Prince's Fire (3 page)

“I don’t have that power.”

“Yes, you do.”

“How the hell would you know?” Tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn’t care. Her raised voice made Taro look away. None of this was supposed to happen. All she wanted was to find her sister.

“I can’t tell you how I know, but you can. They will be able to tell you how.”

She’d have to trust he spoke the truth about her healing abilities and someone else coming to help. It was the only hope Val had to survive. “Thank you, Taro. I’ll never forget this.”

“You had better forget, Gitana. The lives and future of entire worlds lies in your hands now.” He vanished, the portal he’d used earlier nowhere to be seen.

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Gitana began rocking back and forth, her hand pressed firmly to the wound in Val’s lower chest. Maintaining faith in Taro’s statement that Val would be okay proved difficult with so much blood. Focusing on healing his wounds didn’t seem to work. She was doing something wrong. Either that, or Taro had lied.

She was startled when a ball of fire bounced off of her force field. Seven large warriors ran toward her. These were definitely his brothers, and the extremely angry one in the center being held back by the other six had to be his twin.

“I’m going to fucking kill her! Let me go or so help me God, I’ll run straight through all of you!”

“Van! Calm down, or I will beat you here and now, little brother!” Whoever this was, Van backed down.

The speaker then turned around and walked over to her. She could tell he was silently assessing the situation. “Are you Gitana?”

She nodded and felt a single tear slide down her face. Both hands were pressed tight onto Val’s wound. “Help me heal him, please. Tell me how.”

“I’m Dar. I’m his brother. These are his other brothers. Forgive Van for his outburst.

We are extremely protective of one another, but it borders on pathological when it comes to our twin.”

“I understand. Please tell me how to heal him. I don’t know what to do.” Confusion was a foreign concept to her. Between she and Shana, she had always been the decisive one, the one that made choices to keep them safe and cared for. Now that a life was in jeopardy, she found herself unable to focus.

“What happened?”

Gitana chewed on her lower lip, remembering Taro’s request. “I…I don’t know. He threw me behind him, and something hit him.”

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The other brothers approached and sat in front of her. A calming sensation coursed through her; the brothers were trying to help. Tears slid down her face. How could she possibly keep the shield up and not allow them to heal him?

“Let down your force field, and we will repair the damage.” The desperate plea mixed with genuine fear stabbed at her heart. She wouldn’t be able to be as calm as they were if it was Shana lying on the ground bleeding. “I can’t do that.”

Gitana grimaced as she heard the vile curses from Van as he tried to stand. The brothers forced him back down onto his knees.

“Why not?” Dar asked.

“I made a promise I wouldn’t do that until Val was healed.”

“We can’t heal him if we can’t get to him.” Gitana could tell Dar was trying really hard to speak in a calming tone. She empathized with his need to help his brother and couldn’t imagine what determination it took for all of them to remain this unemotional.

“Please tell me how to heal him. I know that I can.”

“You may not carry this power, Gitana. Let us see your bands.”

She eyed the new speaker, then slowly brought her left leg out from under her. She knew this must be the band they were talking about. Bright red in color, it carried symbols that matched her fire powers.

“Shana told us you had two more bands. May we please see those?”

A blush formed on her cheeks. No way were any of the brothers going to see those.

“They are in a private area.”

“Where?”

She pointed at her chest and heard the soft laughter come from one of the brothers.

“Talk about crappy placement.”

“Cal, now is not the time for your sick sense of humor. What symbols do they have?”

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“I can heal. I have just never tried.” She laced her words with as much self-confidence as she could muster.

“Then how do you know?” Dar asked.

Gitana didn’t. She merely trusted that strange man Taro. He seemed to believe she could. “Val is dying as you argue with me. Tell me what to do.”

“If you attempt something that is above your ability, it would kill you.” The ominous statement made her shiver when she realized she should already be dead. If it hadn’t been for Val, she would be. But they couldn’t know that.

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

The brothers argued amongst themselves. Finally two of them inched closer. They lifted the sleeves of their clothing and showed her green and hazel bands. She inched forward just a bit, being careful not to move Val. She noticed that each of them had five symbols, but they both had three which matched hers.

“I carry three of the same symbols as both of you,” she said. “Two are different though.”

Gitana could almost feel their collective sigh of relief, as all the brothers seemed to relax a bit. She wanted to smile, but knew it would probably look odd to all of them.

“I’m Cam, and this is Jad. We will talk you through this. You must do exactly what we say. It will take an immense amount of power.”

Gitana gasped. Those freaks had found her because of her power surge. Were there more to track her down? Should she warn them?

“We will protect the area. Don’t have any worries over that,” Cam said. Our only concern at this moment is helping Val.”

She nodded nervously, curious how Cal had managed to read her mind so easily.

“It would help if you brought the shield down. You should focus all your attention on healing Val.”

She glared over at Cal as he made the suggestion.

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“Focus on your surroundings,” Cam said, “and bring the power of the ground and vegetation into your body. Once you feel the healing properties, concentrate on penetrating Val’s mind. Nod your head once you have merged with his mind.”

Gitana took calming breaths and closed her eyes. Power surged through her body.

Once she couldn’t take anymore, she centered her attention on entering Val’s mind. She tried not to show her surprise when she did. She now understood why Taro didn’t want the brothers in Val’s mind.

The last moments before he had passed out repeated on a loop. That same chant he had uttered ran through her head because it repeated over and over in his mind. She nodded her head, but the powers she had drawn on slipped out of her, streaming through her hands at a rapid pace.

“Don’t panic, Gitana. You’re doing great. You apparently have a more natural talent for this than we expected. Let it slip out of your body, and send it to Val’s injury.”

She couldn’t tell which brother had said that, but she continued to push power as fast as she could. More of Val’s mind opened as his body began to heal.

The hunger and desire Val had for her was overwhelming. Her powers surged out of control. Electric current popped and bumped against the protective shield.

“Son of a bitch! What the hell is that?”

“Cam, what the fuck is wrong with you, man?”

“Jax, that shit is fucking nuts.”

“It’s energy, you ass! And shut up before you kill them both. She must concentrate. Jax, you should be trying to focus her powers instead of dealing with him.” Dar. He must be the voice of reason and calm in situations.

“I’m not getting near that fucking shit!” Cam exclaimed.

“You freaking dumb ass. Hasn’t it occurred to you that your female will be able to do that?”

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“Oh, fuck no! None of my body parts are going into any of hers if she can do that crap!

Hell fucking no!”

Gitana heard Val’s soft chuckle as she felt a hand squeeze hers firmly. She opened her eyes, smiling down as she saw cobalt blue eyes looking up at her.

“Welcome back, warrior.” Her breath flowed against his ear; his pulse thrummed wildly under her hands. “Don’t let any of them know what occurred here before you fell. I can’t explain why right now. Whatever you chanted must be forgotten.”

She hoped she wasn’t crazy for trusting someone she didn’t even know. But she had trusted Val; that had saved her life.

“Will you tell your little freak of nature not to let that force field down until she gets that energy shit under control?”

She laughed loudly seeing how nervous Cam was about the electrical energy bouncing off of the force field. She let the shield down and sent the energy in a steady stream straight toward him. He yelped and began running away from it. The laughter of his brothers drowned out his curses.

“This is fucking priceless!” Jax cackled harder. Even Val laughed as they watched Cam dive headfirst into the small stream to the northwest of them. Cam glared over at her angrily, and she laughed harder.

“Hasn’t anyone ever explained to you what happens when electricity hits water?”

Gitana couldn’t resist taunting him. His eyes widened, and he jumped out of the water and began stripping out of the wet clothes, his curses filling the area around him.

“Hold up, brother!” Dar yelled.

She released her control over the energy and allowed it to dissipate into the air. Two of the brothers winked at her with big smiles on their faces. It was as if they admired her. She swelled up with pride.

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Cam stormed back to the group. “If you think for one second I’m getting anywhere near her for the testing ceremony, you have another think coming.”

Whatever this testing ceremony was, the mention of it created a sober atmosphere as all the brothers glared at Cam. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. The horrified expression on his face when he looked at Val was quite telling. His slip of the tongue must have been pretty significant.

Dar stepped forward and helped Val stand up. They embraced. “Care to tell us what happened here, brother?”

“It seems to have escaped my memory right now.” She shivered when Val’s gaze fixed on her. She had a lot of explaining to do, but no answers she could share. How did she get herself into this? And what did all of this have to do with Shana?

Gitana knew Dar didn’t believe a word of that but watched him nod. “Very well then, we will return. Are you two coming?”

“Later. I have plans.”

The brothers laughed, and her cheeks grew warm again. She wasn’t sure what plans he had, but his heated gaze left no doubt in her mind that she was at the center of them.

The adrenaline fled her body, and she cursed softly knowing what was about to happen. Her vision blurred, white spots danced in front of her eyes as dizziness plagued her equilibrium. She had expended too much power. She looked at Val, muttered “Sorry,” and fell into his arms.

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Gitana felt a cooling sensation flow through her body. She shivered and snuggled against the heat source at her back. She moaned softly when the coolness ran up her inner thigh. She wanted to feel it in her pussy. She opened her legs, hoping the cool would seek out the area she needed it most.

Whenever she used her powers, there was always a brief period of time that her body felt like molten lava afterward. It only occurred when she tapped into those powers not involving fire. Even though it never lasted long, she was always miserable until it subsided.

This time was different. It was as if ice were being dribbled over her heated skin, trying to ease her suffering slightly. She wasn’t fully awake but aware enough to know what the source of this cold sensation was. Val. It had to be him. That knowledge didn’t stop her from accepting whatever relief he could give her.

She gasped, feeling a piece of ice being run up and down her heated slit. The slow methodical rhythm became an addiction, and Gitana simply lay there in his embrace. When she became more fully aware of her surroundings, she was surprised to see them in the hidden cave behind her waterfall. This was one of her secret hideaways when she wanted to 22 Cara Carnes

be alone. She had discovered it one day after practicing her powers and had claimed it as her sanctuary.

He whispered into her ear. She couldn’t understand the language he used, but the sound alone felt like a breath of chilly air gusting through the inside of her body. His husky tones made her wanton, and she thrust her mound into his hand. She smiled in contentment when his other hand began roam the contours of her body. His touch radiated through her skin despite the clothing that still clung to her body. “Raise your arms above your head, Gitana. Show this warrior that this body is his.” She wanted to refuse, but the cool bursts running over her hot flesh were too much to resist. She needed relief, whatever the cost.

Was it really a cost though? She was attracted to Val; her lust had spun out of control before the chaos ensued. It didn’t seem she was giving anything up for satisfaction that she wouldn’t have willingly offered.

She pushed all thoughts aside and gasped when his hand ran along the curve of her breast.

“This warrior is not pleased that you expended so much energy, even if it was for my benefit. If you ever do that again, I will be forced to discipline you.” Gitana moaned as he pinched her nipple. A burst of icy shards pierced her where his fingers were.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her ass shamelessly against his groin, responding to the fingers delving into her pussy. The pleasure was too much too fast. She couldn’t control herself if he continued. As much as she craved the explosive reaction she would hurt him if he didn’t get away quickly.

“Don’t. Be a good girl and remain still for this warrior to use you as he wishes. You know it’s what you want. Do not fight it.”

She growled in frustration when he held her more firmly. “I’ll hurt you if you don’t let me go.” She should stop this. She knew better. It was always the same when she became too sexually excited.

Prince’s Fire