Scorched By Flames: Hot Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance (Hidden Realms of Silver Lake Book 10) Read online

  In case the man returned and asked for her answer, she studied the folder a bit more. It was interesting to note that this Bevon Forrester had a Fey brother named Kenton who was mated to Tory Sinclair. The Sinclairs were well-known in the realm, and that knowledge might come in handy.

  Chapter Two

  “Mom, I’m going to be out of town for a while,” Zulema explained to her mother whose lifeless body just lay there. From the way her breathing was shallow, her mom’s health was clearly failing. “Can you hear me?”

  She’d been sick for so long that Zulema was beginning to forget the mother who had been a fierce and vibrant woman. Zulema had promised herself that she would figure out a way to help her get well. She had to.

  Zulema had been released from that terrible jail only a few hours ago—but not before she signed a paper stating that she would make sure that Tamarella’s killer would be dead within two weeks. And just like that, she found herself teleporting home with her powers restored. After she cleaned up and packed, she headed to the facility where her mom was being treated.

  While she wasn’t the type to take anything for granted, losing something as valuable as her ability to shift or to teleport made her appreciate her skills all the more.

  Her mother opened her eyes and lifted her hand. Zulema grabbed it. “Where did you say you are…” Her voice faded.

  “Going? I have an out of town job. But don’t worry. Everything will be okay. I won’t be gone long.”

  Zulema hated lying to her, but the truth would only make things worse. There was no way she’d tell her mom there was some impending danger lurking. It would cause her too much anxiety.

  “Okay, sweetheart. Have a good time.” Her voice faded.

  Just as Zulema was about to let her mom rest, her sister, Maylora, rushed in. “Zulema!” Her sister came over and hugged her. “I didn’t expect you today.”

  “I know, but I had to see Mom. Let’s talk in the hall.” It would be impossible to explain to her sister why she had to leave the area, but Zulema had to say something. If Zulema told her the real reason for her trip across the province, Maylora would break down. It was understandable since her sister’s biggest fear was having men invade her home and brutally kill her—like they had with their father.

  “What is it? You look worried,” Maylora said.

  “I am. A bit. I have a job I have to do, and while I’m gone, I need you to watch Mother.”

  “Of course, but what is this job? Is it dangerous?”

  Zulema usually served as a bodyguard for important female figures. Even though the criminals were equally vicious against men as well as women, too often the men she protected were condescending or too forward. Zulema preferred women for that reason.

  “I don’t think so, but I need to go to the middle of the province.”

  “Do you have to?” Maylora asked, worry coloring her tone.

  “I do, but I’ll be back soon.”

  Before she gave into Maylora’s pleadings, Zulema left. According to the dossier on this Bevon fellow, he resided in the middle of the forest next to the eternal flame. While she’d read about it in books, she’d never visited the place. Zulema had always been too busy learning to fight to study history.

  Because she had two weeks to complete the assignment, she couldn’t afford to waste any time. Her first goal would be to watch Bevon Forrester in order to create her plan. Then at some point, she’d have to go to Feyrion to retrieve the plant that would weaken this Fey. While the dossier contained a photo of the treniam plant, a realm was a big place. If the plant was poisonous to them, she doubted it would be growing in many places.

  As much as she wanted to turn around and demand that Derrick Valoric do the deed himself, he seemed convinced only she could do the job. In the end, she decided to do this or die trying—anything to protect her family.

  The closest big city to the forest was Edendale, the capital of Avonbelle Province. Since Zulema would need a place to stay when she wasn’t hunting Bevon, she found a hotel room in town. Because of the generous stipend from the Zon, she chose one nicer than what she normally would have stayed in.

  Once she checked in, Zulema teleported to the forest, close to the flame. She could have cloaked herself, but what if Bevon happened to be there? While she wasn’t the type to seduce a man, her family’s life was on the line.

  She appeared a few hundred feet from the flame. Without her weapons—other than a few hunting knives she always carried—she sauntered down the forest path toward her destination. Sure, there was a large cement bowl rimmed with fire, but it wasn’t as grand as she’d thought it would be for a national treasure. Off to the side was a fountain of some kind. A few pipes were sticking out from the rock face with water pouring out into a small, cement pool. Interesting, but not particularly impressive.

  Zulema looked around but saw no one. She doubted the Zon would have misled her. The dossier said that Bevon and his brother, Kenton, were portal sentries. While there appeared to be no portal anywhere, she suspected the men would be close by. It was possible they lived in Edendale and only teleported here to guard the gates to Feyrion during certain hours.

  There was a path leading away from the eternal flame, which might be a good place to start her search. Zulema walked west, enjoying how the sun spiked through the leaves, creating a magical setting. A few times she swore she saw bright lights zip back and forth across the path, but they were moving so fast, she wasn’t able to tell what they were.

  No homes appeared, however. After walking about fifteen minutes, Zulema was about to turn around when a woman popped out from behind a large tree.

  “Hello,” she said and then smiled. The blonde woman with the heart-shaped face was very tiny—a Fairy perhaps? While Zulema had never met one, the woman might be Fey.

  “Hi.”

  The woman held out her hand. “I’m Fay Forrester.”

  Zulema’s heart dropped to her stomach. Fay was Bevon’s sister—at least according to the dossier. “Zulema. Nice to meet you. Are you here to enjoy the amazing day?” She wasn’t the best at making small talk. Most of the time, her job required her to remain silent, but this woman could provide valuable information about Bevon’s whereabouts.

  Her eyes sparkled—literally. “Walk back to the eternal flame with me. We need to talk.”

  “Have we met before?” Zulema was sure to have remembered this diminutive woman.

  “I don’t believe so, but I can sense something is troubling you.”

  Oh, shit. “Are you an empath?”

  “Among many things. How is your mother?”

  Zulema stopped in her path and spun to face Bevon’s sister. No way she was Zon. “How do you know about her?”

  Fay placed a hand on Zulema’s arm. As much as she wanted to pull away, she couldn’t. It was as if the woman was exerting some kind of force field on her.

  “I sense your concern, that’s all. Perhaps you should take a look at the flame. Or better yet, make a wish in the fountain. I hear wishes often come true.”

  “I will.” Or not. Zulema didn’t believe in superstition. They chatted for the next few minutes, but Zulema didn’t find the opening to discuss her brother. “Do you live around here?”

  She smiled. “I do.”

  And just like that the woman disintegrated—if that was the right word—into points of light and then dispersed.

  “We have a problem,” Fay said, appearing in Bevon’s living room without warning.

  Bevon dropped his feet to the floor and sat up. “What kind of problem?”

  “I ran into a woman who has an agenda.”

  His sister never was one to speak outright. He swore she loved to tease him. “What kind of agenda?”

  “She’s troubled.”

  More nonsense. “Come out with it, wench!”

  She laughed. “Your trips to those medieval festivals in Edendale have to stop.”

  He laughed. “I’m impressed you even know where the word co
mes from.”

  “Earth spawned the great bard, Shakespeare. He used the term to mean a lovely young lady. While I am anything but young, I’ll take it as a compliment.”

  His sister didn’t look a day past thirty. It was the benefit of being more or less immortal. “Should I be worried about this woman?” Bevon was enjoying the troubled look on her face.

  “Yes.”

  “Is she out to kill me?” Not that she could.

  “I don’t know.”

  Bevon stood, traipsed over to the kitchen, and retrieved a beer. “Want one?”

  “No, thank you.”

  Since he wasn’t busy at the moment, he would continue chatting. He always did love a new conspiracy theory. “What is this woman’s name? Surely, you learned that much.”

  “Zulema.”

  “Interesting name. If I recall my history lessons, it means peace and tranquility.”

  “Yes, but this woman was not at peace,” Fay said, her chin notching up a bit.

  He twisted off the bottle cap and tossed back a good portion of his beer. “What’s going on, Fay? You usually don’t believe we are in harm’s way.” He waved a hand. “Sure, Kenton was attacked by those demons, but…” That thought concerned him. “Don’t tell me this woman is a one of them?”

  “Hardly. A dragon shifter to be precise, but I think she means to harm you. I could sense her inner turmoil. Her mother is ill.”

  His sister still wasn’t making any sense. “What role do I play? I don’t even know her or her mother.”

  “I don’t know, but I believe it won’t be the last we see of her.”

  That rather interested him, or else he was just bored. “What does she look like?”

  Fay wagged a finger at him. “Always interested in a woman’s looks. You need to dig deeper, brother. See into her soul.”

  Once more, Bevon laughed. “Are you implying I’m shallow?” That was probably true. He loved women and women loved him.

  It wasn’t his fault that his older brother was the unlucky bastard who had to inherit the king’s throne when the time came.

  “Someday you’ll find your mate, and then you won’t know what to do.”

  “Ouch.” True or not, he wasn’t ready to discuss that aspect of his life. “You never answered me about what this troubled girl, who is out to get me, looks like.”

  “Fine. She’s tall—though everyone is tall compared to me. I’d guess five-feet eight. Built well with long, straight, black hair. She’s not just a dragon shifter. She can teleport.”

  His body tingled at that combination. “She’s not of Fey descent, is she?”

  “No. I’m thinking witch.”

  “I can handle that. Humans are such vulnerable creatures.” And loving ones, too.

  Fay shook her head. “There you go again. Dismissing her. I’m just saying—be careful around that one.” With that, Fay disappeared.

  Darn. He should have asked where this mystery woman was from. His sister seemed to have extracted quite a bit of information from her. Many people passed through the area to see the immortal flame, since it was a realm treasure, and yet Fay rarely spoke to any of them.

  “Is this woman still around,” he telepathed his sister.

  “No.”

  He waited for Fay to offer up more information, but she did not. Something was up with her, but he had no idea what. “Do you know where she lives?”

  “She’s staying in Edendale. That’s all I know.”

  “Thank you.”

  That entire encounter was rather strange. There was something his sister wasn’t telling him, but it didn’t matter. How hard would it be to find a raven-haired beauty who was a blend of dragon shifter and witch? To say the least, Bevon loved the challenge of trying to find her.

  It might be a good time to drop in on his brother and his mate and have a chat. One of them might have heard about a threat to the Feys.

  When Kenton and Tory had first gotten together, they mostly stayed in Edendale, because Tory worked in town. As her teleporting skills improved though, she agreed to live in the woods part of the time.

  “Hey, brother. You free?” he telepathed.

  “Kind of…busy…here.”

  Bevon understood what that meant. Oh, well. A trip into town always did wonders for his soul anyway.

  Chapter Three

  Zulema hadn’t learned much from Bevon’s sister. Fay Forrester seemed nice, but her ability to almost read Zulema’s mind was a little creepy. Even though she’d been trained to steel her mind against intrusion, this woman apparently could see right through her. Killing Bevon Forrester might be harder than Zulema thought.

  After following Fay’s suggestion of returning to the eternal flame, Zulema took the time to read the plaque on the stone bowl. She had to admit, staring into the flames was mesmerizing and centering, though not as transformational as she’d hoped. No oracle appeared to tell her how to proceed with the mission. Even without any divine answers, she was quite certain that if she didn’t kill Bevon Forrester, her mother and sister would die.

  Despite being a non-believer in anything fanciful, in case there was anything to this make-a-wish-at-the-fountain thing, Zulema stood in front of the pooling water and prayed that her mother would soon receive the help she needed.

  Before she was ready to leave, a couple arrived at the flame. Wanting to give them some privacy, Zulema left. While she could teleport to town, she needed time to think, and flying always boosted her endorphins and would hopefully provide her with a clearer mind.

  When she landed on the outskirts of the city, Zulema chose to walk the rest of the way to her hotel. If she was going to be in Edendale for close to two weeks, she wanted to take the opportunity to see what this city had to offer. She came from a small town, and while pretty, Zulema had always been attracted to the hustle and bustle of a larger town.

  Before she took the time to explore any stores though, she needed to figure out the next move for her assignment. That meant memorizing everything that was in the dossier.

  After returning to her hotel room, Zulema went to work, making a list of the people who might have been involved in the death of Tamarella Warnom. Obviously, she had to put Bevon Forrester at the top, but she wanted to be thorough. Judging him without facts wasn’t her style.

  After reading everything Derrick Valoric provided her a few times, it became clear that the only chance she had of killing Bevon was if he became weak from exposure to treniam. And that meant procuring the plant from Feyrion.

  There was one issue with that. Even if she succeeded in creating the portal to the other realm, she’d need to convince the sentries on the other side that she was indeed a friend of the fallen woman. But how? Zulema read through the dossier one more time. Only at the end did it say Tamarella was killed anywhere from one week to ten days ago. Why didn’t Derrick Valoric know the exact date? Was it possible he had been blocked from entering Feyrion, and this information was given to him by another source—one who wasn’t able to reach anyone in Tarradon in a timely fashion?

  It didn’t really matter. Zulema would use the information she’d been given. Because Valoric apparently loved Tamarella, he was aware of every cousin and major player in his mate’s life. All were listed in a fair amount of detail. Some were even accompanied by a photo—most likely provided by his mate.

  After several hours of last minute studying, Zulema felt confident that she could pull it off saying that she was Tamarella’s friend. The Fey woman’s friend loved to design jewelry as a hobby. Because Zulema didn’t have time to take any classes on this topic, she wanted to at least have a working knowledge of such things. It was probably for the best that Tamarella wasn’t around to spot Zulema as a fake.

  Tomorrow would be a good time to make her move. For now, she’d do a little jewelry making research.

  By nine that night, Zulema’s eyes were practically crossing. As much as she tried to concentrate, she couldn’t. In need of food, she went downstairs to
the front desk to ask about the location of a casual bar, one suited for a dragon shifter. The manager was a shifter himself and probably knew of some good places.

  “I suggest Wings. It’s low key, classy, and has great food. Best yet, it’s within walking distance, though they do have a landing pad on top of the building should anyone need to take flight.”

  “Thank you. I’ll walk.”

  After the manager drew her a map, Zulema left, and to her delight, the fresh air revived her. Since sleep was probably off the table for many hours, she needed to clear her head before taking one last stab at learning the ins and outs of the Forrester and Warnom families.

  The Wings Bar was easy to find, and the interior was what she expected from a big city. Wood paneled walls, scarred floors, and tables and booths crammed in the middle that created an intimate atmosphere. A long bar sat along the side, and in the back was a small dance floor. It screamed casual but friendly, exactly what she was hoping for, and the number of shifters made the air rich with testosterone. Because of her witch heritage, Zulema could sense almost every kind of entity—a talent that had served her well.

  A pretty waitress seated her in a booth across from the bar, giving her the chance to study everyone—something she found enjoyable and relaxing.

  She ordered immediately, and the food was delivered quickly. Zulema sipped her drink, while working hard not to scarf down her delicious meal. The desk clerk had been right. This was a good place.

  She was almost finished with her meal when every cell in her body tingled. When Zulema looked up, her heart stopped. It was Bevon Forrester in the flesh, and she had to literally remind herself to breathe and then to swallow.

  He glanced over at her, but then turned around and headed to the bar. It was almost as if she had been invisible. Not that he would have any idea who she was, but Zulema didn’t trust that his sister hadn’t mentioned or described seeing the troubled woman she’d met near the flames. Thankfully, Zulema hadn’t mentioned Bevon’s name to Fay, so his sister would have no reason to tell him.