Stroke the Flame

22

“Now you tell us,” Jasin said, throwing up his hands.

“I didn’t feel it’s presence before.” Slade frowned. “Actually, I didn’t know I could do that until now.”

“Fascinating.” Auric said. “I suspect we’ll all discover new uses of our powers the more we use them.”

Reven mounted his horse in one quick movement. “Let’s go.”

As Jasin pulled me up onto the horse behind him, he flinched a little. His neck was soaked in blood from the wound he’d received earlier. The wound he’d gotten defending me.

I lightly touched his neck, inspecting the gash. “We should take care of this.”

“I’m fine,” Jasen said, as he flicked the reigns of his horse. “Just a scratch.”

“We should at least clean it and wrap it.” As we left the abandoned village behind us, I covered his wound with my hand, trying to stop the flow of blood. It was the only thing I could do while we were riding. Warmth flared as we touched, making my fingertips tingle against his skin.

“It’s not so bad, really. I’ve had worse while shaving.” Despite his words, he rested his hand over mine, like he didn’t want me to pull it away. I became acutely aware of how close we were, with my fingers on his neck and my other hand on his hip. But I didn’t pull away either.

I ran my thumb slowly along his skin. “I just hate seeing any of you hurt.”

“Ah, so you do care about me.”

“You may be growing on me a little,” I admitted.

“I knew it.” He flashed me a roguish grin over his shoulder.

“Don’t get—” I started, but then I pulled my hand away to check the flow of blood and the rest of the words caught in my mouth. Jasin’s neck was not only no longer bleeding, but it didn’t seem to be injured at all anymore. How…?

“What is it?” Jasin asked, twisting on the saddle to look back at me. Auric glanced over at us, his brow furrowed, while Slade stopped his horse.

“Your neck,” I said, running my fingers over it, not believing my eyes. “The wound. It’s gone.”

Jasin touched the area where he’d been cut with a frown. “Gods, you’re right.”

“Kira must have healed it,” Auric said.

“Me?” I asked. “I didn’t do anything.”

Slade shrugged. “You’re the representative of the Spirit Goddess and the next Black Dragon. It makes sense you would have some powers of your own.”

Jasin stretched his neck, but he didn’t seem to be in any pain anymore. “Incredible.”

Auric examined Jasin closely. “I’ve heard rumors that the Black Dragon can heal her mates. I should have realized that would apply to us as well.”

I stared down at my hand, which was still coated in Jasin’s blood. “When I touched Jasin my hand felt warm, but he’s always warm so I didn’t think much of it. Maybe that’s how I did it?”

“Is anyone else injured?” Auric asked.

Slade shook his head, and we turned to Reven, who’d been watching the entire conversation in silence. When all eyes fell upon the small cut on his forehead, he sighed. “Fine, you can heal me.”

I slid off of Jasin’s horse and climbed up behind Reven. I was even more hesitant to touch him than Jasin, but I braced myself and lightly rested my hand over Reven’s forehead. While Jasin was comforting and warm, like sitting near a hearth on a cold night, Reven was cool and soothing, like diving into a refreshing lake on a hot day. That same tingling feeling returned to my fingertips, and when I pulled my hand away, the cut on his forehead had vanished.

“Praise the Gods,” Slade said quietly.

I stared at my hand. Even though I hadn’t been given any direction by the Spirit Goddess, it seemed she’d given me a gift too. Praise the Gods indeed.

18

Kira

A

s the moon climbed the sky, Slade guided our horses through the forest toward the mountains and the cave he’d sensed. The entrance to it was so small that none of us could squeeze inside, but he used his powers to push some of the stones away so we could enter.

We spread out around the cave and Jasin started a fire, while Auric created a breeze so the smoke would travel outside. Slade made a circle of stone, which Reven filled up with water, allowing us to wash ourselves and our clothes as best we could to get the mud and blood off. I took care of the horses, rubbing them down and giving them a few slices from an apple. They all butted their heads against my hand, wanting my attention. No surprise, really. Animals had always liked me. A coincidence, or because I was the representative of the Spirit Goddess? I wasn’t sure.

After washing our clothes, we hung them on rocks near the fire so they would dry by morning. I’d donned one of my fraying dresses, while Jasin had opted to go shirtless, wearing only trousers after claiming he was hot. I tried not to stare at his naked chest and failed horribly. Who could blame me, with all those muscles on display and that intriguing trail of dark hair going down into his pants? He smirked at me, like he knew I was enjoying the show, and I swallowed and forced myself to look away.

None of us were ready to sleep yet after a fight like that, even though we were all exhausted. Instead we spread out around the fire and ate some of the dried meat, bread, and fruit we had stored in our packs.

“Let’s admit it,” Jasin said, as he leaned back on his bedroll in a way that flaunted his well-developed chest. “Tonight was a disaster. We got lucky, but it could have gone another way easily.”

Auric smoothed back his blond hair, which looked darker since it was still wet. “We simply need more training. Not just on our own, but as a team.”

“You should practice fighting against each other too,” I said. “And then once you’re all masters, you can teach me. Since supposedly I’ll be inheriting these powers soon.” I couldn’t decide if I was excited about the idea or nervous. The guys could barely control their powers with just one element and I was supposed to master all four somehow. Including fire. I shuddered just thinking about it. But until I got those powers, I’d be at a disadvantage too. I was pretty good with my bow, but my fighting skills were a bit rusty otherwise.