Stroke the Flame

28

And Reven? I didn’t trust him at all, but he could have walked away a hundred times already, and he hadn’t. I planned to keep an eye on him, but I didn’t think he would put Kira in danger, not after how he’d defended her from the bandits. Even though he was distant now, I had a feeling he would come around eventually. If not, I’d be happy to show him the door. We had no room on this team for people who weren’t committed to our mission.

As I watched through the window, something caught my eye outside the stone fence. An air elemental. It glided along the perimeter of the town and looked like a swirling tornado with arms and glowing eyes. I’d seen a few elementals before, mostly rock and water ones, but never an air type.

Elementals were immune to their own element, so Auric would be useless against this one, but they were weak against the others. The Dragons were supposed to keep us safe from them, but elemental attacks were common enough that people had learned how to defend themselves from them. Of course, that hadn’t helped the village we’d visited last night. They’d clearly been unprepared for whatever had hit them and had fled the village instead of fighting back. But larger towns like this one were well fortified against elemental attacks. Other than the stone wall and the small moat, they also had a line of kindling next to a brazier they could easily light. I had no doubt that the guards were all trained in how to handle elementals as well, but I kept watch on the one below anyway.

We were just lucky it wasn’t a shade. They were even more rare than elementals, but deadlier—and very little could stop them.

When Kira returned from the washroom, she spotted me and paused. She wore her one chemise, which was thin enough to show off her curves and the outline of her pale breasts, though I forced myself not to stare. If I looked at her like that I might start feeling things I had no desire to feel.

“Can’t sleep?” I asked, my voice low so it wouldn’t wake Jasin.

She shook her head as she sat beside me on the windowsill. “How’s guard duty?”

“Quiet so far, although now we have a visitor.” I pointed at the air elemental as it hovered outside the wall.

Her eyes widened as she caught sight of it. “Should we be worried?”

“Not yet. It seems to be alone, and it can’t get through the town’s wall. If it did, the guards could probably handle it. But I’m keeping an eye on it in case I need to help fight it off.”

She nodded. “Let’s hope it’s just the one.”

I leaned back and let my gaze linger on her a little longer. Her long red hair hung about her shoulders and a frown touched her lush lips. She’d worn that frown ever since she’d run out of the inn earlier tonight. I had a feeling Auric and Jasin were involved, judging by their similar expressions, but I wasn’t sure if it was any of my business. Still, I didn’t like seeing her upset.

“You seem troubled,” I said.

“Is it that obvious?” She sighed. “Auric kissed me, Jasin’s an ass, and Reven won’t talk to me. You’re the only one I can stand to be around at the moment.”

“I’m honored,” I said, with a low chuckle.

She took a piece of her hair and began idly twirling it as she looked out the window. “I don’t know how to do this. I wasn’t prepared to be involved with one man right now, let alone four.”

I couldn’t stop staring at her. She was too damn beautiful, and she made my resolve to keep my distance from her crumble. “You’ll figure it out.”

“I have to, I suppose.” Her bright eyes found mine again in the darkness. “Do you ever wonder why we were chosen and not someone else?”

“Every damn day,” I muttered.

“Me too. I can’t stop questioning it all. Was I chosen for all of you, or were you chosen for me? What if the Gods chose wrong?”

“I’ve considered that too, but we must trust that they have a plan for us.”

Her lips quirked up slightly. “Your faith in them is inspiring.”

I shrugged. “I need to believe, otherwise I question everything too. Especially my place in this. I’m a simple blacksmith, nothing more. I don’t belong here.”

“Do you want to leave?” she asked softly.

“No. Not at all.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry if I made it sound that way. I’m loyal to you and to our mission. Have no doubt about that.”

“But you don’t really want to be here.”

“It’s not that.” I ran a hand along my beard as I considered my words. “It’s more that I had a life I was content with already. A life I had no desire to leave behind.”

“I see.” She said, her voice quiet. “Did you leave someone behind?”

My chest clenched and at first, I couldn’t respond. “No,” I finally said. “There was someone once, but it’s over.”

Outside the window, the air elemental began moving toward the hills, leaving the town alone. My shoulders relaxed as he drifted out of sight. I didn’t want to fight anyone unless it was absolutely necessary, even an elemental.

“It’s gone,” I said, turning back to Kira. “And you should head back to bed.”

“I don’t know if I can sleep.”

Before I could stop myself, I said, “I can help. Turn around.”

She shifted on the windowsill so that her back was to me. I took hold of her luxurious red hair and considered wrapping it around my hand and pulling her head back so I could claim her mouth, but I restrained myself and simply moved it over her shoulder. Over the chemise, I rested my hands on her upper back, immediately feeling the tension in it. Her upper body was strong, probably from her skill with a bow, and I smoothed my hands across her, slowly kneading her muscles. She tipped back her head with a breathy sigh that made me instantly hard.