Fire and Light

by Emily Ann Ward

  Contents

  Front Matter

  Also by Emily Ann Ward

  TOC

  CHAPTER ONE: SAFE FUTURES

  CHAPTER TWO: HEAT WAVE

  CHAPTER THREE: NEW LIVES

  CHAPTER FOUR: HOME

  CHAPTER FIVE: VICTORY DAY

  CHAPTER SIX: WHIRLWIND

  CHAPTER SEVEN: AWAY

  EPILOGUE: THE ANCIENT TEXTS

  SYNOPSIS OF SHIFTING LIGHT

  What’s next?

  About the Author

  FIRE AND LIGHT

  The Protectors Prequels, #2

  By Emily Ann Ward

  Ebook Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to an ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The Protectors Series:

  Book One: Promising Light

  Book Two: Promising Hope

  Book Three: Promising Power (Upcoming)

  The Protectors Prequels

  Shifting Light

  Fire and Light

  The End of Light

  Also by Emily Ann Ward:

  Passages (Seven Short Stories)

  Beyond Home (Three Short Stories)

  Finding Fiona

  Connection (Le Garde Series)

  Synopsis of Shifting Light

  (it’s possible to read Fire and Light first, but this synopsis is recommended)

  CHAPTER ONE: SAFE FUTURES

  Seth couldn’t put it off any longer. He took a deep breath, straightening his tunic. He knocked on the door. The governor was intimidating, yes, but it was common courtesy to make his intentions clear to Alastor, even though he knew he mostly likely wouldn’t approve. He’d warned Sashe against her courtship with Seth, but fortunately he hadn’t forbidden it. But this. . .

  “Come in,” Alastor’s voice called.

  Swallowing, Seth walked into the study. Alastor sat behind his desk, papers and scrolls spread out in front of him. He glanced up for a moment. “Seth. Good afternoon.”

  “Good afternoon, sir.” Seth sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk and cleared his throat. “How are you today?”

  “Well, thank you.” Alastor set down his quill and folded his hands. He peered at Seth with narrowed eyes. “How can I help you, Seth?”

  Seth straightened his tunic again. He forced his hands still. Fidgeting would make him appear less confident. He was the best choice for Sashe, and Alastor had to know it. He folded his hands tightly in his lap. “It’s about Sashe.”

  Alastor’s jaw tightened, and he held up his hands. “I know what you’re going to ask.”

  Seth raised his eyebrows. “You do?”

  “I don’t want her to marry you.” Alastor picked up his quill again and started writing.

  Seth stared at him. “Alastor. . .sir. . .I love Sashe.”

  “I know you do, but love isn’t going to keep her safe from the Protectors. Love isn’t going to keep her from the curse.”

  Alastor had been drilling this rhetoric into Dar’s head ever since they heard about the curse two and a half years ago. The governor’s son wasn’t to court any girls or give anyone the pretense of marriage until the curse was broken. Poor Dar probably thought he was going to be alone for the rest of his life. Seth fought to keep the aggravation out of his voice. “But sir, I’ll do everything I can to—”

  Alastor set his quill down, making an exasperated sound. He stood up and sighed. “Listen, Seth. It hurts me to turn you down, but I won’t let you marry her. I want her to live a safe, long, happy life. She can’t have that with you.”

  Seth clenched his teeth. “We don’t know if that’s true. We’ve talked about adopting children, and the Protectors aren’t going to notice one marriage—”

  “They notice everything,” Alastor said.

  It’d been two and a half years since Seth’s parents were killed in the battle, two and a half years since the anonymous Thieran cast the curse on the shape changers. The Protectors had effectively banished Avialies from the royal city and state, but nothing else had changed. The king refused to make them leave the country unless they proved to be more of a danger, so the Avialies had been sure to stay out of trouble. Of course they were searching for a way to break the curse, but there’d been no success.

  Seth frowned. “But they haven’t even threatened us lately—”

  “If you really think this war is over, you’re not paying attention.”

  Would he let him finish one sentence? “I know it’s not over. Right now, it’s at a lull. Sashe and I could be happy. I know it’s dangerous, but we want to be together.”

  Alastor glared at him. “I don’t know how they do things in Jolen, Seth, but the man is supposed to protect the woman. She loves you, but she can move on if you leave her behind.”

  Seth stood up and pointed at his chest. “I would never leave her behind.”

  “Even if it meant saving her life?” Alastor scoffed. “That’s a cowardly, selfish thing to do, and she deserves better.”

  Seth shook his head. He wasn’t going to push her away. He was going to give her a choice. It terrified him to think of her in danger, but he would do anything to keep her safe. She deserved to have a choice in this. She was nineteen years old, and even if she was a woman, her life didn’t have to be decided by her father. “I’m sorry, sir, but I think that should be up to Sashe.” He let out a slow breath. “I am going to ask her to marry me. I came here to ask for your blessing, not your permission.”

  Alastor said nothing, his nostrils flaring. “I see.” He sat down. “I’ve said all I have to say.” He picked up his quill again, his shoulders tense.

  “Sir, please—”

  Alastor waved his hand towards the door. “You will not receive my blessing.”

  Seth sighed. “I will do everything to keep your daughter safe, sir.” He waited, but Alastor didn’t acknowledge him. He left the room, clenching his fists.

  In the hallway, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Was he selfish? He couldn’t imagine life without Sashe, and he couldn’t imagine how she might react or feel if he pushed her away. He had to ask her tonight and give her one last chance to leave him behind forever.

  ***

  Seth and Sashe lay in the barn by themselves. He propped himself on his elbow and glanced down at Sashe. A tiny lantern stood next to them, lighting up their faces just the slightest. They’d thought of leaving it behind, but he wanted to see Sashe’s face when he asked her. He wanted to forever remember how she looked at that moment. Just thinking about it made him nervous. What if she said no? What if she made the sensible decision and left the Avialies behind forever?

  They’d been talking for nearly an hour since they came up here—about Dar’s crush on Matilda, the Cosa girl in town; about the new laws that barred Avialies from visiting the royal city without permission from the king; about the upcoming summer. Maybe he’d been delaying the question. He had to ask her tonight.

  He glanced down at her, curled up next to him as she played with a loose thread on his collar. “Are you tired?”

  “No,” she said, smiling. “Are you?”

  He shook his head, brushing some brown hair from
her forehead. “No. I love talking with you like this. It’s what I need after a long day.”

  “I know.” Her voice was soft as her eyes locked with his. “A perfect way to end the day.”

  “When I don’t get this, I get in a bad mood. Just ask Evan.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I wish I could spend every evening with you.”

  She smiled. “Maybe. . .you can someday.”

  He stared at her for a moment. Did she mean. . .she’d want to?

  Her smile widened. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  He shrugged a shoulder, half-smiling. Her smiles were contagious. “I just love you.”

  “I love you, too.” She tugged on his collar and pulled him down to her. She kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He leaned against her as the kiss deepened. She led her hands down his chest, and her fingers skirted across his waist. Chills shot up his spine, partially from the cool air but more from her fingernails raking across his skin. He groaned against her mouth. He could spend all night kissing her. Someday soon, hopefully he would, depending on what she said when he asked.

  He broke away, panting. He kissed her neck, and she arched her back into him. He wrapped an arm around her torso, pulling her close to him. He ran a hand through her hair again and held her head as he ran his tongue over her skin. He led his lips down to her collarbone, down to the line of her dress. He kissed the curve of her breasts, and she held onto his shoulders, moaning.

  He couldn’t get enough of her. He wasn’t going to do something with her in a barn of all places, but it didn’t change his desire to touch every inch of her. To pull her dress down and kiss her chest. To slide his hands up her skirt and up her legs. . .

  He pulled away and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I need to breathe.” He untangled himself from her and straddled her. He sat up and ran his hands through his hair. Sashe put her hands on his thighs and massaged them. He looked down at her and took her in: her wavy brown hair splayed out around her, hay catching in her locks. Her content expression. The red marks on her neck. Her dark red dress. Her curvy torso.

  She led her hands up his thighs, her eyes locked with his.

  He grabbed her wrists. “We can’t do that.” His voice came out gruff.

  “Do what?” she asked coyly.

  “I want to do something just as much as you.” He paused, entwining his fingers through hers. “Maybe more. But this isn’t the right place or time.”

  She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “When will it be the right place and time?”

  “We should be married first,” he said quietly. “That’s how proper couples do it, right?”

  She smiled again. “So, when are you going to marry me?”

  He leaned down and propped himself on his arms to avoid putting his weight on her. He let go of one of her hands and touched her face. “You would marry me?”

  She met his eyes, looking at him seriously. “Of course I would.”

  He stared at her. “Even though we couldn’t have children? Even with the Protectors?”

  She let go of his hand and put her hands on the sides of his face. “Yes. I wouldn’t marry anyone else.”

  She couldn’t know how that made him feel, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. At the same time, he knew he didn’t deserve her. There was no way he could give her all she deserved in life: a safe life, children, wealth that she was used to. Alastor’s words echoed in his mind. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I can’t give you a normal life.”

  “I don’t want a normal life.” She ran a hand through his hair. “I want you. I want us to spend our lives together.”

  “What if something happens, though?” he asked. “What if the Protectors come after you? They already think you and Sierra should have grown up with a normal family.”

  Sashe didn’t say anything for a moment, and Seth felt a surge of fear. Maybe she was changing her mind. Maybe she should. “Then let the Protectors come after us,” she said. “I can’t predict what’s going to happen. Neither can you.”

  “I want to keep you safe.”

  She pursed her lips and dropped her hands. “Then why did you bring me here tonight?”

  “To ask you to marry me,” he whispered.

  Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes squinted like she couldn’t tell whether he was serious or not. “Then ask me.”

  He swallowed. He felt like once he asked, there was no way he could go back. Even though they’d talked about marriage, even though he’d practically already asked her—if he asked again, it said he would put her at risk for his happiness. For their happiness.

  She ran her thumb along his bottom lip. “I don’t care about the Protectors.”

  “What about having our own children?”

  “There will be children out there who need loving parents, just like Sierra and I did.”

  He let out a breath. “Will you marry me?”

  He tried to imprint her reaction in his mind: her slow, gradual smile, and the way her arms wrapped around his neck. She looked into his eyes. “Yes. I’ll marry you, Seth.”

  He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. He pulled her close again, her body fitting perfectly into his. He could stay here with her forever, reveling in her touch.

  She pulled away after a few moments. “I can’t imagine my father will be happy.”

  He shook his head. “I tried to ask him for his blessing, but. . .he doesn’t want us to marry. He thought I should leave you behind so you could have a normal, safe life.”

  Sashe frowned, a worry line appearing between her dark eyebrows. “How could he. . .I couldn’t have any other life, Seth.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She shook him by the shoulders, half-laughing. “I’m sure. I thought I made it crystal clear already.”

  “This is your last chance, Sashe.” He met her eyes. “I’d understand if you left us all behind.”

  She kissed him in response.

  ***

  Sashe bit her lip as she paced in front of the study. Seth stood a few feet away, his hands folded in front of him. “You’re making me nervous,” he told her.

  “I’m already nervous.” She bit her lip.

  “So am I, and you’re making it worse.”

  The study door opened, and Sashe spun around. Natalia looked out at them in the corridor and smiled. There was no way she could know what the meeting was about, not with that smile. She waved them inside.

  Alastor sat behind his desk, his jaw set as they took their seats. Sashe wanted to squeeze Seth’s hand for reassurance, but she refrained from doing so. She folded her hands in her lap and straightened her back.

  Seth cleared his throat. “Alastor, Natalia, I want to marry your daughter.”

  Natalia gasped and put her hand on her chest. “Seth, that’s wonderful.”

  Alastor’s jaw twitched, and he shook his head. “How can you support this?”

  Natalia let out an annoyed sound. “Alastor. . .” She took Sashe’s hand. “I don’t know of any other man who could love Sashe as much.” Sashe smiled at her gratefully, squeezing her hand.

  “What about a man who isn’t an Avialie?” Alastor asked. “A man who doesn’t have Protectors watching his every move?”

  “Alastor, I will do everything I can—” Seth began.

  “You already said that,” Alastor said gruffly. He stood and walked around the desk, then sat on the edge. He crossed his arms and looked at Sashe. “Do you remember when he moved here three years ago?”

  It was more like two and a half years, but she wasn’t going to correct him now of all times. Sashe swallowed and nodded. “Of course.”

  “You remember when I told you and Sierra you two you could find another family?” Alastor asked.

  “I remember.” Sierra had been upset, even though Sashe had nearly considered it. She’d never told anyone other than Seth that she’d thought of leaving the Avialies more than once back when the curse had happened, and he ha
d never made her feel guilty for it.

  “You should have moved away. You shouldn’t have stayed with us.”

  Sashe stared at him. She couldn’t help feeling hurt, as though he were telling her he didn’t want her or Sierra. Maybe it was hypocritical—no, she’d considered for leaving for just a few minutes and that was more than two years ago.

  “Alastor,” Natalia said in a scolding tone, like he was a seven-year-old Dar who couldn’t stay out of the weapons room.

  “You should have sent us away if you wanted us to leave so badly,” Sashe said quietly.

  “I didn’t want you to leave!” Alastor said. “But I just had the General come through, and what do you think he noticed? The two girls living in my house as though they were Avialies. All their friends and boyfriends magic folk. He went back to the Protectors, I can guarantee you.”

  “What will they do?” Seth asked. “We’re not hurting them!”

  Alastor stood and paced behind his desk. “I know this marriage will make them wonder. Why would a normal girl marry an Avialie when pregnancy could result in death?”

  “There is more to marriage than the chance of having children,” Sashe said quietly.

  “Like what? Security? Is the baker’s son from Jolen who doesn’t have a job going to give you that?”

  “I have a job,” Seth said, standing. “I work for Damon and Lina. I will have a house on their land, and I won’t marry Sashe until I can provide for both of us.”

  Alastor studied Seth, folding his hands behind his back. He let out a long exhale and looked at Sashe. “Sashe, are you sure about this?”

  She nodded. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

  He pursed his lips and sat. “Seth, you can marry my daughter once you have a house and steady income, and you will treat her better than yourself.”

  “Of course,” Seth said with a nod.

  Natalia hugged Sashe tightly. “Oh, I’m so happy for you!” She pulled away and put her hands on the sides of Sashe’s face. “You must be careful, though.” She looked into Sashe’s eyes and kissed her on each cheek.