Burned by Fire (Blood & Magic Book 3)

by Danielle Annett

  “We appreciate you coming to help,” he said. Joelle grunted in agreement. “It would have been unfortunate and delayed our business if we had had to wait much longer. I have a very important meeting this evening,” he said.

  “I thought your business was in Kennewick?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “It is, but Spokane seems to be full of opportunity. Just this afternoon I was contacted with a very attractive proposition.”

  This afternoon? He had been with Eva and the others up until recently. Something was off. Declan’s words suddenly rang through my ears. Don’t allow yourself to be alone with him.

  “Would you like to know what it was?” he asked. I nodded, trying to regulate my breathing. Warming bells were screaming in my head. I needed to get out of the car. But how? We were on the freeway and —

  “A Chinese man approached me in the square and said he could deliver me the Pacific Northwest Pack. Imagine my surprise when, in exchange, all he wanted was you.” My blood ran cold as ice filled my veins. Aiden.

  A sharp pain shot fire into my neck. Joelle retreated back into her seat.

  “It is much easier to conquer a Pack when the Alpha is too broken to defend it,” he said. I tried to move, but my limbs felt heavy, my head fogging. “He loves you. I will enjoy crushing what is left of him when he realizes you are gone.”

  “No…” It was barely a whisper. No, no, no. This wasn’t happening. I tried to call fire to me, but nothing happened, not even a flicker.

  “Don’t worry. It won’t kill you. My new friend let me know about that nasty little habit of yours to start fires. Interesting quality. I see now why Declan chose you, and here I thought you were a useless human. Imagine my surprise when I realized what you could do.” My head was swimming and I had to fight to keep my eyes open. “I’d keep you for myself but,” he shrugged, at least I think he did. My vision was growing narrower by the second. “the Pack is more valuable to me than you are. Rest now. We’re almost there.”

  “He’ll—kill—you.” Those three words took everything I had.

  I woke on a scream. I was drenched in sweat, and my mouth was dry and felt like it was filled with cotton. I tried to move and couldn’t.

  “She’s awake,” an all-too-familiar voice said. Footsteps came close, a woman coming into my field of vision. I screamed again and writhed beneath an assault of pain. My veins were on fire.

  “Shhh. It won’t be long now,” my mother said. My head tossed and turned wildly as I took in my surroundings through a haze of agony.

  I was strapped down to a table. Metal bands held down my arms and legs. Multiple IVs and wires were connected to me. I followed their path, finding two IV drip bags and another leading into a motionless Irina beside me. What the hell? Irina had been Rebecka’s second within the vampire coven, up until she’d betrayed her and killed a shifter child in the hopes of inciting a war between the Pack and the Cover.

  When that hadn’t worked, she’d sicced a newly made vampire on me in broad daylight. That hadn’t worked either. I was hard to kill, and Irina had certainly tried her damnedest to do me in when I’d continued to thwart her plans.

  Karma was a bitch, and I hoped she was in as much pain as I was.

  More tubes and wires connected her to Aiden, who sat upright in a chair, his face a mask of pain, only he wasn’t being held down.

  My back arched off the table as another wave of pain racked my body.

  “What are you doing to me?” My words were little more than a rasp. I struggled against my bonds and poured fire into my palms, but the flames receded almost as quickly as they had appeared.

  What’s happening?

  “Aria, the restraints are for your protection. So you don’t hurt yourself. I’m sorry you’re in pain. Your metabolism is burning through the IV we set up for you. I had hoped to ease your discomfort, but it will all be over soon.” Viola Reynolds turned her head towards Aiden.

  Sweat poured down his face. His shirt was plastered to his body as though it were painted on.

  “I can’t go much longer like this,” he said, his teeth clenched. “There’s too much.”

  Too much what?

  Eyes wide, I turned to my mother. “What are you doing to me?” I couldn’t breathe. God, it hurt. It hurt so much. I didn’t know how much more I could take. I sucked in a breath as another wave rolled through me and I felt my lungs contract, choking on the air.

  “We’re making you pure. It’s all quite technical, but Aiden is essentially pulling your pyrokinesis out of you. You’ll be human.” She said it like it was some great discovering. My mind struggled to wrap around the notion as I fought to stay conscious under the assault.

  “That’s not possible,” I croaked. I wasn’t going to stay conscious much longer. My head was pounding in my skull.

  “We’ve been successful once before. I wouldn’t put you through this if I wasn’t sure it was going to work,” she said slowly, as if talking down to a young child.

  “You’re killing me!”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, dear. That’s what we have the vampire for. Her blood is healing you and Aiden both before any real damage can be caused. You’ll survive, and you’ll thank me when it’s all over.”

  Bile came up and I turned my head to vomit over the side of the table.

  “Just a little longer.”

  No! I couldn’t let her do this to me. I tried to come up with a way to make it stop, but I couldn’t move. My mind was unable to hold on to any thoughts aside from the pain.

  An invisible weight pressed down on my chest, making it harder to breathe. I had to make it stop. I couldn’t let her do this to me.

  Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes as I fought to keep from throwing up again. I tried to concentrate, to ride through the waves of pain. I had to focus. I needed to think. I fought to see past the agony, to focus on the pull of power leaving my body.

  I could feel the pull of my power, like tiny filaments leaving me in invisible threads. I choked back a scream and mentally held on to the threads, only to have them slip through my fingers. It was like trying to hold water in the palms of my hands. Each time I thought I had them, they’d slip through my grasp.

  I tried again and again, doing my best to ignore the pain. I gritted my teeth and felt the distinct flavor of copper fill my mouth. I grasped the threads again, tuning out my mother’s voice as she prattled on about me joining her, being by her side during a revolution. She could go fuck herself.

  My grip held and I fought for control. I felt Aiden pull, but the threads didn’t move this time. I had them. It took everything in me to pull them back. Inch by slow inch, I pulled them back inside of me.

  Aiden cursed but I didn’t look at him. I stayed focused on the task at hand. I could see my fire in my mind’s eye, like tendrils of smoke that seeped back into my body, one after the other.

  “What’s happening?” Viola sounded flustered. Monitors began beeping and flashing. I tuned it all out and kept pulling, harder now. People rushed past me, checking the screens and muttering to themselves.

  “What is happening?” my mother shouted. I gritted my teeth and pulled again. My grasp slipped. Aiden smiled across from me.

  “I’ll kill you,” I said. He didn’t respond. His eyes were thin slips, his face twisted into a mix of fury and concentration. A jerk inside of my chest had me crying out. I tried to bite back the scream, but it was too much. God, I was going to die.

  Declan

  “Where is she?” I stormed through the doors of Aria’s place of work, already knowing she wasn’t inside. The damn psyker that she’d been hanging around with came around a desk. If he’d had anything to do with this—

  “What are you doing here?” My lip curled at his tone. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and jerked him forward until his face was only a scant inch away from mine.

  “Hey —” I turned my head and eyed the woman that stood across the room. Waist length black hair fell in waves, blending
with the blue black feathers of her wings. Harpy. What was her name?

  Melody. She was Aria’s neighbor. Her friend. I snarled at her and she took a step back. I turned back to the psyker in my grasp.

  I knew my eyes had gone gold. My beast didn’t like him, and considered him a threat for its mate. So did I.

  “Where is my mate?” I ground out. My words were garbled as my teeth elongated, filling my mouth. I needed to put the beast back in his cage or I was going to shift, and the pretty boy in front of me wasn’t going to like my other face.

  My feet slid back of their own accord, pushing me several feet away from the psyker.

  “She’s probably avoiding you. Why don’t you take a hint and leave her alone?” He clearly had a death wish.

  “Wait, what?” Melody said, coming closer. “Is Aria missing?”

  I took a step forward but didn’t move. I took two more and still wasn’t any closer to him than I had been. Fucking telekinetic. When I got my hands on him—

  He smiled. If it weren’t for my beast urging me that our mate was in trouble, I’d have wiped the smug expression off his face. My tiger was confident we could take him.

  “Yes she’s missing.” I said, answering her question but keeping my eyes forward. “She isn’t avoiding me. She’s in trouble and in pain.” I cringed as a wave of agony filled every inch of my bones. “A lot of pain.” It came out as a snarl. “Do you know where she is or not? I don’t have time for games.”

  Concern flashed across his face before his eyes narrowed. “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

  I was going to kill him. Aria’s wrath be damned; she could find a new friend or merc or whatever the hell he was to her.

  The human side of me urged me to stop. We might need him. The thought put a sour taste in my mouth. “I can feel her pain,” I said. “You either know where she is or you don’t, but she is too important for me to waste any more time here if you know nothing of use.”

  I slanted my gaze to Melody. Her arms were folded across her chest, her mouth pressed into a thin line before she shook her head. “I don’t know where she is. He might,” she tilted her head toward Inarus.

  He was silent for a minute, indecision flashing across his face. My nostrils flared. The bastard better make up his damn—

  “I don’t know where she is.” Great. Neither one of them was useful.

  I turned to leave.

  “But I can find her.”

  I stopped. “How?” I asked.

  “I have a mental lock. I can port to her.”

  I stepped forward. “You’re taking me with you.”

  He shook his head. “It’ll take too much energy—”

  “You’re taking me with you.” It wasn’t a question. “Someone has her. You won’t know what you’re walking into. You’ll need me.”

  “I can handle it.”

  “And what if you can’t?” I roared. “Then whoever they are will still have her, and I still won’t know where she is or how to get to her.” I could hear the grinding of his teeth before he opened his mouth. “Fine.” He stepped forward and extended his hand out to me.

  “Wait,” Melody rushed toward us.

  “I can’t take you too. It’ll take too much out of me.” She pouted and I growled at her.

  “We don’t have time for you to behave like a child.” I said.

  She stomped her foot. “I never get to have any fun. Fine, go but,” She looked at Inarus, “you better bring her back in one piece.”

  “She is mine,” I snarled. “Not his.”

  “Then stop being such an asshat and be the man Aria needs.” She spat out. My claws pricked through the skin of my fingers.

  “I’m trying,” I ground out.

  “Try harder.” She spun and stormed away.

  “You’re not right for her,” Inarus said, clasping my forearm.

  “It’s a good thing I don’t give two shits what you or her think.”

  A crash sounded somewhere behind me but I kept pulling, desperately trying to keep my fire inside of me. Focus, Aria. You can do this. Glass shattered and people yelled. I heard my mother’s orders but the words didn’t penetrate my focus. The pain lessened by a fraction. I sucked in a lungful of air and pulled with everything I had.

  I felt a rush of energy that burned my blood. I had it. I tried not to get too excited as I pulled. Faster now, my grip firm. A pins-and-needles sensation filled every cell inside of me. I was floating through a haze of pain, but my veins were filled with power. So much raw energy that I felt as though I might explode. My fire rushed to me in a crashing wave. I soaked it in, sending it through every fiber of my being. Yes, come to me. Come back to me.

  Aiden was ashen. I had him. I sucked in a haggard breath and heard a roar that shook the walls around me. Declan. He was here. How? I pushed the thought aside. I wasn’t done yet. I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted.

  Inarus was beside me a moment later, his eyes filled with rage as the bindings at my wrists and ankles snapped open. For a moment, I didn’t move. I closed my eyes and just breathed. My skin vibrated with power that had no outlet. The pain was all but gone, but now a pressure pressed down on me mixed with a euphoria that had my blood humming.

  I couldn’t hold it all in. It wanted out. As if it had a mind of its own, it wanted to be free. But I couldn’t let it go. It was mine.

  Inarus stood over me, his hands on either side of my face.

  “Aria, are you okay?” I heard him but I couldn’t answer. I struggled inside of my own body for supremacy. I wouldn’t let it leave me. It was a part of me now. A distant voice in my head told me it was more than what had been taken—that the power didn’t belong to me—but I didn’t care. It was here now and it was mine. I wrapped invisible hands around the energy inside my veins and held on with every bit of strength I had left.

  “Aria, we’ve got to go.” I felt Inarus lift me into a sitting position. I clamped my hands on the edge of the metal table and fought for control. Aiden was still sitting, unable to move. My bones were heavy. Inarus tugged at the IVs in my arms, gently removing them from my skin. I hissed. Something caught his attention and he stared back over his shoulder. I could hear people scream. Wood split and glass shattered. I smiled.

  “Come on,” Inarus said.

  “Not yet. I’m not finished.” Blood dripped from Aiden’s nose. I reached my own hand up to my face. My fingers came away wet and red.

  “Bitch,” Aiden cursed. Inarus moved to him, his hand outstretched.

  “Not yet!” I almost had it. Just one more—

  Aiden’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. “Now,” I gasped.

  Inarus thrust his hand forward, and between one second and the next, Aiden’s still beating heart rested in his palm. He dropped it on the ground, a look of disgust on his face. He turned back to me and pulled me to my feet.

  Declan entered my field of vision. He was a blend of man and beast. White fur striped with black covered his arms and shoulders. His face was a gruesome mask with too big of teeth and crazed eyes. He was breathing hard, and his fingers curved to form claws.

  He growled at Inarus before stepping forward to sweep me into his arms. He pulled me close, breathing me in.

  “Let’s go,” Inarus said.

  “Irina.” The word sounded like an echo.

  “We don’t need her.”

  “Take her. Need her.”

  Inarus cursed. “Aria, we need to go. I can’t—”

  “Please.” I was struggling to stay conscious. My insides felt like a thunderstorm and my head was swimming. Something moved in me. My back arched in Declan’s arms. I screamed.

  My stomach lurched, and then, everything was black.

  I was aware of the voices. Someone was yelling. I struggled to open my eyes, to move, but I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t obey me. I was trapped inside myself in a battle I refused to lose. I pulled my fire around the energy inside of me, incasing it in flames. It couldn’t leave me. I
wouldn’t let it. I had to win.

  My eyes fluttered open. I felt a hum in the air around me. It vibrated in my bones. Inarus sat in a chair beside my bed. His head rested on the mattress, his body folded over. I reached out and ran fingers through his midnight-black hair. I watched as my hand gave the tendrils a gentle tug, but my hand didn’t feel like my own. I pulled back just as he jerked his head up. His eyes were wild. I stared at my skin. It glowed. What the fuck?

  “Jesus, do you have any idea what you’ve put me through?”

  I stared at him. Awareness of everything surrounding me filled my lungs until they felt as if they’d burst.

  “Where am I?” I stretched and felt a lingering pain throughout every muscle in my body. I felt the scratch of the sheet against my skin, felt the shift of my T-shirt as it brushed across my abdomen. Every nerve ending was on hyper alert.

  “We’re at the Compound.”

  I scrubbed my hands over my eyes. “Declan?” I asked.

  The door opened and Declan walked in. Inarus’ face grew angry, but he didn’t say anything, and Declan didn’t spare him a glance.

  “Leave us,” Declan said. Inarus hesitated. “You are here because I allow it. Leave this room or you will be forced from the grounds.” His voice sent a shiver up my spine.

  Inarus shoved out of his chair, quacking me a quick kiss on the top of my head before leaving the room. Declan closed the door behind him and strode towards me.

  “What happened?” I fought to recall the events leading up to my rescue. Tacos, Thorne, a needle in my neck. The bastard. Rage tore through me. The walls shook. Declan’s eyes widened. So did mine.

  I opened my mouth to speak and then clamped it shut. Had I done that?

  Declan sat on the bed beside me, his hand reaching out to take mine. His skin felt warm, his fingers rough.

  “Aria?” Concern flitted through his eyes.

  “Thorne. He—” I stared at my hands. The glow was distracting. “Where is Thorne?” I asked.