Frozen Heart of Fire (5 page)

“You’ll get to know me.” He leaned over to kiss her again, his hand resting easily over her breast as though she and he fit well together.

“I’ve never seen you before today,” she sighed at the stubborn look on his face.

“And I never believed you existed, but you’re here with me and I’m not letting you go.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re a Xandry man and I’m an Ice Witch. We’re enemies. I shouldn’t be here; we shouldn’t be doing this.” But no matter how much she tried to rise, he wasn’t budging, wouldn’t let her move.

“I don’t care what you are. You’re my woman and this is where you belong—in my bed with me.” His voice was the coldest she’d heard it and she didn’t like it aimed at her. “We didn’t know,” his voice dropped lower, dripping with regret and she wondered at the change in him. She shivered, although he moved closer to pull her tighter against him, his naked flesh bringing warmth to her chilled skin.

“Didn’t know what?” she asked. If only she knew what subject he’d changed to, but, as he spoke, she realized.

“We didn’t know. We thought the Ice Witches had turned traitor. We didn’t know,” he whispered, his voice low, still unbelieving. How could any member of his blood, his own clan, be so deceitful? Joshua and Noah had been raised in the Xandry tradition; in honor and fidelity, in the same manner their father and uncle had. It was unthinkable. How could anyone repair the damage?

“We didn’t turn; we were faithful to the very end. My parents tried to reach the Xandry Prince, but a man with dark hair and eyes came to our house. He promised to speak to the Prince on our behalf if my mother would leave with him. He offered our lives if only she would become his woman. My father refused and they fought. Both our parents died that day.”

“How many of you survived?” Joshua refused to look at her.

“Just two—my sister and I. She was only little and asleep under the stairs where we’d both crawled to watch the stranger my father welcomed into our home. He didn’t know about us—children were never permitted into the view of other races— so he didn’t know to kill us, but I saw his face, I will never forget his face. It was the same man who led your people into our stronghold.”

“You’re lying.” Joshua sat up, thrusting her away from him and leaping off the bed. “Don’t even think of accusing my father. He never would have done such a thing. He was an honorable man. He loved my mother until death.” He avoided her eyes, but refusing to allow anyone to debase the memory of his father.

“But I saw him, The hour was early, but the sun already touched the sky. He was tall, with dark hair, damp and falling across his face. He swept it away after he’d murdered my mother—a blow with his dagger meant for my father. I saw the deep scar across his face,” Eva insisted. This Xandry man might try to cover up the truth, but she’d been there.

“A scar? Where was this on his face?” Josh knelt on the bed, touched his hand to hers, but she was locked into some memory of the past and barely noticed the warmth of his touch.

“It covered his cheek. The left one. A fine line which looked like it had never healed completely.”

“Mathias, my uncle. Not my father. If only we’d known…” Joshua’s voice was etched with bitter regret, but a loud knock on the door prevented either from speaking further.

“Josh, you’d better get out here, and bring the Witch with you,” Noah called loudly through the wood.

“Sounds important.” Josh glanced briefly at Eva as she reached for the soft robe. They stepped out together, hand in hand, in partnership. Neither expected the sight of Noah standing stiffly, a small gun raised to his temple and a young woman who looked remarkably like Eva, holding the weapon.

“A friend of yours?” Josh spoke softly, trying to hide his amusement, but not quite managing it.

“Eva, are you hurt?” The woman with long pale hair and eyes of a subtle green asked, but she never lost concentration on the man she held captive.

“Lena, put the gun down. You’re going to hurt somebody.” Eva stepped forward but Joshua’s hand on her arm pulled her back.

“Isn’t that the point?” Lena snapped, her eyes narrowed, when she noticed the hold on her sister’s arm. “Let her go, you bastard, or I’ll kill him.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.” Noah tried to smile but the woman didn’t fall for his helpless man routine which was a shame because she was rather cute in a gun-wielding Ice Witch kind of way.

“You’re Xandry,” Lena hissed, thrusting the gun harder against his skull to make her point. “You deserve a painful death.”

“Only one Xandry death a day. You should pace yourself.” Noah shrugged at Josh.

“One a day?” Josh asked as though they were discussing the weather, but his eyes searched the woman’s face for intent.

“Sorry Bro, this one killed Prince before I realized what was happening and then she stuck this gun at my head.”

“And you’re next if he doesn’t let my sister go.” Lena shook the weapon a little to emphasize her point.

“Joshua is trying to protect me from my insane sister.” Eva stepped forward. 

“You don’t need protecting from me. I came here to rescue you,” Lena snapped. But Eva snatched the gun from her hand and threw it to Joshua. He smiled, since the gun was too light to hold bullets. “What did you want to do that for?” Lena cried, her clout dashed in one easy move.

“Did you ever think I might not need rescuing?” Eva turned a caustic eye to her sister’s reddening cheeks.

“I saw that bloody demon walk out and, when you didn’t follow, I guessed you’d been killed, or at least, were being held against your will. Instead, I find you here having sex with a Xandry man. They killed our parents, or had you forgotten?” Lena snarled as her eyes took in Eva’s lack of clothing.

“I’m not dead nor being held against my will.” Eva faced her sister. It would be difficult to convince her about what really happened when their parents died. Lena had only been a baby and hadn’t witnessed their deaths, but Eva now knew the treachery had been on the part of Joshua’s uncle. She knew she should be furious and trying to kill these Xandry men, but she also knew she was in love with Josh. It was like she’d always known him, always wanted him, and she would protect him against  her own sister if she had to.

Prince is dead?
Joshua didn’t sound too upset.

She turned him into a fish finger,
Noah chuckled.
It was the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. One minute he was threatening to throw up on the carpet in the lift, then the doors opened, and this little Ice Witch stormed in. He’s the stiffest I’ve ever seen him.
Remind me never to piss her off.
Noah wasn’t too upset either.

“But you were having sex with a Xandry man,” Lena hissed. What was going on? Why did Eva stand so defensively in front of the man she should have iced?

“No,” Eva snarled back. She knew Lena only had enough power for one flash of freezing. After that, her power waned, which was why she’d fooled Noah with the empty gun. “I was having great sex with a Xandry man.”

“I don’t understand,” Lena said because Eva had come here to sort out the Trajien demon, not to make out with one of their enemies. 

“Let me explain.” Eva placed her arm around her sister’s shoulder. “The one you killed, the one in the lift…”

“You mean the one not including the Trajien demon that’s now inert fertilizer in Geralder’s Park?” Lena boasted. She couldn’t watch such a dangerous creature escape to wreak more havoc and destroy more innocent people’s lives— especially since she’d believed Eva had fallen prey to it. Lena had surpassed herself today—she’d iced the demon, although it hadn’t taken much effort, it was rotten on the inside and she’d frozen the drunken Xandry man in the lift.

“The one you killed in the lift was the son of the man who brought destruction down on our people. He killed Father and then Mother when she tried to defend Father. That Xandry man lied to us, he lied to his own and you’ve just killed his only child.”

“Sounds about right,” Lena grinned too.

“We didn’t know. Our Father believed the lies. He believed the story his brother brought to him.” Noah had turned serious; the deaths of the Ice Witches was no joking matter.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Lena spat at the dark-headed man. He was quite cute for someone who was going to die very soon. It was a shame but what was Eva’s place in all this? Surely she wouldn’t choose a man, a Xandry man, over her own blood? “You’re going to die anyway.”

Chapter Nine

“We’re not going to kill him,” Eva stated coldly.

“What about the other one?” Lena asked, as Eva turned her around, their backs to the brothers. “Can we kill him?”

“No, we’re not killing him either.” Eva smiled softly. “We can’t kill him because I think I love him.”

“He’s Xandry, are you out of your mind?” Lena needed to shake her sister back to some kind of sense, but that man, the younger one had caught her eye. There was something about him, something she liked, something she recognized in him and it dove deep into her body like a spear of heat. She wasn’t so sure she wanted his death now, not yet. Maybe later.

“These men had nothing to do with our parents’ deaths. They were children themselves, like us. Their people were fooled, tricked into killing ours. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of hiding away, frightened that these men will want us dead too. Joshua is kind. He won’t hurt me, and he won’t hurt you,” Eva’s chilled hand on her sister’s face brought her pale green eyes to look at her. “This is a chance for a new start, for our people to live on in us. It’s time for us to come out of the cold.”

“That one.” Lena nodded her head at Noah as he lifted his head to catch her eye. He turned to open a bottle of champagne, demonstrating his trust that Eva could placate her sister. The younger woman was enchanting and, with such a temper, which take a lot of soothing.  He liked the thought of melting her heart with his own blend of power. Yes, he liked that thought a lot.

“The other brother is …?”

“Noah.” Eva smiled, she could see the attraction building between them.

“Is he attached? I mean, does he have anyone special?”

“No one special enough.” Noah slowly approached them, two glasses bubbling and fizzing with that huge Xandry smile plastered all over his face. “To a long and lasting alliance between the Ice Witches and the Xandry clan,” he announced loudly but Joshua’s groan stole their attention.

Joshua slid to his knees, one hand slipping down the glass window as he fell with a thud. He couldn’t see, as his mind began to boil with the rage of pain thudding through his brain. Hot tears flooded his face, searing his skin as he was reduced to a small boy crying out for relief. Noah was the first to reach him but Joshua hit out, knocking his brother across the room in his fear and agony. Noah hit the wall just below the plasma screen, his head slamming against the painted plaster, but he was up on his feet and racing across the room back to his brother in seconds.

“Stay away from him,” he warned the woman who’d beaten him to Joshua. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” But Eva did know and her hands reached out, clutching the man to her as though her touch would be enough to protect her and him.

“Be calm now,” she whispered, feeling how he reacted to the sound of her voice, the feel of her chilled hands. Joshua sighed in stunned relief, grasping the soft robe at the sound of her voice and the feel of her hands on his face. “I’m here.”

“He’s burning up.” Lena was there too, adding her chill to that of her sister. He was a Xandry man and they should have been using their skills to kill him. But Eva had never before shown interest in any man. If he was important to Eva, he was now important to her and any help her sister needed to save his life, she freely offered.

“I guess Uncle Mathias has just found out about Prince,” Joshua tried to grin into Noah’s terrified eyes, but beads of sweat ran down his face onto Eva’s hands where they turned into tiny icicles hanging off her skin.

“How much energy did you use on the cousin and the demon?” Eva stared into her sister’s pale green eyes; their mother’s eyes had been the same, like fading emeralds hidden beneath ice. Eva knew she was more like their father, colder, more demanding because their safety had required it and now she wouldn’t hesitate to drain every last touch of her sister’s energy in an effort to save this beloved man. Yes, he was beloved to her; she loved him, she couldn’t deny that now. Every cell in her body wanted him and no damn bastard lying uncle was going to steal him now. She would bring her man back to health and destroy the one who’d murdered her parents all in one powerful stroke.

“I’ve got some left. Neither of them were much of a drain. Take it all, take whatever you need.” Lena’s hand reached to touch the wrist of the younger brother.

Noah felt the cold fingers on his skin and instinctively took the chilled hand in his. He didn’t know what these two women were going to do, but he trusted them above anything else.

“Do you trust me?” Eva leaned into Joshua, his head resting on her chest, his arms around her slender waist as though she were life itself.

“With my life,” Joshua replied instantly, without hesitation. He was dying. No man could survive this level of pain without some kind of damage to his brain, but he was grateful for the chance to know this woman, and to have loved her if only once. “I love you,” he whispered into the chill of her skin. Although Eva had greater things working through in her mind, she took his declaration as her right. She was going to save him and he would have the rest of their lives to show his gratitude. She was looking forward to it.

Eva closed her eyes as Lena followed her action, both breathing deep and scooping up the extent of their born abilities. Their focus went inward, delving deep into their ice-cold souls and pulling out everything left within them.

“Take it.” Lena reached out to touch Eva’s hand and surrendered every last vestige of her unique force. She would never refuse Eva this; it was too important to them all. Eva didn’t speak, didn’t open her eyes, but her gratitude flowed nevertheless.

“I claim this man as my soulmate and I protect that which is mine.” Eva’s voice echoed through the large room as though she sat alone, her tone resonating around them, hitting the walls, slamming against the glass, causing the panes to shudder in their frames as though they were afraid of her. She spoke to one outside the room, that building, and although she could never be sure that he heard her declaration, she said it anyway. “You were the betrayer, the one who committed treachery against your own, against the Ice Witches, against my parents. You have lost your only kin; your son killed by those you would reduce to mere memory. We are back and claim the retribution our kin deserve.”

Hundreds of voices seem to join with Eva’s. Even Lena whispered the words as though her soul knew what was to be said, as every Ice Witch slaughtered on that awful day rose up to join in. This was their time and revenge was best served chilled.

Eva raised her hands into the air, fingers weaving and spinning in intricate patterns, retrieving every morsel of energy from the room. Noah groaned softly. He wasn’t left out as Eva stole his power, wrapping his warmth within a cocoon of ice. She cried out, her body rigid, her hands pointing out of the wall of windows, across the dark sky to a building nearby where a man stood looking back, tears wrought on his scarred face. He didn’t see the blow when it came, didn’t feel the ice and fire combined together for his end. But he travelled to hell in a blast of power he could never have conceived of, with hundreds of sweet voices singing his death.

“Josh?” Noah could barely open his eyes, his head heavy, his shoulders heavier still. Joshua’s eyes were shut, his face pale, but his chest moved with the effort of breathing. Eva’s head was down, resting on Joshua’s, her arms around him as though a mother with her child.

“He’s alive.” Her voice was frail but light with triumph too. “Let him sleep.”

Joshua, can you hear me?

Like the lady said, let me sleep. My head is resting on her breasts and I’m very comfortable. Now go away and take the sister with you.

Maybe I’ll beat you to the title. Prince Noah. I like it.

“What’s your name again?” Lena stared into the midnight blue eyes of the man she’d laid claim to as she knelt on the floor, her small hand still held by his.

“Noah,” Noah returned her grin.

“I’m Lenora, but Eva calls me Lena.” Lena smiled. Would he think her too pushy if she kissed him? Would he like it? She thought she would and hoped he would too.

“I think I’ll be different and call you Nora,” Noah teased. Lenora was a beautiful name
.
“Noah and Nora. It has a ring to it.”

Lena laughed but the nickname was a step too far as she leaned over, pressing her cool lips to his. He didn’t seem to have a problem with her being pushy.