Just Breathe (44 page)

Gavin glanced at him and punched the gas pedal.

“I’m curious. Why didn’t you tell anyone the other night about the deal I struck with Scarlet?”

Pity? Understanding? Empathy? All of the above. Sinnder scrubbed his face and absently counted the passing mailboxes. After the tenth one, he said, “Wasn’t my business.” And Zoe didn’t deserve any more pain on her plate than Sinnder had already dished out.

Gavin’s gaze shifted from the road to Sinnder. “Well, I…appreciate your keeping quiet.”

You’re such a saint, Fynn.
The Master chuckled.

Torrents of Fire whirred within him, fighting, bullying, consuming. Sinnder shut his burning eyes and softly banged his head on the window.

Gavin wisely kept his mouth shut the rest of the way. As promised, ten minutes later, he pulled into a dirt drive in the middle of nowhere.

The Master spurring him, Sinnder bolted out of the car and up to the door. He went inside without knocking.

Scarlet lay on the lounge, one arm above her head. “It’s about time you got here.” She sat up and shot her gaze behind him. “And you brought my husband. How kind of you.”

Firesight revealed a thick red chain of Fire linking Scarlet and Gavin’s souls together. Sweat coursed down his cheeks. The Sentinel stumbled closer as Scarlet yanked the fiery leash. Sinnder empathized with Gavin’s effort to resist her, but his own Fire enjoyed the show a little too much. When it turned on him, Sinnder wouldn’t be able to save Gavin from it.

Not good. Not bloody good.

Sinnder clenched his teeth and inched toward his prey.

She stared at him as if cataloguing his Fire. A grin slid across her lips. “How about a three-way before you try to kill me, Sinnder?” She rose in a swift flurry, red leaping off her skin. Stronger than he’d hoped.

He wouldn’t be able to do this by himself, and Gavin would be no help. Fuck.

I told you I’d take care of you.

The tiny, hidden well of compassion that had risen when he first met Hawthorne bubbled in weak protest.
Gavin doesn’t deserve to die.

Fire evaporated the Water with a split-second flare.

“How about you fuck yourself?” Gavin crossed his arms, Fire tattoos glaring like fresh lava.

“Only if you watch.” Scarlet grinned, then shifted her attention to Sinnder, her crimson eyes narrowed. “And
you
…” A hot hand slithered up his arm to his neck. Fingers gripped his throat. “You, matey, have been a naughty boy, hiding all that Fire. Dear fucking gods, it’s
beautiful
.” The pressure on his neck increased. “Eidan won’t like this one bit. The equinox comes, and Sinnder manages to secret away such a stash?” She
tsked
.

“Eidan won’t find out.” The voice was no longer his. Both Scarlet and Gavin raised their brows. Gavin stepped back, but Scarlet held firm.

The room superheated.

No, no, please no… I don’t want to hurt anyone except Scarlet. Let me have her. I’ll—

You are not strong enough without me, Sinnder.
The Master smiled.
You can accept me or fight me, but either way, I win.

Scarlet straightened. “Who’s in there with you? I want a bite.” She wrenched his face to hers and licked his lips. When she drew back, she closed her eyes and ran fingers across her mouth.

“You like the taste?” Fury lit the long, inescapable fuse that would lead to tragedy in a few short moments. Master was right. He would win. He always did. Only a matter of time now. “You should recognize the flavor. After all, it was your Fire that turned me into the monster I am today.”

“Flattery will get you whatever you want.” She loosened the strap on her cami and let it fall down her shoulder. A hard, tight nipple stared up at him. Not the kind of Fire he was looking for. “You can tell me how I turned you into a monster while we fuck.” She waved Gavin over with a sly grin.

The Sentinel worked his jaw and shook his head slowly. He had to know something bad was about to go down, yet he stayed put.

Scarlet pouted. “Fine. Then you and me, Sinnder. Gavin can sit on the sidelines and brood while he jerks off. He’s good at being late to parties. Totally missed the one I threw for Serena the night she died.”

A mixture of shock, hatred, and vengeance shadowed the Sentinel’s face. He raced forward, Water pulsing at the tips of his fingers, and went straight for her throat. An invisible force Sinnder knew all too well clubbed Gavin, knocking him through the air like a home run into the wall on the far side of the room. He landed with a breath-stealing smack and rubbed the back of his head.

“You fucking
bitch
. You killed Serena to get to me?” Eyes glazed, he choked over the words.

Scarlet’s irises flamed red. Her top lip curled. “Of course I did. And I’d kill a thousand more to protect what’s mine. You belong to
me
, Gavin. Don’t let that stupid whore Zoe make you think anything different.”

As the Sentinel recovered, Scarlet shifted her attention back to Sinnder. She slithered up close and stroked the diamond-hard erection pressed against his hip. Surprise igniting her smile, she traced its outline with red tipped fingers. “You’re a big one, aren’t you? I’m gonna make you come so fast, you won’t know what hit you.”

Oh, he was about to get off, all right. Just not in the way she expected.

“Since we’re talking about the past, let’s you and I share a stroll down Memory Lane.” Sinnder’s voice deepened further. He circled her as he spoke. “It’s been a while, so you probably don’t remember the home you razed in early 600s Ireland. I imagine you burned many things back then. But this particular home happened to be mine.”

Gavin struggled to his feet, wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, and watched with great interest. No way he’d make it out alive now. A shame, but the Master cared nothing for the victims of his pain. Only the results mattered.

Flames loosed from Sinnder’s eyes, scorching his sockets.

Ah…finally…
Master stretched, slowly melting the meager boundaries of physical flesh.

A minute crack of trepidation fractured the smoothness of Scarlet’s face. Gods, her fear was robust, full-bodied, and rich.

“I’ve visited many places in my life.” A quiver wobbled the otherwise steady flow of her words. “But that was almost 1500 years ago. You have a new home now and all the Fire you want. No sense living in the past.”

The fuse popped on its long course, a minor hiccup along the path to ultimate destruction. Sinnder’s hand shot forward and grabbed her around the neck. Fire flowed like a river of lava. “My
family
was inside that house, you fucking cunt. The man I used to be died when the smoke cleared. You left behind nothing but this shell of rage.” He squeezed her tender flesh between his now-ignited fingers. So soft, yet her Fire roared strong.

Mine.
The god’s voice would not be denied.

Sinnder stroked the wildly thumping pulse beneath his thumb. He licked the skin covering that life-giving vein, branding a red-hot line into her flesh, marking her as Incendius’s. And with the strike of a match, his world shifted.

Boiling saliva flooded his mouth. His erection primed for release. Earthly trappings of skin and clothing went up in flame.

Wide-eyed, Scarlet struggled to breathe. She beat her fists against his chest. “Gavin…” she eked out.

Gavin. He was still here.

Tightening his grip, Sinnder spun around, more monster than man. Fire had consumed most of his mortal form. Gavin startled when their eyes met, and a fleeting fountain of regret seized Sinnder’s soul.

“This is the
real
Sinnder. The beast that lives under the façade.” Fire owned his voice. Soon, nothing—not even Gavin’s dead body—would remain but the blaze.

As the last shreds of Fynn McKenna succumbed to the inferno, that good man Sinnder had once been managed to toss out one word against Incendius’s wishes: “Run!”

Gavin’s eyes widened. The air steamed. Fire sizzled its course to detonation.

“No! Gavin, help me!” Lids peeled with red terror, Scarlet flailed like a rabid animal, kicking at Sinnder and clawing for her would-be savior.

The god laughed through Sinnder’s mouth. “I am Incendius. And you belong to
me
.”

The atmosphere bowed as if sucking in a great breath. Gavin startled out of his apparent shock, waved open a hole in the Veil, and dove through the membrane.

Incendius expelled a nuclear exhale, and together with Fynn, Sinnder, and Scarlet, eradicated three square kilometers of bush in southeastern Queensland.

Chapter Forty-five

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Gavin had never been so thankful for Jack’s training as he was now. As the room exploded with heat, and the shadow of the Elemental he’d once known as Sinnder begged him to run, Gavin’s Sentinel instincts kicked him in the balls and ripped open the ragged Veil. He had no idea if he could Dreamwalk his corporeal form out of Realis into the Dreaming since he’d failed miserably the times he’d tried before, but the gods must have smiled on him.

He torpedoed his body and mind through the gaping rift and willed it closed right behind him. Good thing. The eruption that followed was so intense, he not only felt it, but it
shook
the Dreaming.

His legs gave out. He plopped into the ashy puddle beneath him and drew Elemental Water tight around his shoulders. With morbid curiosity, he watched the nuclear bomb explode through the fragile membrane separating the two worlds. The heat was indescribable.

Dear gods, he’d stared into the maniacal eyes of Incendius himself in the seconds before Sinnder detonated. He’d sensed the same power as the night he and Scarlet swore the oath—

Scarlet.

He looked down at himself.

His heart pounded, but nothing else moved inside. He massaged his chest. Not even a dying ember left.

He faced the Veil again. Vast, empty blackness on the other side. Nothingness. No house, no lawn, no trees. Not even flames. The fire had burned so hot and gobbled up matter so fast that it must have snuffed out from lack of oxygen.

Everything
was gone. Including Sinnder.

No way Scarlet could have survived the explosion if Sinnder hadn’t.

Now Gavin understood why the Fyre wanted to confront Scarlet alone. He had somehow channeled Incendius—a fucking
god
—to take her down.

While part of him wanted to get up and celebrate death to the bitch who’d ruined his life, another part mourned Sinnder’s loss. Had the Fyre
known
Incendius would come? Perhaps he’d counted on it. Aside from Eidan’s, Scarlet’s Fire was the strongest Gavin had ever experienced. He couldn’t have gotten rid of her alone. Maybe this was Sinnder’s only option.

And if what he’d said was true, Sinnder had lived for centuries with the pain Scarlet had caused him and his family. He had far more justification for killing her than Gavin did. Gavin only wished the Fyre hadn’t had to pay for vengeance with his own life.

Celebratory shouts and laughter rang out in the distance. Gavin stood and scoped the scene. The ocean had calmed. Blue edged out the red that had maintained a chokehold on the Dreaming for so long. The place looked completely different. It was lighter, less hazy…happier.

When he and his mates had freed the Dreamweaver from confinement, the shock of her release must have caused the explosion that tore the Veil. Now, Elementals of every type swarmed the gaping hole, throwing off rainbow colors. Most seemed curious more than anything, but a few ventured into the Dreaming with huge smiles.

It would be impossible for the Sentinels to keep track of the Elementals since door had been thrown open. Things would be very different now. But the ensuing politics wouldn’t be his concern. No longer a member of the Sentinel Council, he had no say in how they should deal with their new immigration problem.

Zoe’s voice found him through the Dreaming’s new blue atmosphere. He smiled and started toward it. When he got to the site of the battle, his spirits lifted. Wyldlings danced and laughed, whales splashed, Wæters rejoiced.

The Dreaming was free of the Fyres.

He tracked the song to his swimming muse and dove into the ocean. When he reached her, he tugged Zoe into his arms and kissed her. She melted into him, their shared Water zipping back and forth like the currents surrounding them. In that pure, peaceful moment, they were a single blue entity.

Zoe’s breath tickled his cheek. She broke the kiss, then puckered up for a couple more. Gavin laughed. His felt so light, he was certain he could have flown away if he’d wanted to.

“We did it. The Wæters snuffed out the Fyres. Lily ascended and sent Eidan home with his tail between his legs.” Zoe laid her cool, blue-tinged hand over his heart. “Scarlet’s dead?”

He nodded and hugged her. “It’s just you and me, babe.

“My God, I can’t believe it.” She rested her head against his. They treaded water together, held each other up in a tight embrace for a long moment.

More laughter rose from nearby Wyldlings, and Gavin lifted his chin. “Is Lily all right? The rest of the whales?”

Zoe nodded. “After you left, she cut loose on Eidan with the Water the Tongans had collected. Those guys are seriously badass.”

“No doubt. They really came through for Lily and the Wæters.”

“And the Wyldlings.” She turned left and gestured to the whale surrounded by frolicking blue Elementals.

“Let’s not forget the Wæters had help.” Gavin pushed a long, wet strand of blond from her face. “Every army needs a leader who won’t falter under pressure. You brought the Wæters together when they fought to be apart. You gathered forces when no one else would. Your voice was their battle call. You’re the
real
hero, Zed. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Nah, I’m just a researcher who happens to talk to whales.”

“And wipes out entire armies with her voice.”

“Come on, my singing’s not
that
bad, is it?”