If you wish to stay in the towers, Valentina and I will be trained in secret.”

  “No,” Nikolai snapped. “I will not trust her life in their hands. You're a fool to trust them so blindly.”

  Sergei hesitated. “I do not trust them blindly, but they did say something that interested me and makes me want to learn more.”

  “What?” Nikolai asked, his tone more curious now.

  “They said the rage I experienced when Valentina was injured was because of my abilities. They believe she is my mate, and I reacted to her being threatened. If they can help me learn to control this and prevent more deaths, it may be worth it.”

  Valentina blinked at him. “What are you talking about?”

  Sergei frowned, searching her expression. He glanced over at Nikolai and asked, “You never told her?”

  “No.”

  “Told me what?” she demanded.

  Sergei swore. “I never wanted to leave you, Valechka, but I kept losing control every time you were injured. Nikolai and Yuri were barely able to stop me before too many innocents died in the fire. It was getting worse. I had no idea if you would be the one trapped in the flames next time. I couldn't take that risk. I thought I could do my duty without losing control if I knew you were safe and protected.”

  Valentina stared at him in shock, trying to get her head around what he was saying. Sergei had always had a temper, especially when it came to her, but she hadn't realized that was why he'd left. She'd thought the brutality of the fire had been out of character for him, but she'd been unconscious by that point. She only found out later when she'd read through the reports.

  Some of their leaders had been thrilled by his expediency in securing their last facility. The majority had won out even if others were shocked and horrified. Sergei had always been ambitious, so when they'd offered him his own command, she'd believed he'd left for a better opportunity.

  “The fire was an accident? Why didn't you tell me?”

  Sergei reached up to cup her cheek. “I could not look into your beautiful eyes and still walk away from you, little dove. I had to leave before you woke up, but it was the hardest thing I have ever done.”

  She laid her hand over his heart. “You hurt me, Seryozha. I thought you no longer loved me.”

  “Never,” he swore. “I have always loved you. That was the problem. I couldn't handle the thought of losing you. I thought Nikolai or Yuri would have told you.”

  “It was not our place to tell her,” Nikolai said with a sigh. “She was different after you left, Sergei. The few times Yuri brought up your name, she took a knife to him. When I tried, she'd disappear on assignment for weeks at a time. After a while, we gave up and left it alone. You made the mess. It was your place to clean it up.”

  “Nikolai is right,” she said, irritated by the whole thing. “All of this could have been avoided if you had waited to talk to me. It's been three years, Sergei. Three years!”

  “And I have felt your loss every single day,” Sergei acknowledged, tightening his arms around her. “When I met Lars and realized there were others, I thought I might be able to learn how to control these powers and return to you. After that, I heard rumors from several people that you and Nikolai were together, and I thought you had chosen him instead. I wanted you to be happy, even if I had to lose you in the process.”

  Valentina pushed away from him, the walls of the elevator far too restrictive for her tempestuous emotions. “How did I not know any of this?”

  “You didn't want to look too closely, Valya,” Nikolai said gently. “Sometimes it's easier to think the worst than to believe the best, especially when we're hurting.”

  She stopped, taking a steadying breath, and wrapped her arms around herself. It wasn't fair to blame him. She was just as much at fault as Sergei. “I'm supposed to be able to assess situations without emotional involvement.”

  Nikolai shook his head. “You excel at that when it involves anyone else, but your emotions have always been too close to the surface when it comes to Sergei or any of us. You're not objective, and it's not practical to expect that from yourself.”

  She lifted her head and frowned. “Then how am I supposed to maintain my effectiveness? I cannot just turn off my emotions.”

  “No one wants you to,” Sergei said, taking another step toward her and putting his arms around her again. “Valechka, you're the heart of our family. If you didn't love all of us the way you do, we would be nothing more than any other assigned unit. We would have gone our separate ways years ago.”

  Yuri sighed and ran a hand over his shaved head. “As much as I hate to admit it, Sergei is right. I told Nikolai I would follow you if he drove you away from us. You are what makes us a family.”

  Valentina swallowed, her eyes burning with unshed tears. “Kolya, you cannot afford any liabilities right now. It's too dangerous. Your position isn't yet secure.”

  “Valechka,” Sergei began, turning her in his arms to look down at her, “do not take the blame on yourself. I knew what would happen if I told you my reasons for leaving.”

  “I would not have let you go,” she whispered, curling her fingers into his shirt.

  “Exactly,” he agreed. “Avoiding another hostile takeover and agreeing to a peaceful resolution with OmniLab was my way of trying to make up for my mistakes. I can't bring back those who died, but this alliance has the potential to save thousands of lives. I owe it not only to our people but also to the families of those who died in the flames to see it through.”

  Valentina looked up into his eyes, her heart aching from the pain she saw in them. It was impossible to fault his reasoning, but she desperately wanted him back. “Have you finished punishing yourself?”

  He smiled down at her. “Yes, Valechka.”

  “We need to find a way to prevent anything like this from happening again. It would have helped if we had all talked about it, but that's only a small part of this.”

  “I agree,” Nikolai said. “I am sorry for my part, Valya. I could have forced the issue, but at first, I was angry with Sergei too. I knew you were hurting, but as long as we never brought up his name, it was manageable.”

  Yuri snorted, rubbing his hand over a scar on his arm that she'd given him. “That was because, other than throwing a few small items at you, she mostly just stormed out if you brought him up. Her reaction to me was a little more enthusiastic.”

  Nikolai chuckled. “There is that.”

  Sergei tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. “I'm sorry I hurt you. The last three years have been torture without you. I don't want to live my life without you in it.”

  She placed her hands against his chest, his warmth radiating against her palms. “I feel the same way.”

  A trace of a smile played upon his lips. “Will you forgive me?”

  “Will you leave me again?” she retorted.

  He grinned and shook his head. “No, Valechka, I will not leave you again.”

  “Then I forgive you.” She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. His steady heartbeat was a reassuring comfort in her ear. He held her close and pressed a kiss against her hair.

  Sergei glanced over at Yuri. “What about you, Yuri? I would like to have all of my family back, if possible.”

  “No,” Yuri said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I will not forgive you. Valentina has always had a sensitive heart, especially when it came to you. You were not here to dry her tears, or to fight with her when she needed a distraction, or to hold her when she was hurting. I don't care what you claim, I don't trust you. I will not just sit by and wait for you to do this again.”

  Valentina frowned. Everything he said was true, but it was only part of the truth
. Releasing Sergei, she went over to Yuri. “I've never thanked you for always being there for me. I knew you would fight with me, even when Nikolai would not. You always knew what I needed, even before I did. I love you, Yuri. Thank you.”

  He hugged her tightly. “I love you too, Valya. Don't do this to yourself again. I cannot bear to see you hurt.”

  She lifted her head, cupping Yuri's face in her hands. “I love him, Yuri. I want to be a family with all of you again. Please don't ask me to choose sides. It will break my heart all over again. I don't want to lose any of you.”

  Yuri sighed. “You don't know if he will stay this time.”

  “No, but how can any of us know? I don't know if you or Nikolai will stay with me, either, but I'm willing to take that risk. You both gave me the courage to try.” She traced the scar on his arm and looked up at him. “You showed me you were willing to stay by my side through the worst. If my heart breaks again, I know you will still be there for me just as I would for you.”

  He pressed his forehead against hers. “I will kill him if he hurts you again, Valya.”

  She grinned up at him. “If he does, I will clean the blood off the floor for you.”

  “Deal,” he agreed and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

  Valentina turned to Nikolai. “And you?”

  Nikolai sighed. “I have wanted to bring Sergei back to us for a long time, Valya. We have always been stronger together.”

  She beamed a smile at him and walked over to embrace him. “Thank you for bringing him back to us, Kolya.”

  “You were the one who brought our family back together,” Nikolai admitted, putting his arms around her.

  “And you were the one who believed it enough to make it happen,” she whispered, laying her head against his chest. “I love you as well, Kolya.”

  “Yuri may not have a chance to kill you if you hurt her again,” Nikolai warned Sergei over her head. “I will do it first, and I don't give a damn about the blood.”