Embrace the Fire (14 page)

When Chennuh had reached the halfway point to Kinna's location, Ayden stepped into the open.

Immediately, Kinna, who had been monitoring Chennuh's thoughts, recognized the Dragon's surprise and then delight, followed almost immediately by alarm as Luasa reared onto her haunches, clawing the air.

Dragonfire erupted from Luasa's jaws, a torrent of heat that swirled toward them. Chennuh was faster than the fire. His armor-clad wing snapped open, and the full force of the fire hit the shimmering membranes. They glowed a dull orange when the fire died away. Chennuh turned his head. Kinna couldn't understand his communication with his mate; they had a different Dragon language all their own. Luasa settled her forelegs back on the ground. She was still nervous, shaking with intensity, but her jaws stayed shut. Flames licked across her snout.

“Good, Chennuh,” Ayden murmured beside her. He took another step forward.

“Ayden, what are you doing?” Kinna hissed.

Luasa scrambled backward, scrabbling over the boulders, her wings lifted high. Chennuh, to his credit, did not move to block Ayden. That action alone did more to show Luasa his trust in this creature, this Dimn, than anything else could have done.

The she-Dragon eyed Ayden and then Chennuh, her great torso heaving. The air was thick with smoke.

Ayden steadily walked forward, one slow step at a time. He looked impossibly small next to the huge Dragons, and Kinna was torn with indecision. Should she run between Luasa and Ayden to protect him, almost certainly sending the entire valley up in a plume of fire? Or should she let this dance play out to its end—which at this point seemed fiery? Ayden was Dragondimn; he did not burn easily, but that didn't mean that he didn't burn.

Her decision was taken from her. Unnoticed until now, Lincoln had been slowly working his way back down the steep hill to Kinna, but halfway down, his normally sure feet slipped on loose rocks. He recovered his balance easily, but too late, the rocks slid with a grinding roll downward and startled Luasa.

She turned, fire arcing out of her mouth toward the poor Pixie.

“No!” Kinna cried.

Before she could react, a stream of fire shot past her, slamming into Luasa's, and mushrooming upward into the sky.

As the fire died away, Kinna turned, her gaze fastening to Ayden, absorbing his blond hair, his dangerous silver eyes, the ridged delineation of the muscles of his abdomen—and those glowing orange hands that slowly faded back to normal flesh tone.

“What—was that?” Her voice shook as much as her knees. On the hill, Lincoln sank weakly onto a boulder, digging his fingers into his bright orange hair.

T
he air was turning crisp
, and Kinna huddled closer to the fire Lincoln had built. Six gutted fish sizzled on a stone beside it, and the smell brought sharp memories of the previous winter when she, Lincoln, and Ayden had survived the frigid snows of the Rue Ridges as they'd waited for Chennuh's wing to heal.

Ayden poked a stick into the embers.

Expectation tinted the air around them. Kinna broke the tension. “How did it happen?”

Ayden sighed, pulling out the stick and twirling the end in a smoky pattern. “When I gave Sebastian the Amulet to break my curse, the spell affected me. I followed Helga's instructions exactly, but the Amulet—did something when it broke the spell. I spent months in torture and pain until...” he gestured to the cave, “Luasa. I repelled her fire with my own, and the pain immediately eased.” He glanced at Lincoln. “I found some information, histories written in the scrolls the Clans have collected. The information was enough to make me realize that the Amulet is the cause of this.” He held up a hand. Heat wavered from it in the sunight. “You wouldn't know anything more about why this happened, would you, Lincoln?”

Lincoln looked up from the fish he'd just flipped. “Not precisely.
Taibe
is unpredictable, especially when it comes to the old magic of the Seer Fey. My guess is that when you gave Sebastian the Amulet, the
taibe
spells that wrapped the Amulet splintered. Likely, a portion of it passed into both of you, as it took an equal touch from both of you to dismantle your curse.”

Ayden looked up quickly. “You mean, Sebastian may have gotten the same Fire-Touch that I did?”

Lincoln shrugged. “I have no way of knowing, Ayden. You need to talk to Helga.” He pulled the sizzling fish from the rock, tossing them onto a cooler boulder. He stuck a singed finger into his mouth. “Stars, those are hot!”

He licked his fingers and picked one up.

“I want to start a revolt,” Kinna said.

Lincoln dropped the fish in the dirt where it landed with a puff of dust. Ayden's silver eyes fastened to her, his stick stilling in his hand.

“What?” Lincoln asked.

Kinna cleared her throat. “I said, I want to start an uprising.” Silence met her words. Her gaze met Ayden's; beneath their quiet exterior, a flicker of something rippled the surface. Approval? Disdain? She took a deep breath. “Think about it. For years, people have whispered about Sebastian's methods—his high taxes, the forced army conscriptions, the harsh training of creatures. Rumors from The Crossings told of imprisonment for anyone who didn't meet his ridiculous taxes, his public executions...” She swallowed the lump that rose in her throat as she thought of her father. She took a deep breath. If she married Julian, she would keep Tristan safe, for now, at least. “You know that the Dimn and creature system he's set up is unfair. Do you remember what you saw in the Dragon arena, Ayden? The maces swung at the hides of those beautiful beasts? Linc, think of the Pixie exams in the Elders' Lodge. Was that right or even moral?”

She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them. “Hazel was my first and last Pixie to train. She hated it and hated me, and I don't blame her. She was the first to show me how unjust the system is.”

“What about Chennuh?” Ayden asked quietly.

Kinna shook her head. “
Psuche
isn't like that.
Psuche
is a meeting of minds, a complete understanding. Julian and Sage were the first
psuche
I ever saw.”

At the mention of Kinna's betrothed, a muscle jumped in Ayden's jaw. “And where will your wedding fall in the midst of this revolt you've planned?” he asked.

Emotions erupted inside of her as his words crossed her ears. Sebastian had decreed her betrothal to Julian, her best friend from childhood, to spite her, to amuse himself, because he was cruel and vicious. Because a well of hatred and vengeance and blackness oozed from the fingertips that knew too much power. And then he'd reinforced it with threats to kill her father if she didn't carry through.

“I don't know when Julian and I will be married,” Kinna finally answered. “If I succeed in my revolt, perhaps there will be no wedding at all.”

Ayden's silver eyes flickered. “So there's to be a second war besides the one happening now?” A half smile cloaked his lips.

Kinna bristled. “You don't think I can do it?”

“The opposite, Kinna. I think you're entirely capable of turning the world on its head and casting out Sebastian and Nicholas Erlane with only one finger raised.”

He believed in her.

Warmth flooded her chest. “This has nothing to do with Nicholas Erlane and the politics of Lismaria and West Ashwynd, Ayden. This has everything to do with freedom from tyranny.” She shook her head, tugging her braid thoughtfully. “This has to do with Sebastian's tyranny and the tyranny over all the creatures in West Ashwynd
and
Lismaria. I want my brother, Cedric, to retake the Lismarian throne. Nicholas Erlane is not Sebastian, but my ears haven't been closed while I've been on the run these last four months. I've heard the stories; Erlane is of the same ilk, greedy for power and hoping to use that power against the creatures of Lismaria. I don't believe my blood-father—Liam—would have wished such greed upon his people, and if Cedric is willing, whenever I find him—and I
will
find him—I want him to take the crown, to rule justly, as our father would have wished.”

Lincoln's eyes widened even farther. “That's a lot of ambition before breakfast.”

“Are you making fun of me, Linc?”

“Nay, m'lady. But what about you? The throne is as much yours by rights as it is Cedric's.”

Kinna shook her head. “I have no aspirations to royalty.”

Weighted silence bathed them before Lincoln cleared his throat. “If it's a revolt you hope to lead, m'lady, the fields of discord are ripe for harvest.”

Kinna slanted her gaze at the Pixie. “What are you saying?”

He shrugged. “Only that I've heard rumors from Pixies and other creatures. Discontent grows in many of the Clans of West Ashwynd. Already, there are movements to begin an uprising, but we need a leader. Thus far, there has been too much fear. But with the upheaval of war and the collision of two countries—”

“You're saying—”

“I'm saying that perhaps the people need to know that the twin children of King Liam and Queen Olivia of Lismaria, the children born of a Dragon's fire, will retake the throne.”

K
inna itched
to begin her uprising campaign, and Lincoln had some good ideas of where to start. “The Elvendimn have long had a history of turmoil with The Crossings, and they've been in contact with some members of the Valkyries from the Three Maids. The Dryads have tried to organize a few small coups, but after Sebastian ordered the burning of the Dryad Dells two years ago, they retreated into relative submission. I'd be willing to bet you could talk them into a revolt though.”

“What about one of the Oracle Rocks?” Kinna asked. “The one north of the Rockmonster Dwellings or the one in the Marron Mountains of Lismaria?”

“What about it?”

“Revolts take strategies, good ones, and if I could talk to one of the Oracles, perhaps it could advise me.”

Lincoln ran a hand through his bright orange hair, standing it straight. “The Oracles don't take sides, Kinna. They speak in parables and poetry, and would likely offer you and Sebastian the same advice.”

“Which is?”

Kinna shook her head. “Who needs to talk to an Oracle when I can talk to you?”

Lincoln grinned. “My point exactly.”

I
n spite
of Kinna's desire to begin her campaign and in spite of her need to find Cedric, she couldn't leave yet. She'd climbed on Chennuh's back and flown across the cliffs that bordered the sea, reveling in the frigid wind that whipped back her hair.

They'd flown until they'd lost sight of land altogether and then wheeled and headed for the canyon where the others waited for them. During the flight, Kinna and Chennuh melded into a common understanding of what they both wanted. Chennuh would not leave his mate, and reluctantly, Kinna agreed to wait until Ayden could train Luasa to a gentler state. In exchange, Chennuh would encourage his mate to respond to Ayden.

As the cliffs of Vadekin appeared again, to the east, Ayden stood on the edge, one arm raised to shade his eyes as he watched them approach. To the west, Luasa's shimmering form waited for her mate. Half a fieldspan separated the two.

“That's our job, then, Chennuh,” Kinna murmured to the Dragon. “First, we bring them together. Second, we find Cedric. And then we change the course of history.”

A
yden inhaled
, edging his fingers around the burn in his hands. He regularly released the
taibe
now, so it didn't bother him any longer. He was thankful for that. Four months of torture that had bordered on driving him to insanity had finally ceased. But now he had Kinna within arm's reach and still so far beyond his grasp. It was an entirely new form of pain.

“Kinna, have Chennuh stay behind Luasa, blocking the entrance to the cave. Let's try to keep her in the open.”

Kinna nodded, her huge green eyes narrowed in concentration. She flung her heavy, red braid back over her shoulder and splayed her hands on the rock, focusing on Chennuh.

Ayden returned his attention to the two Dragons. Luasa's torso and tail still remained in the depths of the cave. Only her head and long neck emerged from the darkness. Her smoky irises watched Ayden as he stepped carefully from rock to rock in the open valley.

Chennuh's scales shimmered in the morning light, gleaming brilliant reflection before he lumbered slowly around his mate, sliding back inside the cave. His scales swallowed the darkness as he lurched to the ground, making himself comfortable in the dirt behind Luasa, his huge form filling the entrance.

“Good, Chennuh,” Ayden heard Kinna whisper.

Luasa didn't move, but her tail twitched in and out of the light, a steady, nervous rhythm. Her head jerked from Ayden to Kinna and back again. Lincoln had offered to sing her to sleep, but Ayden had refused. “If it's a relationship she needs to build with me, it won't do any good if she's asleep or unaware of what she's doing.”

Instead, Lincoln had sent himself on a mission to find Ayden's horse, so that, presumably, when Ayden and Kinna flew their Dragons east, he wouldn't have to ride along. “If I'm not back by nightfall, raise the alarm,” he'd told Kinna that morning.

“Just be safe, Linc,” Kinna had said. “I've gotten used to you.”

As Lincoln had climbed the hill, he'd nudged Ayden's shoulder. “I trust you, Dragondimn,” the Pixie had said in a tone low enough that Kinna couldn't hear, “so I'm leaving her with you for the day.” The orange flecks in his brown eyes had nearly glowed with unspoken words.
If anything happens to her, I'll shred you myself.

“Stay here,” Ayden murmured to Kinna as he stepped farther into the open. He placed one foot in front of the other, approaching the cave entrance and Luasa. His pulse thudded in his ears, but his hands were steady.

He began to hum a low, throaty melody he'd used numerous times in the dens of Dragon Hollow's arena. Luasa's quick, jerky movements stopped as she stared at him. He approached, closer and closer, refusing to allow thoughts of what might happen if she decided to release the full contents of her hot lungs on him.

Another twenty spans and he would be able to touch Luasa's scales. Behind the she-Dragon, Chennuh huffed a comforting
whumpf
, and smoke rolled around Luasa's forelegs. She twitched, but didn't break eye-contact with Ayden.

“That's it, girl,” Ayden sang quietly. “Listen to your mate. He knows me.”

He was so close; his fingers tingled in anticipation of feeling the smooth scales. He wanted to finish the last few spans in a single bound, but he knew he couldn't rush. Luasa towered above him in the entrance to the cave, still holding his gaze, still tense, an occasional twitch moving her tail. Soft grunts from Chennuh seemed to reassure her.

When Ayden was a mere five steps from his goal, the loud cry of a hawk shattered the spell. Luasa jerked, her mouth gaping as fire flooded outward. Ayden dove to the side, but the fire lapped at his skin before he could clear the area. Pain stung every nerve sensor, and he rolled in the grass until he sheltered beneath an overhanging rock near the cave entrance. Chennuh appeared in front of Luasa, and the she-Dragon's plunge toward Ayden thudded fruitlessly against Chennuh's side. He snapped his razor-sharp teeth at her, and she reared backward, momentarily cowed. Deep grunts shuddered from both of their throats. A moment later, Luasa disappeared into the cave. Chennuh swung his head over his shoulder to gaze at Kinna before following.

Kinna sprinted toward Ayden. She dropped to her knees beside him.

“Ayden, are you hurt?” She'd already reached for his bare shoulder where he cradled it against the cool stone, but her fingers jerked back before they could touch him. “She must have gotten you good for your Dragondimn skin to be blistered. Come, you need to put something on that.”

Ayden grunted as he pushed himself out from the ledge, checking his shoulder. “It's the first time I've ever been that close to a Dragon when I got caught by its fire,” he muttered.

“You've been burned before?” Kinna asked, crouching beside him, worry creasing her face.

“Kinna, I worked in a Dragon arena. What do you think? Still,” he gingerly touched the cracked, angry skin, “it's not as bad as it could have been.”

“That blast would have killed a Dimn from any other Clan.” Kinna said. “Come.” She moved around to his uninjured side and slid her cool hands around his arm, helping him stand. He didn't protest when she draped his arm over her shoulder and she wrapped one arm around his waist. The pain rapidly faded, thanks to his Dragondimn skin, and the care she showed him was worth pretending a little weakness.

Kinna led him to the far end of the clearing where she sat him down next to the fire pit. She looked around distractedly, fidgeting with the end of her braid. “Now I just need to find some witch hazel or firewort; both grow all over the place in the Pixie Glades, but I haven't seen them here as much. I wish Linc were here. He could probably sing your skin back to normal, but since he's not, I'll—”

“Kinna.”

Kinna halted her worried monologue and stared at him.

Ayden held out a hand, and tentatively, she placed her palm against his. He pulled her closer until she knelt beside him, her worried green eyes searching his face.

He leaned forward until she was a mere orlach from him. “It doesn't hurt.”

She licked her lips. “It doesn't?”

He shook his head. The air between them felt thick and hot. Ayden knew what he wanted to do, and while a small voice in his head called him names, he dropped his gaze to her lips.

“No,” he whispered. “I have tough skin.”

Kinna didn't move away. “It—it doesn't feel tough.”

“No?” Lazily, he lifted a finger and traced it down her cheek to her neck, along her collarbone. “What does it feel like?”

“Um—warm, I guess.”

“That's the fire inside.”

She blinked her huge green eyes at him. “How did—”

He didn't wait for her to finish. His lips caught the rest of her sentence as he pressed them to hers. Her kiss was as soft as he'd dreamed, velvet like the daisy petals that grew in the fields outside his village when he was a boy. A heady feeling of sublime pleasure crested over him. Without breaking contact, he shifted to his knees, his hands edging around her back, his fingers sliding into the flaming hair at the nape of her neck.

Kinna's long fingers framed his face, and the intensity of her grip surprised him. Her palms were cool and smooth to the touch, but they vibrated with a fever she couldn't seem to control. Her eyes slid shut as she glued herself to his form.

A different kind of heat blazed beneath Ayden's skin; he slid his own eyes shut, tracing down her spine, back up her side, and into her hair again. If this was what he had missed by turning his back on her four months ago, leaving her because of her betrothal—

She broke free with a cry and scrambled to her feet, her hand pressing against her mouth. To Ayden's dismay, tears erupted from her eyes, overflowing and coursing down her cheeks.

“I—I'm sorry,” she stuttered.

Pain knifed through Ayden's chest. He couldn't say anything even if he had wanted to.

“I—can't.”

The knife edged in harder, green with the sheen of jealousy.

Kinna shook her head, swiping away the tears on her cheeks.

Ayden found his tongue. “Kinna,” he said as he stood, “do you love Julian?” The question hung crystallized in the air.

Kinna dropped her gaze. “It doesn't matter,” she said at last. “I'm promised to him by Sebastian's order. He holds all the cards, Ayden, and I just—can't.”

“Can't? Or won't?” Ayden ground out.

Kinna licked her lips. “Both.”

Ayden stepped forward, and she took a step back. He stopped, frustrated. “You can't tell me you feel nothing for me. Not after that kiss.”

“Ayden, please don't.”

Irritation and anger crashed through Ayden's mind. “Don't what?” Ayden ignored her hasty backstep and gripped Kinna's shoulders. “Don't ask you to search your heart, Kinna?” he demanded. “The girl I know wouldn't be cowed by a simple order from a man she hates. So what are you saying, Kinna? That I don't deserve your honesty?”

“Just—don't.” Secrets lurked in the roiling green depths of her gaze.

Ayden stared at her, willing her to break down, to give in, to declare her love for him—anything but the steely glint he read in her expression. His jaw pressed together, sending sparks of pain into his head. Finally, disgusted, he turned and climbed toward the cliffs, springing from boulder to boulder on his way up.

Fool
.
Fool to think that she would have ever considered you—you with your curses, you with your history, you instead of him. Fool to think Liam's daughter would ever have wanted the boy who mucked Dragons' dens.

He reached the woods and wove into the trees, bitterness clinging to him like the moss on the roots beneath his leather boots.

B
y the time
Ayden returned to the fire at dusk with a brace of rabbits in his hands, Lincoln had returned. Ayden's horse grazed in the dusky shadows behind some boulders, Kinna knelt over the flames, frying fish on a rock, and the Pixie raised an orange eyebrow at Ayden's approach.

“Where did you find the horse?” Ayden asked. He was sure the animal would have found its way to the Elven Ward, its original home.

Lincoln stepped closer, and without warning, rammed his fist into Ayden's jaw. For such a slight figure, the Pixie packed an enormous amount of strength. Ayden staggered backward, catching himself on a boulder.

Kinna looked up from the fire, but didn't move.

“What was that for?” Ayden asked angrily as he rubbed his jaw.

“I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.” The Pixie's eyes flashed dangerously.

Ayden grew furious. He turned on Kinna. “You told him that we kissed—?”

“Wait! You
kissed
?” Lincoln's fist flew forward again, but this time, Ayden caught it and twisted it behind the Pixie's back.

“What did you tell him?” Ayden growled at Kinna.

She stood. “Just that you went and got yourself burned, and then he thought that you'd let me get too close to Luasa.”

“Too close to—” Ayden turned on the Pixie. “She was born in Dragon's fire! You of all people should know a little blaze from a Dragon's mouth won't hurt her.”

Lincoln's temper burned away quickly. “The Dragon has talons, too, in case you haven't noticed. And teeth,” Lincoln mumbled, sounding nearly apologetic.

“I've noticed lots of things about Dragons that you wouldn't even know about,” Ayden began, “and you
know
I would never—”

“Just stop it,” Kinna snapped. “Both of you.” She stepped away from the fire, her hands planted on her hips. “Listen to me, and listen well. This is what's going to happen. Ayden will do what he can to train Luasa over the course of the next few days. Chennuh has been working with her; it's likely she'll be ready before too long. Meanwhile, there will be no mention of protecting me, and you will both stop fighting.” Her gaze swung angrily between them. “And there will be no more kisses,” she tacked on, flushing scarlet. “Are we clear on those things?”

Lincoln nodded sheepishly, and Kinna faced Ayden, green fire flickering in her eyes.

Ayden swallowed. “Got it.”

“Good.” As she turned back to the fire, Ayden pondered the regret he heard echoing in that one word.

T
hree evenings later
, Ayden was still attempting to approach the she-Dragon, and Luasa was still resisting his advances. Kinna sat on a boulder overlooking the valley, watching his repeated attempts, directing Chennuh with a suggestion or two as Ayden tried to break through Luasa's barrier.

She'd stayed quiet and reserved since their kiss; if necessity forced her to talk to him, her sentences were short and to the point. Ayden gave up on drawing her out. When she was ready to talk to him again, she would.

He forced his thoughts back to the she-Dragon in front of him. He hadn't released the
taibe
flames beneath his skin for two days, and the familiar twinges of pain were growing rapidly stronger. He didn't dare release the fire within sight of Luasa, though.

Luasa watched him approach for what Ayden was sure was the hundredth time. She flinched less often than she had; she was curled in the entrance of the cave now, Chennuh's long, armored body just behind her. Both of their heads faced his direction, and trails of smoke drifted upward from both sets of nostrils.

Ayden sat cross-legged in the center of the clearing, contemplating the she-Dragon. He cast his mind toward her, wishing he could somehow brush up against her thoughts, show her he meant no harm, but such things didn't come until
psuche
was achieved, and he still had a long way to go.

Chennuh's mirrored head edged beneath his mate's chin, and his huge body nudged her closer to Ayden. A deep rumble shook his long neck, and after a long, silent moment, Luasa placed one tentative, taloned foot in the dirt outside the cave. Her body slid smoothly after it, and her mirrored wings lifted, spreading high above her.

She faced Ayden directly.

Ayden slowly got to his feet. Luasa twitched, but stood her ground. Ayden heard Kinna's sharp intake of breath and Lincoln's exultant crow ricocheting off the surrounding boulders.

Ayden kept his feet still, though he wanted to run to the she-Dragon to finish the task that he'd set for himself. He didn't move.