Seared by Desire (49 page)

Lucian was pulled from his thoughts by a white streak of
colour beneath him, racing in the direction he’d just come from.
His sharp eyes recognised the blur as a horse and as he stared he
began to recognise distinguishing features of the animal, his eyes
widening when he realised just who it was. “Lance,” he cried,
speeding towards the ground in a frantic attempt to catch him. Sara
would never willingly be separated from the devil horse, she
treated him like he was part of her family; for her to have sent
him away didn’t bode well.

Lucian landed on the ground directly in front of him,
surprising Lance who reared back defensively. “Hey, it’s okay,”
Lucian murmured, trying to sooth him. The lack of reins was
frustrating as Lance continually pranced around agitated. “Calm
down Lance, it’s okay now.” Lucian managed to run a gentle hand
along his flank, the touch soothing the horse.

Calmer now, Lance began to move back towards the fire
elemental village, trying to get Lucian to follow him.

“
Is that where Sara is? Is she back that way?” Lance nayed in
agreement, continuing to move towards Sara. “Take me to her,”
Lucian commanded, leaping atop Lance’s back. He was momentarily
surprised when the horse didn’t try to force him to dismount but
Sara’s face swam before his vision and he no longer cared about why
the horse was acting so out of character.

Lucian allowed Lance to guide him, unable to change direction
without the use of reins and confident that the horse would lead
him directly to his bride. As the terrain passed easily beneath
Lance’s hooves Lucian forced himself to focus, trying to train
himself, in the brief time he had, to control his emotions. Before
Sara his control had been impeccable, nothing could shake his calm
but things had changed drastically since then. When it came to Sara
he could barely think straight let alone fathom a plan for her
retrieval. Sweat began to bead on his brow and he snarled angrily
in frustration.

“
Fine! If I can’t think of a plan then I’ll just have to go
for the direct route. Walk straight to her and kill anything that’s
unfortunate enough to walk into my path.”

With his plan decided he expected his body to calm but sweat
continued to build on his brow and his armour was becoming
stifling. The air around him crackled and he realised that the
temperature was steadily rising. Lance was breathing heavily,
trying to pull the thinning air into his lungs and maintain his
speed but he was struggling. Air was being sucked away to fuel an
enormous fire. Lucian's eyes widened when he saw what should have
been Sara’s village. Fire was everywhere, rising upward from the
ground to engulf the village in a dome of fiery orange flames. The
air crackled again and the blaze grew brighter, the colour rising
in intensity. Lucian knew without a shadow of a doubt that Sara was
inside the dome and judging by the desperate screams that filled
the air she wasn’t alone. His eyes darkened in anger when he saw a
ring of people surrounding the village, satisfied expressions on
all of their faces.

“
Fire elementals,” he spat, a cruel smile gracing his lips.
“So they knew I was coming? As though I would let anything else
happen. If they think they’re going to stop me they’re in for a
surprise.” He dismounted Lance, patting his shuddering side in
thanks. “Stay here,” he commanded. “Seeing as I’m expected I
shouldn’t disappoint.”

Unsheathing his blade, he strode forward, confident of his
success. The weight of the sword in his hand and the armour on his
shoulder were comforting, reminders that Sara was with him even
now. A cry rang out when the fire elementals saw him approach and
soon fire was raining down upon him. Lucian's stride never
faltered, he walked towards them deliberately, his sharp eyes
noting the looks of confusion that appeared on their faces when
their flames were absorbed by his armour.

His cruel smile widened. “Now it’s my turn.”

He ran forward, wielding his sword with an easy grace as he
cut a swath of violence through the crowd. Necks broke easily
beneath his strong hands and bloody wounds were created by the
sharp edge of his blade. Lucian was in his element, the sight and
smell of blood filling the air and his senses encouraging him to
wreak more havoc to get Sara back. The monster within him might be
gone but that only meant Lucian could be more vicious, the constant
fear he’d once had about surrendering to the monster a thing of the
past. Through the blood splatter he saw a familiar face, rage
filling him at the mere sight of Abigail. The woman had claimed to
be Sara’s friend and yet she’d brought her to this place, brought
his queen here to die.

Leaping through the air Lucian came to stand directly in
front of Abigail, smiling widely to display his elongated fangs.
“You took my queen from me,” he said simply. “I want her
back.”

“
Impossible,” she quipped. “Sara is gone. She’s fulfilling the
prophecy as we speak. You can’t save her.”

He moved, his speed astonishing and impossible for Abigail’s
eyes to keep up with. The cold edge of a blade pressed firmly
against her neck as Lucian's solid weight materialised against her
back. She inhaled sharply instantly cursing the instinctive action
because when she exhaled his sword cut her skin.

“
I should kill you,” he whispered darkly. “I should take
Sara’s blade and cut your head off.” His eyes wandered to the
horizon where his army could be seen quickly approaching. The sound
of hooves pounding against the earth filled his ears before Gareth
and Russell stopped in front of him, assessing the damage he’d
caused. “I should kill you but I think I’ll leave that pleasure to
Sara for when I bring her back.” He thrust her body away from him
causing her to stumble and fall in the dirt.

“
Why did we even bother coming?” Gareth scowled. “You’ve done
almost everything alone.”

Ignoring Gareth’s words, Lucian turned back to the wall of
fire in front of him. Sara was in there and she needed him. “I’m
going to get Sara, watch this scum. I’ll be right back.”

His ears rang as screams of horror echoed all around him when
he walked straight into the fire.

“
King Lucian!” Russell screamed from the other side of the
wall, frustration clear in his voice. “King Lucian are you
alright?”

“
I’m fine.”
At least I will be once I
have Sara back.
“I’ll be back as soon as I
can. Don’t worry and don’t do anything stupid. Watch the fire
elementals, they’re sneaky.”

He refused to wait for a response, running through the
burning village searching for Sara. Fire was all around him but
while he felt the heat from the flames they didn’t burn him, a
familiar feeling of invigoration filled him when the flames licked
at his skin.

“
Sara,” he cursed softly, his pace never slowing.

“
Wait!” A voice called out to Lucian as he passed through the
burning wreckage of what used to be houses.

He turned, surprised to see dozens of people being sheltered
beneath a small dome of water. The rain kept the worst of the fire
at bay, protecting those that it touched but his surprise turned to
shock when he realised that the protection was being maintained by
a single water elemental.

Gabriel’s companions had long since exhausted themselves,
falling at his feet and leaving the burden to him. The strength of
the fire that surrounded them was staggering, he’d never
encountered a fire that he couldn’t extinguish and all he could
manage was to protect the other delegates that had gathered because
of Geoffrey’s false words. The sight of a man who was clearly not a
fire elemental running freely through the flames had caused him to
act out of character and call for help. “Wait,” he called
again.

“
I’m busy,” Lucian commented easily, preparing to leave
again.

“
You have to help us.”

“
I don’t have to do anything. I’m going to help my bride and
that will more than likely help you in the process.”

“
Your bride? Are you talking about the she-devil that started
all of this?”

“
I should kill you for saying that.”
But I can’t. Sara will think she did it and will never
forgive herself. Thank the heavens she hasn’t managed to kill
anyone innocent.
He sighed, “Sara is the
most gentle soul on this earth. She was forced to do this. When I
come back you
will
apologise to her. Can you maintain your bubble for a few more
minutes?”

“
Do I have a choice?” Gabriel asked.

Lucian's response was succinct and curt. “No.”

Running again, he came across Sara’s fallen form lying in the
centre of a blinding white pyre. His heart stopped at the sight of
her lying so still.
She’s alive. She’s
alive.
He repeated the mantra to himself
as he stepped into the flames, cradling her prone body against his
chest.

“
Sara,” he called softly, stroking her sooty cheek tenderly.
“Sara, it’s time to wake up.” She didn’t respond to his call, her
body just as still as it had been when he’d first seen her. The
flames around them didn’t recede as they normally did when he
touched her and his heart constricted painfully within his chest.
For all his bravado when he’d spoke to Abigail, it seemed she was
right. He was too late to save her. Sara was gone. “Sara, you can’t
do this to me. I won the war for you. It was you who made me go,
you told me you’d be safe if I left, this isn’t what I call
safe.”

She didn’t respond to his words and her body was growing
colder within his arms. Lucian closed his eyes on an anguished cry,
pulling her closer to him and holding her in a crushing embrace.
The rings around his neck, clinked quietly when he moved her,
reminding him of the promise he’d made to himself. Shifting her
slightly, he tore the chain from around his throat and examined the
rings speculatively.

“
In all our time together I never once got you a physical
present, one that you could hold and now when I do have one, it’s
too late. I want you to have it anyway Sara because even if we
never had the chance to have the ceremony for the short time I have
left to live I want others to think of you as my wife. I already
do.” Lucian lifted her hand, scowling at the sight of her tender
flesh cut to ribbons. “Before I die I’m going to make the fire
elementals suffer for what they did to you. They will suffer like
no other creatures have before. They will wish for death, every
single one of them.”

Carefully, he brought her palm to his lips, his mouth moving
gently over her skin to lap away the blood he found. Sara shifted
slowly in his arms in response to the feel of his lips against her
flesh. The small motion made Lucian's still heart pound as hope
sprung within him and he stopped his ministrations in
shock.

“
Sara?” he croaked but she didn’t respond to his call, her
body once again still and lifeless and the hope that had dwelled
within him only moments ago quickly turned to frustration. It was
then he remembered. He remembered the last time he’d spoken to
Sara, the wisdom the scholars had finally imparted to them on how
to control Seraphina, on how to prevent the vengeful spirit from
taking over, from killing her. They were made for each other; he
needed her just as much as she needed him. Heart pounding in hope,
Lucian lifted her hand to his lips once again, watching her
carefully through dark eyes. Her blood against his tongue was
delicious but he made himself to focus, Sara’s recovery was far
more important than his blood lust.

Sara groaned, confused at the heated sensation that was
filling her body when only moments ago she had felt a bone chilling
cold. Heat was spreading through her, desire beginning to course
through her veins and bring her cold body back to life. Her eyes
fluttered weakly, the lids heavy and hard to open but she forced
her mind to push past the dense fog of confusion, intent on
discovering what was going on. Her body felt strange and leaden as
though she hadn’t used it in a very long time and she struggled to
move her heavy limbs quickly realising that it was an exercise in
futility. Instead she focused her attention on the one part of her
body she could feel with extraordinary clarity. Her vision was
blurred when she first opened her eyes, staring hard at her palm
and the vague shape that was moving above it but her eyesight began
to sharpen after a few moments of staring at the dark
shape.

“
Lucian?” she whispered hoarsely.

He moved hesitantly, watching carefully for any signs that
she would slip away from him should he stop drinking her delicious
blood. Her eyes stayed open but she didn’t move in any other way,
despite that Lucian smiled in relief. She was alive. “Sara,” he
groaned.

“
Lucian, what’s going on?”

Her eyes shifted away from him, finally noting the burning
village and the flames that surrounded them. She gasped in
mortification as memories flooded her mind. She’d been thrown
carelessly into the ever fire and as soon as the flames touched her
skin, Seraphina had risen in full force. Even if she hadn’t been so
weak Sara doubted she could have prevented her from taking control
and letting her flames wash over the village.

“
Oh God,” she sobbed. “I killed them Lucian, I killed all
those people.”