Seared by Desire (16 page)

It was strange; vampires were as susceptible to the danger
fire created as any other creature, but the flames that engulfed
Sara when she lost control never hurt him. Maybe it was because she
was his bride, maybe not, but he wasn’t willing to take the risk
with these new flames of hers. Sara, on the other hand, seemed to
be relishing in the heat.

She stuck her hands fearlessly into the flames, her eyes
sliding shut as though she enjoyed the fire licking at her skin.
She stood, taking her hands out of the furnace but the fire
followed her. Tendrils of red and orange fire wrapped themselves
around her arms, intertwining with the leather as they moved up her
arms until they joined seamlessly at the back of her neck, a single
line of fire running across her shoulders and down both arms. His
eyes widened as fire raced along the stone floor and up her legs,
her smooth limbs seemingly aflame as the fire consumed her skin
until she was covered in it. His knowledge of and experience with
sword making was very limited but he was sure this wasn’t the
conventional way swords were crafted.

He watched as Sara reached for a thick bar of metal with one
hand, the fingers of her other hand curling around the handle of a
heavy hammer. Her slender arms hardly looked capable of lifting
either object and his mouth opened slightly as she lifted both,
easily carrying them to the sturdy anvil. His head turned slightly
to momentarily take in the stunned faces of the commanders of his
army. Gareth in particular looked flabbergasted that she was able
to so easily accomplish a task that should be impossible for a
person of her build and a sense of pride built within him. His
bride was capable of shocking not only him but his normally
unflappable second in command. Even if she weren’t his bride, she
was a woman that commanded respect and admiration but the fact she
was made her achievements all the sweeter. A taste he had every
intention of indulging in.
After the war
is over.
He mentally added, surprised that
it had taken him a moment to add that realisation to his chain of
thought.

She placed the long bar onto the thick anvil before placing
her palm directly onto the metal, the fire on her arms raced into
the metal turning the dull grey material red hot, heat pouring from
the bar in waves. The metal momentarily flashed white in colour
before changing to a steady blue and it was then that Sara began
her work, raising the hammer above her head and pounding steadily
against the metal to craft it in to the desired shape. A few
minutes passed as Lucian watched Sara, the rhythmic clang of steel
on iron and Sara’s off tune humming the only sounds that filled the
smithy.

“
Wow,” Gareth murmured, coming to stand at Lucian's side. “I
didn’t think it possible but she’s actually making a sword isn’t
she?”

“
What did you think we were going to be doing down here?”
Lucian retorted, annoyed with his friend’s lack of confidence in
Sara’s abilities.

“
I’m sorry my Lord, I wasn’t sure that she could actually do
it. She looks much too small to be able to craft swords, most
blacksmiths are at least double her size if not bigger, forgive
me.”

“
Let’s just get on with the meeting,” he sighed. “Sara will
continue making her swords and we will continue to discuss our
plans. Have we found any more Malachites?”

There couldn’t have been more than five hundred Malachites in
existence but for a species that lived as long as vampires, five
hundred immortal enemies were plenty. Gareth’s words had served as
a prompt to Lucian, his bride was distracting him again and he
began the meeting in earnest, intent on not looking at her. If she
could let herself be so consumed by her work that she didn’t even
register his presence, he could do the same especially as his
people were depending on him. Time passed, the sound of Sara’s
hammering eventually fading as those present became accustomed to
the loud sound. They had grown so used to it that when she stopped
the silence was almost deafening.

“
Sara?” Lucian demanded, spinning away from his conversation
to look at her. Her body was aflame and judging from the sad look
in her eye it wasn’t intentional.

“
I made it over an hour without any help Lucian.”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “Well done.”

“
Help me.” She took a step towards him before realising her
mistake. He was surrounded by people who weren’t immune to her
fire; if she got any closer to him they would be hurt.

Seeing her dilemma, Lucian moved closer to her, ignoring the
spreading flames and reaching for her outstretched hand. As he
pulled her against his body, the fire died down, until it was as
though it had never been.

Wrapping her arms around him, Sara breathed deeply, taking
his rich smell into her lungs, wishing that she could stay this
close to him forever. “Thank you Lucian.”

The room and its many occupants faded away until it was just
the two of them.
It’s the least I could do
for you bride. With you by my side the world seems to have so many
possibilities and even though you infuriate me, I wouldn’t have you
any other way.
“You’re welcome,” he
muttered, running a hand over the bare flesh of her arm to sooth
her.

She was trembling in his arms, visibly shaken from her near
encounter with Seraphina and in that moment he both blessed and
cursed the vengeful elemental spirit. Seraphina was the only reason
that Sara was in his life at the moment, she was the reason that he
could hold her so closely but he hated that she affected Sara so
badly. She pressed closer against him, nuzzling her head against
his chest, seeking comfort and he kissed the top of her head
lightly in response, the action drawn from him so easily that he
wasn’t even aware he was doing it.

A cough sounded in his ear. Lucian grunted, pulling Sara
closer hoping that ignoring the sound would make it go away.
Another cough. “Lord Lucian,” a voice began. “Lord Lucian please,
this is important.”

Russell.
He realised.

“
Lord Lucian, it’s about the Malachites. I know that you want
to spent time with your br –”

“
Thank you Russell,” he snarled, spinning to face the shorter
man. Standing a full head taller than Sara, he bared his fangs
angrily in warning over her head leaving Russell shaken but Sara
none the wiser. “What could have changed about the Malachites in
the five minutes since we spoke?”

“
They’re here.”

“
What?”

“
Well, they themselves aren’t here my Lord,” he rushed to
explain. “They’ve sent a messenger and he insists that he’ll only
see you.”

“
There’s no point in us listening to what he has to say,”
Gareth scoffed. “It’ll just be more threats, more ‘you’ll never
defeat us’. I say we just slit his throat and be done with it.” He
ran his hand over the hilt of his sword almost as though he were
relishing the idea of dispatching the messenger.

“
My Lord,” Russell interrupted. “He says he comes in peace. I
think we should listen to what he has to say.”

Lucian rolled his eyes in disgust. Once again both Gareth and
Russell were right even though their opinions seemed completely
contradictory. “I’ll listen to what he has to say and then if I
don’t like it, we’ll dispose of him and send him back as a
warning.”

“
Yes my Lord,” they both agreed, bowing low before walking out
of the smithy, leading the others with them.

“
Come Sara,” Lucian began softly, draping his long overcoat
over her shoulders to protect her modesty. She was shivering
against him and though every protective instinct within him was
screaming that he should simply take her away from this place, take
her somewhere that she could rest in peace, responsibility gnawed
at him. “Let me go and see what he has to say and then we can get
back to your sword work.”

She nodded, following his lead as he led from the room, her
grip on his hand almost bruising after her near miss. It was
dangerous to be around her, she was a walking countdown to
destruction and her being here was putting the lives of others at
risk. It was a heavy burden to bear, one she had never expected to
carry and the weight was almost crushing. Her mind was reeling with
possibilities surrounding her fate as one of the cursed people to
carry the spirit of their element within their bodies.
Would I already be dead if I hadn’t found Lucian?
If we hadn’t run into each other that night would I have already
been used as a weapon to destroy innocent people?

“
Sara,” Lucian scolded. “I can tell that you’re blaming
yourself for something that isn’t your fault. You can’t help what
you are.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “And I will always
be here to help you so you don’t need to worry.”

She lifted her head, looking straight into his dark eyes and
found herself falling into the endlessness of their depths. For
eyes so dark, they revealed a surprising amount of
emotion.

“
Come Sara, let’s get this meeting out of the way and then the
rest of the night is ours. But before we go in I have to warn you,
the Malachites can’t know about you, if they did, they would try
and use you against me.”

“
Lucian, I would never betray you. Even I weren’t tied to you
because of my curse, I would never turn against you. You’re a good
man and an even better leader, that’s worth protecting. You’re
really trying to do what’s best for your people. I respect that and
I’m loyal to people I respect. My best friend Abi is trying to hunt
me down and bring me back to what would essentially be my death but
I’ve never raised a hand against her because I respect her. I’d
treat you the same. You can trust me Lucian.”

I didn’t mean it like that! You’re not capable of betrayal
but if they find out about you then they’ll know what my weakness
is and for someone so strong you have so many
vulnerabilities.
“I do trust you Sara,” he
responded simply.

“
Then why?”

“
Please don’t ask me questions that I can’t answer. I trust
you Sara, but your presence in my life might be misinterpreted and
I can’t afford for that to happen. You say that you trust me, then
show me that trust. Don’t ask any more questions.”

Her mouth closed with a resounding snap as she smiled fondly
at him. She was enough of an inconvenience in his life as it was
without making him vulnerable to attack.

“
You’ll have to let go of my hand Sara. I’m not known for
letting people touch me. I’m sorry that this had to happen so soon
after Seraphina’s arrival but that’s the way of life. If you feel
her coming on again then let me know somehow and I’ll get rid of
him quickly.”

“
Don’t worry Lucian,” she reassured, pulling her hand slowly
from his, already hating the distance that was being made between
them. “She only comes on once a night. We’ll be fine.”

“
You’re sure?”

“
Quite.”

“
I’m not convinced. Stay close.”

He pushed the large doors open, his arrival breaking the
tense silence that filled the room. The Malachite messenger stood
in the centre of the room, all those gathered staring intently at
him from their various sitting places in the richly decorated room.
Lucian wasted no time on courteous pleasantries, striding across
the room to stand directly in front of the man. The violent and
dangerous side of his nature was on full display as he towered over
the slender shorter man, baring his fangs angrily. A tremor of fear
slid down the messenger’s spine, his already pale skin whitening
even further making his brown short hair stand out even more.
Frightened blue eyes lifted to meet Lucian's terrifying
face.

“
What do you want?” he snarled.

“
Lord Lu-ci-an,” he stuttered.

“
I know my own name. Get to the point or get out of my home.
You can leave peacefully or I can send you back to your leader in
pieces as a warning that they should see reason and submit to me.
If they do then this war will end and we can be allies, they should
realise by now that they will never win. I’m too powerful, my
allies too numerous. This war is futile, I’ve already won in all
but name.”

“
They know my Lord.”

He cocked an eyebrow gracefully in disbelief. “Repeat what
you just said,” he demanded.

“
I said they know that the chances of winning against you are
slim. That’s why they sent me here.”

“
Just what exactly is your message,” he asked curiously. Never
in all the years that he’d been at war had the Malachites admitted
that they couldn’t win against him. His interest was
piqued.

The messenger reached into his satchel, pulling out a sealed
letter and holding it out to Lucian for his inspection. Lucian eyed
the hand cautiously for a second, searching for any hint of foul
play, seeing none, he took the letter, tearing it open easily to
reveal the paper inside. His eyes scanned the page briefly, shock
coming over him with every word that he read.

“
What does it say my Lord?” Gareth asked, taking Lucian's
attention away from the words on the page and bringing him back to
his army’s commanders.