Chapter Four #2
She winced. “Rips them apart because they aren’t my mate. No trace is left. It’s djinn mate fire, but it is very excellent as a defensive weapon.”
Kremoryn said, “What does it do to guys you are interested in?”
“I don’t know. After the first burn on my first boyfriend, I gave up. My current home entertainment units are all rechargeable. I think I would have to try banging a djinn for the burn not to kill them.”
“So, have you gone to them?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t really gotten around to it.”
Kremoryn chuckled and moved in toward her. “Let a little fire loose. I need to check something.”
She shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”
As Vaia stood watching, leaning against Azreen, Hura held her palm flat, and a tiny fairy made of dark fire danced and twirled.
Kremoryn held his hand near hers, and a male made of dark fire walked over from his hand to hers.
His fire was still tethered to his hand, and the male fire grabbed the little fairy.
The fairy turned and kicked the male hard.
He staggered back, and dark tendrils wrapped around the fire and decidedly put it back on his hand.
Kremoryn was laughing. “Oh, dear. This is unexpected.”
“What?”
“You don’t have djinn magic; you have wildfire.” He turned toward Azreen. “Can you keep Vaia safe?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Good. I will keep Hura safe. Come with me, little dancer.” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him.
Hura yelped in surprise, but then she was gone. So were the three assassins with the empty carts. Kremoryn was effective when he chose to be.
Vaia looked at the spot they had been. “Should we have kept Hura?”
Min started laughing. “She can’t be kept. She is interested in things, though, and if he is interesting enough, she will remain with him until he isn’t.”
Vaia sighed. “So, do we know who is sending the killers?”
Min paused, and her eyes went milk-white. “The lords of shadows are coming for the woman who would be queen.”
“Oh, shit,” Vaia muttered. “What’s she like?”
“She’s the kind of woman who would pull a friend out of a volcano and did it.
” Min nodded. “She’s an amazing dancer and wrote half the choreographies that you learned when you took it up as a means to get what you needed.
She also is an amazing designer, and the first costume designs that you used were hers, but she told me to say they were mine. ”
Vaia blinked. “You are joking.”
“I am not. She’s been feeding you designs to make sure you were successful and not relaxed about where the next idea would come from.”
“Why? I am grateful, but why?”
“She said your life was hard enough without the added pressure, and she loves researching historical costumes and incorporating those designs into gowns and dresses, and capes and gloves.”
“Wow. I have to get her something nice.”
A soft knock on the door made all three of them look to it. Azreen was taking a step toward it when Rolf and two servers walked in.
He took a look at the room service carts. “The king is going to kick my ass.”
Vaia sighed. “Don’t worry. It was handled. Your ass is not currently on his mind. Is that dinner?”
The butler kicked into high gear, a spare place setting was found for Min, and they sat at the dining table to have the delayed meal, complete with dessert.
They discussed the likelihood of what had spurred the lords of shadows into action, and Min blushed. “I think it was that they knew he was single, and if there were a partner on the horizon, he would get even more powerful.”
Vaia blinked.
Azreen nodded. “Right. His breed of monsters builds their power from those they consume. The more powerful the prey, the more powerful the king. That is how he became king to begin with.”
Vaia blinked. “Does Hura look like the type to be consumed?”
Min chuckled. “Depends on the day of the week. In jeans and sweats, probably not.”
They were making inroads on the cake, but Vaia couldn’t imagine what was going on with her bio father and the woman who had supported her behind the scenes.
* * * *
Hura stood in the between with Kremoryn’s gaze glittering red in the darkness. “So, you have me here. What do you intend to do with me?”
Shadows stroked her cheeks, and she felt tendrils trying to get under her sweatshirt.
“I will protect you. Cherish you. Care for you.”
“Is this because my fire fairy tried to kick your little fella in the nuts?”
She saw his sharp-toothed grin in the shadows, and fortunately, it was lined up with his eyes.
“No, it is because when my flame touched yours, neither repelled the other. I can consume from any number of beings, but just that light contact caused all of my senses to rise.”
“Is that what I am feeling? How close are you?”
He chuckled, and it echoed from within his shadows. She felt his shadows pull her against him.
“This close.”
“Hmm. Why are you doing this again?”
“To protect you from those who would try and destroy you.”
“Right, but they are just coming after me because of you. If they hadn’t made a move, I wouldn’t be here.”
“So, I should thank them?”
She snorted, and then Kremoryn kissed her.
Hura paused at the lips she couldn’t see for the surrounding shadows and pressed her palms to his shoulders and let him deepen the kiss.
She exhaled some of her wildfire into him, and he shuddered against her.
He groaned and said, “Why can’t I get under your clothing? ”
She chuckled and leaned back. “You didn’t ask.”
“You couldn’t guess?”
“Oh, I could guess, but I have danced at some of your parties and know that consent is important.”
He blinked and leaned back. “Danced. Wait. No.”
“Yeah.”
She felt the shadows move across her features to obscure the upper portion of her face. He staggered back. “You?”
“Me. You have been cutting back on the parties lately. Getting old?” She cocked her head.
He released her, and the room became clear around them. They were in a study, and there was a couch, desk, and chairs.
“Gee. What happened there?”
“You are the dancer for my parties.”
“Correct.”
“You spurred the participants into a frenzy.”
She shrugged. “You flatter me.”
“You aren’t affected by the lust of others.”
“Not precisely true. But it is true on the clock. I can tease and play, but if I got aroused, my day would be much shorter, and I would have had a bunch of dark-powered babies or bodies to explain.” She shrugged.
“As for why you couldn’t get under my sweatshirt, it isn’t a sweatshirt. I am wearing my shadows.”
Kremoryn stared at her. “You have enough control to make clothing?”
“Sure. My dances would have a much different end if I didn’t. So, have you concluded your seduction attempt? I can get myself home.”
“Wait. No. I need to keep you safe.”
“Why, Your Majesty? I obviously freak you out on several levels. Take some time. Adjust to the possibilities and then call me. You have my number.”
She wrapped herself in her shadows completely and headed home.
Hura looked at the five startled men who were in her home and lashed out with shadows, distracted by what had just happened. The blade that ran her through made her cough slightly.
“That’s it. Out you go.” She grunted and sent them all out through the window and onto the front lawn.
They were all groaning and immobile, so she picked up her phone and called the emergency number.
“Hello, I have five men on my lawn with dark magic burns who broke into my house and just tried to kill me.” She listened to the man on the other side.
“Oh, they stabbed me, and the blade is running through me right now. Yes, I am leaving it in. Please also send an ambulance to go to Danforth General. I have dark fae ancestry.” She rattled off her address and heard sirens from nearby.
She told the operator, “I will wait outside. I can hear the sirens.”
The man tried to tell her to remain still, but she was already on her way.
She moved carefully so as not to knock the blade while she exited her house and locked the door on her way out.
She stood near her front door, watching the lights approach.
Her shadows were keeping her from bleeding. She hated bleeding. It was messy.
Hura verified that she had her identification and all necessary cards with her. When the XIA pulled up, she nodded, and two of the men walked toward her and froze.
“I know. Is this a sword in my lung, or am I just happy to see you?” She smiled.
The dark elf that stopped in front of her slowly started to move around her. He whistled softly. “You have shadow magic?”
“Yup. It’s keeping me from bleeding, but breathing is particularly difficult.”
“Which one of them did it?” He looked at the men on the ground, who were all still moaning and covering their burns.
“The one with a sheath and no sword, dumbass.”
The agent laughed and then sobered. “Right. Ambulance is here. Your name?”
“Hurathodia Ar-Venkor.”
“That’s impossible.”
“You are free to argue with me later, but my father was a shadowborn with outworlder genes. I had two dads. Oh, and yes, I am a bit older than I look.”
The ambulance screeched to a halt, and the first responders ran for the guys on the ground until the dark elf whistled sharply. The medics changed direction and came for her.
“Those morons just have wildfire burns. They will recover after I do.” She was walking slowly toward the ambulance and smiled. “I am going to have to travel sitting up.”
The medics smiled slightly as she made her way there, and then a boil of shadows appeared in front of her.
She paused and huffed. “What is it, Kremoryn? I am busy.”
The red eyes stared, and his shadows flared in outrage. “Who did it?”
“Fate. Now step to the side, and I will be on my way.”
“No.” His shadows tiptoed around the sword.
Hura muttered, “Uh-oh.” The blade slid out, and his shadows slid in, fixing and knitting and pulling her body back together. Her scream hung in the air.
Kremoryn said something to the agent, and then they were at his home once again. The wound was burning as he fixed it from the inside out. She clutched at him and panted until the pain finally receded and she could get her breath.
She was holding tight to him as the pain slowly ebbed, and she sighed. “See? I am fine.”
He held her. “They were waiting?”
“They were rifling through my stuff. I tried to use shadows on them when I got there, but one of the fuckers pulled a sword. A sword! Yeesh. That may have flown when I was young, but not anymore.”
He paused. “How old are you?”
“That’s a bold question.”
“Seriously.”
“Over two hundred, less than six.” She smirked.
He leaned back, “Centuries without a partner?”
“It’s easy if you have hobbies, and I have had a lot of hobbies.”
“Does Matthias know?”
“Of course. I helped him build this city into what it is today. I am delighted that he has settled down with Leo after all this time. He does better with a companion.”
Kremoryn looked at her. “Why are you fighting our connection?”
“Because it will last for longer than you think. When monsters learn I will live as long or longer than they will, they get a little paranoid and head off for a nice short-lived lover.”
He frowned. “Is that the problem?”
“Sure. I was one of the few who were raised to want the perceived safety of a relationship. Connecting to feed is not a good enough reason for me to link myself to someone.”
He stroked her jaw and ran a finger down to her neck. “So, what would happen if I strayed?”
“All your stuff would light on fire, and that would be the last that you ever saw me. Of course, if you strayed, that might not be a concern for you. I would, of course, remove any children with me when I left.”
He frowned. “You have thought this out?”
“Every time I get close. I mean, as it stands, you are going to be more powerful but exhausted. Sorry. I have a few centuries of frustration to work out.”
His eyes gleamed. “Can we take on a third?”
“A third what?”
“Another male of power to divide the load.”
She muttered, “Don’t say load.”
He chuckled. “So, you are inexperienced but not ignorant.”
“Duh. I live in the modern age, but porn doesn’t do much for me. It just makes me wonder how many naked females are ordering pizza, and how the companies can continue to send those barely legal young males to deliver. It’s just irresponsible.”
He was grinning. “As a male myself, I consider him lucky.”
“As someone who has always been planning to have a family, if I caught a cougar near my youngling, I would break her teeth and her jaw.”
He blinked. “Right. Noted.”
“So, why do you want a third?”
“In order to keep you safer than I can alone. As today demonstrated, you are vulnerable, and if you catch with child, you will be more vulnerable.”
“Do you have dossiers?”
He smiled. “You are considering it?”
“Well, I can’t not, now that I know I have options, but I have spent so much time binding myself in rules to keep control, it will take me a while to relax them.”
“How long?”
“How long is a piece of string?”
He chuckled. “As long as I need it to be.”
She snorted. “Am I healed?”
“You are.”
“Is there somewhere for me to sleep?”
He nodded and walked her away from his study, down the hall, and to his bedroom.
He ushered her in with a hand on her lower back, and she sighed and looked at the bed.
The sheets were clean and neat, so she felt it was safe to move her sweatshirt into a long tee and climb into bed.
Being stabbed really took it out of her.
* * * *
Kremoryn leaned against his door and exhaled.
Finally. She was finally here. Now he just had to line up a third because of the energy radiating off her.
She was going to burn him out, and he couldn’t be more pleased.
He thought about Reymark’s quad and considered it.
One for raw attraction, one for dark impulses, and one who was steady as a rock.
He believed that he could qualify for raw attraction and dark impulses, but now he needed someone for stability whom she would still be willing to fuck.
He had calls to make.