Rise From the Embers (Lightness Saga #4) Read online

  “Oh, don’t listen to the overgrown kitten.” Cal landed on my shoulder, folding his arms over his Woody the Woodpecker T-shirt, leaning against my neck. “He’s still sensitive over his little curlies being waxed with honey.” Cal snorted in my ear.

  Eli’s lids narrowed. “Huh, I wonder where the juniper juice that went missing earlier could possibly be? Oh, wait.” Eli rubbed his hand over his ripped torso. “Right here. Soooo good.”

  Cal straightened and stomped his foot into my muscle, fury rolling off the dark-haired little man. “That is too far, dweller. You will pay—”

  “Okay, let’s stop right here before we say things we regret.” I held up my hands, interrupting Cal. Sometimes I felt more like a mom refereeing three small boys. “Why don’t you and Simmons do a flyover and see if there are any more trolls in the vicinity?”

  Cal grumbled, still making a knife-slicing motion across his neck to Eli.

  “Simmons?” I looked over my other shoulder for help.

  “Come on, Cal.” Simmons motioned to his friend. The blond six-inch pixie, dressed in a 1960s Ken doll pilot outfit, his swizzle stick sword attached to his belt, flew into the air.

  Cal huffed, pointed two fingers at his eyes, then pointed them at Eli before taking off.

  “I really am a babysitter.”

  “You can sit for me anytime you want.” Eli stepped closer, his arms circling me. “But how about you just sit on me instead.” His nose skated up my neck, sending heated chills through my system. I saw him naked more than I saw him clothed, but it never ceased to get my blood boiling. We’d been together for a while now and our lust had only increased, the need consuming us, and the sex even better. Every time felt as if we hadn’t seen each other in months.

  Bodies of trolls spread over the ground at our feet like land mines as Eli picked me up, my legs curling around his waist. My fingers trailed over his tattoos, following the path to his hip before my fingers took a detour, my hand grasping his length.

  “Fuck.” He hissed between his teeth, ramming me back into the wall next to where I killed the leader of the troll group. Yeah, we were demented and loved it that way. His hands frantically tugged at my jeans, heat flowering through my nerves, my clothes rubbing almost painfully against my skin. Eli wrapped his hand around my ponytail, yanking my head back, his tongue sliding up my throat, tasting the blood slightly oozing from a wound on my neck. His fingers worked down my jeans and pushed my underwear to the side, sliding inside me. Light flickered behind my eyes, air rushed into my lungs, and my legs squeezed him closer. He gripped my hair, his fingers curling, moving in and out of me faster and faster.

  A tingling started at the base of my spine, his thumb rubbing me. “Oh gods.” I gnawed on my lip, tasting the metallic tang of blood, mine and others’. Humans might find that gross, but my dark dweller part loved the taste of blood. I rocked my hips rougher against Eli’s hand.

  Eli pulled out, dropping my feet to the ground, and rammed me back before lowering himself on his knees, tugging my jeans and panties down. His hands opened my legs, his lips brushing over me. Teasing. Enticing.

  “Eli,” I growled. He peered up, his eyes melting me with their heat. He paused a moment before his mouth consumed me.

  My hands in his soft brown hair, I tossed my head back, my moan piercing the air. He was a genius at this and knew exactly what made me lose my mind. My head grew fuzzy, his tongue moving in deeper, faster. His fingers joined in, racing me to my orgasm. It would only be the first of multiple, before we would leave and head back to the hotel, where we’d finish. It was like that most nights for us.

  Buzzzzz.

  My backpack rattled from across the space, a ring humming through the sky. No. Not right now.

  Eli growled, and instead of letting up, it only spurred him on more, sucking and nipping fiercely. My body bucked wildly, as though I had no control over myself.

  Swear words hissed from my mouth, my nails digging into his head, tugging at his hair. Pain was another thing we enjoyed. Not extreme or anything, but just enough to ignite more fire between us.

  “Ember? Eli? Are you there? Pick up!” A woman’s voice came over the walkie-talkie. Damn Lars for adding that feature. I liked when you could pretend to ignore the buzz of the device. Now it fuckin’ talked to you without even picking up.

  Eli still ignored it, determined to finish what he started. His sharp teeth bit down and lights exploded across my vision, a cry tearing across the sky. For a moment I was there with the stars, losing all sense of gravity.

  “Ember, please, if you are there, pick up. This is an emergency!” Kennedy’s voice shot me back to earth with a thud. Eli held me up, keeping me from collapsing to the ground. Air heaved in and out of my lungs, my muscles even more like gelatin. My body still convulsed with aftershocks. Damn, he was good.

  Eli got up, showing all signs he was ready for his turn, and walked over to the bag, retrieving the device.

  “Hey, Kennedy. What’s going on?” Eli spoke, his taut ass facing me.

  “Eli, oh thank the gods.” The tone of Kennedy’s voice pulled me off the wall. I tugged up my pants. I knew my friend well; something was wrong. “I need you guys to return immediately.”

  “Why? What’s going on?” Eli turned, his eyes finding mine. I took unsteady steps to him. Between using the demon magic and Eli’s magic tongue, I was surprised I could function at all.

  “I don’t want to say over this thing. I need you both to come to the castle immediately. Everyone is here and waiting for your return.”

  “Everyone?” I repeated, my hand clasping Eli’s bicep. “Ken, tell me what’s happening.”

  “Ember, there is no time. Please. Get here as soon as you possibly can.” The line went dead.

  My gaze darted to Eli’s, panic brushing at my insides. We had gone through a lot of “emergencies” with Kennedy and fighting for the kingdom. Our work as bounty hunters was always dangerous and sometimes exceedingly ugly. But never once had I heard fear in her voice like that. She was always centered. In control. Even when she found her adopted family had perished in the war, she had held her head high and focused on all those suffering from the effects of the war. She had become a force, even more so with Lorcan by her side, which had taken me awhile to admit.

  Lorcan was far from my favorite person. Used and threatened by the old Queen to kill my biological mother, he also kidnapped my friends, one of whom had been murdered. Yet Kennedy had busted apart some of my perceptions of Lorcan. I’d come to see he had a good heart. But he would always be the one who killed my mother.

  I was trying to accept him. To my shock, I no longer hated Lorcan. I could see his positive attributes, especially when I saw him with Kennedy. Shit, you could not deny those two were mates.

  He and Eli were also trying hard to build back trust and a relationship, along with Cole. Lorcan was in my life no matter whether I wanted him there.

  Eli pulled out the extra jeans and T-shirt in the bag and got dressed while I yelled for Cal and Simmons. Alarm rang through me at the distress in Kennedy’s voice, which replayed in my mind. I had no idea what was happening, but deep in my gut I knew it was bad.

  I just had no idea how huge the bad would become.

  We headed for the closest fae door in the forest. Since the wall between worlds had fallen, they weren’t really called “Otherworld” doors anymore. There were a lot more of them, and they tended to move and morph, often unpredictable. But for some reason, I could maneuver easily between them, getting to where I needed, whereas most others got lost in them, sometimes for years. The only other person who could use the doors with ease was Lorcan. Scary to think our minds worked similar enough we both understood them. I probably should talk to a therapist about that.

  But the poor humans. With magic heavy in the air now, the doors became completely invisible to the eye, even to some fae. Fae could feel the magic, but humans couldn’t decipher between what was merely air and what was a door. So man
y had gone missing or landed in another country. Not sure why they were complaining. It was an instant vacation.

  Our boots pounded into the dirt as Eli and I ran toward the castle. Simmons and Cal flew ahead of us. It had only been about twenty minutes since Kennedy contacted us, but it felt like hours, desperation to reach her gnawing on my bones.

  I couldn’t see them, but I could sense fae guards lining the walk above the bridge.

  “Halt! State your business.” A woman stepped out from the entrance gates, holding up her hand.

  “Get out of our way, fairy,” Eli growled.

  “You take another step and I will shoot you where you stand.”

  “Are you new? Do you not know who we are?”

  Wow, that sounded pompous, but it was true.

  “I know exactly who you are, but many can take on your face, your form. I will not simply let you in.”

  “Brielle, let them enter.”

  A familiar male voice came from behind her, his slim muscular body striding to the gate, dressed in his elite guard attire, signaling his top status among the soldiers. He wore the symbol of three rays, of Awen, the symbol used by the Druids on his chest.

  “But, sir. What if they’re impostors? We heard he can do that…”

  “Believe me, no one could duplicate these two.” The dark-haired, violet-eyed guy winked at me. “I can feel their stubborn bullheaded auras from here. No one can be as much of a pain in ass as these two.”

  “Castien!” I ran to him, and he embraced me.

  “Hey, Em. Good to see you.” He squeezed me then stepped back. “Eli.”

  Eli nodded, coming around to my side.

  “Cal and Simmons already preceded you.” He nodded behind him.

  “What’s going on?” Eli asked.

  All humor dropped from the beautiful fae’s face. “Follow me. They are all waiting for you.”

  “Who is all?” My feet worked double time to keep up with his pace as we entered the castle. My skin still crawled when I came through here, reminding me of so many things I’d rather forget: the blood that once painted the walls, the horrors Aneira put all my loved ones and me through. I had to keep reminding myself this was Kennedy’s home now.

  I was eternally grateful not to have to be Queen. Seriously, I couldn’t think of a worse job for me. Traveling the world, hunting with Eli and my pixies, was where I belonged.

  Kennedy was a perfect Queen. Kind, fair, strong. I wished the non-fae haters would give her a chance to be the amazing ruler she was. They hated her merely because she was a Druid and not fae.

  Ignorance at its finest.

  Castien stayed quiet, his legs moving at a brutal pace through the hallways, leading us to a section I had never investigated, making me feel guilty about how little I had visited Kennedy here.

  Castien clutched the double doors, swinging them open. Heads whipped around, taking in the new arrivals. Cal and Simmons darted into the room before us, settling on a bookshelf.

  “Ember!” My mother’s voice sprang from the throng, her tiny figure shoving the huge men to the side as she ran for me.

  “Mom.” I ate up the last of the distance between us, wrapping my arms around her. Lily may have been my adopted mother, but she was the only mom I had ever known, and therefore my true mother. A fox-shifter with gorgeous auburn hair and brown-and-orange eyes I always envied, I spent most of my youth thinking she was dead. I had found her body, what had remained of it, but it was all a ruse. Lily knew Aneira was getting too close, so she faked her own death and went into hiding to protect me. She got caught and spent years locked away in a dungeon.

  “Please tell me that is not your blood?” Mark was quick to join her, gathering us up and hugging us both.

  “Mostly not.” I grinned at Mark. My stepdad was the best man in the world. The lack of blood connecting us meant nothing. He was my dad. After my mom’s fake death, he raised me and stayed by my side when I accidentally burned down schools, went into a mental facility, and endured doctors shoving mind-numbing drugs down my throat.

  Little did either of us know I wasn’t crazy…I was fae.

  I basked in the love of my parents for a moment before I stepped away, taking in the room full of all the people I cared about. It was almost overwhelming.

  “Hey, my spicy one.”

  “Ryan.” I flew from my parents’ arms to his. Ryan and Kennedy were so embedded into my soul they were a part of me. Their friendships had gotten me through the darkest times in my life.

  I stepped back from him to see Cole, Cooper, West, Rez, Lorcan, Dax, and Dom. Giving the first four a hug, I nodded at the other three. We weren’t at hugging level yet.

  West gave me an extra squeeze. “Hey, darlin’.” He kissed my temple, grinning at Eli. “I missed you. Not that bastard so much, but definitely you.”

  I teared at the sound of his Southern accent, the love in his words. We had almost lost him a while ago, which was why Eli and I moved back to the ranch. After their nephew Jared’s death, we needed to be far away from the memories, but the close call with West brought us home. These people were our family. Our world.

  West and I would always have a close bond. From the night in the bar when he protected me to the moment I found him in Aneira’s dungeon, we were linked. He once told me I saved his life that day, gave him strength to fight the demons and darkness instead of giving into them.

  “Missed you too.” I nuzzled into his chest. My dweller loved being back with the pack.

  I couldn’t imagine what it felt like for him to return to the castle. I didn’t care for this place, but this had to be a living nightmare for West. His time here had been horrendous. I knew it went darker, deeper than he ever let on. Being back here had to rekindle those nightmares.

  Eli greeted his brothers with pounding back hugs, but the reunion was a lot more subdued than usual. The one thing dark dwellers showed emotion for was family. Every time Eli and I returned to the ranch, whether gone a week or a month, the guys wrestled and beat up on each other like wolf pups, giddy to play with their siblings and reclaim the dominance order.

  But tonight the room was drenched in apprehension, keeping everyone tense and reserved.

  “Where’s Gabs?” Eli peered around the room.

  “She and Alki were on a mission. They are heading here now,” Cooper answered for his twin sister’s absence.

  “I’m so glad you are all here.” A voice came from the doorway, pulling us away from our family reunion. Kennedy stood there in jeans and a T-shirt and boots, but still looking every bit the regal Queen. Her expression was strained, but she reached for me. I took her hand and squeezed it. She gave me a pained smile, dropping it as she descended farther into the large room. It was the first time I really took notice. We were in the library. A beautiful two-story room with large windows on one side overlooking the blue lake below. Tables and comfy sofas were placed around to enjoy the books and the view.

  “You wouldn’t tell us anything.” Cole spoke, stepping in front of his clan, rubbing at his thick reddish-brown beard.

  Kennedy rotated around, her back facing the windows, her petite form standing strong. How much she had changed since the shy girl I knew in school. Kennedy had cut her waist-long hair to her shoulder blades, and it was a little darker than her natural color. I also knew under the shirt she had a nipple ring and a raven tattoo. When she returned from her “trip” abroad, we had a catch-up night. A few glasses of wine and she told Ryan and me about these changes. That was also the night she told us the truth about Lorcan. Ryan didn’t take it so well. But slowly it was getting better between them. It broke my heart to see the two best friends not talking. They were the true soul mates.

  “I thought it better to do this all at once. My sister still doesn’t have the energy to explain it over and over.”

  I knew of Kennedy’s sister, Fionna. We had learned about her on the night of our slumber party, but I had never met her. As far as I knew, she was still supposed
to be locked in my uncle’s prison after she attacked him.

  Speaking of… Where was Lars? This seemed important for him to be at. Unless...

  “Oh. No. Ken, you didn’t.” I stepped closer to her. “Please don’t tell me you kidnapped her from Lars.” Oh gods, that would be awkward. My best friend against the only blood relation I had left. And the frickin’ High Demon King.

  Not smart.

  A strange expression ghosted Kennedy’s face. “No, I wouldn’t say that.”

  “Then what? Where is Lars anyway? If this is such an emergency, shouldn’t he be here?”

  “He should.” An Irish lilt sounded from the doorway, spinning my head around. My mouth parted.

  A gorgeous woman walked in slowly with Torin, his hand on her elbow, her skin still showing signs of healing cuts and bruises. She had the same long silky brown hair and eyes as Kennedy. She was a few inches taller, but they shared the same petite frame and freckles sprinkled over fair skin. The resemblance left no doubt they were related, but right away, I could sense that was where the similarities ended. Fionna held herself tensely, as though she were ready to attack, to fight. No naivete or sweetness shown in her eyes. She stared at all of us as if she were daring us to lunge for her. Kennedy told me she was a powerful Druid, one strong enough to toss Lars on his ass, which impressed me. And to be honest, it made me like her right off. She had something extra about her, something which demanded your attention.

  She moved past Torin, pulling away from his hold on her arm, her chin high. It was a move to show she held no weakness in a room full of fae. She ignored Kennedy’s assistance and faced us like a warrior ready for battle.

  Then she spoke words I never expected to hear, ones that ripped the ground out from under me.

  “The King has fallen.”

  Chapter 4

  Fionna

  Silence rebounded after my statement, eyes boring into me. I didn’t remember every name in the room, but I had learned enough through my own investigations and Kennedy to figure out who each of them was. I wanted to know exactly what I was walking into. Who was in charge. What to expect. Torin, Lorcan, Castien, West, and Rez were the only faces I recognized.