Firestorm

He lifted a trembling hand and cupped the back of my head, holding us tightly together. “Child, be strong, and know that I sorrow for the wrongs done to you, for the first time I see them clearly. I am grateful this illness has come upon me; the fever has wiped away the lies Cassava built in my mind. I will see you when we both walk the far side of the Veil, though I will pray you will not make that journey for a thousand years.”

Throat tightening, I couldn’t speak past the growing lump. Tears tracked my cheeks as he stood and made his way to Ash.

“You have one duty left to you, Ender.” He touched Ash on the shoulder. “You know what it is.”

Ash’s jaw ticked and he gave a slow nod. “It will be done.”

The king’s hand fell from Ash’s shoulder and Fern ran to him. “You have to stop them.”

He didn’t stop walking, but his words reached me still. “I have done all I can. They must face this alone.”

The Enders closed ranks as my father disappeared, Fern clutching at him and Coal following. If nothing else, I would at least be able to say they tried to save us.

Ash lurched forward, and the Enders all focused on him as he grappled with Match. The Ender behind me did nothing but drive his fingers deeper into my shoulder socket.

“You aren’t going anywhere, Terraling. At least, not anywhere you want to be.”

The scuffle in front of us died down and the Ender’s hand on me tightened right before a flash of black caught the corner of my eye and a club smashed into my skull sending me into oblivion.

The queen’s chamber was dark, but that didn’t matter. The person whose memories I saw was able to move around with an easy stealth, avoiding the furniture and knickknacks that would give his—and I was sure it was a man’s memories I saw—movements away.

“Damn, woman,” he growled, “where the hell did you hide it?”

He scoured the room that I could only see in glimpses. It was built in the shape of an octagon, the sides a smooth black stone reminiscent of the clubs the Enders from the Pit used. A bed lay in the middle of the room, spires of black rock curling upward as the four posts and a sheer material that sparkled even in the darkness, draped between them, woven like a spider’s web. If I could have shivered, I would have but trapped in someone else’s memories left me no ability to move.

“Here we go,” he bent near the bed and moved as if to shimmy under it when the sound of sheets sliding about snapped his head up. Peering over the edge of the bed, he stared at his queen. Her red hair was the color of fresh blood, which only accentuated the pale creamy tones of her skin and the deep blue of her eyes. An unusual color in the fire elemental bloodlines. She sat up, the sheet slipping down and pooling around her waist, baring her breasts to the warm air.

“What are you doing in my chambers, Ender?”

He swallowed. “My queen, I wish only to serve you.” She could fry his ass in an instant and they both knew it. Her ability with lava was unheard of in all the records of their people. For her, the lava was alive, like a beast she’d tamed and would do her bidding even so far as to defy the laws of nature.

There was only one way he might be able to get out of this alive. As renowned as her ability with the lava was her insatiable libido. “I would serve you in whatever manner you desire of me.” His voice turned husky and he made a bold move, sliding his hand across the sheets to brush his fingers against her bare skin. The top of his hand was scarred, an old wound that hadn’t healed cleanly. Four jagged lines that drew down from between his fingers to the base of his wrist.

She arched an eyebrow. “Whatever manner I desire?”

He bowed his head, breathing in the smell of her sheets, wondering if it would be the last thing he ever saw. “My queen, I am yours to command.”

Her fingers dug into his hair and pulled him toward her. “Then pleasure me, Ender. For it has been years since a man was bold enough to brave my chamber without an invitation.”

He dipped his head taking her mouth in his own as he pressed her to the bed. So he hadn’t found what he was looking for, and his mentor would not be happy, but this was better. With easy access to the queen’s chamber, he wouldn’t be forced to sneak around. He could get all the information his mentor needed, and together they would take Fiametta down. If he got to ride the queen before she was toppled, all the better. She’d never suspect him.

Slipping out of his black leathers he slid under the covers with the queen, his mouth and hands everywhere bringing her to her peak in a matter of minutes—

I let out a groan as I slipped out of the memory, the lingering lust the memories stirred clinging to me. As a half-breed, the child of Spirit side allowed me to see into other people’s memories when we Traveled together. So even though the memory wasn’t a surprise, I still was left disoriented.

A quick glance around showed that except for Ash, Match, and one other Ender who was a woman, we were alone. Whoever’s memories I’d seen had already left the Traveling room so I had no clue who he was.

Undertones of perfumed cherry blossoms tugged at me and I slowly sat up. Back in the Traveling room in the Pit was not a place I had ever wanted to be again. The walls were rounded, as if we sat inside of the world and looked out from the center. If only I could get my hands on a single armband, I’d be able to get both Ash and me out. I glanced around the room, but there wasn’t a band to be had. Damn it.

“They’ve been moved since the last time you were here, Terraling.” The nearly blond Ender swung through the doors and into the room. “So don’t think you’ll be getting one and skipping out. You have an appointment to keep.”