Lilly stretched and raised her hands to the sky, enjoying the pull of muscles in her back. Nathan and Claire strode across the clearing toward her. They were up on a hill, overlooking the clan. The same place, apparently, where Claire used to come to practice. Lilly’s stomach flipped as she thought about what lay ahead.
Nathan shot her a grin. “You ready for this?”
She turned her mouth down. “Not remotely.”
“You’ll love it. Trust me.”
Claire wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “He’s a hard taskmaster, but tell him if you get tired.”
Nathan explained to her how to call forth her magic. He told her to focus on the feeling of fire in her hand to begin with. To let it build and then let it burn until actual flame materialized there. Scared of getting burned, she flunked it the first ten times or so, but he didn’t show impatience with her.
On her twelfth try, it happened. She cried out as a small glow in the palm of her hand became a dancing, flickering flame.
As soon as it appeared, it went, snuffed out the moment she lost focus, but she’d done it. And unlike when she’d seen the two males on the path, she’d done it purposely and with control.
Nathan declared they were done for the morning at that point, but he told her to meet them again in the afternoon.
She ate lunch alone in her room, needing some downtime, and read the latest gossip on her phone. Not that she cared much which celeb said what to whom, but she needed to chill out after the events of the morning.
At two, she walked back to the field with Claire and Nathan. This time, he wanted her to let the flame come and then light the grass with her hand, but for her to put it out then using only her mind. She tried for over an hour, but on each occasion, Nathan or Claire had to step in to put her fire out.
Claire tried to reassure her that she’d struggled with this part too, but Lilly felt like a failure.
“Think of water, of a stream or a waterfall running over your hands. Let yourself go deep into imagining how it feels.” Nathan explained it to her for what seemed like the thousandth time, his tone calm.
“Can I help?”
She jumped and turned around at the deep voice. Callum stood not five feet away, watching them.
“It’s up to you.” Nathan glanced at her.
She gave a quick nod. What could it hurt? It wasn’t as if she’d made any progress using Nathan’s instructions.
Callum surprised her by patting the ground. “Cross your legs and sit down.”
She frowned at him but did as he said, wincing as the cold earth met her bottom. She should have worn thicker trousers.
Callum sat behind her, his legs raised up either side of her, bent at the knee. Holy hell, with him so close, she almost drowned in him. His delectable scent wrapped around her, like luscious vines pulling her in, and his deep, regular breathing somehow soothed her. Calmed her.
“Okay. Put your hand on the ground and bring your fire forth.” His deep voice reverberated low and soothingly by her right ear, his warm breath tickling the hairs at her nape.
She tried to ignore his presence long enough to focus on the task at hand, and as before, managed to bring forth a single paltry flame. She let it burn brightly then placed her hand on the grass, watching as the green strands caught fire one by one.
“Now,” Callum said. “What’s the nicest water you’ve ever seen? Think about the ocean or maybe a stream.”
“A waterfall in the Caribbean.” She recalled the beautiful waterfall, falling from rocks into an aqua pool, surrounded by jungle.
“Okay. Picture it, and as you do, let your senses in on the memory, feel it.”
She glanced at the grass, the fire spreading, and worry spiked her heart rate.
“Ignore the fire. It’s cool, we can put it out.” His voice hit her low, in her gut. Hypnotic, soothing, but also enticing. His hands went around her shoulders, holding her there as he continued to speak. “Think of the cool water, the way it felt when you put your hand under it. The noise it made and that gorgeous, fresh water smell.”
Transported back to the wonderful afternoon with her whole family on the trip, she remembered how it felt to be beside the waterfall, rushing off the rocks, and how she’d giggled when she’d stuck her hand under it. How cold it had been. The freshness of the air right next to it.
The warmth in her palm stopped, and a cool, soothing sensation prickled at her skin. The fire under her palm went out, and the dousing spread quickly, the rest of the flames around her fizzling out as surely as if she’d poured actual water over them. She wanted to clap her hands in delight like some little child.
“Good girl.” Callum whispered the words, dark and sinful in her ear.
God help her, but those words set a new fire burning within her, right at her core. What she wouldn’t give to have him say them to her as he fucked her… What? No. No way. She pulled her arms from where his hands still wrapped around her upper shoulders and stood, face burning.
“Thank you. For your help. It’s greatly appreciated.” Crap, she sounded like her mother. Cold, aloof, well-bred. Callum didn’t seem offended, though. He stood and shot her a lazy wink.
“You’re welcome, Princess. Why don’t you come to the cottage tomorrow for an hour? I can teach you some more. You’re well-matched to me, so it will probably be a far sight easier for you to learn from me than from Nathan or Claire.”
She glanced at her sister, who shrugged. “Up to you, sis. But it probably will be easier for him to teach you. It’s all to do with the way you match.”
Glancing up at the sky, Lilly rolled her eyes. Any time spent in the company of this guy would be dangerous to her psyche, she’d bet money on it. But the sooner she learned her magic, the more quickly she could go home. Back to the human world, where she could pretend none of this had happened. She could leave the whole headfuck behind and get on with her life, whatever shape that took moving forward. She lifted her head and met Callum’s gaze. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She turned on her heel and walked back down the hill with as much dignity as she could muster, face burning the whole way. Nathan, Claire, and Callum followed, and Nathan and Callum talked in low voices about what had been happening in the clan recently.
Tuning out their conversation, she went over and over her reaction to those two words. Good girl. Cheeky bastard, she should have let him have it. She wasn’t a girl, but a woman. And the way he’d said it, with a layer of flirtatiousness in there. So sexist. But despite the sexism…and the innuendo, she kind of loved it. It conjured up images of him doing all sorts of things to her, all the while telling her what a good girl she was.
Why did her brain keep going there? She didn’t have a daddy complex or a yearning to be submissive. Not so far as she knew anyway. She and Zach had a vanilla sex life. But it was good. They enjoyed one another, and Zach wasn’t a selfish lover. He had always made sure she came.
“See you tomorrow, Princess.” Callum gave her another wink and strolled off toward his temporary cottage.
They’d reached the bottom of the hill without her noticing. With butterflies in her stomach, she walked toward Claire’s house, already anticipating the morrow.
The next day, those butterflies were still there as she got dressed for her second training session with Callum, nerves swirling in her belly. Her phone beeped and buzzed, dancing on the table by the bed.
Missy: There’s a huge party at Zach’s two weeks from now. Come home!! Oh my God, you should see him. He’s been working out, looks buff. And Pete’s back too, and he’s so hot, he should be illegal. I need my wing woman to get through having to see him.
She smiled and tapped back: You will be fine. One of these days, you’ll gather your courage and speak to him. How can you find out if he likes you or not if you don’t talk to him?
She pulled her jeans on and began fastening her boots when her phone beeped again.
Missy: Ugh. Just come home. I miss my BFF. What the hell are you doing anyway? I don’t buy the whole European art trip bull. What are you really doing?
Oh, crap. Her friend knew her far too well. What to say? She decided on a half-truth. I think I might have found someone who is related to my birth mother. Please don’t say anything. I’ll fill you in when I get home.
Dots appeared to let her know Missy was typing her response: OMG! That’s huge. You’ll have to tell me when you come home…next week ;)
Okay. Speak soon. Love you. Xxx
She signed off and rushed to finished getting ready. She hadn’t eaten breakfast but downed coffee and an energy bar in her room, brought to her by one of the servants
She reached the door and opened it quietly, grabbing her coat from the hook and breathing a sigh of relief when no one caught her. Claire knew she was meeting Callum, but she didn’t want to face anyone before she headed off for her training session. One look at the flushed face and bright eyes reflected back at her that morning in her mirror and Claire would read her excitement at seeing Callum again all too easily.
When she reached the small cottage, she raised her fist to knock, but the door swung back to reveal Rhyndor. Her heart kicked up a notch. She’d been expecting Callum. Rhyndor touched her in a way Callum didn’t, probably because he seemed so serious and brooding and…deep. Like some sort of gothic hero come to life, and sue her, but she loved a tortured hero. Now a real live one stood before her, and he was beautiful to boot.
“Come in.” His voice scraped against her skin, gruff and rough and sexy as hell.
“Thanks.”
She stepped into the hallway and shifted from foot to foot, unsure of what to do or say.
“You’re training with Callum this morning, I hear.” He beckoned for her to follow him a little way down the corridor and into a bright, cozy room.
“Yes. Why don’t you come too?” Oh no. Cut her damn tongue out. She hadn’t meant to say that.
He sat and gave her a sad smile. “I don’t practice my magic anymore. I don’t believe in it.”
“Oh? Do you think I shouldn’t learn it, then?” She sat too, across from him on a comfortable chair.
He crossed his knee over the opposite thigh and stretched his arms along the back of the sofa. “No, I think you have to. Need to. You’ll be in a vulnerable position if you don’t. I presume you know about the clan you come from?”
She nodded because Nathan and Claire had told her all about the Havsa.
“You might be at risk of attack. It’s unlikely, but you need to learn how to defend yourself. You are also beautiful, and your scent is amazing. You may find yourself being harassed by pairs of males. It shouldn’t happen, there are strict laws against it, but sometimes it can.”
Without thinking, she piped up. “I’m all too aware. Only the other day, two males grabbed me and started to pull me into the woods. They hurt my arms, too…”
The look on his face stopped her. His jaw clenched, and his eyes were hard and narrowed. “Who did this to you? Males here, from this village?”
Oops. She’d seen how protective Nathan and Dom were of Claire, and she should have kept her big mouth shut. “No. Not from here. They were visitors, and they’ve left now.”
She didn’t have a clue where they were, but Rhyndor looked about ready to murder someone, so she lied to try to calm him.
Callum sauntered into the room and stopped dead. He sniffed the air and stared at Rhyndor. “Whoa. Who got your protective juices flowing?”
Rhyndor huffed out an annoyed breath. “Some piece of shit males dragged Lilly into the woods. They hurt her.”
“What?” Callum turned his alarmed gaze to her.
“I’m fine. Honestly. I shouldn’t have said anything. I used my fire. I didn’t understand how, but my body reacted as if by instinct, and I threw fire at them. They let me go.”
“I hope Nathan damn well dealt with them.” Callum began to pace. “Are they still here?”
She stood and went to his side. “No. They’ve left. Listen, can we please forget it and focus on my lesson? I need to be back soon to call my friend.” Another lie, but she needed to stop the caveman routine these two had going on before they went causing trouble.
A tiny, deeply hidden part of her loved their going all alpha male over someone touching her. It made her feel important and worth protecting. But she didn’t want any trouble, so she tried to defuse the situation.
“Thanks for your concern, Rhyndor. But honestly. I’m okay.”
He stood abruptly. “I need to go and do some work. Nice seeing you again, Lilly. Don’t work her too hard.” He gave a wan smile to Callum and stalked out of the room.
Puzzled, she turned to Callum. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, Princess. I think it’s more what you made him feel. Something he’s not experienced in a long, long time. And it’s a good thing, too. To be honest, it’s one of the reasons I am so glad we found you. You’re reawakening his dragon. So don’t go worrying. You ready?”
She nodded, but her mind focused on his words. Callum wanted her to bring out Rhyndor’s dragon? She didn’t like feeling like a pawn in a game.
Callum took her hand to lead her outside. Totally blindsided by the gesture, she began to pull her hand out of his, but a glorious warmth seeped into her where their skin made contact. A feeling of total rightness washed over her. She didn’t have any other words to describe it. The two of them, walking side by side, felt so right it made her want to weep.
Instead of pulling her hand away, she let it sit in his. Engulfed by his warmth.
They walked up the hill, back to the patch of grass from the day before. Her little burn marks were still there, and they gave her a stab of pride.
For a while, they went over the previous day’s lesson, and then Callum shocked the shit out of her.
“I want you to try to throw the fire at me again, like you did with those guys.”
“What? No. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t hurt me. I can deflect it easily.”
She took a step back, and he made a come-on motion with his hands, waving them toward his chest. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand, felt the heat, and threw it at him. A few sparks fell uselessly on the grass at her feet. She frowned and tried again. Same result.
“You’re scared of hurting me. Do it for real.” Callum sounded impatient. “You need to be able to do this, Lilly. Those guys could have hurt you. Others might try to hurt you. This is important.”
“I can’t do it for real because you’re not about to hurt me,” she yelled.
He took about twenty steps away from her and ran his hands through his hair. When he turned around, a horrible smile played across his pretty mouth.
“You stupid little girl.”
Her throat closed, all the air trapped there. What did he mean? She had no clue what was going on. He looked about ready to tear her apart. Then he ran at her. And his eyes, oh Lord, his eyes were yellow. Dead and cold, and he roared.
She screamed, brought her hand up and hit him with all she had. He went down hard onto the grass, his body making a dull thump on the ground. Not sure what to do, she only stared, her hand clamped over her mouth. What had she done? What if she’d killed him? Why had he turned on her?
Glancing about her, she pulled her phone from her pocket, about to ring Claire when laughter caught her attention. Callum shook where he lay, and the laughter came from him.
“Wow. That fucking hurt. You’ve got strong magic, Lilly. Very strong.” He pulled himself up with a groan and rubbed at his chest where she’d hit him with the white fireball. “Damn, it burns. You’re one strong female.”
He came toward her, and she took an instinctive step back, unable to forget those eyes. He smiled more softly at her. “Sorry I scared you. I wanted to make you use your magic on me. I let you see my dragon eyes. It worked though, didn’t it? I need to know you can defend yourself, and you can. You’re going to be one tough, mighty female.”
Was she? Lilly wiped a hand over her face, exhausted suddenly. In fact, she needed to sit down.
“Whoa.” He was at her side in three strides. “Sit before you fall. It’s the adrenaline rush and the energy using a big burst of magic like that takes. It wears you out.”
She let him guide her to the ground, and they sat for a while. “Don’t ever fucking trick me in such a way again,” she scolded, genuinely livid.
“I won’t. I promise.” He rubbed her hands in his. “Come on, you’re getting cold. You need to get home and have a drink and something to eat. Get warm.”
She stood, and the whole world swam in front of her. Her ears buzzed with white noise, and her eyes filled with sparkly white dots.
“I’ve got you.”
One moment, she’d been standing and swaying, the next, she found herself in Callum’s arms as he walked back down the hill with her.
“I’m going to take you to ours. You need looking after, and I don’t want you up at the big house where they may leave your care to a servant.”
She wanted to say her sister wouldn’t do such a thing to her, but finding the energy to speak eluded her right then.
Instead, she closed her eyes and rested her head on Callum’s broad shoulder, letting the rhythm of his walking lull her.
They reached the house, and he kicked against the door with one booted foot. Once more it swung open to reveal Rhyndor.
“What the fuck happened?” His gruff voice seemed stronger and deeper than usual.
“Keep your pants on. We were practicing magic, and I think she overdid it some is all.”
“Some?” Rhyndor narrowed his eyes at Callum, and she didn’t want him angry with his friend, lover…whatever. She lifted her arm and touched Rhyndor’s cheek. His eyes went wide, and she swore he stopped breathing for the longest moment.
He laid his own hand on top of hers, holding her there, her fingers resting against his stubble.
“Lilly.” Her name fell like a benediction from his lips, and he brought her hand around to those lips and kissed her palm. Chaste and brief, but it lit her up inside. Fireworks went off in her body, and if she weren’t so worn out, she’d be begging him to kiss her properly.
“I’ll put you in our bed. Our scent should help soothe you, and you can rest. I’m not sure why you’re having such a strong reaction if you already did this to those guys.” Callum strode down the hallway and kicked open a door to a bedroom.
“You scared me.” Thank God she’d found her voice. “When you ran at me, your eyes…You scared me a lot more than those other guys did.”
“You ran at her?” Rhyndor’s eyes narrowed, and he took a step toward Callum. “Give her to me.”
He reached for her, but Callum kept hold of her. “Keep calm. I only wanted her to try her magic.”
Rhyndor once more tugged at her. “Give her to me.”
Callum stared at him, and then the annoyed look he wore faded, replaced by something else. Something full of emotion, but she couldn’t quite name it. “Okay. Here, take her.”
Passing her to Rhyndor as if she were some sort of parcel, Callum stood back. The moment Rhyndor took her in his arms, he rocked her as if soothing her and carried her to the bed.
“You will rest here, and you’ll sleep well. This will recharge you, make you better. I’m sorry Callum scared you.” He kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes.
He laid her gently on the bed, Callum pulling the covers back, and Rhyndor placing her in the thick, warm sheets. The two men pulled them up around her, tucking her in as if she were a child, and honestly, it felt nice.
“I’ll go and make some cocoa.” Callum walked out of the room.
“You’re overwrought. Exhausted. You need to rest.” Rhyndor’s deep voice lulled her.
“I’ve not slept too well. It’s all so confusing. You being here for me. The animosity between all you guys. Claire explained to me some of what’s going on. That you didn’t mean to hurt Steffan’s mates, you were enchanted by some witch called Celine?”
He nodded against her neck. “It’s not something I’ve ever come to terms with. And I want to make it right. Yes, there’s a lot of bad blood between us all. But I’m here to try to sort it out. To make up for what I did when Celine controlled me.”
She didn’t pretend to understand it all or the ways of their people…her people. It still confused her, but his presence somehow soothed her and she let it. Let him comfort her by merely being there.
Rhyndor watched her for a moment and then turned to go, too. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be alone, and she grabbed his arm. “Will you stay?”
His normally sad face lit up, and he smiled down at her. “Of course.” He climbed onto the bed beside her and wrapped her in his huge arms. “Rest now, Lilly. Go to sleep. You are utterly safe here with me.”
And she felt it. Safer than she’d been in years. Safer than Zach and his family made her feel. Here in this room, she felt like a bug in a rug, all wrapped up and warm and secure. Rhyndor’s scent swirled around her and only added to the sense of absolute security.
She closed her eyes.