Page 14 of Mated in Flames

“Noted,” I say cheerfully, grinning at him. “Good to see you among the living again, brother.”

Dane snorts.

“I still feel like death,” he coughs. “I’m going to be throwing up ash for weeks.”

“Small price to pay for your life,” I say.

There’s a weak sound in the corner and I abruptly remember Luciana. Dane and I both look over to see Luciana still sitting against the wall, staring at us both in shock.

“What the hell, Warwick?” Dane cries.

“I tried to get her out!” I snap back. “She wouldn’t leave. Apparently, she’s a doctor.”

“Why are we even in her house?” Dane demands.

“The police were on their way,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I didn’t have much of a choice, especially since you were taking your sweet time coming back to life.”

“Well, excuse me for getting shot…!”

“Um…” Dane and I look over to Luciana. “Can someone please explain what the fuck is going on?”

Dane and I look at each other. There’s no getting out of this, we know. Luciana has seen far too much, now. We have no choice but to trust her.

“Let’s go to the living room,” I say with a sigh. “We’ll tell you everything.”

Dane and I pull ourselves to our feet. Luciana stares for a moment and then, oddly, goes deeply red as she slams her eyes closed.

“Um… you might want to cover yourself, Dane,” she chokes.

Dane flushes as well. We’d forgotten, of course, that the flame is only harmless to our bodies. Our clothes never survive it and Dane is now standing, buck naked, in front of us both. I cough to hide my laughter as I pull a blanket from the bed and drape it around my brother.

“He’s decent,” I say, amused, and Luciana cautiously opens her eyes again.

Dane self-consciously adjusts the blanket around him, scowling at both of us, embarrassed and angry by the situation.

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” he huffs, and stalks from the room.

I help Luciana to her feet. A spark runs through my arm, and I fight not to jerk backwards as she stands. I’m suddenly very aware of just how close she actually is, and she looks up at me. There’s heat emanating from her body, and part of me just wants to lean in and…

“Warwick!” Dane calls from the other room, irritated.

I cough awkwardly and step backward. Luciana looks at me, her eyes dark and intense, before she sweeps from the room, leaving me with little choice but to follow her.

Dane sits stiffly on Luciana’s couch, and I feel the same relief that I had felt when he had first opened his eyes. I had known, of course, that he would return to life. It was just what we did. But that didn’t mean I was unaffected by watching him fall as the bullet slammed into him, or by the blood that had covered him and the ground around him.

I mentally shake myself. I can think about all that later. For now, I just need to focus on Luciana and what we need to tell her now.

I join Dane on the couch and Luciana sits in an armchair and stares at us.

“So?” Luciana asks, finally breaking the silence. She gestures to the two of us. “What the hell just happened?”

“We’re phoenixes,” I tell her.

I expect some disbelief or even amazement. Perhaps even humour until she realises that we’re actually telling the truth and not joking around. I’m not prepared for the way her eyes light up in comprehension.

“Human phoenixes?” she asks, awed. “My father said they were incredibly rare and almost extinct.”

“How do you know of phoenixes?” Dane demands.

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