Stroke the Flame

16

“I didn’t tell them anything. The Air God warned me not to speak of this with anyone except you and your other mates. Of course, it was difficult to hide my powers from my family, but people are often willing to believe there was a sudden gust of wind or a strange breeze instead of magic.”

“Were they okay with you leaving?”

“I informed them I was traveling to Thundercrest to visit the library there, but once I was on the road I escaped my guards and came here.” I frowned as my guilt at deceiving my family returned. “I left them a note telling them I was all right, but they’re probably looking for me now. I hope they’re not too worried.”

She shifted again behind me, as if trying to get comfortable. “Are you close with your family?”

“Yes. For the most part.” Talking about my family would be tricky without revealing more about who I truly was, so I changed the subject. “What of you? I’m guessing those people back there were not your family.”

“No, my family is long gone.”

I heard something in her voice that made me think this wasn’t something she cared to elaborate on, and I fell silent. I could understand not wanting to talk about some things about our pasts. None of that mattered anyway. Our old lives were over. What mattered now was the journey ahead of us.

14

Kira

W

e traveled along the road with the forest all around us, Jasin in the lead to make sure the way was clear, while Slade and Reven rode behind to guard our backs. On any other day I would be heading into the forest right now and trying to find some game for Roark to make sure that Tash would be safe and that I would be fed tonight. Now I was sitting behind this man I’d just met, with three other strange men around me, and together we were supposed to save the world. I still didn’t know how I had gotten involved in this, and wondered if it was all a big mistake. Maybe the men were supposed to find some other girl. Maybe the Gods chose wrong.

Even if I ignored the whole “overthrow the Black Dragon” goal, which was so far-fetched it was laughable, the thought of bonding with all the men was hard to swallow. We would be mated for the rest of our lives, with the four of them sharing me forever. It was hard to believe they would be okay with that. I could barely fathom it myself, although I had to admit I didn’t hate the idea either. I had to give the Gods credit, they’d certainly found me four men who made my mouth water.

I supposed the only thing to do now was to get to know my future mates better. I’d made some progress with Auric, and over the next few days I’d learn what I could about the other men as well. Especially Jasin. In less than two weeks I’d be expected to sleep with him, and I barely knew a thing about him.

At midday, we stopped beside a small stream for a break and to have a quick meal, but none of us felt like chatting much. I intended to ride with Jasin next, but then I caught him casting fire, moving it from hand to hand like a juggling ball, and fear crept down my spine. Even though he wasn’t the one who’d killed my family, I’d had a fear of fire ever since that day.

I decided to ride with Slade, whose solid, quiet presence soothed me as we rode east through the Earth Realm. He was so large and muscular it was a pleasure to hold onto him and feel all that contained strength under my arms, even if he had no interest in making conversation.

When the sun touched the horizon, Jasin called for us to halt. “This looks like a good place to camp for the evening.”

He’d chosen a spot in a small clearing near a freshwater stream. Thick trees sheltered us on either side, filled with the sounds of birds chirping as they found their resting spots for the night.

As I eased off Slade’s horse, I let out a pained groan. Every muscle in my body seemed to hurt, especially my thighs and back. If I was this sore after only a few hours of riding, how would I make it through nine or ten days of this?

“Are you all right?” Slade asked, resting one of his large hands lightly on my shoulder.

I stretched my back, trying to ease the aches in it. “Just sore. I haven’t ridden in some time.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Jasin said. “I’ve seen plenty of soldiers get broken in. Try to stretch and walk around, that will help.”

“Sitting behind one of us can’t be helping either,” Slade said.

Jasin nodded. “We should get her a horse when we can.”

“With what money?” I asked.

“Money isn’t an issue,” Auric said.

I blew out a long breath. “Maybe not at the moment, but we have a long journey ahead of us.”

Reven stayed silent the entire time, almost as if he wasn’t there at all. He removed his things from his horse, then spread his bedroll out on one side of the clearing. The rest of us followed his lead, quickly setting up camp while the sky darkened.

I grabbed my bow and headed into the forest before the men could stop me. Tash’s mother had been kind enough to pack us some rations, but they would only last so long if we didn’t supplement them with fresh food. Besides, we would need to keep our energy up for the journey ahead. We could stop in an inn every few days, but that wasn’t possible every night.

The Spirit Goddess must have been smiling upon me, because I managed to take down a large gray hare almost immediately. Maybe she had chosen me after all, although I didn’t remember a visit from her.

Wait. The old woman I’d found in the forest. Could that have been her? If so, why hadn’t she given me more information? Or some powers, like the guys had gotten from their Gods?