Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (19 page)

She walked out of the dressing room and Millie gave her an infectious grin and a thumbs-up. Despite

barely knowing Millie a day, Kiarra already felt like they were becoming friends. She should be more

cautious, but if Jaxton trusted Millie, Kiarra did too.

Millie paid for the dresses and handed Kiarra the shopping bags—filled with their old clothes and some

new things for Kiarra—to carry. Millie winked and gestured toward the bags. “You can start paying off your tab with some manual labor.”

Kiarra smiled, wondering how much trouble this charming young lady had been as a teenager.

They eventually arrived at The Last Drop and Kiarra eyed the sign hanging overhead. “Why does it have

a noose on it?”

Millie waved across the street. “This is Grassmarket, and they used to hold executions over there. A bit creepy, but at least it’s better than another boring pub named after an animal or two.” She took Kiarra’s hand. “Now, let’s see if we can find a table.”

Hanging lights and lanterns of yellow glass dotted the pub’s mostly brick and wooden beam interior,

giving it a relaxed and calm atmosphere. Benches with tables and chairs lined the walls, with a few tables near the bar. Despite the number of people in the pub, a small table was open near the bar.

Millie guided her over to the open table and motioned for Kiarra to sit. “I’m going to get us some

drinks. You stay and guard the table.”

She was gone before Kiarra could say anything, so she sat down and looked around some more until a

picture on the far wall caught her attention.

The buildings in the painting looked like the ones she’d just passed on the street, with Edinburgh Castle looming large above, albeit with an old-timey feel. But it was the wooden gallows, complete with a black bird perched inside the noose, that made her uneasy. As a child she’d learned enough
Feiru
history to know that most of their ancestors who’d been caught using their elemental abilities by humans in Europe had died at the gallows. Only after the industrial revolution and the advancement of science had some
Feiru
migrated to big cities and successfully blended in.

Out of habit, Kiarra again tried reaching to the south, but she still felt nothing.

Millie came back with the drinks—one amber colored and one pink and yellowish-orange. Millie sat

down and placed the pink and yellowish-orange drink in front of Kiarra. “Since you probably have never

had a drink before, I decided it was best to start with something that doesn’t really taste like alcohol.” Mille waggled her eyebrows. “That drink is called Sex on the Beach.”

Kiarra blinked and Millie laughed. “If you can hold your alcohol, and I flirt with the bartender, I might be able to convince him to make a Slippery Nipple later.” She raised her glass and clinked it with Kiarra’s.

“Welcome to Scotland. Cheers!”

A few more days in Millie’s company and Kiarra would definitely be able to control her reactions to

embarrassing comments.

She sniffed her drink, decided it smelled nice and took a sip. And then another. Millie placed a hand on her free arm. “Whoa, partner, slow down or you’ll be flat on the floor before Jax gets here, and I will never hear the end of it.”

Kiarra took one last sip and put the glass down. The cozy atmosphere of the pub, combined with the

warm and tingly feeling spreading through her body, made her feel relaxed. She’d put off asking Millie

personal questions, but if she was going to find out anything, now would be the time to do it, before Jaxton arrived.

Kiarra scooted her chair in and asked, “So, who or what was Tasanee?”

Millie raised an eyebrow, but Kiarra forced herself to maintain eye contact. When Millie smiled, she let out a breath.

“You caught that, huh? Clever girl.” Millie took a drink from her glass. “She’s the daughter of a

politician.” Millie looked around and leaned in close. Kiarra did the same. “I saved her from a very bad

situation.”

Kiarra took another sip and said, “Does anyone in your family not go around rescuing people in

distress?”

Millie laughed. “That would be brilliant, having a family of superheroes, but it’s just Jax and I. We’ve been doing it a long time, though, so we make up for the rest of the family.”

Millie waved to someone over her shoulder and Kiarra wanted to curse her luck. She’d barely asked

Millie anything. Leave it to Jaxton to interrupt her plans.

Anxious to see how Jaxton would react to her new look, Kiarra smoothed her dress and turned around,

but it wasn’t Jaxton. Two men, one dark haired and the other red haired, were walking toward them.

Kiarra whispered, “Why are they heading this way?”

“Because they’re interested in us, ducky.”

Kiarra froze. “I really don’t want to talk with them. Besides, isn’t Jaxton supposed to be here soon?”

Millie patted her hand. “You’ll do fine. If they try to harm you, they’ll have to deal with me. I always carry a few knives, just to be safe.”

Kiarra didn’t want to think of where Millie had stashed them in such a skimpy dress.

The men reached their table, introduced themselves, and sat down. Millie leaned on the table, giving

Kiarra, and by extension the men, an eyeful of her breasts. Millie waved a hand toward Kiarra. “Forgive my friend, she’s a little shy.”

The red-haired man looked at Kiarra and gave a sly smile. “Shy ones are often the most interesting

when alone.”

Was he trying to flirt with her? She wasn’t interested in him, and the look in his eyes alone gave her a bad feeling.

But if she could keep her cool back in Seattle and help Jaxton capture those two people, she should be

able to handle talking with two strangers. She gave a weak smile, hoping she wouldn’t have to put up with the man for long. Jaxton should be along any minute, and his growl would probably scare them away in

two seconds flat.

As the red-haired man starting talking, she looked down at her drink and traced shapes in the

condensation on the glass. Maybe he would take the hint and leave her alone.

But then the red-haired man put a hand on her arm and everything went downhill.

Jaxton had tried deciphering the recon Millie had left for him, but his mind had kept wandering. Unable

to concentrate, he would get up, pace, look out the window, pace some more, and sit back down. The cycle repeated itself for hours, until it was time to leave and meet Millie and Kiarra at the pub.

He was worried about Kiarra. Millie could take care of herself, but she was unused to working with

another person. There was a big difference between only looking out for yourself and ensuring the safety of two or more people.

This was the first time Jaxton had truly been parted from Kiarra since breaking into the AMT, and he

didn’t like it.

If only Kiarra had her fire. Neena had said it’d be easy to bring it back, but for the first time since he’d met her five years ago, he doubted her words.

Jaxton arrived at the pub, opened the door, and scowled at the crowd. There were too many people

here, especially for a newly freed first-born. He finally spotted Kiarra and Millie sitting in the middle of the room, at a table near the bar.

As he walked toward the women, he noticed that they weren’t alone; two men were sitting with them.

He was going to kill Millie
.
Kiarra was definitely not ready for men on a pull.

He could only see Kiarra from the back, but she was looking down at the table, uninterested. The

realization pumped his ego up a notch, but was quickly followed by concern. He didn’t want the experience to send her back into a relapse.

But before he could reach their table, one of the men touched her arm and Kiarra visibly tensed. She

tried to tug her arm away, but the man didn’t remove his grip. Jaxton wanted to punch the man in the face.

He took the last few steps toward the table, placed a hand on Kiarra’s shoulder, and squeezed. She

looked up, and for a split second, relief filled her face.

He barely had time to register her new haircut and clothes before he said, “Is this man bothering you?”

Jaxton then glared at the man.

The red-haired man put his hands up and said, “Calm down, mate. I was just about to leave anyway.”

Once the men left, Jaxton occupied the vacant seat next to Kiarra and gave Millie one of his best glares.

“I trusted you, and you brought her here dressed like that? She needs rest, food, and training, not men

drooling all over her and trying to get into her knickers.”

Millie waved a hand in the air. “Not everyone is like you, with a detailed plan for every second of every day. Most of us just like to relax and see what happens. It’s life, not a battlefield.”

Jaxton motioned around the pub. “She isn’t ready for this, and it’s made all the worse by you going soft in the head and sitting right in the middle of the room. You should know by now to sit off to the side.”

Millie picked up her pint. “Instead of assuming everything Kiarra can or can’t handle, maybe you

should talk to her. She’s sitting right beside you, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Jaxton was more than aware of Kiarra sitting next to him, but he’d been jealous of the man touching

Kiarra and he was taking it out on his sister. Otherwise, he might do something daft, like tuck Kiarra against his body and growl at any man who came near her.

For the first time in his adult life, he was close to losing his cool over a woman in public.

He took a deep breath, looked over at Kiarra, and felt like he’d been punched in the gut. The woman

next to him was almost unrecognizable as the woman who’d tried to kill herself inside the AMT. Her haircut flattered her face, and the red dress made her skin look more alive.

She was beautiful.

And he wanted to kiss her.

But then Kiarra shifted in her seat and he forced his gaze away. Jaxton needed to get Kiarra away from

the half-drunk men in the pub as soon as possible, before he did something stupid, like act on his attraction or possessiveness.

He stood up and offered Kiarra his hand. “You’ve been out long enough. It’s time to get you home.

Let’s go.”

Kiarra was grateful for Jaxton scaring away the men, but even though she’d kept her mouth shut while

the siblings bickered, she wasn’t about to let Jaxton order her around. Again.

She wondered if it would ever get easier convincing people that she could handle herself and that she

wouldn’t break at the first sign of trouble. It wasn’t like she hadn’t experienced her fair share of problems inside the AMT, as Jaxton very well knew.

Besides, she was more unsettled by the half-lidded look he’d given her a minute ago. That look had not

only make her heart pound a little too fast, but certain parts of her body that had been quiet for years had come rushing back to life.

Afraid she’d do something rash if she touched him, Kiarra ignored Jaxton’s outstretched hand and took

a sip of her drink. “No, I want to stay here a little while longer.”

Jaxton curled his hand into a fist before plucking the drink from Kiarra’s hand and placing it on the far side of the table. “You’ve had enough to drink. Let’s go.”

Kiarra reached for the drink, but Jaxton took her hand and pulled her up out of the chair. “I said stop.”

As she bumped against his body, Kiarra fought the awareness sizzling against her skin at the contact and focused on the way he was treating her. She tried to lean back, but he kept a grip on her waist. While

tempted to knee him in the balls, she restrained herself, not wanting to make the situation any worse. She poked Jaxton’s chest. “You stop it. Maybe I want to stay and have a conversation with someone who

doesn’t order me around.”

Jaxton leaned his face down to hers, his breath on her cheek. “From where I was standing, it didn’t look like that man was interested in talking. Next you’ll be dressing like my sister and putting yourself on

display.”

“Hey!” Millie said, but Kiarra and Jaxton ignored her.

Kiarra narrowed her eyes and tugged her hand. “Now you’re just being mean. Let me go. Millie will

take me home.”

Jaxton said nothing, just turned and yanked Kiarra along with him. She dug in her heels and said, “Let

me go.”

People in the pub were starting to gather around them. She knew people from the AMT were looking

for her, and she shouldn’t be making a scene, but between the buzzing in her head and her anger, Kiarra

didn’t care.

One of the staff and a few customers walked over, preventing Jaxton from getting any closer to the

door. A few patrons asked if Kiarra needed help, but before she could answer, Millie appeared at her side.

A looked passed between the siblings and Jaxton gave a slight nod. Millie touched her shoulder and

said, “Maybe you should go home with him, Kiarra.”

Kiarra started, confused by Millie actions. Just a minute ago, Millie had been on her side. “What?”

Millie placed a hand on Kiarra’s back and whispered into her ear, “You need to leave. Now.”

The urgency in Millie’s voice piqued her curiosity. Something was going on, and she wanted to know

what. She looked up at Jaxton. “Will you explain everything and answer all of my questions after we get

home?”

Jaxton hesitated, and Millie stepped between them, forcing Jaxton to let go of Kiarra before she said,

“Of course he will.”

That wasn’t good enough. “Jaxton?”

“Fine. Will you come with me now?”

Kiarra studied his face. He’d actually made a request. Something was definitely going on.

She nodded and Jaxton put out his hand. She put hers in his and decided that if Jaxton broke his word

this time, about telling her what was happening, Kiarra would try to contact Neena and ask to work with

anyone else. She was done being jerked around.