Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (14 page)

destroy; all other first-borns only had the ability to do one or the other.

There was only one Talent for each of the elements, meaning that Kiarra would be the Fire Talent. He

had no idea about the identities of the Earth, Water, and Wind Talents, but now that Jaxton knew the Talents’

abilities were emerging, DEFEND would have to find the remaining three.

Never before had all Four Talents been gathered in time to fully prevent whatever was coming; they

could only stop it from worsening. The Black Death in the 14th century had been a case in point.

The increasing appearance of latent abilities—dormant and rare powers that only emerged when the

Talents started to awaken—also made sense. The Four Talents needed the equivalent of a Secret Service to keep them alive. Many
Feiru
would do anything to have a Talent under their influence, especially in the current politically charged times. This made the Four Talents targets.

Maybe the AMT enforcers were after Kiarra because she was a Talent. It would’ve been easy enough to

condition her to believe that her abilities were gone, allowing the AMT to reawaken them when needed.

The lock clicked and Kiarra opened the door a crack, but after one look at his face, she retreated into

her room.

The sight of her face once again flared his anger. Jaxton pushed his way into her room and cornered

Kiarra against a wall with his arms. “You’ve been lying to me,” he said coolly, proud to sound more

civilized than he felt.

Kiarra didn’t flinch from his gaze. “Care to tell me what I’m supposed to be lying about?”

He leaned in closer. “Stop playing games with me, Kiarra. I know you can gather fire.”

She poked his chest with her finger. “I already told you, I can’t.”

“And you’re still lying to me.”

Kiarra stilled and narrowed her eyes. “Not being able to feel the elemental energy in the air is like being forced to breathe through your mouth. You can do it, but it doesn’t feel quite right.” She raised her chin.

“Wait for the test results from my blood. You can apologize to me later.”

Either she was a good actress or the AMT had done a good job of making her believe that her fire was

truly gone.

Threats and intimidation were going to get him nowhere. Hell, she’d grown used to them as part of her

training and reconditioning. If he wanted the truth, he’d have to think of a clever way to trick her when she least expected it. But now wasn’t the time.

No, right now, he needed to get the Melini sisters together and ask about their uncle.

He leaned in and said, “You’ll tell me the truth eventually.” He dropped his arms from the wall, no

longer caging Kiarra. “But in the meantime, we’re going downstairs to talk with your sister. She’s waiting for us now.”

If Kiarra was confused about the topic change, she didn’t show it. “I’m in desperate need of a shower.

And I’m not going anywhere with you until you calm down and start making sense.” Kiarra slipped to the

side and headed toward the bathroom.

Jaxton’s arm shot out and he grabbed her wrist. “This can’t wait. The longer we stay here, the more

dangerous it becomes. Do you want the AMT to catch you?” Kiarra pulled her arm, but his grip was firm.

“This is your last chance to come willingly.” He gave a tug, careful not to hurt her. “Either way, you’re going downstairs with me.”

What Kiarra did next was unexpected—she dropped down and sat cross-legged on the floor.

“Somebody needs to teach you some manners. You can’t just bully me into doing whatever you want. I will

go downstairs
after
my shower.”

Kiarra knew she was being childish, sitting on the floor like a toddler, but something had stoked

Jaxton’s temper and he wouldn’t listen to anything she said.

Why was he so convinced that she was lying?

She raised an eyebrow at Jaxton. “I can do this all day.”

“Pet, I only spend the day in a woman’s bedroom if she invites me to do more than hold hands, and

somehow, I don’t think that’s the case here.”

Kiarra’s skin flushed at the implication of his words. But before she could get her voice working again, Jaxton grabbed her other arm and pulled her upright. A second later, he tossed her over his shoulder.

She squealed before the air was knocked out of her. “You’ve crossed the line from unreasonable to

insane.”

“I gave you fair warning, and you ignored it.” Jaxton patted her ass. “I can be immature too. If you want down, use your fire. Otherwise, enjoy the ride.”

“I already told you, I don’t have any magic. If I did, you’d be toast by now.”

“Then this is a missed opportunity because right now, I give you permission to set my arse on fire.”

Kiarra made a noise at the back of her throat. “‘Fucking asshole’ isn’t strong enough to describe your

behavior.”

Jaxton patted her ass again before he started walking. As annoyed as she was, she still felt the searing heat of his hand through her clothes. Kiarra fisted Jaxton’s shirt and forced herself to ignore it. She needed to find a way to get down.

With each step Jaxton took, Kiarra felt his shoulder blade jab into her stomach. She snaked an arm

behind her and tried to grab Jaxton’s throat. But Jaxton caught her hand, and twisted it behind her. The hand on her ass moved to hold it in place.
Shit.

Next she tried kicking him with her knee, but his torso was like a wall, covered in muscle, and Jaxton

acted like he didn’t feel a thing. He then jostled her like a sack of potatoes.

“If that’s all you’ve got,” he said, with another jostle, “you clearly haven’t been paying attention to my lessons.”

“Just be glad I can’t gather elemental fire right now, or you wouldn’t be sitting comfortably for weeks.”

Jaxton entered the front room, and Kiarra saw Marco sitting in a chair, off to the side. Marco grinned and said, “Are we in for some X-rated action?”

Kiarra glared and Marco laughed. She heard Cam’s voice say, “The only X you need to be worried

about is an x-ray. Leave my sister alone, you skeevy man-child.”

“Stop fighting it, Camilla. Your words are your armor, but I know you secretly lust after me.”

Cam growled before Jaxton’s voice rumbled against Kiarra’s belly. “Enough.” He tossed Kiarra on the

couch next to Cam. “On Neena’s orders, we have DEFEND-related things to discuss.”

Cam focused back on cleaning her nails with a knife and said, “Jaxton, this is your warning. Treat my

sister with more respect in the future or I’ll be forced to use my knife on a tender part of your anatomy.”

Kiarra smiled and tried not to gloat. Cam was on her side, no questions asked; maybe they would have a

sisterly relationship one day.

Jaxton crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at Kiarra and Cam on the couch. “At Neena’s

request, you two need to tell me about your uncle.”

She frowned. What did he have to do with anything? Kiarra was going to have to contact Neena in

order to start making sense of Jaxton’s actions, because he sure as hell wasn’t going to be forthright with her.

Cam stopped cleaning her nails and looked at Kiarra, raising an eyebrow in question. Kiarra shook her

head. “I don’t remember much about either one.”

“How many are there?” Jaxton asked.

“Two,” Kiarra said.

Jaxton looked at Cam. “Tell me about them.”

Cam focused back on cleaning her nails. “Only if you ask nicely.”

Kiarra grinned and Jaxton shot her a look. Kiarra raised an eyebrow, as if saying:
See? I’m not the only
one who thinks you need some manners.

She swore she heard Jaxton mumble something about Melini women before he said, “Would you please

do me the favor of telling me about your uncles, Ms. Melini?”

“I don’t like your tone, but I’ll forgive it this one time for Neena’s sake.” Cam laid her knife across her thigh. “We have two uncles. Their names are Alexander and James Sinclair.”

Marco sat up in his chair. “
The
James Sinclair?”

“Yes.”

A look passed between Marco and Jaxton that Kiarra didn’t understand. “What are you not telling me?”

Bloody hell. Her uncle was James Sinclair.

All of Jaxton’s assigned research on the man seemed too much of a coincidence, which meant Neena

had been planning this for years.

And now he had Sinclair’s nieces sitting right in front of him.

Judging from Kiarra’s face, she had no idea who Sinclair was or what he was trying to do. Since Cam

remained silent, Jaxton decided to explain at least some of it to Kiarra. “James Sinclair works with the
Feiru
High Council and is influential with
Feiru
politicians the world over. He is one of the driving forces behind tightening and enforcing first-born policies. We believe he’s pushing to have first-borns locked up from the moment of birth, to prevent any sort of familial attachment.”

Kiarra blinked. “My…uncle…wants to lock away babies?”

Jaxton’s earlier irritation and anger eased at the disbelief and horror he saw on Kiarra’s face. He almost went to her, but Cam beat him to it.

“Don’t call him uncle.” Cam patted Kiarra’s arm. “Save it for Uncle Alex, who deserves the title.”

For years Jaxton had been sorting through intelligence, hoping for more concrete information and

evidence he could use against Sinclair. But at the end of the day, he’d had to work with whatever had been

brought to him.

But now he had Sinclair’s niece.

Between what had happened to his brother and Kiarra’s scars, Jaxton would never allow the AMT to

take another first-born from him if he could help it. Still, neither Sinclair nor those close to him would know that, meaning Jaxton had some leverage. He just might be able to use Kiarra to get the evidence he

needed.

Suddenly Neena’s words, about knowing what to do, made sense. “Kiarra and I will leave for

Edinburgh in the morning.”

“Edinburgh?” Kiarra echoed.

“The High Council’s base moved there from Accra a few years ago, and Sinclair goes where the High

Council goes. Getting to Sinclair is impossible, but I might be able to find some of his closest followers and get the information Neena and Aislinn have been searching for.”

Cam picked up the knife on her thigh and sheathed it. “Then I’m going with you.”

Jaxton shook his head. “No, Neena said Kiarra and I must go alone.”

Cam stared at him at length before finally nodding. He was relieved when Cam didn’t argue. They both

knew she could easily check with Neena to confirm Jaxton’s words.

When Neena gave an order, it was best to follow it. To understand that meant Kiarra’s sister had been

with DEFEND for some time.

“I don’t like it, boss,” Marco piped in from the corner. “You’ll need backup.”

Marco implied Jaxton would be spending all of his energy protecting Kiarra, and Marco was right. But

maybe, just maybe, something would spark Kiarra’s elemental fire.

Jaxton had had a knee-jerk reaction earlier and might have overreacted to the thought of Kiarra lying to him. Messing with her DNA could’ve caused her abilities to become dormant. Or she’d been tricked into

believing they were—but no matter what Kiarra believed about her abilities, Neena was never wrong.

“Marco’s right,” Kiarra said. “I’m more of a liability than an asset. No matter how much I dislike you at the moment, I can’t protect you if something goes wrong, Jaxton. And I won’t have that on my

conscience.”

Kiarra wants to protect me?
“Don’t worry, pet, we’ll figure something out.”

“What will happen to Garrett? He needs special care and attention right now.” Kiarra leaned forward.

“Who will look after him?”

Jaxton felt a stab of guilt, but knew he’d find a way to make it up to his brother. “We’ll meet up with

Amma and she’ll take care of him.” He briefly explained how Amma often treated many AMT escapees.

Kiarra frowned. “Do you trust her?”

“Yes.” Although Jaxton didn’t know exactly how Garrett would react to Amma’s care. “You have the

rest of the morning to pack. We’ll leave with Garrett after lunch.” He switched his gaze to Cam. “If I leave you two alone, can I trust you to stay put?”

“Like I would upset Neena.”

Jaxton nodded. “Good. Then take this time to answer some of Kiarra’s questions.” Before Cam could

reply, he motioned for Marco to follow him and exited the room, not wanting to dwell on the guilt pricking his conscience. The guilt was two-fold—one part for handing over the care of his brother to Amma, the

other part for feeling jealous of Kiarra’s concern for Garrett.

Hopefully once they reached Scotland, he could delegate most of Kiarra’s training to his sister—who

was also a member of DEFEND—and focus on Sinclair. Kiarra was becoming too much of a distraction.

Chapter Fifteen

Kiarra’s life had become an emotional roller-coaster. Inside the AMT, she’d known what to expect from

one day to the next, and was able to control her emotions accordingly. Now, decisions were made at the

drop of a hat to send her off to a different continent. No one asked for her opinion, they just expected her to go without a word.

Then Jaxton had disappeared before she’d had a chance to protest, leaving her alone with a sister she’d

written off years ago. Cam may have defended her with Jaxton, but Kiarra knew next to nothing about the

woman sitting next to her. Cam was a stranger now.

Still, this might be the only chance she ever had to get answers. Life inside the AMT had taught her to

never to take things for granted, and this was something she needed to do, no matter how painful the

memories.

She turned her body toward her younger sister and again faced the scars and unreadable face from last

night. She wondered about Cam’s past, but Kiarra was afraid of where those questions might lead, so she