Page 3 of Crowning of the Sword

“I’m warning you.”

“And I accept your warning.”

Ashe gave a grunt of derision and stepped back into the black fog, the wall of fire on the street abruptly vanishing. The cloud closed around Ashe like a zip closing in a cacophony of crackling static that made Ember wince, before swirling and dissipating so quickly it was as though it hadn’t been there at all. But there was the other fog bank still billowing nearby, and through the drifts, a glimpse of towering trees and green hills …

The mass eddied, obscuring her view, and then Cole was in front of her, taking up all her attention. She became acutely aware of his scent, as warm and sultry as cinnamon and leather and grass after the rain. She raised her eyes to him, and his searing gaze immediately drew her in, giving her the impression she had just been scorched by another fireball.

“I have to go,” she said, faintly. There were too many questions jostling in her head, the loudest of which was, what the fuck is going on? But greater than the desire to ask was the need to run and run and never look back. She shoved at the arm still holding her, wondering if he would let her go, and what she would do if he didn’t, and then felt almost disappointed when his arm fell away from her waist.

He stepped back and gave a courtly, old-fashioned bow. “Forgive me and my cousin for scaring you. It was naught, but a game gone awry. He meant you no harm.”

Ember swallowed. She couldn’t think of anything to say to that. How could he speak so easily, so fluently, when behind him was smoke leading to … Her eyes widened. A castle stood on a distant hill, complete with turrets and flags. The mist whirled, and it vanished.

“I have to go,” she repeated, edging around him.

“What is your name?”

“Uh…”

Usually, when a random stranger asked for her name, she would pull a fake one out of the air: Dolores, Natalie, Cynthia, Rose, anything. But the only thing that came out was the truth, “Ember Bailey.”

“Ember,” he echoed, as though her name pleased him. He said something else, but an orange car approaching at speed drowned out his voice.

The car came to a screeching halt and when Bruno threw open the door and stepped out, Ember almost took off toward him. Bruno, although a tedious, abusive brute, was familiar. She could deal with Bruno. She wasn’t sure she could deal with fireballs and castles in the fog and gorgeous men with a death wish.

“What the fuck?” Bruno muttered, taking in first the fog, then the stranger, and then her. “Get in the car, Ember.”

The notion of running to Bruno for help vanished. “No.”

Bruno took a step toward her, and then stopped, clearly confused by the roiling cloud of white fog in the middle of the road. “Ember, get in the car, or I call the cops.”

“What?”

He grinned without mirth. “You stole from me.”

The glaring truth of that statement was so banal after everything she’d just experienced that his threats seemed as empty as air.

“I didn’t steal anything.” Her tone was hard. “I earned it.”

“We’ll let the cops sort that out, shall we?”

He eyed Cole, calculating, and Ember could tell he was weighing up whether he could take Cole in a fight. Bruno often settled differences of opinion that way. He was heavy and stocky, but he was also quick, and he didn’t believe in fighting fair.

Cole turned his back on Bruno with a casual disregard, and Bruno’s face darkened. Bruno hated being ignored.

“Ember,” said Cole, and again, it was as though the two of them were merely strolling down a summer lane or picnicking by a lazy river. “Do you wish to go with him?”

Ember shook her head emphatically. Bruno’s face grew red.

“Friend,” Cole said to Bruno, in a tone that suggested he considered Bruno the exact opposite. “She says not.”

“Who the fuck asked you?” Bruno roared. “Ember, get the fuck in the car now.”

He reached behind him, and to Ember’s horror, drew out a knife from his pocket and held it out, light glinting off the blade. His bellicose attitude became smugly superior, and he grinned. “Cut you both up.”

“Bruno, put that away!” Ember’s voice shook. “Don’t be stupid.”

Typical, she thought irrelevantly. This close to fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, and it was all falling to pieces because of a jealous bully and a …

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