Page 2 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

I felt bad that I’d taken Fraser away from his new role only days after he’d been promoted; I had also taken Ezra away from his responsibilities as beta of the Witchlightwolf packs, and Maddie away from Ernie’s tutelage. I’d tried to persuade them I could go on this expedition alone but they hadn’t listened to me, for which I was quietly grateful – even if it had left Yanni and Dove manning the phonesagain.Guilt pricked me at the thought.

Guilt was something I was feeling a lot of these days, particularly about Kaz. I knew my friends thought I was mad for harbouring so much regret about what had happened to the vampire; Kaz was a murderer – she’d killed Lorenz and tried to frame Sonny. Even so, I couldn’t shake my guilt about the state she was in now.

Every time I thought back, I was struck by how foolhardy I’d been and how recklessly I’d acted. It had only been a few days after my powers had started manifesting properly when I’d used them forcefully on her, powers that had been trapped under a bind that my parents had placed on me when I was practically a newborn, presumably to stop my deadly grandmother from hunting me down.

I hadn’t told any of the others that the head of The Nightshades, a deadly vampire group, had said that my grandmother was still alive. Candice had promised to tell me more about my grandmother if I let her see the Eternal Flame. I wasn’t sure I believed her, but I couldn’t afford to ignore her. So here I was, trying to find another Guardian who could hopefully help me restore my own EternalFlame. Hopefully then I could use its power to heal Kaz’s fractured mind and maybe do a deal with the head of the Nightshades.

Ifmy grandmother was alive, I needed to know where she was and if she was gunning for me. This time she wouldn’t find a weak-magicked teenager when she came knocking – but I needed the power of the Flame behind me or I’d be toast.

Chapter Two

Eva, my faithful retriever, took the lead as we walked towards the town. She’s incredibly good at spotting danger; she’s also incredibly protective of me and hellish smart. I could feel her happiness as she trotted forward; she liked having a purpose and being on a walk with me was one of her favourite things. Mine too.

The barrier around Hallowburn Harbour couldn’t be seen by the naked eye but I sure as heck felt it as we walked through it. It squeezed my insides as it weighed me up and, luckily, found me worthy of admittance.

We all let out explosive breaths as we emerged on the other side. The barrier was probably intended to keep out non-magical folk and anyone who threatened harm to the village, but we were coming in peace. Although it wasn’t as comfortable as it would be for a resident to pass through, we managed.

‘So, what? We’re just going to walk into the party?’ Maddie asked dubiously. ‘What if it’s in someone’s houseand you need an invitation to get past the ward?’ She was wringing her hands; her anxiety had increased the longer we were away from home. I’d seen her biting her nails and though she always offered me a sunny smile when I asked if she was okay, I knew in my gut that she wasn’t.

Her energy levels were flagging and she wasn’t sleeping well; she had dark circles under her eyes. I needed to get her back to Witchlight, back to Ernie. Something was eating at her and I was petrified that the dark magic she’d used once had a vice-like grip on her soul that she couldn’t shake off without help. She needed support, and I was determined to make sure she got it.

Maddie continued, ‘What if the Flame’s being held by a group of anti-witch, anti-werewolf or anti-shifters?’

Ezra shook his head. ‘This party is big.’ His forehead furrowed as he focused on the sounds he was picking up. ‘This isn’t a house party – it sounds like the whole town is there. I reckon they’re celebrating something.’

As we moved ever closer to the village, the wind carried singing and music towards us. Laughter. I relaxed a little: surely Hallowburn wasn’t the type of place where they killed intruders, not when they were laughing and dancing together?

‘This way,’ Ezra said as we reached a junction.

We were in the village now, surrounded by cute houses painted in different colours. Most of them were surprisingly small, the doors less than four feet high, and I guessed there was a large fae community. The fae could vary wildly in size – and commenting on that wasnevera good idea.

‘We’re getting very close to the water,’ Fraser murmured, raw yearning in his voice. He was as much at home beneath the rippling waves as he was on land. Whenever possible, I’d tried to make sure he had a chance to swim, but the last time we’d been in a fishing village was more than a week ago and the strain was showing.

‘Sounds like the party is on the next street over,’ Nour noted quietly. She was right: in the last couple of minutes, the singing had grown undeniably louder.

Nerves bubbled through me and butterflies were kicking up a storm in my stomach. I’d thought that finding a place that housed another Eternal Flame would be our biggest challenge, but now that we were here I realised that was just the first step. I needed to find the Guardian and somehow convince them to share its secrets with me – and that would be easier said than done.

‘Are you okay?’ Fraser asked me quietly. He was still holding my hand. ‘I can feel your anxiety.’

I tried to tamp it down and rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans. ‘Yes. Or at least I will be when we get the Flame back.’ I gave him an unconvincing smile.

‘It will happen, I promise you. If we can’t do it here, then we’ll find another village. We won’t stop until your Flame is back.’

I could hear it in his voice: he would go with me to the ends of the earth if that was what I needed. I was still trying to come to terms with what our bond meant for him – and for me – beyond the almost feral attraction that we felt for each other. ‘Thank you for this,’ I said. ‘And for your patience, with … everything. I’m sorry it’s been such a mess.’

‘You have to stop apologising. Think of it this way – if the Guardian here won’t help you, then I promise that next we’ll look for the Flame in the Caribbean.’ He winked.

‘That sounds like a deal.’ I laughed, grateful for him trying to bring some humour to the moment. Feeling a fraction less nervous, I gripped his fingers hard.

As far as being physical went, that was as far as we’d got: handholding, hugs, my head on his shoulder when I was shattered. We hadn’t shared another earth-shattering kiss yet; I was holding Fraser at arm's length both for my sanity and for my focus. If we got too close I knew we’d end upwrapped in each other, and we didn’t have time for that. We needed –Ineeded – to focus on the Flame. Everything elsehadto be secondary.

We hadn’t even had a proper date yet; we’d skipped that step and bundled straight into travelling in each other's pockets. And it would be difficult to make small talk over candlelight now that I already knew he loved coffee in the morning, hated wearing socks and named his houseplants after actors he liked.

Ezra cleared his throat. ‘I think you might want to see this.’ He was standing with Maddie and Nour. Unusually, Eva was cowering behind Maddie’s legs as if she were scared. A quick check of her emotions showed me she was exactly that and my own nerves immediately tightened; if Eva were scared, I probably should be too.

The others’ expressions were harder to read with my barriers up so I allowed myself the slightest glimpse of what they were feeling. While there was a heavy dose of anxiety in the mix, it was overwhelmed entirely by disbelief – and something else. Awe, perhaps? What the hell were they looking at?

Nervously, I edged towards the others to see for myself.

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