Authors: Calista Fox
She poked at the fire with little enthusiasm. The log was
much too big. She’d all but snuffed out the flame. As thick streams of smoke
ribboned in the hearth, the snapping of branches out back sent fear down her
spine.
Her gaze flashed to the tall windows that overlooked the
river. But only for a moment. The log in her fireplace suddenly burst into a
raging blaze that caused the abundant flames to lick the outer edges of the
stone hearth.
Jade let out a small cry of shock before she lunged for the
pot of water she kept in the corner for fire emergencies. Gripping the ceramic
container, she dumped the liquid on the inferno, instantly extinguishing it.
Her heart thundered in her chest. Losing her cottage was her
biggest fear of all, for with it, the tangible reminder of her life with her
parents would incinerate as well.
She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when a
movement out of the corner of her eye snagged her attention. She turned toward
the windows at the back of the house and, suddenly, a horrific apparition
appeared before her eyes—a wraith draped in a cloak as dark as the night, but
with the edges of it lit with flames, burning all around him.
A fire wraith?
She’d only heard about them from her
father—no one else had conceded they existed, not even the slayers.
His sockets blazed where there should have been eyes. When
he opened his mouth and fire spewed forth, she let out a loud scream. Panic and
terror seized her very soul, but she managed to propel herself into action.
“Not my house!” she cried out. Then she bolted for the front
door.
She wore gray drawstring pants, a knit sweater and her
slippers. The biting air nearly froze her to the core of her being, but she was
desperate to pull the wraith from the close proximity of her home so he didn’t
burn it to the ground. She raced along the edge of the river, hearing the
pounding of horse hooves behind her. Jade knew they didn’t belong to the Demon
King or his general.
“Darien!” she screamed his name—in hopes he was close
by—just as the horse and its ghostly rider descended upon her.
She stole a glance over her shoulder. The animal reared.
Jade screamed again. Then one of his legs connected with her back, slamming her
face-first to the snow-covered earth and knocking the wind from her. Pain
lanced through her body, making it impossible to haul herself up. Sprawled on
the ground, she tried to concentrate on breathing and rising above the sheer
agony so she could attempt to crawl away.
Fire erupted beside her, igniting the trees. Then the
stallion drew up on his hind legs again. Jade had no time—nor the strength—to
react. The beast came down hard, one of his hooves making contact with her left
wrist and hand, crushing the bones.
The sound of her suffering echoed all around her as she wailed.
The sharp throbbing radiated throughout every inch of her, stealing her breath
and plunging her mind into a dark abyss so that she couldn’t think or force
herself to move.
She lay in the thick bank, with more flakes falling on her
as she gasped for even the tiniest bit of air. Her eyelids squeezed shut and
she willed herself to begin the healing process, but the sensations gripping
her were excruciating.
Above the pulse ringing in her ears, she heard the
thundering approach of another rider, followed by the unsheathing of swords and
the clanging of metal. She didn’t have the wherewithal to open her eyes and see
who had come to her rescue. Instead, she put her faith in whoever it was and
tried to focus on repairing her spine so she could pull in a full breath
without it feeling as though everything inside of her had shattered.
The fight ensued for some time, and then she heard a sword
bang against a boulder and an animal’s shrill whinny, though it wasn’t the same
sound she’d heard in the past.
Not the same horse.
It wasn’t Darien’s
Arabian that was injured.
Moments later, someone fell to his knees beside her. She
knew it was the Demon King, obviously the victor as the defeated wraith on the
horse rode off.
Mustering the vigor to open her eyes, though only to
half-mast, she peered up at him, grateful to see him, though his tormented gaze
made her heart hurt. An additional physical pain almost impossible to bear.
“Don’t move. Don’t speak.” He quickly slipped out of his
cloak and draped it over her body.
Another rider joined him. Morgan said, “It was a fire
wraith. You have his sword now and his horse is wounded. But he’ll come back
with a new weapon and a new steed.”
“He wasn’t interested in killing her,” Darien said. “Just
hurting her enough to draw me out. To…” He shook his head as rage flashed in
his eyes. “Bait me.”
“Yes. He must have realized your interest in Jade when we
started following her, perhaps thinking we knew he tracked her and were
protecting her from the beginning.”
“Damn it!” Darien’s fist clenched, then released. He swept
his fingers over Jade’s cheek where tears and melted snowflakes left it wet and
frigid from the crisp air. “We have to get her to the castle.”
He gingerly rolled her onto her back and scooped her up in
his arms, then stood in a fluid movement. Despite his grace, she let out
another cry as heat seared her from head to toe, the pain pulsing violently
through her.
“Sorry,” he whispered in a tight voice. “Just hang on.”
“Let me take her while you mount,” Morgan said.
Darien stared down at her, his eyes holding a tortured look.
She nodded, finding it difficult to speak.
He handed her over and climbed onto the Arabian’s back.
Morgan carefully passed her to him and Darien was strong and big enough to
whisk her upward and cradle her against his body as she huddled in his lap. His
heat was a welcomed relief, though her teeth still chattered. Her breath came
in shallow pants because she couldn’t slow it with the sheer agony she felt and
the gripping cold.
With one arm around her and the other hand seizing the
reins, he said, “Your lips are turning blue and you’re trembling. Stay
conscious so you can heal.”
“Trying.”
He jerked on the reins and his Arabian took off, galloping
through the snow, crossing the wooden bridge a mile down the way and then
speedily navigating the woods before ascending the steep hill that led to the
ridge on which the castle sat.
Jade’s lids dipped again as they passed through the enormous
gates of the castle’s courtyard, though she did everything she could to keep
them open. Morgan was right behind them and helped her down so Darien could
dismount. Then she was in his arms again and he carried her inside, the general
at his heels.
“Get the vampires out of the castle,” Darien instructed.
“She’s afraid of them. And send patrols along the village perimeter in the
event the fire wraith returns.”
“My Lord,” came Morgan’s clipped acquiescence.
Jade snuggled against the king’s wide chest as he took her
deeper into the elaborate mansion. The pain in her hand and wrist was still
raw, but her spine felt better.
Despite her being in his arms, he was able to take the
staircase two steps at a time. His long stride had them crossing the landing
and rushing down a wide corridor so quickly, she barely had time to take in her
surroundings.
He burst into an enormous room that looked to be a study.
“My Lord?” a woman’s voice called out in surprise.
Jade flinched. He had a wife? A girlfriend? A bedmate?
“Don’t worry,” Darien said, as though he’d read her
thoughts. She wondered if he had. “Sheena is my assistant. She’s a vampire, but
she won’t harm you.” He turned his head and said to the woman who suddenly
appeared at his side and matched his pace, “Leave the castle, Sheena.”
She sniffed, then glared at him. “You think I can’t handle
myself with a human?”
“She’s bleeding. Badly. Bones protruding from the skin.”
“I’ll get water and towels.”
“Sheena,” he said in apparent warning.
“If you doubt my loyalty to you, you may as well sever my
employment now.”
He sighed. “I don’t doubt you. I just don’t want to push you
past your comfort zone. I can manage.”
“Hmm. We’ll see about that.”
The redhead flashed ahead of them, so quick it made Jade’s
eyes cross. She threw open a set of double doors and they entered a bedroom
that was larger than Jade’s entire cottage. Darien set her gently on the
humungous bed, keeping the cloak around her.
Sheena disappeared into a sunken area with a marble floor
that likely led to the bathroom. Moving away from her for only a few moments,
Jade’s savior stoked the fire until it blazed bright and warmed her.
Returning to her side and sitting carefully on the edge of
the mattress, he asked, “What can I do to help?”
Through clenched teeth as she tried to keep the pain from
her voice because of his tormented look, she managed to say, “Set the bones.”
He blew out a harsh breath and his eyes burned with his own
agony. “That’ll hurt like hell.”
“Yes,” she said, her tone strained. “But I can’t do it on my
own. I can’t get past the pain I’m feeling right now to inflict more. I need you
to do it.”
He jumped to his feet and paced alongside the bed. Sheena
returned, placing a bowl of water and towels on the nightstand. Then she pulled
back the cloak.
“Oh dear.” She visually inspected the mangled hand.
Jade didn’t have to see the appendage to know how disastrous
the sight was. In addition to feeling it, she could see the evidence of the
damage in the vampire’s eyes. And in Darien’s.
“Please,” she pleaded with him. “Compound fractures won’t
heal properly unless they’re in place. Just do it.”
“Shall I clean the wound first?” Sheena asked.
“No,” Darien was quick to ward her off, though he didn’t
explain Jade’s need to absorb the blood to help the process along.
“If I can make this work,” she said, “I’ll heal before I
bleed to death.”
Looking befuddled, Sheena slipped away. Darien took the spot
she’d vacated. He stared into her eyes, though she felt as though hers rolled
in their sockets. She had difficulty focusing on him.
He said, “You told me you have to be able to rise above the
pain in order to quickly repair yourself.”
The vampire pulled in a sharp breath. “A human who can heal
as we do?”
Darien nodded. “She’s gifted. But,” he added as his gaze
returned to Jade, “when I do this, you might not be able to stay conscious.
You’ll slow the process.”
“She needs a pain reliever,” Sheena said.
“And we have none,” he ground out.
“Wrong.” She moved away, only to reappear in a matter of
seconds. She offered Jade a glass of tawny-colored liquid. “It’s from his
private stock. Guaranteed to soothe. He’s been self-medicating a lot lately,
I’ve seen the positive effects.”
“Thanks, Sheena,” he all but growled.
Somehow, Jade found the ability to smile. “Serves you right
for invading my dream.”
“You liked that dream,” he reminded her.
He helped her sit up as Sheena carefully held the glass to
her lips and Jade sipped. They took their time, letting her muscle through the
burning sensation in her stomach, which, after her gulps became deeper and
she’d drained the glass, dulled. Everything dulled, including the throbbing
radiating from her hand and wrist.
“That’s so much better,” she said on a long breath. “Nice
trick.” Sheena swept from the room and Darien tenderly reached for her hand.
“Just try to push everything into position. The bones should retract and meld together.”
“Should?” he asked with a lifted brow.
“I don’t break bones as a rule. This is still new to me.”
He groaned. “I could be torturing you for no good reason?”
Had she the strength to lift her good hand, she would have
brushed the lock of black hair from his forehead and tried to rub away the
worry lines above his nose.
“You’ve been torturing me since you made love to me in an
erotic vision. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. Or the fact it was
a one-time deal.”
“Jade…”
“Just do it,” she insisted. “
Please
.”
He didn’t hesitate a moment longer. He clasped her hand with
his large one and then used the other to shift the protruding bones. She
screamed from the pain, despite her best effort to remain quiet. Darien didn’t
let up, doing exactly as she’d asked him to.
When he was apparently satisfied with the placement, he
sprang from the mattress and washed his hands in the basin Sheena had supplied,
then dried them. He snatched the decanter of brandy his assistant had left
behind. He refilled the glass and turned back to Jade.
“No,” she said. “I had just enough to help me focus. I need
to hang on a few minutes more, and another drop will put me out in a
heartbeat.”
She could already feel the alcohol’s effect. It was helpful
and she could concentrate on what she needed to do, though exhaustion crept
around her consciousness.
Darien took large drinks from the glass before setting it
aside. He dragged a chair over and sat bedside.
“What else can I do?”
Her head rolled against the pillow. “I’m not going to be
able to stay awake. I won’t heal much while I’m asleep, but resting will return
some of my strength, so I can continue when I wake up.”
His gaze slid to her hand. “The bloodflow has already slowed
and it’s soaking into your skin.” He skimmed two fingers over her temple. “Are
you warm enough?”
“Yes.”
He bent his head and kissed her softly. “If I could take all
this pain away, I would.”
She attempted another smile. “Don’t try to read my mind.
It’ll hurt you more.”
“I’m not the one you should be worried about.”
“Take a look in a mirror,” she muttered. “I know I look bad,
but so do you. You can’t try to absorb anything I feel.”