by Abigail Owen
She stared back, unspeaking, mind spinning.
“I’m trying to help you,” he pointed out again.
She pursed her lips, then sighed. “My name is Kasia.”
“Last name?”
“Not important.” Not worth the risk of stating it in case he recognized the name and connected it to her royal bloodline.
“How long has this been going on?”
Kasia, already having answered these questions for every healer and doctor this clinic had brought in, rattled off the dates easily enough. “Everything started September eighteenth of last year. At first the fire was small. Just my hand or my fingertips. With those, the visions were quick, a flash. The longer the flames last, the longer the vision.”
“And the pain?”
“Similar to the fire—smaller vision means less pain.” Like less of her had to clear out of the way. “Though I still lose my sight, like a warning.”
He took notes using a stylus to write on his tablet, making no comments. “When did it start getting worse?”
“About six weeks ago. Luckily, I was at a lake, so I was able to control it with the water.” Burning down her hideaway in the Alaskan wilderness would’ve sucked.
“How’d you end up here?”
Kasia had to tread this one carefully. “My mother told me about this place.”
He glanced up at that. “How did she know?”
“She was a shifter.” Of a sort. Not a total lie.
His eyebrows popped up. “What kind?”
Kasia tipped up her chin. “A bird.” Close enough.
Another penetrating stare landed on her. Kasia tried not to fidget, holding his gaze with effort, feeling like a schoolgirl caught telling tales.
“Lying again?” he asked.
Was Brand clairvoyant, or did he already suspect what she was? Phoenixes were exceptionally rare and not the only fire creatures out there. Kasia concentrated on keeping her breathing slow and even, despite the way her heart was jumping around inside her chest like a dang jackrabbit, adrenaline and fear dueling within her.
“My mother’s dead.”
Gods, it hurt saying that truth out loud. Her mother was dead. She and her sisters scattered to the winds, never to see one another again. Kasia was completely alone in the world, her only goal to remain hidden. That was, if she could get this freaking fire thing under control. Her mother may have tried to train them before they came into their powers, but she’d said nothing about explosive fireballs and the sensations that came along with them. Meanwhile, only a year on her own and she’d already walked right into the hands of the enemy. How had her mother hidden them for over five hundred years?
“I’m sorry,” Brand said.
She doubted that.
“Tell me more about the vision you had in the lake. Did you see anything in particular?”
Interesting. He was the first to ask that. Would it hurt to tell him?
Kasia plucked at that drawstring again. “I saw caverns. All gray rock. Eyes reflecting in the dark, in the back of the caves. You were standing next to me, and we were talking to another man.”
Brand didn’t move, didn’t glance up, but still seemed to move closer. “What did he look like?”
“Dark hair. Kind of Mediterranean-looking. Greek, maybe? Blue eyes. Intense… Oh! And a scar running down the left side of his face.” She shivered. There’d been a chill in that other man’s eyes that struck her to the bone. She got the impression he wasn’t someone you wanted as an enemy. “Similar build to yours, maybe a bit shorter and leaner, and he wore a tailored suit.” She particularly remembered that, as it had seemed an odd choice of fashion for a cave.
Brand stopped writing, but he still didn’t look up. “Got it.” He went back to making his notes. “Other family?”
She glanced away, looking anywhere but at his hand. The one without a brand.
Come to think of it, in every vision, and even now, he wore his hair on the longer side. To cover the mark of his family at the nape of his neck? Regardless, the man was a rogue.
Shit. Much worse than she’d thought.
“What?” she asked when she caught his stare.
“Your family?”
“No. Grandparents on both sides died before I was born.” Pytheios made sure of that. “My parents were only children as far as I know. Both dead. It’s just me left.”
She was proud she didn’t hesitate over that last statement. She may have screwed herself by landing in this situation, but no way would she ever give up her sisters or put them at risk.
“Okay. That doesn’t give me much to go on tracing your family. I’ll need any records you can provide. Birth certificates, pictures, official documents.”
Kasia winced. “That’ll be a bit of a problem.”
“Why?”
“Everything was destroyed in a fire when I was five.” A lie her mother had told the humans whenever they started requiring that kind of proof—be it for travel, driver’s licenses, school records, or whatnot—faking their lives as normal people.
At that Brand put his tablet down to stare at her. “You’re telling me you have no information on your background and family history.”
“Yes. I’m sure that makes your job harder.”
He snorted an unamused laugh. “More like damn near impossible.”
Kasia pretended to be disappointed, drooping back against the bed. Now if she could get him to leave. “Well…thanks for coming anyway, Mr. Astarot.”
“Brand. And I’m not leaving. Not yet, at least.”
She turned her head to look at him. “But you just said—”
“Your situation makes any normal human means of investigating your background pretty useless. However, I happen to have access to several supernatural methods.”
Dammit. “So, there’s hope of finding out what I am?” She continued to play out her role of not knowing until she could get the dragon shifter out of here.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and she got the impression he was…amused. “I’m not giving up on you yet.”
Why did it feel as though his words carried a double meaning? She attempted a smile that she hoped appeared appropriately grateful, or whatever. “So, I’ll hang out here, exploding every so often, until you get back?”
Best news she’d had all day. He’d leave, and she could disappear.
“Nope.”
She jerked her gaze to his. “Nope?”
He shook his head. “I’m certain I can contain your fire if or when you…explode…next.”
Was that a secret grin? Better not be.
“So…I’m coming with you?” she asked slowly.
He stood, stuffing his tablet into his backpack. “Get some sleep. We’ll leave in the morning. Better to travel in the daylight.”
Kasia blew out a long, silent breath of relief. Regardless of how short the absence, he’d still leave. She just had to play this out until he did.
Brand stood and slung his backpack over one shoulder. When he made to walk away, she put a hand on his arm, surprised when his muscles bunched under her touch. Even more surprised when her wrung-out body warmed at the contact.
She swallowed. “What time?”
He stared at her hand still gripping his arm. “I’ll be back at six a.m.”
Had his voice roughened?
He pulled away from her grasp then almost seemed to relax, shoulders dropping a hair. The guy appeared to have a serious issue with touching. He glanced at her hospital gown. “You might want to wear something else.”
Never had she been so aware that she was naked beneath the flimsy material. She had to keep herself from glancing down to see if her nipples were visibly beading. “Right.”
That wouldn’t be his problem, because when he came back tomorrow, she’d be a ghos
t…long gone and far away from there.
…
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Acknowledgments
No matter what is going on in my life, I get to do what I love surrounded by the people I love—a blessing that I thank God for every single day. Writing and publishing a book doesn’t happen without the support and help from a host of incredible people.
To my fantastic, equally dragon-obsessed readers (especially my Awesome Nerds Facebook fan group!), thanks for going on these journeys with me, for your kindness, your support, and generally being awesome. You know how much I love the broody heroes, and boy did Drake fit that mold. But the fun surprise for me was Cami and how she took him on. The fates got those two spot on. I hope you fell in love with these characters and their story as much as I did. If you have a free sec, please think about leaving a review. Also, I love to connect with my readers, so I hope you’ll drop a line and say “Howdy” on any of my social media accounts!
To my editor, Heather Howland…you know what you did. ;)
To my Entangled family…best team in the business!
To my agent, Evan Marshall…thanks for talking me down and helping steer my curvy career and squirrel tendencies.
To my author sisters and friends…you are the people I feel most me with, and you inspire me every single day.
To my support team of beta readers, critique partners, writing buddies, reviewers, RWA chapters, writer’s guild, friends, and family (you know who you are), thank you, thank you, thank you.
Finally, to my own partner in life and our awesome kids…I don’t know how it’s possible, but I love you more every day.
About the Author
Award-winning paranormal romance author Abigail Owen grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She loves to write witty, feisty heroines, sexy heroes who deserve them, and a cast of lovable characters to surround them (and maybe get their own stories). She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.
Don’t miss the Fire’s Edge series…
The Mate
The Boss
The Rookie
Also by Abigail Owen…
The Rogue King
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