Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy)

by Sharon Kay

  A slow clap echoed off the tanks and floor. Gin turned her head but kept her body nestled against Mathias.

  Kai gave one last clap and winked at Mathias. “Congrats, man.”

  With happy tears streaking her face, Brooke rushed forward to hug Gin. “I’m so happy for you! Oh, my gosh. When I met Mathias…when he was sent to you…I never could have guessed this. This is awesome!”

  Ria joined in, throwing her arms around both of them. “I get a kick ass new sister!”

  “I love you both,” Gin whispered. Ria had felt like a sister all along. How fitting that now it was official.

  “What the hell’s going on? Are you guys still there or did you set your phone down in front of a soap opera?” Rhys’s drawl cut through, laced with equal parts confusion and sarcasm.

  Mathias cleared his throat. “We’ll tell you when we get home. Long story, but we’re all done here.” He ran a hand down Gin’s back. “We should get moving.”

  After a quick stop for Brooke to put on her warm clothes, they left the building and piled into the SUV.

  Mathias cranked the engine. Gin swiveled in her seat to face him and caressed his nape. “So, we can hear each other’s thoughts?”

  “Yep. But only when nearby, and we have to project the thoughts. But we can sense each other’s emotions always.” His slid his hand to her thigh. Whoa. His touch sent sparks up her leg.

  “So, thoughts, and emotions? What else?” Gin asked. She felt giddy. Her lips tingled with the need to kiss Mathias, to lick every damn inch of him. She wanted to climb on top of him right now.

  “Maybe we should finish this conversation back at home.” Mathias gave her leg a squeeze.

  Kai stifled a snort. Brooke elbowed him, careful not to spill the beaker of water she held.

  “No, I want to know now.” She pushed her hair away from her face. Why did the car suddenly feel like an oven?

  Yeah, that’s exactly why this should’ve waited, Ginger.

  Man, it’s hot. She unzipped her parka.

  You’ll feel my need for you, right along with your need for me. I’ve heard it makes sex off-the-charts phenomenal.

  Oh my god! She tried to calm her racing thoughts. Think icebergs, think North Pole…

  What? He chuckled in her mind.

  Oh, um, I’m thinking cold thoughts. It’s a mind game I play when I’m hot.

  His loud laugh echoed in the car, but his thoughts were all for her. Oh Ginger, I’ve got more games to play when you’re hot. And when you’re cold. And when you’re bored, or when you’re in the shower—

  “Stop!” she whisper-yelled around a giggle. “You’re not helping!”

  “Don’t forget the hair. Wait, what will happen with their hair? It’s almost the same color.” Brooke asked Kai.

  “Hair? Oh my God.” Gin sat stunned with revelation. She’d given her sisters so much shit about their hair.

  “The mate lock will be there, just harder to notice.” Kai chuckled. “The Hunter, caught.” He doubled over. “The Hunter, ensnared.”

  “Keep talking. I’ll take you down on the mats, dick.” Mathias glared in the rearview mirror.

  “Oh, I doubt that. You’ll be busy when we get home. And again tomorrow, and again—”

  Brooke smacked him. “Stop. I gotta call Nic.”

  Gin could only stare at Mathias. Three things she never expected had happened. She had used her power. And she had a partner.

  And the one thing she’d always been determined to do had occurred along the way. She’d helped people. Didn’t matter that they might never know it.

  You’re mine, she thought.

  Yours, Ginger. Forever. I love you.

  And I love you. My Hunter.

  THE THIEF

  THE THIEF POPPED INTO THE living room of the home she shared with Sebastian. He paced the floor in front of the fireplace, whirling, dagger drawn, at her arrival. When the amulet’s mist cleared, a look of relief washed over his face.

  “Thank the gods! You were gone so long! What happened? I called your gem—”

  “I’m okay. I lost my phone. I fell down a ravine or something, but I’m fine. Just a few scratches.” She shrugged.

  He looked at her leg. “That’s more than a scratch. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I ran into a hellhound after the explosion.” Stupid dog. “But it’s a surface wound. Here.” With a triumphant smile, she handed him the amulet.

  He took it reverently. “You’re gonna be a better thief than me soon.”

  “I don’t know about that. You’ve been doing this for how many centuries? I’m only twenty-four.” She smiled at the man who’d raised her. “I’m gonna get cleaned up.”

  She disappeared down the hall, stopping in Sebastian’s study first. Opening a closet, she picked up a heavy mirror from its spot where it leaned against the wall. Burnished metal with a gold tinge surrounded the glass. Not truly a mirror, it was a powerful scrying tool. Sebastian told her it was the most powerful one he’d ever seen.

  She carried it to her room and shut the door. Carefully, she set it down on her bed and grabbed a dagger from the collection on her dresser.

  She climbed onto the bed, taking a deep breath. She gazed at the dull surface and grazed her fingers across it, tracing a circle in the center. It was one of a kind. A scrying surface that could be used by anyone, regardless if they had any actual skill at scrying. Hell, even Earth’s humans could probably use it successfully.

  This surface could show the past and present. And tonight, her world had shifted. Not just the ground under her feet, but a new energy had sprung to life deep in her soul. She had no doubt that she’d caused the earth to move. But how?

  And the missing Solsti…the tiny hairs on her arms lifted at the fragmented thought. She had to know. It was time for answers.

  She breathed deeply, calming her racing heart and mind. The she placed her hands on the surface. “Show me my childhood.”

  The mirror pulsed with energy, so she knew it was working. But it remained dark.

  How can that be?

  Who took care of me before Sebastian?

  She tried again. “Let’s go back farther. Show me my very early years.”

  The surface clouded with opaque gray swirls, then cleared. The thief stared in awe at the images of a family outside. Happy. A tiny baby girl snuggled in her mother’s arms. A dark haired girl played on the ground next to them, chewing on drool-coated blocks. A few feet away, a blond man played a game with two more girls, one blond and one dark.

  Something about the mother intrigued the thief. Dark hair fell in waves around her shoulders, and she glanced up at her family with green eyes full of love.

  The thief blinked. The mirror was informing her, with absolute certainty, that the dark-haired woman was a Lash demon.

  Am I a Lash? Everyone says I’m fae.

  The mirror went dark. “Wait,” she whispered. “Go forward a few months from that point.”

  Again, gray cloudy swirls covered the surface. They cleared, revealing a girl, not quite as tiny but not much bigger.

  She was in a hospital bed, clothed in a gown with red and yellow clowns. Tubes extended from both of her arms. A plastic tube was held in place with tape, disappearing into her mouth. Machines beeped. The mother sat sleeping in a chair next to her, dark circles under her eyes. The image shifted to a home, the little girl’s home. The father sat with the other three girls all piled on his lap. They were looking at pictures. Of her.

  The thief closed her eyes, bewildered. Early years, hospital, darkness. Three sisters. What did it mean?

  Three sisters. Mine?

  Three Solsti have been found.

  I need to find them. Questions burned, one after the other, lancing through her brain like missiles. Where are they? Who are they? Are they looking for me?

  She placed her hands on the mirror again. “I need to send a message to-to…those three women in the images.” She couldn’t bring herself to speak th
e word sisters because what if they didn’t exist? What if the mirror was wrong, what if it was someone else’s family? Or what if the women were dead, or—

  Stop!

  She needed to focus to make this work. “I need to send a message to the three women. I need to find them.” Raising the knife, she sliced it across her palm.

  She clenched her fist over the glass. One drop of blood fell, and a tiny tendril of red mist wafted up. She squeezed again. Two drops. Three drops.

  Three drops for three individuals.

  Hand trembling, she whispered, “Find my sisters.”

  CHAPTER 39

  MATHIAS TUCKED A SLEEPING AND gorgeously nude Gin against his side and draped the duvet over them. Outside the mansion, snow fell in fat flakes from a purple sky.

  The last two days had been a marathon of visits to all the water treatment facilities that Xavier had been to. With Rhys’s help, he, Gin, Brooke, and Kai had gone in playing visiting scientists and examined Xavier’s work. But, thank the gods, he’d only added the lily enzymes to the water in the first plant. The rest of the facilities housed huge tanks full of uncontaminated water.

  And the nights? Those had been full of his feisty little brunette. Sex with her had been nuclear, soul-melding, fan-fucking-tastic after their bond fell into place. He’d never get tired of hearing her sweet voice in his head, or feeling her desire building in time with his own.

  Next to him, she stirred and frowned. Her eyes darted back and forth beneath her lids. Dreaming. How he wished he could see her dreams, but the mate bond didn’t extend quite that far. He could, however, feel whatever emotion she felt during a dream. Which made for some hot wake-up sex.

  Gin sighed and shook her head, murmuring something soft.

  “What, baby?” He couldn’t make it out.

  In between sighs, she mumbled, “You’re there…where are you…I’m here.” Her breathing sped up.

  “Gin. Wake up, babe.” He gently shook her shoulder.

  “I… You…” She flung her hand in an uncoordinated motion as if reaching for something.

  She shot upright and screamed, “I’m right here!”

  “Gin!” He sat up next to her. “Ginger, wake up. You had a dream. That’s all.”

  She clenched the sheet in her fists, breathing hard. He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. “Shh. Just a dream.”

  A dream of what? Through their bond, urgency rode him hard. Gin needed to get to someone or something. Right now.

  He reached for one of her soft little hands, gently uncurling each finger from their death grip on the sheet. And bit by bit, her heart rate slowed.

  She let out a huge sigh and turned to him. She caressed his face, holding his chin for a second as if memorizing his face. “Wow.” She leaned in to kiss him.

  “Must’ve been some dream. Wanna tell me about it?”

  Her green eyes, unfocused, looked over his shoulder. “It was so real…this blond woman—”

  Noise in the hall had both of them turning toward the closed door. Voices carried to Mathias, female and male. He had no trouble making out their words. Everyone was talking about a dream.

  A mix of foreboding and anticipation crawled up his spine. He stood, pulled on a pair of jeans, and tossed Gin her robe. “Something’s going on. Let’s go see.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think we need to talk to your sisters.”

  Gin hastily donned the robe and they opened the door. The hall was full of people chattering. Brooke and Kai, Nicole and Gunnar, Ashina and Raniero.

  Nicole was gesturing wildly. “…and she was calling to me—”

  “Me too. She wanted to know where—Gin!” Brooke whirled and ran to her. “Did you have the same dream we did?”

  “About a blond woman?” Gin’s face was pale.

  “Yes.” Nicole clutched Gunnar’s T-shirt, her voice shaking. “And her eyes were g-green.”

  “She was alone, and…” Brooke said.

  “Confused.” Gin finished. “And she desperately wanted to find us.”

  The three sisters paused, staring at each other with raw, blatant shock. Through his bond with Gin, Mathias felt realization tear through their souls. Felt a torrent of love, confusion, and absolute certainty.

  As one, the sisters whispered one word: “Alina.”

  A Note To My Readers

  I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading Wicked Flames. Please take a moment to leave a review. Thank you!

  WICKED FLAMES PLAYLIST

  Hells Bells—AC/DC

  Take you To Rio—Ester Dean

  The Clairvoyant—Iron Maiden

  Crazy Train—Black Sabbath

  Angel of Harlem—U2

  Cruel Summer—Bananarama

  Marshmallow World—Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra

  Baby Please Come Home—U2

  Winter Wonderland—Bing Crosby

  Revenge—Ministry

  Kiss Off—Violent Femmes

  Battlefield—Jordin Sparks

  ABOUT SHARON KAY

  Sharon Kay writes award-winning fiction and can never get enough reading time. She loves paranormal romance, with romantic suspense following close on its heels. She loves winter and black coffee, and is endlessly inspired to write kick-ass heroines and the men strong enough to capture their hearts.

  Sharon lives in the Chicago area with her husband and son, and didn’t expect to write one book, let alone a series. But WICKED WIND and the Solsti series formed in her head one weekend and refused to stay quiet until she put pen to paper. Her characters tend to keep her up at night, as they banter, fall in love, and slay endless varieties of power-hungry demons.

  She loves to hear from readers! You can find her at:

  sharonkay.novels@gmail.com

  www.facebook.com/sharonkaynovels

  Twitter: @sharonkaynovels

  COMING FALL 2014

  KISSED BY A DEMON SPY: A NOVELLA

  Kidnapped as a teen and forced into a life of sexual slavery, Garnet vowed long ago to do whatever she could to spare others her fate. When karma comes full circle with an offer of freedom for her and her young son, she jumps at the chance.

  Masquerading as a village innkeeper, Aden keeps his espionage work secret from the gentle pixies he lives among. Using his skills to prevent a group of vicious demons from attacking the innocent, his world is draped in mist, shadow, and danger.

  Steeped in shame, Garnet is loath to share her past with Aden. But Aden senses a sweet, loyal strength in her that no amount of horror can erase. His dangerous work is the opposite of the stability Garnet craves. Yet Aden’s patience and strength make him the hero she never had. When the enemy unleashes their poison arrows on the town, Garnet and Aden realize that honesty is the truest form of courage.

  COMING JANUARY 2015

  Book four of the Solsti Prophecy series:

  ON WICKED GROUND

  The lost memories of a thief…

  The first twelve years of Alina’s life are a black void. An accomplished thief, she uses her cloaking ability to pick pockets as well as stage elaborate heists. Digging deeper into her past sets off a chain of events that puts her, and the family she has just discovered, in the sights of their worst enemy.

  …and the scarred heart of a guardian…

  In secret, Lash Watcher Caine plots vengeance for the destruction of everything he loved. Branded by loss, he longs to find his one true mate, knowing that only with her will his heart fully heal. When his brief meeting with Alina is interrupted by her elaborate evade-and-escape plan, he knows there is more to her than meets his watchful eyes. But nothing can prepare him for the lethal power of her mind.

  …collide at the fault line of destiny.

  A brilliant villain with a vicious and loyal army behind her can only be stopped by one force: the combined power of four women who command the elements. Alina, with her newly-discovered affinity to the earth, becomes the linchpin to halting the desecration of their world. Thrown
into a battle plan and a new family, she finds joy in in the quiet strength of Caine’s arms. But when the secrets to her past are revealed, she learns a terrible price has been paid in advance. The very magic that allowed her to live to fulfill a prophecy will forever deny her heart’s deepest wish.