Forged from Flame

by Kasey Mackenzie

  That did not ease the tightness in her expression or voice. “And what do you mean by that? Misled how?”

  I fielded that question, since I’d already puzzled out the answer. “He never was affected by the wildness. He’s too weak of a Dragon for that, just like he always claimed. His strength lies instead with Spirit.”

  Relief warred with anger on Bianca’s face, a battle I saw reflected in both Liam and Jake’s expressions. “I’m glad you’re alive, Colin, really I am. And also happy to hear that the wildness hasn’t rotted out your brain or forced you to form a Quatrain without me. But what I most definitely am pissed off about is how you lied to—not just misled—me the entire time we were together. How could you put me, and your family, through all that? And don’t feed me that bullshit about how your aunt’s Foretelling made you do it. You could have chosen another way!”

  “The same as you could have chosen another way to cure your infertility besides crawling back to your snake of an ex, Dorian Garcia? The same way you could have confided in me that he’d threatened to kill me if you didn’t go back to him?”

  Bianca flushed, her lips tightening because Colin had parried her painful thrust quite adeptly. Both their barbs were true, and both hit their targets as sharply as intended. Still, time was ridiculously short, I was running on little more than fumes, and our newly assigned guest bed was waiting for me to crawl into it.

  “We can engage in all the blame-assigning, along with kissing and making up, later. Just like your weak Dragon ass is going to have a heart-to-heart with your family, Colin. But I need hours of sleep more than I’ve ever needed anything, so let’s do this thing. I need to catch some Zs before I take this Hikaru’s Own entrance exam.”

  Colin and Bianca turned confused expressions my way. “Do what thing?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Jake and I exchanged eyerolls before I responded. “Let’s get you two crazy kids bonded right now before any other shit goes down. We can worry about completing your Quatrain later, but I for one will sleep much better knowing Bianca’s halfway toward protection for her and my baby siblings.”

  Colin let out an explosive breath, hands tightening upon Bianca’s as he turned a regretful expression her way. “I’m so sorry, but that’s just not going to be possible.”

  Bianca let out a choked sound halfway between a hiccup and sob. “You said you didn’t bond someone else!”

  “I didn’t! But there was a very good reason I left, without bonding you, when I did.”

  She frowned, tone leaving no doubt as to her reluctance to believe him. “And what reason is that?”

  “I am just strong enough as a Dragon to avoid the insanity that plagues pure Spirit users, but I do not have the strength to contribute to a Quatrain. If you were to bond with me, your children would certainly perish in childbirth. In fact, all four of us likely would.”

  Meaning that we were back to square one—and my siblings were in just as much danger as ever. And my continued streak of never catching a break just kept rolling on.

  Jake didn’t allow me much time to stress out over this latest impediment to my carefully-made plans. He murmured an excuse to Colin and Bianca—not that either paid us the slightest heed—and bustled me off to our tiny but adequate guestroom. Thanks to exhaustion and a full stomach, sleep claimed me moments after my head hit the pillow. Fortunately, my father was neither so rude nor so foolish as to plague my dreams.

  Inky blackness met my gaze when I blearily blinked my eyes open nearly 10 hours later. Panic threatened momentarily, but then I embraced Elemental vision and calmed down when I recognized my unadorned surroundings. One of the guestrooms at the monastery.

  Jake was nowhere to be seen, which wasn’t really a huge surprise. He had no reason to be as exhausted as me. I stretched, climbed out of bed, and put my shoes back on. I really should have asked Liam and Nic to bring a change of clothes with them. Although to be fair, we’d all been preoccupied with matters far more urgent than clean laundry. Thinking about those matters now had me pausing and letting out a deep sigh. I’d thought this trip to the heart of the Ozarks would make things simpler. Instead, they’d only complicated everything. Bianca couldn’t bond Colin. Ju Hai was part of a secret Mindbending police force. Said police force wanted to conduct God-knew-what sort of test on me to prove my worthiness.

  And what if I failed their test? Would they take me into custody? Did they have an equally secret Mindbending prison? Or would they simply execute me instead?

  That last thought had me shivering, because I knew neither Jake nor the Clan would give me up without a fight. The Freeholders would fight for me as well, but the battle would be vicious, bloody, and lead to an uncertain outcome. I wasn’t sure whether we even could fight our way out of this monastery without tremendous losses. Losses we could ill afford given the coming war with my father and brother.

  Then you simply must not fail their test.

  As if it were just that easy as deciding not to fail and then making it so. I shook my head at that fancy and then resumed my course in exiting the guestroom in search of my bondmate. He wasn’t hard to find, given that our assigned room was just down the hall from the throne room and that everyone had gathered there to wait. That included Riku, Colin, and all three of the monks we’d seen when we first entered the throne room the evening before. I was surprised to note Colin and Bianca cuddled up very cozily on one of the lounge’s sofas. Given the impossibility of their starting a Quatrain, I’d assumed they would choose to emotionally distance themselves. Apparently that assumption had been false.

  Or been run over by true love.

  I managed to fight off the threatening eyeroll that thought inspired and headed toward the table, where Jake and most of the others sat chatting about Cardinals baseball, of all things. Then again, our favorite team seemed like a pretty sure bet to head to this year’s World Series.

  Jake stood when he noticed my approach and pulled me into a quick but thorough hug. His eyes bore into mine as he searched for signs of residual exhaustion. I smiled back, not even having to fake it this time. Between last night’s (or should I say this morning’s?) generous meal and the ten hours of uninterrupted sleep, I felt better than I had in ages.

  He must have agreed, because he flashed a sudden smile and kissed me in equally quick fashion. “You look good enough to eat, Cass.”

  “Not as good as that smells,” I jerked my head toward the kitchen as the fragrance of pizza hit my nose. My stomach growled enthusiastically. I refused to be embarrassed, marching over to grab several lukewarm slices and warm them in the microwave. Moments later, I plopped down next to Jake and began to eat, grateful that the taste matched up to its delicious scent.

  Once fortified by ooey gooey cheesiness, I turned my pointed gaze onto Riku where he sat at the head of the table. “Not to rush you, but I don’t have tons of spare time just lying around. We need to get your test going so we can get back to Greener Pastures. I have a backup plan to figure out so we can keep Bianca and her children safe.” Because I was not going to let them die or be captured by Garrett to engineer a Quatrain of his choosing and create two new evil Mindbending minions. Assuming they took after him more than their mother.

  Riku nodded with a businesslike expression. “Time is short, but you should find our test beyond acceptable given those words.”

  I blinked and tilted my head. “Oh?”

  “Indeed. To prove yourself worthy of Hikaru’s Own becoming Cassidy’s Own, you must see Bianca bonded into a Quatrain. Or at least the first half of one. You may not force anyone into that bond by use of magical manipulation; including Spirit.”

  My brows furrowed. The task seemed straightforward and relatively simple, which of course meant that it would be neither. I glanced toward the lovebirds canoodling on the sofa, wondering whether Bianca would cooperate; wondering also whether Colin would interfere and how exactly this would prove my worth to Hikaru’s Own. Then again, they seemed obsessed with maintaining magical balance
even more so than the Beholden Clans.

  They also want to see how I handle something like this under pressure. Will I crack and use Spirit to force someone the way my father would? Or will I come up with a more ethical solution?

  Jake touched my hand and arched a brow, silently asking how I felt about the test. He’d been relieved to learn his brother was in no danger to falling prey to the wildness, although rebuilding any sort of relationship with his twin would take a lot of time. His concern right now was for me and my unborn siblings. He knew how much I already cared about them. Even if he hadn’t witnessed firsthand the huge threat they posed to everyone should my father gain custody of them.

  All the more reason to see them safely bonded, I thought in renewed determination. Surely I could find at least one powerful Dragon in need of a Quatrain; even on such short notice. A Dragon who would pledge himself (because Bianca was straight) to their protection and not need magical convincing to do so. A Dragon who would be willing to raise two children not his own as if they were his own. One we could trust not to run off to my father at the first opportunity.

  Nausea hit my stomach at each of those thoughts. The odds of me being able to find that unicorn of a Dragon soon enough for it to save Bianca—and even sooner enough to win Hikaru’s Own’s support now—were so slim as to make my father turning to the light side seem actually possible.

  All of the Clan’s Dragons were already bonded, too weak, or too young to fit the bill. The only unbonded Freeholder Dragon I knew of off the top of my head was Avani. And while she might have been willing to help, Bianca was most definitely straight. Although that would provide a very neat solution, given Bianca’s love for Colin…Those two could still carry on as lovers while Avani…I shook my head in disgust. No way could I ask Avani to give up the hope of a happy mated bond of her own, given that she was in no current danger from the wildness herself. Besides, the strongest Quatrains were always formed from two mating pairs, and my siblings needed a strong Quatrain for the best chance of survival.

  The only other unmated Dragon of considerable strength I could think of was…My mouth dropped open at the sheer absurdity of that thought. We wouldn’t be able to trust this Dragon at all. He’d been so long under the influence of my father that he would cave to further magical manipulation in a heartbeat.

  Unless I once again proved why my father shouldn’t underestimate me.

  My lips curved upward in a fierce smile. Jake tilted his head as he watched the gears in my brain figuratively spin. “You’ve thought of something.”

  Something he was going to hate. Hell, I wasn’t overly fond of the idea myself—it had about a hundred holes in it—but we were well past the point of being picky.

  “More like someone. I think I know who we can get to bond Bianca.”

  Jake’s gaze sharpened on my face as he caught on to the tone of my voice. “And who is the lucky candidate?”

  I forced my voice to sound steady and sure. “My mother’s former bondmate. Keith Hobart.”

  Silence reigned for several tense moments as those who knew who that was processed my shocking pronouncement, at which point all hell broke loose.

  Chapter 16

  Jake didn’t let me hear the end of it after I revealed my brilliant idea. Not the entire three hours we spent arguing that choice in the monastery lounge, the two hours spent packing everything up and eating lunch before we got back on the road, or the four-hour drive back to Greener Pastures. This time we were accompanied by Riku and Colin, who were there to judge how well I fulfilled their task. By the end of that interminable drive, I couldn’t wait for the pressure to be taken off me and onto the family drama that Colin and Riku’s both being alive was about to inspire.

  My bondmate couldn’t resist one last jab as we wound our way along the dusty gravel road just a couple miles away from the main farmhouse. “If you’re trying to kill off Bianca and your baby siblings, there are less painful ways to do it.”

  I shot him a disgusted look. “Now you’re just being a prick.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m the prick? You’re the one who wants to trust the piece of shit Dragon responsible for killing half your mother’s Quatrain, spying on you for years, and abducting my sister to lure you into your evil father’s clutches.”

  “First of all, there’s no way in hell we’re going to just trust him. I’m going to liegebond him first—which you damned well know because I’ve said it ten times now.”

  He grunted his opinion of that.

  I rolled my eyes and continued as if he hadn’t made the rude noise. “Second of all, you know that I believe my father’s been magically manipulating Keith for decades. I’m not saying he’s a complete innocent, but given what we now know about Bianca, Nic, and Dia; I think we can’t just assume Keith has been a willing participate in any of those things, either. And you better believe I’m damned well going to confirm that by Mindbending his ass.

  “Third of all, and I’m insulted you haven’t given me more credit, we only have to keep Keith alive and out of trouble long enough for my siblings to be born. After that, if we don’t trust him any more then than we do now, he becomes disposable.”

  Jake blinked rapidly as he processed my uncharacteristic ruthlessness. Keith would have to work way harder to regain my trust than Colin would have to work for Jake’s. And I would sacrifice Keith’s traitorous ass in a heartbeat.

  “Oh! Fourth of all, I’m not sure someone who lied to me about burying Keith’s body where he would eventually revive on his own should be lecturing me about anything right now.”

  Rhianne chimed in from the back seat, “Oh buuuurrrn!”

  Jake scowled over his shoulder. “You should be on my side! You’re the one Keith kidnapped.”

  She shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad as hell at him. I doubt I’ll ever trust him again. But if Cass—whose mother is permanently dead because of his actions—can push aside her own emotions to find a way to save her siblings and Bianca, I can certainly ignore mine for a while. Besides, she could be right in that Garrett manipulated him into acting like a monster. Everyone deserves a second chance. Well—except Garrett. He really is a monster.”

  Jake looked like he wanted to crank himself up again, but we rounded a bend in the road, and the farmhouse loomed just ahead. Complete with a welcoming committee waiting on the oversized wraparound porch.

  At least a quarter of the Clan’s senior members stood or sat on the wicker chairs and porch swings that such a magnificent structure demanded. Jake’s parents, grandparents, and their respective Quatrains were the first to step off the porch and wait while our small caravan parked and then made our walk of shame. Okay, I exaggerated. We had nothing to be ashamed of, seeing as how we’d successfully found the missing Colin. It certainly wasn’t our fault he couldn’t solve our little Bianca problem. And we weren’t the ones who’d been keeping vital secrets from Clanmates…

  Breena’s eyes filled with tears the moment she caught sight of her prodigal son. She dashed across the front sidewalk to throw her arms around him, shoulders shaking with visible emotion. Wen followed closely behind, settling for patting his son on the back rather than disrupting his wife’s touching embrace. Too bad we’d have to rain on this reunion by revealing a few hard truths. That process was actually started by Wen after he glanced over to the rest of us now ranging to each side of the walkway. His eyes widened when they stopped on Riku, and his mouth actually dropped open, skin growing paler as he saw another ghost returned to life.

  “Riku! But we all thought you died with Hikaru.”

  I folded my arms across my chest and took the bullet of opening the giant can of worms. “To be strictly accurate, all of you except one thought he died with Hikaru.”

  Ju Hai, no coward, stepped a little forward of the others and inclined her head. Her serene gaze met mine, and she nodded again. Telling me to rip off the other Band-Aid.

  “She also knew that Colin never actually killed himself.
He faked his death—just like his Uncle Riku—to join a super-secret Elemental police force called Hikaru’s Own.”

  Breena’s arms fell away from Colin, and she turned to stare at her bondsibling. “Is that true, Ju Hai? You knew Colin was alive this whole time?”

  Ju Hai’s expression grew even more somber. “I’m sorry to say that it is.”

  Breena’s eyes flashed from overjoyed at her son’s arrival to furious in an instant. “How could you watch us mourn his death all these years and say nothing? You just let us suffer when you could have told us the truth at any time.” Her jaw clenched as another realization struck, and she whirled back to her son. “And you! You faked your death and let us suffer over your loss for years to join a…police force? What does that even mean? Hikaru’s Own was never a police force!”

  I took the proverbial bullet again. “Apparently Ju Hai and Riku changed its focus from a militia in times of need to an ongoing police force once they took it over.”

  The Clan Firsts arrayed themselves to each side of Breena, the mute pair neatly separating her from Ju Hai while the other two said something I couldn’t hear to Riku and Colin. Chin had once hinted to me that Yukari had been the Elemental responsible for permanently silencing the two bondmates. Someday I hoped she’d trust me with the entire story, but I didn’t want to overstep our relationship boundaries, especially considering that any such story would be undoubtedly traumatic for her to relate.

  Riku and Colin blushed and stared at their feet after Li Ming and Jin spoke. Apparently, years (or centuries, in Riku’s case) hadn’t dulled the Firsts’ abilities to chastise either man.

  I raised a hand and broke into the sudden conversational lull. “I know that this is a complex and important Clan matter requiring much discussion, but unfortunately we are as usual facing a crisis and time crunch.”