Free Seared by Desire by Jennifer T. Alli

further to get his compliance. “Look,” she sighed, “you
either help me or I deal with you. Harshly. It’s up to you
really.”
    “ I don’t see why people have such a grudge against us vampires
when you fire elementals are on the loose,” he grumbled but he was
moving.
    Once they were outside, he looked at Lance, a frown appearing
on his face. “Is that your horse?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ It might take us a little longer to get to where we need to
go if we have to take him. It’s much quicker to cut through the
back streets but they’re too narrow for him.”
    She glanced at the loyal horse, Seraphina’s countdown
floating to the front of her mind. In a little over two hours an
episode would be upon her. “No, Lance stays with me. His staying
isn’t a topic that’s up for debate.” I
need him to get out of the city quickly.
    “ Fine.”
    They walked the dark streets, David leading and Sara
following. Despite David’s fears they were making good time, the
city’s human inhabitants moved quickly out of their way, fearful of
the damage a fire elemental and a vampire could do. But time was
running out for Sara.
    “ How long until we get there?”
    “ It shouldn’t take us too much longer to reach him. Lord
Lucian is in the city tonight, there’s a tavern–”
    “ A working one?” she interrupted amicably.
    “ Yes. Lord Lucian would never be seen in one like the one you
found me in. We’re only there as a stop gap anyway. We’ll be moving
on soon. The Malachites frequent the particular tavern we’re
looking for and Lord Lucian is on the warpath. There’s been
something strange about his behaviour for a few days now. Normally,
he would try to convince the Malachites that it’s for the best that
they accept his leadership but for the last few nights, he’s been
finding them and convincing them with the skill of his sword. Those
who aren’t convinced quickly find themselves dead.”
    “ He doesn’t sound like a very nice man,” Sara grumbled to
herself. The air around her suddenly got warmer and the hairs on
the back of her neck stood on end in warning. Something was about
to happen.
    “ Sara!”
    She turned around slowly at the sound of Abigail’s voice, a
frisson of fear running through her. Even though she had been
expecting it, the sight of her friend leading a hunting party
straight towards her, made her heart drop. “Abi,” she whispered
sadly.
    “ It’s so good to see you.” Her smile was warm, genuine and all
the more hurtful for it. “We’ve been looking all over for you,” she
laughed cheerfully. “I didn’t expect it to take this long to find
you but we have now. Come back with me Sara.”
    “ You know I can’t. I found him Abi, I found the one who can
help me, but I lost him,” she explained. “I don’t have to die, I
can live. I’m on my way to find him right now. By morning I might
have this whole thing figured out.”
    “ Sara, you’re being selfish.” Abigail pouted as she recited
words that could have very easily come straight from Geoffrey’s
mouth. “You know very well that you have a duty to your people.
Your sacrifice will ensure that we’re the strongest of the
elementals, maybe even the strongest of all people. We’ll be
unbeatable. Everyone will fear us.”
    “ What’s going on?” David asked curiously, his bright eyes
landing on each of the seven newcomers in turn before turning back
to Sara.
    Sara ignored his question. “Abi, you can’t do this. Power
can’t be that important and besides the fire elementals are already
feared by all, how do you think I managed to last so long with no
prior knowledge of how cities work? You don’t need more power Abi.
Don’t you want me to live?”
    “ Of course I do and if you manage to survive after destroying
our enemies then I’ll take you on a great holiday. I’m sure you’ll
be allowed to leave the village after all that you’ve done. In
fact, I’ll take you even if they don’t give you