Stone of Ascension

by Lynda Aicher

  “You’re too late,” she told Tubal. “I’m already Damian’s.”

  The evil man laughed, a deep, chilling rumble that scraped against her nerves. “That can be changed.”

  “No. It can’t,” Amber insisted. “I belong to him.”

  Tubal scowled, his eyes widened then turned to evil slits. “He’s fucked you.” He cursed again, a foul string of expletives that hit the air in a sharp, hard beat. “But I still have time. You’ll forget him as soon as you’re with me tonight.”

  “That’ll never happen.” Amber lifted her hand to draw up a fireball, but got nothing. A flame sparked then fizzled, her energy exhausted.

  Tubal laughed at her pathetic display. “Not so powerful now, are you?”

  The stone still burned against her chest, but the energy seemed to be locked within it. As if it were preserving itself for something. The mystery of the stone frustrated her beyond thought. Why would it quit on her now when she needed it most? Was there a trick to it that she was missing?

  She reached out to the sand, trying desperately to lift it into Tubal’s face. Nothing. She had nothing. It was like the power had never existed within her.

  Tubal took another step forward, and behind her the Shifters closed in. There was nowhere for her to go. No escape.

  The wind gusted off the ocean, a long howl of denial as it funneled around her to beat at Tubal’s chest. He leaned into the force and bared his teeth at the invisible element, meeting the challenge and plowing through it with ease.

  Amber slipped her hand into her pocket to clench the handle of the dagger. Her last defense, as measly as it was. Useless, really. She wasn’t going to kid herself. Reality was just ten steps in front of her.

  The icy coldness crept into her bones, extinguishing the fire that had burned there just moments before. The energy felt malicious and evil as it surrounded her. It smoothed over the tender flesh of her cheek in a blatant attempt to seduce her. Her pulse slowed, her eyes felt heavy, the alluring call of the dark power whispered to her.

  Wanted her.

  It coiled around her neck, a serpentine caress that snaked under her collar and slithered down her spine as it whispered sweet words of enticement.

  And she was tempted to follow. To believe what it promised.

  “That’s right,” Tubal encouraged. “Listen to the energy. Hear its call. You want it, Marked One.”

  Marked One.

  She was the Marked One. The bringer of destruction. Of death.

  No. Never.

  Amber blinked and shook off the hold of the evil energy. Fear lodged in her throat at how close she’d come to succumbing. To following what she knew was wrong. She could not let that happen.

  Do it, Damian, she called to her man. You have to. You can’t let him take me.

  No, he roared back. I can’t.

  You must.

  Never.

  Trust me, she urged. You must do this.

  Tubal stepped forward—Amber stumbled back.

  I can’t, Damian insisted. I won’t.

  You must or I will. It’s the only choice.

  A calm washed over her at the words, an acceptance of the inevitable. A sacrifice she would make for the future. She would not be responsible for the end of the world.

  She withdrew the dagger from her pocket, determination setting in. To hell with the prophecies.

  As the Marked One, she would prove them wrong.

  The air rushed over his face, cooling fingers that chilled his scales and urged him to follow through. To finish what Amber demanded of him.

  The impossible.

  Damian roared, letting go of the anger and frustration that boiled within him. He flapped his wings and dodged a series of fireballs before he fired back a long breath of flames at the attackers.

  Despite the distractions, his primary focus remained on Amber.

  Don’t do it, Amber, he ordered. The hilt of the dagger she clutched gleamed in the firelight, her intent clear to him. Failure burned in his chest. The same pathetic uselessness that was so fresh in his memory assaulted him and burned deeper than any superficial fireball wound. He was a big fucking dragon and still he couldn’t stop the events.

  Couldn’t protect someone he loved.

  He circled, then dove, determined to reach her.

  The air split around his snout, coursed over his scales as he tucked his wings and stretched out his long body into a streamlined missle. Pain laced through his chest as fireballs hit the tender underside of his belly and seared the hair on his spine.

  He ignored it all. He was close.

  He could save her.

  The force slammed into his side out of nowhere, twisting him sideways to tumble through the air. Claws dug into his shoulders and held tight.

  No. Denial raged in his mind as he looked into the deep blue eyes of his brother. Louk’s snout was pressed close, almost touching Damian’s as they wrestled in the air.

  Why? Damian twisted, frantic to break free of his brother’s hold, but he couldn’t shake him loose. When he finally stilled, Louk’s hot breath streamed over Damian’s face in an exhale of understanding. Slowly his brother blinked as his claws tightened and squeezed on Damian’s shoulders.

  Submit. The energy pulsed the command.

  No. Never. Pulling on his rage, Damian lifted his rear feet and shoved with all his strength into his brother’s unprotected belly. A guttural growl left Damian’s throat, but Louk refused to let go and eight sharp streaks of pain slashed through muscle as Louk’s claws cut through Damian’s scales. The wounds were inconsequential compared to the freedom he won.

  Amber.

  Turning quickly, Damian dove back toward his mate.

  His heart froze, and his wings came out, breaking backwards as he came to a sudden halt in the air. Around him, flames flew by, water pelted the beach and fire danced on long arcs of swords.

  Hell on earth. A battle for the all-important, long prophesied Marked One.

  Don’t, Amber, Damian roared, panic cutting off the oxygen to his lungs. Don’t you dare.

  She stood poised, the edge of the dagger placed against her throat. Tubal was just feet away, a flame burning hot and ready in his palm.

  I must, she answered. Not a hint of fear lingered in her voice. If you won’t. I trust the energy. I believe as you told me to do. Now I will listen to what it says.

  Damian scrambled, looking for other answers. Another way out. He twitched his tail madly in the weightless air, his gaze cutting across the field looking for alternatives. But he found none.

  The circle of Shifters tightened around Amber. Soon, one of them would reach her and then she’d be gone. His instincts screamed to save her.

  The energy told him otherwise.

  Why?

  Why her? Him?

  Damian let the pain go in an ear-splintering bellow. Then he dove, his world centered and focused on Amber. The rest of the battle, the assault on his dragon body, was forgotten. Nothing mattered but her.

  The energy slammed into him before splitting and slicing around him as he flew toward her. Belief. Trust. Honor. Sacrifice. The words repeated and vibrated with the rush of the air.

  Then, when he was just feet away, Tubal lunged.

  The knife gleamed against Amber’s throat; a trickle of blood streamed down her neck.

  No, Damian thundered. No.

  It was her strength that made him succumb. The total calm that flowed through her and into him. Acceptance.

  She was willing to sacrifice her life for the betterment of the world.

  Tears fell from Damian’s eyes, big drops of water that sizzled against his scales as he finally heeded to Amber’s demands.

  She looked up as if she’d felt his surrender. Her golden eyes held his, a small curve of a smile lifting her lips. Understanding and forgiveness offered in a shortened heartbeat.

  Thank you.

  Her voice caressed his heart even as the flames burned his throat and scarred his soul. He
let the fire burst from his chest and descend on his love.

  Amber.

  Rejection, primal animal denial encompassed him even as he held the flames on the two forms directly below him.

  Tubal and Amber.

  A deep roar of frustration lifted from the inferno as both bodies succumbed to the blaze. Their clothes burst into flames, the fire adding to Damian’s flames.

  No. What had he done? The unthinkable. The impossible.

  His breath ran out. The flames died from his mouth. But the bodies still burned.

  In an instant, Tubal’s form disappeared, the Shifter porting away.

  Amber dropped to her knees and crumbled, her body completely engulfed in flames. But she didn’t scream or fight the fire.

  What have I done? his mind repeated, the question an infinite loop in his head as the tears continued to fall from his eyes.

  No. The injustice tormented him as he rallied against the fates. Why?

  Again. Again, he had to suffer.

  A low, keening moan of despair left his throat as the scent of cinnamon curled within his nostrils. Amber’s scent. It lifted in the smoke, from the heat of the flames as she burned.

  He’d killed her. He’d killed his mate. His love. His life.

  For what?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Damian’s dragon body plunged from the sky, a dead weight of pain that no longer cared if it survived. His life had been too long, too much.

  He slammed into the sand, a jarring plunge of force that pummeled his side and head with rivets of sharp pain.

  Death. That was what he wanted.

  He should be dead. Not her.

  He let go of the energy and felt his body change back to his human form. The dragon—a fucking curse he never wanted to see or feel again. Never wanted to be again.

  The heat from the blaze kissed his skin and taunted Damian with what he’d done. The unusual white, gold and violet flames reached into the night advertising his deed, the colors proclaiming his actions to everyone on the beach.

  He needed to get to her.

  Slowly, he moved. He forced his limbs to function, to crawl toward her. To what he’d done. The sand squished between his fingers, bit into his palms as he pulled himself to the fire. The tiny grains stuck to his wet cheeks and sliced at his eyes.

  Nothing mattered but getting to her. Joining her.

  Cinnamon—the scent rolled over him as he got closer. It seemed to blanket the entire beach with its distinctive, rich fragrance. It washed away the smell of the ocean, the salt and seaweed aroma disappearing under the powerful spice.

  Fuck the energy. Fuck the world. He was done bearing the pain for nothing.

  He pulled on his strength and lunged toward the fire. Toward the flames that danced and hissed at the night in a mocking waltz of accusation.

  Xander stepped into his path. A hand pulled on Damian’s shoulder.

  “No.” Damian fought the hold, tried to fight his way around the imposing bulk of his one-time friend.

  “Damian, stop,” Louk ordered, his voice strong but gentle.

  “No.” He twisted and tried to punch his brother. To hit the man who’d stopped him from saving Amber. Ladon and Phelix joined in the struggle and together the four men finally wrestled Damian to the sand. The men pinned Damian, his chest buried in the cold sand, his arms pulled behind his back. A knee jabbed into his spine, grinding the sand into the bare skin of his chest. But Damian kept his head lifted, his eyes still focused on Amber’s burning form and the unearthly flames still reaching high into the dark sky.

  “Wait, Damian,” Louk whispered in his ear as he held him tight from behind. “Trust me.”

  Around him, the fighting had stopped. The Shifter forces were gone, having left after Tubal exited and they realized the Marked One was dead.

  “Why?” Damian snarled, the anger rising to bury the misery. “Why should I trust?”

  “Because of who you are,” his brother answered. His youngest brother, who knew nothing of Damian’s past. Of what he’d endured and suffered.

  “You know nothing, brother,” Damian bit out.

  “I know more that you think,” Louk replied, his voice silk against Damian’s anger.

  Louk pulled on his arms, the force lifting Damian’s torso off the sand until he knelt. Louk kept a tight hold on his arms, but now Damian had a clear view of what he’d done.

  The Energen forces had gathered to form a wide circle around his destruction. The faces of the men and women who’d fought for Amber now flickered in and out of the light and shadow of the fire that consumed her. The very person they had battled to save.

  Damian dropped his head in shame, unable to meet the eyes of those who had finally believed.

  Bitterness ate at the tattered remains of his heart. Cold, empty and hollow. His dragon wailed in fury at the injustice and the aching loss of his mate. Beside it, the white bird lay still and motionless. Silenced by death.

  “Damian.” Louk spoke sharp and commanding into his ear. A tug on his arms brought Damian out of his blackened misery. “Watch.”

  Louk was right. He should watch what he’d done. Suffer for his actions. That was justice.

  Damian lifted his head, the weight of it straining his muscles with the effort. The flames sparked and snapped as they shifted and grew, reaching higher into the night. His gaze held, mesmerized by the shifting colors and changing form.

  Around them, the wind died. An unnatural silence and stillness settled on the beach. An almost inappropriate peacefulness rippled through the night and reached out to him. Gently, it pulled at him, begging him to understand.

  To accept and trust.

  How could he?

  Damian. The soft word swept through his mind, the purring voice of Amber jerking him upright in disbelief.

  A torturous wail of denial ripped from his chest and echoed off the blood-red rock of the cliffs. He pulled on his held arms, desperate to break free. To get to her.

  In the next moment, a sweeping wave of energy rolled out of the flames and blasted the surrounding gawkers with a shuddering jolt of pure power. Of silken strength that brushed at Damian with familiarity.

  He stilled. Within him, his dragon circled and paced around its downed mate, its agitation and impatience rising with each broad sweep of its tail.

  Damian’s breath stopped. Hope flared.

  Could it be possible?

  Then, out of the flames it rose. A collective gasp went up before silence fell.

  The large bird, wings spread wide, lifted from the flames in a slow ascension of mystical power. Stunning in its grace and beauty, the apparition held everyone in its grasp as it continued to rise into the night. The bird was mostly white with gold and violet hues glinting through the feathers in a taunting illusion of color.

  How? Impossible. Unbelievable.

  But real.

  Damian struggled free from Louk’s slackening hold and stepped forward. The bird tipped its head and held his gaze, the golden eyes snagging his heart and stealing his breath.

  Amber.

  The bird tossed its head back and opened its beak to release a piercing call of joy before it shot off into the sky, gold and violet flames streaking behind it. A single flap of its large wings had it lifting higher before it turned and coasted over the beach.

  Stunning.

  Joy leapt through Damian as he gloried in the gift.

  Laughter tilted through his head in unison with the high, lilting call of the bird from above. Freedom. The feeling radiated through him as Amber continued to soar above the stunned occupants of the beach. For yet another time that night, everyone watched in awe and amazement as a legendary animal coasted over them.

  A white phoenix, the bird so easy to identify now.

  In three large running steps, Damian leapt, shifted, and soared into the night to meet her.

  Laughter bubbled in her throat, the freedom exhilarating. The night air stroked through her feathers, light touc
hes of love and welcome. Of belonging. Amber laughed, the sound coming out as the high, tilting cry of a bird.

  Her. A phoenix.

  She tilted her wings, gave a flap and soared in a low, graceful glide over the beach below. Her eyes sought out Damian, the man who had sacrificed so much for her. She’d felt his pain, the complete anguish that had consumed him when he’d accepted what he needed to do.

  What he did do.

  Ultimately, his sacrifice had saved her. But he hadn’t known that.

  Her keen eyes searched the beach; she needed to find Damian. To explain. But he wasn’t down there.

  Damian? She called out to him, doubt creeping into her voice.

  Here, he answered, strong and steady. Beside you.

  A harsh flap of wings cut through the air, and Amber turned her head to see Damian soaring next to her. He was power and grace blended into one stunning form.

  Always, she answered, positive that would forever be true.

  In unison, the connection so strong it was like there was a literal bond holding them together, they gave one more flap of their wings before they turned, circled, then coasted back to the beach.

  They landed in the middle of the ring of Energens, exactly where she had burned just minutes before. Only now, not even the sand was darkened to mark the event. Her talons touched down in the sand as she curled her wings to her sides. She didn’t shift immediately, but instead waited for Damian, pulling from his energy.

  Next to him, she was still small, her head barely reaching his shoulders. Around them, the people watched and waited.

  Damian dropped his head and shuffled his feet. His gaze scanned the circle, seeking what, she didn’t know. Then his wings expanded to tuck around her, pulling her close to his warm scales.

  He lifted his head, a regal declaration as he lifted one of his five-toed claws into the air and let out a mighty, flaming roar. A chill of possessiveness and pride ruffled her feathers and expanded her chest.

  This man, this dragon, was hers.

  How? She didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to question it anymore.