Scorched Fury: A SkinWalker Novel #5 (DarkWorld: SkinWalker) (32 page)

"You know the Fae Queen?" she asked, shocked.

"Yup," I said with a grin. "She's my best friend."

"Oh. Of course. Your best friend," Sienna mumbled as she scrambled up to the ridge and sank to her knees.

I scurried behind her and she glared at me.

"Is there anyone you don't know?"

I shrugged. "I know the important people. That's what counts."
 

CHAPTER 45

W
E
ARRIVED
AT
THE
PORTAL
ON
the ice shelf in Alaska and fell straight into the freezing cold water.

Thankfully I'd made a last second grab for the key as we hit the icy surface and managed to save it.

We, on the other hand were soaked and frozen, and feeling very far from safe.

Sienna's teeth chattered and I matched each clash with my own. We sat side by side on the dock, barely able to get a word out.

"I'd shift if I thought it would help." I said. Then I shook my head, which didn't really matter because I was already shaking my head so hard that my neck hurt. "But I'd just be a wet, freezing cat. My body mass is higher in human form."

Her eyes were wide and I couldn't read them. Was she surprised? Amazed? Incredulous. Who knew.

I pushed to my knees and hobbled to my feet. "We have to get out of this wind or we'll die before Larsson comes back for us."

Sienna's groan was swept away by a gust of snow laden air. She coughed as she inhaled the iciness then doubled over and swallowed hard.

As we hurried around the dock I stopped so suddenly that she walked right into me.

"What?" she yelled over the gusting wind.

"You?"

"Me?"

"Yes. Do your dragon thing and make us a fire."

"Are you insane?"

"No. We need the warmth or we will die. Either go all scaly and breathe me some fire or at least give me some protection so I can try making one. But just bear in mind the fine print indicates I can't build a fire to save my life."

Sienna was shaking her head. "I can't do either of the things you're asking. I only dream of flying. I can't even remember being a dragon. And as for fire, that's just something I've never done before."

We got to the snow-covered bank beside the river and headed to a pair of trees that offered a tiny harbor against the wind. I rounded on Sienna.

"Quit complaining and help me." I ignored her shocked expression, dropped my satchel on the ground and began to search behind the trees for branches and wood and leaves. Anything that we could use to make a fire.

She left her bag beside mine and followed my lead in silence.

When we had a small pile, I stood beside it and began to stamp my feet to get some blood flow going.

"Well," I yelled at her over the pile of wood. "What are you waiting for?"

"I can't," she screamed back and I could barely hear her.

I shook my head. "Stop making excuses. You can. Your twin is a Fire Mage. Which means you are too. Either make fire or make peace with your spirits because we are going to die."

She stared at me, anger now pooling in her eyes. "It's not my fault we fell into the water."

"Do I look like I'm responsible for the location of the portal?" I shouted, feeling a twinge of guilt at what I was doing. But the fire of anger in her eyes urged me on. "If you don't make fire I'm going to die. Try explaining that to Logan when they find you."

"We'll both die."

"Have you not been listening to me? You are a fire mage. You can't die of the cold. Your body will generate enough heat for you to survive. So no fire, I die. You live."

I glared at her, stepping closer as she shook her head. When I shoved her backward she let out a shocked gasp. "Thanks a lot, Sienna. After all I did for you, coming to Dracys to save you, this is how you thank me."

I turned to the fire and stamped harder. I should just shift and run away but I couldn't because I'd lied to her. Her fire wouldn't save her from freezing. She'd have to generate a low ebb of it inside of her body so that she could survive the snowstorm. If she failed to make fire she'd die too.

I spun around and yelled at her. "Just one freaking spark. That's all we need."

She took a step closer, shouting now too. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"To you? I'm doing this to
you
? You're the one too weak to try to save us."

"Don't you understand that I can't just do something I've never done before?"

I laughed even as the sound was snatched away. "You have made fire before. You just don't remember it."

She shook her head, shivering harder now. Her lips were blue and I was sure mine were too. "I can't."

"Logan believed in you." I pointed at her, marveling at how still my finger remained even when my entire body shook with cold. "He protected you when you were children. Even now, dying in a fucking coma, he's protecting you. He'd die if it meant saving you. But it seems you won't do the same."

"Don't say that,." she screamed, tears gleaming in her eyes. "I'd do anything for him."

"Liar," I spat back and began to pace. "Tell that to him when they come for my body."

Then she screamed, so loud that I was afraid the snow laden branches above would release their cargo on our heads.

Fire sparked within the pile and I rushed to it, unzipping my jacket in a swift swipe to provide as much protection as I could. Sienna did the same, her face still projecting her fury and her hurt so much that she hadn't yet registered what she'd done.

Protected, the weak flame caught onto the twigs and branches, then wavered before flaring and catching onto the rest of the branches.

I looked up from beneath my lashes. "Well done."

She frowned, confused. "What?"

"I knew you had it in you," I said, warming my face in the heat of the fire.

Looking up, I met her eyes as they narrowed, as awareness bloomed behind them.

And I smiled.

She leaned closer, flames flaring within her glare.

"Bitch."

CHAPTER 46

Larsson arrived two hours later, during which time Sienna had gotten over her fury.
 

Mostly.

She'd attempted to practice her fire magic, unable to control the curiosity, or to hold back the temptation.

She'd failed most of those times, much to her renewed fury.

But there was a passion in her eyes that reminded me so much of Logan that I wanted to burst into tears.

Instead I filled her in on Logan, his youth and his work or Omega. She'd stared shocked when I revealed that the agency was under investigation, furious that Storm had betrayed us all and hurt Logan.

And heartbroken when I told her about Anjelo's death.

Then I gave her a shortened version of Darcy's memory deletions and reminded her that she could have been subjected to much worse considering she'd been so far unable to recall memories.

I didn't mention that she'd been the one to call out to Logan in the first place. There was so much to tell that we went from one thing to the next, jumping around from topic to topic, to talk to whatever occurred to us next. But I didn't touch on the subject of her parent's death.

Thankfully, Sienna hadn't asked.

Larsson, with his tall, imposing and comfortingly silent demeanor, deposited us in the front hall of the Elite Headquarters.

"Hey Larsson?" I said, holding out a bag containing the lily. "Can you take that straight to Ash and have her run some tests on them?"

"Will do." He nodded and pocketed the bag making me sputter in horror at the disrespect to evidence.

He stepped away when I said, "Larsson?" He turned, a question in his eye? "What's your first name?"

He studied me for a moment while I tried hard to stop my teeth from chattering. Then he smiled. "Bjorn."

"Thank you, Bjorn," I said. Sienna echoed my gratitude.

Larsson nodded then proceeded to hurry off fetching blankets and ordering rooms and baths while we defrosted on the handmade carpet. It came as a surprise to me, despite my knowledge of the house, that the building contained real rooms, with baths and bed.

Neither Sienna nor I questioned Gerda when she herded us to the top floor and waved us into adjoining rooms, giving stern instructions to warm up. She left with an assurance that food was to follow shortly.

After a long hot soak in a deep claw-footed tub, the steaming water coming to just beneath my ears, I felt rejuvenated. To feel my fingers and toes was truly a wondrous thing.

My clothing had been collected and tossed into a drier while I'd bathed, and were there waiting, folded neatly at the foot of my bed, perfectly dry. The speed implied the work of a mage but I didn't question my good fortune, or the fact that another agent had gotten up-close-and-personal with my undies.

Dressing quickly, I knocked on the internal door that joined the rooms and entered when I heard Sienna call out.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, taking in the sight of her sprawled limply on the four-poster bed, staring up at the canopy.

She stared at me as I walked in, her expression not entirely free of accusation. Then she sighed, and shook her head. "I'm not sure how I feel. For some reason I'm drained. And I'm sure that makes some kind of sense. I haven't used this power, this power that you seem to think I've had all my life. And now that I've used it, it feels more like a burden than a blessing."

I swallowed hard, wondering how she was going to react when she discovered that
she
was the reason her mother had died. It was hard enough for her now, so taxing on her body and her mind, to practice using her magic.

I hoped that she would be strong enough to get through that grief when the time came. And hopefully she would have Logan by her side. The fact that she had regained some of her firepower gave me the confidence to hope that she could help him get better.

"Most gifts feel that way."

I sat on the mattress, keeping a safe distance. I didn't want to encroach on her personal space. She was still angry with me, I could see from the narrowed look in her eyes, and thin line of her lips.

"What do you know about it?" she asked, challenging me.

I shrugged. "For a long time I was at odds with my panther. I didn't want to accept who I was. I even went almost a year without shifting. Then, years later, when I discovered my mother's true blood, I wondered whether the hybrid nature of my DNA had affected me. I certainly hadn't behaved like a proper Alpha's daughter."

"Hybrid nature?" she asked, sitting up. Her color was slowly returning.

"Yeah. My mom is a human mage. Tracker. Dad's the Panther Alpha."

"Wow." Her mouth rounded. "You must have had a pretty interesting life growing up."

"Sometimes I wish I could have skipped it altogether. My mum left us when I was five." Sienna's eyes hardened and I waved at her. "Don't worry. She had a good reason, all of which I understand. I probably would have done the same thing. But it's easy to sit now and look back at her choices and understand why she did what she did. The thing that I can't change is how I felt back then. All those years of missing her, pining for her, hating her. That's a lot of pain for a kid to grow up with. Add to that the pressure of being an alpha's daughter and that's a barrel full of C4 ready to blow."