Amelis blinked with surprise. The photo was gone.
With a scowl, she rifled through the socks and underwear. Then she shoved the drawer closed and proceeded to go through the rest of the drawers. There was no sign of it anywhere.
It was here, I didn’t imagine it.
She turned and gazed around the room. Her eyes fell on the small night table beside the massive bed and she quickly hurried over to it. Other than a lamp, there was nothing on the table. She pulled the drawer open and sucked in a breath.
Amelis reached in and pulled out the well-worn photo. She studied the three children. They were beautiful, all smiling and happy. Then she looked at the woman. A frown creased her brow. Once again, she got the feeling that the woman was familiar, but couldn’t place her. Surely she’d have remembered if they’d ever met, wouldn’t she? Jealousy pumped through her veins as she wondered who she was and what she meant to Seville. It was obvious he cared about her. But she’d never heard of him with anyone in all these years.
Chapter Seven
Decisions
SAMI SAT WITH HELLFIRE ALL NIGHT watching her breathe. Her hand stayed on his arm until she shifted and it slipped away in the early morning. The loss left an ache in his chest, though he was relieved to see her breathing easier. By morning, she’d regained a bit of color in her cheeks as well.
“Sami?” Hellfire mumbled when she finally opened her eyes the next morning. She glanced at him before looking around the room with a frown. “Where …? Why am I, what happened?” She scowled.
“You almost died. Your wound was infected,” Sami said tersely as he grabbed a bottle of water off the night table and opened it. “Here, have a drink.” He held it up to her.
Hellfire stared at him for a moment before taking the bottle and drinking the whole thing in one swallow. “I don’t understand.”
Sami sighed. “You passed out, I guess. Fell down the stairs.”
Shocked, Hellfire threw back the covers and started to move. She stopped, grimacing in pain and then tried to inspect her wound.
Although greatly relieved that Hellfire had survived the night, Sami now had other things to attend, or rather, other people. Namely Goldy, who he had ignored, along with his new-found sister Dimitina.
“Guess I ruined your night with the amazon, huh?” Hellfire said with a bite to her tone that filled him with anger.
Sami clenched his jaw and ignoring her jab, stood up and pushed his computer chair back over to his wall of computers.
“I’ll go get Sasha, she’s the healer who saved your life,” he said, not looking at her.
“I’m fine,” Hellfire swung her legs over the edge of the bed, but then winced and hissed.
Sami finally looked at her. “You should wait until Sasha says whether it’s okay to get up. You were pretty sick.”
“I’ll be fine,” she repeated, not looking at him.
Stubborn. With a sigh, Sami turned away. “You almost died.”
He made it to the door before she stopped him. “Sami, I know neither of us are happy to see the other, but, I need you to get me to Tartaria. Nix is there.”
Sami held up a hand, stopping her. Then, without looking back, he said, “Brimstone is here. He told me,” he said and walked out of the room.
He hadn’t been back to Tartaria since the day he left and didn’t plan to go back now. He had too much here. Besides Goldy and his sister, the Were-wolves were coming after his friends. Now was not the time for him to just up and leave.
Sami stopped in to check on his fifteen-year-old sister. At least Dimitina looked fifteen. After finding her just days ago, they really weren’t sure about too much of anything with her. She refused to say much of anything either. Already up and dressed, Dimitina sat in a chair staring outside with her strange turquoise eyes.
“Good morning,” Not wanting to intimidate her with his size, Sami crouched down near her, but she didn’t seem to notice. “How are you feeling?” Again, no response but Sami waited. She just continued to stare outside. “Will you come eat some breakfast?” Nothing. With a sigh, he stood up. I’ll have someone bring her some food.
With a heavy heart, Sami headed down to the great room to find Kyrian waiting.
“Sasha upstairs with Hellfire?” Sami asked the leader of the Okami wolves.
“Good morning, Sami. Yes, she is,” Kyrian said and the look he shot Sami was full of understanding.
Sami ignored it, hoping that Sasha would tell Hellfire she was good to go, because the sooner she was out of his home, the better.
“It will all work out,” Kyrian said.
“What will?” Sami asked, not altogether sure what Kyrian was talking about.
Just then, Tierney stepped into the great room from the kitchen. “Hey Kyrian. Sami, how’s Hellfire?”
Sami shrugged, not really wanting to talk about Hellfire. “She’s alive.”
Tierney sighed. “I really am sorry I didn’t tell you about them coming by the other night,” she said, glancing at Kyrian.
Sami frowned as they exchanged looks. What else is going on?
Then Tierney turned back to him. “What?”
Sami shook his head, thinking he must be imagining things. “It’s okay, I get why you did it,” he said, trying not to think about what Hellfire was wanting from him.
“What about Dimitina?” Tierney asked.
Sami shrugged. “Still not speaking, I’m not even sure she’s aware of what is going on.”
“I noticed,” Tierney said.
“You stopped in to see her?” Sami asked.
Tierney nodded and bit her lip. “Yeah.”
Dimitina was just another reason why he couldn’t just leave on a whim, no matter if he even wanted to go help Hellfire and Brimstone find their sister.
“I’ll take good care of her,” Tierney offered.
Sami glowered at her. Even if he left his sister, he couldn’t leave Goldy.
He’d gone to see Goldy first thing, but she was in the shower. Now, he was waiting, on pins and needles, to talk to her. To apologize for ignoring her. He had to make things right. Hellfire showing up and almost dying last night had really thrown him for a loop. He just hoped Goldy didn’t hold it against him. He felt horrible for shutting her out and staying with Hellfire all night. Goldy had to be wondering what all this meant for her and he was determined that nothing change.
“So, there is breakfast in the kitchen for anyone who is hungry,” Tierney said.
Sami nodded, he wasn’t about to go eat until he’d talked with Goldy. With a shrug, Tierney glanced at Kyrian. “The offer includes you as well.”
“Thank you, but I’m not hungry,” Kyrian said, glancing towards the stairs as he waited on Sasha.
Tierney shrugged. “Okay then. How is Soroyan doing with Marcius?” she asked Kyrian instead and Sami caught her guarded glance at the kitchen.
Ah, Jax must be making breakfast.
Then her words registered. Marcius. Shit. Sami had forgotten about that slimy bastard. Yesterday, when his father had attacked, Sami had forgone his revenge in order to rescue Goldy. He had left Marcius to Soroyan, the Okami shifter wolf who was also Kyrian’s enforcer. Before Soroyan could kill him, Sami had instructed him to find out what Marcius knew about Sami’s newly discovered half-brother, along with the missing Okami wolf—Kyrian’s son.
Sudden anger lit Kyrian’s eyes momentarily before he shrugged. “I don’t know.”
At Tierney’s raised eyebrow, Kyrian let out a long breath. “It is taking all my will to resist going up there to get the information myself, but I know Soroyan will do a much more efficient job of extracting anything Marcius might have.”
“Has he given you anything yet?” Sami asked him. He understood Kyrian’s drive, as the itch to go up and put his fist through his father was very hard to resist.
Kyrian shook his head. “Soroyan doesn’t like to be disturbed when he’s working. Since I haven’t heard from him, I assume he hasn’t gotten anyth
ing yet. But like I said, he is very good at his job, I expect he will have something soon.”
Tierney nodded and Sami glanced at her. “I’m surprised Jax hasn’t gone up and taken care of the bastard yet.” The gods knew if anyone deserved payback, it was his brother.
Tierney cast a sidelong glance towards the kitchen confirming his suspicions. “It’s not for lack of want. It’s all I can do to keep him down here.” She licked her lips. “I know you both want him dead for what he’s done to you, I do too. But I worry what it will cost Jax if he ends up going up there.”
Sami understood. For so long, all he wanted was to see his father dead. But when the Daywalkers and Marcius came for Goldy again, he’d realized that she was more important than his revenge. It hadn’t been easy but since letting it go, he’d actually felt much better. Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Suddenly everyone else in the place began to show up. First, it was Genna, supporting her injured young human friend, Caden, as they walked in from the hallway.
“I smell food,” Genna said, sniffing the air. “Oh good, pig,” she said, referring to the scent of bacon, while Caden rolled his eyes at her.
They made an interesting pair. No one was quite sure if the two were just friends, or lovers. Although Caden was a good foot taller than Genna, they were both pale skinned. But where Caden had brown hair and eyes, Genna was a female replica of Sami’s brother Jax. Although her blueish-black hair was a wild untamed mess, whereas Jax kept his trimmed really short.
Genna supported Caden as if he was a light little puppy. Yeah, Genna had a lot of hidden talents that they were just starting to learn about.
A sense of awareness came over him and Sami’s gaze shot to the second floor. His heart began to pound as Hellfire slowly made her way down the stairs with Sasha by her side. She tried to act like she was okay, but he could see how gingerly she was moving. Brimstone followed close behind, concern etched on his face.
“Hey, anyone hungry?” Jax asked from the kitchen doorway.
Thaniel stood behind him, staring at everyone through his long whitish-blond hair. As everyone began to talk, Sami caught sight of Goldy as she silently slipped out onto the balcony through the French doors.
“Sami?” Brimstone and Hellfire stopped in front of him, but Sami shook his head.
He knew what they wanted to talk about but he needed to speak with Goldy first. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He slipped past everyone and made his way to the French doors.
Goldy was staring out over the railing at the lake.
Taking a deep breath, Sami pushed the door open and stepped outside. “Hi.”
“Hi Sami, how are you doing?” she asked, a tight smile on her lips.
“I’m okay. You?”
Goldy shrugged and turned away to stare out over the countryside. Sami followed her gaze. They had such an amazing view that he and Tierney often drank their first cup of coffee and watched the sunrise together.
“Can I get you something, a coffee maybe?” he asked.
Goldy smiled, rubbing her belly, and glanced at him. “Not until we get some decaf.”
Sami gulped. Right… “Ah yeah, okay. Not good for the baby.”
“Well, I don’t know. We are immortal and as Genna, my sister-cousin says, made of magic. Caffeine likely wouldn’t hurt our child, but I don’t want to take any chances,” Goldy said.
Sami snorted. “I thought she was just calling you sister now?” he said, referring to Genna, the other Genesis Dracones living with them.
Goldy chuckled. “It changes with her. I don’t think she knows what to call me.”
“She’s definitely an odd one.” Sami smirked.
“She is, but I’m getting used to her,” Goldy said and smiled, then she ran the back of her hand over Sami’s cheek. “So, when do you leave?”
“Leave?” Panic began to rise. If he were honest with himself, part of him did want to go, but the other part screamed that he needed to stay here with Goldy. It was safe here. Goldy wouldn’t hurt him.
“Yes, leave. You need to go, to help them get their sister back,” Goldy said and the understanding in her eyes made Sami want to cry. She was so good, so kind. Too good for the likes of him. She had shown him that he wasn’t worthless. Hellfire had done such a number on him. Gods, he was so confused.
“But—” He started to protest. This was a bad idea.
“No Sami. I know she’s the one who hurt you, and while I have no idea why she’d do that—she needs your help. It’s not like they can just hire a tour guide.”
Sami started to shake his head but Goldy held up her hand, stopping him. Her eyes held so much understanding it only added to the guilt. “It is also pretty damn obvious how you feel about her,” she added.
Sami swallowed hard, not sure what to say. “Goldy, the baby—”
“No Sami, you need to listen.” Goldy looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “The baby will be fine. He or she, will have us both as parents, whether we are together or not.” He started to say something but Goldy put her finger to his lips. “Shh, Sami. I like you. A lot. But you need to go. I release you. You don’t owe me anything. In fact, you’ve saved my life twice, no, three times now.”
“So? You saved mine too—”
She cut him off. “Sami. We had a great time and if things were different, maybe we’d have a chance. I think we could be great together.”
“I do too—”
“Sami.” Goldy smiled her wonderful smile at him and even with the tinge of pain in her eyes, he suddenly felt lighter, like things were going to be okay. “You need to see where things can go with Hellfire before we can even think of moving forward together. And, if things go well with her, then I will be fine. I will be happy for you,” she said, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him.
Suddenly, whatever affect she had on him died and his heart felt like a lead weight was resting on it. He started to object. He didn’t want to leave her, even if he did feel the pull to go and help Hellfire, and her brother. “Goldy—”
Goldy pulled him into her arms and hugged him. “Shh, I know you don’t want to be hurt again, but you need to give her a chance and if it doesn’t work, I will be here. I promise. I’m not going anywhere,” she said, pulling back and staring into his eyes.
Sami swallowed and nodded, knowing that no matter how he felt about Hellfire, he’d miss Goldy. She brightened up his day.
“Okay,” he finally agreed. He’d go. He’d help them find their sister. It shouldn’t take too long to find the youngest Phoenix. They’d fly to Ireland, get through the portal, find Hinah who Nix was supposedly with, and bring her back home.
Then he’d come back to Goldy. No matter what she said, he’d never let Hellfire back into his heart. Suddenly, a shiver ran through him and he had a feeling things weren’t going to be quite so easy.
Besides getting rid of the pain and guilt he’d held onto since he was a small child, Sami had yearned for a soul mate. Watching Tierney and Jax was often painful, knowing they had each other when he didn’t have anyone. Then, he’d found out Hellfire was alive. He’d thought he found his happily ever after, but she had decided differently. She didn’t want him.
He’d thought he was done and tried to convince himself that he didn’t need anyone. But when he’d rescued Goldy, his heart had lightened, and while she wasn’t his soul mate, she did make him happy … well, sort of. As happy as he could probably ever be.
Chapter Eight
Strange Goodbyes
SAMI STARED AT HELLFIRE and wished he were anywhere but here. She stood pale and shaky twenty-feet away, and yet it seemed more like a million miles. The attraction he’d come to detest, made him ache to feel her in his arms, to insist she sit and rest, even though he knew full well that she would be insulted by such a request. Then there was the fact that his dragon was also roaring inside of him, wanting him to peel her clothes from her and pull her slender, lithe body up agai
nst his, to feel her lips on his … to taste her. Fuck!
This attraction to her had him thinking with parts he didn’t normally use for thinking. He’d been there. Done that. Look how that turned out.
Get your head out of your ass.
Hellfire glared at him. “I just don’t understand why we can’t fly. I know what you are, I saw you the other day.”
Sami blinked and suddenly he knew. He’d felt her presence up in the sky. “That was you the other night?”
Hellfire nodded.
Sami frowned. “I could feel you, but I couldn’t see you.”
Hellfire smirked. “I was camouflaged.”
“Oh.” It all made so much sense now, but it changed nothing. “Look, the flight is already booked. So, if you want my help—”
He almost hoped she’d tell him to forget it, that she had changed her mind. He knew his life would be much simpler if she did, and his heart would be safer as well. The thought of losing his heart to her again and having her rip it from his chest and stomp on it, while she kicked him in the balls terrified him. He almost didn’t survive the last time. If it hadn’t been for Tierney and Jax, he would be dead.
“Maybe you should find someone else to take you,” he suggested.
Hellfire’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Fine. You win. We fly in a tin box.”
It wasn’t about winning, however. It was about self-preservation. Something he obviously didn’t have much of lately. As much as he didn’t want to go, Sami also knew he’d be hard pressed not to follow her anywhere she asked.
What a wimp I am.
However, he also knew better than to tell her he booked the flight expressly so she wouldn’t try to fly. Her wound, while better, wasn’t fully healed. He hated that she’d been hurt so badly. Just the memory of Sasha saying she might not live had the power nearly to drop him to his knees.
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