Page 59 of Flames

Mack kisses me first. A deep, searching kiss. Like he wants to commit the feel of my lips to his memory forever.

Sam’s is slower and more tentative, Tanner’s urgent—like what he’s feeling and what I’m feeling will overwhelm him if he stays close for too long.

Luther is last. He runs his finger over the ring he gave me, holds it to his lips, and kisses it. But he does not kiss me. As he turns away, Tanner puts his hand on Luther’s back, but Luther shrugs away and stalks into the trees.

For a moment, I watch him walk away. But then my body jolts forward and I run after him. Grabbing him by the arm, I dart in front of him. Tears are running down my cheeks so fast I can barely even see his beautiful, grumpy face in front of me. Staring up at him, I yell, “By the stars, Luther, I love you so damn much. You have to believe me when I say that I will come back to you.”

Luther doesn’t move. His eyes trace the lines of my furrowed forehead, then he tucks his thumb under my chin and—almost angrily—brings my lips to his. When I reach up to touch his face, I realize his cheeks are wet too. For several long seconds, our lips smash into each other, searching and full of sorrow. Finally, Luther puts his hands on my upper arms and prises me away.

I am staring at him, breathless, when Kole takes my hand and gently guides me away. When I glance back over my shoulder, Luther is still looking towards the trees, away from everyone. His head is bowed, and his broad shoulders are shaking.

“You’ll see him soon,” Kole says. Then he puts his arm around my shoulders and guides me away.

This time, we do walk hand-in-hand. We hold onto each other until we reach the huge, imposing gates of The Hollow. Illuminated only by moonlight, the wall that separates the trees from the sweeping driveway looks taller and colder than usual.

We follow it into the trees, then reach the spot where it turns into rubble. “Was it always like this?” I ask as we stop beside it.

“For as long as I’ve known the place,” Kole says, nudging the broken stone with the toe of his shoe.

Stooping down, he picks up a small brown leaf and blows it from his palm. It flutters in the direction of The Hollow, but when it touches Eve’s invisible shield it fizzes and drops to the ground.

“You will have to make it known that you’re here,” Kole says. “They’ll come for you.”

I nod, biting the inside of my cheek.

“Are you afraid?” Kole asks, looking out at The Hollow instead of at me.

“Afraid of dying?” I shake my head. “No. Afraid of how they’ll kill me? No.” I turn and reach up to hold his face with both hands. “Afraid that I’ll never see the five of you again? Yes. Terrified.”

Kole presses his forehead to mine. He runs his hands from my shoulders, down my sides, to land on my hips. “You will see us again. I promise.”

I wipe tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand, then breathe in deeply. “I have to do this now,” I whisper, looking up at the moon. “Or I never will.”

“I will wait in the shadows. I will not leave,” he says solemnly. Then he says, “See you soon, Little Star,” and turns away.

41

KOLE

Turning away from Nova is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The bond between us hums, and stretches, and twists in my core. My blood pulses in my ears, and my throat, and my heart.

As she moves further away from me, I can still feel her breathing. The rhythm of her heartbeat is the same as my own. Then it changes. It quickens. I feel heat. Her heat.

When I turn, she is hurling balls of fire at Eve’s shield. They are bouncing back, setting the forest alight, releasing the smell of pine and smoke into the air. I step into the shadow of the trees, and watch, every muscle in my body twitching with the need to go to her.

It takes only seconds for Eve to appear. She strides down the steps, waving her arms. When she reaches the fountain, she stops, bounces up and down on the balls of her feet, then cries, “Ragnor! The Fire Bird has come!”

At the same moment Ragnor emerges from the house, so do the hellhounds. Not as many as before—only six—but just as vicious. They scamper toward Eve, then stop at her ankles like a pack of sheepdogs waiting for instructions.

Eve says something I can’t hear, causing them to sit on their haunches and lick their lips, then she strides toward the trees.

“Fire Bird,” she calls. “You have returned to me. But where are your mates?”

“This doesn’t concern them,” Nova shouts. “I’ve come to finish what you started.” She throws more fire at the shield. “When you kidnapped me and tortured me. When you tricked me into believing Nico was my brother. When you took Sam from me!”

Eve stops on the other side of the shield. The two of them are barely inches apart but cannot touch. She starts to smile. “Fire Bird, I didn’t take your Sam from you. I believe that was Kayla’s doing. Sadly, though, she is not here.”

Nova’s hands are down at her sides, bright white flames flickering inside them. But it’s all for show; she’s not using even half of her power, and she doesn’t intend to.