Burned by Fire (Blood & Magic Book 3)

by Danielle Annett

  “Gone. Two of him men distracted Eva and the others long enough for Thorne and Joelle to disappear somewhere. When Eva realized they were missing, the group separated to find him. They assumed he was lost. The men disappeared shortly after.”

  “He delivered me to them,” I said. If I could have kicked myself, I would have. I couldn’t believe I’d been so stupid. I waited for Declan to say something along the lines of ‘I told you so,’ but he didn’t. Instead, he shifted closer and pulled me into his arms.

  “Don’t ever do that to me again. I can’t take it. You can’t keep getting hurt.”

  “I don’t do it on purpose,” I muttered. Declan sighed.

  “You’re trouble.”

  “Seems to be my middle name.”

  “Are you okay?”

  I didn’t know. I didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel like me. Something was swirling in my skin that I couldn’t name. It mixed with my fire and made my skin vibrate with a power that scared me. I licked my lips.

  “Irina?” I asked.

  “She’s in a rogue cage,” he said.

  “I need to see her.”

  “You need to rest.”

  I shook my head. “I can rest after. Right now, I need to see her.”

  Declan wasn’t happy about my being out of bed, but he shut up and led me down one level to the basement and into a room that was brightly lit and almost entirely bare. The walls and floor were roughened concrete. There were no windows, and steel bars coated in a thin layer of silver flecks separated me from the furious vampire in front of me.

  Irina paced the length of the rogue cage, her red hair wild and her eyes bloodshot. She looked half mad and completely starved. Her body had sunken in on itself, her cheeks hollow and her shoulder blade sharp.

  “Let me out of here,” she hissed. The Pack guards assigned to watch her ignored her. “I will kill you all and suck the blood from your flesh until there is nothing left but a husk.”

  “You’ll catch more bees with honey,” I said, stepping into the room.

  “You!” She lunged at the bars like a crazed animal.

  “Then again, it looks like your honesty reserves are low.”

  She threw herself at the bars in a frenzy to get to me. I pitied her. She’d been the Coven’s second, next to Rebecka. She’d had power and station, and now she was a rabid animal that needed to be put down.

  I didn’t know why my mother hadn’t killed her already. I’d heard her say that she’d intended to when I was last inside the HAC walls, but here Irina was. I hated her.

  She’d killed an innocent boy, and no amount of pity would make me spare her life.

  “Can I borrow your phone?” I asked Declan. He handed it to me and I dialed the Coven’s number by memory.

  “Hello,” a cultured male voice said.

  “Put Rebecka on.”

  Irina froze.

  “She’s—”

  “Put her on now.” Something in my voice must have gotten through to the vamp on the other end, because without another word, I was put on a brief hold before Rebecka’s voice greeted me.

  “Miss Naveed. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I have Irina,” I said. The line was silent. Declan raised a brow in question. I shook my head.

  “Do you intend to return her to me?”

  “No. I’m giving you the courtesy of knowing that I’m going to kill her. You can call off your search. Your second will be dead shortly.”

  She hissed into the receiver. “You have no right.”

  “I have every right. She murdered a child, a member of the Pack. Do you consent to her death at the hands of the Pack, or do you take responsibility for her actions, and the consequences will befall you and yours?”

  Silence.

  “I stand beside Declan Valkenaar. Give me your answer now, or I will decide for you.”

  “You can’t,” Irina snarled. Her fangs had lengthened, and her eyes were filled with hatred. Right back at you, sister.

  “Her death will atone for the death of the child?”

  Declan’s expression was an unreadable mask. “It will.” The Coven and the Pack couldn’t afford to war with one another, especially not with my mother around to stomp on whoever remained standing.

  “Her life is yours.” The line went dead. A sadistic part of me was glad that vampire hearing made is possible for Irina to hear the conversation. For her to realize that it was because of her actions that her Coven was abandoning her to her fate.

  “No!” Irina screamed.

  Before I could register what I was doing, I reached out towards her and jerked my hand back. Her undead heart rested in the palm of my hand. I stared at it before looking to her. Irina’s body swayed before toppling over.

  I hadn’t even touched her. My eyes widened. What had I done? I stared at the heart in my hand before prying my fingers open and dropping it on the hard stone floor. I stumbled back.

  “Aria?” Declan sounded…I couldn’t describe it.

  “I—I—” The door opened.

  “Find the psyker,” Declan ordered. The door closed with a snick, but the sound roared in my ears.

  I hugged myself and ignored the blood on my skin. Declan stepped closer but didn’t touch me.

  “She can’t hurt him anymore,” I whispered.

  “I know. She won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

  I nodded. She couldn’t, not anymore. But what had I become? What if I hurt people? Marcella’s words crashed through me. Too much power. I would die. Thousands would fall with me.

  God save me.

  Danielle Annett is a reader, writer, photographer, and the blogger behind Coffee and Characters. Born in the SF Bay area, she now resides in Spokane, WA, the primary location for her Blood & Magic series.

  Addicted to coffee at an early age, she spends her restless nights putting pen to paper as she tries to get all of the stories out of her head before the dogs wake up the rest of the house and vie for her attention.

  You can learn more about Danielle on her website or follow her on Facebook and on Twitter.

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  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so very much for reading Burned by Fire! I hope you enjoyed seeing where life has taken Aria. She holds a very special place in my heart.

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  —Danielle Annett