Page 16 of Heart's Flame

“Are you with me, Vian?” Marcellus asked him as a tense stand-off took hold of the small clearing.

He looked at the man beside him, and somehow knew this was right. For the first time since he’d woken in his room at the Conservatory, he knew down to his bones that he was standing exactly where he should be. The black veil in his mind still held. He had no memory of these people before their appearance here, but it didn’t seem to matter. They were his. “I’m with you.”

Across from them, Tarra spat out a curse and raised her hand. “Attack!”

The moment the word left her mouth, a small red blur darted in front of the line of mages. Vian’s heart lodged in his throat as the little fox leapt into the air and latched onto the ruby pendant hanging from Tarra’s necklace. Tarra screamed, the necklace snapped, and she hit the fox, sending it and the ruby flying.

“No!” Vian yelled, lunging to where the fox had landed. The mages surged forward, and the men around him went to meet them. He got his hands on the fox, her little body shaking, as the clash started around them.

The bald man, Dem, appeared at his side. “Sasha.” He reached for the fox. “Papa’s here.”

Vian let him take her and only then saw the ruby still clutched in her mouth.

“Let me have that, little one,” Dem said, taking the ruby from her. He passed it to Vian. “Shatter it. She used a similar stone to anchor the last spell that took your memories.”

Rage filled his gut. She was a witch? One his mother—who despised witches—had sent with him, knowing she’d spelled Vian not once, but twice? He slipped the stone into a pouch on his belt. He didn’t need memories to know which side of this fight he belonged on. He reached for his magic—that still pool inside him—and unleashed a tidal wave of force, knocking every other mage on the field to the ground.

Tarra screamed at him from her place at the edge of the battle and started chanting, her eyes taking on an eerie red glow. He started her way, but before he reached her the werewolf rushed her, knocking her to the ground and tearing out her throat in one meaty bite. Blood and bits hung from his jowls when he turned to look at Vian. He raised his head and howled.

The night around them exploded with the sound of werecreatures answering his call. Before Vian had taken another step, several wolves, one large black cat, and two big black bears came stampeding out of the woods. The mages flung their magic, but the werecreatures didn’t stop, dropping every mage left standing.

Zeph ran to where Dem was now cradling a little red-headed girl wrapped in the cloak he’d been wearing.

“Sasha,” he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. “Don’t ever do that again. You gave your old Da a fright.”

“I’m sorry, Da,” she said, her voice small. “I just wanted to help Vian remember.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

Zeph met Vian’s eyes over her head.

Marcellus moved to Vian’s side. A hand slid into his. “You promised me you’d remember.”

He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out the dark red stone. Glancing around the clearing, he looked at all the people looking back at him—the men huddled around the little fox girl, the big man and now human werewolf with Tarra’s blood still staining his mouth, all the werecreatures still in animal form that had come to their aid, and the blond man standing beside him. His flamma de corde, his blood bonded, his mate. He met Marcellus’s eyes. “I just want you to know that even without breaking this spell, I remember that I’m yours and you’re mine.”

Marcellus smiled and leaned in, kissing Vian soundly on the mouth while he pressed his palm over the stone still in Vian’s hand. Golden light exploded between their hands and behind Vian’s eyes, crumbling the gem and the dark veil that had trapped his memories. When the light disappeared and the rush of images and emotions overwhelmed him, he sank willingly into the blackness and the strong arms that wouldn’t let him fall.

10

THREE MONTHS LATER

Waves crashed against the cliff face hundreds of feet below where Vian stood. There were similar cliffs marking Ferron’s other shores, but here at its northernmost point, the sheer drop stretched along nearly the entire northern coastline. Between the rough terrain of the hills and the coast being virtually inaccessible by sea, Vian understood why the mages had only taken control of the southern half of Ferron.

One small beach allowed only the bravest of sailors to attempt trade this far north, and while it was a start, they were going to need so much more to grow into what Vian knew they could be. Since he’d reclaimed his memories again, he and Marcellus had moved their camp as far north as possible and settled there with more permanence. It was slow going, and they still spent plenty of time guarding the border between the north and the rest of Ferron. But word had gotten out, and every day more witches and werecreatures made their way north looking for a life outside of the Conservatory’s rule.

Vian and the others with him were happy to help them find it. He knew someday the growing presence here would no longer be tolerated by his mother or another mage like her. There would likely be war. He was learning every day how to better control the earth magic he had access to, how to shape and blend it with the mage magic that lived inside of him. He and Marcellus were also learning that working together, they were more powerful than either of them could ever be alone.

Coren—after Vian told him for the hundredth time there was nothing to forgive—had taken on the role of training the werecreatures who were willing and able to fight and patrol. Laiken had decided the battlefield truly wasn’t for him and traveled between the different camps, using his skills as a healer where needed.

They would be ready when the time came.

“What are you doing, Vian?” Sasha asked, coming to stand at his side.

He looked down at her to find a crown of wildflowers woven into her red hair. She was wearing a simple white dress and looking up at him with a big smile.

“You look beautiful, little fox.”

“Thank you, big brother. Da told me to come and get you. It’s time.”

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