IGNITE
As told by Luke and Tristan…
By
Kaitlyn Davis
A Newsletter Subscriber Exclusive!
Copyright 2014 Kaitlyn Davis
Cover Art:
Manipulated by Kaitlyn Davis from attribution licensed flickr creative commons photos by: Andrea Rose, Look Into My Eyes and D Sharon Pruitt.
Interior Art:
Chapter symbol manipulated by Kaitlyn Davis with photoshop brush by DusterAmaranth.
The right of Kaitlyn Davis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the author, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be direct infringement of the author's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction and any resemblances between the characters and persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
All Titles by Kaitlyn Davis
Midnight Fire
Ignite
Simmer
Blaze
Scorch
Burn
Midnight Ice
Frost
Freeze – Coming July 2017!
Fracture – Coming Fall 2017!
Once Upon A Curse
Gathering Frost
Withering Rose
Chasing Midnight – Coming Soon!
A Dance of Dragons
The Shadow Soul
The Spirit Heir
The Phoenix Born
Leena’s Story: The Novellas
Table of Contents
All Titles by Kaitlyn Davis
Introduction
Tristan Scene 1
Luke Scene 1
Tristan Scene 2
Luke Scene 2
Tristan Scene 3
Luke Scene 3
Midnight Fire & Midnight Ice
About the Author
Introduction
To celebrate the end of Midnight Fire, I embarked on a month-long blog tour celebrating all four of the books in the series! And to make the tour extra special, I decided to write six guest posts telling some of my favorite scenes from Ignite from both Tristan and Luke's perspectives. Now that my tour is over, I've decided to turn them into a newsletter exclusive for my amazing fans like you :)
Each scene has a little intro to set the stage before you dive into the new material.
I hope you enjoy this exclusive look at Ignite through Luke and Tristan’s eyes!
As told by Tristan…
Scene 1
First up? The moment Kira and Tristan meet! Kira is new to school, still doesn't have very many friends, and is just waiting for class to start. Then Tristan walks in, and bang, talk about lust at first sight :) The sparks are definitely there for Kira…let's see what Tristan thought.
Tristan followed Jerome and John into the classroom.
Time to taunt the conduit, he thought with a sigh.
Another school year. Another English class. Another chance to pretend. But it was the first day of school, and after of a summer of fresh air, the claustrophobia was setting in. He missed the beach. The surf. The absence of humans. Because now all he could think of was the blood.
The smell of it was intoxicating. The excitement of his fellow students, the ignorant bliss all around was like a drug—a sweet, forbidden drug.
Tristan breathed, hating how the smell latched onto his tongue, sending a hunger down deep into his veins.
He shivered, clenching his fists involuntarily.
There was something else.
He glanced at Luke—hatred rolled from the conduit's skin, but his smell was normal. Nothing Tristan hadn't gotten used to in the past year.
No, this was something new entirely.
He looked toward his friends. Diana leaned over Luke, threatening and dominant. John and Jerome stood around her, intimidating but silent. They didn't notice anything.
Eyes landed on him, Tristan felt their slow skim of his body—someone was studying him.
He turned.
His breath stopped.
Through the hair falling over his eyes, he saw a girl. No, not just a girl. He sniffed the air. A delicate but powerful smell filled his senses, making his eyes ice over. She was a conduit. Yet somehow she smelled different—stronger, more like the sun. But her hair, he paused, it was a mess of blonde and red. Surely she couldn't be…
"Who are you?" Tristan whispered. He didn't realize it was out loud until he noticed her eyes constrict in interest.
"Kira," she replied, just as breathless.
Tristan stared. He knew he shouldn't, that his friends would notice, but he couldn't stop. There was something about her, something that latched on, something he knew he wouldn't be able to shake. At least not anytime soon.
Diana moved next to him. Her arm bumped his slightly—not an accident. Tristan shifted to the side. Jerome and John closed in.
Fear rolled off of Kira.
His muscles tensed. A surge of emotion swelled in his chest, warming his cold body. He wanted to…protect her?
"Well, what have we here?" Diana said, leaning in.
Tristan sensed her hunger.
His arm lashed out, gripping hers in a warning. No one was touching Kira, no one but him. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the knot in his chest. What was happening?
"Diana, back off." It was Luke this time, though Tristan felt the same words on the tip of his tongue.
Distantly, he heard feet thumping, running closer. Diana leaned back, letting go just as their teacher scurried into the room.
Tristan sat, determined not to look at Kira.
Not to even think about her.
Much.
As told by Luke…
Scene 1
Next up? The moment Kira meets Luke! Kira has just arrived for her first day of school when she realizes she has absolutely no idea where her classroom is. Good thing Luke is there to save her! Kira takes it as a happy coincidence, believes he's just a sweet guy who wants to help out. But it turns out there was a lot more going on, at least for Luke…
Go time, Luke thought as he walked through the front doors of the school. After almost a year of camping out, waiting, building a back-story and a group of friends, his mission was finally going to begin. He just needed to find a small, strawberry-blonde girl who looked totally lost…piece of cake.
He scanned the crowd of rushing classmates, with their shrieks of hello and dashes-turned-hugs, searching for a moment of calm.
Nope.
Nada.
Spinning in a circle, Luke stopped as his eyes caught the movement of a door.
Of course, you dolt, he thought. The front desk.
Rolling his eyes, Luke used his long legs to push through the pack, making his way closer to the principal's office.
And then he stopped short. It was her—it had to be.
Kira Dawson.
The name rolled around his thoughts—the mixed-breed. His mission.
Hopefully she didn't totally suck, he groaned as he stepped closer. They were going to spend a lot of time together—or at least he was going to spend a lot of time creepily stalking her—but a friendship would be so much easier.
And then she turned, lifting her head, scanning the walls for some clue.
Luke sucked in a breath.
She was gorgeous—in
a small, delicate, crazy-hair, crazy-eyes sort of way. But something about her hit him like a punch in the gut. Maybe it was the power brewing inside of her, the power he was supposed to watch out for, but it felt like something else.
Come on, Luke, he mentally shook himself. It almost wasn't fair that she was girl. Obi-Wan never had to deal with this crap. But Giles…Giles had to deal with Buffy, he reasoned. Then again, Giles was an old man. Maybe Trinity and Neo? But she wore a leather costume and they fell in love…so no. No. No. No. Stop thinking about leather.
Okay, Luke thought and straightened his shoulders. So not the priority right now.
Before he could think about anything else, especially about leather, he stepped behind Kira—just close enough to read the schedule she was gripping tightly between clenched fingers.
"Are you new?" He asked, letting his voice adopt a light, conversational tone. But his stomach was in knots, tightly clenched knots. He scanned the paper again. "Oh, 253C, not an easy walk from here. Come on, I'm next door to you."
He starting walking, not really waiting for her to follow. But from his peripheral, he watched, hoping she would.
Sure enough, after a moment's hesitation, she stepped in line, trying her best to keep up. Quiet little thing, he sighed. She hadn't said a word.
This wasn't starting the way Luke had hoped. He couldn't stand dull people.
"So you are new, right," he asked, trying to draw some personality out, "or have my great looks made you speechless?"
That ought to get a response…
She slowed, looking up at him with raised eyebrows. "Yeah I'm new, and what good looks? You're so tall I can't even see your face."
"Touché," he said, laughing to himself. All right, we have some feistiness. He could work with that.
Luke took a second look, noticing the fire in her eyes. Powerful. She had to be. Which meant his job wasn't nearly over.
"I'm Luke Bowrey," he said, smiling and extending his hand.
"Kira Dawson. Nice to meet you, and thanks for the help."
They shook.
Luke held on for a moment longer. "Not a problem. When I see a damsel in distress, I just can't help but act the knight in shining armor."
She grinned—a pretty grin, one that was wide, open, and honest. But he shoved that to the side. They’d be friends, and nothing more. Not when he was there to do a job.
"Here's your stop," Luke said, nodding to the door to his left. "Hope to see you later."
And then he left, hurrying into the classroom next door and slamming his back against the wall as the bell went off.
Friends, just friends. He could do it. He had to.
Luke blinked, taking in the forty eyes staring at him in confusion. The teacher stood next to the chalkboard, mouth agape and brows raised.
"My bad," Luke said with a shrug before bolting to an open seat.
Just friends.
As told by Tristan…
Scene 2
Next up? Kira learns how to surf…and all hell breaks loose! It starts out as fun in the sun learning a new sport, but when Kira sees Tristan cracking jokes at her many spills, she's determined to prove him wrong. So she paddles out to the deeper waves and gets in over her head, literally. Kira wipes out hard, and Tristan is the only one around who can save her. But will he? Turns out that for Tristan, the jokes were just a cover up—a charade. And…well, you'll see :)
She's actually pretty good, Tristan thought as he eased back on his surfboard. He was trying to ignore Kira, he really was, but she was just so damn amusing. Her defiant attitude had wiggled its way into charming him, but this was the last time.
The beach was free territory, he reminded himself, and it had been Diana's idea to come. But still…he would have showed up with or without his friends.
Tristan loosened the grip on his board. If this was the last time he would allow himself to see Kira, then he was going to get his fill. And, conveniently enough, she was paddling right this way—determinately not looking at him.
Like he’d said, adorably defiant.
A grin pulled at his lips. Even as he tried to stifle it, one corner of his mouth perked up. A set pulled closer, waves Tristan was itching to ride, but he stayed still, waiting to see what she did. And sure enough, Kira turned, angling her board. The smile tugged wider—she was going to wipe out. Tristan knew it. The wave was too big for every part of her except her ego.
Crossing his arms, Tristan watched. Kira's head perked up over the crest of the wave…and promptly disappeared into the blue water below.
Knew it, he thought, slightly smug.
But after a few seconds, Kira didn't surface.
He sat up, brows furrowing, but still he didn't see her head anywhere along the edge of the water.
Another wave crashed.
No Kira.
And another.
Not thinking, Tristan dove. Powerful strokes, enhanced with his supernatural strength, pulled him under the water. The cord strapped to his ankle broke and his surfboard was lost to the sea. But he didn't care, because drifting through the water was a thin stream of blood, blood that smelled distinctly like the sun.
No.
No.
He paddled harder, until his feet skimmed the sand. And then he saw her, floating lifeless, a hazy shadow surrounded by blue.
His arms encased her, cradling her gently as he ran toward the surf, digging his feet into the sand. They emerged faster than any human could, but he didn't care what it looked like.
Kira wasn't breathing.
Urgency pressed him on.
He tried forcing air into her lungs, tried pumping on her chest, but nothing.
"Kira, come on," he prodded. It wasn't working. Something about the air in his lungs wasn't right, wasn't human enough to make a difference.
"Kira, wake up."
Finally, in a last ditch effort, Tristan slapped her cheek, hoping to shock her senses alert.
Bingo.
Kira's eyes shot open and her chest constricted.
Tristan flipped her over, hearing the liquid slush in her lungs. He rubbed her back while she coughed, spitting up half of the ocean. But then her eyes started to slip closed again…
"Kira!" Tristan slapped her gently. Annoying her seemed to be the only way to keep her alive, and he was happy to oblige. "You have to stay awake."
One lid slid open, revealing her fiery eyes. A warmth stirred in his chest.
"Tristan?" Kira sighed, unconsciously smiling with the words. The ice in his veins melted.
Stop, Tristan mentally shook himself.
"Hello," he said, grinning despite himself.
"What happened?"
"You were being stupid."
The words rolled out before he could process them. His thoughts were spinning on overdrive, something he hadn't experienced since being a human. In an odd way, it was nice to feel out of control, to feel giddy. He tried not to laugh, tried to regain focus.
But her eyes narrowed as her memory came back.
"Only because you were being an ass," she drawled.
A laugh slipped out.
"Come on," Tristan said, stopping the banter before he forgot who he was—what he was. What she was. "Try to sit up."
He slid an arm around her back, easing her up into a seated position. Her eyes slid to his torso, his bicep, his lips.
Tristan swallowed and looked away, at the sand, the nice boring sand.
"Ow." Kira mumbled, putting a hand to her wound.
"Yeah, your board got you pretty bad," he told her, trying to help fill in the blanks.
Kira looked at him blandly, "I know." Sarcasm dripped from her words, defiant as always. Until suddenly—"Crap! I'm bleeding."
Tristan’s eyes flew to the cut on her head. He hadn't even smelled it. Odd. Unable to look away, he studied it and leaned closer. His nose pushed him forward, drawn in by the smell of her blood—it practically sang with power.
Fangs dug painfully into his lips.
He tried to force them back.
"Tristan, tell it to me straight,” Kira interrupted his dangerously wandering thoughts. “How bad is it?"
Tristan jerked, silently thankful for the distraction, and forced his eyes back to the beach, closing off his senses as much as possible.
"It's nothing. You'll be fine. Might need a few stitches." His words were short and tense as he tried to regain control. He lifted Kira easily, taking her off his lap and setting her down next to him on the sand, gaining some much needed distance.
"Thanks," she said softly, insecure. "For helping me, I mean."
Tristan met her eyes, fighting the equal amounts of hunger and passion stirring in his chest. Losing the battle, he turned and grabbed an unguarded towel. After a momentary debate, Tristan put it against her head, muffling the smell of her blood. It helped clear his thoughts.
In fact, it cleared them just enough for another smell to leak in.
A conduit smell.
A very angry conduit smell.
Tristan looked up just in time to see Luke running across the sand.
As told by Luke…
Scene 2
Next up? Kira learns how to surf…and all hell breaks loose! When Tristan saves her life by carrying her from the water, Kira is surprised—and more than a little overjoyed. But before she can even thank him, Luke interrupts, causing a scene…and maybe a fight too. She knows the two boys don't get along, but she has no idea why. And that's because, unlike you in five minutes, Kira has no idea how deep Luke's hatred runs…
Ignite as Told by Luke and Tristan Page 1
