But not everyone agreed, Lana thought, looking around at the homes they were driving past. Half were empty, their patrons gathered at the town square to celebrate what had been a victorious battle and now a victorious new future for conduits to step into. But half were full of curious eyes staring out the window and of children locked tightly in their rooms. Half were resistant and doubtful, stuck in their ways.
Lana reached her heavy arm out, pressing the window down, still marveling that the push of a button was all it took—quick and easy. In a world of so much technology, it seemed only right for her people to finally start advancing too.
She waved hello to all of the families still huddled inside their homes, trying to let them know that there was nothing to fear.
Before long, a sea of blond heads came into view, her people—a good portion of them—gathered in the town square, waiting for their guests.
The driver pulled over and opened her door, giving Lana a helping hand as she stepped free of the car. She motioned for him to open the door of the other car as well. Pavia stepped out first, to the gasp of the entire village, but she seemed unaffected and strode toward Lana.
Such gusto, Lana smiled, this vampire almost reminded her of Kira, the confidence and strength.
Her smile wavered, cracked. She took a deep breath and began shuffling her tired feet toward the dais, toward the comforting presence of her husband. Based on the stares of the conduits she ambled past, the vampires were following.
Just short of the steps, Lana stopped, signaling her guests to continue. The council platform was not her place. Her place was the empty chair a few steps away, the one she had been sitting in for half of her life while she watched her husband work. So she sat, and tuned out the speech she had all but memorized the evening before. Instead, she let the baritone voice she loved relax her as she looked around at her people.
Some were afraid. Some were hopeful. Some wary. Some excited.
Her gaze moved farther up, toward the seven men in their fanciest suits sitting mightily on their thrones—a sign of strength for the new, potentially rough road ahead. In the middle, her husband, fanned by some of their closest friends. But those weren't the faces Lana was searching for.
To the left of her council, still sitting but on smaller chairs, were eight redhaired men. Seven made up the Punisher Council and the last was Noah, the man who had come to testify against Kira, who had argued to end her life. His face was composed, hard to read, but she wondered what he was thinking now.
Lana's gaze shifted to the right, and her heart slipped a little, sagged even more than the normally heavy heart of someone who had lived so long, endured too much. Luke was standing beside the thrones, alone, hands clenched behind his back. His face was impassive, too melancholic for such a young, healthy, vibrant man. His eyes were red, puffy from long days spent in a similar fashion to Lana's—crying.
Blinking away new tears, Lana focused on her husband again. His speech was coming to a close.
"…this great new day. And so, we venture forward together—once enemies and now allies, trying to find the solution my granddaughter sought to provide. Pavia," he said, gesturing to the vampire, and she stepped forward, "has been brave enough to volunteer, to entrust her life to Luke and Noah as they try to restore her humanity according to the method Kira described before." He paused, his shoulders hunched an inch. "Before the hard won battle a few days ago."
Lana, like the rest of the town, turned her attention to Pavia. Her skin was pale, pearly in the sunlight, and her eyes glowed a stark blue that jumped from her face. Her smile was easy, but Lana saw the catch in her throat, the tense rigidity in her body. And it humanized the vampire. She was nervous, as anyone would be to experiment with his or her life, even a life that had been lived far longer than nature intended.
Pavia continued to step forward. The town remained so quiet that even Lana's old ears heard the click of shoes on wood. The vampire paused, and then let her body sink into the lounge chair waiting in the center of the platform.
Luke walked forward first, leaning down to say something to the girl, something that made her stiff body relax. She moved fast, so that her hand was just a blur, but Lana knew what occurred. The vampire had reached out to squeeze Luke's hand, to return the comforting favor.
Noah joined the two, completing the trio, and the entire town breathed in.
Flames erupted on Luke's palms.
His hand shifted forward, closing in on the vampire's skin.
Pavia flinched.
"Stop!"
And everyone obeyed.
Like statues, no one moved. And then, shocked, the sea of blond shifted together, focusing all of their attentions on the source of that command.
Lana's breath caught.
Standing there at the top of the square was the exact replica of her daughter, of her baby girl Lana, almost at the same age as the last time she had seen her. Stick-straight blond hair, tanned skin, green flaming eyes, tall and proud stance.
But it wasn't Lana. It was not a ghost come back to haunt, it was Kira. A one hundred percent Protector Kira.
A grin spread across Lana's face, shifting wrinkles, bringing youth back to her features.
Kira was alive.
Her granddaughter was alive.
"Really? You guys started without me? One little coma," Kira paused, cocking her hip to the side. "Well, I guess that was technically my second coma, but come on, it's only been a few days. Way quicker than last time."
Still the image of her mother to Lana, Kira strode forward, all attitude. "You're acting like I'm dead. No faith." She shook her head, and then stopped, a smile breaking through the chiding façade.
And Lana knew why as feet thudded loudly down the steps behind her and a body flew into her vision.
Before Kira could say another word, Luke was there, lifting her up, spinning her around, kissing her. Their reunion was full of so much joy, so much happiness that it brightened the world around them, cascaded around the square like a surge of power. Laughter rained down on the crowd, infectious, bringing smiles to the faces of every conduit there.
Lana looked away, letting the couple share a few moments without scrutiny. Her eyes searched for those of her husband, and found them alight, proud. His eyes shifted, met Lana's, and in that second, it was like their entire lives flashed between them, and they knew that somehow, it was all meant to be. Everything their family had endured, it was all meant to be.
Hands clutched fiercely together, Kira and Luke walked back into view, moving as one toward the platform.
Pavia was out of her chair, waiting for them, arms crossed.
"Cutting it a little close, don't you think?"
"What, you didn’t trust me?" Luke teased and Pavia just raised her eyebrow.
"With good reason," Kira drawled, elbowing him playfully in the ribs. He just hugged her close, kissing the top of her head. Kira protested, but Lana knew her granddaughter, and there was no real fight in her body as she leaned into that kiss.
Behind them, her husband coughed, urging the children to move a little quicker, and Lana laughed quietly to herself—so much personality for one little wooden stage to contain.
Pavia returned to her seat, sitting a little taller this time, with a little more confidence. Luke moved to stand next to Noah.
Kira shifted her gaze and Lana followed it to Tristan. He was watching her politely and inclined his head in hello. Kira lifted one corner of her lip, sad but happy at the same time, and greeted him the same way. Then Tristan's eyes shifted, returning to Pavia, and Kira nodded to herself, satisfied, before walking over next to Luke.
"Ready?" she asked Pavia. The vampire nodded.
Luke brought a flame to his palm, the fire caught Lana's eyes, but Kira pushed his hand to the side. His brows furrowed.
"I can do this," Kira said, just loud enough for Lana to hear, but the words filled her with a sense of peace. Her granddaughter was an incredibly strong woman.
And the fire grew, expanding to encase the vampire's entire body, burning into cool flesh. Pavia didn’t flinch. That was how confident she was.
Kira nodded to Noah.
He brought a Punisher flame to his palm—it was darker, different, and completely foreign to Lana. But not to Kira.
Together they worked—two powers and two people.
At first, Pavia's flesh began to burn, but after a while, the crusted skin flaked off to reveal smooth, pink, human flesh.
But Lana had stopped watching the vampire and had shifted her attention to her granddaughter instead. A grin spread from ear to ear, brighter than the flames shooting from Kira's palms. Her eyes sparkled as they looked out at the crowd, at Tristan, and finally at Luke.
And one thought entered Lana's mind—she wished her daughter was there to see it, was alive to see what she had created, because Kira was perfect.
She had saved the world.
She had saved her people.
But most of all, she had proved exactly what Lana's daughter had been begging her mother to understand all along—that love would prevail.
Love of a world, of a people, of a vampire, and of a boy.
In the end, it was love and not fire that saved them.
###
Burn
A Midnight Fire Novella
By
Kaitlyn Davis
Description
Five years after the publication of Ignite (Midnight Fire Book 1), Kira, Luke and Tristan are back with a brand new adventure in this anniversary novella!
"Kira bit her bottom lip, glancing sideways at Luke...Were they prepared to make a deal with the devil?"
After saving the world from sure annihilation, life can seem a little, well, boring. Kira and Luke are in love and restoring human souls, while Tristan and Pavia are dating and helping to reintegrate those cured vamps back into society. No one is trying to kill any of them...at least, not yet. But when the opportunity to go on a high stakes, life threatening, totally dangerous mission comes up, obviously they're in. And this trip to New York? It just might be their undoing.
And after the novella, don't miss the free preview of Frost (Midnight Ice Book One), a new Midnight Fire spin-off series! You'll enjoy special appearances from Kira, Luke and Tristan while falling in love with the new characters and new adventure of Midnight Ice.
Chapter One
"Not to sound like a five-year-old, but are we there yet?" Luke whined, feet bouncing against the carpeted floor of the plane, fidgeting with nervous energy.
"You? Sound like a five-year-old?" Kira murmured, rolling her eyes. Never, she added silently, smiling to herself as she watched his blond hair fall over his forehead with his impatience. But deep down, she knew that his boyish charm was one of the many reasons why she loved him, why she would always love him.
"Not to add to the complaining, but can I second Luke?" Tristan commented, voice tight, earning Kira's attention. It took all of her mental control not to roll her eyes a second time when she spotted his palms gripping the front of his seat, fingers paler than she'd ever seen them since he'd regained his humanity. But really, it was absurd. Put him in a room with a three-hundred-year-old vampire freaking out about turning into a human, and what does he do? Slap the guy in the face, dodge the snapping fangs, and ignore the fact that he could be crushed by one good blow to the head. But tell him to fly on an airplane? Total panic attack.
Kira laughed silently to herself. You can take the man out of the vampire, but you can't take the vampire out of the man. Or, well…something like that.
But her thought was interrupted by Tristan's loud gulp. "Cars, I've adjusted to. But I'm not sure I'll ever get used to flying."
"Oh, come on, it's fun!" Pavia interjected, eyes wide as she stared out the window, smiling. She may be a human again, but she'd never stopped thriving on a little bit of danger, and she'd never lost her edge either.
Before Kira could reminisce, the plane dipped, dropping enough that her butt lifted off the cushioned leather seat. Even her stomach jumped into her throat a little bit.
"Oh, god," Tristan muttered. "I might be sick."
Pavia's only response was a shriek of delight, which was interrupted by the pilot making an announcement through the loudspeaker.
"Sorry about that, folks. Just a bit of wind, nothing to worry about. If you look out the right window, you'll get a great view of the skyline as we make our descent into Teterboro Airport."
Immediately, Kira's eyes flew to the window.
I'm back, she thought as she drank in the view. Skyscrapers stretched like fingers reaching up to welcome her return to a city she hadn't seen in five years, a city that had once been her home.
New York.
The Big Apple.
Just across the Hudson, gleaming like silver in the sunlight, the city looked like a beacon shining bright, guiding Kira back to a time that seemed like forever ago. A time before vampires and conduits. Before Punishers and Protectors. Before Luke and Tristan and Pavia. Back when she was just a girl, dreaming of becoming a chef, making her way on her own for the first time at a boarding school that was hundreds of miles away from home. Never in a million years did she think she'd be flying back here on a private jet, working on a secret government job with a conduit who had become the love of her life and two vampires she'd brought back from the dead.
A lot could change in five years.
A lot.
She sighed.
And Luke, always aware of her thoughts before she was, reached over to grab her hand, gaze growing concerned as he took in the slight frown surfacing across her lips. Kira smiled and shook her head. She wasn't upset, just nostalgic for a time in her life that had been so much simpler. But she wouldn't change anything about her past because it had led her to this amazing future.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
He held on, letting the warmth of the fire always simmering beneath his skin sink into her, calming her the way it always did. Then he asked, "It's been almost five years, right?"
"Since we met?" she asked.
Luke grinned. "No, since I swept you off your feet."
Kira stared at him pointedly. "I think you might be rewriting history a little bit."
"Nah," he said casually, shrugging. "It was all part of the plan."
Kira pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to fight the urge to fire back, but she couldn’t. He'd given her too good of an opening. "All part of the plan?" she commented doubtfully before offering him her own wicked smile. "So it was part of your plan for me to fall in love with your mortal enemy, unleash my powers for the first time in the school auditorium, start an all-out battle with a vengeful vampire chick, follow her to Baltimore, meet an even more terrifying vampire jerk, lie to you, follow him to England, and almost turn into an original vampire?"
"It worked, didn't it?" He smirked.
She snorted. "Next time, can you make a plan with fewer near-death experiences?"
"Things did get a little out of hand…" He frowned, trailing off.
But Kira held Luke's gaze, not looking away until his fire-flecked green eyes held all the heat she felt for him in her own heart. Whatever the plan, it was perfect, because Luke was right. He got her. And more importantly, she got him.
"Hey, lovebirds," Pavia drawled from across the narrow aisle of the private jet. Kira turned, not letting go of Luke's hand and also noting that despite the sarcastic tone Pavia had used, Tristan's fingers were wrapped firmly around her fingers too. Luke and I aren’t the only ones, Kira thought. But then Pavia continued, "Do we have a plan for after we land?"
She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn't help it.
<
br /> Kira cracked.
And the laughter only poured out louder when she heard Luke do the same thing a moment later.
"What?" Pavia asked. "Is it something I said?"
"No," Kira sputtered, trying to catch her breath.
"Plan!" Luke gasped.
"You two are so strange," Tristan added softly.
Kira paused long enough to blurt out, "We've been best friends with you for four years, and you only just realized that now?"
Tristan didn’t say anything, but he grinned that lopsided grin Kira used to love so much, the one that brought out a single dimple on his cheek, the one that even now still tugged at her heartstrings a little bit.
"So, the plan?" Pavia asked again slowly.
"Well," Luke started.
But Kira cut him off. "Luke's not allowed to make the plans anymore."
"Has Luke ever made the plans?" Pavia asked.
Kira grinned. "Good point."
"I resent that."
"The truth hurts," Pavia countered.
This could go on all day. Kira sighed. Time to get down to business. This was a working trip after all, at least for Luke and her. Pavia and Tristan just jumped on the opportunity to travel.
"The plan is for Luke and me to meet with the head vamp of New York and to see why he requested conduit aid. You and Tristan need to stay far away. Go sightseeing. Go to the museum. Go see a show. Just leave the bloodsuckers to us."
Pavia swallowed, uncertain.
But Tristan leaned forward, finally forgetting his fear of flying now that his protective instincts were kicking in. Those brown eyes grew intense and concerned, zeroing in on Kira. "Does this have anything to do with us? Because if it does, we want to be there to help."
The Complete Midnight Fire Series Page 79
