Open Flame (Dragon's Fate) (10 page)

He pulled the door open to find not only Hudson but Fina’s friend, Jonathan. Jonathan. What was his role in all this? A simple bystander? No. Coincidences did not exist. Madoc frowned but quickly caught himself. “So good to see you, Hudson. And this is?”

“This is Mr. Jonathan Steel. You invited him and Fina Byron to dinner this evening. Jonathan has been unable to locate her.” Hudson pushed into the room.

Madoc pulled back, startled by Hudson’s rudeness. “A pleasure, Jonathan. Fina is already here. Please come in.” Madoc stepped aside but glared at Hudson. What was he about? Something had him wound as tight as an overturned clock.

The candles in the room flickered, and a coldness seeped into Madoc’s bones. Hudson slipped passed him, pulling warmth with him, and went to the table with the brandy.

Jonathan stepped into the room, “I’m delighted to hear Fina is here. I have been worried about her.” He turned toward Madoc.

“She is doing well. The Spectacle overwhelmed her a bit.” Madoc walked to the sideboard next to Hudson. He grasped the decanter filled with absinth. He placed three spoons over three glasses and set a sugar ball on each spoon. The liquid splashed over the snowy sphere until the three glasses stood half full.

He concentrated on the partially dissolved lump of sugar. “Ild,” he whispered, and the cube burst into a warm cherry-colored flame. He dunked the spoons into the liquor and stirred. The liquid changed to a cloudy brown.

He rotated from the sideboard and handed each gentleman a glass. “This is a French liquor. A bit stiff but needed.”

Jonathan sucked in a deep breath. “Fina, where did that dress come from?”

Madoc strode toward the door to his bedchamber.

Fina crossed her arms over her torso. “How are you, Jonathan?” Her tone chided.

Madoc stepped to her side and handed her the third glass. Her fingers brushed his as she took the drink, but she refused to look at him.

“Pardon, Fina.” Jonathan stepped closer. “I did not mean to be rude. You’re beautiful.” Jonathan lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip. Then sputtered and coughed. “What is this?”

He referred to more than the liquor in his glass. Madoc waved his hand toward the table in the parlor. “Please, sit. There is much to talk about. The Spectacle, designs. Time. Peter Byron’s works.”

A flush washed the young man’s cheeks. “Fina told you about my work?”

“No. She has a new view on time and Mr. Byron’s works since experiencing this amazing day.”

Hudson sat down at the table without a smile and shivered. “We would love to hear about your work.”

Madoc stared at his friend. A rosy tint washed Hudson’s cheeks, and a sheen of sweat coated his brow. Something was amiss. Maybe the travel had finally caught up with him.

“Jonathan, do you know about Pa’s drawings over the past few years?” Fina sat in the chair between Madoc and Jonathan. Hudson sat across from her.

Jonathan stared at Fina. “He has not. His hands don’t work well. You know that.”

“Have you been drawing?”

“Of course. I have my own work, my own design. You already know all this as well. What is this about?”

“I overheard Catherine selling a working’s design.”

“When?”

“That does not matter.” An angry fire danced in her eyes.

Madoc slid his hand onto her forearm. She jerked her arm away. “You have all been untruthful.” She stood. “I am the one who gets hurt by your lies.”

Jonathan stood. “What do you wish to know? I will tell you all I can.”

She whirled back. Her eyes shifted a dark blue and flashed with red as her mouth set in a firm line. “Why are you selling my pa’s work and name to the one with the most coin?”

“We all need to survive. Catherine is determined to make the shop work, but when it became known that he was not creating anything new, business evaporated. When we put the word out that Peter Byron was creating new designs again, though he would never build another clock, we had other clockmakers knocking on the door with coin in hand.”

“Is he designing?” Madoc stared at Jonathan.

“Yes and…no.” He pushed to his feet and stepped toward Fina.

A tendril of smoke, too faint for anyone but Madoc to notice, curled out of her nostril. Her control slipped.

Jonathan swallowed hard.

Madoc needed to help her. “Jonathan, that is why I am here. I wish to do all I can for Peter Byron’s lifework and family.”

“What do you mean?” Jonathan looked from Madoc to Fina.

“I wish to help preserve his legacy. When we return to England, I will—”

“Never. Catherine would forbid anyone else’s involvement.” Jonathan’s face paled and twisted, wrinkling up his nose.

“Why do you care so much about Catherine?” Fina’s eyes narrowed, and she pressed her hands to her stomach.

“I-I meant your father.” Jonathan cast his gaze to the table and slid a finger beneath his collar, then tugged the fabric to loosen it.

“No, you meant Catherine. My father would do all he could to save his legacy. You are futtering her.” Fina’s lips pursed, and more smoke curled like a mustache from her mouth.

Jonathan’s cheeks burned bright red. “That is—”

Madoc stood. “That does not really matter. She has many lovers. A fact of which I am sure Jonathan is aware.”

“How do you know?” Fina spat smoke at Madoc.

“Not I, love. I could tell by your description of what you told me and what Jonathan didn’t say.” He wanted to touch her and reassure her, but he would not. She would only pull away.

Jonathan swallowed hard twice, his Adam’s apple bobbing, then set his glass down on the table. “Thank you for the drink, sir. Fina and I need to be going. She is in my charge, and we have appointments.”

“Fina?” Madoc turned to her.

“We have no such thing. I am in charge of myself. You will, however, be staying right here. I will not let you or Catherine ruin any more of our lives. I can’t believe I trusted you. That I trusted her…” Her lip wobbled, and anger won her over.

The need to reassure her overwhelmed Madoc, and he touched her arm again. “Do not fret. Hudson and I will have a long conversation with Jonathan.”

She said nothing.

“Dinner is in an hour. Why don’t you ready yourself, and we will all have a lovely dinner here in the parlor.”

“I-I don’t want to be around him.” She glanced at Jonathan, then back to Madoc. Her gaze dropped to the marks on the side of his neck.

Madoc glanced at the clock. His body heated, and he slowed the ticks down, then stopped time for Jonathan alone. “Hudson and I need to discuss this further with him. I wish you to be here. If you choose not to, that is your choice. Things will go more smoothly if you are here to back up or deny what he says.”

“I will occupy him while you dine.” Hudson looked from Fina to Madoc and paused. His left eyebrow arose. “I think she needs to feed.”

“Please. I need to remove myself from Jonathan. I need to calm myself.” Fina licked her lips.

Madoc stared at Hudson. “Are you certain? Like you feed? On a pig?”

“Not a pig, but quite so. I believe you two need some time together. She needs to feed on
you
. Besides, I have already fed today and have no interest in pretending to be overjoyed in the French fare they offer for dinner.”

“How do you know that’s what I need?” Fina’s face paled and her eyes danced with flickering flames.

“A hunch that comes from experience.” Hudson sipped from his glass.

“We will figure it out.” Madoc released the time hold on Jonathan.

“Fina and I will head to dinner. When we return, Hudson and I will talk about our plans with you, Jonathan.”

“I’m hungry as well. I wish to dine.” Jonathan stared at Madoc and set his jaw.

“Hudson will order some fare for you. Fina needs time to calm down.”

Jonathan’s chin rose. “Then leave her here, and we can talk freely without her.”

A blur of pink silk rustled past Madoc. Fina flung herself on Jonathan. Her body thudded into his torso. The chair tumbled back. A sea of skirts puffed out on the floor. Madoc and Hudson both grasped Fina’s arms and yanked her back. Madoc stared at Jonathan as fire rushed through his veins. He stopped him still once more.

Hudson stared at Madoc. “You can’t keep stopping time this way. Franco and the others will notice, and we need them as allies to create this watch.”

“I have never had an issue with them before. I won’t now.”

“Let go of me.” Fina jerked her arms free and backed away from all three of them. The air in the room grew thick and humid. She struggled to pull in a breath and choked.

Pressure built in her cheeks and threatened to burst forth and smoke them all. She clenched her teeth.

Her chest hitched. How humiliating. She had lost complete control over herself.

Jonathan had betrayed her and her pa, but to attack him like the cats that fought in the alleys at home… Beyond the pale.

Her body shook with adrenaline and anger. She fisted her hands again, whirled, paced two steps back and pivoted again. She needed assistance controlling her emotions and this… She didn’t even know what to call it.

“You will figure it all out but only with Madoc’s help,”
Carmen’s voice rang.

She stared at Madoc. The lace at his throat rippled and became transparent. The bite marks she made were as visible to her as if they were completely uncovered. How could that be? Her stomach growled, and her fangs extended.

She needed to taste him again. Why? Why would she desire such a thing?

Hudson said she needed to feed. She didn’t need to bite him. Madoc made her tense and jittery. Her body yearned for his to be close, and he stood so far away. Why?

He pulled her off Jonathan. She had not killed him. If what Carmen said was true, why didn’t he help her if he could?

“He did help you. Think of what he said. That you need to concentrate on your own feelings to be in control. It may not be easy. You will learn how.”
Carmen’s voice faded a bit with each word.
“Something is different.”
Her voice was barely there.
“You are fading.”

She took two steps back to where she stood before beside the table. Her head grew light, and, with a wave of relief, the pressure in her cheeks disappeared.

She blew out a tense breath. No fire.

Her vision darkened and flashed. The room turned gray and white. She shook her head. What was happening to her now?

Madoc stepped toward her. “Are you well?

“Do not—” Fever sweats overtook her body as they had in the garden when he’d first bitten her. She furrowed her brow.

Where was she? In the garden?

Human again. A smile touched her lips.

She stepped back and fell into darkness.

Chapter Six

Sweat trickled down every crevice of her body. Burning. Flames. They ate her up. Fina tossed to the left, unable to find comfort. She needed something cool. Anything. Her hand twitched, and she jerked it up above her head.

A touch brushed her forehead and her cheek. Spicy peppers and sweetness overwhelmed her. His scent. Her stomach growled and clenched painfully. Memories flashed of the garden where he’d first bitten her. Then to his room with the pink dress and her first taste of his salty blood. She licked her lips and trembled. Fingers traced her upper lip and lifted it, exposing her teeth and gums.

Fina slit open her eyes and stared into Madoc’s amber ones. “I am burning up.”

“Literally. The only thing I can think is we have not finished your transition, and if we don’t, you will die. I had the urge to bite you several times. I started to once, but you knocked me free. Hudson mentioned that when he transitioned to a blood drinker, he had a similar episode, and until he fed his urge, he knew he would die.” Madoc sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his fingers about her hand. “What is your urge, Fina?”

His pulse beat through his hand into hers. She wanted to taste his blood and make his heart race. She wanted to entwine her fingers with his as they made her nightmares of sweaty skin and passionate futtering come true. How humiliating. How wrong. She shook her head. “No.”

“If you don’t indulge it, you will die.”

She swallowed and looked away from him. She wanted to live, and deep down, she wanted to tell him everything about herself. Tears stung her eyes. Her body ached. Weakened. Hot. Wetness streamed down her heated face. She needed him to know her. She slipped her tongue out and tasted salt. “I have craved two things since we met. Both are scandalous, both coming to me in dreams. Images of joining with you. Biting you and feeding from your blood. Nightmares that I woke from in ecstasy. I hated you so. Now, I don’t know. I-I want you. I want you to know me and for me to know you. My life is toppled on its side again.”

Madoc smiled, and his thumb caressed the top of her hand. “Fina, I feel the same. My life is off its axis too. One question—you crave only my blood? No one else’s?”

“My urges have all involved only you.” She shivered again and closed her eyes.