Healed by Fire (8 page)

I sat down on the snow covered ground and
exhaled. “I know, Ares. It’s just…”

“Painful,” Ares offered.

I laughed bitterly and nodded my head. “Yes,
painful. I see the way she looks at you now, even without memories,
and it’s like being back in Lyngvi again.”

Ares sat down beside me and sighed. “I
hadn’t intentionally set out to find her first, to keep you second.
I was just overcome with emotions when seeing her and her not
knowing me. She looked so different, but then she yelled at me and
I knew that she was still in there. I had to try.”

Victor appeared in front of us holding a
large green egg. “Got it.”

I pointed at the small man latched onto his
arm. “Someone grabbed on for the ride.”

Victor hissed and handed Ares the egg. “I
hate stalkers.” He pried the other vampire’s teeth from his arm and
then snapped his neck.

Ares cradled the egg like a baby and nodded
his head. “Let’s go, Victor you come with us.”

Victor sighed. “I knew you’d get me in
trouble at some point. You better hope they don’t try to kill
me.”

Ares smiled. “That would be a shame.”

Victor smiled wide enough to flash all of
his fangs and then changed into his bat form, squealing as he flew
up towards the Lair’s entrance.

I extended my wings and smiled. “Life has
been entertaining with you two around the last one hundred years.
Losing Victor’s comedic relief might dampen the mood.”

Ares laughed. “Let’s hope the dragons don’t
eat the winged rat before we get there.”

I jumped up into the sky, flapping my wings
to propel me higher. “We’d better hurry then.”

~~~

I was really tired of sleeping so much. I
woke up with Blu’s heavy head still on my chest. “Blu, I need to
use the restroom,” I said as I pushed at his head.

Blu rumbled something incoherent and pulled
his head out of my tent.

After freshening up, I walked outside to
find the Council gathered around my two princes. I ran toward them
and stared in shock at the vampire standing in between the them. He
was tall with black hair and solid black eyes. I’d heard about him
before, the vampire prince.

“Please accept my humblest apologies. I was
a much more immature man then and very impulsive. I return what is
rightfully yours in accordance with the agreement between you and
the princes here. I hope you can heal her quickly for all of our
sakes.”

“I know you too? What kind of woman was I?
Do I even want to know about my former life?” I asked in shock.

The vampire prince turned towards me and I
saw several emotions flit across his face before happiness settled
in. “You are even more beautiful than I recall,” he whispered as he
walked towards me, “and definitely more powerful.”

I stepped back from him and then ground my
teeth together. “I don’t know why you are trying to frighten me,
but if those two men are really tied to me in one way or another,
then they will not allow you to harm me. Plus, I may seem fragile
and
damaged
, but I still possess many powers.”

The vampire laughed and the tension eased.
“Even without her memories she is still just as assertive and
wonderful.”

“We are pleased with the return of our egg.
We will now give you, Prince of the Werewolves, your final task,”
said the Council.

“I am ready,” said the werewolf prince.

The Council stood in silence a moment and
then said, “You must obtain approval from Rhea to continue being
mated to this woman.”

I gasped in shock and horror.

“Very well. I accept the task,” said the
werewolf prince without hesitation.

“No!” I yelled. The Council looked at me in
shock. I ran to the prince and looked into his eyes. “You can’t do
this. It’s suicide! Please, please don’t do this.”

“Seeing your worry for me and feeling it
from you is greater than anything I’ve felt in the past one hundred
years,” he said quietly. He picked up a strand of my hair and
inhaled deeply. “I will return to you. Nothing will keep me away
from you now that I have finally found you.”

“Don’t go. We can start a life together now.
I don’t need my memories,” I pleaded with him. “I’m not worth
anyone’s life.”

He hugged me against his chest and kissed me
fiercely on the lips. My head throbbed, but I ignored it as I
enjoyed the easing of the pain in my heart and felt his love. He
pulled back from me and I swore his eyes were misty with tears. “I
will come back to you as soon as I can. I’m very powerful so you
needn’t worry.”

I sniffed and wiped at the tears falling
down my face. “Your power means nothing against the Mother. I
should go. I should be the one who has to risk my life. I
should…”

He kissed me again and then rubbed his face
against mine, marking me with his delicious scent. “You should stay
here and rest. The Sidhe prince will stay here so you will not be
apart from both of us.” He turned to the Council. “May I ask two
things?” The Council nodded their heads. “May I take a helper with
me?”

“You may.”

He nodded his head and I caught the vampire
prince walking towards us. “My second request is to leave my
younger brother here. I do not think it would be good for
Ar…Chandra to see him, but I don’t want to take him with me.”

The Council said, “He may stay while you are
on your journey and we will keep him separate from the hatchling.”
They turned to the Sidhe prince. “In fact you will all be kept away
from her so that she doesn’t have any unfortunate episodes while
the werewolf prince is away.”

The Sidhe prince bowed, but I saw his jaw
bulge as he ground his teeth together. “Of course.”

The vampire prince sighed. “We’d better not
die. I want to live to two thousand years. If I stay your friend I
may not live that long though.”

The werewolf prince smiled. “Oh come on. You
know you’re excited to finally get a chance to meet Rhea. Besides,
we haven’t had a good challenge in a while.”

“You’re lucky I’m so fond of the two of
you,” the vampire prince said as he started walking away.

“Don’t let him fool you. He’s been worried
about you as well. He was in an uncontrollable rage when we
couldn’t find you,” the Sidhe prince said with a fond smile on his
face.

“How long was I missing?” I asked
curiously.

“One hundred and five years,” he said
without hesitation.

I hadn’t known my eyes could open so wide or
my mouth. “One hundred years?!”

The werewolf prince nodded his head.

“No wonder it was so hard to control my wolf
when Selene found me. I was in wolf form for…” I tried to calculate
how long I’d been a wolf, but it was all a blur now. “I was with
Selene sixty years so that means I was a wolf for forty five
years!”

The werewolf prince stepped in front of me.
“I’m leaving now. I expect you to stay out of trouble.” He laughed
and shook his head. “Saying that to you is like telling a vampire
to stay away from the darkness.” He sighed and pressed his forehead
against mine. “Stay safe until I return. Please. I could not bear
to lose you again.”

I inhaled his scent and my hands found their
way to his hard, broad chest. “I will be anxiously awaiting your
return.” I leaned into him and inhaled his scent again, trying to
hold it in as long as I could. I wanted some way to keep his scent
with me, but before I could ask he was taking his shirt off and
handing it to me. I held it away from my body and smiled at him.
“Thank you.”

He kissed me quickly on the lips then ran
after the vampire prince. “If I don’t leave now I fear I never
will.”

The vampire prince put his arm around the
shorter man’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, she’ll look exactly the same
when you get back. That’s one of the many perks of mating with
preternatural women.”

The werewolf prince laughed and shook his
head. “Always looking on the bright side aren’t you?”

The vampire laughed and looked up at the
dragons in their nests around the Lair. “When you’re a child of the
darkness, that’s the only place you can look.”

I took a sniff from the shirt and exhaled
softly. “Come back soon.”

~~~

Not only had I been forced to hide in this
tent while Ares met with the Council and Artemis, but now I was
being forced to wait while he went on a treacherous journey. I had
been beside my brother since I was weaned and I did not like being
away from him now. I trusted Victor to guard Ares, but was only
seventy percent sure that he would give his life for Ares’. I would
never even hesitate. Ares was my alpha, my brother and my only true
pack mate since Matt’s death.

I had felt sorrow at Matt’s betrayal and
death, but nothing compared to the pain at Artemis’ kidnapping. She
was so pure and so sweet, the most perfect female in any race for a
million years.

And yet she was not mine to have, except as
a pack member. The one kiss we had shared resonated in my skull and
burned my heart with longing. I knew she was Ares’ and even
Achilles’ before she would ever be mine, but it didn’t stop me from
wanting and wishing.

Once she had fully accepted Ares as her
passt genau
I had given up on thoughts of courting her and
simply enjoyed her company as part of the pack. Then when she had
accepted the challenge from Natasha, there had been a glimmer of
hope for me. If she had lost and asked for mercy I would have left
Ares’ side to be with her, but her love for Ares was too strong.
She had basically died to protect her claim to him.

I wanted to touch her, inhale her scent,
bury my nose in her hair and listen to her heart beat. I wanted
much and was allowed nothing. It took all of my control not to
leave the tent and walk the one hundred yards to hers. She was so
close and still so far away.

I’d just received information from a
credible source about the true reason of Matt’s treason, but had
not been able to discuss it with Ares yet. I stared at the letter
in my hands and wished Matt had thought higher of us and had
confided his problem in us. Ares and I could have helped him easily
and he never would have needed to betray us. Clearly he did not
think highly of our skills, which is why he had given in and played
the rat.

“What is that?” Achilles asked softly from
the stool he was sitting on across the tent from me.

I tossed the note to him and whispered,
“Information in regards to Matt’s treachery.”

Achilles read the note and then looked at me
with his neutral face. “Did you tell Ares?”

I shook my head. “There was not an
appropriate time to discuss it.”

“I am sorry that you have not been allowed
to see her,” he said quietly as he watched me. “It was not Ares’ or
my decision, but the Dragon Council’s.”

It bothered me that he could read me so
well, but then again he
had
been the first to notice that I
was in love with Artemis. “I know that,” I said as I exhaled and
ran a hand through my hair. “I just wish the Council wasn’t making
him go through all this bullshit.”

“And that you could have gone with him
instead of being left behind,” finished Achilles.

I laughed bitterly. “You know me well.”

Achilles dipped his head slightly in
acknowledgment. “Yes, but I also know that I am feeling the same
way.”

This was why I liked Achilles so much. He
was the heir to the Sidhe throne and yet he did not hold himself
above anyone. Since I could remember he had been kind to me and had
treated me with respect even despite Ares’ prior hatred of him. It
made matters much easier on me now that Ares had forgiven Achilles
and they had dissolved their issues. Although I do not think that
would have happened if it had not been for Artemis’ kidnapping and
our imprisonment together.

We’d had many prison brawls, together and
against other prisoners, which had brought us closer together.
Human women could not understand how fighting brought men closer
together, but after a fight together, whether it be against each
other or against a common foe, your friendship developed and
strengthened. Victor and Ares’ relationship had strengthened, while
Achilles and Ares’ had developed anew.

“I do not doubt Ares’ abilities, but I do
not like not being there to protect his back,” I admitted.

“Do you doubt Victor?” Achilles asked.

I smiled. “You know as well as I do that
Victor will protect Ares as best as he can, but he looks out for
himself first, something which I do not.”

Achilles nodded his head. “I agree.”

I looked towards the east, where I could
sense Artemis. “It’s so frustrating to know she is so near and yet
still out of reach.”

Achilles sighed loudly. “You’re preaching to
the choir, brother.”

Only he would obtain more kisses from her
and, given long enough, possibly even be allowed to mate with her.
I would never. I would only be allowed the bond of pack mates and
the bond of friendship. Something which I was grateful for, but I
craved so much more.

The woman of my dreams was within reach and
yet so far gone that I knew she could not be mine, even if she did
regain her memories. I would forever be left wanting.

~~~

Leaving her side again after such a short
and bitter sweet reunion was extremely difficult. If it were for
any other reason, I would have stayed, grabbed her in my arms and
never let go. She looked exactly the same, but without her memories
she wasn’t the same woman. I could tell that she had the strongest
connection to me still, but even after making amends with Achilles
and letting myself love my half-brother again, I didn’t want to
leave her with him.