Brothers of the Flame (An Ariel Kimber Novel Book 1)

by Mary Martel

  For all I knew this whole thing could be a bust and they all had been messing with me this whole time.

  I had to trust Tyson, that he knew what he was doing and he wasn’t lying to me. So I kept my mouth shut and let him do his own thing.

  But I watched every single move he made. I took note of the questions floating around in my head and mentally filed them away for later. I had some serious research to do when I found myself on my own again.

  Tyson moved the bear skin rug off the trunk and carried it to the closet and put it away. I would have protested if I thought he would have listened to me. I didn’t bother wasting the words on him, I knew better by now. Tyson only did what Tyson wanted to do.

  He unlocked the trunk with a key he had hanging on a chain he had around his neck that he pulled out of his shirt. I hadn’t noticed him wearing it before. He unlocked the trunk, then tucked the key still on its chain back under his shirt.

  He lifted the top of the trunk and immediately started digging around inside of it. I wanted to get up so badly and cross the room so I could peek over his shoulder to see what he had tucked away in that trunk. I did what I was told and stayed put. Against my better judgement.

  He came back with an armful of things and, suddenly I wanted to be anywhere but here. I could not do this. They all seemed so confident that I had magic. I wasn’t so sure. And maybe I didn’t want to know. What if they were wrong? What if I wasn’t anything special and nothing happened? See, this was my problem. Magic wasn’t something normal. Normal people weren’t gifted with such things as magic and I was painfully normal.

  When he realized how wrong they’d been, would Tyson still want to be friends with me? Would he still come over in the middle of the night to fall asleep curled up together on my window seat watching episodes of Friday Night Lights simply because I didn’t want to be alone?

  I didn’t think so.

  Suddenly Tyson was kneeling before me. He cupped my jaw and tilted my face up.

  “You’re crying. Why are crying, Ariel?”

  I hadn’t realized I was crying. Damn. I was always giving myself away.

  Why are you crying, Ariel Kimber? Because I’m stupid, that’s why. If I was smart I never would have come over here in the first damn place and set myself up for a world of disappointment.

  “Ariel? Why are you crying, sweetheart? I don’t understand. Did something happen? Is it because of what happened with Quinton earlier, because I promise the twins are going to get back your panties for you. It’s likely he didn’t even have time to do anything with them. The twins won’t do anything funny with them, you know that. And, the shit w-”

  I covered his hand on my face with my own. I’d never seen him like this before, rambling. He seemed nervous. Was he nervous because of me? Surely not. I needed to get him to stop talking.

  “What happens when you find out I don’t have magic?” I blurted. His mouth snapped shut and he frowned at me. “Are you just going to forget about me? Are we not going to be friends anymore? Will you go back to being mean to me? No more Friday Night Lights? I really, really like Tim Riggins and I want to watch more of it, but I want to watch it with you. I don’t want to watch it by myself. I’m tired of being all by myself all the time and I like you. I like the twins and that Julian seemed nice. The others, not so much. And, umm, Quinton seems to really like me, so there’s that. And-”

  Tyson placed the hand not cupping my cheek over my mouth. Now it was me who was rambling. I stuck my tongue out, licking his hand. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

  A startled laugh burst out of him.

  “Always the unexpected with you,” he muttered when he finally stopped laughing.

  I wasn’t laughing and I feared maybe I had said too much again. and I probably shouldn’t have licked him. Or, maybe I should have done it sooner. Much, much sooner.

  “You have magic, sweetheart. I’d stake my life on it. You don’t know you have it because no one’s ever shown you how to use it before. Lucky for you, now you’ve got a whole lot of people who are more than willing to teach you and show you the ropes. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Okay?”

  I nodded in agreement even though I wasn’t certain sure I wanted to. In reassuring me, he’d never answered my many questions and he’d entirely skipped over the most important one. What happens if we discovered I didn’t have magic? He’d conveniently skipped over answering that one. I feared his lack of an answer was an answer and I did not like it.

  They only liked me because they thought I had magic. My stomach clenched painfully and I started to cry again. I hadn’t realized I’d stopped until I started again.

  “Ariel, Ariel, why are you crying now? There’s nothing to cry about. We just talked about this.”

  There was plenty to cry about. I did not like the thought of them not liking me if I didn’t have magic. They thought I was one of four women in the U.S. who had magic and to them, this made me precious. Whatever. That was absolute bullshit. I was special all on my own and there was plenty to like about me without some magical crap. But they didn’t think so. A-hole’s, all of them.

  My emotions were all over the place. I went from crying and feeling down on myself one second to feeling pissed off the next.

  My blood boiled.

  I wasn’t their toy or their plaything or something for them to cherish even. If I had magic or not should not matter. They needed to like me for me, and they needed to treat me like a real-life person.

  I didn’t want my relationship with Tyson and the rest of them to turn into something similar to what I shared with my mother. I didn’t want to be another pawn in someone’s game. I deserved more than that. I deserved a whole lot more than that.

  After the bloody vomiting, the phone call with my mother, my underwear being stolen and now this disappointment, I had had more than enough.

  I’d stopped crying again. Thankfully.

  I jerked my head free of his hands.

  “You know what, Tyson,” I snapped. “You can go fuck yourself. You only want me because you think I have magic. The same goes for the rest of those A-hole’s. I am who I am, magic be damned, and I’m worth being friends with without it.”

  “Girl,” he muttered. “Do not even bullshit me right now. Your mother seriously fucked you all up. She might not see your value, but I do. We all do.”

  Yeah, that was what I was afraid of. Being another pawn. He only saw my value because he thought I was one of four.

  My body trembled with a rage I wasn’t used to feeling and my skin began to tingle. I felt like my insides were boiling.

  This wasn’t me. I wasn’t like this. I didn’t want to be out of control, but I didn’t know how to stop it.

  “Ariel, please calm down and listen to me. If you would just listen and actually hear what I’m saying to you you wouldn’t be acting like this. You’re acting like a damn brat and-”

  That did it.

  I felt like I was coming out of my skin.

  How dare he call me a brat. How dare he!

  I stood up, leaned over so I was in his face, and shouted, “Enough!” I poured all of my emotion, everything I was feeling, into that one word.

  The room crackled with energy and all the hair on my body rose. My arms were covered in goose bumps. The hair on my head floated around my shoulders, as if it had a life of its own.

  I gasped in shock.

  What was happening to me?

  “Holy shit,” Tyson whispered from his place on the floor at my feet.

  I clenched my fists tightly in an attempt to regain control over my emotions and looked down at him. His eyes shined brightly and he wore a look of awe on his face. His head swiveled from side to side as he looked around his bedroom.

  I followed his movements with my own eyes and my mouth dropped open in surprise.

  “How?” I asked.

  The candles on his nightstands were lit, glowing softly. The candles on the window sills and the tv stand we
re doing the same. The lights on the ceiling were flickering off and on and the gauzy curtain around his bed fluttered to life.

  Tyson surprised me by laughing.

  “Worried she doesn’t have magic,” he sputtered in between his laughter. “Fucking hilarious.”

  I frowned down at him as he lay back, sprawling out over the rug. He clutched his stomach and rolled to his side while laughing hysterically.

  I calmed down as he laughed and I felt my hair go back to normal. All the energy drained out of me, leaving me utterly exhausted.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked in a quiet, unsure voice.

  “That’s what I’d like to know,” a deep, masculine voice rumbled from the doorway.

  Tyson immediately stopped laughing. I turned to find Quinton standing in Tyson’s open doorway with an angry frown on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. He looked like a pissed off parent come to scold his naughty children.

  A semi-hysterical giggle escaped me before I could shut it down. I clamped a hand over my mouth and looked down at Tyson with wide eyes.

  Were we in trouble?

  I spread my fingers wide and whispered loudly to Tyson, “Uncle Quinton looks mad. I think he’s come to spank us and maybe put us in time out.”

  Tyson’s mouth fell open before he burst out laughing again.

  Goodness, I was out of control.

  I started laughing, I couldn’t help myself.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  The door banged shut loudly, making me jump. My laughter died as abruptly as it had arrived.

  “Someone care to tell me what in the fuck is going on here,” Quinton growled. It wasn’t a suggestion either, more like a demand.

  I opened my mouth and promptly snapped it shut. Holy crap, how to explain when I didn’t understand myself. There’d been a bit of a drama which I’d created myself. Then I cried because I’d gotten over emotional because of said drama. So, basically, I made myself cry. Damn. And then I yelled at Tyson. Double damn. I seriously owed him an apology.

  I ran my fingers over my forehead, smoothing out non-existent wrinkles in a nervous gesture. I wasn’t very good with apologies.

  “I’m sorry, Tyson,” I mumbled while staring at my feet.

  “I’m sorry, too,” he said. “You know, for calling you a brat and all that.”

  “You did what?” Quinton barked angrily.

  Tyson sighed and climbed to his feet. “Why are you in my bedroom, Uncle?”

  I was thinking nobody liked having Quinton barge into their bedroom uninvited. I had a feeling he did it all the time.

  “I felt something big coming from your room so I came to make sure you both were alright.”

  Well, that was nice of him, but totally unnecessary.

  “What you felt was Ariel,” Tyson stated proudly. He gestured around the room with his hand. “She lit this place up.”

  Quinton stared at me with one eyebrow raised high up on his forehead. I stared right back, but without the eyebrow raising. I didn’t know how to do that.

  “Show me,” he demanded.

  “Umm…” I mumbled. “I don’t know how.”

  The other eyebrow went up. I think I confused him. I know I confused myself at times.

  “Let’s start small,” Tyson said. He sat back down on the oversized cushion and stretched his legs out in front of him. He patted the cushion beside him and grinned at me. “Sit your sweet ass down, girl.”

  I did as I was told and sat down beside him. His warm hand landed on my thigh and he gave me a gentle squeeze. My heart skipped a beat as I watched Quinton glare at Tyson’s hand on my leg. He let out a deep sigh, then sat down on the other side of me. Thankfully, he didn’t try to touch me. I had enough weirdness for one day, thank you very much.

  Quinton sat on the floor instead of a cushion. He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his head atop a jean covered knee. He looked completely at ease with himself. I’d never seen him looking so relaxed before. Normally, he seemed so intense and angry. I felt like he was letting me see a different side to himself, one I don’t think many people got to see.

  He tilted his head to the side and watched me watch him. His eyes had lost their intensity, their darkness. They were thoughtful and kind. So much like Tyson’s eyes when he looked at me. I had a strong urge to reach out and touch him. This scary, intense man made someone throw up their own blood simply because they hadn’t been nice to me. Admittedly, he didn’t seem like a very good person, but I kind of liked him. He intrigued me even though he frightened me.

  He smiled at me. The first genuine smile I’d received from him. It might have even been the first time I’d seen him smile, I wasn’t sure.

  “What?” He asked quietly.

  In this moment, he seemed so normal.

  “We’ll start with candles for today,” Tyson said, breaking my moment with Quinton. “Magic takes a toll on your body. You’ve used it for the first time today and you used more energy than a beginner should. You’ll need food soon to refuel. We don’t want to wear you out, so candles it is. We already know you can do that. Tomorrow we will work on something else, and I have lots of books for you to read.”

  I blinked at Quinton. I had missed half of what Tyson had said because I’d been too busy staring at his Uncle.

  “Sure,” I said, having no idea what I was agreeing to. Had I been asked a question?

  Quinton’s grin turned into a smile and I found myself blinking at him for an entirely different reason. A hand appeared in front of my face, blocking Quinton from my view. Tyson impatiently snapped his fingers in my face.

  “Ariel,” he snapped at me.

  Oh geez, he sounded mad.

  I leaned forward and playfully nipped at his fingers.

  “Stop that,” he laughed at me.

  “So tell me what I’m supposed to do with these candles.” I smirked at him, glad he was no longer annoyed with me.

  He shook his head at me, muttering something I couldn’t hear under his breath while he dug through the pile of things he’d pulled out of the trunk.

  Tyson slapped down three square, silver candlestick holders in front of me. He placed white candlesticks in each holder.

  Tyson looked at me, expectantly. “Light them up, Ariel,” he commanded.

  I would have, if I had known how. They had never explained it to me. Last time had been entirely based on my emotion.

  “I don’t know how,” I told them honestly.

  “It comes from within,” Tyson told me. “Think about it. Think about the wick. Think about it lighting. Think about the flame. It’s yours to command. All yours. Own it.”

  All mine.

  The flame was all mine.

  They were the brothers of the flame.

  I stared at the candles with my mind blank. I wished them to light. Nothing happened.

  Fuck.

  I concentrated on those candles and focused. Light. Light. Light.

  Like it was going to be that easy. Please. I blew out a frustrated breath and tried to relax my body. I cleared my mind and focused on those three white candles.

  That flame was mine, I owned it. After what I did earlier this should have been a cake walk for me. Then again, I was tired. After what had exploded out of me earlier I was left feeling slightly empty on the inside. But I had to do this. I had to. Not because they expected it of me, but because I wanted it for myself. I wanted to have magic and I wanted to be special.

  Focus, Ariel Kimber.

  I pictured the candles in my mind, all three of them and in my mind’s eye I willed them to light.

  I opened my eyes, snapped my fingers in their direction and the flames burst to life.

  Brothers of the flame, indeed.

  Both Tyson and Quinton gasped in shock as all three flames burned brightly.

  They were brothers of the flame no more. They had gained a girl. They had gained me.

  Tyson had been right all a
long, I had magic inside me. My lips curled up in a victorious smile. I wasn’t scared or frightened about having magic inside of me. I was absolutely thrilled. The possibilities were endless. Finally, things in my life were looking up.

  “Babe,” Quinton called. I turned my head to see him grinning broadly at me. “You did good. Welcome to the club.” He stood in one fluid movement, gracefully. “I’ll leave you two to each other’s company now and I’ll send someone up with a tray of food for you. I know you’ve got to be starving.”

  He looked to Tyson and raised an eyebrow arrogantly. “You’ll take care of her,” he said. Not a question but a statement of fact. Ah, there he was.

  Tyson sighed. “I was going to do that anyway. I didn’t need to be told, Uncle,” he grumbled.

  “Just do as you’re told, Nephew, or I’ll have her stay with me tonight.” Quinton snapped as he sauntered out of the room.

  I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me as he walked away. He was out of control, but at least I got to discover how great his ass looked in a pair of jeans as he walked away.

  “Stop checking out my Uncle’s ass,” Tyson said, teasing me.

  My mouth dropped open and I turned to him, at a loss for words. I felt my cheeks heat and knew they’d soon be flaming red. He’d just caught me staring at Quinton’s ass.

  He smiled his bright smile at me, knowingly, and I knew he wasn’t mad.

  I yawned, unexpectedly. A wave of exhaustion washed over me as my stomach growled.

  “Hey,” he leaned into me. “How about we call it quits with the magic for today. You don’t have to learn everything in one day. There will be plenty of time for learning later. For now, you need food and rest. It’s been a long damn day, for all of us. I could use some food and rest, too. How about we pile all of these pillows up into a nice nest, eat whatever Uncle Quinton sends up and watch some more Friday Night Lights. Does that sound alright with you, sweetheart?”