Stroke the Flame

12

I ran through the dark kitchen as fast as I could, clutching my dagger in my shaking hand. Heavy footsteps pounded behind me as I reached the door leading outside, but before I could open it, someone struck me on the back of my head.

I fell against the door, momentarily dazed, even as my brain screamed at me to run and fight. Through the haze I managed to spin around and knee Roark between the legs, but Koth was there too.

His blow got me hard, right in the stomach. All the air left me in a swift whoosh and was replaced by lancing pain. Stars danced across my vision, but I wouldn’t let my life end, not like this.

I stabbed the dagger into Koth’s chest with one last burst of strength. Koth howled as I buried the knife deep in him, and then he hit the floor. But I wasn’t safe yet.

“What have you done?” Roark asked, as he stared at his friend. When he took a step toward me, I wasn’t sure how I could stop him. Not when he looked at me with murder in his eyes.

A thin knife flew across the room and landed in the wall beside Roark with a sharp thunk. A dark figure in a black hooded cloak stood on the other side of the kitchen, with a sword in one hand. A matching sword hung from his waist.

“Get away from her,” the cloaked man said, his voice like ice.

“This is none of your concern, stranger,” Roark said, glaring at him.

“I’m making it my concern.”

Roark ignored the man and grabbed my arm, yanking me toward him. A blade flashed, glinting in the moonlight. A gurgling choke came from Roark’s mouth. Blood sprayed across my dress.

Roark let me go and fell to the floor, his throat slashed by the cloaked man who now stood behind him. I hadn’t even heard him move.

I gaped at my strange rescuer, wondering if I should be thankful or fearful. “Who are you?”

“Reven.” He held up his blade and the blood flew off it in a magical swirl before he sheathed the sword. As he turned toward me, I caught a flash of dangerous blue eyes and a sharp jaw traced with dark stubble from under his hood. Familiarity crept through me and I realized who he was.

The last of my four mates had arrived.

11

Reven

W

alking in on the woman I’d been sent to find being attacked wasn’t what I’d expected this evening, but it also wasn’t all that uncommon in my line of work.

“Are you hurt?” I asked her, while I checked the area to make sure there were no other attackers.

She rubbed the back of her head. “A little banged up, but otherwise fine. Thanks to you.”

I examined the two men on the floor—the one I’d killed, and the one with a dagger sticking out of his chest, presumably Kira’s. I yanked it out, used my magic to remove the blood from the blade, then handed it to her. “Who were they?”

“Drunken fools who enjoyed hurting women,” she muttered. “Problem is, one of them owns this place. Or he did, anyway.”

Footsteps sounded behind us and I reached for one of my swords again, but it was only a young woman in a chemise. She paused in the doorway and gasped when she saw the bodies on the floor.

“Father?” she asked, with a slight sob.

“I’m so sorry, Tash,” Kira said. “Koth and your father attacked me while I was asleep. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Another older woman ran into the room, and she let out a strangled gasp at the sight of the dead men. The other woman, Tash, was already crying, and the two women collapsed into each other’s arms with a sob. Kira watched with sympathy, while I took the chance to admire her. Despite being forced into this against my will, I had to admit she was pretty easy on the eyes. Her red hair was lightly mussed and her cheeks were flushed from the attack. Her thin chemise hugged her body in ways that awakened parts of me I usually tried to ignore. She was obviously brave and quite capable, since she’d killed one of the men before I’d intervened. But none of that mattered, because I was getting out of this mess as quickly as possible.

Kira gestured for me to follow her while we left the sobbing women in the kitchen. We stepped into a back room with a small bed, which she sank onto as she covered her face with her hands. She took a long breath, then looked up at me again. “I’m assuming you’re here because you’re the next Azure Dragon.”

“Something like that,” I said, with obvious distaste.

“I get the feeling you’re not pleased about that.”

That was an understatement. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are. And a good thing too, because it seems it’s time I left this town.” She began pulling clothes out of a wardrobe and packing them in a bag, while I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorway.

“I assume the others are already here then,” I said.

“Yes, they’re staying somewhere else. It’s a long story.” She sighed as she shoved a pair of ragged-looking slippers in the bag. “A few hours ago I led a quiet life. Now two men are dead and four men say I have to bond with them and become a Dragon. Why is this happening to me?”I didn’t reply. It had taken me a long time to accept that the Water God had truly chosen me. I’d ignored it at first. Then I’d gotten angry. Eventually I’d tried yelling, bargaining, and even praying to get out of it. I hated the Black Dragon and her mates with every fiber of my being, but that didn’t mean I wanted to get involved in some mad quest that would only end up with all of us getting killed.