Flame Stirred (Seeking the Dragon Book 3) Read online

  “Well, here I am,” I replied, trying not to think about how heroic he’d looked when he came to my rescue in the woods. I fought down a second urge to spill the whole story about Rhys, but I wasn’t going to let Kaden deal with my problems when it was possible for me to sort them out myself. “Listen. Valeria told me all about your family history.”

  Kaden’s gold-flecked eyes darkened. “And?”

  “And I sympathize, okay? We have more in common than you know. So I want to give you the benefit of a doubt. I’m going to go out on a limb and trust you.”

  He studied me for a long moment. “Why did you come here, Ella? You know I can’t allow you to return home.”

  “Fine. You’ve made that pretty clear. But you said you want me to be safe, right?”

  “I want nothing more than your comfort and safety,” Kaden breathed.

  “So teach me. I want to learn magic.”

  He stared at me in surprise. “You want me to teach you to kindle your spark, after all? But just the other day—”

  “No. Not just to kindle my spark. That’s what you did with all the other girls, right? I want more than that. I want to be able to actually use my magic to defend myself. I want you to teach me to throw fireballs and freeze people in place and fly. I want to be a real deal magician, like you and Rhys and Valeria. I have the spark, don’t I? I know it’s possible.” I waved the book at him. “It’s all right here.”

  The surprise and shock deepened. “Ella… what you’re asking for is a violation of Aethling law and custom. Humans are not taught such magic. I can certainly teach you some things, but not what you’re asking for. Would you like to make beautiful flowers grow, or create fantastic clothes for yourself? Perhaps to create amazing displays of color and light to accompany your songs? All of this I could easily give to you. I taught such things to… to those who came before you.”

  I gritted my teeth and shook my head. “No. I’m not interested in doing little showy things. You’re forcing me to stay here, right? And you also seem to need me to kindle my spark, as hesitant as you are to force me. Well now I’m coming to you with an offer. I’ll let you kindle my spark. But you also need to teach me to really use magic.”

  “But the Aethling laws…” he protested.

  I walked toward him and jammed a finger in the middle of his chest. His skin radiated heat. Was he flexing, or were his pecs always that tight? “You’re the Dragon of Alkazar,” I said. “The last of your people and the temporary leader of the Aethlings. Since when are you bound by their laws? You’re a guest here, if what Valeria says is true. Teach me in secret, teach me at night. I don’t care. But you’re going to teach me if you want me to kindle my spark.”

  Again he hesitated, boring into me with those beautiful eyes. I felt stripped naked, down to my very soul, when he looked at me like that. But I found I didn’t mind that very much.

  I swallowed and raised my chin toward him. “If you care about me at all, then teach me, Kaden. You want to protect me? Help me protect myself. I’m sick of feeling helpless.”

  Kaden

  Ella’s hair fanned out behind her in a wild mane of tumbling locks, and she stared at me defiantly with her finger on my chest. I’d never seen her look so determined, so brave, and so beautiful as at that moment. Her eyes blazed with purpose. What could have possibly prompted her to come to me with such a request? She hardly even knows what she’s asking for…

  It was true that I’d trained the others in more than just kindling their magic. I’d also shown them how to use it, and I’d taught Faye most of all, but never more than the spells I’d already offered to Ella. What she wanted to do was not just forbidden—it was difficult and dangerous. Conjuring the elements and using the type of battle magic used to fight the Eldritch wasn’t something I’d ever considered teaching a human. But when Ella kindled her spark, she’d also been one of the strongest sparkmages I’d ever seen. I had no doubt that she was capable of wielding such magic.

  “Why now?” I asked her slowly. “You’re correct that I’m not strictly required to obey Aethling law, although I often do so as a courtesy. But just a few days ago you wanted nothing to do with magic. And now you want to kindle your spark and learn to use it?”

  I was afraid that she still harbored ideas about using her gift to return home to her family. She’d be in grave danger if she did so. But then again, if I taught her how to use battle magic, maybe she would be strong enough that the Eldritch would avoid her. I hated the idea of her being totally defenseless if she was really ready to learn to use her gift. Even if doing so meant that I’d have to explain the whole truth of the watchfire and my sacred duty to her…

  “It doesn’t matter why I want it now.” She looked away and crossed her arms in front of her shapely bosom. “I changed my mind, okay?”

  She sounded defensive, but I didn’t see the point in prying. Ella didn’t strike me as the kind of girl who would talk about something unless she wanted to. Plus, I had to admit the idea of training her was somewhat exciting to me. She still had that impossibly irresistible attraction I couldn’t explain, and developing her magical skill would be an excuse to spend time with her. A perfectly defensible excuse. Everything about her drove me mad. I’d been thinking about her for days, wishing she’d come back and talk to me again, even though I’d been shocked when she finally had.

  Was it just her spark, calling to me as it called to other denizens of the Ether-Realm? But the other girls before her had all had the spark as well, and none of them had triggered this intense mix of desire and longing in me that Ella did. Even my feelings for Faye had been a shadow of the passion Ella inspired in me with her mere presence. Of course I wanted to give her the means to defend herself—the idea had just never occurred to me before because of how outlandish it was. A human wielding battle magic?

  “Kaden?” she asked softly, reaching a hesitant hand out to rest against my chest. Her fingers were soft and cool, and I yearned to sweep her up into my arms once again.

  I was afraid for her. This bravery made her seem all the more precious to me, and made it even more likely that she’d eventually give herself up to my magic. Visions of her beautiful hair curling up into ashes in the presence of my molten sorcery struck fear into the deepest part of me. I wanted to give this brave, beautiful girl the world. It was more likely I’d take her life from her. I hung my head.

  There had to be another way to keep the watchfire lit. I resolved then and there to exhaust every possibility, to seek out every potential alternative, to find some other way to do what must be done. My hands curled into fists. I would not burn another girl, consequences be damned. I was too tired, and the burden too heavy to bear anymore. I could never burn Ella, even if I did help her to kindle her spark.

  “The training must be in secret,” I said. “If the Aethlings discover what I’m teaching you, I cannot say what they might do. You’ll have to move into my chambers so that we can train at night, when no one would suspect that that’s what we are doing.” I gritted my teeth. “And you must be content to deal with the inevitable rumors of what we might be doing instead. It is safest for both of us if we allow them to think that you have become my concubine.”

  Ella smiled sarcastically. “That might actually work out well for me.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. I wasn’t sure why Ella might want people to think that we were romantically entangled.

  She shook her head. “Nothing, nothing. Um. I guess I understand the need for secrecy. Will we have to share a bed?”

  “There is no need. I will sleep on the floor beside the bed when our training is finished.”

  “Okay. Yes. That makes sense.” Ella nodded to herself.

  Was it my imagination, or had I detected a hint of disappointment in her response? But that would be ridiculous. I gestured toward my study in the adjoining room to my bed chamber. “I can make space there, among my books, to teach you more about sorcery. During the day, I’ll train you as every oth
er girl who has come to me with the spark. But at night, I will teach you to defend yourself. With your consent, I’ll have Rowan move your things into my bedchamber.”

  “I can move my own things,” she replied. “There isn’t much I need. Just a few books I retrieved from the library, really. When can we begin?”

  Once again, I marveled at her bravery. What had caused such a sudden reversal? She’d hardly wanted to be in my company before, or so I’d thought. But now she was nonchalant about sharing my chambers, as long as I was willing to give her the magic that she desired, even knowing what risks she might be exposed to? I had nothing but admiration for this girl.

  “Tomorrow, if you wish. Remember—you must speak of this to no one,” I cautioned her.

  She jerked a quick nod. “There’s one more thing, Kaden…”

  “Yes?” My pulse quickened. What else could she want from me?

  “If you wanted to do something kind for a servant, either a gift or something they’d really appreciate, what could you do or give to them that wouldn’t cause them trouble or embarrass them?”

  I frowned at her. “Is this about Rowan? She was not disciplined for your escape.”

  Ella looked at her feet and shuffled them back and forth. “Still. If I wanted to make amends with her on a personal level. What might I do?”

  “Is she causing you trouble? I can easily assign you another servant…”

  “No!” Ella cried. “Rowan is wonderful. I just feel guilty for what happened. I tricked her into wearing my clothes when I escaped, and she feels ashamed about what happened.”

  Here was another thing I hadn’t even considered before now. Obviously the poor serving girl would feel responsible for what happened, as she should. But there would be some residual resentment toward Ella. I should have just rotated her handmaiden immediately when she returned, and if I hadn’t been focused on recovering from the encounter with Vash, I would have. But since Ella now seemed determined to make the girl more comfortable… perhaps there was something I could do.

  “There is something you could do for her,” I said slowly. “As a serving girl and temporary attendant, her station does not permit her to wear the finery that she did. But if I were to make her your permanent handmaiden, and declare you an official court sparkmage, it would be her duty to attend you on formal occasions. Noble dress would be both expected and required of her in that scenario. I could declare her so, if you wished it. Do you wish it?”

  Ella hesitated, biting her lip. “I’m not sure. Do you think she’d want that after what happened?”

  I blinked at her and then laughed out loud. “You’re such a strange creature. I don’t often give much thought to what servants might want. Perhaps I should. I’ll let you make the offer to her yourself.”

  She nodded, seemingly satisfied, and then smiled at me in a way that made it difficult to think coherently. If I was going to train her in battle magic, I’d need to get a handle on my emotions around her. Passion could be dangerous when sorcery was involved, and I’d still have to hide my true feelings from her anyway. There was much to do to prepare, and meanwhile I needed to hasten my efforts to find an alternative way to stoke the watchfire. I’d have to press Rhys and Valeria to redouble their research efforts, and do even more myself.

  “Tomorrow, then,” Ella said.

  She cast one more long look at me and then withdrew from my room, leaving only her sweet scent behind, the feel of her touch on my chest lingering long after she had gone.

  Ella

  I bolted upright at the break of morning, drenched in sweat, my heart pounding. The ever-present red light of the Ether-Realm’s strange skies poured through my bedchamber window. The only difference between day and night here was a shifting of the glowing suns in the sky to a lighter shade of red, and the brightest of the three was just cresting over the top of the bright purple foliage of the Ghostwood. I threw off my covers, stumbled into the bathroom, and splashed cold water in my face. My hair hung pale and limp, and there were deep shadows under my eyes. I rubbed at them, taking long, even breaths, and trying to shake off the last clutches of my nightmare.

  My dreams had been full of flame and death. I’d been paralyzed again, locked in Rhys’s magical grasp, while my childhood home burned around me. Distant screams assaulted my ears, along with inhuman roars and the clash of battle. I could hear my sister calling to me, looking for me, but I’d been unable to answer her. Not Katie. Fiona. My birth sister. Laid out on my bed in a wedding dress in a locked room, spellbound and helpless, I’d been forced to watch as the flames crawled ever closer to me, Fiona’s calls growing more and more insistent… and then I’d awoken.

  I turned off the water with trembling hands and pushed my damp hair out of my eyes. Why was I dreaming about Fiona now, after all these years? It had been forever since I’d given much thought to the accident that had taken my birth family. The trauma was always there in the background, of course. A low, glowing ember of pain that flared up occasionally. But I’d learned long ago to push it aside. It never helped to think about the family I’d lost. It never healed, not really, so I did my best to forget it and move on with my life. Fiona and my parents were long gone. Recalling them felt like another person’s life. The Dentons were my family now.

  I started the shower running and stripped out of my sodden nightgown. You’re okay, I told myself. It was just a dream. I’d been through plenty in the last week that would shake loose those feelings of helplessness and loss, and Rhys’s assault almost certainly had something to do with it. As usual, a long, hot shower soothed my nerves. I began to feel more like myself as I washed my hair and rinsed off the sweat of the terrible night terrors.

  Today, everything would change. Kaden had promised to start my training with magic. I’d move into his bedchambers, just as he’d suggested, and train as hard as I could to learn the magic that would get me home and let me defend myself from all of them: Rhys, Vash, the Eldritch.

  And Kaden, I reminded myself. Kaden too, right? He’s just as dangerous in his own way.

  But the words felt hollow. As much as I knew I should be wary, as much as Kaden insisted that he was dangerous, I just didn’t feel it. He’d straight-up told me he’d burned the girls who came before me, and still, every time I was with him, Kaden felt safe and familiar somehow. I found myself drawn to him. I could lose myself any time in those gold-flecked eyes, and…

  I shook my head.

  I was being ridiculous. Kaden was part of this world, and I wanted nothing so badly as to get away from all of it. I did trust him, I did feel safe with him, but I had to focus on what was important if I was going to get back to my family.

  I toweled off and dried my hair, and then selected a relaxed pair of dark jeans and a tight-fitting black shirt from my bureau. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Kaden’s training today, but I wanted to be mobile and flexible, just in case it involved some kind of ninja leaping training, although honestly I hoped it didn’t since I’d already proved I wasn’t that athletic.

  I hoped I’d be able to learn magic quickly. I’d been a pretty good student all through school. Maybe not brilliant, but hard-working and attentive, and I got good grades. Plus I had lots of motivation now. Every day I spent in the Ether-Realm was day back in my real world that went on without me. My heart ached at how my family must be coping. Katie still had another year of high school to get through, and Matt and Nick should be focused on college. I hated the idea that they might be grieving my loss and searching missing persons reports instead of focusing on their lives, and I couldn’t even imagine how bad my poor adopted parents must feel.

  At least I didn’t have to worry about my last school semester. My grades would carry me through to graduation whether I was there or not, and I already had my college music scholarship. All I had to worry about was getting back, and then everything would be fine. I could finish out my senior year and head off to college for a completely new start. I could be invisible, and never have to worry
about being weird and different ever again.

  Kaden had said to call for Rowan when I was ready to begin my training. I grasped her bell and rang it sharply. She came more quickly this time, evidently wanting to keep up proper appearances, but she still had that sullen manner about her that she’d held ever since my escape attempt.

  “Are you ready to go?” she asked, her eyes on the floor. “I’ve been instructed to bring you to the Dragon for training.” Then she peeked up at me, as if unsure about her next words. “And also to move your things into his room. Is that… is it true, mistress?”

  Color blossomed in my cheeks, but I nodded. If Kaden thought I cared what any Ether-Realm people said about my reputation, he was dead wrong. I wasn’t planning to stay here anyway, and it’s not like I was actually going to be sleeping with him. I was ready to do whatever it took to learn battle magic, so whatever. I could sleep in a guy’s room. No big deal. It’d be just like when Nick and I used to camp out in Matt’s treehouse. Purely platonic. And of course it had occurred to me that if everyone thought Kaden and I were sleeping together, Rhys might leave me alone until I was able to deal with his magic on my own. As far as I was concerned, it was a great solution.

  “That would be fine, Rowan. I’ll be staying in Kaden’s chambers starting tonight.”

  She hesitated. “And… you’re okay with that?”

  I gave her a rueful smile. “Now you’re concerned? Didn’t you tell me that it was normal for this to happen?”

  “You just seemed so horrified by the idea when you first arrived. I wanted to make sure…” She straightened, remembering herself, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Not that it’s any of my business. I apologize for speaking out of place.”