Seared by Desire (22 page)

It’s all Seraphina Lucian.
It was
hard to get the words out, hard to reveal her weakness to him when
she wanted so desperately to stay with him. Would he reject her
when he knew what she truly was?
I wasn’t
always this powerful Lucian and as soon as we figure out how to
permanently cool the flame, I’m going to go back to what I was
before, weak, pathetic, useless, I won’t be of any help to your
war.

Don’t speak about yourself that way,
he snapped venomously. The anger in his tone surprised Sara;
she was unused to having people protect her from something as
simple as words. Even Abigail had let others throw the words at
her; they were true, how could she try to defend against
them.
But Lucian –

He cut her off.
They’re not true
Sara. Yes your flame is powerful but it isn’t the only thing that
defines who you are. Even if you could never use your powers again,
I’d never think you worthless.

She was beginning to tear up for an all together different
reason. He cared. If all he felt towards her was lust, he wouldn’t
be trying so hard to make her realise her worth as a person. Lucian
cared for her and the knowledge that he did was empowering.
Thank you Lucian.

There’s no need to thank me for stating the obvious. Besides,
it isn’t as though there’s nothing you’re good at. You’re a
swordsmith of the highest calibre; you’re the legendary
Quicksilver. That’s something to be proud of and that has nothing
to do with Seraphina.

You know that’s actually why I started to make swords. I was
useless at everything else but one day I found this old beaten up
sword, there aren’t many weapons in my village because everyone can
use fire, and I decided to fix it. No one taught me how to do what
I do, it was instinctive. I just knew what tools to find and how to
treat the metal once I had them. Once I’d fixed up the old sword I
began to experiment, gathering whatever scraps of metal I could
find and that’s when I found I could make swords just as well as I
could fix them.

The joy in her voice as she spoke seeped into him and for the
first time in a long time he felt calm, at peace.
One day she’s going to talk about me like that.
One day soon.

But then the Elders found out what I was doing and the sword
making wasn’t just for fun anymore. They wanted me to do it for
profit. They forced me to do it for money. My swords are good, I
work damn hard to make sure they are and I know that I barely saw a
fraction of the profit. I couldn’t even leave the village to see
for myself what the swords were being sold for but seeing as I’m
known to the outside world as the legendary Quicksilver I’m going
to guess it’s a lot.

They will all pay for what they did to you.

Lucian's words floated through her mind, his voice so faint
it was almost as though he hadn’t spoken.
Lucian,
she cried, panic beginning
to fill her.
Lucian, what’s going on? Are
you okay?

Her concern touched him bringing a smile to his mind.
I’m fine Sara, trust me.

But you’re fading away.

I’m tired that’s all. I should be resting, using the time to
heal myself. I’ve never been burned before, I’m usually a lot
better at getting to safety before the sun rises, today was the
first time I’d ever seen it and the burns are taking a lot of
energy to heal. Don’t worry and don’t blame yourself. I knew what
would happen to me when I started talking to you like this
but…

His voice was fading in and out of her hearing, she knew he
was speaking but the words were too faint to hear.
But what?
she pressed,
her tone urgent.

You were worth the risk.

His strength was drained but Lucian was still smiling as his
mind aligned itself with his body to return to rest. Sara had
proved him wrong and he couldn’t be happier about that fact. While
the facts of their existence hadn’t changed, he was still a vampire
and she was not, whole new avenues had opened up for them to be
together. They weren’t restricted to being together only at night;
with Sara the possibilities were endless.

Chapter Twelve –
Light

The coming of dusk saw Sara sat beside Lucian's resting place
waiting eagerly for him to wake. She’d spent the day working
tirelessly on his sword, determined to have it ready for him as
soon as possible but then an idea had come to her, one that would
not only benefit Lucian but all the vampires that travelled with
him, at least she hoped it would. Her work with the sword had had
to end because she needed as much of her strength as possible and
she’d forced herself to sleep in an attempt to urge her body
sleeping patterns to be more in line with Lucian's. Now all that
was left for her to do was to wait for Lucian to rise.

The sun had faded from the sky and most of the vampires had
already risen leaving only Lucian resting in the ground. With each
second that passed where he failed to pull himself free of the
earth her worry multiplied. If he didn’t wake it would be her
fault. He should have been resting, gathering his strength to heal
from burns that were her fault in the first place; instead he was
talking to her and soothing her fears. Vampires were beginning to
gather around her, looking expectantly at her for news on their
leader’s location. She was beginning to feel trapped. How was she
to tell them that Lucian was hurt because he was too busy trying to
seduce her to realise that the sun was rising?

Lucian,
she called hesitantly within
her mind unsure of whether or not he could hear her. She still
didn’t understand how their conversation in the morning had
begun.

It was as if all he’d needed was for Sara to call out to him.
The earth beside her shifted, parting so that Lucian could rise
uninjured from his slumber. He was bare chested from their earlier
encounter and anger began to prickle at her when she noticed some
of the female vampires eying him appreciatively.

Back off, he’s mine!
her mind
hissed. She could feel her skin heating and forced herself to rein
in her emotions. She couldn’t afford to waste any energy if she
were to give Lucian his gift.

The words he’d spoken to her earlier had affected her deeply.
Lucian had been alone in the world for a very long time and even
now when he wasn’t, when he was surrounded by people, she doubted
that he felt any less isolated. To them he was their leader and
leaders couldn’t be seen to be weak, leaders by their nature were
lonely souls. But he wasn’t just a leader to her, with her he could
simply be Lucian, he could have weaknesses, he could just be a man,
he could love.

The second he was free of the soil’s clutches, orders began
pouring from his lips and those around him rushed to obey. The camp
was being dismantled around her, Lucian moving gracefully from
place to place overseeing the whole thing and dressing as he went.
She sat unmoving, patiently waiting for him to return to her,
absolutely certain that he would. The few things she had were
already packed, Lance carrying most of them including her
all-important sword. She smiled as the hustle and bustle wound
down, unconcerned even about Seraphina. She and the spirit had a
deal for this one night only and Sara fully intended to savour the
momentary respite.

“
Sara?” Lucian called from above her position on the ground.
Smiling she pulled herself to her feet. “What are you
doing?”

“
I was waiting for you.”

“
Sara,” he groaned, “we don’t have time for you to be waiting
for me. We have to meet William. If we keep a good pace we can make
New Malden before sunrise. I’m eager to put this whole thing behind
me and the faster we get there, the quicker this will be
over.”

“
But that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I have a
present for you, for all of you and before you try to argue with
me, you’re getting it regardless of what you say and I’m already
packed.”

He held out his hand expectantly, rolling his eyes at her
words while internally rejoicing. He hadn’t received a gift in over
several hundred years; he’d forgotten the excited nervousness that
filled a person when they were about to receive one. “Fine,” he
responded, his normally stoic voice containing a hint of mirth.
“Give it to me.”

“
It’s not the sort of gift that you can hold in your hand, you
have to see it with your eyes. Gather your people and meet me back
at our lake.”

He was about to protest but she was already moving, slipping
past his outstretched fingers to easily mount the horse and ride
off into the distance. “Our lake,” he mused as he walked over to
his own horse a faint smile on his face. He liked the sound of it,
neither hers nor his but theirs. He swung into the saddle with
practised ease, gathering the reins and urging the horse into a
gentle trot. “Follow me,” he ordered, glancing briefly behind
himself to make sure that his people were doing as he
asked.

Lucian was thankful that the trip back to the lake was short;
he was beginning to worry about his bride. She’d been without him
for an entire day, that had to mean Seraphina’s arrival was
imminent. When he saw her next it seemed that his fears were
justified. Sara stood beside the lake her skin aglow from the
extreme heat coursing through her veins. The fire seemed content to
remain within her skin for the moment rather that spread fiery
tendrils outward in an attempt to burn more. The seemingly
controlled nature of the fire worried Lucian even more. Usually her
flame flickered between red-orange and blue now it was white, the
hottest colour a fire could be. Was this it? Was this the fire
meant to end Sara’s life?

Never!
he roared. Leaping from his
horse he quickly closed the distance between them.

“
It’s alright Lucian,” Sara pacified, avoiding his arms as he
tried to touch her and extinguish the fire. “I’m doing this for you
and for them.” She inclined her head towards the vampiric army at
his back.

“
What are you doing?”

“
I was thinking about something Seraphina once told me and
what you said this morning.”

His jaw was clenched so tightly he feared he might crack a
tooth. His heart was racing as fear coursed through his veins and
he feared the monster within him would soon break free to stop his
bride from hurting herself. “And just what did she say to you to
inspire this madness?” he spat.

“
I asked her why she only came out at night and in her own
childish way she told me that there could only be one sun in the
sky at a time. Then you told me that you’d never seen the sun and I
got to thinking…why couldn’t I be your sun?” The arms that had been
wrapped so tightly around her body loosened, lifting skywards. “Why
couldn’t I show you what daylight is like? And do you know what I
found out Lucian?”

“
No,” he answered through gritted teeth.

“
There isn’t a reason. This is for you Lucian, for you and
your people to say thank you for taking care of me.”

The glow that covered her body began to concentrate in her
outstretched palms, the light getting bigger and brighter as it
continued to rush to a single location. Sweat beaded on Sara’s brow
as the effort of her task began to wear on her. Her arms trembled
from the strain though what she was holding was technically
weightless. She gritted her teeth, determined to see the task
through to the end now that she’d started. Lucian looked worried so
she flashed him a quick smile while mentally counting down the
seconds until she could release her burden. All of the fire had to
be gathered, the flame strengthened until it was at it’s most
powerful and only when her body was completely devoid of the white
light could she show him.
Four. Three.
Two. One. Now!
She bent her arms slightly
before thrusting the glowing ball of light away from her and into
the sky. Her flame began to take shape, becoming circular and
larger as it rose into the sky. Light continued to stream from her
fingertips, her own sun becoming brighter and brighter, beating
back the darkness of the night.

Lucian blinked rapidly as his eyes became used to the bright
light. When his vision cleared he was stunned to find that the area
beneath Sara’s sun looked just like it had that morning under the
sun’s actual rays. He turned to look at the vampires gathered
behind him all of whom were laughing, stunned at the change in
their perspectives. Horses were quickly dismounted as they rushed
to examine things they had only ever seen beneath the milky light
of the moon, simple things like leaves were suddenly fascinating.
His attention quickly returned to Sara, his gaze riveted to the
shimmering colour of her red hair. It was just as beautiful as it
was in the morning but
she
seemed all the more beautiful for giving him such
a gift.

Mine.
No word had ever sounded more
fitting. He steeped forward wanting to embrace her but she shook
her head sadly.

“
No Lucian, I’m having a hard enough time keeping this going.
If you touch me it’ll all be over.”

“
So what? You’ve done more than enough.”