Page 39 of Tin God

She hadn’t even seen him start the flame.

The vampire raised a hand and called the burning flame to his open palm. The fire slid away from the branches, swirling into a glowing ball that floated over Oleg’s palm.

“Our element isn’t like the others,” Oleg said. “The air, the earth, the water… theyexist. They are matter, even the air. But fire?” His lips grew darker as he looked at the flames in his palm. “It is energy. Fire is a process. Like a woman’s pleasure, fire must be fed to survive.”

The ball of fire became a small rivulet of flame he slid between his fingers, the blue-and-yellow lick of heat floating just over his skin and singeing the fine hairs on the back of his hand, which turned to ash and floated away. “Don’t think of your fire like rough matter, Brigid Connor. Don’t think of it as something you must manage or tame. Think of it like a lover you must seduce.”

Tenzin’s lips were flushed when she spoke. “I would have sex with you if I were not mated and monogamous.”

Brigid blinked and cleared her throat.

Oleg looked amused. “We could have tried, but there would probably have been casualties.”

“Yes.” Tenzin’s eyes narrowed as she watched him. “But it might have been worth it.”

The corner of Oleg’s mouth turned up, and he turned his stormy grey eyes to Brigid. “I’ll give you some advice. What you do with it is up to you.”

Brigid cleared her throat, trying to ignore the flush on the surface of her skin. She could feel the heat pouring off her body. “Okay, great.” She nodded. “I’m always game to learn new things. Thanks.”

“Again.”

It wasn’t like any fire training she’d ever had before. She was in the barn and she was spilling fire slowly along the straw-strewn ground, channeling it from one pile of tinder to another. More often than not, her element collapsed on itself before she could feed it her amnis, leaving trails of ash along the concrete floor.

She let out a slow breath and took another, clamping down on the explosive temper that was starting to swirl in her chest.

“You’re angry.” Oleg wore a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of heavy khaki pants that looked military. He paced behind her in the barn. “Don’t let it overtake you. That’s what causes the explosion. You need control, not ignition.”

“I’m not getting better.”

“Don’t be stupid,” he growled. “You’ve only been doing this for six hours.”

“Six fuckin’ hours?” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “What the hell? Where is Tenzin? Is she?—?”

“She flew out to survey the raid sites that Zasha left. Now focus.” He stepped closer, inches from her back.

Brigid’s instinctive reaction made her fangs drop, her shoulders turn, and she reached for a dagger that wasn’t there. Her skin heated and her amnis jumped to attention.

She snarled at Oleg, who froze and narrowed his eyes.

“Touchy.”

“I don’t like people at my back.”

Oleg angled his head, nodded slowly. “Understood.” He stepped to the side, a few feet away. “Better?”

Brigid nodded. She was surprised how violent her reaction had been, but she’d been away from her mate for weeks, she was low on energy, and she needed to feed. She was jumpier than she had been in years.

Oleg was still staring at her. “Someone hurt you in an unacceptable way.”

They were alone in the barn. It was well past midnight, and the humans were asleep. Lev had probably followed Tenzin, and the rest of the vampires had left Oleg and Brigid alone while they practiced working with fire.

This was not a spectator sport.

“It was a long time ago.”

“They hurt Zasha too. For many years.” His voice was quiet. “If there is an excuse for their actions?—”

“There isn’t. Abuse isn’t rare, Oleg. Lots of people get hurt every day, especially women and children. They get angry, but they don’t all turn into sociopathic monsters.”

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