Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (10 page)

my room.”

He plucked a book from the topmost shelf and held it up. “This one?” Kiarra reached for it, but he held

it up out of her reach. “Everyone who works for DEFEND knows the rumors about Neena’s personal copy

of the rules and regulations book. Supposedly it gives clues about her overall plan for the organization. My question is, why she would give it to you?”

“Does it matter? She gave it to me, therefore it’s mine.”

Jaxton raised an eyebrow. “You’re turning into a greedy one, aren’t you?”

“If wanting to keep the first present I’ve received in my adult life is greedy, then so be it.” She put out her palm and waited.

When she put it like that, it made him feel like a bit of a bastard. “You can have it back if”—he stooped down and fished out Millie’s favorite book—“you take this one too.”

Kiarra took both books. After reading the title and taking a look at the cover image of the romance book, her cheeks turned red.

Jaxton stood up and tapped the cover of
The Dark Warrior’s Secret
. “My sister has read this at least four times, so I reckon it’s good smut.”

Her cheeks turned a brighter shade of red. “Smut?”

He was enjoying her discomfiture and couldn’t seem to stop himself. “A book full of sex and the like.

She swears it has a good story, but I bet she only reads it for the sex scenes.”

She stared at the cover, unwilling to meet his eye. “Normally I’d thank you for the book, but I’m not sure you deserve it.”

Jaxton snorted. “Spot on, pet.”

She looked up. “Spot on,” she mimicked in a horrible British accent. “Who talks like that?”

“The people who speak English properly.”

“You are less than helpful.”

Jaxton fought a smile. “Maybe if you didn’t make fun of my accent, I would be more helpful.”

She hugged the books to her chest. “I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”

“I’m not the one who goes red at the sight of two people going at it on a book cover.”

She peeked at the cover again, but this time, her expression remained neutral. “See, I can do it.”

He leaned in. “That is what you should’ve done the first time. A second of hesitation when someone attacks and it’s game over, pet.”

As they stared at each other, Jaxton was overly aware of Kiarra’s breath on his cheek, the sweet scent of her skin. She leaned in a fraction, only to take three steps back. “If the lesson is over, Mr.—”

“Ward.”

“Mr. Ward, then I have some studying to do.”

While she was trying to be distant, her actions were amusing. Jaxton motioned to the couch. “You can

read here, I’ve things to do.”

“I prefer to read in my room, really—”

“Enjoy the sunshine. You need it more than I.” He turned and left the room, not quite sure if he’d been

as successful with Kiarra as he’d planned. Men, women, teenagers, he’d trained them all over the years, but never before had he had the urge to kiss one of them. If he wasn’t careful, Kiarra might ruin his reputation.

With Jaxton gone, Kiarra plopped onto the couch and punched of the pillows. Why did the man insist

on making everything into a training lesson? He purposely antagonized her, only to lecture her about it

afterward.

Her three months of training couldn’t be over soon enough.

Kiarra stared at the two books in her lap. She needed a distraction, and while the cover with “two

people going at it” would be more entertaining, the book about DEFEND was more important for her

future. After getting comfortable on the couch, she opened Neena’s book.

The title page was covered in random handwritten words, such as
Cantabria
,
Edinburgh
, and
Victoria
Falls.
Hearts adorned all the i’s on the page, and there were several words written in a language she couldn’t understand. Curious to see what made Neena’s copy of the book so famous, she flipped to the first page of text and started reading:

DEFEND is a volunteer organization whose aim is to promote equality for all
Feiru
, regardless of
birth order or unusual abilities. By reading this guide of rules and regulations, you agree to keep this
information secret and away from those who would wish to harm our organization. Violation of your

silence will result in consequences put forth in Section Three.

In the side margin there was a note in the same handwriting as the title page, and it said:
And they’ll
have to deal with me.

That comment fit with what she knew of Neena’s personality, but it wasn’t the least bit helpful in

revealing more about DEFEND.

Kiarra flipped a few pages and stopped when she came to one filled with scribbles in the margins. She

read the handwritten part first:

A shifter will be needed to set things in motion. Coercion may be necessary.

Unsure of what a shifter was, Kiarra frowned and looked at the title printed at the top of the page:

Latent Roles and Uses
.

Latent what? Maybe if she read from page one, all of this would start to make more sense. Kiarra

flipped back to the beginning, determined to find out how DEFEND functioned and figure out why Neena

expected her to skirt the rules.

Chapter Eleven

Hours later, when the sun began to set, Kiarra decided to tuck away her books and find something to

eat. Neena’s handwritten comments were giving her a headache; the woman had no lack of confidence, to

the point of being haughty.

The book mostly detailed the hierarchy, departments, and restrictions on outside communication.

DEFEND seemed like a good organization on paper, but then most
Feiru
probably thought the AMT

compounds sounded good too. In other words, she wasn’t ready to make a decision just yet.

Her stomach growled and Kiarra took that as her cue to hurry up. She wanted to tuck the books away

safely in her room before using the kitchen. She barely remembered how to fry an egg, but all that mattered to her was the fact that she could eat when she wanted, without following a timetable.

After stashing the books in her room, Kiarra paused at the top of the stairs and looked down the dark

hallway toward Garrett’s room, wondering how he was doing. She didn’t want to wake him up and maybe

cause another fit, but seeing to his care was the only thing she seemed capable of doing with any skill; it was the only thing she didn’t have to rely on Jaxton to teach her.

Besides, Kiarra could always hum Garrett back to sleep if she woke him up.

Counting the doors, she arrived at the one that was Garrett’s and put her ear to the door, but there was only silence. She turned the knob, grateful to find it unlocked, and gently pushed the door inward. She let out a silent breath when the door opened without a sound, and Kiarra slipped inside.

The curtains were drawn, the material so thick it cloaked the room in darkness except for the glow of a

nightlight near the bed. Her eyes grew accustomed to the dark as she scanned the room. Apart from the bed and a few wooden chairs, the room was empty, devoid of any color or signs of life. If Jaxton was planning on using this room permanently for Garrett’s recovery, he’d have to make the decor more homey. Bare

walls and sparse furniture would only remind Garrett of his time inside the AMT.

Garrett stirred and Kiarra began humming a section of Holst’s “Jupiter.” The mound of man and

blankets on the bed calmed, and that was Kiarra’s cue to sneak back out. She’d have words with Jaxton

tomorrow about decorating the room and ask if she could help more with Garrett. Ideas floated around

inside her head, and she wanted the chance to try them out.

As she turned toward the door, a movement in the corner caught her eye. She peered carefully, but saw

only shadows. The light must be playing tricks on her. But she took another step and this time a dense, dark cloud started to rise out of the shadows. She blinked, but the thick, dark mist kept expanding toward her.

While she might’ve just triggered a security defense system, Kiarra wasn’t taking any chances. Looking

around, she grabbed one of the chairs and lifted it up just as a woman holding a dagger appeared out of the dark cloud.

The woman lunged at Kiarra, but she smashed the chair as hard as she could at the woman and yelled,

“Help!” Garrett started screaming on the bed behind her, but Kiarra kept her eyes on the mysterious woman and watched as she smacked aside the chair, the dagger still in her hand.

She grabbed the other chair in the room, trying to think of what else she could do. Her self-defense

lessons hadn’t included how to disarm an attacker.

The woman feinted right then came around Kiarra’s left side. Just as the woman’s dagger came down, a

bluish-white blur smashed through the window. Kiarra threw up her arms to protect her face from the

flying shards of glass.

The lights came on and Kiarra blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. Jaxton was standing in the doorway, his gun pointed at the ground. Marco and Darius were right behind him.

She looked to where Jaxton’s gun was pointing and saw two women on the floor, one straddled on top of the other. The top woman had her gun trained on the captured woman’s head.

The gun-wielding woman smashed her prisoner’s head against the floor, rendering her unconscious.

She adjusted her aim and pointed her gun toward Jaxton before she said, “Don’t bother with the elemental ambush. It won’t work on me.”

Jaxton’s gun arm didn’t waver. “Who are you?”

The woman turned her head a second, meeting Kiarra’s gaze, but before Jaxton or his men could

respond, her head whipped back around.

Something about the woman’s dark hair, dark eyes, and long face were familiar to Kiarra.

Jaxton stepped to the side to allow Darius to pass, but the woman added a second gun to her free hand.

Kiarra blinked at the speed. She hadn’t even seen the woman’s hand move.

“Nice way to thank me for saving your ass, limey.”

“I don’t usually thank people who point guns at me.”

The woman shrugged. “These guns are preventing you from doing something stupid.” She motioned

her head in Kiarra’s direction. “Besides, Kiarra can vouch for me.”

How does this woman know my name?
Before anyone could accuse her of anything, Kiarra managed to sputter, “I don’t know who you are.”

The woman raised an eyebrow, but kept her gaze on Jaxton and Darius. “Does the name Camilla Louise

ring a bell?”

Kiarra’s heart stopped. The woman had to be lying.

Jaxton darted a glance at Kiarra. “What’s she talking about?”

She took another look, this time noticing the scar on the woman’s jaw. For a second, she couldn’t

breathe. She now realized why the face had seemed familiar—she’d last seen the same scar on the chin of a ten-year-old girl, her arms outstretched, calling Kiarra’s name.

“Kiarra? Do you know her?” Jaxton said.

She pried her gaze away from Cam’s face, looked at Jaxton, and said, “Cam is my younger sister.”

“Sister?” Jaxton took in the woman named Camilla, from her long, lean body to the weapons

crisscrossing her chest. A scar on her forehead and jaw only emphasized the woman’s rougher appearance;

Kiarra had a somewhat rounder, angelic-looking face. Jaxton motioned his free hand toward the

unconscious woman on the floor. “And who is that, your unruly cousin?”

Kiarra’s sister was not amused. “Try a shadow-shifter, limey, sent by a person working with the AMT

enforcers.”

He glanced at the unconscious woman on the floor. Shadow-shifting was a latent ability, one that a

person could use to shift into a shadowy mist once every twenty-four hours. In the past, they’d been used as assassins or spies.

The shadow-shifter would be out cold for a little while longer, and Jaxton needed to figure out why

Kiarra’s sister would show up now, only a few days after Kiarra’s escape. He was also curious as to how the hell she’d made it inside his house despite the tight security.

He motioned toward the shadow-shifter. “I understand how she made it past security, but how did you

break in through the second story window? Better yet, why are you here?”

“Aislinn and Neena sent me. I heard Kiarra was out and wanted to talk with her.”

That was very much a non-answer. Jaxton glanced at Kiarra to see how she was handling it all, only to

find her humming near Garrett’s ear. No wonder his brother was quiet despite the commotion.

“Kiarra.” She turned and looked at Jaxton, but even from across the room, he could see the insecure

expression on her face.
Fucking fantastic.
If her sister’s appearance had undone all of Kiarra’s progress so

far, he’d take care of Cam himself. “It’s your call. What do you want to do with her?”

Kiarra straightened from her crouch and clenched her fists at her side. She might be hiding it well, but he could tell she was upset, and a part of him wanted to comfort her.

“I—” She nearly choked and Jaxton growled; how dare someone upset his charge and make her

regress? But before he could do anything, Kiarra swallowed and said, “Tomorrow. I’ll talk with Cam

tomorrow.”

“Not good enough,” Cam said before she disappeared from her perch atop the shadow-shifter, only to

reappear at Kiarra’s side. Cam now had Kiarra by the shoulders, one gun still out and trained on Jaxton. “I need to talk with Kiarra tonight.”

Kiarra tried to shrug off Cam’s grip. “Cam, please, let it wait until tomorrow. I’m not sure—”

Cam never took her gaze from Jaxton and his men as she said, “I’m not fucking around. Verify it with

Aislinn or Neena, but I’m not letting Kiarra out of my sight until I get to talk with her.”

Kiarra looked about ready to cry. He needed to defuse the situation.