The Tempting Touch Of Fire (Elemental Awakening, Book 1) Page 11

  And She Makes The Earth Dance To A Delicate Tune

  "Ah," I said, scrambling to my feet. I realised I was covered in dirt. It was on my face, in my hair, under the nails on my fingers. I must have looked a right sight. "Don't kill him," I instructed aloud, thinking Theo would want to hear my side of the conversation at least. He thrashed a little, set the latest vines alight and then garbled out a sound of disgust when he found himself trapped again.

  I frowned. Was Earth really that much stronger than Fire?

  "I still need him," I admitted on a sigh. "He's the only one who can help me."

  The trees complained, they groaned and scraped their branches together. It was entirely too creepy, but I understood their anger. He'd hurt me. They didn't like it.

  "You were a real arsehole," I pointed out to him and received a grunt and full body thrash in return. "What the hell are you doing here?"

  His eyebrows rose, a clear indication that he couldn't speak.

  "Release his mouth, but keep him contained," I added.

  The vines crushing his lips unravelled and he spat out a leaf or two.

  "Casey! Let me go."

  "It's not me, it's them."

  "They use your energy to do this. I have never been attacked by my own garden until you arrived." He did not sound happy about that.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

  "I was asleep, so I guess my hatred of you is so deep that even in my sleep I can command them to trap you."

  "I guess," he replied casually.

  "Why are you here, Theo?"

  "I was concerned." I scoffed at that. "Aktor said you hadn't come inside since early this morning. You must be starved."

  My stomach chose that moment to grumble. Traitor.

  "Let me go and we'll head inside for dinner. I haven't eaten yet either."

  "Why would I want to eat with you?" I demanded, angrily, if not a little immaturely. I didn't even want to be talking to him, even though I needed to. It hurt. I wasn't a masochist.

  Theo sighed. "I know I was harsh." I laughed. It wasn't pretty. "But surely you realise I am right. We can't let our feelings for each other grow. It will lead nowhere."

  "So you admit you have feelings for me?" And did that sound as desperate to his ears as it did to mine?

  He stared at me. Time stretched. I was so sure he was going to deny it. He looked rigid, face impassive, a mask in place to shut the world out. I braced for it. I'd have to accept that Theo wasn't ready to risk more than his life for me.

  "Oraia, I visited you for a year in your store," he said softly, after so much time had passed, I was getting ready to sit on the grass and have another snooze. I was awake again now. Completely. "I didn't even use my Stoicheio on you, I wanted you to take the next step when you were ready. Of course I have feelings for you. I have too many."

  "Ah, crap," I whispered, because now he'd gone and done it.

  I sat down on the dirt and felt tears pool in my eyes. This was a strange kind of pain. An ache so poignant that I felt hollow inside, completely emptied out and filled up with grief.

  "What do we do now?" I asked, my throat constricting so tightly I had to swallow several times to get all the words out.

  "We have four weeks to enjoy each other, then we go our separate ways."

  "That's going to hurt," I pointed out.

  "Why do you think I freaked out last night?" he replied, making me smile, because 'Theo Peters' and 'freaked out' were just words you didn't see in the same sentence. Ever.

  "Let him go," I whispered, then mentally added, gently. He'd seen enough of my heart laid bare for now.

  The vines unravelled and lowered Theo to the ground. He looked around stunned at their retreat. I was guessing it was the manner in which it was performed. He had just crispy-crittered several of their branches.

  "You need to apologise to them," I said, still not getting up from my lotus style position in the dirt.

  "Ah," Theo said, glancing around at the trees. "I was trying to protect her. Sorry."

  I found it amusing that his apology was for hurting me last night, not for burning them to a crisp. They seemed happy with that though, waving gently and singing a tuneless sound on the air that was quite divine.

  "You really have a delightful touch with them," he said, walking over and offering me a hand.

  I stared at it for a moment, wondering if I could do this. Be with him and then walk away in four week's time.

  "You can't hurt like that again, Theo," I said, still staring at his outstretched hand. It was immaculate. No dirt under the nails.

  "I can't promise you that, Oraia. But know I am hurting myself as well."

  What a strange statement. If it hurt him too wouldn't he avoid it?

  I sighed and took the still outstretched hand. I needed answers, he could help me get them. And along the way I was going to lose my heart. There wasn't a thing I could do about it. Just wait for it to happen and hope I survived.

  "I am sorry," he whispered, brushing a kiss against my cheek. When he pulled back to look at me, dirt smudged his lower lip. A smile tipped up the edges of my mouth. I couldn't help the little huff of a laugh that escaped. He cocked his head and gave me a questioning look.

  "I think I need a shower," I advised instead of explaining.

  "Now, what a splendid idea," Theo quipped, returning to the teaser he'd become before last night.

  "And I'm hungry," I announced, as we began to wend our way out of the forest.

  "We could combine the two," Theo suggested. "You lick the honey off me and I'll..."

  "Theo!"

  "OK, chocolate. But I bags licking the ice cream, it'll melt too quickly on my skin."

  I shook my head. How could I stop this, when he could be so full of light and fun? He made me want to fall for him. He made me not realise I had already handed him my heart.

  "You're very dangerous," I whispered. If he heard me, he chose not to remark.

  Aktor was pacing when we walked through the side door to the house. He took one look at me and burst into a flurry of activity.

  "What's he doing?" I asked, as we followed in his slipstream.

  "Probably running you a bath and then creating a masterpiece for your meal. He's rather fond of you."

  "He only met me last night."

  "Yes, well, you must have made an impression."

  "Hardly, I argued about what he should call me."

  "He always did like a girl with spirit," Theo pointed out. I just laughed. "That," he whispered in my ear, "is so much better. I missed it. I'm so..."

  "Stop!" I insisted, turning to face him. We were on the landing near our rooms. "It happened, it's passed. If you keep apologising, it'll make me nervous. And if you keep being nice to me, I'll..." Now it was my turn to not complete the sentence.

  "We are a fine pair," Theo announced, brushing some loose tendrils of my hair back off my face. "Shall we make a promise to each other? Despite what happens, where we both end up, we try to enjoy this for as long as we have it."

  I nodded.

  "I want to show you off tonight. Bathe, get dressed and meet me downstairs for a quick bite to eat."

  So, the plans were still on track. For some reason that made me feel sad. I don't know why. I guess it was the reality it brought to the front of my mind. Theo may have declared some sort of feelings for me, but I had more pressing matters to be concerned with right now. I couldn't enjoy the sensation of believing he felt the same way as me, I didn't have that luxury. And with reality, came doubt. In front of his kind how would he act? Alone he could show he cared, no one would judge. Out there, with Pyrkagia watching, I was thinking things would be different.

  I needed to stay strong. To hold on to the knowledge that I meant something to him, more than just the arrangement we had, even if I wasn't sure what that something yet was. It was all I had, so I'd hold it close and ignore everything else. Even if in my heart I knew that something was not enough to overco
me centuries of mistrust.

  I wore a blue dress. It matched the colour of my eyes. It hugged my body like the green one did, but rather than leaves encasing me, it felt like water wrapped around my frame, shimmering in the lights. When I moved, the dress moved. Not with me, but against me. But not in a way that felt wrong. Just in a way that made you notice. My body beneath the waves. Every single curve.

  I hadn't chosen it. Theo obviously had. It was waiting for me when I exited the bathroom. Along with shoes and a small jewellery box. My hand shook when I opened the velvet lid, not because I was worried about what lay within - well, not really - but because I'd never received a gift like this before. Inside were sapphire stud earrings. So plain, but their simplicity complemented the simplicity of the wave dress.

  It also was a small enough gift for me not to freak out over. I think Theo knew me pretty well.

  I walked down the stairs and into the parlour. I hadn't explored Theo's house yet, but the smell of something delicious was coming from there. Theo stood by the fire, it was roaring. He clearly felt the need to feed before we went out. And I wasn't referring to the food in the domed dishes off to the side.

  He also looked like he was talking to himself, not exactly muttering, but having a full blown conversation.

  "Are you OK?" I asked, as I approached.

  He straightened, said something in Greek, which made the flames flare brighter in the hearth and then turned around to look at me. There was a smile on his face. It grew once he took in the sight of me in the dress.

  "I am now," he husked, reaching out a hand for me to take. I slipped my fingers into his palm and let him pull me closer. His face nestled into my neck, a move so familiar it stunned.

  I shouldn't have been so relaxed about this intimacy. I'd never been this relaxed with a man before in my life. But Theo was chipping through my walls, slowly worming his way inside. Even last night, although it hurt me, strangely made me feel closer to him. How is that possible?

  "Were you just talking to yourself?" I asked, in an effort to change the course of my thoughts.

  "Communicating with one of my Guard." Huh. Communicating through the fire. Very cool.

  "There will be some powerful Pyrkagia in attendance tonight," he whispered, moving on from supernatural tom-tom drums and running his lips up my neck, taking advantage of my compliant state, I think. His breath washed my ear for a suspended moment, then his teeth tugged gently on my lobe.

  Oh dear God. What was this?

  His arm slipped around my waist and pulled me against his body, chest to chest, hips to hips. I sucked in air at the intimate contact. I liked it. It scared me. I wanted more.

  "I need to be at full strength should any strike," he whispered. I stiffened in his arms and his tongue lay a trail down the side of my neck, around past my collar bone, and then dipped between my breasts.

  "Are you trying to distract me Theo, from what you just said?" My words were entirely too breathless.

  "Absolutely. Is it working? It's working for me." He groaned and shamelessly buried his face between my mounds.

  My legs gave out.

  He scrambled to catch me.

  "Bloody hell. Am I that good?"

  I laughed feebly and worked on locking my knees.

  "Ah, Miss Inexperience here," I said, waving my hand as if to say hello. Heat washed not only my face, but my entire body, I think.

  He gave me a wide smile. Then it slowly fell. His forehead came and rested against mine. He didn't say anything, but I knew what he was thinking. Why was I not born Pyrkagia? It was the same look he wore every other time he wished for that.

  He cleared his throat.

  "A few things you need to know." Businesslike, if you ignored the huskiness at the edge of each word. "Do not go all green on me. Keep those beautiful peepers contained. You may have permission to be here, you may be on my arm, but to a Pyrkagia, any sign of your Stoicheio will still be considered an attack." Oh, boy. "Stay close to me. Do not wander off. If I get into an argument, do not come to my aid. I am more powerful than most, and those that I am not as strong as, will have only gotten that way by politically playing it safe. I am the Rigas' son, to harm me, would be to draw his wrath. Even if I am out of my father's favour right now."

  "You are?"

  He pulled back and stared at me with a strange look on his face.

  "Oraia, he threatened me with the Brazen Bull."

  I laughed. "The what?"

  "It is not a laughing matter. It's an ancient Greek torture device that boils its victims alive. Being an Athanatos we can endure it for a very long time before even we pass out."

  I stared back at him, horrified.

  "He'd do that?"

  A look passed over his face that I never want to see again. My hand came up and cupped his cheek. He would have seen the mortification in my eyes. Hell, he probably saw the green.

  "See," he whispered. "This is what I'm worried about. You lack control over your reactions. Green." My eyes. I was right. "You have such delicate command of your Stoicheio, but you wear your heart on your sleeve, Oraia. You need to be more careful." He hadn't said any of that harshly, if anything, he'd said it with a look of infinite pain on his face. He leaned forward, when his speech was done, and kissed me softly. A chaste kiss that I felt right through my lips and into my heart.

  "Then stop making me care," I whispered back, meaning anything but what I said.

  "Before the night is through, sweet Cassandra, you may well have your wish." He pulled away and turned to the domed lids of the food.

  Ominous words indeed.

  I was too nervous to eat. I picked at the offerings, knowing they were delicious, but not tasting a thing. I was too scared. Too panicked about what would face us at the event we were about to attend. Theo had gone silent too. But he ate more than me. Obviously made of sterner stuff. With a father like that, I could see why. He'd had to be.

  Aktor saw us off at the door. Pleased to see me dirt-free, I think. He really was quite a sweet old man.

  "How old is Aktor?" I asked, as we drove down the driveway. I needed something other than impending doom to think about.

  "Oh, I don't know for sure," Theo said, thinking about my question for a moment. "I guess, he served the elders. Somehow he was handed to me. From the look of him, I'd say at least twenty, maybe twenty-five."

  I huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, right. Twenty-five years old." I snorted. Then hiccuped, trying to pull the snort back in. It sounded ridiculous.

  Theo smiled through it all, then calmly said, "Twenty-five millennia, Oraia. We are Athanatos. Practically immortal."

  I froze in my seat. My mind just went completely blank. What? What did he just say? Street lights blurred and strobed outside my window, the chaotic sounds of Auckland city at night felt like they came to me from down a very long tunnel. The pressure in the air, inside the car, crushed. I struggled for breath. My hand shook when I raised it to my forehead.

  The car began to slow, but my breathing didn't. I'm not sure how much time had passed since Theo had answered my question and sent me spiralling into what was obviously a decent panic attack. But enough for us to make it from Mountain Road to Parnell.

  "What?" I finally managed to get out between stiff lips.

  And received a muttered swearword in Greek from Theo, who had parked the car and turned to look at me, getting his first real view of my uncontrolled state.

  "I should have gone over this sooner," he muttered to himself. His hand gripped the steering wheel tightly, as though he wished to break it. Then his gaze scanned my face, lingering on my eyes. Whatever he saw made him frown; his brow furrowing and his lips dipping down at the edges.

  "OK, Casey Eden," he said, suddenly sounding like a drill sergeant. It didn't help the swirl of shock and anxiety inside my head, right then. "We don't have time for this now, we've arrived at the venue and have already been seen. Dig deep, sweetheart, and push it from your mind. We'll talk about it when we get home
. For now, get rid of the green and stop making the Earth shudder. I can feel it through the tyres, so I should think the guests will be quite aware you're throwing a tantrum."

  I stared at him, vaguely aware that the vehicle did have a greenish hue.

  "Oraia, please," he pleaded. Swore in Greek again, and then cupped my temples with both hands, his palms shielding some of the glow from my eyes.

  But, no doubt, not all of it.

  I gasped, I'm not sure if it was from the sudden proximity of Theo or just the realisation finally that I needed to get myself under control.

  Before I could manage to deal with either of those thoughts, though, the car door sprang open at my side.

  "What the hell, Theo!" Nico's voice sounded out over my shoulder. "Way to make an entrance. Control your Gi. Pyrkagia is watching."

  Control your Gi. Pyrkagia is watching.

  I sucked in a deep breath, closed my eyelids and willed my body to relax. Theo kept his hands cupping the sides of my head, his thumbs gently stroking over my cheeks. Seconds passed. Maybe as long as a minute, and then I pulled free of his too comfortable hold and turned to look at Nico.

  He didn't seem angry, as I had expected him to be after that announcement. If anything, he looked concerned. For Theo? Or for me?

  "I'm new to this," I said haltingly, still reeling from the latest information dump; how old - or should that be ancient - Aktor was. "I was human only a couple of days ago," I defended.

  I have no idea why I said that. I'm not even sure if Theo trusted Nico enough to be divulging this secret at all. But Theo didn't correct me, or stop me, he just met Nico's gaze over my shoulder.

  Something flashed in Nico's eyes. Not colour, not gold, but more an emotion; a reaction to what I was or had been, or to the confirmation he saw in Theo's face.

  He sucked in a slow breath of air, scanned my face briefly, then murmured, "And she makes the Earth dance to a delicate tune." His eyes coming back up to lock on Theo's. "Just what have you uncovered, Cousin?"

  And gone was the concern of before. Now he looked positively frightened... laced with a little awe.

  Chapter 11

  Time For Bed, Cinderella