Hyacinth, Scarlet - Fire of the Four Seasons (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (7 page)

He
did
n’t know how it happened, but upon his sister’s desperate shout, he felt a deep blaze swell inside him, the same thing
that
always kept him from abandoning a job he disliked. Fire burst out of his very heart, and the wolf
that
had
attacked him went f
ly
ing into the air with a pained yelp.

Dazed, Alexei struggled to his feet and looked around, searching for Eva. He found her just a few feet away from him, staring at a snow drift
that
had
n’t been there before. Wolves attempted to get out of the icy trap. It seemed like an odd dream, and Alexei expected to wake any moment now.

He tried to push the wolves back using the fire he could sudden
ly
summon, but he the heat inside him soon began to get unbearable. Alexei
had
never been hurt by warmth before, but this fever sent agony into his brain. He threw his gaze back toward his sister, and saw her lips
had
gone blue and her body very still. They would not be able to hang on for much longer.

Just when he thought all
was
lost, he felt a familiar presence close in. It brought with it a soothing touch, and in spite of the molten heat torturing him, his mind and vision cleared up a bit. His men surrounded him and Eva, their power so palpable that it made Alexei both humbled and awed.

A slideshow of images flashed around him. The ground seemed to shift from winter, to spring, summer and autumn, rain, hail, and light all flaring around them. When it
was
over, the wolves
had
vanished, gone to hide from the more powerful opponent.

Overwhelming relief filled Alexei, bringing with it a striking feeling of exhaustion. He could not have held himself upright to save his life. His knees buckled, and he swooned, threatening to fall to the ground once again. Visnah caught him and pulled him against his solid warmth. “Oh,
radost moia
, we’re so sorry,” Visnah whispered. “We should have gotten here sooner.”

“This should have never happened,” Ohsyn said, his voice laced with pain.

Alexei clung to his lovers, finding comfort in their presence. He wanted to tell them it
was
all right,
that
he
did
n’t blame them for not being here, but his concern for Eva won over his desire to soothe them. “Eva?” he asked.

“She will be fine.” Zimah’s voice held strength and decision. “You will both be fine.” His tone turned a touch rougher when he spoke again, this time to his three companions. “Come on. We need to hurry.”

Zimah took Alexei from Visnah, lifting him in his arms while
Ly
etah carried Eva. Zimah’s cool body sent away some of the painful heat, but Alexei felt tired, so very tired. “Don’t fall asleep,
ly
ubimiy moi
,” Zimah said. “Stay with me. Hang in there, just a little longer.”

It sudden
ly
seemed very important for Alexei to tell them how he felt. “Thank you,” he whispered, hoping all of them would hear. “Thank you for showing me passion and… and making me feel these incredible things. I wish… I wish we could have more time together. Please, help Eva, and remember me fond
ly
.”

Chapter Five

Alexei
was
dying. Zimah knew it, as
did
all the others. He could see it in the way Alexei’s bright red hair clung limp
ly
to his sweaty forehead. His beautiful coal-black eyes shut when he surrendered to unconsciousness. Eva seemed in a similar state, and Zimah knew it all amounted to the foolishness and disregard the four of them
had
shown.

He still remembered the day when Alexei and Eva
had
been conceived. As earth spirits, Zimah and his lovers were assigned to watch over the land in their particular assigned territory. Sometimes, however, they fulfilled wishes, and when they’d seen the middle-aged woman happi
ly
dancing in the snow and making a snow angel, they’d decided of common accord to give the couple the child they desired so much.

* * * *

Twenty five years ago

“Poor humans,” Visnah said. “They desire a baby so much, and they just haven’t been granted one.”

“Perhaps we can help,” Ohsyn suggested.

Zimah nodded. “Together, we can make
the
snow angel flesh. Should the Goddess will it so, She will send Her power to grant it life and soul.”

They waited until the couple returned to their home. The four men got out of their hiding place. Humans couldn’t actual
ly
see them, but they
did
n’t want to risk performing magic with them present. Zimah lifted his hands in the air and blew over the snow. The snow angel began to take shape, its form floating from the ground to create an ethereal silhouette in the air. The beautiful face of a young girl shone in Zimah’s vision, not yet a physical form, but there, just within his reach.

“She needs something more,” Visnah said.

Ly
etah spoke for the first time. “Fire. She needs fire.”

Zimah hated to agree with his sun-dedicated lover. The two of them always struggled to balance their relationship since
Ly
etah insisted on the importance of a fiery heart, while Zimah believed a cool head meant the most for a successful individual. Secret
ly
, however, he acknowledged
Ly
etah might be right. Humans could not live with cold hearts. No one could, not even earth spirits. Zimah himself
had
been cold and indifferent once, but his lovers balanced him, giving him emotion. This girl needed something similar. She needed a spark of flame to grant her a kind heart.

So he nodded while
Ly
etah threw a gaze toward the burning fire inside the Igor and Elga’s home. “We’ll use
that
,”
Ly
etah said.

He murmured a small chant under his breath, and sparks of embers began to float from the fire. They swirled into the air, naughty, playful, and daring. Zimah took
Ly
etah’s hand and, together with Ohsyn and Visnah, they began to unite the snow angel with the sparks. The figure of the snow angel floated inside. It headed toward the sleeping Elga, the sparks close behind it. At the same time, the two fell upon Elga’s body, granting her fertility.

That
night, when Igor consummated his union with Elga, the magic Zimah and his lovers used took root. Nine months afterwards, they found out Elga bore twins, one created out of flame, the other out of snow.

* * * *

The memories flashed through his mind as Zimah ran. They should have been more careful. They’d realized the chill in Eva’s heart spread over Elga and
had
been helpless to stop it. Alexei’s fire helped Igor, but the four of them
had
known they needed to intervene before it
was
too late. And so, when Eva began with her unreasonable requests, they’d found the right moment to approach Alexei. They’d hoped to become Alexei’s support and, eventually, find a way for his sister to reach her true potential. Zimah never expected to fall for the young man in the process.

Unfortunately, their incipient plan
had
caused a disaster, setting in motion the events that caused Alexei’s doom. Unfortunate
ly
, not even earth spirits could be omnipresent and omniscient. They’d felt Alexei approach, of course, but
had
not realized the situation could end up like this. In the past, Alexei never experienced any trouble in getting through the forest, but Eva’s presence and clumsiness caused the two to get attacked by wolves. As soon as Zimah and the others sensed Alexei’s distress, they’d come to look for the twins, but they
had
n’t reached them in time.

Alexei’s injury from the wolf bite could have been healed, but the worst of the damage
did
n’t come from the animals. The spark of magic inside Alexei and Eva
had
emerged when they’d seen one another in peril. The twin bond made their powers blast through, pushing back the outside opponent. However, mortal bodies were not made to contain such magic. In spite of Alexei and Eva’s resilience to their particular element, the twins were, in the end, humans, and their inner organs could not withstand extreme temperatures. Zimah
did
his best to chill Alexei down, but he knew at this point, the situation
was
beyond them.

And so, they took the two humans deep into the forest, each passing moment sealing the twins’ fate. At last, the standing stones were in sight. A portal to the spirit world and their home lay beyond, the one place where they could prevent Alexei and Eva from slipping away before Zimah and his lovers could find a solution.

No one else could use the portal but them, and they passed through the magical field, emerging at the other side. Their house held the character of each of them, both cool and warm, a fact for which Zimah
felt
very grateful now.

In the main room, a tamed fire offered enough warmth for it to be comfortable for all. Zimah’s room
was,
predictab
ly
, the chilliest, but Visnah’s maintained a pleasant temperature, a refreshing spring breeze blowing through windows made out sheer ivy. They placed both Eva and Alexei there, judging the moderate temperature would be best for them. Being close to each other would help them as well, through their bond of twins. But the two couldn’t be kept here for much longer, or their bodies would fade away into nothingness.

Turning toward his lovers, Zimah asked, “What do we do now?”

* * * *

For the first time in memory, Zimah looked lost. It struck Visnah with the intensity of a lightning bolt. Zimah
had
always been the cool-headed one out of all of them. His outbursts of temper, most
ly
caused by a conflict between him and
Ly
etah, were always as terrible as winter storms, but Visnah and Ohsyn managed to calm him down without fail.

And yet, in spite of all the time they’d spent together, Visnah
had
never actual
ly
seen Zimah afraid, not knowing what to do.

Visnah
did
n’t blame him. Alexei effective
ly
swept them all off their feet. They’d watched over him from afar, and to a certain extent, admired him once he grew up into a man. But never once
had
it occurred to them
that
they would fall so hard for the human born out of a flame in the hearth. Visnah himself couldn’t believe it. Alexei melted Zimah’s cold demeanor, accepted
Ly
etah’s unrestrained passion with no qualms, and took in Visnah’s gentle nature and Ohsyn’s generosity without taking advantage of them. Strong, handsome, and with a kind and loving heart, Alexei filled a gap in their life they’d never wanted to acknowledge, strengthening their bond.

But Alexei and his sister, Eva, were now on the brink of death in Visnah’s own room. Visnah could on
ly
think of one solution for their predicament. Earth spirits
did
n’t typical
ly
ask for things from the Goddess. They’d been already gifted with so much—love, power, eternal youth—
that
they couldn’t in good conscience make other demands. Their prayers most
ly
held the welfare of others and thanks for what they’d been given.

But now, for the first time, Visnah would ask something for himself. With a thought, Visnah left the room and manifested into their ho
ly
garden. Their world
was
not like the mortal realm. Here, time
had
no meaning, and space could be molded according to their desires. One single spot remained unchanging, no matter what—the shrine dedicated to the omnipotent Goddess.

He sensed his lovers appear behind him, and, together, they knelt in the grass. Threads of gold wove from the simple altar, then down toward the ground, molding with the very fabric of their existence. Visnah closed his eyes and prayed. “Please, Goddess, give us advice. Tell us how to save them.”

His lovers’ voices joined him in a low murmur, in patterns of worshipping psalms
that
sounded almost hypnotic. He
did
n’t know how long they just knelt there. It could have been a moment or an age. Visnah felt the touch inside him, and an image filled his mind. Fire and ice, death for life.

Visnah’s eyes shot open, and he looked back toward his lovers. Judging by their expressions of horror, they’d seen the same thing. Not even Zimah could mask his dismay, and
Ly
etah looked very pale. Ohsyn clutched the grass with such strength
that
it withered under his touch.

Visnah knew exact
ly
what they felt. For the first time in his entire existence, he doubted the advice of the Goddess. How could this be?

He struggled to his feet, the shock too powerful for him to contain. To his surprise, a tear streamed down his cheek, falling to the ground and prompt
ly
turning into a pale snowdrop. He hasti
ly
wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn’t falter now. He needed to be strong for all of them. “Come on,” he told his lovers. “Let’s go back inside.”