He lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. "I appropriated some wine from that grumpy old merchant Carik. He had plenty, trust me."
I sighed. Carik was known to cheat people out of their money, but that didn’t excuse Blane’s theft. "I shouldn't even be dancing with you."
"Why not? Embarrassed to be seen in my arms?"
"Something like that."
"Too bad you like it so much." His lips brushed against my neck and sent shivers down my spine. The worst part was, he was right. Blane was the village bad boy, always getting into trouble, but for some reason I couldn't resist him even though I knew it was wrong. My family would never let me be with him, and Blane wasn't the type who'd want to get married anyway. But I couldn’t stay away.
Blane was the one of the two men I'd kissed in my life, and I knew he wanted more from me too, but I'd held myself back so far. It was difficult though because the man practically oozed sexuality. Just being around him made me damp between my legs. And his touch? It made me crave more every time.
“You wore this dress for me, didn’t you?” he asked, his lips trailing down to the spot next to my pendant, dangerously close to my breasts. I gasped, worried about people watching us, though I was finding it hard to care at the moment.
“Don’t be silly,” I said, though my breathless voice gave me away.
“You look so very tempting in it. The only way you’d look better is with it pooled at your feet.” His hand ran down my back to rest on my bottom possessively. "Will you meet me later tonight?"
"I can't."
"That's too bad." He took my earlobe between his teeth and I let out a gasp. "I can't stop thinking about you."
"Well, you should. Stop, I mean." Gods, Blane made me flustered in a way no one else did. "We both know we don't have a future together. My mother is pushing for me to marry soon, after all, and—”
He pulled back, his eyebrows darting up. "Why don't we have a future? Because I'm not good enough for you?"
"No! I just.... I mean... I didn't think you were the kind to settle down.”
"I might surprise you. I could be convinced to settle down…with the right woman." He gave me a look that made me melt, and I thought for sure he would kiss me right there in front of everyone, and I imagined all the things my mother would say afterward and how we'd be gossiped about for weeks or even months, and I decided at that moment I didn't care one bit because it would be worth it for another kiss from Blane. But then he released me. "I've got something to do, but I'll find you later. I promise."
I nodded and swallowed, unable to speak. As he left, I told myself it was for the best that he’d walked away. I could never truly be with Blane, and I didn’t believe he really wanted a serious relationship. Best to put him out of my mind entirely from now on.
But who was I kidding? I’d be counting down the minutes until he returned.
Chapter Three
I looked for Falon again, but he was dancing with one of his sister's friends, and then my eyes caught sight of a dark man standing in the corner with his arms crossed. My mouth fell open at the sight. Roth was here! I didn’t think he would come. How long had he been standing there? Had he seen me dance with the others? Was he jealous? Or did he no longer care?
I approached Roth in the shadows with a tentative smile. From this angle I could only see one side of his face, which was devastatingly handsome, as if he’d been sculpted by the Gods themselves. High cheekbones. A perfect masculine nose. A strong jaw. And the rich, auburn hair that was so highly prized in the Fire Realm, which I desperately wanted to run my hands through again.
But when he turned toward me the rest of him became visible under the torchlight, revealing a horrible burn scar that ran down the other side of his face. I knew it bothered him, but to me it only highlighted how beautiful he was. If anything, the imperfection only made him look better to me. Especially since I’d been there when he’d gotten it.
“Calla,” he said in a tone that made it clear he wasn’t happy to see me. “Why aren’t you dancing?”
“I was hoping you’d dance with me.”
“You know I don’t dance.”
“You used to.”
“I did.” He look away with a scowl. “Before.”
Roth had always been rather serious and quiet, but after the accident he’d turned downright brooding. Now I barely ever saw him, and when I did, he tried to push me away. The only times I ever spoke with him was when I found him working on the docks or on the rare occasions he brought crab to the bakery. I was tired of him avoiding me.
I gave him a hesitant smile. “Everyone is dancing. No one will stare, I promise.”
“No.”
I sighed. “All right. Then why don’t we get something to eat? It’s been ages since we talked.” My voice dropped into nearly a whisper. “I miss you, Roth.”
He ran a hand over his face, hiding his scars, a sure sign he was dismayed. “You’re very kind, Calla, but I shouldn’t have come tonight. I think I’ll just go.”
“No, please.” I took his hand and sparks danced under my skin. Once I’d thought Roth and I might marry. We’d always been close, and two years ago it had flared into more. He’d confessed his love for me at that Fire Festival, and then invited me out onto his family’s boat the next night.
When we were out at sea, we made love for the first time, and I’d never felt so happy before. I was certain he was going to ask for my hand, but then we were attacked by a water elemental. Here, in the Fire Realm, of all places.
The elemental covered my face with water and nearly drowned me, but Roth stepped in to defend me with a torch he’d lit. He managed to save my life and defeat the elemental, but the boat was set on fire in the process. While trying to put out the flames the left side of his body was badly burned, including his face. We were forced to abandon the boat, and I was so weak from nearly drowning he had to pull me back to shore, where he then passed out from the pain.
After that, he hid himself from the world—and from me.
I took a step closer to Roth. “I wish we could be friends again, at least. You know I don’t blame you for what happened. If anything, I see you as a hero. You saved us both and—”
“I nearly got you killed and I destroyed my family’s boat at the same time.” He gestured at his face. “Not to mention, I got a nice reminder of my failure, which I have to see every time I look in a mirror.” He turned to leave, but said over his shoulder, “Trust me, Calla. You’re better off without me in your life. And now I must go.”
“No one’s leaving yet,” Blane said, with a devious grin. Falon and Derel stood behind him, watching Roth with interest. “Not until I show you something.”
Roth cast him a skeptical look. “What is it?”
“Come with me and you’ll see. I promise it’s worth your time.”
Derel snorted. “Last time you said that we got so drunk we spent the next day vomiting.”
Blane offered me his hand. “Fine, I’ll take Calla by myself. We can have a romantic moment together while you three stay here with the crowd.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, intrigued despite myself. Blane was always getting us into trouble, but we all secretly liked it. There wasn’t much to do in a small village like this, but Blane always managed to keep things interesting.
“To the beach.”
Falon sighed. “Well, now we have to go to make sure Blane doesn’t get Calla in trouble.”
“True,” Derel said. “Or we could arrest him now and save ourselves the trouble.”
Blane rolled his eyes. “You already arrested me once this week. And you let me off, too.”
“I’m starting to regret that decision,” Fallon said.
Together we all walked over to the docks at the end of town, where I saw Loka dart off with another girl, both of them holding hands and giggling. I smiled, hoping she’d find some happiness tonight.
Blane carried a torch and led us to the beach, where the dark waves were slowly lapping at
“Didn’t want you to ruin that pretty gown you’d worked so hard on,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you.” First the dance, and now this. I wasn’t sure Falon had touched me so much in my life before this night. Not that I was complaining.
Blane kept walking through the sand until he reached a cluster of rocks, well away from the lights, sounds, and smells of the festival. He bent down to remove a hidden sack and opened it up to reveal a dozen long tubes with pointed ends. Fireworks.
“Where did you get these?” I asked.
“In Flamedale on my last trip.” Blane was the only one of us who had ever left the village. His mother died in childbirth, and his father died ten years later after years of being an alcoholic. After that Blane took whatever jobs he could get in order to keep food in his stomach and a roof over his head. He was the best fighter in the village and often worked as a mercenary for traveling merchants or whatever else was required of him. Rumor had it he had joined up with some bandits at one point too. But he always came back to Sparkport.
“Did you steal these?” Falon asked, as he picked up one of the fireworks.
“It doesn’t matter how I got them,” Blane said.
Derel crossed his arms. “Do you even know how to use them?”
Blane shrugged. “You light this end with fire and aim it at the sky. How hard can it be?”
“You’re going to get us all killed,” Roth muttered.
“Then Calla had better kiss us first, just in case,” Blane said.
My jaw fell open. “All of you?”
Blane grinned. “Why not?”
I was speechless as I glanced between them, though I couldn’t help but imagine it. I knew how good it felt to kiss Blane and Roth, and I’d just been in Derel and Falon’s arms while we’d danced. I pictured moving from one man to the other, or all of them surrounding me, their hands and mouths sliding across my skin…
The five of us had once been best friends and practically inseparable. When you grew up in a small village it was natural to form close bonds with the other people your age, and for me it was the four of them. But when we got older my feelings for each of them shifted and grew into more. We began spending less time together, especially as we all became busy learning our trades, though I wondered if there was more to it than that. Sometimes I wondered if it was because of me.
I had the opposite of the problem my mother had when she was younger: I had four men I could see potentially marrying, but my relationship with each one was complicated and in the end I was with none of them. Besides, how could I ever pick one when I had feelings for all of them? Yes, even Derel, though I hated to admit it to myself.
I’d heard that in the Air and Water Realms many people took multiple partners the way the Spirit Goddess and the Black Dragon did. Some considered it a way to honor them and believed it was normal to love more than one person. But here in the Fire Realm we were more traditional and it was almost unheard of—I certainly knew my mother would never approve.
“Now you’ve scared her,” Falon said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Blane picked up one of the fireworks. “Come on, the town will love it. Help me light one.”
“I want no part of this,” Roth said, stepping back.
“Nothing is going to happen, I promise. Besides, there’s nothing here but sand and water.”
“And us,” Roth muttered. He threw an arm in front of me, as if to block me from the fireworks.
“Let’s do one and see how it goes,” Derel said. He was always the first one to jump on Blane’s wild plans, despite being the town guard. After he joined in, Falon always did too, and then Roth would finally cave in. And me? I was always happy to be near them, no matter what trouble we were getting into.
I watched as the guys debated the best way to light the fireworks. Eventually they decided to prop one of them up in the sand right next to the water, in case it went wrong.
But then a huge rumble sounded in the distance coming from Valefire. The ground beneath us shook violently, making me lose my footing in the black sand. I clutched onto Roth for support as the world trembled and the mountain roared. We all stared as ominous white smoke burst from its peak in a huge plume, illuminated by an eerie light coming from inside of Valefire.
The volcano had awakened.
Chapter Four
Blane scooped up his fireworks while the rest of us rushed across the sand back toward Sparkport. Another earthquake swept through the land, this one so strong it made me stumble into Derel, who caught my arm to steady me. Fear made me scramble back up again, along with worry for my family. That rumble had been so loud and there was so much smoke rising into the sky, it made me nervous the volcano could erupt at any moment.
As we entered the village the crowd was screaming and running about, the mood changed from festive to chaotic. The music had stopped, the stage where the dancers had been was on fire, and worst of all, a crack had formed down the middle of the town square. Not large enough to truly injure anyone, but not a good sign either.
Derel kept his arm around me as people shoved and pushed against us in their frenzy, but we lost the other men in the crowd. He didn’t let go until we found our family’s stalls, where my mother threw her arms around me.
“Calla! I was so worried.”
“I’m okay.” I gave her a squeeze, and then hugged Krea next.
“Thank you, Derel,” Mom said. Now she’d never let up on us getting married. He gave us both a nod, before moving to speak with his own parents at their stall. Mom turned back to me. “Have you seen Loka?”
“She’s not here?” I glanced quickly through the crowd, but then remembered seeing her at the docks with that girl. “I think I know where she is. I’ll get her quickly.”
Mom grasped my hands tightly. “Please be careful, and head back to the house as soon as you find her.”
“I will.”
I slipped back through the crowd, which was quickly dispersing as people ran to their homes or found shelter in case the volcano began raining lava, rocks, or ash from the sky. We’d all heard tales of when the Fire God was displeased with his subjects and had nearly destroyed the entire Realm with his wrath, and how it wasn’t just the lava that had taken so many lives but the poisonous smoke and the fiery rocks that descended on the land. We were close enough to the volcano that if it did erupt and the lava flowed in our direction we could lose all our homes—and possibly our lives.
Long ago, the five Gods had created this world, and each one represented the elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. The Spirit Goddess was their leader, and took the other four Gods as her mates. Later they created the five Dragons to act as their representatives in the world, and then the Gods vanished. Now the five Dragons—Black, Crimson, Azure, Jade, and Golden—ruled over the different Realms and its people, but many people believed the Gods would one day return. I’d never thought it would happen in my lifetime, but now I was starting to change my mind.
I ran back toward the dock, but when I arrived I didn’t see a single soul, only the fishing boats tied to the wooden pier. “Loka?” I called out. “Are you here?”
When I couldn’t find her I headed down the beach in the opposite direction from where Blane had hidden the fireworks, hoping Loka and her girlfriend might be scared and hiding somewhere. I continued around the bend, calling her name, climbing onto the large rocks where she’d liked to play where we were kids. But I didn’t see her anywhere.
She must have gone back to the town. I probably just missed her. Or so I hoped.
As I turned around to head back to Sparkport, I felt a blast of heat and smoke. I blinked it away and came face to face with a giant made of fire, who’d suddenly materialized in front of me.
I screamed and scrambled back, slipping on the wet rocks and falling on my behind with a sharp jolt. I couldn’t get away fast enough, my fear causing me to stumble over the rocks and back onto the sand in a mad dash to escape the fiery thing in front of me.
At first I thought it was an elemental, but the one Roth and I had encountered looked like an upside-down teardrop made of swirling water, with arms and glowing eyes. But this was different—it clearly was male, at least in shape, but made entirely of flame and as tall as a house.
And it was coming right for me.
“Calla of the Fire Realm,” a voice bellowed out of his burning mouth. He took another step toward me, his flaming feet turning the black sand to glass. “Are you willing to serve your God?”
I froze, panic making my throat clench up, as it slowly dawned on me who was standing before me. The Fire God.
Could it really be him? No one had seen or heard from the Gods in centuries. They were myths and legends, the Fire Temple had been abandoned years ago, and even though I prayed to the Fire God like a good daughter, I could hardly believe he was standing in front of me.
As the shock wore off I considered running and screaming for help, but then he let out a roar. A circle of fire burst up around us, blocking out the rest of the world. Heat coated my skin and terror consumed me, along with sheer awe. Was he going to strike me down?
The blazing eyes seemed to look deep into my soul as he spoke. “You asked for clarity. You wanted a path. You prayed for my guidance. Do you refuse it now?”
Somehow he knew what I’d written and thrown in the brazier. It truly was him. I dropped to my knees, my gown pressing into the sand, and bowed my head at the Fire God. As the terror faded away, I finally found my voice. “What must I do?”
“You will come to the Fire Temple and serve me as High Priestess. Bring four men to serve as your priests and your mates. Once you arrive, I will give you further instructions. Do you accept my offer?”
“I…” My voice trailed off as his words sunk in. I’d asked for a sign as to what my place in the world would be, but I’d never expected this. He was asking me to give up my entire life and walk away from everything I knew to live in the Fire Temple on top of the volcano and serve as his priestess. It was impossible to consider, but he was a God—could I even refuse? Would he strike me down if I did?
-->
