Free Touching Fire (Touch Saga) by Airicka Phoenix Page B

agitated. I hadn’t had Isaiah’s blood in over a month. It was beginning to get to me and I couldn’t allow that.
    Careful not to make a sound, I reached up and poked the back of Archer’s boot with a finger. I was putting a lot of stock in the hope that he was smart enough to get that we weren’t in the carriage.
    For a moment, he didn’t move or react. He continued to stand there and I wondered if maybe I should poke him again … with a knife. Lucky for him, I didn’t have a knife, but also that he was smarter than he looked.
    “Fine.” He shifted aside. A second later, we heard the carriage door swing open. “See? Nothing. Now, can we get on our way?”
    The creature drew forward, its every footstep making the pebbles on the ground tremble.
    That close, I could feel the heat coming off him. It was like standing too close to an open flame. It was scalding. I nearly hissed as the sting of it burned my face. I squinted at the metal feet inches from my noise and frowned. That close, I could finally see what the glow was and I couldn’t believe it. The metal suit was just that, a suit and it was encasing a body of fire. That’s what the flickering was. The creature was made of fire.
    “I hope you’re satisfied,” Ashton said, his tone barely suppressing his frustration. “Now if you please.”
    The creature moved back and I held my breath, hoping against all odds that he wouldn’t think to look beneath the coach.
    “Human traces were detected,” it said.
    “As I said, I must have the traces on me,” Ashton replied.
    Silence descended over the small group. Then, ever so slowly, the creature pulled away. Its metal structure clanked with every movement. I watched its feet get further away, but I didn’t relax.
    “ I will report.”
    Something long and gold speared into the ground. There was a blinding flash of white light and the guard was gone. The roads were quiet except the soft whisper of rustling leaves and my heavy breathing.
    That was close.
    “Fallon?”
    Swallowing the anxiety curling up at the back of my throat, I reached for the hand extended to me. Long fingers curled around mine and I was drawn out. I let go immediately the moment I realized whose hand I was holding. Archer smirked. I ignored it, ignored him and busied my hands dusting my dress. The thing needed to be burned and the ashes would probably need an exorcist.
    “We need to hurry,” Ashton said as Isaiah got to his feet. “We’re nearly there.”
    He wasn’t kidding. The ride from there was another five minutes.
    Ashton drew back the curtains so we could watch as the carriage rolled up to a sprawling structure straight from some French renaissance era. It was a freaking castle with turrets, bell towers and so many floors and windows that it was nearly impossible to count. It sat propped against a backdrop of sheer luxury. An extensive spread of green lawns that went on forever before vast wilderness enclosed. Neatly trimmed hedges formed a lavish wall, separating the manicured lawns from the sheer force of the house . Flowers bloomed in a spray of colors that swayed like miniature-sized rainbows tucked beneath windowsills and along the winding paths. A massive stone fountain guarded the center of the cul-de-sac, gurgling and splashing water up into the night. There were no other carriages parked there, so I assumed they were kept elsewhere, maybe a flame retardant barn in the back. It was hard to tell just how big the acreage was when the house was all one could see.
    “How many people live here?” I asked, unable to contain the awe from my tone.
    “ People? Not very many.” The horses stopped before the magnificent arch of stairs. “I don’t know how much Diana—”
    “Erin,” I corrected. Mom may have been Diana in his world, but in mine, she’d been Erin and things had changed enough without taking that way.
    Ashton inclined his head. “Erin has told you about me…”
    “She didn’t tell me anything,” I said