Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Stroke the Flame: Chapter 19

With my arms crossed, I kept a wary eye on Jasin as he threw streams of fire toward the wall of the cave. I’d already had to put out his flames twice yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to do it again now. The man was reckless and out of control, although I had to admit he was a skilled fighter. I wouldn’t want to face him in combat, but I didn’t trust him not to get us all killed either.

Outside the cave, Slade lifted small pebbles and tossed them at Auric, who blasted them away with a strong gust. A blacksmith and a nobleman. I had little in common with either one and no desire to know them better. I got the feeling they were both hiding something too, but then again, who among us wasn’t?

On the other side of the cave, Kira was packing up the last of our camp so we could get back on the road soon. I caught myself staring at her as she straightened up and threw her bag over her shoulder, admiring the curves of her body in that thin dress and the way her hair brushed against her graceful neck. I turned away with a frown. I shouldn’t be looking at her like that. Not when I had no plans to make her mine.

“Are you going to practice your magic too?” she asked, as she walked over to me.

“I’m fine.” I didn’t plan on keeping these powers much longer either.

She tilted her head and examined me. “I suppose you don’t need magic to stay safe anyway. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

I gave her the side-eye. Once again, she was trying to learn about my past. If only she knew how similar our childhoods had been. But I never talked about that. “Here and there.”

She sighed and began to turn away. “I get it. You don’t want to talk to me.”

Something ached in my chest at the disappointment in her voice. No doubt because of this stupid magical connection between us, nothing more. It made me desire her and care for her, even if I didn’t want to. Gods, I couldn’t wait for this spell to be broken.

“My father taught me,” I reluctantly said. “He was a great swordsman.”

She paused and considered me again. “Do you think you could teach me as well? I’d like to be able to fight better at close range.”

“I can do that.” If we were training, I wouldn’t have to talk about my past or think about how much I wanted her. I drew both of my swords and handed one of them to her.

She examined the finely crafted blade, which was black and carved with elaborate designs. “This is beautiful. Your father’s?”

“They were, yes.” I gripped the matching blade in my hand. “How much do you know about sword fighting?”

“I’ve been trained in the basics before and I’m pretty good with a dagger.” She got into position, holding the blade out as if ready for an attack. “Maybe you can give me some tips and help me practice.”

“First of all, you’d be better off holding the sword like this.” I moved close and adjusted her fingers on the hilt. As we touched, the connection between us snapped into place, like when she’d healed me yesterday. I jerked my hand away and stepped back quickly. “See if that’s better.”

She swung the sword and nodded. “I think so.”

“Let’s see what we’re working with.” I lunged toward her, moving slower than I normally did. She raised her blade to meet mine with some hesitation, her movements a bit jerky. I swung again and she managed to dodge, then sliced toward me. I parried her, but with each second, I could tell her confidence was growing as she remembered how to use a sword. She’d clearly had some training before, but she was out of practice and still had a lot to learn.

“Not bad,” I said. “Where did you learn to fight?”

“The merchants taught me a little, and the rest…” Her face paled and she looked away. “I’d rather not say right now. We all have things in our past we’d prefer not to discuss.”

“That we do.” I gestured for her to attack me again.

We did another round, and by the end of it she was breathing quickly, her chest rising and falling in a way that made it hard not to stare at her full breasts. I couldn’t deny she was beautiful, or that I wanted her in my bed. That would be true even without the damn magic tugging me toward her. It simply made it harder to resist her. But I’d lived my entire life exercising control over myself and my surroundings, and I wasn’t about to let a pretty face and alluring body ruin all of that.

As I stared at her, she managed to catch me off guard and almost landed a blow. “Aha!” she said, laughing.

I scowled at her. “I let you get that one to boost your confidence.”

“Of course you did,” she teased.

We were about to go again, when Auric suddenly let out a pained sound, and we both turned toward him. Kira rushed out of the cave, with me right at her heels and Jasin a step behind us. I was instantly alert, worried the bandits had returned. Or worse, that the elementals had found us.

Auric was on the ground, nursing a cut on his cheek. “It’s nothing. Slade nicked me with a rock.”

Slade offered Auric his hand to help him up. “Sorry about that.”

“It was my fault, I missed that one,” Auric said, as he stood up and brushed himself off.

Kira moved close to Auric, inspecting his face. “I suppose it gives me a good excuse to practice healing you.”

She brushed her fingers against the gash on his cheek, while he stared at her with lovesick eyes. Pathetic. Except as she caressed his face, jealousy boiled up in me. I wanted her to touch me like that, not him. Gods, now I was the pathetic one.

She pulled back and smiled at Auric. “All fixed.”

“My thanks.” He took her hand and pressed a kiss to it. “You’re truly amazing, Kira.”

Jasin grinned at her. “Now we’re going to get injured just so you have an excuse to touch us.”

She shook her head with an amused smile. “Please don’t.”

A strange sound came from the east, overhead. A huge gust of wind. The flap of large wings. The rustle of many trees.

I knew that sound.

“Get in the cave!” I grabbed Kira’s arm and dragged her inside before she could protest. “Hurry!”

“What is it?” Slade asked, as the others rushed inside behind us.

“A Dragon,” I said.

“What?” Kira’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t pull away from me, and I didn’t release her arm. I didn’t trust these other guys to protect her the way I could. None of them knew the danger that was coming for us, not the way I did. Kira knew, though. She understood all too well what the Dragons could do.

“Quick, cover the mouth of the cave,” Auric told Slade.

Slade gestured and some of the large rocks moved in front of the cave entrance, though they left a small enough opening for us to peer through. We each crowded around it and watched as the dragon appeared over the forest, his large wings spread wide, casting huge shadows on the trees. Dark blue scales flashed under the sun, and even from this distance his sharp talons were visible, as was his long tail.

The Azure Dragon circled overhead twice, as if looking for something, before finally moving on. The cave was entirely silent while we watched him, as if we were each holding our breath, and only when he disappeared from sight did we all take a collective exhale.

“Was he looking for us?” Kira asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“No way,” Jasin said. “How would he know about us?”

Auric frowned as he gazed at the sky. “Some of the bandits might have gotten away and started spreading rumors about people with magic. Maybe he heard them somehow.”

“Or maybe it was a coincidence and he’s looking for someone else,” Slade said.

I realized I was still holding Kira close even though the danger had passed. I quickly released her. “It doesn’t matter. We need to get moving anyway.”

I glanced back at the sky, at the spot where the Azure Dragon had soared over us. That was supposed to be me one day.

Not if I could help it.