Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy) (43 page)

He produced a fireball in each hand and she grasped the first one with her mind. She lifted it to her eye level and commanded two long tendrils to emerge. Stretching them into a huge arc, she connected the two ends so that she had a giant ring of fire.

She lowered it down, encircling the tank, steering clear of herself on the ladder, then constricted the ring so it was close to the metal tank wall. Satisfied, she called, “Next.”

She repeated the process with the second fireball. Standing at the top of the ladder, looking down at the pool of magical enzyme filled water, she couldn’t suppress a giggle.
I feel like a witch, cooking something in my cauldron.

“When will it be, you know, done?” Ria asked.

“Yeah, when will we have fried enzymes?” Brooke asked.

“Enzyme soup,” Kai joked.

Gin fought the urge to crack up.
Who knew this could actually be funny?
“Stop it you guys, you’ll make me mess up. There should be a temperature gauge on the tank somewhere.”

“I’ll check.” Ria broke into a jog around the tank. “Found it!” she yelled from the far side.

“What does it say?” Gin asked. The water was sending waves of warmth up into her face.
It has to be almost there.

“Sixty-five centigrade!” Ria shouted.

“Yes!” Gin shouted and fist-pumped the air. Enzymes would become denatured at sixty Celsius. She extinguished the fire and shimmied down the ladder. “Brooke, grab a sample so we can double check, in case these magic enzymes are tougher than regular ones. But that amount of heat should’ve done the job.”

Mathias met her at the bottom and wrapped her tightly in his arms. “I am so damn proud of you, Ginger.”

“Thank you.” She let out a huge sigh and sagged against his strength. A wild mix of emotion surged through her body, making her feel relieved, energized, and purposeful. And overriding it all was a sense of belonging and fitting in. “This feels so good. I always felt like home was with my sisters. But it’s also about using my power. It feels natural and…it feels like what I’m supposed to do.”

Light danced in his hazel eyes. “It
is
what you’re supposed to do.”

“And, it also felt natural to do it with you.” She paused, losing herself in the swirls of his eyes, and decided to go for an even bigger risk. Why not lay it all out for him? “Home…is also about being with you.”

“Yeah?” The question came from his mouth and his mind.

She had to ask. “What
is
that? Why does it keep happening?”

“What?” Again, his eyes lit up and she heard his question in her ears and in her heart.

“I can hear you out loud but also…this is gonna sound crazy… in my head.” She peeked up at him.

“Gods above, Gin.” He threaded his fingers into her hair and stared into her eyes. “I love you.”

What?
Her heart skipped in her chest, but her mind hadn’t caught up. “You love me?”

“Fuck, yes. I loved you from that first dance.”

Her heart beat triple time. “I-I…”
Oh my god. A demon is in love with me.

YES!!!

“I love you too,” she whispered. “I was getting mad at that receptionist for flirting with you.”

He chuckled and brushed his lips across hers. “Can’t hold a candle to you, babe.” He kissed her tenderly, the soft pressure of his lips infusing her with a sweet deluge of care, devotion, and desire. Everything crystallized, like a puzzle finally complete.
I belong with him.

“So, why do I hear your voice in my head?” She was vaguely aware of Brooke, Kai, and Ria standing nearby, but she couldn’t care less.

“Because you’re mine. You belong with me.” He cupped her face. “You’re my other half. My mate.”

Mate?
She blinked.

Mine.
Hazel eyes twinkled down at her and she knew in that instant, he’d move mountains if she asked.

Yours.
She smiled, and her brain finally registered what her soul was shouting.
I love you. We belong together.

He kissed her again, their mouths melding, their hearts connecting on a level that jolted every cell to vibrant, pulsing energy.
Mine.

A loud sniffle and the sound of a tissue being used broke through Gin’s euphoria. She pulled back, but couldn’t look away from her man’s eyes. The love shining in them drew her, warmed her, and stoked her passion with promises of devotion and bliss.

“Lemme have one of those.” Ria’s voice cut through. Gin heard rustling, then her friend blew her nose.

A slow clap echoed off the tanks and floor. Gin turned her head but kept her body nestled against Mathias.

Kai gave one last clap and winked at Mathias. “Congrats, man.”

With happy tears streaking her face, Brooke rushed forward to hug Gin. “I’m so happy for you! Oh, my gosh. When I met Mathias…when he was sent to you…I never could have guessed this. This is awesome!”

Ria joined in, throwing her arms around both of them. “I get a kick ass new sister!”

“I love you both,” Gin whispered. Ria had felt like a sister all along. How fitting that now it was official.

“What the hell’s going on? Are you guys still there or did you set your phone down in front of a soap opera?” Rhys’s drawl cut through, laced with equal parts confusion and sarcasm.

Mathias cleared his throat. “We’ll tell you when we get home. Long story, but we’re all done here.” He ran a hand down Gin’s back. “We should get moving.”

After a quick stop for Brooke to put on her warm clothes, they left the building and piled into the SUV.
 

Mathias cranked the engine. Gin swiveled in her seat to face him and caressed his nape. “So, we can hear each other’s thoughts?”

“Yep. But only when nearby, and we have to project the thoughts. But we can sense each other’s emotions always.” His slid his hand to her thigh.
Whoa.
His touch sent sparks up her leg.

“So, thoughts, and emotions? What else?” Gin asked. She felt giddy. Her lips tingled with the need to kiss Mathias, to lick every damn inch of him. She wanted to climb on top of him right now.

“Maybe we should finish this conversation back at home.” Mathias gave her leg a squeeze.

Kai stifled a snort. Brooke elbowed him, careful not to spill the beaker of water she held.

“No, I want to know now.” She pushed her hair away from her face. Why did the car suddenly feel like an oven?

Yeah, that’s exactly why this should’ve waited, Ginger.

Man, it’s hot.
She unzipped her parka.

You’ll feel my need for you, right along with your need for me. I’ve heard it makes sex off-the-charts phenomenal.

Oh my god!
She tried to calm her racing thoughts.
Think icebergs, think North Pole…

What?
He chuckled in her mind.

Oh, um, I’m thinking cold thoughts. It’s a mind game I play when I’m hot.

His loud laugh echoed in the car, but his thoughts were all for her.
Oh Ginger, I’ve got more games to play when you’re hot. And when you’re cold. And when you’re bored, or when you’re in the shower—

“Stop!” she whisper-yelled around a giggle. “You’re not helping!”

“Don’t forget the hair. Wait, what will happen with their hair? It’s almost the same color.” Brooke asked Kai.

“Hair? Oh my God.” Gin sat stunned with revelation. She’d given her sisters so much shit about their hair.

“The mate lock will be there, just harder to notice.” Kai chuckled. “The Hunter, caught.” He doubled over. “The Hunter, ensnared.”

“Keep talking. I’ll take you down on the mats, dick.” Mathias glared in the rearview mirror.

“Oh, I doubt that. You’ll be
busy
when we get home. And again tomorrow, and again—”

Brooke smacked him. “Stop. I gotta call Nic.”

Gin could only stare at Mathias. Three things she never expected had happened. She had used her power. And she had a partner.

And the one thing she’d always been determined to do had occurred along the way. She’d helped people. Didn’t matter that they might never know it.

You’re mine
, she thought.

Yours, Ginger. Forever. I love you.

And I love you. My Hunter
.

T
HE
T
HIEF

T
HE
THIEF
POPPED
INTO
THE
living room of the home she shared with Sebastian. He paced the floor in front of the fireplace, whirling, dagger drawn, at her arrival. When the amulet’s mist cleared, a look of relief washed over his face.

“Thank the gods! You were gone so long! What happened? I called your gem—”

“I’m okay. I lost my phone. I fell down a ravine or something, but I’m fine. Just a few scratches.” She shrugged.

He looked at her leg. “That’s more than a scratch. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I ran into a hellhound after the explosion.”
Stupid dog
. “But it’s a surface wound. Here.” With a triumphant smile, she handed him the amulet.

He took it reverently. “You’re gonna be a better thief than me soon.”

“I don’t know about that. You’ve been doing this for how many centuries? I’m only twenty-four.” She smiled at the man who’d raised her. “I’m gonna get cleaned up.”

She disappeared down the hall, stopping in Sebastian’s study first. Opening a closet, she picked up a heavy mirror from its spot where it leaned against the wall. Burnished metal with a gold tinge surrounded the glass. Not truly a mirror, it was a powerful scrying tool. Sebastian told her it was the most powerful one he’d ever seen.

She carried it to her room and shut the door. Carefully, she set it down on her bed and grabbed a dagger from the collection on her dresser.

She climbed onto the bed, taking a deep breath. She gazed at the dull surface and grazed her fingers across it, tracing a circle in the center. It was one of a kind. A scrying surface that could be used by anyone, regardless if they had any actual skill at scrying. Hell, even Earth’s humans could probably use it successfully.

This surface could show the past and present. And tonight, her world had shifted. Not just the ground under her feet, but a new energy had sprung to life deep in her soul. She had no doubt that she’d caused the earth to move. But how?

And the missing Solsti…the tiny hairs on her arms lifted at the fragmented thought. She had to know. It was time for answers.

She breathed deeply, calming her racing heart and mind. The she placed her hands on the surface. “Show me my childhood.”

The mirror pulsed with energy, so she knew it was working. But it remained dark.
 

How can that be?

Who took care of me before Sebastian?

She tried again. “Let’s go back farther. Show me my very early years.”

The surface clouded with opaque gray swirls, then cleared. The thief stared in awe at the images of a family outside. Happy. A tiny baby girl snuggled in her mother’s arms. A dark haired girl played on the ground next to them, chewing on drool-coated blocks. A few feet away, a blond man played a game with two more girls, one blond and one dark.

Something about the mother intrigued the thief. Dark hair fell in waves around her shoulders, and she glanced up at her family with green eyes full of love.

The thief blinked. The mirror was informing her, with absolute certainty, that the dark-haired woman was a Lash demon.

Am I a Lash? Everyone says I’m fae.

The mirror went dark. “Wait,” she whispered. “Go forward a few months from that point.”

Again, gray cloudy swirls covered the surface. They cleared, revealing a girl, not quite as tiny but not much bigger.

She was in a hospital bed, clothed in a gown with red and yellow clowns. Tubes extended from both of her arms. A plastic tube was held in place with tape, disappearing into her mouth. Machines beeped. The mother sat sleeping in a chair next to her, dark circles under her eyes. The image shifted to a home, the little girl’s home. The father sat with the other three girls all piled on his lap. They were looking at pictures. Of her.

The thief closed her eyes, bewildered. Early years, hospital, darkness. Three sisters. What did it mean?

Three sisters.
Mine?

Three Solsti have been found.

I need to find them.
Questions burned, one after the other, lancing through her brain like missiles. Where are they? Who are they? Are they looking for me?

She placed her hands on the mirror again. “I need to send a message to-to…those three women in the images.” She couldn’t bring herself to speak the word
sisters
because what if they didn’t exist? What if the mirror was wrong, what if it was someone else’s family? Or what if the women were dead, or—

Stop!

She needed to focus to make this work. “I need to send a message to the three women. I need to find them.” Raising the knife, she sliced it across her palm.

She clenched her fist over the glass. One drop of blood fell, and a tiny tendril of red mist wafted up. She squeezed again. Two drops. Three drops.

Three drops for three individuals.

Hand trembling, she whispered, “Find my sisters.”

C
HAPTER
39

M
ATHIAS
TUCKED
A
SLEEPING
AND
gorgeously nude Gin against his side and draped the duvet over them. Outside the mansion, snow fell in fat flakes from a purple sky.

The last two days had been a marathon of visits to all the water treatment facilities that Xavier had been to. With Rhys’s help, he, Gin, Brooke, and Kai had gone in playing visiting scientists and examined Xavier’s work. But, thank the gods, he’d only added the lily enzymes to the water in the first plant. The rest of the facilities housed huge tanks full of uncontaminated water.

And the nights? Those had been full of his feisty little brunette. Sex with her had been nuclear, soul-melding, fan-fucking-tastic after their bond fell into place. He’d never get tired of hearing her sweet voice in his head, or feeling her desire building in time with his own.