“We can help you,” Aerolus said.“We’ll do whatever we need to in order to help Mother fight off the Darkness.”
Arim’s ink-black gaze swept the room, lingering on Aerolus with a disturbing intensity before finding me.“You need to hone your skills and soon.”
Before I could ask what exactly he meant, he plowed on.“Parlor tricks—moving glasses, pulling out chairs, and fetching books with your mind—is one thing.Fighting wraiths is another.”He turned to Cadmus.“You should be using your visions to counter future troubles, not questioning everything you believe you see.Open your mind and use your Sight before it begins to use you.
“And Darius.”He paused to take a deep breath.“The most stubborn of the Royal Four.How appropriate that you have found the first of the royal affai.You did not want to wed, yet here she is.”Arim strode to Samantha’s side of the bed and grazed her cheek with his hand.“A tender flower that can withstand any storm.Do not underestimate her power.”He narrowed his eyes.“And watch your temper around her.I’ve no wish to put out any more blue flames.”
“Wait.More?You’ve got to be kidding me.”Darius stared down at Samantha with disbelief.“Are you telling meshedid this?She cursed me using a Netharat spell?”
“No.The Knowing Crystal had been tampered with.Someone had enspelled it with the Wraith’s Kiss.It worked on your magic, and because Samantha is your affai, it worked on her as well.”
“Because she and Darius share his magic,” Aerolus said with awe and understanding.
Arim nodded.“The woman is of this world, yet she’s capable of withstanding elemental magic.She shows no reaction to the blue flame.Theoretically then, she could learn to use fire, even to control the Wraith’s Kiss with proper training.”Arim studied Aerolus.“You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you, Wind Mage?”His eyes narrowed.“Come with me.”
Arim disappeared, and Aerolus vanished behind him, back to Tanselm or wherever Arim spent his time.Darius blinked in surprise.I had no idea what to do, and Cadmus didn’t say a word.We just stared at one another in shock.
The room smelled of burnt wool, and the air remained uncomfortably warm.
Darius shook his head.“What the hell did you see when we were burning but not burning?”
I was about to answer when Samantha blinked her eyes open.
Instead of the mysterious green gaze I’d seen earlier, her eyes burned a bright, curious red.
Just like her royal consort, the Prince of Fire.
Chapter17
Samantha
Istared from Darius to his brothers and back again.Nothing looked out of place in his bedroom, yet I caught the scent of something burning.I sat up, feeling rested, and wondered how much time had passed.
“What did I miss?”
Darius had yet to blink, his gaze fixed on mine in what looked like shock, and I felt the first fluttering of fear.
“Darius?Tell me what has you looking so spooked.”
He leaned close, staring into my eyes.“I don’t believe this.”He snapped his fingers, and orange flame appeared.Without giving me time to protest, he took my palm in his and placed the ball of flame in it.
I squealed and tried to break free, instinctively wanting to distance myself from fuckingfire, but I couldn’t shake the flame.
To my astonishment, the fire didn’t burn.It felt warm but comfortable, a welcoming heat that made my insides flare with carnal need, with the urge to draw closer to Darius.
After what felt like forever, Darius quit staring at me and released my hand, and the fire faded.He backed away, but I saw my desire mirrored in his gaze, in his dark-red eyes—a reminder that I was definitely living out my own episode of theTwilight Zone.
I swallowed a knot of nerves and left the bed.I straightened to stand tall, needing all the strength of presence I could muster in a room filled with gorgeous giants who stared at me as if I had three heads.
Unfortunately, that put me much closer to Darius, sparking my already overheated sex drive.I ignored the blush coloring my cheeks and cleared my throat.“So, ah, would someone please tell me what’s going on?How long have I been sleeping?”
The men ignored me, speaking among themselves.I caught vague snippets about Aerolus being missing and my eyes having gone haywire, though that made no sense considering I could see just fine.
“Excuse me.”When they continued to ignore me, I kicked Darius in the back of the knee, making him stumble.He turned to face me with a scowl mean enough to fell a tree.Odd that his anger only made himmoreattractive, his impatience infinitely more challenging than the bland businessmen I dealt with on a daily basis, not to mention my even worse dating prospects.
I am definitely not right in the head.
I focused and tried again.“Let me say it a little louder.What the hell is going on around here?”
