Fire Maidens: Rome

by Anna Lowe

  Fly, she screamed as the bushes at the foot of the aqueduct drew closer, waiting to swallow her up. Fly!

  Her unfamiliar limbs were stiff and clunky, but still, she pumped her arms. Once. Twice…

  Her drop became a glide, and she slowly evened out. But she was running out of space.

  She beat her wings harder, gaining speed and a hint of control. But speed was only part of the equation, as deeply rooted instinct told her. So, she tilted down the back edge of her palms — er, wings — and immediately sailed higher.

  She stared, wide-eyed. Wow. She was doing it! She was flying!

  One of the wolves yelped in terror, caught in helpless free fall. It yowled for three heart-stopping seconds, then crashed to the ground with a dull thump. Lena turned away, gaining elevation. She looked herself over, swallowing hard.

  Her leathery dragon body was the color of her hair — a deep, dark brown with golden highlights along her wingtips. Slowly, she ticked off each hard-to-believe feature.

  Wings — check. Long dragon neck — check. Tail… She frowned. How exactly did that work?

  Like this, her inner voice murmured, snapping it to one side.

  She shot off to the right. And, whoa. A dragon zipped by, looking miffed. It was Enzo’s bodyguard, who’d tried to sneak up from behind.

  Somehow, the diamond necklace had survived the shift. She could feel it snug at her neck, hard and hot, like a package of radioactive power.

  Energy coursed through her — along with a surge of anger. Enzo thought he could steal her away. Vicente, too. All their wolf and dragon henchmen — not to mention that loopy she-dragon who kept cackling from her perch — thought they could dictate Lena’s fate.

  Her cheeks heated. The only one who respected her decisions — and the only one not calculating how he could profit from her — was Sergio.

  Mate, that inner voice cooed.

  A series of feelings connected to blurry pictures flitted through her mind, as instinct told her what that meant. Mate meant love. Devotion. Respect. Companionship.

  She glanced down at Sergio, whispering, “Mate.”

  Then the inner voice added something else. Let’s show them what this Fire Maiden can do.

  Her human side understood so little about being a Fire Maiden, but her dragon side seemed to know exactly what that entailed. So well, it didn’t bother to explain.

  She beat her wings and huffed hot air. One thing was clear. Being a Fire Maiden meant no one pushed her around or told her what to do. And no one threatened her mate.

  The sentiment came out in a deafening roar, taking her totally by surprise.

  “Well, well.” Enzo clucked in approval. “Our Fire Maiden does indeed possess power.”

  You bet, I do, she wanted to yell.

  The thought made a sliver of fire sneak past her lips. She stared long after the sparks died out, then added another check to her list of dragon skills — breathing fire.

  Enzo flashed a greedy smile. “My search has not been in vain. Soon, you shall join me, and when your power combines with mine…”

  He went on in that vein, making her madder.

  “There will be no joining or combining anything between you and me!” she shouted.

  Only Sergio, she vowed, glancing in his direction.

  Sergio turned at the very same time, looking desperately weary. Vicente, however, seized the moment to lunge at him.

  “No!” Lena screamed.

  Sergio twisted just in time, opening his jaws wide. His eyes flashed with anger as he ducked under Vicente’s outstretched paws.

  You will never touch her, Sergio’s growl thundered. Then, with a mighty lunge, he buried his teeth in Vicente’s neck. Vicente howled and struggled, but Sergio held on. And on…

  Lena felt sick as Vicente’s paws scraped the earth. Finally, mercifully, he went limp. Sergio released his body and swayed on his feet.

  For all the blood and horror of that sight, Lena felt elated, too. Vicente was dead! Sergio was safe!

  But four of Vicente’s thugs closed in on Sergio from all sides. Or rather, three. The biggest, darkest one was holding back. Why?

  To finish him off once the others weaken him, her dragon growled.

  That snapped Lena out of that weird, hazy feeling of her first full shift. Up to that moment, she’d been a gawking bystander. But now…

  She bared her teeth. Those wolves better watch out.

  She beat her wings, intent on helping Sergio.

  Now, now, Enzo sniffed as he and his bodyguard converged on her from either side. No sense in getting mixed up with petty wolves.

  Lena roared. Petty? Sergio?

  Her roar came with a long plume of fire and a sharp turn to the right. Enzo’s bodyguard stared in surprise, as did Lena. Apparently, the less she thought about flying, the more naturally the movement came.

  I’ve got this, that inner voice growled. I promise you, I’ve got this.

  She concentrated on channeling her anger, and the next few minutes went by in a blur of roars and flames — not just Enzo’s, but hers. She flipped and twisted in the air, fueled by the pulsing diamond at her neck and the burning need to help Sergio.

  Her vision turned red, and not long after, something smashed against the ground — Enzo’s bodyguard, caught in a blast of her fire. Lena barely batted an eye, intent on reaching Sergio.

  “You… You…” Enzo huffed, chasing her.

  “You bastard.” She whipped around, exhaling a wall of fire that swirled and spun, racing for her enemy.

  Enzo barely darted clear in time. Then he hovered in place, glaring. With a roar, he called for his two other guards. But one was lying lifeless on the ground, slain by Marco. The other was locked in a bitter battle with the Portuguese dragon, neither of them giving an inch.

  Lena hurried toward Sergio, who was spinning and clawing. Incredibly, he held off all three attackers, but it was close. Just as Lena drew into fire-breathing distance, the she-dragon who’d been watching from the sidelines leaped into the air, muttering, “If you want something done, do it yourself.”

  That gave Lena no choice but to wheel away from the wolves to meet her attacker. Who was that bitch? Jacqueline, someone had said.

  Well, whoever Jacqueline was, she was about to regret threatening Lena’s man.

  They flew straight at each other, spitting flames that collided in an explosion of sparks. The kickback of colliding fire was so powerful, Lena was pushed aside. She and Jacqueline brushed by each other, then twisted around for a second pass.

  “Don’t hurt her!” Enzo insisted.

  Jacqueline huffed. “Oh, no. We wouldn’t want to hurt our precious Fire Maiden.”

  Her tone was laced with jealousy and hatred, and Lena wondered what she’d done to piss the woman off.

  “Come now, little Fire Maiden,” Jacqueline called. “Why do you have to make this so hard?”

  Lena kept her response to a blast of fire. She sped toward Jacqueline, snapping at her foe’s neck as she went. But Jacqueline ducked and slithered away. At the same time, her greedy eyes fixed on Lena’s gem.

  “The Eruzzi diamond…” Jacqueline breathed.

  Lena gritted her teeth. Love was worth fighting for. Freedom, too, as were any number of worthy causes. But diamonds? Riches? Power? Did they really matter?

  Apparently, they did to Jacqueline.

  The next minutes were the most desperate of Lena’s life, as she twisted, lunged, dove, and fought for survival. Marco and Sergio were locked in equally heated battles. Even the first full rays of sunrise shining over the horizon didn’t give Lena much hope. And when she spotted several shadows rushing in from the northwest, she cried out in despair. More dragons?

  But Marco let out a roar of welcome, and Jacqueline broke off her next attack, cursing in French.

  “Merde. I told you we needed to act quickly,” she barked at Enzo.

  Lena had no idea what was going on, but she was not about to let down her guard. Sergio
, on the other hand, wagged his tail.

  The Guardians.

  He sounded relieved, but she didn’t know quite what to make of it all. Hadn’t Sergio been unsure whether to trust them?

  Still, Enzo’s men all shrank back, glancing at their leader anxiously.

  “Dante,” Enzo hissed. “Gaius.”

  The Lombardi leader hovered briefly, his eyes spelling murder. Obviously, he had a history with those two Guardians. Finally, with a sweeping gesture, he waved Jacqueline and the surviving bodyguard into a full retreat. Vicente’s henchmen — the few left alive — slunk away as well. All but the big, dark wolf — Tolino — who stood to one side as if to surrender with honor. Within seconds, the only trace of the others was rustling bushes and a few lifeless bodies.

  Lena hurried to land beside Sergio, managing the maneuver so smoothly, she gave herself a little nod. Once both feet were steady on the ground, she turned to Sergio.

  He could have said or done anything, but all he did was smile at her with an expression that said, I knew you could do it. She puffed out her dragon chest, then spun to face the incoming dragons. Holding her wings wide like a shield, she bared her teeth. If anyone made a move toward her man…

  Sergio butted in front of her, insisting on protecting her, as always. But the first two dragons sped directly past, chasing Enzo and the others. A massive eagle soared by too, looking so fierce, Lena trembled. Marco joined them, and they all raced after the Lombardis. Then another dragon glided into a landing — an ancient, grizzled dragon who looked like he might have witnessed the fall of the Roman Empire — and Sergio dipped his head in respect.

  Dante. It came out as a soft bark, but somehow, Lena understood.

  Dante looked over Lena slowly and spoke in guttural coughs. “Well, well. This is unexpected.”

  Lena nearly snorted. Unexpected pretty much summed up her night. Her entire week, in fact.

  Another dragon circled them once then settled down beside Dante — a younger, spitting image that could only have been a son. Several wolves loped into view, followed by a Land Rover. The vehicle pulled up behind Dante, and a burly driver stepped out, then offered an elegantly dressed older woman a hand out of the back seat.

  Lena glanced at Sergio nervously, but he shot her a weak wolf smile. A moment later, he shifted into human form, and the process mesmerized her in spite of everything going on. It was so fluid, so natural. Within a few blinks of the eye, he was back to his usual, human form — make that, his incredibly toned human form — and pulling on his discarded pants.

  “Allies. All of them,” he said softly. “Don’t worry. Ariana is the Guardian leader.”

  The older woman stepped forward, sighing at Sergio in an indulgent tone. “Signore Monseratti. I see you’ve been busy.”

  Dante yawned. “At an ungodly hour.”

  Sergio bobbed his head. “Yes, ma’am. Busy indeed.”

  He glanced at Lena, and she blushed, thinking back to the earlier part of the night. Oh, they’d been busy, all right.

  Ariana looked over Lena, and a smile played at the corner of her mouth.

  “My dear, wouldn’t you like to shift to human form?”

  Lena picked up one clawed foot, then another. She would love to, but considering her clothes had been shredded…

  Ariana motioned to her driver, who pulled something out of the back of the car. A blanket?

  A robe, as she discovered after Sergio took her around the side of the Land Rover for a little privacy. Apparently, shifters planned ahead for such contingencies.

  “Remember what I said? Concentrate on your fingers. Picture yourself as a human,” he said.

  For one, long terrifying minute, Lena froze, worried she would never be able to shift back. But Sergio’s quiet murmur helped her keep calm, and she closed her eyes, concentrating. Fingers…fingers with joints that could hold her lover’s hand. Smooth human lips that could kiss every bruise he’d earned. Silky human hair he could run his hands through…

  She’d never really loved her body so much as lived with it, but suddenly, she wanted it back with all its imperfections. Her oversized mouth. Her bony shoulders. Those inner thighs. All the things that made her her, she wanted back — desperately.

  “Lena,” Sergio whispered, cupping her cheek.

  She gulped, afraid to look. But when he kissed her…

  Her strung-out nerves settled, and her whole soul sighed in relief. Those weren’t just Sergio’s lips that felt so nice. Hers were back to normal too.

  She popped her eyes open as Sergio draped the robe around her and gently cinched the belt.

  “Are you ready?” He tilted his head toward the front of the car.

  She looked down at herself. To face the Guardians — in a robe? Not really, but she didn’t have much choice. She followed Sergio around the car, doing her best to appear nonplussed. Luckily, the robe was an elegant, flowing design, like the world’s classiest toga. And with Sergio’s hand firmly around hers, some of her trepidation faded.

  Then she halted, staring at the last of Vicente’s guards. Tolino, the one who never left his boss’s side. He’d shifted into human form, and like Sergio, was now sporting pants below his bare chest. Lena looked around in alarm. Was no one going to guard him?

  But Ariana simply nodded to him casually, greeting him with a warm smile.

  “Tolino.”

  “Signora.” The wolf shifter gave a little bow.

  Lena frowned. Wait. Wasn’t he one of the bad guys?

  But Ariana had turned back to study her, and Lena stiffened.

  “This is not the Fire Maiden we were led to believe…”

  There it was again. Fire Maiden. Lena nearly held up her hand to ask. But Remo, the most blustery of the Guardians, motioned Tolino to his side, listened to the man’s whisper, then turned red. A moment later, Remo pushed forward, snarling.

  “Nothing here is as we’ve been led to believe.”

  Ariana frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Remo stabbed a finger at Sergio. “This is further proof that everything remains in the family.”

  Lena tightened her fingers around Sergio’s. What the hell?

  Sergio darkened. “What are you suggesting?”

  Remo let out a dry laugh. “I suppose it’s mere coincidence that you, Vicente, and the Lombardis all met here at the same time.”

  “Wait a minute.” Lena stuck up a hand.

  “No coincidence,” Sergio shot back. “They followed us here. We fought them off.”

  Remo snorted. “You expect me to believe that?”

  An ominous feeling set into Lena’s gut. “What are you talking about?”

  Remo turned to Ariana, pointing to Sergio insistently. “He and Vicente were conspiring all along — Vicente from the outside, Sergio from the inside.”

  “What?” Sergio barked, incredulous.

  But Remo was on a roll. “You partnered with Vicente to hand over our Fire Maiden, didn’t you? I can only guess what you had planned next. A full coup? You would grant the Lombardis control of the city, while they gave you free rein to conduct your dirty businesses.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Sergio would never—” Lena started.

  “Do you even know who this man is?” Remo whipped around, indicating Sergio. “What his family is? Not only is he related to that scum, Vicente—”

  Ariana and the others frowned in surprise.

  “—he also lured you here to plot with his secret allies.”

  “Secret what?” Sergio turned red. “We just fought them off.”

  “Or made it appear that way,” Remo sneered.

  “You can’t be serious.” Lena thrust her hands on her hips, returning Remo’s glare.

  Ariana stuck a hand between the two men. “Now, now, Remo. We have no evidence—”

  “Think about it,” Remo insisted. “He just killed his own cousin.”

  “Cousin?” Dante frowned.

  Remo nodded to Tolino, who’d obviously fille
d him in. “Yes, his own cousin. Exactly as Sergio killed his uncle. And who knows — this man could have killed his own father as well.”

  “I was seven when my father died,” Sergio snarled.

  “Signore,” Tolino murmured urgently, but Remo waved him away.

  “Signore Monserratti could have been plotting with the Lombardis all along. Just think of the things he could have overheard in our meetings. It’s exactly as I warned. We should never have allowed this criminal into our inner circle.”

  “Criminal?” Sergio snarled, stepping closer.

  Marco pushed between them, bristling with anger. “This man has just eliminated your greatest foe. He saved your Fire Maiden. Good God, wolf. Are you still living in an age when a man is judged by his roots and not his deeds?”

  The hair on Sergio’s jaw thickened, and Lena could see it all play out. Sergio would shift, giving Remo an excuse to fight — and, worse, giving Remo’s crazy suggestion some credibility. Marco would jump to Sergio’s side, and things would only escalate from there.

  “Stop. Wait.” She butted between them. “Everyone settle down.” Quickly, she took Sergio’s hand. “No shifting,” she whispered. “Fingers. Human fingers. Concentrate on that.”

  Sergio looked about to explode, but at her touch, his icy eyes warmed.

  “It’s not worth it,” she said quietly. “We’ll get this sorted out.”

  Ariana frowned at Remo. “Your allegations are serious, indeed.”

  “As serious as the coup he’s been plotting,” Remo snarled.

  Lena turned to Remo, fighting her own wrath. “You’re wrong. He saved me.”

  Remo snorted, motioning to his guards. “We’ll see about that.”

  Ariana stepped closer, half a step ahead of the guards. Like Lena, she put a hand on Sergio’s arm. “Do as the Fire Maiden says. I promise you we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  Sergio opened his mouth to protest, and Lena did too, because the guards were about to separate them. But if she lost her cool, Sergio would blow, justifying Remo’s accusations.

  “It will be okay. We just need a chance to explain,” she whispered.

  Sergio’s eyes flashed. “Do you really think they’ll listen?”