Guardians of Fire Read online

  Pain, joy, sadness, excitement, disappointment, happiness, anger, acceptance.

  So many emotions rushed through me. We fell to our knees together as we took it all in. Shade held on to me, her eyes glazing over as she felt the feelings overwhelm her as well. There was no doubt Dylan was feeling it too, for we felt his emotional turmoil the most.

  “I’ll find him,” I promised. We were now a triumvirate, connected forever. Each of us had a responsibility to keep one another safe, happy, and harmonized. If Shade was harmed, we’d feel it; if I was dying, they would suffer the effects. If any of us needed help, the other two would be driven to do so. If one of us died, we could all three die together, though it wasn’t unheard of for mated pairs to continue on without the other, but only living a pathetic half-life.

  The thought sent an image of Sary fluttering across my mind. Now I knew what she’d felt when her mate, Stephen, had died. To lose one’s heart was to wither inside and live as an empty shell. I felt horrible for her, but there was an upside to these bonds too. The elation, the joy, the love was intensified. I thought I would burst from the emotions coursing through me. Shade and I were now one. Eventually, our marriage vows would seal the bond forever, and I couldn’t be happier.

  But first….

  Dylan’s anguish was now ours, and I knew then that I’d do anything to make it stop. Not just for Shade, whose heart was weeping for him, but for my own pain as well.

  Chapter Four

  Dylan

  “You okay, Dylan?” Benton put his hand on my shoulder as I hunched over in agony, breathing hard.

  My knees hit hard against the smooth stone of the cavern hall. So it was now done. Soap had done the unforgiveable and was now engaged to Shade. I knew it had been a long time coming; hell, I’d expected it. Shade had told me her feelings for Soap were still very much alive and it was her duty to marry him. Leaving a faery in love, to wallow alone, would be a death sentence for him. I knew this. She’d shared a part of her life with him without knowing the effects of love on a faery. I knew this was all going to happen, but it did nothing to soothe the irrevocable heartache slamming into me now.

  I felt their joy, their elation, and they felt my pain. Breathing through the sensations as they joined, I could tell our lives would never be the same ever again. This connection had to be severed, and I placed my hand on my ring, the urge to rip it off overwhelming me.

  Rage mixed with euphoria pumped through me. It was an odd sensation. It was disorientating enough that I lost control of my glamour, and my skin burst into flame, flashing as electricity pulsed across my body in a violent crackle.

  Benton jumped back and watched my transformation with wary eyes. He knew the drill. If he reached out to touch me again, he might be electrocuted. My blue fire had no effect on the human fire elemental, but my lightning powers did.

  “I just need a moment,” I said to reassure him. I closed my eyes, forcing my chest to suck in a breath and calm my fluttering heart. A few seconds passed, and the vital air eventually settled into my veins and soothed the fire threatening to boil my insides.

  “You need a healer? You don’t look so hot there, buddy.”

  Benton could never understand this connection the three of us had just forged. It wasn’t for the lighthearted. Marrying more than one faery had its consequences. My only comfort was that Soap and Shade were feeling as shell-shocked as I was. I could feel their pain as they suffered the consequences of my anger.

  “No. I’m good. It’s just… you wouldn’t understand.”

  Benton folded his arms and scowled. “Try me, dude. You forget I’ve seen a lot of crap here in Faerie. Nothing surprises me anymore.”

  I nodded, donned my glamour once more, and let it wrap around my flames until the blue glow dimmed then vanished. “It’s Shade. She just accepted a marriage proposal from Soap.”

  Benton’s eyes widened further as his mouth dropped open. “No kidding? I thought Soap would never ask her. I mean… wow. Didn’t think that was actually going to happen.”

  “Neither did I. I mean, I knew she wouldn’t let him die while pining away for her, but I thought she’d find another solution.”

  “So… it messes you up?”

  “Sort of. It connects us, and it’s not pleasant but not exactly horrible either.”

  “Trippy.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “You all right with it? I mean… that’s a lot to take.” Benton eyed me suspiciously, not believing a word I’d said about being fine. I didn’t blame him. He was a good person beneath the gruff exterior, always concerned about others’ well-being. I was lucky to have him as a brother-in-law.

  “I don’t know how I feel about it. I don’t hate Soap, I just… Shade’s my wife. I know this isn’t uncommon for my people, but I just don’t know what to think. It hurts like hell, but I have no say in it. Our clan encourages marriages like this, but I liked the human way. Two people, not three.”

  “Totally get you, man. I’m kind of glad I’m human. It makes—” Benton cut off his sentence as he stared at me, knowing his words were less than comforting. “Look, sorry to hear this. I know that’s got to be hard on you. Let me know if you need to get away or something. That just can’t be easy.”

  “Thanks. I think I will. We all need time to adjust. I might stay here in Teleen when Shade returns to the Scren. I just need to think.”

  “I don’t blame you. Hey, if you’re up for some Ancient nonsense, I’m heading out later this week to see Rowan at the archives. Want to join in?”

  I shook my head. “I’m usually up for anything, but I think I’ll be remaining here for now.” I closed my eyes, still feeling the constant pummel of emotions from Shade and Soap. It was head-splitting how much being connected to yet another person could be. It’d taken a long time to get used to feeling Shade’s emotions. I needed air. I needed to breathe. Plus, I didn’t want to be around them right now. Not while they were together. I had to feel them, but I didn’t have to see them.

  The thought soured my stomach. I shoved it away, but clung to me. There wasn’t much I could do but to ignore it.

  “Okay, then. If you change your mind, meet you at the glass bridge in two days at dawn.”

  I gave him a slight nod as he walked on, heading toward the main throne room. He was Shade’s brother, but in the short time we’d spent together, we’d become good friends. If only I could tell him how much I not only disliked but hated this plural marriage idea… but some things were better kept to oneself.

  I stretched my sore muscles, feeling more level as the minutes ticked by. I soon found myself heading toward the supply rooms. They would have everything I needed so I wouldn’t have to return to the room I shared with Shade. I’d take up another cavern room somewhere, maybe my old one which I’d kept as a storage room. I couldn’t go back. Not right now. Lord only knew what she and Soap would be doing now. I was glad that our connection didn’t quite work that way. I could feel if they were happy, but I wouldn’t necessarily know why, and I didn’t want to. It was the last thing I’d ever want to feel. This humiliation to have to share my wife was bad enough.

  The thought of running away was probably a bad idea, but I had to keep busy, keep on a task, or I’d lose my mind. Being away from Shade would be painful, but we needed our space. Besides, things would eventually have to come to a head, and I had to be mentally prepared for it whether I liked it or not.

  Chapter Five

  Shade

  The flurry of people made the Teleen Caverns feel claustrophobic, a feeling I rarely experienced. Everyone wanted to meet the Ancient Summer Queen Kilara. Everyone except those who knew better. The Ancient had not been too kind the last time we’d met. If I could, I’d ring her neck, but thought it best to take a prudent approach and welcome her.

  I wished we didn’t have to.

  The throne room was roaring with people, their voices echoing against the cavern walls, amplifying the noise. It made me cringe. I wanted
people out of the way, and the queen in me wanted to order them away. Even Dylan, who stood a couple feet from my chair, ignoring me, looked like he felt the same. Even the new captain of the guard couldn’t keep the excited crowd calm.

  “Hello, Kilara,” I greeted the Ancient as she approached. I never could get over how we looked so much alike. Anyone could tell that I was Kilara’s descendant. She could have been my mother, but in spite of the obvious truth, I’d deny it to the end. I told people I looked like my mother, Jade, from whom we’d gained our elemental powers. Anyone who suggested I resembled the treacherous Ancient quickly regretted it.

  I gripped the sides of my throne until my knuckles turned white, keeping my face poised and my eyes focused on Kilara. I’d have to keep on my toes with this woman because even though I was part faery, I knew I shouldn’t trust anyone. Especially an Ancient. They always had an alternative agenda. I’d been fooled by Kilara before, and I wasn’t going to let it happen again.

  “Shade, how good it is to see you again. You look well. Ruling the Southern Realm has done nothing but good things for you.” Kilara smiled like she had never lifted a murderous finger before.

  The Ancient glanced to my side where Dylan stood, his cool, steely eyes sharpened in her direction. Her eyes then hovered amusingly over James, who was standing on my other side, next to Soap. He had refused to sit in his chair. He was just coming into his elemental powers, but living in Faerie turned humans into nearly immortal creatures. It affected me, my sister Anna, and James in strange ways. Benton never stayed long enough to be changed at all. I hated how it made us look; it removed the minute imperfections that made us human. It was true that our powers were amplified, and that was nice, but the physical changes were hard to take.

  I watched James twitch at the odd sensation of danger rolling off Kilara’s scrutinizing eyes. I could feel it as well, but I hid the discomfort easily while my other brother, Benton, who stood on the sidelines near the crowd, had a scowl carved across face.

  “I wish I could say the same thing for you, Kilara.” I stated.

  The Ancient smiled through the insult I’d thrown her way.

  “It has been far too long, my dear descendant. Don’t forget where you came from, for it is exactly where you will end.” Kilara stared hard at me. What had she meant by that? I couldn’t let her get to me like she had so many times before, twisting her words and turning things her way. I wouldn’t let it get that far again.

  Lifting my chin, I peered straight down into the Ancient’s mocking face. “Why are you here, Your Majesty?” Kill them with kindness, right? “You were gone for so long, we thought you were dead.”

  Kilara took a step forward, but the Teleen soldiers lining the carpet matched her movements and held out their spears to block her way. She paused, taking them in, amused. She reached out to touch a point of one of the spears, and it easily pierced her skin. A bead of bright crimson blood slid down her slender finger as she watched it hungrily. She lifted it to her awaiting mouth and licked it off.

  “As you have predicted, I have come for something that I need from you, my darling Shade. You are the only one who can help me with this. Unfortunately, nobody else can or I would never have returned to your humble presence.”

  I squeezed the arms of my chair, my fingers aching as I pressed my lips tight, glaring at Kilara. I knew it. Another darn favor. There was always something, wasn’t there? Favors from and for faeries were never exactly what one thought they would be. They were always wrapped up in conditions, trials, and danger. The air seared hot against my cheeks, and I narrowed my eyes at the Ancient queen.

  Dylan, standing next to me, reached out to enfold my hand. Soap, now in the position of second husband even though we had yet to take our vows, stood on the opposite side. Even though he was also standing, everyone could see he was as tense as both of us. Gretel, the Teleen queen, sat on her own throne, listening intently, a frown plastered across lips. She made no attempt to hide her distaste, and her silent support gave me a bit of strength.

  “Just spit it out,” I snapped. I was done playing her games. She was not someone I wanted to spend any amount of time hobnobbing with. If she wanted something badly enough to come here, it wasn’t going to be pleasant for anyone involved.

  “It’s simple, really, and since it was your uncle Brendan who found the power, it should be an easy task for you to find it for me.”

  What? How could my great uncle have known of a power which the Ancients didn’t also know about? During my research in the Pyren, Brendan’s magical study, I didn’t recall anything that might match. I snapped my eyes toward Benton. He’d spent much more time in the Pyren. If there was something so powerful there that Kilara wanted it, he’d know. He shrugged, apparently as lost as I was.

  What could it be? Maybe it was a weapon, something Kilara either feared or else wanted to use herself. If so, Brendan would have seen its potential. Or maybe it was something he didn’t quite comprehend. He was a human, after all. Even as an elemental, he did not fully understand the magic of the land of Faerie. If that was the case, he might have easily put it away somewhere and forgotten about it.

  I needed more information. “All right,” I said, “tell me what it is, and I’ll decide if it’s safe to hand it over to you.”

  “It is the cure to what ails me, Shade. But it is not so easy to recover. I’ve learned that Brendan hid it in The Heart of Fire and Ice.”

  I bit my tongue to keep myself from gasping. I knew of this place. It was as old as the Ancients. Like the great oak trees which transport people all over the world, this place was one of the great, eternal mysteries of Faerie, and the location and the true nature of the place had been lost to history. And Brendan had found it? How?

  “You’ll have to enter The Heart of Fire and Ice to acquire the magic I need. I’m no longer allowed in—your uncle saw to that—so that is all I know. But you and Benton are some of the only elementals left in the world. As such, you will have a better chance than any faeries I might send. Brendan sealed it, preventing any fey from entering even if they did stumble across it. Retrieve it so that I can live on, for without me, the land will continue to wither. You wouldn’t want that, now would you, Your Majesty?”

  I hopped to my feet, my face red. “How dare you? How dare you put the fate Faerie in my hands? You are its caretaker. You need to find something else to save yourself.”

  “Oh, Shade. I never thought my own descendant would be so foolish. Everyone who has ever shared my blood has had to obey me. Always. Even you. That goes for your children and your children’s children too. My blood runs through your veins. We are one. You’ll retrieve the magic I cannot access, or we will all pay the consequences of your selfishness. Save your precious land of Faerie. If I die, there’s no telling what will happen here. There’s no telling how fast Faerie will fall. It’s in your hands, not mine.”

  I stepped back, stunned by her words and breathing hard. She was mad. Yes, completely off the chain. I glanced at Dylan. His eyes were hard as he shifted his glare from Kilara toward me.

  I found no sweet love in those steely grey eyes. No longing. He had effectively walled me off. His cold demeanor remained as he looked away, crossing his arms and staring straight ahead. I could still feel his emotions inside me, but he had chosen to shun me outwardly.

  My heart sank. I let my eyes drift over to Soap. He nodded, giving me the reassurance Dylan had refused me. I looked away.

  “If I do this for you, Kilara, you have to answer one question for me first.”

  “Ask and I will answer.”

  She probably thought my question would be of no consequence, but it would tell me more about her and the other Ancients, which was information I needed if I ever had to actively oppose her.

  “I could spend years searching the archives for information and still find nothing. So tell me, how will I recognize the thing I need to bring back? I don’t know what it is… an object? A tome? Even the location of this pl
ace has been lost. So give me the name of someone I can go to for guidance.” I swallowed hard and watched her eyes, trying to see if she had realized the full consequences of answering my question. It didn’t seem she had. If I was lucky, I might soon learn of someone who had deep knowledge of the Ancients—knowledge that could be used against them.

  “I searched for this place myself, of course,” Kilara said. “I stopped after I heard a half-forgotten story about Brendan finding and sealing The Heart, but that is as far as I got. I knew that if he was involved, I would eventually have to come to you. There are two people who would know of this place. Your uncle, Brendan and….” She paused, hesitating as she stared back at me. “And Arthas.”

  “The Unseelie Ancient? He’s in eternal slumber, and my uncle is dead. I cannot ask either one anything.”

  “Not the answer you were seeking, was it half-blood? There are many mysteries in this world. Your blood contains mine, yes, but it also is dirtied with that of humans and… one other.”

  My eyes widened. What?

  “Think about it, my dear. How do you think Aveta could give you magical control of The Withering Palace while I could not control it myself? Such power cannot be controlled by just any Ancient of Faerie. Only those of Unseelie power and lineage can control it. Those of the Unseelie bloodline.”

  I shook my head, but the room was spinning. Gasping, I brought my hands to my head, bending in agony and taking in her words. No, this couldn’t be.

  Nearly a minute passed as the room rippled with gasps and whispers.

  “So I’m Arthas’s descendant as well? Is that what you’re getting at?” I ground my teeth, making my jaw ache.

  Kilara’s eyes twinkled. “Exactly.”

  “Aveta knew this, didn’t she? She knew I was also a descendant of Arthas. Did he know too?”

  “I don’t know. Nor do I know how she found out, but yes, she knew. That insolent woman was smarter than anyone could’ve predicted. Why do you think I was never able to defeat her? Like you, I can’t control her, for she is Arthas’s descendant. Not mine. It makes you… unusual as well.”