“I’m going to enjoy fucking your woman,” he tells Camden. “And if you try to inhibit my kind in any way, know that she will die.”
Done with this shit, I say quietly, “Oh, you silly creature.” I put one of my hands on top of his arm that holds me in place. “If you think you’re taking me with you, think again.”
The vampire has the nerve to chuckle, enraging me even further. “What are you going to do, little human? You deign to overpower me?”
“Overpower?” I echo softly. “Of course not. You hurt Leisel. That means you can’t be allowed to live.”
I draw forward the flame within me until it’s just shy of coming out—resting right beneath the surface of my skin, its power causing pinpricks of anticipation to break out all along my body.
“I have a word of advice for you, vampire,” I say, keeping my tone mild. “Though it won’t be very useful, since your clock’s just about run out. Before trying to take a hostage,make sure you know their species.”
I’ve never taken a life before, but the need to kill the vampire is so overpowering that I can think of nothing else. Before Kyron can respond, teleport me away, or even twitch a muscle, I let loose my black flame. Both my hands light up instantly, covered in a magnificent gold and black fire. It crackles and pops and hisses aggressively, attacking the vampire with a vehemence that startles me. The fire shoots from my hand to his arms, rapidly spreading to his chest, and then to the rest of him. I step out of his grasp with ease as he recoils, hissing.
He barely has a chance to yell before the flame kills him. No, not kills,consumes. It covers every inch of his skin, and within two seconds, he’s gone—nothing left in his place. Not even ashes. That’s what makes my golden-and-black fire so dangerous; it doesn’t just burn, it annihilates, rarely leaving anything behind to prove it was ever there. That’s why I worked so hard in my youth to learnhow to control it—it’s possibly the most dangerous magical power in existence. Really, it’s more of a curse.
My hand is still alight with the flickering dancing fire. I suck in a deep breath, withdrawing my magic, watching as the flame slowly winks out, disappearing back into me.
Leisel promptly runs up to me, jumping into my arms. I hold her tightly to me, closing my eyes and kissing the crown of her head repeatedly, still shaking from the fear of nearly losing her. Though my flame is no longer covering my skin, it’s still just below the surface. My riling emotions make it difficult to contain.
I set Leisel on her feet, sink the floor in front of her, and look her over, grasping her shoulders with unsteady hands. “Are you alright?” I ask her in a shaky voice.
There’s a red imprint of a hand on her arm and a pink scratch on her neck left by the vampire, but other than that, she appears unharmed.
She nods, throwing her arms around me again. Her small frame trembles from fear, and that alone tugs at my heart.
I hate that she had to watch me kill. What really frightens me, however, is the fact that killing the vampire seemed like the most logical thing in the world. He was threatening the only person I have any regard for, so the fact that he had to die was no more than a mathematical equation in my mind.
“Sierra,” Camden says softly, “that was…remarkable.”
“That was survival,” I respond, trying to calm myself, lest my flame appear unsummoned.
“Are you okay?” Wyatt asks Leisel. She glances at him over her shoulder, nods, and then returns her face to the crook of my neck.
I hold her close, breathing in her scent, assuring myself that she’saliveand safe in my arms. Assuring myself that no matter what, I’ll always make sure she’s protected.
After several minutes, once I’ve at least somewhat calmed, I release Leisel. She appears to be calming down quicker than I am; she’s no longer shaking, trembling, or hyperventilating. Instead, she’s looking at me like I’m her savior.
I tuck her hair behind her ear. “Let’s get you back to your room, sweet girl.”
“Sierra, we need to talk,” Camden says, approaching me.
I hold up a hand that stops in his tracks and give him a venomous look as I stand. “Yes, we do.”
We need to discuss why in the ever-loving fuck Camden didn’t have preternatural security measures in place for instances like this. From what I’ve read, though teleportation is rare, it’s not unheard of, and theKingof all people should’ve been prepared.
I believe I recall reading about wards against teleportation in one of the books passed down from my mother, which I intend to carve into the castle walls—even if I have to do it with nothing but my nails. I’ll never put Leisel in such a position again,especiallywhile she’s so young and vulnerable. If I hadn’t been here… I can’t allow myself to imagine an alternative or my flame just might pop back up. As soon as I get Leisel back to her room, I will search through my books to find the wards. At the very least, our rooms will be shielded before long—the rest of the castle be damned.
Camden’s eyebrows raise slightly in surprise at my harsh tone. He quickly schools his expression, and tells me, “I’ll come for you in half an hour. We’ll speak then.”
Chapter Twenty
Camden
As soon as Sierra ushers Leisel out of the room, carrying the child in her arms, I summon Claude, as well as the dozen warriors on security detail tonight into the dining hall. I’m ready to take all their heads for the damn nearcatastrophethat occurred, barely keeping my wolf in check as he howls and growls and wrestles me for dominance. It’s a miracle I have the presence of mind to assign stand-ins for the patrol men I’ve called on—my anger is taking away the majority of my rationality.
The image of Kyron holding Sierra to him, threatening to fuck her and kill her…it’s enough to drive me out of my mind with fury—to make my control over my wolf slip, which could be detrimental to everyone around me.
I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I wanted to snatch Sierra and protect her from all danger, but Leisel’s life was in jeopardy—I couldn’t take the risk of losing Rockwell’s future Beta female. I also knew that any sudden moves could set Kyron off, making him react dangerously.
